Palm Sunday in Our Parish

This morning as usual I got up early in order to be able to participate in the Palm Sunday Liturgy. This Church I am attending is just a few blocks away. I feel blessed because our home is located near two churches. There is the Bigger and More ancient Church of St. John the Baptist However there is a smaller Church near our home. This is the Personal Parish of Our Lady of Lourdes which caters to the spiritual needs of the Chinese Catholics in Tabaco City. There is a small but significant Chinese community here in this city. Their Church - Our Lady of Lourdes is a smaller church though but very near the Mother Church of St. John the Baptist. I usually hear Mass on this little church because of its proximity to our home and because this one is not so crowded. I use to hear Mass on the Bigger Church on major feast days. I posted a blog item earlier. To see the post please follow the link above.

In the photo below, Rev. Fr. Manuel Camu, pastor of the Personal Parish of Our Lady of Lourdes officiates in the blessing of Palms at the courtyard.

This is the Sanctuary of the Church. Before there use to be the little retablo, but under the pretext of reform and renovation they remove the retablo and changed it with this modern looking sanctuary. The Ressurected Christ is at the Center. On the left side is the image of Our Lady of Lourdes, titular of the personal parish that caters to the needs of the Filipino-Chinese community of Tabaco City. On the right side is the image of St. Jude Thaddeus. The secondary patron of the parish, and a well loved saint among Chinese Catholics in the Philippine Islands.