Manila: Day 1 Breakfast

Slept from around 2pm yesterday (5am Victoria time) until around 10:30 pm (1pm Victoria Time). Chatted w/ my family and then went back to sleep. Woke up around 3am and had some breakfast - left over lechon.


 Went to mass this morning and the priest was late. Mass was supposed to start at 6am but the priest came at 6:15. Today is the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola. What a fitting feast day today for me. My first mass on my trip is in honor the saint who literally wrote the book on discernment.

Anyway, it was good to go to the old Church where I found my faith. It changed since the last time I was here. All the statues had been moved to the upper level as seen in the pictures. On the left are the statues of Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph. On the right are the statues of saints. This arrangement is quite interesting because when I see this, it reminds me that as we celebrate mass, we are literally surrounded by angels and saints even if we cannot see them.


The priest began with this: Ad Majorem Dei gloriam (For the greater glory of God). Indeed, as I wrote earlier, our purpose in life is to give glory to God. After the mass, he prayed Anima Christi which is an excellent prayer:

Blessed Sacrament Chapel

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That I may praise Thee with Thy saints 
and with Thy angels
Forever and ever 
Amen 

After this, I visited the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. And came home for breakfast - corned beef with pan de sal and rice.

Looking forward to a beautiful day today!