Along the way, Jay mentioned that he wanted to
hear a mass. Since we were in Divisoria proper, I right away thought of
Binondo church. We had our lunch at a fastfood in Divisoria. Due to
the fact that I was observing a strict diet of less oil and less salt, I opted
for a pasta meal. Jay ordered a chicken meal and afterwards felt guilty
because it was Friday and it was Lenten season. I tried to appease his
guilt feelings that it was a lapse in judgment and an honest mistake on his part.
Hehe.
Just like what people used to say, during the
Lenten season, Manila is free of traffic. Even in Divisoria where every
corner is literally occupied by vendors and shoppers, the season of Lent gives
this place a breathing space. It was my first time in Divisoria at this time of
the year and you can literally sit in the middle of the street (just like what
I did, hehe) because the once busy street was suddenly deserted.
Wow! It was like an unbelievable scene for the forever busiest place in
Manila.
We went inside the Binondo church, hearing the
mass and saying our prayers. I just noticed one thing. Even if the
mass was ongoing, some people were busy with their station of the cross
thing. I found the practice odd because it was like ignoring a blessed
mass celebration just for some to do their thing. I am not holier than
thou but I guess the Catholic church should do some measures in order to guide
its flock.
Likewise, along the busy street of Binondo in
ordinary days, the Ongpin street was almost empty. I had my fill of
sitting on the street, of course I had to be mindful of the approaching vehicle
from time to time, and it was just like doing a fun and crazy thing time and
again.
We retraced our steps in Binondo streets when
we were here last year joining the observance of the Chinese New Year.
And after making several turns on the almost empty streets of Binondo, the Sta.
Cruz church came into full view.
Jay had his confession inside the Sta. Cruz
church but he commented afterwards that he was not happy about it because it
was not observed according to his previous experiences. Most probably
there was no personal touch because the connection was not there because the
priest he talked to is a foreign one. And he likewise confessed about eating
chicken an hour ago. Hehe.
After spending some time inside the Sta. Cruz
church, we agreed to proceed to Quiapo church. We’d been seeing devotees
walking barefooted as early as our visit to Balut, Tondo that morning.
Most of them were already on their way home. We met several groups who
were resting on the sidewalks of Palanca street, exhausted and tired yet with
the aim of the camera, they readily posed for a possible facebook tagging of
their pictures. Hehe.
We went straight to the Basilica of the Black
Nazarene in Quiapo but we were greeted with a huge crowd flocking in front of
the church. It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon and the image of the black
Nazarene just entered the church, hence, a huge crowd of devotees waiving and
singing. I mingled with the crowd and took pictures in the process.
After the Plaza Miranda was cleared, we stayed for awhile and took more
pictures of whoever fancied and caught our attention. Actually, with the
ongoing activity, one may have so many candid shots in his full 360-view of the
place because of the huge turn-out of crowds doing their own thing.
the empty streets of Divisoria
the empty street of Binondo
Quiapo
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