I miss spending Holy Week in the Philippines. I miss the tradition or reverence for the Passion of Christ that my mommy has instilled in me. During my early childhood until late teens (before mommy got sick and died), mommy, has honed us to observe Lent.
During the season, there would be Stations of the Cross (one station, one house) in various houses that we would go to. We will leave after dinner and end up close to midnight. This would take from the bayan" (Binan's center) then almost at barangay De La Paz (is it barangay? not really sure hahaha). Fourteen houses to go to then at the 14th station, the hosts will usually provide some refreshments. (hmmm. i can see my hubby snickering and saying out loud that i just join them for that, hee hee)
Then, on the Holy Week itself, Holy Mondays and Tuesdays might have a procession or two, or longer prayer time because the Stations of the Cross was recited. Holy Wednesdays are meant for this procession that have a lot of Saints in their grand carriages. A lot of people joins this procession, usually when it passed by our house, I will leave the procession (well, when my mommy leaves it) and watch all the carriages from our house. Sometimes we go all the way to the church which is probably less than a kilometer away. People in our province would usually take the flowers from those carriages even before it arrived the church.
On Holy Thursday, we usually attend the mass that performs the washing of the feet ceremony. After the mass, we go home and eat dinner. Then, we go for the Bisita Iglesia (we visit 14 churches from San Pedro, Laguna until Cabuyao or Calamba). By the time, we hit the 10th or 11th church, I am usually sprawled at the back of the car sleeping. They won't wake me up anymore but if I am still sleeping after the 14th and wake up when the car is parked, for sure, my mommy will be saying "apo talaga ni Andres ito!" (my lolo Andres usually sleeps during prayer time/church and wakes up after).
Early morning of Good Fridays were spent at home. I would see my daddy in the rocking chair with the Bible in hand. My mommy busy with her early morning church activities then later on with the "burong isda" (could never bring myself to eat that!). The food during Good Fridays at our household forced me to fast because I couldn't eat the "buro" or sometimes the "tulya" (clams) soup. I laugh now remembering those things but it makes me miss my daddy and mommy more. I can also remember my mommy telling me to take a bath before 3PM because by 3PM, Jesus is already dead, and we need to be at the 3PM mass. After which, there'll be another procession. We just take a breather for dinner after the procession then we trudged back to the church because there's this tradition in our parish where this huge Santo Sepulcro figure is placed at the church, and you can venerate it and afterwards they give you Sampaguita (from the carriage's decor). Mommy and Daddy would greet and meet a lot of our relatives who come home from Manila. Only after that and a lot of "ang laki na ng batang ito!" (huh!) would we go home. Hahaha...
Black Saturday is our reprieve before another series of church activities on Easter. But, sometimes, my mommy is busy preparing for the "salubong". Never became an angel so I was never busy. (frustrated! hahaha) By 4AM Easter time, "salubong", another procession will take place. This is where the Resurrected Papa Jesus will meet up with Mama Mary. . Then, after the procession, the Easter mass.
Whew! Writing about it made so tired hehehe. But made me miss daddy and mommy, the church people, the processions, and my hometown. I am not sure if I would still be doing all these but I would have liked Dawter T and Bebi A to witness and experience it. We are trying to ingraine the Bisita Iglesia tradition to our children. Every year since Dawter T turned 1, we have been doing it here in Singapore. We never manage to go to 14 churches. Usually just 4-7. Then, we will hear the 3PM mass at Christ the King church at Ang Mo Kio. Dawter T asked me why we need to go to many churches. I told here about the suffering of Papa Jesus. She understood a bit since it is also being taught at school and at her church Bible class. It's quite tough to feel the solemnity of Lent here in Singapore, when the malls are open and the majority are non-Christians. Well, it's up to us to bring it to our families. Here's to a Happy Easter! May the Resurrected Lord continues to touch your hearts and bring you to an everlasting love and peace!
During the season, there would be Stations of the Cross (one station, one house) in various houses that we would go to. We will leave after dinner and end up close to midnight. This would take from the bayan" (Binan's center) then almost at barangay De La Paz (is it barangay? not really sure hahaha). Fourteen houses to go to then at the 14th station, the hosts will usually provide some refreshments. (hmmm. i can see my hubby snickering and saying out loud that i just join them for that, hee hee)
Then, on the Holy Week itself, Holy Mondays and Tuesdays might have a procession or two, or longer prayer time because the Stations of the Cross was recited. Holy Wednesdays are meant for this procession that have a lot of Saints in their grand carriages. A lot of people joins this procession, usually when it passed by our house, I will leave the procession (well, when my mommy leaves it) and watch all the carriages from our house. Sometimes we go all the way to the church which is probably less than a kilometer away. People in our province would usually take the flowers from those carriages even before it arrived the church.
On Holy Thursday, we usually attend the mass that performs the washing of the feet ceremony. After the mass, we go home and eat dinner. Then, we go for the Bisita Iglesia (we visit 14 churches from San Pedro, Laguna until Cabuyao or Calamba). By the time, we hit the 10th or 11th church, I am usually sprawled at the back of the car sleeping. They won't wake me up anymore but if I am still sleeping after the 14th and wake up when the car is parked, for sure, my mommy will be saying "apo talaga ni Andres ito!" (my lolo Andres usually sleeps during prayer time/church and wakes up after).
Early morning of Good Fridays were spent at home. I would see my daddy in the rocking chair with the Bible in hand. My mommy busy with her early morning church activities then later on with the "burong isda" (could never bring myself to eat that!). The food during Good Fridays at our household forced me to fast because I couldn't eat the "buro" or sometimes the "tulya" (clams) soup. I laugh now remembering those things but it makes me miss my daddy and mommy more. I can also remember my mommy telling me to take a bath before 3PM because by 3PM, Jesus is already dead, and we need to be at the 3PM mass. After which, there'll be another procession. We just take a breather for dinner after the procession then we trudged back to the church because there's this tradition in our parish where this huge Santo Sepulcro figure is placed at the church, and you can venerate it and afterwards they give you Sampaguita (from the carriage's decor). Mommy and Daddy would greet and meet a lot of our relatives who come home from Manila. Only after that and a lot of "ang laki na ng batang ito!" (huh!) would we go home. Hahaha...
Black Saturday is our reprieve before another series of church activities on Easter. But, sometimes, my mommy is busy preparing for the "salubong". Never became an angel so I was never busy. (frustrated! hahaha) By 4AM Easter time, "salubong", another procession will take place. This is where the Resurrected Papa Jesus will meet up with Mama Mary. . Then, after the procession, the Easter mass.
Whew! Writing about it made so tired hehehe. But made me miss daddy and mommy, the church people, the processions, and my hometown. I am not sure if I would still be doing all these but I would have liked Dawter T and Bebi A to witness and experience it. We are trying to ingraine the Bisita Iglesia tradition to our children. Every year since Dawter T turned 1, we have been doing it here in Singapore. We never manage to go to 14 churches. Usually just 4-7. Then, we will hear the 3PM mass at Christ the King church at Ang Mo Kio. Dawter T asked me why we need to go to many churches. I told here about the suffering of Papa Jesus. She understood a bit since it is also being taught at school and at her church Bible class. It's quite tough to feel the solemnity of Lent here in Singapore, when the malls are open and the majority are non-Christians. Well, it's up to us to bring it to our families. Here's to a Happy Easter! May the Resurrected Lord continues to touch your hearts and bring you to an everlasting love and peace!
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