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Happy Easter to all! Holy Week for me this year is a special one. My husband and I made a trip to San Antonio, Texas to do my first ever Visita Iglesia. This Catholic tradition has been practiced in the Philippines and all over the World where the faithful goes to seven churches to recite the Station of the Cross. We had chosen San Antonio because of the existence of Spanish Missions and old Catholic Churches. We wanted to be away from Dallas to ensure that we can only concentrate on praying and not be bothered with preoccupations of home.
We arrived in San Antonio on Thursday afternoon and proceeded to Mission Concepcion and Mission San Jose. We prayed the Station of the Cross and decided to attend the evening’s Mass where the Last Supper and Washing of the Feet will be commemorated. The Mass was solemn celebrated by the Franciscan Fathers. It ended with a procession and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament where the paths were lighted only by torches and candles. We were given bread at the end of the Mass symbolizing our unity as a community. We continued our Visita Iglesia during the morning of Good Friday visiting Mission San Jose and Mission Espada and downtown Churches of St. Joseph and St. Mary. We witnessed the Passion of the Cross at the Cathedral of San Fernando in downtown San Antonio and completed our Novena. We made a special trip to Sto. Nino de Cebu parish which was founded by the Filipino community in San Antonio and in the evening, we returned to the Cathedral for the procession of the grieving Blessed Mother. We came back to our home and attended the Saturday evening vigil and Easter Sunday Mass at the St. Jude Parish in Allen.
When we prepared for the trip, my usual self prepared all necessities. Foremost of which is filling our SUV with food and drinks, fearing that we will go hungry along the way. However, in this trip, a different hunger was filled; the Holy Spirit filled me with the Bread of Life and renewed my love for life that the good Lord had given.
We arrived in San Antonio on Thursday afternoon and proceeded to Mission Concepcion and Mission San Jose. We prayed the Station of the Cross and decided to attend the evening’s Mass where the Last Supper and Washing of the Feet will be commemorated. The Mass was solemn celebrated by the Franciscan Fathers. It ended with a procession and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament where the paths were lighted only by torches and candles. We were given bread at the end of the Mass symbolizing our unity as a community. We continued our Visita Iglesia during the morning of Good Friday visiting Mission San Jose and Mission Espada and downtown Churches of St. Joseph and St. Mary. We witnessed the Passion of the Cross at the Cathedral of San Fernando in downtown San Antonio and completed our Novena. We made a special trip to Sto. Nino de Cebu parish which was founded by the Filipino community in San Antonio and in the evening, we returned to the Cathedral for the procession of the grieving Blessed Mother. We came back to our home and attended the Saturday evening vigil and Easter Sunday Mass at the St. Jude Parish in Allen.
When we prepared for the trip, my usual self prepared all necessities. Foremost of which is filling our SUV with food and drinks, fearing that we will go hungry along the way. However, in this trip, a different hunger was filled; the Holy Spirit filled me with the Bread of Life and renewed my love for life that the good Lord had given.
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