Starting out the year right with a New Year's Day Tridentine Mass

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this blogpost belong only to the blogger and do not necessarily reflect the views of all Traditionalist Catholics, Fr. Michell Joe Zerrudo, his sacristans, the staff of the Holy Family Parish Church, or any of its parishiones. Reader discretion is advised.

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To start the New Year the right way, we attended the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) at the Sagrada Familia Church, commonly known in its English equivalent as the Holy Family Church in Roxas District, Cubáo, Quezon City. The parish priest here is none other than Rev. Fr. Michell Joe Zerrudo, the one who officiated our traditional Catholic wedding at our parish church last September.

I find it difficult to describe the façade. To save me from embarrassment, I'll just call it a unique façade, hehe!

Before I proceed, let me just make some clarification to prevent any confusion (and possible complaints). This church's official name is in English: the Holy Family Parish Church. But the nationalist that I am, I refuse to call Philippine churches by their English equivalents, so pardon me. Anyway, we live in Filipinas where an overwhelming majority of churches have Filhispanic names. In addition, we are not an English-speaking nation (you heard that right — we ain't; just tune in to my other blog for more about this). So it's better if we call this church as the Iglesia de la Sagrada Familia or simply Simbahan ng Sagrada Familia. But that's just me, I think.

So, am I starting out this blogpost right already? :D Anyway, let me proceed...

Jefe surveying the place. Sorry if my kids still do not have proper church attire. We'll buy them a set soon.

An image of San Miguel, about to chop the head of some idiot.

Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, otherwise known as the Tridentine Mass, is regularly celebrated here on weekdays at 7:30 AM and on Sundays at 2:00 PM. Give it a try! I guarantee that you will be mesmerized by its sacredness!

Many of Fr. Jojo's collection of images are prominently displayed throughout this church.

Yeyette is veiled and ready. Krystal forgot to bring hers.

Me and Yeyette have attended TLM here a couple of times. But this is the first time that we brought Krystal, Momay, Jefe, and Juanito with us. It's very far from where we live (remember: we're provincianos), that is why we could only attend Mass here at least once a month. Well, there is the Novus Ordo Mass in our parish and in all churches across the country. But being Traditionalists, we find it difficult, even a burden, to attend it. Personally, I find Novus Ordo Masses vile and even anti-Christian. We do attend it, but only for the sake of our children's spiritual/religious upbringing. Of course me and my wife don't want them growing up going to church only once a month. So simply put, we don't have that much of a choice. However, I caution my kids, Krystal in particular because she's already a young adult, about the differences between the TLM and the Novus Ordo (for a backgrounder about the difference between TLM and Novus Ordo, click here).

Mass begins. Instead of appearing behind the altar, as is usually the case with Novus Ordo Masses, Fr. Jojo and the sacristans emerge from a door by the south aisle as Krystal and Jefe (left) look on. They will then proceed to the nave where they will solemnly march towards the altar.

I've been telling the whole family that in the liturgical calendar, January 1st is the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. When the sermon began, Fr. Jojo began talking about the circumcision of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was then when I realized that Traditionalists follow a different kind of liturgical calendar: the one that was being followed before the revisions done by the Second Vatican Council. So January 1 was the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ, after all. Father Jojo's sermon also made us realize that it was during that holy circumcision when Christ our Lord first shed blood as a baby, "the blood that placates the wrath of God..."

Holy Communion. In TLM, communion by the hand is not permitted, and one should kneel before receiving the Body of Christ.

All hymns and prayers are in Latin. Only the sermon is in the vernacular or English.

The Holy Family Church had its beginnings in 1949 from the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in nearby Barrio Camuning (or Kamuning, named after a flowering tree: Murraya paniculata). The residents in Roxas District requested for a priest who would celebrate Mass there every Sunday. Their request was granted, and it was Fr. Tomás Pacano, SVD, who went there as a visiting priest for the Sunday Masses which were then celebrated under a big acacia tree (where the General Roxas Elementary School now stands).

Later on, Fr. Pacano and some residents had a small chapel built for a more fitting place of worship. The chapel soon became a full-fledged church which was blessed and inaugurated during the Feast of the Holy Family in January 1953. On September 16 of the same year, the place around the new church was made into a parish under the patronage of the Holy Family with Fr. Melchor Barcelona as its first parish priest (1953-1955). Today, Fr. Jojo is at the helm of the parish's spiritual needs.

This awesome photo was taken by Maurice Joseph Almadrones, one of the TLM choir members who also sang in our wedding.

La Familia Viajera with Fr. Jojo. If he looks familiar to you, then most probably he is for he has appeared numerous times in various TV and online interviews regarding the Tridentine Mass which he celebrates. Me and Yeyette are so proud and blessed to have had him officiate our wedding last year (photo by Mao Almadrones)!

Going home. Well, not really (to be continued!).

It was indeed a blessing for us to have attended New Year's Day Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, and fittingly in a church called "The Holy Family". No, we don't claim to be holy, LOL! But this church, named after the beautiful and holy family of Saint Joseph, the Virgin Mary, and our Lord Jesus Christ, was named in their honor and dedicated to them, the "First Family" who serves as a model for all Christian families such as La Familia Viajera. We just couldn't have New Year's Day Mass anywhere else.

La Sagrada Familia.

Click here for more photos!

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TRIVIA: The current parish priest of this church is not only a champion of the TLM movement in the Philippines but is also an exorcist! So demons beware!

Happy 2014 to all!

At the Holy Family Church (photo by Mao Almadrones).

From all of us here in La Familia Viajera, we would like to greet all of you a very Happy New Year! Hope to travel with y'all someday! ♥♥♥♥♥♥

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TRIVIA: The Holy Family Church in Roxas District, Cubáo, Quezon City is one of the very few churches in the Philippines that celebrate the traditional Tridentine Latin Mass.

Christmas afternoon stroll at Tunasán Baywalk (Muntinlupà City, Metro Manila)

Christmas Day this year was filled with surprises!

My sister Jennifer started it all when she arrived as our personal Santa Claus!

My sister Jennifer —we call her Faye— playing Santa Claus to the kids. We didn't know she was to visit us on Christmas morning!

After meals, we surprised her by tagging her along with us to our planned Christmas Day viaje to Tunasán Baywalk in nearby Muntinlupà City! She didn't know that we're leaving that day.

It has been like a tradition for my family since 2009 (the year me and Yeyette both became very active in social media) to stroll on Christmas Day. And we've learned our lesson never to go to Metro Manila, not even to Tagaytay, Cavite, on that day because of the horrible traffic. Last year, we were at Pila, La Laguna where traffic flow to and from San Pedro was a breeze. This year, we thought of going somewhere near yet seemingly far because of the idyllic vista...

Welcome to the spacious greenery of Tunasán Baywalk! Picnics are allowed here so long as you keep the place clean.

Tunasán Baywalk is situated along the northwestern banks of Laguna de Bay's West Bay (because this lake is a trilobate lake, the only one in the world). I have no data available when this place was developed, but most likely it was only during the last decade. There is also a similar setting in nearby Barrio Bayanan. I think they also call it with a similar name (Bayanan Baywalk). We'll visit it one day.

Young but already sturdy ipil-ipil trees (Leucaena leucocephala) line up the paved promenade.

Fish pens and water hyacinths are a typical scene in Laguna de Bay. The nearby land masses beyond the waters is the peninsula of Binañgonan (shared with Cardona) in Morong Province (now Rizal) to the left, and Talim Island (Binañgonan side) to the right. Much further is Pililla, also in the province of Morong.

That's Mount Maquiling to the south. Flocks of migratory swallows are everywhere this time of the year.

Flowery vegetation right below us, floating above the waters of the lake.

The Alas ladies: Krystal, Yeyette, and Faye.

The Alas boys playing like monkeys. Momay and Juanito are right below me. Jefe is trying out another tree. Behind us, beyond the green field, is the Muntinlupa Science High School.

Ms. Jennifer Alas is a top-rate certified public accountant who works for an international bank in Macati. That makes me not just a proud husband and father but also a proud cuya. :-)

Many outdoor activities such as biking, kiting, throwing frisbees, etc. can be done here in Tunasán Baywalk (just keep the place clean as it should be). Or you could simply pass away time while enjoying the serenity of Laguna de Bay and its environs, the largest lake in the Philippines. The only complaint that I have is that the promenade has no benches.

That's Jefe and Momay. They had to be careful not to fall on the other side because the vegetation won't save them — it's nothing but lake water underneath.

It was fun watching the kids run around the grass and climb trees, enjoying themselves to their heart's content as the cool December breeze from the lake blew upon us. These are things that they couldn't experience in our cramped neighborhood. The best things in life are awfully free here at Tunasán Baywalk!

Krystal, Jefe, Momay, and Juanito: our infinity gems. Next year, they will become five. :-)

After several minutes of running around, we then explored this building...

The Muntinlupa Sports Complex is within the Tunasán Baywalk grounds.

At the entrance to the facility, several Christmas lanterns or farol (now spelled as parol) made of recycled products were on display. There appears to have been a farol-making contest held here recently.

We then entered the facility. The place immediately reminded the kids of those basketball games they see on TV.

This facility can seat up to 3,500 people. A basketball court may be the only thing you see here, but the place also can also be used for other public activities such as concerts and political gatherings.

Laguna de Bay as seen from the second level of the Muntinlupa Sports Complex. It was a breezy Christmas afternoon!

We could have stayed a bit longer, but we didn't bring any food. There were supposed to be street food vendors in Tunasán Baywalk. But it was Christmas Day, that's why all of them were absent. So we had to get going early.

Up next, we visited our friend, blogger-historian Arnaldo Arnáiz of With One's Past. He lives just nearby. Arnold has been to our apartment in San Pedro numerous times, but we have never been to his place before. So after our afternoon stroll in Tunasán Baywalk, we decided to give him a Christmas surprise he will never forget: our royal presence visiting his nest, hahaha! We also had to introduce Faye to him because they still did not know each other.

On our way to the old national road to get to Arnaldo's place, I had Yeyette stand up on top of the fault line which is a visible lump on this street. This fault line is part of the scary Mariquina Valley Fault System which which extends from San Mateo, Morong to Taguig, Metro Manila on the south. It runs through the cities of Macati, Mariquina, Parañaque, Pásig, and Taguig. Ours is a dangerous planet, but still, IT'S MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES!

Arnaldo's house is currently undergoing some artistic renovation. A portrait of  La Familia Arnáiz at lower right.

After meeting his amiable Ilongo parents who treated us to a hearty merienda of chocolate cakes and softdrinks, Arnold drove us home using their van. But on our way out of their village, we suddenly had the impulse to visit another Ilongo friend: the erudite and famous historian, multilingual author/blogger, flamenco master, and linguistic scholar, none other than Señor Guillermo Gómez Rivera of the Academia Filipina de la Lengua! He lives in Macati City.

It was already dark when we reached Barrio Alabang and the South Luzón Expressway. Surprisingly, the traffic flow was perfectly smooth. So we reached our "rockstar" friend's home in no time! And yes, he too was surprised when we invaded his room. He didn't even recognize me since I cut my long hair (the last time we saw each other was during my wedding last September). And when we got there, we caught him watching some cartoon show on cable TV, LOL (lo siento, señor; pero tengo que decir esto, ¡jajaja!). We then proceeded to a pizza parlor near his place and had a Christmas Day feast while discussing our favorite topic: Philippine History. Of course, Yeyette, Faye, and the kids had a conversation of their own, LOL!

La Familia Viajera meets With One's Past and Filhispánico! And no, we are NOT in McDonalds. 

We hope that we delightfully surprised you by showing another side of highly-urbanized Muntinlupà on Christmas Day. So trust us on this: whenever we say that we go to off-the-beaten tracks, we mean it. :-) Click here to view more photos of our Christmas Day afternoon stroll!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

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TRIVIA: Barrio Tunasán was once a part of nearby San Pedro, La Laguna. That is why the latter's name was "San Pedro Tunasán", and the oldest cross inside its old town church is called the "Cruz de Tunasán". Tunasán was (probably) transferred to Muntinlupà in 1914.