St. Clement's Church is like an oasis in the desert of the city. Its serene spirituality and simple elegance are welcome respites in the surrounding chaos. It is one of the three places of meditation near Iloilo that I like to visit. The other two are the quaint chapel atop Balaan Bukid, and the simple and quiet Trappist Monastery chapel with a bare rock as an altar. In these three places, I can really feel the spiritual and celestial ambience a church is supposed to offer. In other churches, I am usually awed by the trimmings - the ornate altar, the hodgepodge of images, the unending parade of worshipers, the mendicants and mentally ill who are supposed to be taken cared of by the government - all make a church visit an ambivalent experience.
St. Clement's is famous for its Perpetual Help novena every Wednesday. Many profess that their prayers are answered because of the novena. My mother would not argue.
Mother used to bring me to St. Clement's when I was a kid. She put on her veil (those days women still covered their heads with a veil when they attend a church service) and we had to kneel on the grass outside the church as we could no longer enter because the church was packed with devotees. Mother was pregnant and she prayed that this time she be given a girl. Already with 3 naughty boys borne in a span of five years, mother prayed for a girl in order not to add more chaos to our house. Every Wednesday she attended the novena masses. After a few months, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. In gratitude, Mother appended Perpetua (in honor of the Perpetual Help) to her new baby's name. Today, my sister loves to hate her long and unusual name.
The Redemptorist Fathers private quarters form the left extension of the church.
Behind the private quarters is the building which was once the St. Clement's College, an exclusive boys' school. After the college folded up, the building was up for rent. It now houses the offices of the Department of Agrarian Reform and the Saviour International College (School of Nursing).
To the right of the church is the entrance to the St. Clement's Retreat House.
When I was a college student, the Sunday evening mass in St. Clement's was the occassion to be seen especially for students who have just arrived from their hometowns. Their clothes were freshly pressed with the fold marks still perceptible. They looked refreshed and healthy after eating homecooked foods as opposed to instant noodles and carinderia fares. Above all the students looked confident because their one-week allowances were still intact with nary a deduction.
Best time to visit St. Clement's Church is from 8:00 am to 9:00 am when only a handful of people are around. If you need to light a candle, there are candle stands to the right and to the left of the front entrance. Candles are available near the stands. No payment are exacted. Only drop a donation, if you feel like it, at the designated boxes.
There are morning and afternoon masses in English and in Ilonggo. @
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
ST. CLEMENT'S CHURCH
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