Places of Worship

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” -Psalm 95:6

One of the challenges when we travel is including in our itinerary visiting a church or attending mass. So when I put together our travel itinerary, I make sure that I also research the different Catholic churches and the mass schedules. It is a different feeling to be able to worship God in an unfamiliar place. We would even find lots of fellow Filipinos whenever we attend mass.

Jakarta, Indonesia

Since I was posted there for seven months, I really hungered for a Catholic community. My colleagues then were all Christians but we were from different denominations. At first I went with my boss’ family in their church services.

An American colleague who came from East Timor gave me a name of a person he met there who works with the Jakarta bureau of CNN. When I contacted the person I was ecstatic to learn that she was also a Filipino. Our discussion led to where she attends mass and she informed me that there’s regular Eucharistic celebration at Atma Jaya Catholic University, just across our office building.

When I heard mass there, the choir were members of a community that gathers every Friday. I attended their weekly praise and worship and found refuge while I was living in a foreign land.

Eventually, I learned that there was a church nearer to my apartment and it was the Don Bosco church run by the Salesian Brothers. I also visited the Catholic Cathedral in Jakarta, where I spent my birthday praying to Him in the tranquility of the church.

Hong Kong

My sister and I was walking in Hong Kong looking for a Catholic Church and found the Rosary Church. When we got there, the mass would be until an hour later. It was fortunate that just across the church was the Hong Kong Museum of History so we were able to explore the museum and then later heard mass.

Hong Kong

Macau

Since it was under Portuguese reign for a time, there are plenty of Catholic churches in Macau. Some of them are tourist spots, just like the iconic St. Paul ruins. But as we were there in time for All Saint’s Day, we lighted candles for our departed loved ones at St. Dominic’s Church at the Senado Square.

St. Dominic Church

Ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Guangzhou, China

Although China is not recognized by Vatican, we still went to the Sacred Heart Cathedral to hear mass. It was in Chinese but we can still understand the essence of the Eucharist. It was right after New Year so there were still Christmas decors within the church. It was wonderful to watch the nuns singing in the choir area.

Guangzhou

Los Angeles, USA

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is probably the church I have really explored. On my second day in LA, while my friend who hosted me was at work, I decided to roam around the downtown by myself. I availed of the free tour of the church and I was with two Australian women at that time. We went in the catacombs and every corner of the church. Though I was a bit anxious walking the streets of downtown LA by myself, I felt some sense of security when I entered the church.

Los Angeles

Shanghai, China

Since we had a Filipino friend who acted as our tour guide in Shanghai, he brought us to St. Peter’s Church which caters to both local and international communities. We found various nationalities attending mass there.

Seoul, South Korea

At the Myeongdong district, known for its shopping boutiques, stands the Myeongdong Cathedral. Perched on a hill, the cathedral, also known as the Cathedral Church of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception, plays an important role in the Catholic history in Korea. We were glad to meet fellow tourists also attending mass there. We visited the church twice, first to give thanksgiving to God for protecting us when South Korea was, at that time, in the headlines because of a threat of attack from North Korea. The next was to celebrate the Eucharist there.

Seoul

Singapore

Since there is a diverse culture and religious beliefs in Singapore, there were plenty of churches to choose from. You have to be exact though because there are many Christian churches as well. We walked around Singapore’s streets and we finally found the Church of the Good Shepherd. It was a historical district because the buildings around looked like churches themselves.

Singapore

It’s a great feeling to worship God no matter we are. And there is a difference in worshiping Him as a community. There’s a certain peace in knowing that wherever He leads me, He is at the center of my journeys.

Let me share this song:

“With Every Breath”

By Sixpence None the Richer

Hallelujah from the heavens
Hallelujah in the heights above the earth
Hallelujah all His angels
Hallelujah for the last will be first
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord

Hallelujah in the morning
Hallelujah for the beauty of His scars
Hallelujah in the twilight
Hallelujah sun and moon and shining stars
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord

When the night seems so long (throw your hands to the sky)
You can sing a new song (wipe the tears from your eyes)
When you’re weak, He is strong
He can heal your wounded soul
And calm the storm inside

For all your times of laughter
In every hopeful prayer
When the world weighs on your shoulders
Through sorrow and your despair
With everything, with every breath, praise the Lord
Let everything, let every breath praise the Lord
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord
Let everything, let every breath praise the Lord

When the night seems so long (throw your hands to the sky)
You can sing a new song (wipe the tears from your eyes)
When you’re weak, He is strong
He can heal your wounded soul
And calm the storm inside

When God Directs

“And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.” -Isaiah 11:2

Visiting places for the first time is an adventure. There is a sense of excitement and a bit of anxiety. Feeling some kind of fear is but natural and having the right dose of it is healthy. I would always check on the map and the signages, making sure I am in the right direction and not violating any rules.

As it has always been my role to be the appointed “guide” when all of us are first-timers in a place, I make sure I do a lot of research. The rest, I put my faith on the Lord.

Guangzhou’s highway.

I still vividly recall when I first visited China with a friend. We were bound for Guangzhou, which is formerly Canton. The challenge was that not many could converse in English.

One time we had to take the bus. Since most of the signages were written in Chinese characters, where my knowledge is nil, I was trying to assess and evaluate what places the characters represent. With my head almost getting heavy trying to crack my brains, I relied on my gut feel.

A street in Guangzhou.

We passed by eight bus stops and as we proceeded to the ninth, we had this feeling that we were supposed to get down at the eighth stop. We decided to get off at the ninth and asked around. True enough, we were supposed to have taken the previous stop, so we took another bus to the opposite direction until we got to our destination.

Sometimes in life, we make wrong decisions. It may be driven by our priorities, or influenced by people around us. Yet, the Lord always plant in our hearts a sense of unease so we can take the right path.

A child wanders and walks off from her mother.

When I was working with a PR agency, I had this feeling of emptiness in my heart. The Lord vividly told me to work where I can serve the poor. So I worked in non-profit organizations. The time though came when I felt I had to save more and invest in my future. When an opportunity came that offered an Assistant Vice President position in a company, I immediately took the chance. I began feeling dissatisfied with my everyday life. I moved to another company after six months. Now, I still feel something is missing.

It is not a nice feeling but I trust that the Lord wants me to take another path. I may have missed the right bus stop. But He will provide me a way to go back and guide me to the right direction. Right now, there is a longing in my heart to live in another country outside my own. There are many apprehensions but I believe that like Abraham, I should just jump in and trust in the Almighty.

As I was writing this entry, this song played in the background:

“My Heart Will Trust”

By Hillsong

I’ll walk closer now on the higher way
Through the darkest night will you hold my hand
Jesus guide my way
O you mourn with me and you dance with me
For my heart of hearts is bound to you

Though I walk through valleys low
I’ll fear no evil
By the waters still my soul
My heart will trust in You

O You counsel me and You comfort me
When I cannot see,
You light my path

My heart will trust in you

Jesus in little children

“People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.”  Mark 10:13-16

Chubby cheeks and innocent smiles never fail to draw my attention. Such is the effect of little children to me. There is something in them–pure and genuine–that softens the heart. And in their weaknesses, God softly whispers to my ear that I can always depend on Him. In my travels, these trusting faces remind me of God’s goodness, especially when I seem to be jaded by the harsh realities of life.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

The sun was scorching hot, an hour after lunch, and we were on our fourth stop inside the Angkor Archeological Park. What seemed at be attractive about the ruins was slowly becoming ordinary to our eyes. It must be the heat, we say, or the parched land. Or maybe the walking was taking a toll in us.

Good thing we found a small spot where we could sit and rest. There was a small stall in the middle of all the gigantic trees and rocks, offering refreshments to tired tourists like us. Three children were manning the booth, convincing us to buy their goods. We talked to them and they happily indulged. One was the most outspoken, and in her broken English, she tried to converse with us. I asked them if they were attending school. When they said they were, I wondered how come they were out there selling food and drinks. They told us that they didn’t have school that day, so they were helping their parents earn a living.

Though her message sounded austere, she delivered it with a smile as if she was happy with what she was doing. It is typical in third world countries for children to assist their parents in finding income to help feed the family. They should be out playing but family came first to them. Even when they were there vending, it was like play and fun for those kids. After a few minutes of chit chat, we purchased bottles of water from the children. We were refreshed, both by the liquid flowing down our throat and by the positive disposition these children have on life.

Los Angeles, USA

I was walking alone in downtown LA, trying to familiarize the place that I only once saw in magazines and watched on television. I was feeling weird that day. Being in LA should have made me excited but roaming around on my own was not an appealing experience for me. I had no one to chat with and I felt like a total stranger. It was unusual since I have traveled solo before and this was nothing new to me.

Trying to pass time before I head back to my friend’s apartment and to cheer myself up, I entered one of the malls to check out the stores. For an avid reader, I am always drawn to bookstores as if they were some sort of magnet, so I went straight to one. I browsed through the discounted books displayed just outside the store. As I was skimming through the books, a little child, probably seven or eight years old, stood beside me and looked through the children’s books, mimicking what I was doing.

Suddenly, she looked up and said, “Hi, are you buying some books, too?” I told her I was just browsing the books. She was then talking to me as if I was her close relative or friend. There was an ease about the child that comforted me. I was a stranger but she didn’t make me feel one. Her mom inside the store called her and she bade me goodbye with a smile. I went home that afternoon with a smile on my lips and a light feeling in my heart, walking around the city of angels.

Guangzhou, China

The park was filled with people that day. It was a traveler’s delight and I snapped on everything that caught my eye – the old people playing board games, beautiful gardens, interesting statues, and cuddly children running around.

I trained my lens on one particular toddler. She saw me and ran towards me. I laughed out loud, thinking she must have mistaken me to be her mother or adult relative. But as she took her tiny steps to me, she started pointing at my camera, trying to figure out what it was. Her curious eyes were indescribable and I felt a certain gladness seeing her unadulterated expression devoid of any pretension. Does my God delight whenever I look at Him with an innocent questioning look whenever I couldn’t comprehend things happening around me? He must have been smiling down at me as well for He know far better than what my limited thoughts could take.

Dapitan, Philippines

Ricky boy was a persistent child. Since we got out of our vehicle he was hounding us, with his old film camera at hand. He wanted to take a picture of us for a price. We politely told him we had our own camera, and a digital one at that. But he followed us around the Rizal shrine, which housed the vestiges of the life of Jose Rizal, Philippine’s national hero, when he was in exile.

Ricky told us about Jose Rizal. He acted as our tour guide. But far different from those in this business, he narrated Jose Rizal’s story as if he was talking about his playmate. At the end of our tour around the compound we indulged him and asked him to take our picture from our camera. We paid him for it, to which he was grateful and glad.

It was an eye-opener to us. Our heroes are not a thing of the past. They can still live in our hearts, just like how Ricky boy brought to life Jose Rizal through his sincere and heartfelt narration of the hero’s accomplishments and contribution to our society.

Jesus, too, lives in our hearts. These children, and many more I’ve met on the road, reminded me of that. They made me feel that I have a Father who looks after me. Even when I’ve grown weary and, sometimes, cynical of this world, He still believes in me, wanting me to take another of my baby steps towards Him. And when I seem to not understand things, He trades my look of wonderment and fear with a look of hope and determination.

These children may come from different worlds. They have different culture, background and upbringing. But they all have the same innocent faces that radiate kindness and softness that touches the heart. No matter how long I’ve been on the journey or how many roads I’ve taken, these kids will always bring out the child in me, making me feel special in the eyes of my Father.