Saan kayo nung huling Holy Week? Ako, dito lang sa Manila. 2004 yata ang huli kong out-of-town Lenten holiday. Puerto Galera yun, and I was already thinking then, parang hindi na happy ang Galera vacation scene.
It was 2005 when I decided to try the more traditional, Catholicized run of the holidays. On my own. Meaning, hindi dahil sinamahan ko ang parents ko sa kanilang mga ritwales, specially my Mom’s. Noong 2005, sinamahan ko ang mga members ng MCC na mag-visita iglesia, gabi, sa mga simbahan sa University Belt area, Sta. Cruz at Quiapo. Nag-enjoy ako and I promised myself na minsan uulitin ko ito.
(Holy Weeks noong 2006 at 2007, hindi rin ako nag-out-of-town… nag-hotel holidays ako. Stories are found here and here.)
And this year, natupad ang pangakong ulitin ang visita iglesia, not particularly bilang isang "panata" (in the strictest religious sense of the term). Nagkaroon rin ako ng chance mag-praktis ng konting photography, and of course, rediscover the metropolis. I planned to go to 14 church sites, kala ko kasi dahil 14 stations of the cross, 14 din dapat ang church visits. Gregg told me later, hindi naman daw ganun yun. Gregg joined me, we used their family’s cutesy Jimny, he and my hunny took turns at the wheel. I did the visita iglesia on Maundy Thursday, 20th March.
In fairness, Metro Manila wasn’t as deserted as I thought. Sa mga simbahan ng Manila, naglipana ang napakaraming deboto. (Parang pare-pareho yata kami ng naisip gawin this year!) Hindi namin na-achieve ang 14 church sites, 13 lang. We started with Malate’s Remedios Church after lunch; hindi pa marami masyado ang tao. Then we proceeded to Paco Park’s, sarado ang chapel. Pagdating namin sa Manila Cathedral, dagsaan na ang mga tao. After Cathedral, eto na ang sequence: San Agustin, San Sebastian, San Beda, Saint Jude, Saint Michael, Saint Anthony and Loreto, Santissimo Rosario (UST), Binondo, then finally, Saint Vincent de Paul (Adamson). We dropped Quiapo Church (and also Sta. Cruz) from the itinerary after Binondo.
Photo above was a shrouded crucifix near the entrance of the Loreto Church (na may kakambal na Saint Anthony Church sa may Sampaloc, Manila). Check out my Flickr account’s Holy Week 2008 set for more photos.
the colors are striking ..
but what does it mean when they cover the crucifix like that? is it about guilt, not being able to face the truth?
Posted by max at April 4, 2008, 10:10 amHmmmm… photoshopped itoh! But I like. Parang gusto ko nakawin for my iTunes Sacra Musica playlist.
Images in churches are shrouded during this particular day of lent so as to let the faithful focus on the most essential of Catholic belief: that Christ died in order to serve mankind. Kaya di advisable na magdasal ng Hail Mary when the whole occasion was all about Christ’s death and resurrection.
Now take that from an ex-Benedictine.
Posted by Gregg D'Bully at April 5, 2008, 2:25 pmAll comments are moderated. Your comments will not appear here unless approved by the blog owner. Thank you.
This is a beautiful shot. Parang may painting quality sya. I went home last Holy Week. Unfortunately, going home meant going to Baguio kung saan nagsiksikan ang mga bakasyunista. Oh well. We visited just one church on Good Friday.
Posted by watson at April 1, 2008, 2:39 pm