Have you ever gone to more than one church in one day? No not during Visita Iglesia or Seven Churches Visitation. I've never done the latter but I've church hopped to 3 churches in a day for the first time!
Heck I didn't plan on it but it just happened one Sunday this December. Three churches in Quezon City.
Hey, it's almost New Year and here I am writing about this. š Lezgoooo!
The First Church: Parish of the Divine Mercy
Due to my body clock, I can only go outside during the afternoons. Well of course since I just stay at home a lot lately, I don't need to leave early. Also the confession time every Sunday at the nearest church I go to is from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm.
On that particular Sunday, I planned on confessing first then attending the 5 pm mass. Unfortunately I think I got there past 5 pm so I could only do the first thing then I had to go to another church.
Holiday decorated altar.
The Second Church: Basilica Minore de San Pedro Bautista
I learned about a certain Catholic practice during the Christmas season that I never knew before. Well hey blame it on my lukewarm Catholic past life. My family/clan also have never told me about it. Of course because they aren't devout either! š
Can you guess what I'm talking about? Maybe you've heard or read of it before. If not, it's the plenary indulgence that one could get by going to Franciscan churches.
Nobody in my circle of friends and family have ever told me about this. I've never seen anyone post such online too. Well good thing I've renewed my faith and have shunned the lukewarm religious lifestyle! Now I'm still learning a lot about Catholicism that I had/have no clue about.
So anyway, this year, the said custom starts from December 8, 2023 to February 2, 2024. Of course when I saw the social media post about it I decided to do it, even at least once!
And so on that pre-Christmas weekend, due to the circumstances, I decided that day was the day! I would go to the nearest Franciscan church where I live. Already checked my commute route beforehand so I knew how to get there.
There was plenty of time before the 6 pm mass. Off I went to the second church. Rode a jeepney then a tricycle. When I got to the barangay (village) where the church is located, I was surprised to see something historical!
Okay wasn't able to take a photo of a historical-looking welcome arch along the way but the road... oh the road was very different! It does not look like it's made of asphalt or cement at all!
I have no idea but it looked like roads you'd see in historical sites. I remembered the Vigan City heritage site but the road there aren't as smooth as this one. Just look at it.
Smooth historical looking San Pedro Bautista Street
Wasn't able to take much photos because the tricycle was moving fast and rarely slowed down. But if you check on Google Maps you can see more of it. Don't know for sure what it's made of. š¤
There are even stylized lamp posts at the length of the street leading to the church. Too bad you'll see what modernization did to the area at each side of the road. š š
Apparently (after a bit of online search) it's one of the oldest churches in Quezon City! It's history dates back to the 16th Century. Awesome right?
Anyway of course when I got there I took some pics! Exterior and interior of the church. Just a few though. š
The side of the minor basilica.
The altar and the intricate reredos or retablo.
Oh look, a relic of St. Francis at the front right side corner!
But wait there's more! Right outside the gate of the church is an abomination. š At the other side of San Pedro Bautista St., you will see something of an eyesore. Wtf, why did the barangay officials even let a lotto outlet be put right in front of the church entrance/exit!?! It ruins the entire historical heritage status of the place. Ugh.
This is how most Filipinos are so careless of history folks. Ordinary people just don't care about anything of the past. All people think about is money, money, money. š No sense of art and heritage preservation (except for those in historical/preservation organizations), like nobody has a college degree in the whole village. š
I don't even want to complain about it anymore. š No I won't mention the FPJ Avenue issue š¤«
But of course I didn't think about that when I got there. What I thought was there would be a 6 pm mass. So I waited until around 6:30 pm. Alas, due to the Simbang Gabi / Misa de Gallo it was announced that the mass would be at 8 pm. Oh no!
If you don't know why the manger is "empty" then welcome to the club. Didn't know abt it either until someone told me. š
No choice, I went ahead and prayed in front of the nativity scene. Then I hurriedly looked for a tricycle outside so I could proceed to the nearest church. It was getting late and I had to make it to the next available mass!
The Third Church: Santo Domingo Church / National Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary (La Naval)
I had to walk to my destination upon getting off the tricycle. Didn't know if the vehicle is allowed to take me to the other church. It's fine because I could use the exercise. š
Of course I was happy to get to the third and last church of the day! Whew. Finally I could participate in the evening mass and fulfill the requirements of a plenary indulgence! Ah the things I do now. š
Say hello to Sto. Domingo church!
Our Lady of the Rosary inside the church. Bottom photos are church facade.
Photo of the alter from one of the huge entrance doors.
It's a big church, like it can fit three parish masses simultaneously. š Don't have enough photos though haha. I only take a few when I go there because my main purpose is always just to go to mass. š
Christmas season decorated altar.
And so after the mass was done finally I finished all the requirements for the Franciscan (Christmas season) plenary indulgence! Woohoo! Man, first times are always difficult. Like, I dunno if I did it correctly you know.
Because of this I plan to go to another Franciscan church next year! (Oh wait it's already less than an hour to 2024 when I published this. š) I should be able to do it properly. Will try to pray for someone I knew who's probably in purgatory. I dunno, I just hope I can go through with it. Haha.
Well that's all folks! What do you think of the churches and the holiday decoration? Personally I like this church hopping activity because I get to see a lot of sparkly church decor. Haha. Happy holidays and Happy NEW YEAR!!!
XOXO,
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