We didn't have a hard time commuting because a group of travelers from Davao who hitched us in Bukidnon the day before, were also going to the Divine Mercy Shrine to hear mass, so we decided to commute together.
If we were luckily spared from riding the habal-habal (motorcycle) in Bukidnon, we weren’t as fortunate in El Salvador. There’s no other means of public transportation from the highway in El Salvador going to the shrine except for habal-habal. Waaaa… In my entire life, it's just my second time to ride the motorcycle and I think it's more scary than the zipline. Haha...
Anyway, we were able to hear the 10am mass on Palm Sunday in the temporary chapel.
The real church is still being constructed but I think it will be opened this coming feast of the Divine Mercy. The mass was concelebrated by Polish priests (Poland is after all the place where the devotion to the Divine Mercy originated.)
The statue of the Divine Mercy in Misamis Oriental is considered to be the biggest in the world at 50 feet.
The water that flows through the taps of the Shrine is also believed to be miraculous. People bring empty bottles to collect some miraculous water.
If you plan to visit, here’s the schedule of masses at the Divine Mercy Shrine in Misamis Oriental:
Monday to Friday – 330pm
Saturday – 8am, 1130am and 4pm
Sunday – 8am, 10am and 3pm
There’s also a schedule going up the Divine Mercy Statue. Here you go:
Monday to Friday – 130pm, 315pm, 445pm and 6pm
Saturday and Sunday – 130pm, 245pm, 445pm and 6 pm
I also took a snapshot of the schedule for confession, pray-overs, healing and counseling sessions for your reference. Here you go:
The group from Davao decided to stay longer at the shrine while my friend and I had to go ahead since we had to catch a flight. From the Shrine to the highway, we were spared from riding the habal-habal because a multicab owner/driver was on his way out of the shrine so he offered to hitch us for free. And he accommodated everyone who wanted to hitch. He stopped whenever someone on the road flagged him down.
When we got off the highway and he found out we were going to CDO, he offered to hitch us all the way to CDO since he was going there anyway. Then, when we reached CDO and we were supposed to get off Divisoria to ride the jeepney, I think he was worried that we'll get lost so he offered to bring us all the way to our hotel! Haha...
As a token of gratitude, we offered him money to buy lunch but he didn't want to take it. So I just threw the folded bill towards his dashboard and walked away. Haha... Thank you for being kind to strangers, Kuya!
