Thursday, 25 June 2009
Sunday, 3 May 2009
Torreciudad
The story of St. Josemaria is that when he was two years old, he and his sisters fell seriously ill. His sisters died, but after much praying to the Virgin from his mother, St. Josemaria lived. Later on, his mother with his father brought him to Torreciudad (then just a tower, and a small hermitage) to give thanks to the Lady. Much later on, St. Josemaria decided to rebuild and construct a shrine to our Lady.
The Shrine of Our Lady
Left column: top: Mary’s betrothal to St. Joseph, centre: the Annunciation, bottom: the Visitation
Right column: top: the Nativity/Adoration of the Shepherds, centre: the Flight to Egypt, bottom: the Workshop at Nazareth
To the right of the church is the Crypt. There are several chapels dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto, of Pilar and of Guadalupe. There also confessionals (40 to be exact) available to those who want to make confession. Then, there is a Gallery of Marian Devotions. This gallery contains replicas of Marian representations brought in pilgrimage from all over the world. I counted five from the Philippines: one from Cebu, one from Antipolo, one from Lipa, Batangas, one from Manila, and one more, which I can’t remember.
In front of the church is a huge esplanade big enough to house the plenty pilgrims that come on specific days. Actually, yesterday (2 May 2009) there was a celebration for Filipino pilgrims.
Along three coveed archways of the esplanade of Torreciudad are ceramic tiles depicting the four mysteries of the Holy Rosary. Each mystery has its own series of tableau for people to reflect on while praying the rosary.
Outside the walls, and a little down is a small tower from which the name of the place is derived as well as the hermitage which is the original shrine. For centuries it housed the statue of Our Lady until the new shrine was completed in 1975. Along the path there are also ceramic tiles representing the Seven Sorrows and Seven Joys of St. Joseph. Along another path are the Stations of the Cross.
The view walking down
The Tower
Winnifred and IAll of the architecture, ceramics, statues, everything really make Torreciudad a beautiful place dedicated to Our Lady.
Saturday, 2 May 2009
Holy Week in Rome
Way overdue but here it is. We left Pamplona for Rome on the 3rd of April and as the bus pulled out of the parking lot we prepared ourselves for a 24-hour trip on the bus. I was part of the Larrabide group, we were ten: me, Larri, ShanShan, Marina, Emilia, Patri, Isabel, Elisa, Teresa and Clara. But we were part of a much larger group, which was composed of practically all the women in the University of Navarra (and from Pamplona) that were going to Rome.
We started the trip off with a prayer, of course, and then passed around some gummies. Bad idea; I ate too much and spent the next two hours with a stomach-ache. Fortunately, we stopped soon after that at a gas station in the border of France.
The trip went smoothly from there. We watched a film, I read a little, and stopped a few hours later for dinner. We watched another film afterwards but I fell asleep in the middle. When I woke up we were in Italy already! The hours passed by and the journey didn’t feel too tiring. We stopped one last time at another gas station for lunch. We arrived at our lodging a little after five. It was really one day of travelling!
The place that we were staying in was on the east of Rome, way opposite the Vatican. The buses that took us here stayed with us the whole time though. They brought us to the Vatican in the morning and back home in the evening. We had bought a one-week metro ticket so we could use the metro, bus, and tram throughout the day, throughout the week.
The UNIV
We were in Rome as UNIV participants. “UNIV is an international gathering of university students, which since 1968 the Institute for University Cooperation (ICU) sponsors in Rome. Each year, several thousand students spend Holy Week in Rome, profiting from the cultural and historical riches that the Eternal City has to offer. “
The congress itself is only two days and deals with matters relevant to the university. This year’s theme was “Universitas: Knowledge Without Limits.” We attended the congress on Wednesday, and it was interesting enough. Various students gave presentations on the University’s role in a pluralistic society. Marina and her friend, Marta, were chosen (beforehand) to do a presentation on an analysis of the ‘Rosa Blanca.’ Theirs was really good, and not being biased, the best. Aside from the congress, UNIV also provides us with an opportunity to see Rome and explore the pathways of Church history. So for the rest of the week, we were able to visit Churches, tour Rome, attend the masses in the Vatican, etc.
”The first UNIV encounters began thanks to the initiative and impulse of St. Josemaría (founder of Opus Dei). For the past four decades, scores of students and professors have expanded their cultural horizons through their contact with the international environment present in the heart of Christianity and thanks to the special audiences granted by Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI to the Univ participants.”
Opus Dei Gatherings
On Monday and Friday we were able to attend two ‘get-togethers’ with the Padre or Father of Opus Dei. He is the Bishop who is the head of the Opus Dei. It was a very casual talk and he imparted on me many enlightening things. Before the end of each talk, five pre-decided women were able to personally ask a question to the Father. (Due to Opus Dei practices, the get-togethers are separate for men and women.) They shared a short something on their lives and then asked their question. The Father then answered their question, but the audience was also able to take something from it. Though I am not a member of the Opus Dei, I was able to take something from these meetings, including a better understanding of this group.
In celebration of Holy Week
On Palm Sunday morning (which was also World Youth Day) we headed to St. Peter’s Square to attend mass. We weren’t able to get seats, but we were okay. The mass lasted until about twelve.
On Thursday we had mass, not at the Vatican, but at another church organized by the UNIV. After the mass we had pizza for dinner which we ate by the steps of a fountain in Piazza del Popolo. Afterwards we started our Visita Iglesia, the Christian tradition of visiting seven churches to worship Christ. It was a very beautiful night, and I actually enjoyed walking through the streets more at this time of the day.
On Good Friday, we first went to the Scala Santa (Holy Staircase). These steps are traditionally the steps Christ walked up on his way to trial before Pontius Pilate, and could only be ascended on the knees! These marble steps, which are now covered with wood to protect them, were brought to Rome by Saint Helena (mother of the Emperor Constantine) who dedicated her life to collecting relics from the Passion of Christ. It was a tough climb and I prayed the rosary with Patri and ShanShan while climbing up. For the evening we were able to get tickets for the mass inside the Basilica. This mass was kind of new to me, because I couldn’t remember this mass at all.
We didn’t do anything on Saturday afternoon so as not too tire ourselves out before the Easter Vigil. For the Easter Vigil we were again able to get tickets for the mass inside the Basilica. When the mass started, the lights of the church were turned off, save a few backlights from behind the statues. And during the Gloria part, when all the lights came on, it was beautiful. The celebration was really nice though I’ll admit I got sleepy during the Pope’s thirty-minute homily!
We were busy packing on Sunday afternoon so we attended mass at our lodging instead. Before we left for Pamplona, we passed by St. Peter’s Square to receive the final blessing from the Pope. As he ended, the Pope greeted Happy Easter to the people in many different languages including Tagalog; “Maligayang pagkabuhay ni Kristo!”
Audiences with the Pope
We had two audiences with the Pope. The first one we had was on Monday and was exclusively for the Spanish people, mainly because of the group from Madrid that was picking up the Cross for the World Youth Day which will next be held in Madrid in 2011. We arrived outside the gates at nine where we squeezed our way near the front and waited for nearly an hour. The security came at ten, and we were let in. There was a lot of running at this point, with the guards telling us to ‘Please, slow down!’ We would slow down our pace at their words but then start running again the moment we passed them. We made it inside the building and were able to get decent seats a few rows from the font. Once everyone had saved their seats with their bags, there was a rush to stand near the barriers of the aisle, in hopes of touching Pope Benedict’s hand as He passed. It was more long waiting, and as more Spanish people came, the atmosphere got more festive. There were musical chants, cheers and songs. After, well a very long time, one of the Bishops on the stage took the mike and announced that the Spanish people were rude and to return to our seats because the Pope would not pass by the aisle, except in nicer and longer words. In defeat, everyone settled down and went back to their seats. A minute later, in true Spanish fashion, the cheering resumed. But really, can you blame them? The Pope finally came in at 11 and there was much cheering. He started off his speech, but it must have taken him five minutes to say the first few sentences because the audience would clap and cheer after every pause.
The second audience we had with the Pope was a general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday. His message was mostly about preparing ourselves for the Holy Triduum. After the message which was in Italian, he went on to greet the German pilgrims in German, Spanish pilgrims in Spanish, French in French, English in English, then Italian in Italian.
Sightseeing and Churches
Our first sightseeing stop was the Coliseum which we visited on Sunday. After the Coliseum we stopped awhile at the Arco then headed in to the Foro Romano. The Foro Romano was really impressive! It’s hard to imagine that these ruins were once the centre of all busy-doings in Rome.
On Monday we visited the church Sta. Maria Maggiore. Befote going to the Opus Dei Get-together, we also passed by the Piazza del Popolo, and relaxed on the steps of Piazza Spagna.
We spent Tuesday morning in the Vatican City. First we visited the tombs of Pope John Paul II and St. Peter. Afterwards, we visited the Basilica itself, which took up a good deal of the morning. The Basilica was huge, much bigger than I imagined, and each niche and corner had its own interesting story.
We visited the Panteon before lunch then had lunch in Piazza Navona. We passed by two small, yet interesting, churches and then headed to the Trevi Fountain. We had our pictures taken then threw our coins in and made a wish.
On Wednesday we visited Santa Croce en Gerusalenne (Holy Cross in Jerusalem). This church was really interesting. It was built by the Emperor Constantine to house the relics from the passion that his mother Saint Helene had brought back from the Holy Land. Among the relics in the church are the tablet with the inscription “INRI,” a piece of the True Cross, one of the nails, two pieces of thorn from the ‘crown of thorns.’ Also there are a large slab of wood from the cross of the Good Thief and the finger of the Apostle Thomas, who upon his disbelief in the risen Christ, put his finger through the holes in Christ’s palm.
We also visited San Juan de Letran, which was a beautiful church and considered to be ‘the mother of all churches.’ It is the oldest and first of the four major basilicas of Rome.
We spent Thursday morning visiting the various Vatican Museums. After lunch, we walked around and stumbled upon a beautiful park and lake. Some took a boat ride on the lake, while I and the others rested. A little later it started to rain so we walked to the church where we would be hearing mass.
On Saturday morning we visited San Juan de Letran Extramuros. As its name states, the church was outside the walls of Rome. It was a huge and beautiful church. It is one of the four churches considered to be the great ancient basilicas of Rome. It was founded by Constantine I and is built over the burial place of Saint Paul.
All the churches had so much history and great stories behind them, that I can’t share it all here! Rome is really a wonderful city and well worth the trip.
Though I had visited Rome before in the summer, I had a much better trip this time around. I was more relaxed not having to plan out my itineraries or be the one to worry over the map. I learned so much more about Christian history, and all the churches I visited seemed more beautiful. Of course, it was Holy Week and it was much more spiritually rewarding, especially getting to see the Pope. Mostly, I had a great time because I was with my friends, just talking or laughing at the silliest things were enough to make me content. Along with eating pasta, pizza and gelatto, taking pictures, my UNIV experience in Rome was unforgettable.
Now to post up the pictures…
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter to everyone!
How was your Holy Week? Mine was great. I spent an amazing week in Rome, but I'll blog about that another time.
In the meantime, here are photos from Valencia, but I have yet to get the ones from my cousin.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Las Fallas Festival
I left Pamplona Monday evening at around 11 for Valencia. The bus ride was about seven hours, and I tried to sleep during most of it. We arrived in Valencia at 5:30, and it was pretty cold. My cousin Andie picked me up. I haven’t seen Andie in probably more ten years, as she lives in Spain, and it was good catching up. We drove to her place, and went to sleep.
I woke up at about nine, thanks to the loud firecrackers going off every five seconds. We had breakfast together, then I showered and changed, and met her husband, Miguel. At about eleven, we went out. Andie lives to the west, out of the center so we took a taxi to the Old Quarter, where all the craziness of the festival is.
The weather was surprisingly cool, since it was supposed to be warm, if not hot. It made walking through the crowd a whole lot bearable though. The first thing we did was eat! Churros and buñuelos with hot chocolate. Mmmm, so delicious. Then we started to walk about. The streets were jammed pack. While you’re moving, there are people coming at you from all directions. We just walked wherever. We passed by a few plazas (Plaza del Toros, Plaza de Ayuntamiento, Plaza de la Reina, Plaza de la Virgen). I saw many sights, including the Cathedral, the Market, and the Silk Exchange, but we weren’t able to visit inside. Walking around, we saw a lot of the statues, or ‘fallas,’ which is what the festival is mostly all about.
Where to begin in describing this crazy festival? Las Fallas literally means ‘The Fires’ in Valencian, a language similar to Catelan but with its own tweaks. Fallas can also refer to the statues themselves and each of the 350 communities Valencia is divided into. Las Fallas is actually a five-day festival, which culminates on the night of March 19, the feast day of St. Joseph (a holiday all over Spain, not only in Valencia).
The city is plagued with people, tourists and residents alike, immersing in the Valencian culture. Locals open shop on the streets, selling their paella, Valencian music is played everywhere, and the people dress in the traditional Valencian costume. There are plenty of activities going on, from bullfights, parades, paella contests, beauty pageants, food stalls, and street musicians and performers, to name a few.
The people enjoy setting off fireworks and petards anytime, anywhere. However there is one huge one that happens everyday, at exactly 2pm at the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, called the mascletá. This one is not a visual enjoyment, just explosions. A string of fireworks are ignited, and it sounds like a really, really loud drum of a marching band going on for about ten minutes. The sky turns from clear blue to misty gray as smoke fills the air. At night, and even during the day, you are also sure to say many other firework shows.
Each falla-community has a Fallera Mayor, who is the Queen of the Falla for a year. Aside from each community having one, there is also one Fallera Mayor for the entire Valencia. She is the face of the festival; she presides on all major events, makes ritual visits to Valencian organizations, etc. This title is extremely prestigious and competition is fierce. There is also a Fallera Mayor Infantil, the Queen for the children.
Another even that takes place on March 17 and 18, is the offering of flowers in the Plaza de la Virgen. There is a pardae of music and people, as they line up to offer flowers to the statue of the Virgin, eventually covering her in flowers. The wallas and basilica around the plazaare also covered with flowers, and you can smell the carnations from far away. I was able to visit the plaza, and the small really was overwhelming.
Andie and I with the Virgin covered in flowers
Close up of a fallaThe festival is also a competition of the fallas. Not all participate though. From the 350, there are 15 Fallas Especiales. These ones are more impressive, expensive and larger, and are made by the best artistas falleros. These 15 Fallas Especiales compete for the first prize. From the winning one, one ninot, the ninot indultat (the pardoned puppet), is spared, is displayed in the Fallas Museum, along with the previous winners.
They are up for display the whole week, until March 19, the day known as La Cremá (the burning). They don’t all burn at the same time though. The burning starts at about 10pm, starting with the Fallas Infantiles. The winning falla is burned second to the last, and the falla of the Plaza de Ayuntamiento the last. The bigger Fallas start burning at midnight. Like, the Falla Infantil, the winning Falla is burned second to the last, and the one of the Plaza de Ayuntamiento the last, at 1am. For the burning of the bigger ones (usually located in the main plazas), there are local firemen on the scene to prevent the surrounding buildings from getting burned.
I was able to see one Falla Infantil be burned, the one outside Andie’s apartment. At around 10, I heard a lot of noise outside. I looked out my window and realized that they were about to burn the falla. I grabbed my camera and watched from the balcony. I’m not sure about the bigger fallas, but the Falla Infantil is ignited by the Fallera Mayor of its particular community.
Falla Infantil before
Falla Infantil afterBack to my day. At around two, we started looking for a place to eat, but all the restaurant were packed. After walking a bit, we decided to head home first. At least we had merienda so we weren’t too hungry. Andie and Miguel got a list of restaurants and called them up, but every single one of them was full! So, we had a late lunch in a bar/restaurant near their place. The service was kind of weird, but the food was okay. I tried this appetizer called zamburiñas (a type of scallop) with squid, and I also tried octopus! It didn’t really have a weird taste, but it wasn’t super, super good either.
After lunch we went back home to have siesta. Hehe. I slept awhile and did some school work. We had dinner in the apartment, and then I watched the burning of a Falla Infantil from the balcony. After the burning, the children hold hands and walk around the ashes of the falla. (Though I have no idea why.)
At around 11 we headed back to the center to watch the burning of a Falla Especial. We didn’t go to the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, but we went to one nearby. There were a lot of people, but we were able to stand somewhere in front of the Falla but a few meters away. The burning was incredible, really. Fireworks went off, and then the base was on fire. A few seconds later, the whole thing was burning. All I could really imagine was all the hard work and money that was burning together with the falla. To think that they spend a long time thinking, designing, and building the falla and it vanishes just like that. (Well, it takes about 20 minutes actually). But, it’s their tradition though it’s pretty crazy.
Fireworks...
...and it's burning.
Falla before...
Falla after
Me with L'Hemisferic and Palau de las Arts Reina Sofia in the background
L'Hemsiferic by dayL’Hemisferic is a planetarium as well as an Imax theatre. We didn’t go watch a movie, nor visit the planetarium, but this is what it’s supposed to look like at night:
L'Hemisferic by nightIt was built to resemble a huge eyeball, and apparently there are even steel and glass shutters operated by hydraulic lifts that allows the eye to ‘blink.’ Unfortunately, I only found out about this now, and wasn’t able to witness it.
The science museum, the centerpiece, was pretty cool, but I enjoyed other science museums a lot more. On the first floor, there was an exhibit with Superheroes, relating them with Science, which was the only part I really enjoyed. There were a few more hands-on exhibits, but nothing I haven’t seen before. The second floor was small, and about three scientists, which we, err… skipped. The third floor was mostly informative, though the exhibits were attractive. Nevertheless, we spent most of the morning here and had lunch at the cafeteria downstairs.
To get to the Oceanarium, which was about ten minutes away, we passed the Umbracle. I have no idea what it’s supposed to be, but it was a pretty walkway that was free so we passed through.
L’Oceanagrafico was amazing, and we spent the whole afternoon there. It is Europe’s biggest marina park and home to 500 species of fish and other sea creatures from every ocean of the world. The exhibits were divided into sections, like Mediterranean, Artic, Antarctic, etc. There really were a lot of other animals aside from fishes, like beluga whales, walruses, and penguins. Nothing new, but I still really enjoyed. There’s something about staring at marine life that gets me every time. We even watched a dolphin show, which never fails to bore me.
On Saturday I went to the beach with Andie and Miguel. As we drove to the coast, the city had a more beach-like atmosphere. The sun somehow seemed to be stronger, there were palm trees everywhere, and the buildings were not as tall and had a washed-out look about them. There were a lot of people on the beach, but nothing compared to the apparent summer crowd. Though it was cool, there were a lot of people dressed in bathing suits, and a few swimming. It was pretty beach, and we walked up and down the pier. It kind of reminded me of Santa Monica in the U.S., wit h people biking and rollerblading around, eating in the restaurants, or sunbathing. We had lunch in a restaurant called La Murciana, and of course, we had paella. We had to wait quite awhile, but it was extremely worth it! After lunch we had coffee then walked around some more.
In the evening we watched a movie at a nearby mall. Then, we had dinner at home and watched TV. I was pretty tired, so I went off to bed. The next morning, I took the bus back to Pamplona at 11am.
I had a great time visiting Valencia. I got to experience a day of Las Fallas, and visit the wonderful city. It’s a big but small city, with everything: the old quarter, cathedrals, museums, quiet zones, nice space to walk, and on the plus side, it has a beach!
P.S. The pictures of the Javierada are up for viewing.
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
A few pictures from the Javierada...
Some pilgrims on the side of the road.
Me with a background
Lunch break!(L-R) Lorena (Valencia), ShanShan (China), Bea (Madrid), Carmen (Sevilla), Ofelia (Taiwan), Me
Woohoo! We've arrived outside Javier.
After the mass, with the castle of Javier in the backgroundSunday, 15 March 2009
Javierada 2009: Pilgrimage to Javier
I woke up at about 7:30 on Saturday morning. I showered, dressed, and prepared my food for the day. Then Bea and I went down and met up with ShanShan and Carmen from the other apartments. We walked to the parroquia (parish church) together. There we met with two other girls, Ofelia and Lorena. There would be plenty of pilgrims from all over Navarra, and some parts of Spain, and the parroquia helped organize buses for us to take.
The complete pilgrimage is actually 50km, but we opted for option B: to ride the bus and then walk 23 km. There was also a third option, in which you only had to walk 5km. Anyway, by 9:00 everyone was in the bus, and ready to go. We prayed a little first and the priest explained about the Indulgence Plenary. Since it is the Pauline Year, the Pope has granted to the Archbishop of Navarra to grant the Plenary Indulgence to those who, aside from doing to the pilgrimage to Javier (birthplace of Saint Francis Xavier), 1) prayed for the Pope 2) went to mass and 3) confess your sins.
Half an hour later, we reached the point in which we would start walking. So, we got off the bus and started walking! The sun was out but not so strong, it was still pretty cool and we wore our jackets. We walked, talked and took pictures. About an hour later, it was getting hotter, and we removed our jackets. The walk wasn’t that difficult. We were walking on the side of the highway therefore the path was pretty smooth. It was also relatively flat, with no hills to climb. About two hours after we started, we stopped at a gas station to rest a bit and use the bathroom. After 15 minutes, we were up and on our way again. On the third hour I was getting pretty tired, and had stopped talking and taking pictures, just focusing on trying to put one foot in front of the other. We prayed the rosary for a while. The sun was stronger, and it was getting hotter.
The landscape was beautiful: green and clean. The further we walked, it turned into brown wastelands, the jungle, or industrial grounds. Along the roads since the beginning of the walk there were various Red Cross vans to help those in need, and police offers, to direct cars away from the travelers.
At a quarter to one, we stopped in front of Hotel Yamaguchi, with all the other pilgrims, for lunch. By then, we had walked 15km already. We stayed there for about an hour and half, eating and resting.
We started off again at 2, as we were walking we saw an ice cream van. I bought a cone for my dessert and ate it as we were walking. Further, there was also a car, giving away free water (sponsored by the local government of Navarra). The highway was heading into the mountains, the road curving and going up, but very, very gradually, nothing near steep. A little after an hour and a half later, I was getting pretty tired so we stopped to rest for a while. When we got up and started walking again we saw the castle of Javier in the distance. We only had about 20 minutes to walk and we arrived!
It was about four o'clock and we still had an hour before the mass. We rested a while and had a small snack. Then we looked for a nice spot to stay during the mass. After the mass, given by the Bishop of Navarra, we met up with the rest of the parroquia then walked back to the bus. It took awhile to get out, since there were a lot of buses, but I soon fell asleep and didn't wake up till we reached Pamplona.
Today my legs and hips hurt and I have a blister on my foot. I also got sunburned! I spent most of the day at home, partly because of the pain, but mostly because I had to finish a paper. I went out to go to confession and mass, and to blog! It was a pretty amazing experience though I did get very, very tired. Yes, I had fun, but I don’t see myself doing another pilgrimage in the near future. :-)
Pictures to follow!
