Unforgettable Lucban

my attempt to be a professional photographer/ mama mary's grotto

jeepney ride back to lucena city..................as we were about to take our hike up
any photographer's dream shot hehe...

last April 17, 2008 we took a trip to Lucban, Quezon in search of the now-famous Kamay ni Hesus grotto. of course, the trip was meant to be just to attend a healing mass by Fr. Joey Faller, spiritual director of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of the Philippines and founder of the kamay ni Hesus Healing Church and to escape the heat and stresses of Manila.


we left the house (in Betterliving Subd., Parañaque) at 9am and headed for Alabang Metropolis to board the bus that would take us to Lucena City. We paid 115/head and there were four of us so papunta pa lng 460 na plus the jeepney fare from bicutan to alabang (plus 32 for the tricycle ride from the village to sm bicutan).


the trip started out as your usual trip around manila where you're bombarded with all the effects of industrialization and urban development. so sore in the eye. sto tomas, batangas is already urbanized and has lost about 70% of its barriotic appeal.


we passed by some towns in laguna that i have failed to remember (blame it on my lousy memory). as we entered tiaong, quezon and villa escudero, pictures and stories i have read in my grade school textbooks came flashing back and i couldn't help but recollect the memories of my childhood although far off but the connection is there..


Sariaya was also a revelation. it was a mixture of the old and the new...


we were never able to explore lucena city but i intend to come back for another visit. the closest we ever got was to the lucena city central terminal where we rode a jeepney that would take us to lucban. the fare was 25/head (lucban's is 26, but the grotto was located about a hundred meters away from the heart of lucban).


when we arrived at the place, we were greeted by two cheerful ladies selling candles with a bonus candle molded with the image of Christ (intended for a family member who needs spiritual or medical healing). the other lady was selling some sort of a hat but we didn't think we needed another one because the heat of the afternoon sun was quite tolerable so we just bought three sets of candle.


we were told that the healing masses were only done on Mondays and Saturdays so we decided to just explore and take the hike up. we knew that we were gonna


kamay ni hesus healing mass schedules: http://www.geocities.com/franciscamoras/healingmass

REV. FR. JOSEPH AYALA FALLER
NAME: Rev. Fr. Joseph (Joey ) A. Faller
BIRTHDAY: June 19, 1964
ORDINATION: September 19, 1989 at St. Ferdinand Cathedral in Lucena City
ADDRESS: Kamay Ni Hesus Healing Center- Brgy. Tinamnan, Lucban,4328, Quezon, Philippines
PARENTS: Dr. Francisco L. Faller, and Mrs. Adelaida A. Faller

A reluctant healer, but only after a series of deaths in the family was his faith in God was really tested. The death of his sister Stella in 1986, his father Francisco in 1988, and his most beloved mother Adelaida in 1989, made his resolve to embrace the priestly vocation, even stronger, and resolute. After several assignments in the Diocese of Lucena, on June 2002, Fr. Joey decided to devote full-time in the Healing Ministry after hearing from people stories, and incidences of healing attributed to his ministering. At first he refused to believe God's gift to him, until January 1993, when he took over from Fr. Barham in Mt. Carmel Monastery Church in Lipa City, Batangas, where some people claimed of healing. The true "Baptism of Fire," so to speak came in January 19, 1993 when a paralyzed woman on a wheelchair, was able to walk after being prayed-over, to his, and everybody's amazement. Fr. Barham, internationally renowned healer confirmed that indeed it is truly God's gift to him. There are other manifestations of God's gift to Fr. Joey. On February 6,1993, he went to Lipa City, and visited the Carmel Monastery. Strangely, nobody had really invited him to go to that place, as if something forceful pushed him to go to Lipa. It was like a sudden inspiration. Upon reaching Lipa City, he was happy to find out that there was a Nationwide Marian Pilgrimage, and it turned out that there was no priest who will celebrate the mass. It seemed coincidental, but he felt that the circumstances were far more than just coincidental. During the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, he began to experience unexplainable instances. The whole place seemed to filled with the scent of roses. They also experience the "gift of tongues," while celebrating the mass. But the most astonishing thing was when he had a vision of a woman in red blouse who was a cancer patient from Manila. Just right before he ended the mass, he asked if there was a woman among the mass goers who was diagnosed with cancer. To his amazement, a woman wearing a red blouse suddenly stood up, and declared that she came from Manila, and was suffering from cancer of the bone. She was instantly healed after Fr. Joey heared her confession, and prayed over her. At that instance after witnessing his healing, a lot of people approached him. There was a man, who for a long time could hardly walk, because of severe osteoarthritis. He was able to walk again, after he asked Fr. Joey's healing. Unfortunately, the sisters of the monastery advised that he leave the monastery, because of the commotion caused by the incident. At that moment, he doubted God's calling to heal. Fr. Joey continued to disbelieve God's gift to him, but kept on asking for signs if he was truly blessed with gift of healing. During his first trip to the Holy Land (Jerusalem) in March 1993, as he was praying at the place where the Pentacost happened, two doves came down to him out of nowhere. on his second visit to the Holy Land, and Europe, he was able to heal two women. The first one was a foreigner who can only walk if assisted by somebody, or by using a cane. After the healing, she could already walk by herself, free from cane, and without the help of somebody else. The second one was suffering from severe arthritis. Her dream was to see the Holy Places, but she was unable to fulfill her dream, because she could not walk. But when she joined Fr. Joey in his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and visited Beteseda, she received complete healing, and was able to walk again. She even taught us dance steps during our last days in Israel. But still with all the sign given to him by God, he was still confused, and undecided. The questions whether he was truly worthy of the gift still persisted in his mind. He kept on asking God why a person like him would be chosen to be a healer. He felt that he was too weak, sinful, unworthy, wounded, and broken, a paradox of a healer. In August 1993, his cousin Caroline Ayala from the United States asked to be prayed over. At that time, she was suffering from psoriasis, and a serious heart problem (there was a hole in her heart) and was scheduled for operation. When she returned to the U.S. for her operation, the doctor was surprised to find that her heart was doing well, and there was no need for an operation. Then after some months, the parents of his cousin (Mr. & Mrs. Ben Ayala) gave him free tickets to the U.S. He used this opportunity to conduct healing masses in the states. Since then, various charismatic groups in the U.S. have invited him to have healing masses. Fr. Joey received testimonies from people who experienced healing from cancer, paralysis, and problems in the reproductive system. There were also testimonies regarding cases of deliverance from evil spirit. But even with all these testimonies, he remained in doubt. But it was in April 8, 1994, that he totally embraced God's gift of healing. He had an accident that almost cost him his life. But the most extraordinary thing happened, when one of his hands was injured during the accident. The small finger, and index finger of his right became permanently curled down, and couldn't be straightened anymore. But he realized that his right hand seemed to have resembled the hands of the Little Jesus (Known as "El Senor Sto. Nino") and of the hands of the risen, and victorious Christ. He underwent operations here and in the U.S. to straighten his hand again, but no operation could ever bring back to normal. For him, the accident confirmed God's call for him to become His instrument of healing. His right hand is a constant reminder that it is God's healing hands that works through him. Since then, he has carried the hands of the Lord to heal other people. There were several individuals who have experienced, and received the healing power of God through Fr. Joey Faller. These are manifestations of God's healing hand working through Fr. Joey.

PERSONAL

Born in Lucban, Quezon, Philippines on June 19, 1964 Ordained priest at St. Ferdinand Cathedral in Lucena City on September 9, 1989

EDUCATION

1984-1988-St. Alphonsus Regional Seminary, Lucena City Magna Cum Laude

Comprehensive Exam- Cum Laude

1980-1984-St Francis De Sales, Lipa City

Cum Laude Revalida-

Summa Cum Laude 1976-1980-Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Seminary, Sariaya, Quezon PASTORIAL APPOINTMENTS

1989-1996-Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Seminary -Professor & Spiritual Director

1996-1998-St. Ferdinand Cathedral -Assistant Parish Priest

1998-2001-Holy Rosary School- Chaplain

SELECTED MEMBERSHIPS/OFFICES

1992-2003-Catholic Charismatic Renewal-Lucena-Spiritual Director

2001-Present-National Service Committee-CCRP -Chairman of the Board

1998- Kamay Ni Hesus Ministry Foundation Inc.-Founder In 1998, Fr. Joey founded "Kamay Ni Hesus," Ministry Foundation.

In 2001, Fr. Joey was elected chairman of the National Service Commitee of the Catholic Charismatic RenewalMovement in the Philippines up to the present.

More Surprises to Come

ok, so brian gorell and etc has been making loads of money via their blog by exposing their once-private life(huh?) and i have been making nada as in(!) coz i juz don't have the stomach to expose my life (as if naman merong ka-expose expose sa life ko (naman!)) or maybe i lack the imagination or i'm juzt plain lazy.
but! in a few days, my blog is gna make a 360° turnaround...

Really Funny

Personal Reflections

Reading Gloria Polo's narration of her experiences has really become an eye-opener for me. I've never subscribed to that kind of stories because as far as I'm concerned they are just stories that go on and on.

As I was browsing my kapamilya indexes, I came across Gloria's and something compelled me to go back and read it from start to finish. It may have been very long but as I was reading it I got so engrossed and somehow related some aspect of my life in a similar fashion. I realized, I was like her: a daughter, a mother, and a woman. We were similar in so many ways. We both loved our family so much and were brought up almost the same way.. My father also died a few years back and I can still remember seeing the pain in his eyes when we seemed disobedient or disrespectful to him and my mother.

Reading her life gave me the realization that living a simple life is more than enough, i don't need more. I have everything I could possibly want and need: my family, my friends, my daughter. If I compare myself to others, I'm so blessed and should be grateful that God has provided me all that others can only hope for.

Of course, this should also not stop me from doing what I'm doing because a lot of people count on me to do their bidding for them. And I'm happy to be of service to those who need me.

Money is a necessity, yes, I'm well aware of that. But there's a line that separates need from greed. I always believe that you only take what you need. The rest? Give it to the poor and needy. Use it to educate the poor children and make them good and productive citizens, bring the sick back to health, and assist the old as they age.

And for the children, there's no better way to show gratitude to God than by serving your family especially your sick members and loving your parents especially when they become like children again..

Happiness is not measured purely on success and wealth but of the amount of love you can give to others. Making other people happy and feel good about themselves is the key to real happiness.