The Traditional Egg Offering to St. Clare
Jaz, an events coordinator in the corporate world, keeps a checklist of things to do in every event she's planning. Most noticeable in her list is the offering of eggs to St. Clare at the Monasterio de Santa Clara to help pray for good weather.The Monasterio de Sta. Clara, a popular monastery originally located in Intramuros before the war, is where nuns of the Order of Saint Clare of Assisi (known as the Poor Clares) lead a life of prayer and strictly follow the vow of poverty. The cream-colored church is where by tradition, people come with offerings (usually eggs) and ask the saintly nuns to pray for good weather.
devotees to St. Clare leave their prayer requests hoping for solutions to their from simple problems to miracles Regarding the traditional offering of eggs, Philippine National Artist for Literature, Alejandro Roces, in his book Fiesta, theorized that Sta. Clara's name has something to do with it for the word clara, in the language of Castille, means “fair weather” (particularly during rainy days) and also pertains to the "puti ng itlog" (albumen or egg whites) in Spanish. It translates to offer claras (egg whites) to Sta. Clara to pray for a clara (fair weather) on a particular day.
The offering of a dozen eggs, according to people following the tradition, represents the twelve months of the year though most people who come there wish for only a day or two without rain (if it were without rain in a year, expect a famine)
a furtively taken picture of St. Clare Chapel (this is one of those days when small point-and-shoot cameras are better than bulky DSLRs when misinformed guards are after you while allowing P&S cams)In Rizal's second novel, El Filibusterismo, it's in Monasterio de Santa Clara where Maria Clara entered to become a nun, and died before Simoun was able to rescue her.
St. Clare is the same patron of Obando, Bulacan where the fertility rite performe by childless women while singing "Santa Clarang pinong-pino, Ang pangako ko ay ganito, Pagdating ko sa Obando, Sasayaw ako ng pandanggo." However, St. Clare's life story narrated that she died a virgin and therefore childless. Ironic, isn't it?
Tips:
enterprising people sell eggs wrapped in colorful plastic as offering. letters and prayer requests can be written outside the monastery.
Taking pictures inside the monastery is NOT allowed, but permitted at the chapel
Order of St. Clare (OSC) a.k.a. Monasterio de Santa Clara
C-5 Katipunan Ave., 1108 Quezon City
Tel: +63.2.913.5159
(part of Diocese of Cubao)
How to get to Monasterio de Sta. Clara:
Fastest way to commute there is via LRT 2 Katipunan Station where the monastery is a mere walking distance. You my take jeepneys in Cubao going to Antipolo, Cogeo, or Montalban to take you there also. There are jeepneys in UP that ply the Katipunan route also.
Directions from Makati: take C5 road and drive straight until you reach the Katipunan flyover where you take ilalim where the monastery is located.
From Quezon Memorial Circle, you may pass by University of the Philippines (UP) then right on Katipunan (where Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) is), turn right on Aurora Blvd
Related Posts:
Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage
Our Lady of Manaoag
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Lipa
Our Lady of the Pillar
Kamay ni Hesus
Visita Iglesia Manila
Visita Iglesia Rizal and Laguna
Technorati Tags: El Filibusterismo, Monasterio de Santa Clara, Santa Clara, Santa Clara Obando,Saint Clare
Labels: Churches, Metro Manila, Quezon City
posted by backpacking philippines @ 9:27 PM,
6 Comments:
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At Mar 2, 2008 8:22:00 AM,
pieterbie said...
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That chapel is a nice piece of religious architecture. Fun idea to offer eggs.
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At Mar 2, 2008 4:42:00 PM,
dave (",) said...
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What's done with the offered eggs?
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At Mar 2, 2008 6:56:00 PM,
tutubi philippines said...
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pieterbie, too bad the guard's looking at me already and coming near soi stopped taking pcitures :P
dave, omelet? :P idon't knowreally but heard somewhere they cook for charity. they can't comsume all those eggs offered -
At Mar 4, 2008 9:11:00 PM,
pusa said...
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uy gusto ko magpunta jan kaso naligaw kami ng friend ko =)
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At Mar 5, 2008 3:00:00 PM,
orange said...
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Weeks before my wedding we offered a dozen of eggs. Since it's a garden reception, had requested that there'll be no rain on the day itself. Fortunately enough, it didn't rain. :)
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At Mar 5, 2008 10:21:00 PM,
gizelle said...
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great structure, never seen it before though...
from your post I get that this is the modern version of the pagan goddess of fertility and not of Christian origin. =)
Ironic indeed.
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