By Lizzie Radam Lazo
Celebrating its 39th anniversary this year in the memorial business, Eternal Gardens carries on with its self-assumed task of promoting awareness of and devotion to the Transfiguration of Jesus.
First exhibited in the company’s maiden park in Baesa, Caloocan City, a famed landmark at the entrance to the North Luzon Expressway, the iconic statue now also looms over nine other parks in key areas in Luzon, with the newest found in the company’s 10th park in Cagayan de Oro City.
Today Eternal Gardens joins Christians worldwide in celebrating the Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus, a biblical event that, the faithful believe, was meant to strengthen the faith of His apostles as the time of His earthly death approached by giving them a foretaste of His resurrection.
According to accounts in three of the four Gospels (Matthew 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-8; and Luke 9:28-36), Jesus took the apostles Peter, James and John with Him up on a mountain known as Mount Tabor, and while they were there, He was shown with Moses and Elijah in all glory and majesty. He was transfigured, His face shone like the sun, and His garments became glistening white, a preview of His resurrection.
Of the thousands of churches all over the country, only a handful are dedicated in honor of the Transfiguration. The oldest of these is the Cathedral of Our Lord’s Transfiguration in Palo, Leyte, set up in 1596, just a year after the arrival of the Jesuits in 1595. Early this year the church made news as it was visited by Pope Francis when he went to Eastern Visayas to comfort the victims of Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan).
Others include the Monastery of the Transfiguration in Malaybalay, Bukidnon, one of the most visited religious communities in the country; the Transfiguration Chapel at the Caleruega Retreat House, which is a favored venue for weddings and other spiritual exercises; the Church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord in Cavinti, Laguna; and the Transfiguration Parish in Angeles City.
Right in Metro Manila, the Transfiguration of Our Lord Parish in Quezon City is enthusiastically spearheading efforts at the parish level to propagate devotion to the Transfiguration of Jesus, the second most important event in His public life, next to His resurrection. Established more than 30 years ago, the parish is now a thriving and vibrant Christian community in Barangay San Roque, an area near Camp Aguinaldo and Cubao.
Supporting their efforts, Eternal Gardens is unique in being the only secular institution that is an active partner of the church in propagating and strengthening the devotion to the Transfiguration event by embracing the image as its corporate symbol of excellence.
Besides Baesa and Cagayan de Oro, other places where the Transfiguration image has become a familiar presence as it looms over Eternal Gardens branches are Dagupan City, the second to open after Caloocan; and the cities of Biñan in Laguna, Lipa, Batangas, with two branches in Barangay Balagtas and Concepcion; Naga, Cabanatuan and Santa Rosa.
In these branches, the observance of the Transfiguration feast today coincides with their celebration of the 39th anniversary of Eternal Gardens. The company Head Office celebrates the anniversary five days later, or on August 11, the date of the official launch of Eternal Gardens in 1976.
By embracing the Transfiguration as its symbol, the company affirms the people’s faith in life eternal where the truth and beauty of God’s love is finally revealed to mortals. This is the meaning of its corporate slogan of “a glimpse of heaven on a patch of earth.”