FINISHING THE SACRED

» 2008 October

• • • • •  Immediately after settling down from the trip to India, we traveled to Bacolod the weekend after for the inauguration of the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters Chapel in Talisay. It was, one could say, a complete family affair; with me and my husband Gus was the family of my sister, Marian and K. We took a land trip––that means we rode our cars to a barge that traversed the distance between the port of Toledo, to San Carlos in Bacolod, and then rolled off from there––to the novitiate house that I spoke of in my earlier posts. It was finally completed, and the sisters were so kind as to invite us to the blessing. 

Me and my sister, Marian on the ferry to Talisay

We all decided to take advantage of the situation, kill two birds with one stone. Apart from myself, the rest of the family has not had the chance to visit the site yet, and this was the perfect opportunity; my nephew was home for the term break as well. The trip itself takes around two hours to get to the port on the other side of the city, another one and a half hour on the barge, and still around two or three more hours to get to the mountains of the site. We visited the sisters’ orphanage along the way, meeting with the girls of the centre. 

When we arrived at the novitiate, everyone lent a hand: in preparing for the opening rites, in getting everything for the dinner afterwards ready. It was a little tricky, because I planned for it to be a garden party. The wind was too strong at first for the torches to stay lit! 

Fixing the flowers for the evening’s event!

Late in the afternoon we commenced with the blessing. Even the best-laid plans are not immune to unexpected little surprises, and just as the procession was to enter the chapel, the lights went out. A complete blackout; for the novitiate located in a vast area of farmland, “dark” was literally only a few shades lighter than pitch black! Not to be deterred however, we continued with the ceremony in candlelight… 

The music of the talented novitiates made more ethereal by the glow of candles

…and sure enough the lights returned immediately after the final blessings! Shall we call it theatrical? Maybe. I’d like to think it was nicely choreographed. Apart from that, like all good designs, a little natural wabisabi here and there contributes to a perfect experience.

Photos by K. Batiquin • Gus Palao