Before I get plastered with some negative Christian or Catholic labels out here, let me tell you, I am not a rabid catholic conservative or traditionalist. I do practice my spirituality (sometimes sa likod nang simbahan), although, I have to admit, I don’t believe in everything that the Vatican says, not even our Parish Priest. Once they start talking something that I don’t agree nor like to hear in their Sermon? I leave and blog about it hahaha! And I have done that many times. Ok? So, now that I have blurted out my wonderful disclaimer.

What’s Visita Iglesia? Well, according to some people who can narrate theology while snoring, this is a very old tradition dating back to those times when Christians would visit the seven great basilicas in Rome for adoration of the blessed sacrament after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. The sacramentary, the official altar book of the Church, says that after this Mass, “The faithful should be encouraged to continue adoration before the blessed sacrament for a suitable period of time during the night, according to local circumstances, but there should be no solemn adoration after midnight.“

Last year, Good Friday, we did our own thing and that was my very first Visita Iglesia experience. That year, we intended to visit 14 churches. We never made it. We’ve only managed to visit 7. This is the 2nd year me and my friends did the Visita Iglesia. Well, our Visita Iglesia is not about the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, rather, it’s about contemplation of the 14 Station of the Cross.

FIRST STOP

Our first stop was the St. Lawrence Church in Lindenwold, New Jersey. Chuva and I normally go to this Church on Sundays at 5:30pm which is close to where he lives. I’ve seen a couple of Filipinos in this church.

In any case, we went inside the church and proceeded to our 1st Station of the Cross. We noticed some Latinos (politically preferred word than Hispanics) outside as well as inside the Church. I was just about ready to have a sit, when a cute Latino guy walking past by me suddenly winked at me! So, I smiled back! Soweeet! Oh la! la! Then… @#$%^& PLAK!~! Ansakit!!! It was Tom! He was just behind me, witnessing everything so he hit me in my back and said “It’s Good Friday!!!” Heck?! What can I do? Don’t hate me ‘coz am beautiful? Good looks doesn’t respect any kind of place, you know! Then Tom hit me again. Okkkkkk!!!! I stopped. Grrrr!!

We were just about ready to say our prayers when the Priest came out, the music started (in spanish). We didn’t realize that there was a mass or some rituals going on because we saw the Priest in procession (from the entrance of the Church) to the front of the Holy Sacrament. When he reached just right before the steps to the Holy Sacrament, he prostrated. We all looked at each other amused or surprised and I said, “You know, why don’t we move to another corner where we won’t disturb them?”.

So, we moved at the corner, near the door – almost. As we were praying, remember the Latino guy? He stood up and headed to our direction to the door. Ohhh!!! You should see the tiger’s look in Tom’s eyes, with my ready smile to my Latino guy. Ohhh!! What can I say? Men, men men! Why do they follow me even inside the church you know?!

Don’t ask me about the prayers we said. It was fast. Lighting fast. Actually, I don’t remember anymore if we prayed. There were just too many interruptions. Cute disturbance, you know. Oh God! Forgive me!

SECOND STOP

Our second stop was at the Lady of Mt. Carmel in Berlin, New Jersey. This was also one of the Churches we visited last year, and I remember, they were working inside the Church doing some decorations. There was a NO ENTRY sign last year, but we entered the Church anyway. They asked us what we’re going to do. We explained to them the Visita Iglesia. They were intently listening to our explanation and we were permitted to get inside! But I could see from their eyes that this was probably the very first time they heard about Visita Iglesia.

This year, they were doing decorations and doing some work inside again! We have to explain the same thing again. The guy that Chuva was talking to was nice and he let us in and we said our prayers.

THIRD STOP

Our third stop was at St. Jude Church in Clementon, New Jersey.

They were having a mass but we could not understand what language that was. Either Ukrainian or Croatian or some Eastern European language because we noticed most of them were Caucasians. We proceeded to a small prayer room but could hardly say our prayers because they’re playing Eastern European music!

FOURTH STOP

Our fourth stop was at St. Agnes Church in Blackwood, New Jersey. This is Tom’s area. Afraid that I’d get another hack in my back, I was in full regalia of Good Manners and Right Conduct.

This was a fairly new Church. It’s really beautiful in the inside, but there were people praying and if you noticed, I have no pictures to show you from the inside of the Church because I prefer not to. I don’t know.

FIFTH STOP

Our fifth stop was at Our Lady of Grace in Somerdale, New Jersey. There was no one at the Church, so we had no problem saying our prayers. Soon after, we sat for a few minutes outside (where the car is parked) smoking, waiting for the cute caucasian guy to pass. He was going to the Church too. He He He!

SIXTH STOP

Our sixth stop was at St. Thomas More in Voorhees, New Jersey. Surprisingly, the Church is closed! We were here last year and Junsy told us, that only the ritziest people goes here. Well, what can I say? It’s really nice inside. But this time, we were praying in the hallway leading to the closed Church. We were interrupted by a woman who opened the door and asking if we knocked. We said, we were only praying. She didn’t even bother to let us inside the Church. Oh, well. Bless you my dear!

SEVENTH STOP

Our seventh stop was not a Church. Sweetheart, we went to Dunkin’ Donuts on Route 70 near Greentree Road. I mean, with everyone complaining with just about everything, yeap moi aussi (!), you think we’d last another mile without hitting each other?! Hell, no!

Bugs and Tom were in chorus spitting out !@#$%^~unprintables already! Gene said he has this imaginary earlocks that he could not, have not, ever heard a word from these two guys, and well… Gene, Bugs, Diwa and Tom who were seated at the back, became the navigators and the drivers to the annoyance of Chuva! At one point, Chuva’s been screaming on top of his lungs to Tom, “where is this churchhhhh!!!” and we’re already headed to Atlantic City! Is it inside the casino?!”

I mean, put them all together ladies and gentleman and no one would be clapping, instead, we’d all probably be slapping at each other like bitches! Let me tell you! Stop the cops! Call the firetrucks! Clear the highway! This is purgatory outta here in 4 wheels!

Road rage behaviour talaga was getting to be truly unbelievable! I’m telling you, the effects of starvation was really way too obvious!!! You think fasting would work for us to cleanse our soul? Hell no!!! I’M HUNGRY!! This is survivor on wheels ladies and gentlemen!

So now you all see that we’re soo far from being holy?! We were sooo un-righteousness here!!! It’s like listening to some voices from 6 feet down under and exploding in some wham-bang not like those fireworks in the Mall of Asia! Worse, someone from the back has been spurting some unhealthy and succinctly different, wayyyy different smell that would make you throw up! We have to open the windows despite the seemingly freezing cold outside just to let the pollution out! So, fine!!! let’s fill our hunger with curry! Eeekkk! Dunkin’ donuts, I mean. Hopefully, this road rage will subside.

EIGHT STOP

Our eight stop was at Diwa’s area in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. It’s the St. Peter Celestine Church on King’s Highway. Matilda used to live right across the street from here. And we used to go to this Church then, so I am familiar with this area.

NINTH STOP

For our ninth stop, we went to Queen of Heaven on Route 38 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Inside, Diwa found a Filipino seated at the very last chair at the back praying. I think I overheard them talking about cigarettes. Later, soon after we got out of the Church, Diwa was asking us if anyone of us wanted to buy cigarettes. What?! That pinoy guy is selling cigarrettes?!

TENTH STOP

From New Jersey, we head toward Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Our tenth stop is very popular to the Filipino Community in the Greater Metropolitan Philadelphia Area. This was where the Santo Nino from Cebu stays. They even held mass in Filipino here.

It’s one of those historic sites.

FINAL STOP

Our last stop was at the St. Rita of Cascia Shrine in South Philadelphia, popular to the Italians. This was also our final stop last year.

The Shrine is located at the basement of this Church. People flocked here each week to seek favors or to give thanks for graces received.

When you get to the basement, this is what you will see:

This one is looking left:

This one is looking right:

So that’s our Good Friday ritual ladies and gentlemen. At least, we try our best to cleanse our soul for all our sins (so we could sin again), but then again, it’s really difficult to get away from temptations sometimes, I mean, even today, right inside the Church, it’s temptation smack in your face!

But kidding aside, and I won’t have to explain what we do as Roman Catholics or Christians. But, whatever faith and belief you practice or you don’t believe and practice, the bottom line is love and respect to one another and most of all world peace (*sabay kaway na parang Miss America* – doing a Miss America wave).

Here we are taken at St. Agnes:

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Note: This Visita Iglesia was in April 2007.

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reynz is one Uragon and a Filipino-American, has many years of public accounting & auditing, broadcast investments, housing tax credits and equity investments as his background. Based in the US, he maintains his personal and humor blog at reyna elena dot com. A graduate of Aquinas U, he went to GWU and Temple U in the United States.