Remembering Holy Week in the Philippines

I have vivid memories of Holy Week " semana santa" observance in the Philippines - the only Catholic nation in Asia. I remember as a child that the weather was always somber and mournful which brought close to heart the suffering of Jesus Christ. We learned the Passion of the Christ - why he died on the Cross in order to redeem mankind from its sins, from our parents' teachings and from catechism.

The Spanish colonizers built many churches, one in every town at least. The church is the focus of the Lenten season's celebration. People made church visits to pray and go through the passion of Christ, which means that they re-enact the various stations of the Cross. The churches do not have masses, not until Easter Sunday. The saints are covered with a violet-colored cloth and only the image of Christ in a glass coffin is open for prayers.

The religious processions were something to look forward to. Many people joined, reciting the Holy Rosary as the started from the church, followed a route around town and ended in church again. The images were dressed in beautiful finery except on Good Friday night when Jesus Christ' mother - searching for her son, is wearing black. In most houses, women sang the Passion of the Cross for two days, starting Thursday. And on Fridays, men dressed as Christ's disciples went around. At three o'clock, which marks the death of Jesus Christ, everything comes to a death stillness.

The observance of Holy Week varies from town to town, province to province. In the province of Pampanga, it is a ritual to have some men actually nailed to the Cross on Holy Friday. It is an act of penitence, a promise one has made to atone for something. Many men also practice self-flagellation using ropes with thorns, while others have crowns of thorn just like Jesus Christ. Even now, the practice of Cruxifiction is still done and how much of it is tourism, no one can judge.

As children, we were told to be quiet and to reflect on our sins, to abstain from merry-making and laughter. The elders observed fasting for two days, and if one must eat the quantity was little and no meat was ever consumed between Thursday and Saturday. On Saturday- the day of Jesus Christ's resurrection, we were all told to take a bath because it was new water. The act of resurrection applied to everything, most especially to feeling reborn.

Easter Sundays were festival-like. Children in bright - colored dresses danced with flower arches from house to house. They were called "pastoras" and they received gifts from the house owners. It starts at four in the morning when an angel -child is lowered from a tall stand built infront of the church. Many people went to church for the four o'clock Holy Mass, and to witness this traditional ritual. I don't know what it meant then, and even now. Probably an angel descending from Heaven.

When I was living in Manila, I used to go home to my town Camalig during Holy Week, and most people did the same. It felt different to observe "semana santa" in a small town than in a big city like Manila. It was a time for homecomings and family reunions, for meeting friends who lived in other places. And the feeling that we get during the Easter High mass is tremendous gratitude in the thought that Christianity means love for one another.