Cruz Mayor & Murok, Zamboanga City 2014

This is Mount Pulong Bato in Zamboanga City which cradles the Cruz Mayor where devotees flock during the Lenten season.

From Wikipedia:

Mount Pulong Bato is a monolith located inZamboanga City at the Zamboanga Peninsula, the western tip of the island ofMindanao in the Philippines. The mountain is situated in the Upper Abong-Abong Park, in Barangay Pasonanca, only a few kilometers away from the city's downtown section.

Geology

Pulong Bato became infamous because when thePhilippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology(PHIVOLCS) confirmed the mountain is a volcano which is unknown to most people. What is unusual about the mountain is, unlike the other mountains surrounding the city, only Mt. Pulong Bato is made from solid rock. 

According to PHIVOLCS, the volcano is an Intrusion type of volcano meaning it was formed within earth's crust. Magma was pushed from the beneath the earth surface but did not come out through an eruption like a typical volcano (Extrusion). The magma eventually solidified while it is still enclosed by softer rocks, which was later exposed by erosion or weathering, a process that could take thousands of years.

Holy Week observance

The mountain is near the premises of the famous Abong-Abong Park, where both domestic and foreign catholic devotees pilgrimage annually during Holy Week to observe the holiday and meditate.

We also view the panorama of Zamboanga City where we appreciate the  Great Sta. Cruz Island, the. Little Sta. Cruz Island as well as Basilan Island in the horizon.

We thank all those who organize runs to the Mt. Pulong Bato and Murok areas because more and more people are now exposed to the beauty of Zamboanga City and the Zamboanga City Panorama!

Zamboanga City is indeed beautiful!

P.S.

Here are my older posts on Lent at Cruz Mayor, Abong-Abong and Murok, Zamboanga City which you may want to read through!
PLEASE CLICK ANY OR ALL OF THESE LINKS:

Cruz Mayor of Abong-Abong, Pasonanca @ Lent 2011

Cruz Mayor of Abong-Abong, Pasonanca @ Lent 2011 Part 2
Zamboanga City Panorama @ January 2012

Lent: Cruz Mayor in Abong Abong @ April 2012

Sunrise in Zamboanga City @January 2013
Lent: Cruz Mayor @ April 2014

LENT: CRUZ MAYOR @ APRIL 2014

It is Holy Thursday 2014 today. 

During Holy Thursday, many Catholic devotees flock to the Abong-abong (Pasonanca) Stations of the Cross and reaching all the way up to the Cruz Mayor.

People of all ages do their sacrifice through a long walk from the Pasonanca or the Tumaga side.

Mount Pulong Bato (where the Via Crucis and the Cruz Mayor
 are situated and Muruk is the adjacent mountain

At about 1 pm, we were on our way to Murok (the other way). I see Mt. PulongBato from afar. The very minute white speck is actually the Crus Mayor!

There weren't so many people in Abong-abong yet!

The sun is sunny and the weather is fine.
There weren't so many devotees yet at the Cruz Mayor.

 

At night.
We went down at night and we saw so many devotees walk all the way to Abong-Abong.
Since it was one-way, we have to go in through Pasonanca and go out through the Tumaga side.

This is at the Tumaga side at about 10 p.m. Most are young people but we also see folks carrying their babies and kids. There are older people who also keep their devotion.

The devotees walking towards Abong-Abong

On our way back, we passed by the Pasonanca side.

This is the view as we go to Pasonanca...
we already see the lights of the Via Crucis and the Cruz Mayor.
The other mountain with lights is Muruk!

This is at the Abong-Abong side, where we see many devotees...young and old alike... some are still on the way and some are already done! 

This is close to the Helmet and many are just sitting by the steps
 leading to the Helmet (missed the shot) and
the pictures below lead towards the Boy Scout Camp.

It is almost midnight and there are many people at this time...

The Cruz Mayor now shows more activity, although, I feel there are less devotees than last year!

Cruz Mayor at night

After the Via Crucis and reaching the Cruz Mayor, people gather at the Boy Scout Camp Grounds in Abong-Abong/Muruk to rest, to bond and others really stay overnight.

It is now time to post where they are last Holy Thursday!
Do you see the bright lights of the cellphones and the tablets!?!

It is Good Friday at about 6:30 a.m. and the sun is up!

I feel the crowd still not as dense as in the prior years.

But what is important is our own individual call for prayer and sacrifice during the Lenten Season.

Have a Blessed Lenten Season!

P.S.

Here are my older posts on Lent at Abong-Abong and Murok, Zamboanga City.

Cruz Mayor of Abong-Abong, Pasonanca @ Lent 2011

Cruz Mayor of Abong-Abong, Pasonanca @ Lent 2011 Part 2

Lent: Cruz Mayor in Abong Abong @ April 2012

Sunrise in Zamboanga City @January 2013

LENT: CRUZ MAYOR IN ABONG-ABONG, ZAMBOANGA CITY @ APRIL 2012

We now celebrate Lent.

I got this excerpt from Wikipedia, just to share about Lent. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent

Lent (Latin: Quadragesima, "fortieth"^[1]) is an observance in the liturgical year of many Christian denominations, lasting for a period of approximately six weeks leading up to Easter. In most Western denominations Lent is taken to run from Ash Wednesday to Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday) or to Easter Eve.

The traditional purpose of Lent is the penitential preparation of the believer—through prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving, and self-denial. Its institutional purpose is heightened in the annual commemoration of Holy Week, marking the death and resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events of the Passion of Christ on Good Friday, which then culminates in the celebration on Easter Sunday of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

During Lent, many of the faithful commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxuries as a form of penitence. The Stations of the Cross, a devotional commemoration of Christ's carrying the Cross and of his execution, are often observed. Many Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches bare their altars of candles, flowers, and other devotional offerings, while Crucifixes, religious statues, and other elaborate religious paraphernalia are often veiled in violet fabrics in observance of this event. In certain pious Catholic countries, grand processions and cultural customs are observed, and the faithful attempt to visit seven churches during Holy Week in honor of Jesus Christ heading to Mount Calvary.

Lent is traditionally described as lasting for forty days, in commemoration of the forty days which, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus spent fasting in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, where he endured temptation by Satan.^[2][3] However, different Christian denominations calculate the "forty days" of Lent differently. In most Western tradition the Sundays are not counted as part of Lent; thus the period from Ash Wednesday until Easter consists of 40 days when the Sundays are excluded. However in the Roman Catholic Church Lent is now taken to end on Holy Thursday rather than Easter Eve, and hence lasts 38 days excluding Sundays, or 44 days in total.

This event, along with its pious customs are observed by Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Anglicans, as well as some Baptists andMennonites.^{[4][4][5][5][6]} 

Here are photos of the Cruz Mayor in Abong-Abong, Zamboanga City on Holy Thursday 2012.

Devotees continue to flock even during midnight and even if there is some drizzle. I really appreciate all these people who have indeed sacrificed as they show their love to the Lord!

CRUZ MAYOR OF ABONG ABONG, PASONANCA @ LENT 2011 PART 2

Here are more pictures of the Cruz Mayor in Abong Abong, Pasonanca still from Murok.

This has a different effect because it was taken before sunset on a cold day!

Considering that this is in the Watershed Area, the place usually fogs in the valley level.

The place is ethereal...

And it gives a light feeling just looking at this scene!

CRUZ MAYOR OF ABONG ABONG, PASONANCA @ LENT 2011

The dome-shaped or turtle-shaped mountain is Zamboanga's landmark, Mount Pulong Bato, where the 14 Stations of the Cross  and the Cruz Mayor are nestled in the lower half, while the mountain beside it is where Barangay Murok is located  (and where I stood while I took my pictures).  

I am now high up in Murok, Pasonanca just beside Mt. Pulongbato and of course, I am in awe when I look at Zamboanga City and down at the Cruz Mayor of the Abong Abong 14 Stations of the Cross.

Zamboanga City panorama

Pasonanca is a barangay in Zamboanga City known as the Little Baguio in the South and one of the highest elevated barangays from the sea level, which is about 500 feet above sea level. The top of Mount Pulong Bato and Murok are about 800 to 1000 feet above sea level. Strictly speaking, this is still a hill, but in the terrain of Zamboanga City itself where it is seen as steep, this has the appearance of a mountain, so we will continue to call it a mountain. From Wikipedia: The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is generally somewhat lower and less steep than a mountain. In the United Kingdom geographers historically regarded mountains as hills greater than 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level, which formed the basis of the plot of the 1995 film The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain. In contrast, hillwalkers have tended to regard mountains as peaks 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level: theOxford English Dictionary also suggests a limit of 2,000 feet (610 m). This has led to Cavanal Hill in Poteau, Oklahoma, receive billing as the "World's Tallest Hill" due to its height of 1,999 feet (609 m). Mountains in Scotland are frequently referred to as "hills" no matter what their height, as reflected in names such as the Cuillin Hills and the Torridon Hills. In Wales, the distinction is more a term of land use and appearance and has nothing to do with height.  Pasonanca is also the location of the watershed of Zamboanga. 

http://www.zambotimes.com/archives/5124-Watershed-transcends-boundaries.html

May 12, 2007 WATERSHED TRANSCENDS BOUNDARIES

The Pasonanca watershed, the source of drinking water of Zamboanga City, covers a land area of 12, 107 hectares, and a 5,307 hectares buffer zone which are all subject to actual survey. The result determines whether to expand or decrease the technical descriptions of these lots designated as a Natural Park.

Through the years, Zamboanga City’s watershed was named Pasonanca Watershed Forest Reserve under Proclamation No. 199 of former President Aquino, and later changed to Pasonanca Natural Park under Proclamation No. 132 of former President Estrada

http://www.mb.com.ph/node/323784/approval-water

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – The Lower House has approved, during its second reading, House Bill (HB) 422, “An Act establishing the Pasonanca Watershed Forest Reserve located in this city as protected area under the category of Natural Park and its peripheral areas as buffer zones."

Can you see the Giant White Cross (Cruz Mayor) at the lower part of Mount Pulong Bato?

Abong-Abong Park has the Stations of the Cross and the 14 Stations lead to a giant white cross, the Cruz Mayor.

Each station is about 50 to 75 meters apart.

This is nestled in the hill just beside the mid level of Mount Pulong Bato and the Ascension is carved on the side of Mount Pulong Bato. From Wikipedia: Stations of the Cross (or Way of the Cross; in Latin, Via Crucis; also called the Via Dolorosa or Way of Sorrows, or simply, The Way) refers to the depiction of the final hours (or Passion) of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St. Francis of Assisi and extended throughout the Roman Catholic Church in the medieval period. It is commonly observed in Lutheran churches^[1][2], but it is less often observed in the Anglicanchurches. It may be done at any time, but is most commonly done during the Season of Lent, especially on Good Friday and on Friday evenings during Lent.

The object of the Stations is to help the faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage of prayer, through meditating upon the chief scenes of Christ's sufferings and death. It has become one of the most popular devotions for Roman Catholics, as well as featuring other Christian artifacts of the local area.

In the Roman Catholic tradition, the meditation is often performed in a spirit of reparation for the sufferings and insults that Jesus endured during His Passion.⁵ This is the Cruz Mayor, the culmination of the 14 Stations of the Cross just beside Mount Pulong Bato.

This is the summit of the Abong Abong Stations of the Cross during ordinary days.

It is usually quiet up there and with a few couples, friends and families who randomly visit the place for prayer or bonding and also to view the ZC panorama.  

This is in preparation for the Holy Week with repainting of the Cruz Mayor.

more stalls are being prepared

During Lent (Holy Week), thousands of devotees visit the 14 Stations of the Cross and the Cruz Mayor midway to the top of Mt. Pulong Bato.

The devotees start to come up... but note that baloons are sold at the summit! This shows that kids come with their parents during this time.

The devotees light the candles here. After the final prayer before the cross, the devotees also take time to catch their breath and sit by the Giant Cross. (taken using Nikon P500)

The flux of devotees usually starts on the afternoon of Holy Thursday to Good Friday. Many of the devotees also camp and hold vigil in the Pasonanca and Abong-Abong area before and after their devotion at the 14 Stations of the Cross. 

This is at the foot of the Stations of the Cross, where some people camp, where little stalls/stores are located and also where medics/clinics are put up. (taken using the Nikon P500 36x wide superzoom from top of Murok)

At the Cruz Mayor, a niche chiseled beside Mt. Pulong Bato

Devotees flock and there are sari-sari stores since definitely they would be thirsty!

Do you see the Ascencion carved on the side of Mount Pulong Bato?

The Ascencion is in color and carved in stone

From Holy Thursday, the devotees come and even in the wee hours of the night and dawn, they continue to arrive. These are the night shots of the Cruz Mayor.

The fire in front of the Cruz Mayor is where the devotees light the candle. (taken using the Nikon D90)

the place is full of people

lots of movement atop the Stations of the Cross (taken using the Nikon P500 36X wide superzoom)

the fire is the area where the candles are lighted(taken using the Nikon P500 36X wide superzoom)

the view of the top is very holy, with the light and halo around the Cruz Mayor

Morning of Good Friday came. The sun came up.

Then, it rained, but the devotees still continue to come...

the others were prepared and brought their umbrellas!

(taken using the Nikon P500 36x wide superzoom)

As Good Friday ends and the rains continue, the devotees thin out...

This is a yearly sight in Zamboanga City, and you will be surprised that the devotees can be as young as infants and as old a senior citizens!

In the past, when we helped out in the Medical Station through VMERU, people passed by the clinic for Hypertension, Difficulty of Breathing, Heat stroke and also for knee pains, among other complaints.  There are really some who are more than seventy years old who still go up the Abong-Abong Stations of the Cross.  And others, are younger couples but carry their young kids or babies with them. And to think, the walk starts from the Helmet, which is still more than a kilometer away... and to continue to the steep Way of the Cross.

How faith moves people...

The faith that brings people of all walks of life to go beyond their comfort zones to show their love and gratitude to the Lord!

Here is the City of Zamboanga from Murok and viewing the Great and Little Sta. Cruz Island, Basilan Strait as well as Basilan in the horizon! The Cruz Mayor atop the Stations of the Cross has a similar breath-taking view at a lower elevation.

the view of the Airport and the Little Sta. Cruz Island

Zamboanga City with the Great and Little Sta. Cruz Island and Basilan

Zamboanga City with the Astoria Regency, Garden Orchid Hotel with the Great Sta. Cruz Island and Basilan