TravelswithCharie

  Symbolic Keys of St. Peter The Jubilee Year happens every twenty five years except in 2015-2016 which was designated an Extraordinary Jubilee by Pope Francis. The declaration of a Jubilee year comes from Leviticus 25:8-55 which commands the Israelites to count 7 sabbatical years (7 x 7 = 49) and on the 50th year, celebrate a year of Jubilee.  Leviticus 25:10 sums it clearly: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land and to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you.” The central theme of the Jubilee Year is freedom, mercy and reconciliation. Pope Francis knocked on the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica on December 24, 2024. The door was opened and he passed through in his wheelchair to celebrate Christmas Eve mass. The Jubilee Year celebration continues until January 6, 2026, the feast of the Epiphany. There are five designated Holy Doors: St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls. A fifth doo...

Visita Iglesia (church visit) is a Catholic Lenten tradition which is widely practiced in the Philippines. Worshippers may choose to visit 7 or 14 churches on Maundy Thursday after the Mass of the Last Supper or on Good Friday and follow the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross). The Via Crucis consists of 14 Stations which traces the journey of Jesus Christ to his crucifixion and death.   Here are the prayers for the Stations of the Cross:   https://www.catholic.org/prayers/station.php?id=15 Here is a pictorial guide to nine churches for your Visita Iglesia in Capiz.  Our Lady of the Snows, Dumarao Nuestra Señora de las Nieves was razed by fire in 2009. The pink façade and belfry that dates back to 1728 are all that remain of the original structure. Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Roxas City The Cathedral sits in the heart of the cultural heritage sites of Roxas City. The current structure is from a reconstruction in 1954.  Santa Monica Church, Pan-a...

In 2006, it was estimated there were over a 100,000 crosses, crucifixes, rosaries and religious icons on Kryžiu Kalnas or Hill of Crosses near Siauliai in northern Lithuania. The Hill was bulldozed by the Russians in the 1960s and 1970s but the people were not deterred nor their faith shaken. Today more pilgrims come and leave their crosses, laden with prayers and special intentions.  The crosses started appearing on this hill after 1831 when relatives of victims of the revolts against the Russian regime placed crosses here to commemorate their dead. At the end of the 19th century, the apparition of Mary, the Mother of God, brought more visitors to the site. Large and small crosses and crucifixes of different styles have since found its way to the Hill. Some areas are more densely populated with crosses than others. This little shrine has religious icons, rosaries, crosses, prayer novenas and crucifixes left by pilgrims who undoubtedly were moved by the manifestation of faith by t...

Church of St. James the Greater (Apostle) Medjugorje became the center of pilgrimage for Catholics when Mary, the Mother of God appeared in the hills above this town in June 1981 to several young visionaries. She appeared for several days to them to deliver the messages of peace, faith, prayer, conversion and fasting. These apparitions continue to this day on the 25th of the month to Marija Pavlović, one of the visionaries. Here’s her message from April 25, 2022 taken from medjugorje.hr. “Dear children! I am looking at you and I see that you are lost. That is why I am calling all of you: return to God, return to prayer—and the Holy Spirit will fill you with His love which gives joy to the heart. Hope will grow in you, also for a better future, and you will become joyful witnesses of God’s mercy in you and around you. Thank you for having responded to my call.” I started my pilgrimage at St. James. Mass was being celebrated when I arrived so I attended the mass before setting out on the...