happy easter

may your guardian angels be with you always... have a happy easter :D

holy water

i often wonder why there are angels or urn in front of the churches and people dip their fingers into it, with or without water and being a catholic and seeing this practice since i was a kid, i followed this practice, making the sign of the cross after dipping into the water. it is only last holy week did i learn the symbolism of the holy water and according to my research:

"The Use of Water in the Church: The ritual use of this precious substance is ancient and rooted in the Old Testament. When the Israelites entered the Temple, they had to undergo purifcation by immersion in a mikvah (modern Jews still make use of mikva'ot on Yom Kippur, on wedding days, for purification after menstruation or coming into contact with a dead body or semen, etc.). These ritual purifications by water prefigured Christian Baptism, which we recall when we bless ourselves (cross ourselves) using holy water upon entering our churches. Devoutly blessing one's self with Holy Water remits venial sins.

When you enter a church, you might find a holy water font (or "stoup") attached to the wall at one or both sides of each door, or you might find a free-standing font. Simply dip the tips of the fingers of your right hand into the water and cross yourself while mentally contemplating the words, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Don't rush through this; make it meaningful, remembering the meaning of your Baptism and mentally expressing your gratitude to God. Many Catholics repeat this process upon leaving the church, too."

faith healers at quaipo

Faith healers at Quaipo, Manila.

faith healer

Based on old Tagalog movies that i watched, it is told that the "powers" of faith healers are at its peak on Good Friday... according to wikipedia: "Faith healing is the attempt to use religious or spiritual means such as prayer, mental practices, spiritual insights, or other techniques to prevent illness, cure disease, or improve health. Faith healers say they can summon divine or supernatural intervention on behalf of the ill and say their practice may afford gradual relief or bring about sudden "miracle cures."
Took this photo of a faith healer in front of the Quiapo church this Good Friday, and the man uses the wooden stick (see first photo) to heal any back pain and there were people who tried and some said the pain is gone.  The second photo, he used his belt, which is a big rosary and uses the crucifix to heal the pain of the man who claimed feeling pain at his lower back.  

The faith healer proceeded on asking for anyone who feels pain and accommodated anyone who come forward and heal them by using the wooden stick, the crucifix, or just by his hand.  There was even a man who claimed that this faith healer cured him last year of his lump at the chest hence he went back this year to be touched and cure by the man.

So do you believe in faith healers?  

good friday

Good Friday is the Friday within Holy Week, and is traditionally a time of fasting and penance, commemorating the anniversary of Christ's crucifixion and death. For Christians, Good Friday commemorates not just a historical event, but the sacrificial death of Christ, which with the resurrection, comprises the heart of the Christian faith.

Have a blessed Holy Week everyone, and yes i am back posting, sorry if i wasn't able to post photos as i have been busy, hopefully i'll get to post daily again.

yesterday i posted about bottled kisses, here how those circles looked like before putting in the watter, they are too small, really like a sago, and tempting to eat 
note to coriander dreams, this "kisses" are different than the fragrant munggo sized kisses but i do remember those kisses :) will try to find them and see if they still sell that stuff :) 

bottled kisses

when i got home my nephews were busy playing with this candy colored circles inside the bottle and according to them they are called kisses :) according to them the kisses are small circles and expands when soaked in water for quite a time and grow up to the size of a big marble, the texture is like sago and it looks so delicious and tempting to eat, but according to my nephews it is poisonous. i asked them to buy me the small thingy tomorrow because i want to know how it looked like before being put into water. 

shanghai fried siopap

shanghai fried siopao... in binondo

president tea house

president tea house at binondo