A Trip Down Memory Lane: St. Ignatius Cathedral, Camp Aguinaldo

My husband and I visited Camp Aguinaldo last week and while we were there, we grabbed the opportunity to attend the Eucharistic celebration at 12 o'clock in the St. Ignatius Cathedral - a cathedral very dear to my heart. 

I am a military brat by the way so this cathedral was where I grew up in as a little Catholic. This was also where my parents got married, back when it was still a chapel.

The St. Ignatius Cathedral in Camp Aguinaldo

Walking down the aisle.

The dome of the Cathedral.

The patron saint of this Cathedral is St. Ignatius of Loyola, who is the patron saint of soldiers. St. Ignatius, I believe, was also a soldier or a knight who was brought into conversion while recuperating from battle. After his conversion, he left his military life and became part of the clergy. Later, he founded the Society of Jesus also known as the Jesuits.

St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Patron Saint of Soldiers.

Upon entering the Cathedral, many flashbacks came to mind like our children's choir days, doing parish involvement for school, and celebrating mass with my family. We did our best to attend Sunday mass together as a complete bunch. It was very rare that one was absent. If there was anyone absent, it would probably be my dad when he was assigned in far-flung areas as a soldier. One of my vivid memories of going to Mass with my dad, a memory that I share with one of my siblings, is that dad always wanted the aisle seat. 

This is where our family used to sit during mass.

The cathedral has evolved in many ways from starting off as a little chapel. Now it is bigger, the designs are more beautiful, and there is air-conditioning. But what I love most about it are the beautiful stained glass windows which surround the cathedral. My favorite is that of the Sacred Heart of Jesus since it reminds me of His unending mercy and desire to forgive us if we just approach Him.

Stained glass of the Sacred Heart of Jesus image.

Another new inspiration I found in the cathedral is the image of St. Therese of Lisieux. She is one my patron saints because of two things, her value for the little and humble things/ actions and her full offering of herself to God.

 

I love these two quotes from her:

"Do Small Things with Great Love."

and

"You cannot be half a saint; you must be a whole saint or no saint at all."

 

I wish you could come visit this cathedral. The entrance of the camp is at Gate 6 in Boni Serrano street, Quezon city. You may ask the soldiers at the entrance how to get to the cathedral. Also, here is the schedule poster of the Holy Eucharist, Sacraments, and Devotions held at the cathedral:

God bless you! :)

The Catholic Chic

Antipolo Road Trip: Parish of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

"Turn left"

My GPS beeps as we slow down along J.P. Rizal street to turn to Daang Bakal Road, Hinulugang Taktak.

It was my first time to bring my husband to this place and I am nothing short of excited. I have been brought along this path by my parents on a road trip before. And once I've seen where we were headed, I knew I had to bring him here someday with me.

We stopped along a sign that said Parish of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We've reached our destination.

We parked our car on a vast lot at the far right of the compound and we walked towards one of my favorite modern churches in the country.

What sets this church apart from other structures is that it's mostly made of steel and glass. 

Based from my observations, it is one of the most green churches ever built. It utilizes natural sunlight in the daytime and has a cool atmosphere due to the open slots in between glass panels. It uses very minimal electricity because of its design.

Walking down the aisle

Beside the parish is a lengthy man-made prayer pathway which serves as a venue for meditation and praying of the rosary. 

Each joyful, sorrowful, glorious, and light rosary mysteries has its respective stations. A total of 20 stations of the rosary.  

My husband and I walked the path together and it truly was a peaceful and calm place of refuge. 

The path is lined with various flowers and vegetation. There are also benches for those who get tired of walking or standing.

When we visited the area, it was just struck a few days earlier by typhoon Rammasun (Glenda). Some of the parishoners decided to volunteer their time to maintain the place. I salute you dear volunteers!  

The typhoon has damaged the bamboo vegetation lining the pathway.

After this trip, I realized that the Philippines has so many awesome church structures! This is just but one of them and there are so many more. If you want me to write about a specific church you love, by all means please leave a comment.

If you want to visit this parish and you're coming from Ortigas, Metro Manila, here is the path we used: 

From Ortigas Avenue Extension, turn left to P. Oliveros street, then turn left to J.P. Rizal street, and finally turn left to Daang Bakal Road, Hinulugang Taktak. Keep right on this highway and later on, you will find the parish on your left.  

I hope you enjoy your future visit to the Parish of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Cheers to more awesome road trips! Have a safe drive and God bless you! 

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Want more places to go to? Check out this awesome shrine at San Miguel, Bulacan from my sister blog JacqWritesWorld.