My Thought(s) and Prayers

On a bus, a priest sat next to a drunk who was struggling to read a newspaper. Suddenly, with a slurred voice, the drunk asked the priest, "Do you know what arthritis is?" The priest took the opportunity to lecture the drunk and replied, "It's a disease caused by sinful and unruly life. Excessive consumption of alcohol, prohibited drugs, and certainly loose women, escorts and other things I dare not to say." The drunk widened his eyes, shut up, and continued reading the newspaper. A little later, the priest, thinking that he had been too hard on the drunk, tried to soften things. "How long have you had arthritis?" the priest asked. "I don't have arthritis," the drunk said, "It says here in the paper that the Pope has it." Jokes

A shy priest stands at the chapel entrance, anxiously greeting guests as they arrive for a wedding. When the ceremony begins, though, something changes. He steps up to the altar and delivers an incredible speech -- confident and expressive with just the right amount of wit and humor. The guests are laughing, the couple is smiling and for a moment, he completely owns the room. But as soon at it is over, he goes right back to being quiet and reserved, avoiding conversation and keeping to himself. After the ceremony, the groom walks over and says, "Father, I don't get it. You were amazing up there -- so natural, so at ease. What happened?" "I know ..." says the priest. "That was just my altar ego." Jokes

The Manila Cathedral: A Symbol of Resilience   The Manila Cathedral, located in Intramuros, Manila, is the premier church of the Philippines. Its history dates back to 1571 , when the Spanish founded Manila. In 1579, Pope Gregory XIII elevated the church to cathedral status under the title of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary . Over the centuries, the cathedral has been destroyed and rebuilt eight times due to earthquakes, fires, and wars, making it a living witness to the resilience of the Filipino people.   The current structure, completed in 1958 , was designed by architect Fernando Ocampo in a Neo-Romanesque style. It serves as the seat of the Archbishop of Manila and is considered the “Mother Church” of the Philippines. With its grand façade, stained glass windows by Galo Ocampo, and bronze doors crafted in Italy, the cathedral stands as both a spiritual center and a cultural landmark....

Three women are entering the pearly gates. When they got there, St. Peter says “We only have one rule here: don’t step on my chicks!” So they enter heaven, and there are chicks all over the place. It is almost impossible not to step on a chick, and although they try their best to avoid them, the first woman accidentally steps on one. Along comes St. Peter with the ugliest man she ever saw. St. Peter chains them together and says “Your punishment for stepping on a chick is to spend eternity chained to this man!” The next day, the second woman accidentally steps on a chick and along comes St. Peter. With him is another extremely ugly man. He chains them together with the same admonishment as with the first woman. The third woman has observed all this and is very careful where she steps. She manages to go months without stepping on any chicks, but one day St. Peter comes up to her with the most handsome man she has ever laid eyes on. St. Peter chains them together without saying a ...

One bright, beautiful Sunday morning, everyone in town got up early and went to the local church. Before the Mass started, everyone was sitting in their pews and talking about their lives and their families. Suddenly, the devil himself appeared at the front. Everyone started screaming and running for the exits, trampling each other in a frantic effort to get out. Soon, everyone was evacuated from the Church, except for one elderly gentleman who sat calmly in his pew, not moving, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the devil was in his presence. Now this confused the devil a bit, so he walked up to the man and said, "Do you know who I am?" The man replied, "Yep, sure do." The devil asked, "Aren't you afraid of me?" "Nope, sure ain't," said the man. The devil was a little perturbed at this and asked, "Why aren't you afraid of me?" The man calmly replied, "Been married to your sister for over 40 years" Jok...

A church was infested with cockroaches. The priest tried setting traps, but no matter how many he caught, there were always more cockroaches. Eventually the priest called for an exterminator, who fumigated the whole building. But the next day the cockroaches were back. Finally seeing no other options, the priest gathered all the cockroaches together and baptized them, so now they only show up at Christmas and Easter. Jokes

A bar opened near a church. The church prayed daily against the business. Days later the bar was struck by lightning and burned to ashes. The bar owner sued the church's priests because he said the fire was the result of their prayers. The church denied all responsibility. So the judge commented: "It's difficult to decide the case because here we have a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church that does not believe in it!" Jokes

  Spain colonized the Philippines for more than three centuries, and one of its most enduring legacies is Catholicism. The faith became deeply woven into Filipino culture, shaping traditions, rituals, and everyday expressions of devotion. Traditional prayers and novenas in Filipino contains some Spanish and other foreign phrases that may not be familiar with young audiences like in Panalangin para sa mga Kaluluwa . It may also contain deep Tagalog words that is not commonly used but seen or heard in prayers. Here are some of the phrases and their translations or meaning: Spanish: Bendito alabado - means "blessed and praised" or "mapagpala at pinupuri" in Filipino Ave Maria Purisima sinfricado consivido - means "Hail Mary Most Pure, conceived without sin" or "Aba Mariang Lubhang Malinis, ipinaglihing walang kasalanan" in Filipino Latin: Corpus Christi - means "body of Christ" or "katawan ni Kristo" in Filipin...

  Visita Iglesia is a cherished Roman Catholic Lenten tradition in the Philippines, where the faithful visit at least seven churches, most commonly on Maundy Thursday. In each church, pilgrims pray two Stations of the Cross ( Pray the Station of the Cross ) , completing all 14 stations of the Via Crucis as a way of walking with Christ in His Passion. Traditionally, this devotion begins after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper and may continue into Good Friday, sometimes involving long and prayerful journeys across towns and cities.   The seven churches symbolizes the seven sacred locations associate with Jesus' trials: Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus before Annas Jesus before Caiphas, the High Priest Jesus before Pilate Jesus before Herod Jesus before Pilate again Jesus's crucifixion and death in Golgotha   More than a physical pilgrimage, Visita Iglesia is a spiritual offering of time and sacrifice, a way of uni...

An old Irishman came into a bar every Saturday and ordered three pints of beer. One day, the bartender asked, “Why do you always order three at once?” “Oh, one is for me, one is for my brother in Chicago, and one is for my brother in Sydney.” The bartender said, “What a lovely way to have drinks together, even though you’re miles apart!” One day the man came into the bar and asked for two pints. “I’m very sorry for the loss of your brother,” said the bartender solemnly. “Oh, my brothers are fine,” said the man. “But I gave up drinking for Lent.” Jokes

At the pearly gates, St. Peter greets a bus driver and a priest. He hands the bus driver a golden robe and a mansion, then turns to the priest and gives him a modest robe and a small cottage. The priest was shocked and asked “Wait, I preached every Sunday! Why does the bus driver get more?” St. Peter replies: “Yes, but when you preached, people slept. When he drove, people prayed!” Jokes

A man dies and finds himself at the gates of the afterlife. He’s told he has a choice: Heaven or Hell. Curious, he asks to see Heaven first. He’s taken to a serene, cloud-filled place where everyone is calm, quiet, and… well, a little boring. Nothing but harp music and endless peace. Then he checks out Hell. To his surprise, it looks amazing — beautiful landscapes, lively parties, endless drinks, people laughing and enjoying themselves. It feels vibrant and full of energy. He’s given one day to decide. After thinking it over, he says, “Heaven seems dull. I’ll go with Hell.” The next day, he’s escorted to Hell for good. But when he arrives, everything has changed—flames, suffering, torment everywhere, people crying for help. Shocked, he turns to the Devil and asks, “What happened? Yesterday it was paradise!” The Devil smiles and replies: “Oh, yesterday we were campaigning. Today you voted.” Jokes

A man died and was waiting in line to get into Heaven. He was third in line and overheard St. Peter talking to the other souls. "What were you in life?" St. Peter asked one man. "I was a personal injury lawyer," came the reply. "Well, come with me," said St. Peter. "I will show you to your quarters." And he led the man to a luxurious palace, more glorious than anything on earth. St. Peter returned to the line and asked the next man what he did in life. The man replied, "In life, I was Pope John Paul II." St. Peter said, "Let me show you to your quarters," and led the Pontiff to a tiny shack made of the basic materials imaginable. When St. Peter returned to the line the man started shouting. "That isn't fair! That was the Pope, and you put him in a terrible house, while some nobody of a lawyer gets the finest palace imaginable! This just doesn't seem right." St. Peter shrugged, "What can I say?...

A man goes into a confession booth in Germany... He says, "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned; my last confession was 5 years ago." The priest responded, "What is your sin, my child?" The man replies, "During World War II, I took a Jewish man and hid him in my attic." The priest them exclaims, "Good sir, that is not a sin at all. That was a righteous burden you took upon yourself. You should be proud of your actions." The man hesitated for a moment and said, "Well... I had him pay rent." The priest simply stated, "That isn't the most Christian thing to do; however, it is not a sin." The man then smiled, feeling cleared of all wrong doing. He got up to leave, but then paused once more and said, "Father?" "Yes, my child?" "Do I have to tell him that the war is over?" Jokes

At the airport after getting the Pope's luggage loaded into the limousine, the driver notices the Pope is still standing on the curb. The driver asked, "Excuse me, Your Holiness, would you please take your seat so we can leave?" "Well, to tell you the truth," says the Pope, "They never let me drive at the Vatican, and I'd really like to drive today." "I'm sorry, Your Holiness, but I cannot let you do that. I'd lose my job! What if something should happen?!" protests the driver. "Who's going to tell?" says the Pope with a grin. Reluctantly, the driver gets in the back as the Pope climbs in behind the wheel. The driver quickly regrets his decision when, after exiting the airport, the Pontiff floors it, accelerating the limo to 205 kph. "Please slow down, Your Holiness," pleaded the worried driver, but the Pope keeps the pedal to the metal until they hear sirens. "Oh, dear Lord, I'm going ...

Hello everyone, This website contains Catholic prayers, views and general information. My main motivation in creating this website is to park the prayers and novenas we usually say particularly for our dearly departed during their birthdays and death anniversaries. We have printouts of those novenas, though sometimes forget the copies or worse lose it. This website will make them accessible anywhere and paperless provided there is internet connection. I may post my thoughts as well, and add some trivia. The collection may be in English and Filipino language. I hope this website would be useful and you may bookmark this site.