Birthday Road Trip to Kamay ni Hesus

Wondering of a special thing to do for my birthday weekend led us to a roadtrip to Kamay ni Hesus Shrine.  Kamay ni Hesus is a famous pilgrimage site, known for it Healing Church.

It sits on a 5 hectare land that also includes a Via Dolorosa Grotto, Noah’s Ark, Sea of Galilee, Holy Family Park, and the Pastoral Center founded by the Healing Priest, Fr. Joey Faller.

I thought it would be nice to attend mass to give thanks for the past wonderful 41 years and pray for an even more blessed years ahead.

The Healing Church. 

 

We arrived at 10am and missed the  9am. The following mass starts at 5pm anticipated masses during Saturdays (I have appended below the daily mass schedule, for reference).  

Next stop is the Via Dolorosa Grotto, which features the Fourteen (14) Stations of the Cross. 

It was a tiring walk up the grotto's steep (290+) steps, you would literally have to carry yourself to reach the top.

So tired, but we got to look fresh in front of the camera...

Yehey, almost at the top :P

Made it...

The Kamay ni Hesus grounds is truly picturesque, with activities even for the youngest member of your family.  

Our 9 year old,  enjoyed and lingered a bit at feeding Koi fishes at the Sea of Galilee.

I never thought, feeding Koi Fishes will be so relaxing.

I could play this video, over and over again.

Beside the Sea of Galilee is the Noah's Ark.  This building houses accommodation, for retreatants and those wanting to stay overnight or longer at Kamay ni Hesus.

Kamay ni Hesus is a perfect place to rekindle faith, give thanks and seek guidance.

MASS SCHEDULE

Sunday:
7:30AM, 9:00AM, 10:30AM, 11:30AM,
2:30 - Healing Mass
Monday/Tuesday: 9:00AM
Wednesday: 9:30AM - Healing Mass
Thursday/Friday: 9:00AM
Saturday:
9:30AM - Healing Mass
5:00PM - Anticipated Mass

For more information, please visit Kamay ni Hesus webpage: kamaynihesus.ph

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If you are looking for a place to spend the night in Lucban Quezon, you may want to check my post on  Villa Elma (Back to Nature).

Back to Nature at Villa Elma ~ Lucban Quezon

For my birthday weekend, we went on a family road trip to Kamay ni Hesus Shrine (a well-known Catholic pilgrimage site).

As it was quite a long drive back home to Manila from Lucban, Quezon Province, so my husband and I decided to stay the night at Villa Elma.

Villa Elma is a scenic nature park with bed and breakfast, located at the foot of Mt. Banahaw.

We stayed at the Log Cabin.  This accommodation is good for 6+ guests.  There is a room upstairs with a queen sized bed and a sofa that converts to a bed on the ground floor.  There is a small restroom downstairs and full bath on the 2nd floor.

 

Only the upstairs bed room is air-conditioned, but it was okay at the ground floor too, as weather at the foot of Mt Banahaw is fresh-cool.  It felt like we were in Baguio.

The room upstairs is nicely decorated ~ adorned with paintings and other work of arts.

There is also a veranda upstairs.   

Our window opens to this delightful view (Yes, I wanted to take this papaya tree home with us).

Chickens roaming around ~ This is rural living!

It was raining a bit (and the steps slippery)  during our stay so we never got to visit the rest of Villa Elma.   

The cold weather is perfect for snuggling (bring a light jacket).

FINAL VERDICT:

1. There was very little to do at Villa Elma. There is no television and no wi-fi (we brought our own, but signal was intermittent). You might want to bring board games to pass time, if you have kids along ~ A true "no-gadgets" weekend.
2. Villa Elma boasts meditation and prayer areas  and a brook to go swimming, but since the weather was off, we did not get to see these.
3. Weather is wonderful.  We loved the cool mountain breeze, especially when we woke up the next morning.  We felt so rested and relaxed.
4. Food options at there restaurant is limited.  You can bring in cooked food though or go out to buy food or just eat out. Villa Elma is about 10-15 minutes drive the town proper.
5. As you are one with nature, expect to see lots of bugs and insects around.  Though the room upstairs was clean, there were a lot of ants down stairs.
6. The bathrooms were clean too, however, I cant seem to make the hot and cold work.  We had to take cold showers. 
7. Staff were nice and very accommodating. 

Villa Elma
A. Mabini Street, Brgy. Palola,
Lucban, Quezon Province
​

Tel No. +639955045385

Email Address. info@villaelma.com.ph

Website: Villa Elma