Visita Iglesia (2021): St. Francis of Assisi Church - My Refuge in Ortigas

In the midst of high buildings and commercial complexes stands my refuge whenever I go to Ortigas for a business. That refuge is named as St. Francis Church.

I discovered this church while walking from SM Megamall to San Miguel Ave. The cross fronting it is big and quite imposing.

The parish of St. Francis of Assisi was founded in 1958¹ and was placed under the care of the Order of Capuchin Friars Minor, who are also known as the Franciscan Capuchins. These friars are the followers of the strict rule laid by St. Francis of Assisi. For this reason, the Capuchin's church in Ortigas is dedicated to St. Francis.

At the entrance to the church, I was welcomed by the stained-glass image of St. Francis. On the floor are the words "Pax et Bonum", which is said to be the welcoming and parting phrase of St. Francis.

"Pax et Bonum" is Latin for "Peace and Goodness".

The doors of the church are quite simple…

...that it betrays the fact that its interior is huge.

I never expected that this church that looks small from the outside is quite spacious inside.

The lights were off during my visit so I was not able to have a good shot of the church's altar, which depicts St. Francis standing beside the crucified Jesus.

I can only visit St. Francis Church on weekdays so I can only attend the mass with a much smaller crowd than Sunday masses. So the masses that I attended were held at the side altar.

The side altar is also spacious and looks good despite being at the side. It's altar features the major events of Jesus' life: His birth, baptism, death, and resurrection.

My favorite place for prayers is the Adoration Chapel at the ground floor (the main church is on the second floor).

The Adoration Chapel is a better place for praying and meditation because it is much smaller and has less distraction.

Also, the chapel has the relic of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, who is the famous Capuchin saint. The adoration chapel of St. Francis Church is the best place to pray to God and then ask for the intercession of Padre Pio.

St. Francis Church is a good discovery because it serves as my refuge whenever I happen to be around Ortigas. It is like the Shrine of Jesus, The Way, The Truth, & The Life at SM Mall of Asia, Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord in SM Megamall, and the Sto. Niño de Paz Chapel in Greenbelt.

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Francis of Assisi was born in a wealthy family and lived a carefree life as a young man. Jesus touched his heart and brought him to conversion. He became an instrument for the conversion of many by shedding off his wealth and living a life of poverty.

Francis emulated Jesus Christ in rejecting material wealth. Let us then emulate St. Francis so that like him we will earn enormous spiritual wealth in Heaven.

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace; 

Where there is hatred, let me sow love; 

Where there is injury, pardon; 

Where there is doubt, faith; 

Where there is despair, hope; 

Where there is darkness, light; 

And where there is sadness, joy. 

O Divine Master,

Grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console; 

To be understood, as to understand; 

To be loved, as to love; 

For it is in giving that we receive, 

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, 

And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. 

Amen.

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Visita Iglesia is a Catholic tradition of visiting seven or fourteen churches during Maundy Thursday. For each day, this Holy Week, I will feature one church as a sort of virtual Visita Iglesia.

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic and the lockdowns, I was only able to visit three churches. So, for this year's virtual Visita Iglesia I can only feature 3 churches, namely:

Palm Sunday: St. Polycarp Church in Cabuyao City

Holy Monday: St. Francis Church in Ortigas, Mandaluyong

Good Friday: St. Michael the Archangel Chapel in Taguig

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Sources:

1. Info on the founding year of St. Francis Church from FederalLand

2. St. Francis Church official Facebook page

3. Prayer of St. Francis from Our Catholic Prayer

Visita Iglesia 2020: Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord

The Holy Week is already upon us. Today we Catholics celebrate Palm Sunday, which is the day when we commemorate the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem. Sadly, we are still in the Enhanced Community Quarantine where Sunday masses are forbidden. Many Holy Week traditions are also forbidden and one of these is the Visita Iglesia.

Traditionally, Visita Iglesia is done by visiting 7 churches on Maundy Thursday. Pilgrims pray 2 stations of the cross when visiting 7 churches or one station of the cross when visiting 14 churches. Many Filipino Catholics do Visita Iglesia as a form of penance. Others do it because they believe that their wishes will come true after visiting the 7th or 14th church. Others do it as a form of tour especially for historical and old churches. 

Yearly, I tried to do a sort of virtual Visita Iglesia as my way to "celebrate" the Holy Week. Per day, starting Palm Sunday, I feature one church that I previously visited.

Today is Palm Sunday and I feature the chapel that I visit whenever I go to SM Megamall. That chapel is the Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord.

The chapel is on the 5th floor of SM Megamall and is quite spacious. It can seat 1,000 to 1,200 people,  which makes it bigger than some parish churches.

My family sometimes attends Sunday Mass in this chapel. The place is always packed with people and most of them will shop in SM after the mass. It is a convenient arrangement for SM and also the reason why many malls have chapels or, at least, hosts Sunday masses. 

The altar of this chapel is simple and like other Novus Ordo chapels the tabernacle is on the side.

At the back of the church is the section where parents with kids can attend mass. The place is somewhat soundproof so the noise of crying babies will not be heard in the main part of the chapel. 

My favorite part of this chapel is the Adoration Chapel at the back.

This place is my refuge whenever I have to stay long in SM Megamall and I have nothing to do. This is where I found silence and freedom from the commercialistic noise in the mall outside. 

Many people, particularly the salespeople of SM, also pass by the Adoration Chapel to pray.

Building the Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord inside SM Megamall was the idea of the Sy Family, owner of SM malls, and a charismatic group who held prayer meetings inside the mall. The first mass inside the chapel was held in 1998. This makes the Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord about 22 years old.

The SM Megamall is placed under the care of the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society and is within the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Manila. 

Having a chapel or holding a Holy Mass inside a shopping mall is a good thing because it places the Lord in the midst of man's activity. The downside, I think, is that it makes people more lazy to actually go to a proper church. The Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord is an exception because the space it occupies is exclusive for Holy Mass and church activities. The sense of reverence is still there. That cannot be said in other malls, however, because some of the masses are held at the corridors and other places that reduce the "Sense of Sacred" of the Holy Mass. Some mall owners use the Sunday mass as a way to draw crowds into their shopping malls. 

Having a chapel inside a shopping mall is good and I will continue to drop by the Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord whenever I go to SM. I do hope that one day, the priests managing this chapel will remove this horrifying image of the crucified Lord. 

We do not need to desecrate an image of Jesus Christ just to drive a point.

For those who are wishing to attend a Holy Mass in the Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord, here is their schedule:

Monday to Friday: 12:15 PM (English) and 6:00 PM (English) 

Saturdays: 12:15 PM (English)

Saturday anticipated mass: 5:00 PM (English) and 7:00 PM (English)

Sundays: 9:00 AM (charismatic mass), 11:00 AM (Chinese), 12:30 PM (English), 2:00 PM (English), 3:30 PM (Tagalog), 5:00 PM (English), 6:30 PM (Tagalog). 

The priests in the Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord may be contacted at telephone number (02) 8638-8801 or at their Facebook page. 

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Prayer to the Holy Eucharist (by St. Bonaventure)

Pierce, O most sweet Lord Jesus Christ, mine inmost soul with the most joyous and healthful wound of Thy love, with true, serene, and most holy apostolic charity, that my soul may ever languish and melt with love and longing for Thee, that it may yearn for Thee and faint for Thy courts, and long to be dissolved and to be with Thee.

Grant that my soul may hunger after Thee, the bread of angels, the refreshment of holy souls, our daily and supersubstantial bread, having all sweetness and savor and every delight of taste.

Let my heart ever hunger after and feed upon Thee, whom the angels desire to look upon, and may my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of Thy savor.

May it ever thirst after Thee, the fountain of life, the fountain of wisdom and knowledge, the fountain of eternal light, the torrent of pleasure, the richness of the house of God.

May it ever compass Thee, seek Thee, find Thee, run to Thee, attain to Thee, meditate upon Thee, speak of Thee, and do all things to the praise and glory of Thy Holy name, with humility and discretion, with love and delight, with readiness and affection, and with perseverance unto the end.

Be Thou alone ever my hope and my whole confidence, my riches, my delight, my pleasure and my joy; my rest and tranquility; my peace, my sweetness and my fragrance; my sweet savor, my food and refreshment; my refuge and my help; my wisdom, my portion, my possession and my treasure, in whom may my mind and my heart be ever fixed and firm, and rooted immovably. Amen.

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For the Stations of the Cross, I suggest that you say the prayers posted in Catholic Online.

Since we are in the first church for this virtual Visita Iglesia, pray the...

Act of Contrition

O my God, my Redeemer, behold me here at Thy feet. From the bottom of my heart I am sorry for all my sins, because by them I have offended Thee, Who art infinitely good. I will die rather than offend thee again.

Then you pray the…

First Station of the Cross: Jesus is condemned to death
Second Station of the Cross: Jesus carries His cross

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Information about the Chapel of Eucharistic Lord was referred to Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society website.

The prayer of St. Bonaventure was copied from Churchpop.
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Visita Iglesia 2015: San Felipe Neri Church (Mandaluyong City)

There were two churches that Lei and I frequent for Sunday mass when we were residing in Mandaluyong City. One of these two churches is the Saint Dominic Savio Church and the other is the much older San Felipe Neri Church.

The San Felipe Neri Church is the oldest church in the city of Mandaluyong. In fact, the early name of Mandaluyong was San Felipe Neri when it was separated from the town of Sta. Ana de Sapa in 1841.¹ The parish and the church was established in December 1863 with Father Francisco Gimenez as the first parish priest.²

San Felipe Neri, the patron saint of Mandaluyong, was born Florence in 1515. He gained worldly success at an early age as his uncle’s business assistant but all of this changed when he had a conversion. He transformed from being a business assistant and became God’s assistant. San Felipe became known as the Apostle of Rome because he poured all his energy to bring people in Rome back to God. He didn’t discriminate because he preached to the rich and the poor alike. He even brought the Gospel to the prostitutes of Rome.³

Saint Felipe Neri is known for his cheerfulness and the use of humor. He contradicts the popular notion of saints as serious (and even somber). I believe that San Felipe shows that a Chritian should be joyful when carrying the cross. Yes, our cross is heavy but this cross will bring us eternal life and that should motivate us to be cheerful as we go on in following Christ.

San Felipe Neri on the church's facade.

The church was recently renovated during our visit because its walls look so new.

San Felipe Neri Church is cavernous because of the big space inside. I believe that it is biggest church in Mandaluyong. The layout of the church is like a big cross with the left and right arms that can be used as side altar and area for baptisms.

The main altar at the front is the best part of the church. I can say that the altar is beautiful because it didn’t follow the modernist designs that can be found in some churches, especially the “modern” ones. Good thing that the church’s renovation didn’t turn into a wreckovation.

The altar contains the images of Mama Mary at the center with San Felipe Neri and Saint Francis of Assisi at the sides. Another plus point is that the tabernacle is located at its rightful place at the center.

San Felipe Neri Church doesn’t only have the image of its patron saint but it also has his relic. The relic is a part of the body near the heart of San Felipe Neri. We Catholics believe that relics are not just a tool for commemorating the saints but a weapon because the Devil and his minions flee whenever a relic of God’s holy one gets near them. Thus, the parish of San Felipe Neri in Mandaluyong is truly blessed for having San Felipe Neri’s relic in their midst.

I believe that San Felipe Neri Church should be promoted by the city government of Mandaluyong as a tourist spot. The first reason is the San Felipe Neri Church is is the city’s oldest church and one of the few remaining Spanish Era structures in Metro Manila. Another reason is the presence of the relic of San Felipe Neri.

San Felipe Neri Church is located at the corner of Aglipay Street and Boni Avenue. Commuters can easily reach this church by riding the Gabby’s or Kalentong bound jeep at Robinsons Galleria.

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Information posted in this blog was obtained from the following sources:

1. Mandaluyong City website for the short history of Mandaluyong.

2. The plaque posted on the wall of San Felipe Neri Church

3. Catholic Online for the life story of San Felipe Neri

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Visita Iglesia is a Catholic tradition of visiting seven churches during Maundy Thursday. For each day, this Holy Week, I will feature one church as a sort of virtual Visita Iglesia.

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Visita Iglesia: Saint Dominic Savio Church

Saint John Bosco, who is popularly known as Don Bosco, inspired many people during his lifetime. The creation of the Salesian Order is a testament to this fact. Don Bosco's apostolate is caring and educating the youth while leading them to our Lord.

One person who were very much influenced by Don Bosco is the little child named Dominic Savio.

It's rare for me to enter churches run by the Salesians. Aside from their Don Bosco Church in Makati, the only other Salesian-run church that I entered is the Saint Dominic Savio Church in Mandaluyong City.

It is not easy to find Saint Dominic Savio Church because it is located away from the main highway. Those who want to visit the church had to few meters and avoid the pesky tricycles. Also, this church is unlike the usual parish church because it has no wide grounds and it is not facing the road.

Since it is a church dedicated to Saint Dominic Savio, many things inside the church are about him including the bread being sold by the parish bakery. The bread's name is Pan de Savio.

I like the altar of this church. The tabernacle is at the center and the priest's chair is at the side. The altar features the image of both Jesus crucified and  resurrected. My Beloved Wife, on the other hand, didn't like the altar. She complained about the very big image of Saint Dominic Savio.

Another big tarp at the altar shows the resolutions made by Saint Dominic Savio. Of the four resolutions, the one that have the big impact is this:

“Death rather than sin.”

Saint Dominic Savio made this resolution at the age of seven. This is amazing because he is already advanced in the Faith at that young age. When I was 7 years old, I only think of playing and doing childish thing. Things about God are not my concern back then.

Don Bosco taught this child well. The virtue of Saint Dominic Savio is worth emulating not only of the parishioners of the Saint Dominic Savio Parish Church but also by every person in the world.

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More information may be read at the website of the Saint Dominic Savio Church (Mandaluyong City).

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Visita Iglesia is a Catholic tradition of visiting seven churches during Maundy Thursday. For each day, this Holy Week, I will feature one church as a sort of virtual Visita Iglesia.
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