Bisita Iglesia: The Seven Last Churches

It's no secret that the Catholic Church commemorates the passion, death and resurrection of Christ every year. It starts with Ash Wednesday, that marks the start of the Lenten Season, to remind us that from dust we are made and to dust we shall return. It also shows us that our lives are only borrowed from God and it is His right and Him alone to take it back from us. We live through fasting and abstinence afterwards, as to remind us of Jesus Christ's forty days of hunger and fasting in the dessert. These events lead us to Palm Sunday, wherein Jesus is praised and worshiped by the people as we wave palms to His welcome, while riding a donkey. This now shows the lowering of The Son Himself as part of the people--a servant-leader.

Not so long after, we go through Holy Week, which not only marks a long weekend vacation for some but also a week of repentance, sacrifice and humility. We are told to remember how Christ had sacrificed for us to be free from sin (and not just to go to the beach and have a family outing).

Just last night, we did our yearly Bisita Iglesia, or the visiting of seven to fourteen churches as a means of prayer and sacrifice. And while it was practiced yesterday, today we now have the Siyete Palabras or the Seven Last Words.

Today in this special blog post (and also a blog post of my comeback in writing, as inspired by the Holy Spirit), I shall submerge both our Bisita Iglesia experience and Siyete Palabras in one.


#1: San Jose De Navotas Parish
The First Church
"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."
-Luke 23:34

 A religious community does not consist wholly of saints. Jesus did not choose His apostles by reasons of holiness or purity, is it not? St. Matthew, the tax collector, wasn't much of a good man himself, so was St. Augustine and neither are the other saints in the history of sainthood. We are called to be chosen. May we be sinners or saints, we are tasked to follow the footsteps of God. 

But yes, let's just say that in the parish community, people who are sinners remain to be sinners in the community. It is our task to lead the way for them to not be at lost of what they should be doing. And if it's not good enough that we work hard for them to change, we let God do the rest for us. He will guide them and hope for them to realize what mistakes they've been doing while serving for the Church.

In the end, we are all sinners. We are all the reason for a downfall. Because we might blindly see it right in front of our eyes but we aren't doing anything about it. So we ask for forgiveness and hope for the best for the people that are at lost with themselves and their journey towards God.

The season of Lent always encourages us to forgive and to seek forgiveness. Although it is up to man as to accept or reject the forgiveness or even the apologies given to them. The only One who can accept wholeheartedly our sins over and over again is God. And He alone can wholeheartedly forgive us over and over again. That is how He is as our Lord.



 #2: San Ildefonso Parish
The Second Church
 "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise."
-Luke 23: 43 

When Jesus gives you the assurance of paradise, there must be no doubt or question about it. He has said so because He means it. There will be a day for us to achieve the unimaginable and it is with great pride that we take it as ours. Our second destination was San Ildefonso Parish. Currently, this church is undergoing major reconstruction and renovation. But just as the Second Word has said,  "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise." (Lk. 23: 43), therefore, this parish will someday be the paradise to hope for.

The community has high hopes for this parish and so do we. We believe that the community itself is the reason behind its further construction. People are willing to give and build the Church just as well for us to rebuild our connection with God in paradise. And for me, that's what being a community is all about--rebuilding and regaining connections.



#3: San Bartolome Parish
The Third Church
"Dear woman, here is your son."
- John 19: 26

There is no other person that can bring us closer to God than Mary. So in Jesus' Seven Last Words, we hear Him introducing Himself to Mary as her Son and Mary being introduced as the mother. As the saying goes, "There is no greater love than a mother's love" and that includes the Blessed Virgin Mary. When God closes the door of heaven, Mary is there to open the window.

This sincerely heightens the fact that Filipinos are great devotees of the Blessed Mother. We ask for her intercession as we live in this vile universe. And with her help, we are brought closer to Jesus. She who is so pure helps the sinners to become saints.

And at this word, Christ also reveals Himself to be the Salvation of the sinners. For he so godly yet so human is to understand how it is to love without any conditions.



#4: Immaculate Concepcion Parish
The Fourth Church
"My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?"
-Mark 15: 34

There will always come a point in our life that there will be this little voice whispering in our head the exact words Jesus has said, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" This is the point in our lives that we feel abandoned. We feel as though nobody is on our guard. We feel so insecure and powerless because we feel like God has let us journey on our own. Even Jesus had felt this. He felt so alone up on the cross and He felt so alone walking forty days in the dessert as a means of sacrifice. But all of these, we learn to understand that we are never alone.

God may seem absent in times that we are in such a worry but He is always present to remind you that there is no need to hurry. He comes in the right time, place and moment. We just have to trust in His timing and not let our fear get the best of us.

We have big problems but there is no big problem that we cannot face because we have bigger faith in the Biggest God. That obstacle is nowhere near as big as our Omnipotent Father.



#5: San Antonio de Padua Parish
The Fifth Church
"I am thirsty."
-John 19: 28

We are in the generation wherein people are "laging gutom" (always hungry). And this is in the literal sense. What more if it's in the spiritual sense that people hunger for the clearness of their spirituality and beliefs? In this context, Christ is simply thirsty. But looking at it in the human perspective, we are the thirsty. We thirst for righteousness. We thirst for justice. We thirst for equality. We thirst for equity. We thirst for the dew drops of mornings that would someday be the peaceful of them all. We thirst for forgiveness even though we prolong the agony of hatred and nuisance.

The only way for our thirst to quench is for us to seek what is not there that must be. We thirst for justice, we must be the first to give it. We thirst for forgiveness, we must be the first to ask for it. It is only in our little ways that the world can quench its thirst. We are, after all, stewards of God's creation. Why not be stewards of each other?



#6: Sacred Heart Parish
The Sixth Church
"It is finished."
-John 19: 30

The Father's will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Jesus has now proclaimed it in this word. The prophecy has been fulfilled and we are saved. Everything comes to a close just as well as a new beginning. There is something so sacred yet so precious in a moment that ends only to have a fresh start. It is in this moment that we see that everything does not just end in a period. But there will always be other chapters, other books, other novels, other writings, other songs, other operas, other musicals, other plays. It's not that anything is completely finished but it will mark a new era.

This applies to our world of today. We think that the world is ending just because things did not go the way they planned out. But in reality, we actually have a new line of possibilities because of the closed door; because something ended.



#7: San Roque Cathedral
The Last Word
 "Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!"
-Luke 23: 46

Our lives are according to God's plan, indeed. Even Christ Himself proclaims that He entrusts His spirit to the Father. And as we go through the Holy Week like we always do (I've been through seventeen years of it and I'm still counting), must always remind ourselves that it is not us who drives the wheel but God. We give Him directions but He always steers to the right path--the path that He chooses for us, guided by our hopes and aspirations.

In the end, it's all about putting our complete faith and trust in God no matter what happens in our lives. And as I end this blog post, I hope all of you have a fruitful Holy Week. May the Lord God be with us all! Entrust your life to God!




-eingelclyg