2016-08-23 London to Victoria

We checked out early from the hotel because we had an early flight. It was sad to leave my daughter. But I know that God will protect her.

The flight home was uneventful, except that we were at the tarmac for about an hour. Heathrow airport is very busy. There's probably one touch down or take off every minute. This delay caused us to miss our connecting flight to Victoria. Fortunately, there were vacant seats so we were able to catch the next flight home.

2016-08-22 London: Feast of Mary the Queen

Today is the birthday of my daughter. We went to the Cathedral again for Latin mass. It feels different when the mass is in Latin. It sounds so elegant. I was able to spend some time in the Cathedral to pray and walk around.

2016-08-21 Tower of London

We attended mass at the Cathedral quite early. This is the mosaic above the main altar. It shows Jesus and the twelve apostles.

 After mass, we had breakfast at the Victoria station and then went to the Tower of London. When people speak of the Tower of London, I had always imagined it being a prison. I thought to myself that it would be a waste of time just to look at a prison.

2016-08-20 Northampton to London

We arrived in London from Northampton after a 2 hour trip by taxi. I am amazed at how the taxi managed to fit 5 people plus luggages. We arrived at our hotel which is close to the airport. One of the pluses of the location is that the bus ride from the hotel to the airport is free.

2016-08-18 to 2016-08-19 Northampton

Day began with a mass. This time, my son and I decided to go to St Gregory, another Church close to my daughter's place. It was raining so we walked through the rain. It is about half an hour's walk.

2016-08-17 Northampton

We went to mass at the Sacred Heart Church in Northampton. It is at Weston Favel, very close to the shopping mall of that area. It is a strange church because it is designed as a pyramid. But then, mass is mass.

2016-08-15 to 2016-08-16 Lourdes to Paris to London to Northampton

We checked out at 9pm Aug 15 from the hotel. It was a strange time to check out. We later learned we could have saved one day if we checked out earlier and left our baggage with the hotel until we are ready to take the train at night. Lesson learned.

2016-08-15 Assumption at Lourdes

This is it. It is the Great Feast of the Assumption, where Catholics believe God took Mary to heaven body and soul. This is the hope we also have, that one day, we will join God and Mary and all the saints, body and soul, and see him face to face. This is our destiny and because Mary has gone before us, this gives us hope that we too will share this fate.

2016-08-14 Sunday at Lourdes: God in the Midst of our Suffering

Early morning, we went to the Filipino mass at the chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows.I did not know there are a lot of chapels in the grounds and this is one of them. We had to option of going to the English mass which was at I think 9:00 but we opted to come to this early one to get a good head start.

2016-08-13 Paris to Lourdes

Early morning, we left Paris for Lourdes. We took the train for a six hour trip. It was a comfortable trip. Once there, we checked in to the hotel and went to the pilgrimage site. Disney advertises its theme park as the happiest place on earth. For me, Lourdes is the happiest place on earth.

2016-08-12 Louvre and Notre Dame

I did not know why there was a need to get to the Louvre very early the next day. We lined up and as soon as the museum opened, there was a mad dash into the museum.

Louvre: The World's Largest Museum

2016-08-11: Rome to Paris (Feast of St Clare)

We left Rome after we checked out from the hotel. We were to fly from Rome to Paris. Instead of taking a taxi, we decided to take the Metro to the airport. The plane ride was uneventful until we reached the hotel.

View of the Eiffel Tower from the Plane

2016-08-10 Rome: The Pilgrimage continues (Feast of St Lawrence)

Today is the feast of St Lawrence the Deacon. I wanted to go to the church dedicated to him, but due to scheduling issues, we had to cancel that trip. In any case, we began our trip to the St Maria in Vallicella Church where St Philip Neri's body is buried.

2016-08-09 St Paul's Outside the Walls, the Coliseum and Dinner

After lunch we went to St Paul Outside the Walls. I really, really love St Paul because his writings taught me a lot about Jesus and I really, really wanted to go to the place where he died. it is a far ride from the Vatican but taking the Metro was not a problem.

2016-08-09 St Peter's Basilica and Lunch (Feast of Jean Vianney)

Today is the feast of St Jean Vianney, the patron of priests. I went to mass at the chapel and they do the mass in an interesting way. First of all it was in Italian. I followed the mass because I know the parts of the mass. This is the beauty of the Catholic Church that wherever one is, it is still the same Lord and liturgy.

2016-08-08 Northampton to Rome

Our trip begins by bus from Northampton to Rome. We go to the Lutton airport to go to Rome. The bus depot is simple but quite efficient.
The bus was quite comfortable.

Lights of Rome from the Plane

I am amazed at the Lutton airport. It is under renovation but extremely usable.

We boarded the plane and got to Rome around 9:30 pm. Looking outside the plane, I see Rome at night. I jokingly told my son to imagine how St Paul felt when he first saw the lights at night. Of course, it was totally different when St Paul arrived.

In any case, we got through the border and got a taxi. I realize immediately how disadvantaged I am since I cannot speak Italian. Yes, it is good to know several languages, unfortunately, I did not learn Italian.

We found a taxi without problems, but as we exited the airport, there was a 4 car pile up on the highway. We had to back up and take another route. We arrived at the place where we booked Don Giovanni Calabria. It turns out this is an accomodation operated by the order founded by St Giovanni Calabria. They take care of disabled persons and perhaps the income they get is used for their ministry.

Chapel in the accommodations

The facilities are clean, not luxurious but for the cost, it is worth it. They have a chapel on the ground floor where mass and morning prayers are celebrated every day which is convenient for those who seek spiritual nourishment in their pilgrimage.

Breakfast is provided which is a welcome bonus. It is also a few minutes from the Metro terminal so it is extremely convenient.

On to Vatican City

2016-08-07 Northampton Cathedral and Downtown

This is Sunday and there's nothing much to do except go to mass, go to town centre and then get much needed sleep. After mass, we went to the race course which has been converted to a park. The weather was nice and despite it being sunny, the breeze was quite strong.

2016-08-06 Northampton Cathedral (Feast of Transfiguration)

We arrived Saturday, the Feast of the Transfiguration and since I have not gone to mass, we went to the anticipated mass for Sunday.

Northampton Cathedral Main Altar

The Cathedral is about half an hour walk from my daughter's place. It is an old cathedral dedicated to St Thomas Becket and our Lady.

St Thomas Becket was the Archbishop of Canterbury and was murdered in 1119 when he got into conflict against Henry II over the rights of the Church. Apparently, he came to exile in Northampton.

St Thomas Becket

My first impression of the Cathedral is that it is a nice church for a small community. It has history and it has an old style look. The altar and the backdrop of the altar looks interesting. The statues of our Lady and St Thomas adorn the two front pillars of the church. It is interesting that St Thomas' statue has a sword running through his head. I would guess this was how he died.

The cathedral also has a side chapel where the Tabernacle is kept. It is quite handy because one can adore the Lord quietly. One of the things that I find interesting is the pillars of the church has faces of saints carved into the pillar I am not sure who those faces are.

Side chapel of the Eucharist

The Anticipated mass was simple. There were not a lot of people who attended. After the mass, my son and I went to the town centre. We walked through the streets and saw an old Catholic church dating back to 1100's which was taken over during the Henry VIII split with the Church.

The town centre is what a small town centre would look like. Interesting is there is a church whose courtyard has a coffee shop. It is an Anglican church.

2016-08-05 Off to the UK (Feast of Mary Major)

We are off to the UK. Our flight leaves in the afternoon so I had some time to wind up some things in the office. Looking at the calendar for the coming days, there's plenty of feast days. Tomorrow is Transfiguration, Jean Vianney is August 9, Lawrence the Deacon is August 10, St Philomena is August 11, St Clare is August 12, St Maximillan Kolbe August 14, Assumption on the 15th. Looks like a nice season to travel with the saints and our Lady.