Humility, self-sacrifice, unselfishness & to be forgiving

By Al S. Mendoza

THIS year, my Visita Iglesia group started from St. Peter’s Parish along Commonwealth Avenue, Q.C., to St. Joseph Church in Alaminos City, Pangasinan.

From St. Peter’s Parish, we stopped next at St. Raymond de Penafort in Mangatarem, then to St. Joseph The Worker in Aguilar, St. Andrew in Bugallon, San Isidro in Labrador, St. Peter The Martyr in Sual, The Holy Child in Mabini, The Carmelite Monastery in Burgos and, finally, at St. Joseph in Alaminos City.

This was our sixth straight year to fulfill a vow to visit churches before the Holy Week to pray, recall and imbibe the Passion and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We change routes every year.

We were 11 in the group this year – Dante & Ching Fernandez of SSS Village, Marikina City; Fiscal Joven & Elvie Florido of Calauag, Quezon; Liezl Visorde of Calauag, Quezon; balikbayan Tito Laurel of New York City; Mayor Louie Visorde of Calauag, Quezon (Liezl’s father); writer-columnist Sol F. Juvida (my beloved and comadre of Jun Velasco) of Quezon City; and, pilots Roger Madronio and Rey Visorde both of Calauag, Quezon.

Ching is also from Calauag, Quezon.  Dante, her hubby, is from Roxas City.  Ching is the sister of Sol. Tito, who’s been living in The Big Apple for 40-plus years, was in his second year with our entourage called Kapaluhan Group.

Kapaluhan, of course, is a barangay in Calauag, Quezon, that is famous for its unspoiled beach and swaying coconut trees teeming with fruits all year round.  Ah, the sweetest coconut juices in the world are there!

Tito, the first cousin of Ching and Sol, was with us the first time last year, accompanied by his wife, Baby.  Baby missed our Visita Iglesia this year due to a previous commitment.

“After last year’s experience, it was almost automatic that I should be here yearly from hereon to be able to join you in your Visita Iglesia,” Tito said to us last year.

What do we attain when we do Visita Iglesia?

For me, the virtues of humility, self-sacrifice, unselfishness and being forgiving at all times are what the Visita Iglesia reminds me the most.

During the 14 Stations of the Cross when we do the yearly Visita Iglesia, what stand out always – at least to me – are Lord Jesus Christ’s supreme teachings:  1) The proud will be humbled but the humble will be exalted, 2) To do self-sacrifice is to obey God’s command to love others more than yourself, 3) To be unselfish is to always give unconditional love to God’s children, 4) To forgive is the ultimate obedience to God because how can God forgive us if we cannot first forgive?

Our Visita Iglesia was also an occasion for us to visit Mayor Nani Braganza’s pride, the ever-beautiful Hundred Islands of Alaminos, and the state-of-the-art Mangrove Farm cum lapu-lapu and crab culture innovations of Guv Spines in beach-laden, bountiful Bolinao.

Of course, our trip that included visits to places worth seeing (Lingayen’s Limahong Channel, Capitol Building, Sison Auditorium, Training Center, Princess Urduja House) with Paul Magat as our super-efficient Tour guide, was capped by a sumptuous lunch of grilled boneless bangus, pinakbet and sinigang na sugpo at the famous Capitol Resort Hotel in Lingayen.

For that, much appreciation was extended by my group to Raffy Baraan in tandem with Malu Elduayan, the hard-working Pangasinan Tourism officer.  Cheers!

Happy Easter!

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