My Share for #BeautifulSunday initiated by @ace108
I love churches as my subject and a handful of you may already know that from some of my old posts. Feel free to check my old works if interested.
Our Lady of the Pillar Cathedral
St. Mary Magdalene Church
I am not a Catholic but I have much respect for the religion, artwork and architecture. For me it is not a matter of religion but what is important is our belief in God. This time during our staycation we happen to find this convent just in front of the place we were staying at.
Immaculate Heart Convent
The weather was cool and the afternoon was perfect. We were in a bit of a rush to take photos of the convent as it was already 4:00 pm and we were losing light. Not much people seems to be around outside and I scouted the place which I normally do and took a couple of shots.
This is from the gate with a humble lettering of the name of the convent. Some tourist would simply just pass by the place and would not realize what beauty it could posses. It may not look much from the outside and may seem to be just a simple convent. For me I always look for places which are seldom visited these places sometimes hides a lot of charm.
Mother Mary of the Passion was the founder of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in 1877. In which the missionaries are present across 77 nations. They are one of the largest religious groups composed of women in the world.
The nuns also sold baked goods in order to help send poor kids to school. I was looking forward to buy a couple of baked goodies and wanted to asked someone about it.
Couldn't find anyone to ask about the baked goods so we decided to go around the place more and check what the place has to offer.
Then we decided to enter the open door at the side of the convent. Never been to a convent and I was expecting the interior was similar to a church. The place was very quite and we were careful not make any noise.
When we entered there was a large locked gate inside and there were sisters praying. Since the side door was open and there were pews on the outside of the locked gate. I figured they allowed people on that side so they can pray.
We left the convent in silence and followed a path going to the other side of the place. There we saw the caretaker cleaning a vehicle used by the sisters. I asked him if we could check the other side just to take photos at first he was a bit hesitant. I told him that I blog about churches all over the province and share it in a community called Steemit. He gave me a blank stare but said it was ok. He offered to take us on a quick tour around the place which got us excited.
This side of the convent is a place that can be rented for spiritual retreats and a quiet place for recollection. There were rooms and conference halls that are available for large groups.
At the back part of the convent there is a small garden where the sisters grew some vegetables. All organic and natural with no pesticides involved which is the best for a healthy living. The good mountain weather also promotes a better harvest for their crops.
A small hut which is a good spot to read a book or pray it fascinated me as there were plants growing on top of it. I thought that the tour was over as we were headed for the exit at the back. The caretaker told us that they had another property at the back across the road. He said we could go inside as the view is very beautiful there. He took us to a gate with a sign that says Private Property.
This is what we saw the moment he opened the gate. Very quiet an no one around he told us that we could spend a couple of minutes around the place. He also mentioned that there is an old cemetery down a trail but it is already late to go down there. Which we didn't want to be in once it gets dark. I asked him why but he did not give any other details.
I took some shots around the place. A lot of trees and a cool breeze welcomed us. We also saw a statue of the Virgin Mary facing the setting sun along with the spectacular view. I wanted to go further down the trail as I love exploring. As were headed down I looked at the caretaker and he signaled that it was alright to go further.
We headed down a bit further down the trail and saw another statue.
Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary
In gratitude to Jesus and Mama Mary, and the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary.
We moved further down the trail and saw a sign which says Cemetery. This is the way to the cemetery the caretaker was talking about which I could not get my mind off. It looked further than it looked and the words of the caretaker came in mind, "You do not want to be in the cemetery once it gets dark". From then I took heed of the warning and just headed back up. Still a bit disappointing but I guess it was the smart thing to do. We do not know what we may encounter along the way especially without a guide. We headed back out and thanked him for the time that was allowed for us to visit the place.
It was a place that not a lot of people goes to in this city. It was a curious place and we hope to go back maybe earlier so we can finish the trail that we started. Maybe talk to the caretaker again if he will have time to take us down that mysterious trail. We even forgot about the baked goods that we were interested of to start with.
Thanks for joining us and have a #beautifulsunday evening. Cheers!
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Also thanks to @bayanihan where the impossible becomes possible thru unity.
All photos are original and taken with Lumix GX85 and 12-32 mm
