A big turn-out of church goers

Saturday has always been the day we attend the 5:30pm mass at St. Clement's Church.

This afternoon the children didn't go to mass with us. They went malling with their titas and cousins. We were a bit late. Nevertheless, we went straight to the usual pew we occupy near the front.

The church was filled to capacity. The big number of church goers was unusual. But then, these were unusual times. The parishioners could be doubly thankful for being spared from the onslaught of typhoon Ondoy.

The priest led the prayers of the faithful. It was specially composed to seek help during these times of never-before-experienced climatic tantrums. The homily was about love and marriage. Frankly, I felt sleepy during the homily. Daw ginaduyan ako. But during my scheduled sleeping time at night, waay gid ako ginatuyo. Ginakibang ako (Do I use this term right? Many times, I encounter terms that were used by my long-dead lolos and lolas, that already sound alien to me.)

Then came the communion. People lined the center and side ailes. Again, communicants were unusually so many. I was about to mention some typhoon supplicants when I noticed the communicants were mostly very young - too young to devote their lives to prayer (Di ba common impression sa mga young people, sa mall sila naga-agto. Mga mal-am kag mga manang lang ang naga-pass their time in the church. Of course, I don't consider myself mal-am. I am not religious. But I like religion, not necessarily Catholism. It brings order to life.)

Then I realized these so many young people were in the church because tomorrow, the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) would finally continue after it was postponed last Sunday, together with the Bar exams, because of typhoon Ondoy. The young people in the church were would-be LET takers (WLT). Tomorrow the BAR examination will also take place.

After the priest said the last prayers and exited, and as the regular mass goers headed for the exits, many WLTs headed to the bigger-than-life-size picture of the Mother of Perpetual Help near the altar, genuflected, and said more prayers. Some placed their hands or wiped their hankies on the glass surface. The scene was very solemn and very spiritual. If I were the Perpetual Succor, I will let them all pass the LET.

The recessional song ended. We turned back to the main door and was about to leave. But we stayed for a while because the front doors were just jammed with people. Many WLTs were there, saying more prayers with eyes closed or locked with the eyes of the saintly statues near the entrance. I was glad the kids were not with us because they always light candles after the mass. This evening, the candles area could not be seen because of the WLTs, five persons deep and in deep prayers before the candle stands. (If you are innocent of this Catholic practice, you might think the WLTs were standing there to warm their bodies before a fireplace lit with candles.)Even if the kids could pass by the immobile supplicants towards the bucket containing the candles, possibly there were no more unlighted candles left.

We went out of the church. There were still so many WLTs, giggling and planning where to go from the mass. Ang iba grabe gid ang Kinaray-a. Garagumo gid. Could be because the whole of Panay would take their LET in Iloilo City. Gani, tanan nga klase ka dialect nabatian ko.

Again, I repeated my prayer a while ago. Pangadi ko nga daad tanan nga LET takers buas makapasa. For a change, daad 100% and passing sa October 2009 Licensure Examination for Teachers. Pati na sa BAR exam. Impossible? When did you say, it is impossible for a flood to reach chest-high in the never-before-been-flooded subdivision where you live? @

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ST. CLEMENT'S CHURCH

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. @

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