I guess each one one us has his/her own sanctuary — a place you go to when you just want to keep still and be quiet. Having to live in a city, I sometimes find it hard to even hear myself think! Even the gazillion Starbucks spread across Metro Manila does not provide a breathing space since they are usually crowded with students and professionals alike. And no, I am not a homebody, so my room does not count as a sanctuary for me. I like the idea of driving towards a certain place that is not home, but feels like home to me. I was looking for a place where I can stay for as long as I want until I am finally able to sort myself out. Believe it or not, I finally found my sanctuary…and surprise, surprise — it’s not a spa, it’s a church! :) Read more »

Posted: September 16th, 2009 under Philippines.
Comments: 36

We have a special affection for Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, the priest who carried the stigmata for 50 years. So many wonderful stories of faith, healing, and forgiveness surround his simple life, with most stories bordering on the impossible. It is pure grace to be reading the stories that surround his life, and I swear, even a full-pledged atheist will find his religion in the presence of a great spiritual leader that is Padre Pio.

My insatiable quest for more Padre Pio stories led me to a beautiful chapel in Libis, Quezon City called The Philippine Center of St. Pio of Pietrelcina. When I entered the chapel, rows and rows of testimonies of Padre Pio’s intercessions for people from all walks of life lined its walls. A cloth from his blood-soaked glove, along with his life-size statue were made part of the altar. There, you can kneel down and write him a letter to empty your heart’s burden. Truly, it is a place of sanctuary for anyone who wants to seek Padre Pio’s intercession, as I have did a thousand times over.

I will soon dedicate an entire post to introduce Padre Pio; I have so much to share about this controversial priest. But for now, let me just help The Philippine Center for St. Pio of Pietrelcina promote their 2nd Grand Pilgrimage Tour to Europe which is scheduled on October 1 – 18, 2008.

The said tour will have Fr. Emmanuel Victor Clemen as Pilgrimage Chaplain. The cost of the whole tour is $4,178 per person, and will have the following itinerary:

Read more »

Posted: August 10th, 2008 under Philippines, Travel.
Comments: 6

The whole FEU-East Asia College community went to Laguna for its annual summer outing that’s why I haven’t updated my blog for quite some time. Apparently, the place where we stayed at has no wi-fi access. I will not bother to blog about the place anymore since it is just your ordinary Laguna resort. Nothing extraordinary really.

But what I do want to blog about is our sidetrip to Liliw, Laguna! They call Liliw as the Tsinelas Country of the South, or the Footwear Capital of Laguna. In this quiet and laidback little town, you can see the prettiest and cheapest footwear in the Philippine archipelago. Lucky for us, they were having their tsinelas festival when we came! There was so much to see and so much to buy! I almost hyperventilated with excitement when I saw all the tsinelas, sandals, and shoes lined up! Imagine, you can buy 3 pairs of tsinelas for only 100 pesos! I was also able to buy dressy slip-ons for only 230 pesos! Oh, I’m really sorry for all the exclamation points…I am really just so elated with the idea that I can buy so many shoes with only 1,000 pesos in my pocket. I vowed to go back there with my husband soon. I cannot wait to buy him nice tsinelas too.

Here are some of the pictures I took: Read more »

Posted: April 28th, 2008 under Philippines.
Comments: 5