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The church is approximately about an hour and a half drive from Makati City or about 70 to 80 kms., South of Metro Manila.
Although it was my first time to visit the church when we attended the "Solemn Perpetual Profession" of my niece, what caught my attention is the elegant altar and the serenity of the church surroundings.
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| The Church Main Facade |
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| The Altar |
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| Church Main Entrance |
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| The Bell Tower |
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| Sacred Heart of Jesus |
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| Mary Immaculate |
The Parish Priest assigned is Rev. Fr. Jerry R. Oblepias.
Among the many other good points of the church which I observed are the ample parking space, the well kept garden and the very clean surroundings.
The Church interior is well planned and the design is quite captivating. There are open spaces at the left and the right side of the church which makes it roomy, airy and comfortable when you're inside.
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Regular Mass Schedule:
Monday | 6:30AM |
Tuesday | 5:45PM |
Wednesday | 5:45PM |
Thursday | 5:45PM |
Friday | 5:45PM |
Saturday | 6:30AM & 5:45PM |
Sunday | 6:30AM, 9:30AM, 5:45PM |
To follow are some photos and information as to the Perpetual Profession of a nun who happens to be my niece and we are so proud of her.
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| The Procession before the Mass |
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| The Professandees: My Niece is Sr. Ma. Immaculata P. Lucena |
She has been a nun for almost 13 years before she professed her faith to our loving Father, under the Leaven of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
There were only three of them who professed their faith but the whole congregation seems very excited about it. Some say that it was because there are only a few who were able to reach this point of staying in faith after more than 13 years as a nun, and it could be the reason why this becomes a big celebration for them.
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| The Main Celebrant Rev. Fr. Edgardo M. Arellano, OATH |
In response to God's call, many Christians dedicate themselves to his service and to the welfare of humanity through the sacred bonds of religious life and seek to follow Christ more closely to the evangelical counsels.
The steps by which religious dedicate themselves to God and the church are novitiate , temporary profession and perpetual profession.
After the period prescribed by the law, perpetual profession is made, by which religious bind themselves permanently to the service of God and the Church. Perpetual profession reflects the unbreakable union between Christ and His Bride, the Church.
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| R-L -My Niece, my brother Fred and his spouse Ate Nette |
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| Beautiful choir music. They sound like angels singing. |
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| Speech |
While watching the whole solemn activity, I could not help but imagine and sense the "tears of joy" from my brother Rolando who passed away 19 years ago had he been present in this divine celebration.
I believe this is God's gift to his family as well us ours. And we feel blessed because of my niece accomplishment. God is so good to us!
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| With the Main Priest Celebrant and other Co Celebrants |
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| Sis Immaculata with Mom (Ate Conching) at the back 3rd fr left |
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| With the family |
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| With the other Perpetuals |
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| The Christmas Caroling |
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| Len and I |
Personal reflection:
We actually had a great time during the celebration from the church to the reception hall, where they performed and serenade all the relatives of the Professandees.
I can say that witnessing the Perpetual Profession of our niece is one of my most unforgettable moments. It is truly amazing!
Let us pray for our Nuns so that like Mary, may they persevere in living " a life hidden with Christ in God," (Col 3:3) through generous service and charitable silence, and most especially in humility and meekness, love for sacrifice, obedience and purity, in atonement for the sins of mankind and perpetuity.
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How to get to Nuestra Sra Delos Remedios Church:
From Makati to SLEX ( South Luzon Expressway) take the farthest exit towards Lucena City. Go straight towards San Pablo City. Upon reaching the town proper, you will see PureGold Supermarket on your right side. There will be an intersection after Puregold and make a left turn. Go straight and after the overhead pedestrian bridge, there will be small street to your left which you must make a left turn. Go straight and you will find the church.
Happy Trip and God bless you!
I love Jesus too and I like your site. Thanks! Here is a true story in return.
ReplyDeleteWARM HEARTED HAND
The cattle truck showed up an hour late but at least it did finally arrive. We grabbed a long strong rope, some feed and a four-wheel drive Ford Tractor that had a bucket loader on the front of it.. The man in the truck followed us over to the other barn which was across the road from the main barnyard.
The bull that we were after was almost as big as the tractor but he was white with some light brown spots and the tractor was blue. Many men have been mauled and even killed while trying to remove a bull from a pasture but this bull was good natured and like all cattle, loves feed.
Coaxing cattle with feed is an old trick and more often than not it serves the purpose perfectly. I've seen whole herds of heifers chase a quad down the road when a man sat on the back with a five gallon bucket of feed for them follow.
But, we weren't driving cattle this time, so we tried to lasso the bull and separate him from the heifers. The man who brought the truck was following the bull around a feed trough that was out in the middle of the pasture while trying to toss the looped end of the rope over the big bulls massive head. The first attempt failed because the rope only grabbed one-half of the bulls head so we had to wait for the beast to shake it off before we could try again.
The idea was to lasso the bull but to let the rope go once we did. Once the rope was finally around the bulls neck, the plan was to recapture the loose end of the tether and tie it to back end of the tractor while the bull was being preoccupied with the feed. It would have worked if the rope had fell just right on the first try but since it didn't the bull was spooked and wouldn't come close enough for us to try it again.
One has to be calm and quiet around cattle because they can spook easy. Seeing that we had no chance of capturing the bull under the circumstances we decided to relocate the feed trough and get a longer rope. We moved the trough from the pasture up to the lower level of the old barn and started shaking the feed bucket again. The cattle answered the dinner call and as fortune would have it the bull went into the barn behind a heifer whereupon we closed the two in by shutting a metal gate.
Once inside the barn, the bull was preoccupied with eating feed so we were able to lasso him correctly this time. The bull was tied close to the back end of the tractor and then led to the cattle truck which was parked down by the road. I held the tether tight while another fellow operated the tractor. I rode on the tractor by standing on a running board and secured the animal by wrapping the rope around a solid bar that was attached to the tractor.
The bull came quietly but at one point it seemed like the bulls massive head was going to get jammed in between the back tire and the tractor's frame so we halted and readjusted the rope. The ramp up into the cattle truck was already down and the side gates had been attached so we pulled the bull up to the ramp, loosed the rope and prodded the bull up into the truck.
Well that was one down and another to go. The second bull was back in the main barnyard. So we repeated the process again, over there. The second bull was younger but he seemed to be more dangerous which is unusual because generally it's the other way around.
I was the youngest of our crew of four. George was the oldest at 88 years old, his brother Bob is 84 and John is about 70 years old. I am 55. Bob has breathing problems and he can't walk around to good so he operates the tractor. Bob has poor circulation also. I took my glove off and held his frozen left hand in mine for a moment so that it would warm back up. I overlooked the snot that had been wiped off onto the wrist and grabbed it anyway.
We all know how cold noses can run in the winter time. It was zero today.
Thanks Ed for the story. Team effort really works, especially when working in a barn with massive animals. I hope you can share more of your barn stories, Have you checked my other site? Bible Sharing Online? Perhaps you can find time to share your reflections on the gospel I post daily.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Ed