On Faith, Family... and Filipinos
Rather than going back to Toronto yet again this past weekend, I decided to invite my family to Montreal to spend Easter weekend here. There were a few things that were kicking around my head as the weekend progressed.
Faith. As with any Easter weekend, I went to a few masses, but much less than I have in recent years. During Good Friday celebration, it hit me that I missed out on my favorite mass of the year, which happens on Holy Thursday... mostly because the choir sings "Pange lingua gloriosi" (i.e. Sing, my Tounge, the Saviour's Glory) during the procession of the Blessed Sacrament. It was really nice to hear the procession during Good Friday when the preist sang the familiar "This is the wood of the cross/on which hung the Saviour of the world."
All in all, Holy Week reminded me of how strong my faith used to be, and how difficult it has been lately to keep it up. But I know that it has to be difficult, because without the struggle of the journey, the destination just wouldn't be worth it.
St. Joseph's oratory, the biggest church in Canada. We visited here on Good Friday before going to St. Patrick's Basilica downtown.
The votive chapel inside the Oratory. That's a statue of St. Joseph.
In front of Notre Dame Basilica in Old Montreal. They wouldn't let us in because they were preparing for a concert. Oh well, next time.
Family. As is usually the case with visits, I was reminded of how crazy my family is. We have such a weird dynamic that I can't stand, with 4 very strong personalities that often clash. So while it's tough being away from home, I don't miss the noise and the lack of personal space.
That being said, it was nice to have them visit me in my own place. Kind of funny to be playing host to my family for the first time. Just another sign of growing up I suppose. It was great to spend time with them.
We had dinner at L'Academie. Look at my dad's wine glass... he took about 3 sips and got trashed. Thankfully, I have my grandfather's drinking genes.
My sister and I outside the restaurant
Filipinos. When we were at the Oratory, it felt like FlipFest 2006. Seemed like all the Filipinos from Montreal (and some from Toronto) were there for Good Friday. The funniest was when my dad saw someone he knew from Toronto who's daughter used to be a friend of Rouel and who was staying with his sister-in-law who were good friends my family friends. Ya, effed up... it boggles my mind how all Filipinos seem to know each other.
After my parents left, I had the opportunity to hang out with my family friend's and their family for Easter Sunday. It was a lot of fun... especially the easter egg hunt (all of us were between 18-30). When I was growing up, I never had a big network of cousins my age to hang out with, talk, meet people through, etc. All of my cousins now are between 7 and 15 years old, so family gatherings with cousins close in age to myself are a completely foreign concept. It was nice to be a part of that for once (and to be called "new cousin Paul"... lol).
At Biere & Compagnie with my new favorite drink, a White Velvet (Hoegaarden and cider).
Awwwwww!!!
So all in all, it was a great weekend.
Lots of funny stuff happened... will post more later on.
Faith. As with any Easter weekend, I went to a few masses, but much less than I have in recent years. During Good Friday celebration, it hit me that I missed out on my favorite mass of the year, which happens on Holy Thursday... mostly because the choir sings "Pange lingua gloriosi" (i.e. Sing, my Tounge, the Saviour's Glory) during the procession of the Blessed Sacrament. It was really nice to hear the procession during Good Friday when the preist sang the familiar "This is the wood of the cross/on which hung the Saviour of the world."
All in all, Holy Week reminded me of how strong my faith used to be, and how difficult it has been lately to keep it up. But I know that it has to be difficult, because without the struggle of the journey, the destination just wouldn't be worth it.
St. Joseph's oratory, the biggest church in Canada. We visited here on Good Friday before going to St. Patrick's Basilica downtown.
The votive chapel inside the Oratory. That's a statue of St. Joseph.
In front of Notre Dame Basilica in Old Montreal. They wouldn't let us in because they were preparing for a concert. Oh well, next time.
Family. As is usually the case with visits, I was reminded of how crazy my family is. We have such a weird dynamic that I can't stand, with 4 very strong personalities that often clash. So while it's tough being away from home, I don't miss the noise and the lack of personal space.
That being said, it was nice to have them visit me in my own place. Kind of funny to be playing host to my family for the first time. Just another sign of growing up I suppose. It was great to spend time with them.
We had dinner at L'Academie. Look at my dad's wine glass... he took about 3 sips and got trashed. Thankfully, I have my grandfather's drinking genes.
My sister and I outside the restaurant
Filipinos. When we were at the Oratory, it felt like FlipFest 2006. Seemed like all the Filipinos from Montreal (and some from Toronto) were there for Good Friday. The funniest was when my dad saw someone he knew from Toronto who's daughter used to be a friend of Rouel and who was staying with his sister-in-law who were good friends my family friends. Ya, effed up... it boggles my mind how all Filipinos seem to know each other.
After my parents left, I had the opportunity to hang out with my family friend's and their family for Easter Sunday. It was a lot of fun... especially the easter egg hunt (all of us were between 18-30). When I was growing up, I never had a big network of cousins my age to hang out with, talk, meet people through, etc. All of my cousins now are between 7 and 15 years old, so family gatherings with cousins close in age to myself are a completely foreign concept. It was nice to be a part of that for once (and to be called "new cousin Paul"... lol).
At Biere & Compagnie with my new favorite drink, a White Velvet (Hoegaarden and cider).
Awwwwww!!!
So all in all, it was a great weekend.
Lots of funny stuff happened... will post more later on.
posted by the5cientist at 12:14 AM
2 Comments:
a white velvet paul? that sounds pretty woossie... you need to have a new drink called black steel, or crimson tide... that would be cool.
but seriously, i want to try this white velvet.
p.s. i MAY be going to montreal in the next month.
David
Interesting website with a lot of resources and detailed explanations.
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