Cuaresma: Papuri

Black Saturday

The Easter Vigil

It marks the beginning of the season of Easter and the closing of Lent. 

The Blessing of the Fire

Done on the outside the church doors, the fire symbolizes Jesus' as the guiding light, the only true light by which we are guided to the Father. 

The fire that was blessed is then used to light up the Paschal Candle after a long rite wherein the symbols of the candle are interpreted. The fire is then used to light the candles of the faithful after entering the dark church, devoid of any man-made light.

After several readings from the Bible showing God's saving grace, power and might the lights of the church is then turned on as the large violet cloth covering the main altar is then removed to show the image of the resurrected Christ.

Jesus is Alive. The gospel reading then shows how Mary of Magdala and her companions found the empty tomb. The mass is a celebration of God's power and saving grace, His triumph over sin and death and the ultimate salvation that He offers to all of humankind.

The Blessing of the Water

The priest then dips the paschal candle, the symbol of the resurrected Christ, into a jar of water which is then used for the baptism and the blessing of the people and the images. This is the rite of the blessing of the water wherein the water is then turned into Holy Water, a symbol of how God washes away all sin just as water washes away dirt.

People who want to enter the fold of Catholicism then are baptized with the same holy water as they are welcomed into the Catholic family.

The image of the risen Christ will be, later on, be used in the yearly dawn practice of the Salubong, the re-enactment of the meeting Jesus and His sorrowful mother. 

The banners of the church are changed from the mournful violet of lent to the joyful and glorious gold, yellow and green of Easter. 

Easter Sunday

The mixed scent of candles, incense and the morning dew wakes the people up - the Salubong has begun. Salubong is the pre-dawn practice of the procession of the risen Lord and His sorrowful mother and the re-enactment of their meeting. Male and females are separated from each other, with the men of the town going behind the image of Jesus and with the womenfolk accompanying the mourning Mary.

The procession ends with the images and the two groups coming face-to-face with each other and with the removal of the black veil of Mary to reveal the image of the new face of Mary: that of one that has seen the face of her risen son and a joy that marks her relief and rejoicing. The image, now called the Virgen de Alegria after the ceremony, is then showered with petals along with that of the image of the risen Christ. 

The floats then are turned off, the lights shut down as the dawn mass is said inside the church. And with that ends the lenten season.

CUARESMA.
A series of notes and pictures on the traditions and practices of the Filipino Roman Catholic during the Holy Week. No copyrights on all of the photos. Taken at the Imus Cathedral on the respective dates.

Cuaresma: Maundy Thursday/Good Friday

Maundy Thursday 

The Chrism Mass - Every Maundy Thursday, priests of each diocese convene and attend the chrism mass to renew their vows. The mass is usually celebrated by the bishop or archbishop of their respective ecclesiastical province in the see or main cathedral of the diocese. Celebrated on the morning of maundy Thursday so as to not conflict with the masses of the evening, it commemorates the last supper wherein the apostles were instituted and introduced into the sacrament of the holy eucharist.

The mass is so-called as such due to the fact that the chrism oil, which the priests use for various functions, are blessed on that day and are distributed to the priests of each parish. Generally, the priests are accompanied by the loyal parish-goers... carrying with them banners and streamers that can equal any fiesta of the country. In some places, they even rejoice at the end of the mass, walking and dancing to the beat of drums as they go back to their parish churches.

The chrism mass of the archdiocese, Luis Antonio Gokim Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Manila and Primate of the Philippines, was attended by a large crowd that filled not only the church, but also the adjoining covered court of the parochial school nearby.

Pabása ng Pasyón ("Reading of the Passion"), known simply as Pabása (literally "reading", but is specifically a "sponsored reading-and-chanting") is a Holy Week practice in the Philippines that involves chanting of the narrative of the life, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Readers are usually groups of individuals taking turns in chanting verses from the book known as the Pasyon (lit., "Passion"). The modern-day Pabasa may be chanted a capella or with the accompaniment of musical instruments such as the guitar or accordion, or by a rondalla ensemble.

There are two common styles of chanting, one of which is the alternate singing of two persons or two groups of people. The second method has each chanter or group of chanters taking turns in singing the stanzas. The Pabasa is normally performed in front of either a makeshift altar or a permanent one located at the neighbourhood chapel (visita), town plazas, churchyards, or at the home of the ritual's sponsor.

The practitioners of the verse chanting participate in the ritual to show their devotion to the Catholic faith during the Holy Week season. According to Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, the media director of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the pabasa is a form of religious meditation, expression and profession of faith, and communal activity.

Before evolving into the contemporary version of the reading and chanting ritual in the Philippines during the Lenten season, the early form of the pabasa was introduced to the various indigenous people of the Philippine islands by Spanish friars. The Spaniards brought Catholicism to the Philippines. Gradually, over the period of Spanish colonialism in the Philippines (1521–1898), the ancient Filipinos adapted the religious chanting introduced by the Spanish priests and incorporated it to their own custom of singing epics during native celebrations. The vocal singing style has in many ways, preserved the pre-Hispanic singing techniques of the main groups of the country, like the Tagalog, Ilocano and Visayan groups.

Visita Iglesia - The practice of going to seven to fourteen churches to commemorate and meditate on the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Churches are usually filled by Thursday night and the day after as the faithful go through the various stations of the church. The number was associated to a lot of things that involved Christ, His passion and ministry and is rooted in a tradition of making pilgrimages similar to that of the pilgrims of Rome and Jerusalem and that of the route taken by the Via Crucis.

The practice of visiting seven churches is ultimately rooted in visiting the seven churches of Rome which was initiated by Pope Boniface VIII. There are no set of prayers given by the Church except to pray for the intentions of the Pope and recite the Our Father, Hail Mary and Gloria Patri. People have instead opted to pray the Stations of the Cross, the recitation of which is liturgically proper to Good Friday.

Some devout people carry a cross to and from different churches, while others consider the custom an opportunity for sightseeing. An offering is usually made at each church and to the poor as a form of almsgiving. To accommodate the faithful, many Catholic churches during Holy Week remain open until midnight. Similarly, Visita Iglesia Online by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines is among several such sites that afford Overseas Filipinos and the infirm the chance to participate in the tradition as well as hear recordings of the Pasyón.

The Blessed Sacrament is usually exposed to the faithful in a vigil of prayer and meditation. The faithful usually take an hour or two to pray in front of the holy host, which is placed on an ornate altar of repose. Before, the tradition was to pray before the host in one church. Eventually, as tradition says, the number increased and multiplied into the seven churches of the Visita Iglesia with the growing number of churches and chapels in Intramuros, the former capital of the Philippines.

Good Friday

Self-flagellation is a practice frowned upon by the leaders of the catholic church and yet is one of the most practiced traditions in the country. In this picture a man whips his back, wounded by blades beforehand. A possible outcrop of the passionate flagellants of Spain and the Latin Americas, the extremely faithful carry crosses on their backs, have themselves flogged (in some cases they make other people whip them) with glass or metal whips, wear thorns upon their heads and have themselves crucified.

The practice is widely known to the public, even being reported and documented by world-renowned channels such as National Geographic. Some of them imitate the passion of Jesus to atone for their sins, other do it as a sign of thanksgiving to God. This practice, common in outlying provinces of Luzon, has moved in to the city lands of Manila.

TV stations in the country usually initiate a sign-off during the triad of the Holy Week, the climax of the celebrations, a tradition of past years when people cannot rejoice yet during these days and must be quiet. They either do this or show religious-themed films and shows. In most places people are still reprimanded if  they play loud music. And, in extreme cases, people are advised not to take baths after three o' clock in the afternoon of Good Friday, a belief spread by the Spanish conquistadores.

Children are not allowed to play, with a warning that they might get wounded and that their wounds will take a very long time to heal in the belief that Christ is dead. Some people believe also that traveling during these days to far places is a dangerous and risky thing, with the power of demonic creatures increasing during the days before Easter. In some provinces, fear of malicious creatures spreading harm during these days are widespread. 

In local media, films and shows revolve around horror stories regarding these themes.

Siete Palabras - The Seven last words of Jesus is recited, followed by a meditation, a prayer, a re-enactment of the passion, a play on its lesson or a testimony on the reality of Christ's words today. This is celebrated before the traditional "ninth hour" or the hour of Jesus' death.

The Siete Palabras or Seven Last Words are traditionally referred to Jesus’ words during his crucifixion collected from the four gospels of the bible. Three of His seven last words appear in the Gospel of Luke, another three from the Gospel of John and the rest appeared both in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew.

Since the 16th Century, these words have been widely used during Good Friday. Traditionally in the Philippines, it starts at about 12 noon and precedes an annual procession.

The sanctification of the cross is the practice of letting the faithful kiss the cross of Jesus. This practice is usually attended by the whole parish, where long lines of them wait just for a chance to kiss the feet and hands of the image of Jesus Christ on the cross. 

This is usually done after a mass which focuses on the passion of Christ that has a similar play as that of the passion play used in the Palm Sunday mass. During this mass the Santo Entierro comes face-to-face with the Mater Dolorosa, a representation of the sorrowful meeting of mother and her dead son.

The image of Santo Entierro, or Christ being interred/buried, is the image of Jesus dead on a coffin. Followed by a long procession where the images of the saints, scenes from the life and passion of Jesus and that of the image of Mary in black, mourning the loss of her son. A marching band paying mourning songs even follow the trail that goes around the whole parish. 

Commemorating the burial of Jesus, the church acts as the burial site of Jesus. The faithful rush in as they follow the image in. In some areas, things are inserted in the images palms and feet to turn them into amulets which they later on try out on Black Saturday. 

Flowers on the image's floats are usually taken home to bring in luck, fortune or some other thing. The practice is a long-held one by people in most provinces. In other provinces in the Philippines, the image is interred in a nearby chapel and is accustomed the same rites as that of a person being buried. 

The dead Christ - to discourage a devotion to the dead image, the image is usually hidden for the rest of the year. The people flock in lines again to kiss the image. After which the people are asked to leave as the church closes its doors until the Easter Vigil and the lights are shut out. Thus begins the wait for Easter.

Mater Dolorosa, the image of Mary weeping the fate of her son, is clad in black to show her sorrow. Catholics are attached to this image due to the fact that it reminds them of their own sorrows and the crosses they carry each day. 

After a mournful wailing prayer, the image is brought back to the chapel in a Procession Silencio, a silent procession where the people walk barefoot to the chapel where the image of Mary must stay until the Easter vigil. As a part of tradition, the owner of the image gives out food and drinks to all who joined in the procession.

CUARESMA is a series of pictures and descriptions on the traditions and practices of the Filipino Roman Catholics during Holy Week. All the materials here do not have a copyright, feel free to use them in any way you want. Pictures taken in several locations:

Holy Thursday - March 28, 2013

Chrism Mass - San Fernando De Dilao Parish

Pabasa - Obesis St., Pandacan, Manila

Visita Iglesia - Holy Spirit Church, Mendiola, Manila

Good Friday - March 29, 2013

Self-flagellations - Penafrancia, Manila

The rest of the pictures were taken in Imus Cathedral, Imus City, Cavite

Cuaresma: Holy Wednesday

The Kawit Citizens carrying the image of the suffering Christ on their shoulders

To be truly a Christian one must follow Christ's example, even up to the cross

Barefoot and braving the harshness of the summer sun, the doors opened to the procession of a flock of people who willingly went on to proceed walking miles around their city to commemorate and reflect on the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. In a tradition as ancient and old as the church of their parish, branching deep into its hispanic roots, they walked on the hot soil with their bare feet.

Lines of the faithful

In Kawit, Cavite... a long held tradition of making the Via Crucis, a walk that stops on different respective stations to meditate on the life of Jesus, after almost decades of it being done barefoot. The faithful carried the images of Jesus the Nazarene and the Sorrowful Mother, Mary, clad in black mourning clothes and affectionately called "Mater Dolorosa", the image of a woman who weeps for the fate of His son.

The Via Crucis, also known as Stations of the Cross, is a practice particularly known in the Catholic world. Commonly done during the season of Lent, the stations usually have artworks such as paintings and sculptures depicting scenes from the Passion of Christ. It is recognized in some Christian churches and was usually done inside the church or chapel.

Based on the pilgrimages to Jerusalem and a desire that it might be possible to be done locally in parishes around the world, 15th century Franciscans built small shrines that duplicate their counterparts in the Holy Land and in 1686 Pope Innocent XI granted the Franciscan Order the right to erect these outdoor shrines. 

In 1731, Pope Clement XII extended to all churches the right to have the stations, provided that a Franciscan father erected them, with the consent of the local bishop. At the same time the number was fixed at fourteen. In 1857, the bishops of England were allowed to erect the stations by themselves, without the intervention of a Franciscan priest, and in 1862 this right was extended to bishops throughout the church.

Unique

Different from the usual forms of the praying and meditation on the stations of the cross in most parts of the world, the Philippines has the stations still outside and scattered on their parish, where the faithful walk on a seeming procession. Kawit, however, has its Via Crucis done barefoot, in remembrance of the humility and compassion of our Lord.

Each station of the Cross is depicted by a marvelous painting set outside the church and is housed on different residences of both known and not-so-prominent citizens of the city. Spanning from a few meters to a several miles from the church and back, the participants have to endure mud and the hot asphalt as they go along, a form of sacrifice, as they say, and an expression of their deep Catholic faith.

CUARESMA is a series of lectures and posts discussing the traditions and superstitions surrounding the Filipino Holy Week. There are no copyrights on the materials used and/or the pictures, feel free to use them without the prior notice from the author provided that they will not be used for any merchandise. All pictures are taken at St. Mary Magdalene Parish, Kawit, Cavite on the 27th of March, 2013.

Cuaresma: Holy Tuesday

Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, gives a talk on the fundamentals of faith

"I believe in God."

The faithful flocked as a solemn air interlaced with the gentle laughter of a man so fondly called by many as "Bishop Chito", Cardinal Tagle went back to his home town for a lenten recollection Tuesday night to focus on the fundamentals of faith as professed in the Apostle's Creed. As the nation celebrates the lenten season, a mass confession was held outside the church, catering to the many who seek forgiveness and reconciliation in the Sacrament of Confession.

Smile: One of the definite qualities of the cardinal is his child-like smile

Traditionally, the Cardinal-Archbishop Tagle would lead the faithful yearly inside the Cathedral for a lenten recollection to discuss on the matters of the Catholic faith. Imus City, which was in chaos in the recent events in the nearby city hall, was discussed in most parts of the recollection... partially, with glancing remarks that did not sway from the theme of the night: The Apostles' Creed and the underlying message beneath it. 

Thousands attended the yearly recollection of the archbishop, laughing along with his incredible stories regarding his life experiences and his days as part of the cardinal-electors of the recent conclave that placed Pope Francis as the new head of the billions of the Catholic faithful. Interestingly, Tagle was one of the notable front-runners before the conclave was held.

He also told how he was elated to be one of the cardinal electors, saying that: 

"Of the millions of the catholic faithful I was chosen to be one of them. I was like a grain of sand picked out from a sandy shore of millions of the grains of the beach. And, who am I to be one of them? To be picked up and be one of the cardinal-electors?"

- Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle (Paraphrased and translated) 

Tagle: A cardinal for the people

CUARESMA is a series on Filipino Catholic traditions during holy week.

There are no copyrights to the material or the pictures used in this post, feel free to use them given that it is for non-profit reasons with the exception of this blog being mentioned and credited. 

All pictures taken by the blogger in Imus Cathedral, Imus City, Cavite, Philippines 

March 27, 2013 - Holy Tuesday