Another first for me

 
I had visited the UP Parish Church (The Parish Church of the Holy Sacrifice) in UP Diliman yesterday and attended Holy Mass for the very first time.  A lot of people were there for the Mass. Honestly, that was the first time I realized UP as being more Catholic than the Ateneo.  Ha!

And it most of them in the pews are actually the YOUTH!

A church decked with the work of national artists, but quite frankly I am no fan of circular churches.  Just not my preference.

But the place is teeming with religious art from Pinoy master artists.

And that is one reason why wrecknovators of Vatican II cannot do anything about.

Quite a consolation actually.

St. Andrew Cathedral, Parañaque

A picture of the beautiful retablo of the cathedral.

See where the Lord is found!

And this is the PLACE OF HONOR that the Lord deserves.

Compare it with liturgists who argue that the place of honor for the Lord is not the center of the sanctuary but at the side!

Kudos to Bishop Jesse Mercado and the rector of the cathedral!

Visita Iglesia: Ina ng mga Walang Mag-Ampon,Mahal na Birhen Ng Marikina

A friend has shared to me a lot of photos of the Shrine of the Mother of the Abandoned, Virgin of Marikina (Ina ng mga Walang Mag-Ampon,Mahal na Birhen Ng Marikina).

And here are some that I would like to highlight.

 The facade of the Church

The Eucharistic Adoration Chapel

The Altar of Repose

Posters hanging on the church fence. 

Lay Catholics making themselves heard and expressing their Catholic Faith in the public square!

Are you ashamed to be Catholic?

If not, wear your Faith!

Wear a cross/crucifix necklace!

Wear a medal of Our Lady, wear the Brown Scapular!

Whatever it takes to tell the whole world that you are a Catholic and Proud to witness to your Faith!

WEAR YOUR FAITH!

GULP Exam: What is this?

I showed these photos in my post about my experiences during Holy Thursday and here is what this really is:

That is the...(Hold on! Sorry if you'll lose your lunch or dinner for this.)

ALTAR OF REPOSE!

Yup. The altar was placed at the front of the main door of the church. Carpets or persian rugs, whatever they are called, were placed on the ramp.  The women at the foot of the altar are probably novices or postulants of a religious order.  I saw some elderly sisters standing on the side.  These young sisters are all wearing the same color of dress so I guess they are their habits.  You can also see the benches were the adorers and pilgrims sat.  And yes, no kneelers.  BUT, you can see a sister (with traditional veil) on the first photo on the lower left portion of the photo, kneeling!  Huzzah sister!

The first photo shows a blurred image of an SUV.  This shows you that the altar is just a few feet away from the noise and pollution of Commonwealth Avenue.

Holy Thursday...Altar of repose...near a busy highway?

I think they don't mix.  Was I able to pray?  Hardly.  I go to church to look for a quiet place where I can spend an hour with the Lord just as He requested at the Garden of Gethsemane.

But how can you possibly do that in this situation?

Says a lot about the priest who did all this...

Don't expect me to come looking for him for spiritual direction or invite him to deliver a talk about Eucharistic Adoration.

Tota pulchra es, Maria!

The high altar of the Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception also known as the Manila Cathedral.

My boss who was a principal sponsor in a wedding held at the Manila Basilica-Cathedral, asked me what the letters in the ciborium that covers the statue of our Lady in the Basilica. He knows I know Latin and he asked me for a quick translation which his relatives in attendance, who are Born-against Christians (very rabidly anti-Catholic) were asking the meaning of. According to him, they called the Latin inscription some sort "of medieval magic thing." Duh!

Well, here is the beautiful prayer and its meaning.

Tota pulchra es, Maria
et macula originalis non est in te.
Vestimentum tuum candidum quasi nix, et facies tua sicut sol.
Tota pulchra es, Maria,
et macula originalis non est in te.
Tu gloria Jerusalem, tu laetitia Israel, tu honorificentia populi nostri.
Tota pulchra es, Maria.

***

You are all beautiful, Mary,
and the original stain [of sin] is not in you.
Your clothing is white as snow, and your face is like the sun.
You are all beautiful, Mary,
and the original stain [of sin] is not in you.
You are the glory of Jerusalem, you are the joy of Israel, you give honour to our people.
You are all beautiful, Mary.

Visita Iglesia: St. Paul the Apostle Parish Church, Quezon City

We Pinoy Catholics have a tradition of visiting seven churches during Holy Thursday. Much the same as the tradition in Rome where pilgrims visit the the seven pilgrim churches as penance. They are Saint John Lateran, Saint Peter, Saint Mary Major, Saint Paul-outside-the-Walls, Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls, Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem, and traditionally Saint Sebastian Outside the Walls. Pope John Paul II replaced St. Sebastian with the Sanctuary of the Madonna of Divine Love for the jubilee year of 2000.

Even if it is not Holy Thursday, I will visit churches and will give my raves and comments about the church. Feel free to post in your comments as well

So here is my first offering.

First stop, St. Paul the Apostle Parish Church in the Diocese of Cubao, Quezon City.


Here is the outside of the parish church.

This is the inside of St. Paul the Apostle Parish Church in Quezon City.

I took this photo while a wedding was going on.

Notice the sanctuary? Drab...Iconoclastic...Modernist!  By the way, that crucifix there is slightly disfigured, bordering on being deformed.

Can't find the tabernacle? Yeah I was surprised too. After dipping my finger in holy water to sign myself with the Cross, I was about to genuflect when I cannot find the reason why I should genuflect at all!

I looked around and found a room/chapel in the left side of the church.

There, they have taken the Lord. Pews and kneelers inside.

***
 My verdict?  Where is "EXTREME CATHOLIC CHURCH MAKEOVER" when you need them?

The church does not lift your spirit, does not inspire you to prayer...  Take out the crucifix and you have one heck of an auditorium.  Oh, wait!  THAT would be an UGLY auditorium!

No sense of the sacred...

My disgust...INEFFABLE!!!

My prescription?  Visit The New Liturgical Movement and WDTPRS