TENTATIVELY, THE DATE was set
on May 17. At least 12 members of the Our Lady of the Annunciation Praesidium of the Legion of Mary based in the Holy Spirit Parish, BF Homes, Q.C. signified their desire to join the pilgrimage to the Jubilee churches. The plan was broached by Sis Gelly Fernandez, who embarked on it with her family but did not complete it, so would like to finish the journey with her fellow legionaries.
The day arrived. Out of the 12 pilgrims, the number was trimmed down to 7 for different personal reasons. Sis Gelly herself was not feeling very well but would have forced herself to brave the trip had not her husband expressed concern that she was catching her breath and he would rather have her with him than worry about her. Sis Amy, whose generosity is legendary, was willing to shelve the activity if the others were not inclined to travel but, at the last minute, the uncertainties of the journeyers were firmed up into a resolve to do it. For one, the Grandia would be roomier with the number of passengers considerably lessened.
En route to the Manila Cathedral, the first logical stop, we discussed our itinerary. There were five churches to visit. From the cathedral, we planned to make Pasay next, then Makati, then Mandaluyong and finally San Juan. That way, we all agreed, we won’t make uneccesary detours and – we hoped – shorten our travel time so as to avoid the rush-hour traffic on the way back. The plan proved feasible.
It wasn’t hard to wend our way into the cathedral. A popular landmark in historic Intramuros, the magnificent Mother Church of the Philippines expected a heavy influx of pilgrims from all over Metro Manila. It was evident in the strategically-placed arrows and signages from the Holy Jubilee Door to the other designated stations where the pilgrim is conducted to invaria
bly cross the door, embrace God’s mercy and dedicate himself to being merciful with others as the Father has been with him. All these are based on the guidelines in the granting of indulgence during the Jubilee of Mercy, which are enumerated in the passport. I signed for all our passports and we were off.
We only needed one modification on the passport’s itinerary, that is, make its recommended last stop, Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Pasay, our second, and its second, third and fourth stops, the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Makati, the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Mandaluyong and the Santuario de Santo Cristo in San Juan our third, fourth and last legs, in accordance with the feasible plan we mapped out in the van.
We did the following in the cathedral: upon entering the Holy Jubilee Door, recite the Year of Mercy prayer in front of the Jubilee Cross (containing a relic of the True Cross of Christ); pray to the bronze image of St. Peter the Apostle for the intentions of Pope Francis; offer prayers and Masses in the Blessed Souls Chapel for our dearly departed; spend some silent moments of adoration and meditation in the St. Peter Adoration Chapel; pray in the cathedral crypt for the eternal repose of the four former Archbishops of Manila; renew in the Baptistry our baptismal promises; donate in the St. Joseph Chapel to the homeless; pray in front of the main altar to Mary the Immaculate Conception; and, finally, go back to the office to have our passports stamped.
The two things that we we were not able to do, because they were not in the schedule of the cathedral (and the other churches), were confess and pray the Mas
s.
The other churches had other activities for the pilgrims. The Our Lady of Sorrows Parish asked us to pray the rosary, donate to the prison apostolate and give food to street children and the homeless. These last two we were able to fulfill at our last stop in San Juan, where we gave our lunch doggie bag (Sis Amy hastened to squeeze in cash) to a young scavenger and an ample portion of our snacks to a street mother and child.
At the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart, we prayed Pope John Paul’s daily offering, prayed to the Crucified Christ for plenary indulgence and offered it to one soul in purgatory, visited the adoration chapel for a few moments of thanksgiving, dropped our petitions and donations in separate boxes and had our passports stamped.
Sis Irene left her passport in Pasay City. Seeing that she was unperturbed, we ribbed her about it, which she took in pleasant stride. Sis Amy suggested she tell the passport lady about it and ask if it were possible to ask for a replacement; the lady said she’ll look into it. Later, she was told to issue an affidavit of loss, I witnessed to it, and she was given a brand new passport. From the joyful banter in the van, to losing her document, to getting a replacement therefor, our collective high would not ebb. We nurtured it while breaking for lunch at Gerry’s Grill.
In Mandaluyong, we were on time for the three o’clock prayer which was led by two ladies. We prayed it in front of the main altar where a huge painting of the Divine Mercy looked down on us. We prayed to the Reliquary of St. Faustina for the salvation of sinners and to the Crucified Christ for those who suffer in mind and body. From there, we went down to the Columbary to pray for the dead and dropped our donations for the sick. Then back to the office for passport stamping.
Erected in 1942, the Santuario in San Juan is an old structure of labyrinthine history. At the Holy Door, we prayed for the Pope’s intentions and the devotion to the Santo Cristo. Then we proceeded to the cemetery to lift up the faithful departed. While we were waiting for our certificates, Sis Amy again broached an idea. That Sis Irene ask the office if it were possible for her, by virtue of the replacement passport, to get a certificate like her fellow pilgrims. God must have been journeying with us all the way. There was no need for an affidavit or sad recounting of the loss. She was issued, like all of us, a certificate signed by no less than Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.
That final stage of our common pilgrimage put a jubilant lid on our encounter with our God of mercy. Sis Irene was beside herself with joy as we commiserated the mild sacrifice that she must have suffered by an almost loss, foiled as it were by her unflinching faith that if it is for you, God will give it.
We celebrated the euphoria – fittingly – over glasses of Razon’s halu-halo and endless recollection of how spiritually fruitful and uplifting the journey has been. The accompanying pictures paint more than Michaelangelo’s dream.
The Pilgrimage, started on December 8 last year, will run until November 20 this year.
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Abraham de la Torre
