Hello Internet!

As a Filipino Catholic, we celebrate the Holy Week very differently. Vast varieties of practices are done, from simple acts like going through processions, doing the pabasa (chanting the Passion of the Christ. Usually done by elderly women) to grave and bizarre ones like actually undergoing crucifixion. These practices come with our culture and are traditionally observed.

One practice my family do during Holy Week is Visita Iglesia. It is a form of pilgrimage, going to at least 7 churches to pray. This year, we went to Bulacan. It was pretty much an adventure for us because we live at the southern part of Manila and we aren't familiar with the province, but my parents we're like "Hop in the van, we're going now."

We took the NLEX in order to get to our destination, compared to SLEX, I liked NLEX better because the line at the toll booth is shorter and you get to pre-pay your toll fee so you don't need to line up when you exit the express way. I also found it wider and the traffic is much lighter. (Rating: 4.5 out of 5)

Anyway, we took the Marilao Exit to go to the Divine Mercy Shrine, then we asked the locals where the nearest church is located. My parents basically repeated that until we got to our 5th church. Then my mom called my aunt who was living at the area, we then went to her house for merienda.



After the chats, we finally headed back on the road. The 6th church was near Plaridel, and we're finally back to in the express way.

The last church was special: It was the National Shrine of Our Lady Of Fatima in Valenzuela City. It was special because it is where my parents exchanged their wedding vows 19 years ago. It was already dark when we got there (around 8 pm) and I was already exhausted. Also, out of all the churches we visited. This was the only church where we we're able to find a priest to perform Confession.


We dropped by my great uncle's place before heading home just to say hi, my mom lived with them when she was still single. Also, we wanted to see our uncle Almond who played basketball for that green university.

I liked how this Holy Week didn't just bring us closer to God by the way of reflection and spiritual healing, It also gave us time to reconnect old family ties.

And that concludes this blog post. Talk to you soon!
xx Ghine