Musings: Holy Week in Manila

The Philippines customarily begins Holy Week with the blessing of palm fronds on Palm Sunday. Usually the liturgy begins with the Cardinal-Archbishop of Manila gathers the community at the patio (esplanade) for the narration of Christ's triumphant entry to Jerusalem. After the reading, Cardinal Tagle gives a short monition to help the congregation appreciate the bittersweet chapters of Christ's passion, death and resurrection. 

Cardinal Luis Antonio Go Kim Tagle of Manila

Holy Week then endures to Maundy Thursday - Maundy because this is the day we remember how Christ instituted the Eucharist and gave us the mandatum  to "love one another" as shown by the washing of the feet. 

Washing of the Feet

After the Maundy Thursday services, comes the Visita Iglesia which is truly a Filipino tradition. Families, friends go on a nocturnal pilgrimage of seven churches to offer prayers and yes, do what the Spaniards call a "Pasear" (take a walk) around the city.

On hindsight, I think of all the days in the triduum, Holy Thursday is the most favored by Filipinos because of the vibe it offers. True, the day is holy and demands respect and decorum but how can you not enjoy the night when you are travelling with family and friends and what is a road trip without food shared? More than religious piety, I believe this day morphed into something that is homey and traditional in one. 

Benedictine nuns of St. Scholastica during Maundy Thursday

If Maundy Thursday pulsates, Good Friday on the other hand is more somber. Streets are isolated which is quite understandable - I mean with all the walking of the previous night? I am sure the pilgrims are all dead tired. Besides, its humid and scorching hot makes it less appealing to loiter the streets. 

But then there are some who brave the heat of the sun and participate in the Good Friday liturgy. The church is dark, the altar is devoid of flowers and linen, there are no joyful songs sung only prolonged readings and intercessory prayers said for the Church, the government and the poor. Even the Jewish people are prayed for. 

Veneration of the Cross

"This is the wood of the cross"  utters the presider as he hoists the cross for the congregation to see and one by one, penitents line up, genuflects and adores the Crucified Christ...

The day ends with a procession. Its a quiet afternoon and the mood is reverential. The carroza bearing images of the apostles makes their way around the walled city of Intramuros. The Mater Dolorosa and the Santo Intierro is trailed by a band that intersperses military tap and common Sunday mass songs. 

This day is about Christ. If you're catholic, today you are invited to forgo some of the frivolities and comforts of life like eating meat or giving up internet surfing or even the urge to slap your annoying sibling. For my part, the hardest mortification was denying myself of "patis" (fish sauce condiment) I mean, for a savory eater like me, food sans patis is punishment! But then I somehow manage, assuring myself that Easter Sunday is just around the corner and this small penance, will go. 

the triduum ends with the Easter Vigil commences on the evening of Black Saturday. This mother of all vigils  begins with the blessing of the fire which symbolizes Christ, resurrected and triumphant over all. 

After the readings and responsorial psalms (fourteen all in all) the gloria is sung and the bells peal with gusto, signal that the forlorn is gone and what we have before us is joy and hope. During the vigil, we also renew our baptismal vows and confirmed by the archbishop as he makes the round for the asperges, that is the blessing of the people with holy water.

and not to forget the baptism of infants which is a custom of an Easter Vigil. Since after all, the vigil is the event when mother church opens her doors to receive and renew her children.

There is so much I want to write about Holy Week but I am afraid my knowledge is limited (I will leave that with the church experts) Instead, I will let the pictures talk for themselves. What I wrote are memories distilled thru the years and I want to share it with you before my memory fades. Regardless if you believe or not, I hope this piece interests you and I wish you peace!