Till we meet, again. The Salubong.

Lovers do not mind at all sleeping late at night, then waking up early the following morning, to meet with the one s/he adores.

The headache and pang for sleep disappears once the lover is face to face with the beloved.

That is exactly how a faithful feels during the hours between an Easter Vigil and the "Salubong," a Philippine Catholic tradition.

So last Holy Saturday, from 9 p.m. , we attended the Easter Vigil celebration at our parish in San Andres Apostol which lasted almost three hours, close to midnight.  Then we went home and barely two hours after, woke up to attend the 3 a.m. "Salubong"procession.

Others in the parish church didn't have a wink or two.  Members of the Knights of Columbus Council 15419, for instance, acting as marshalls for the entire Holy Week celebrations, kept watch over the statues and icons which were to be used for the "Salubong."

The "Salubong," is a re-enactment of a scene in which the Blessed Virgin Mary, mourning for the death of her son, met up with the Risen Lord.

It is a joyous occasion, a VICTORY!

The Blessed Mother about to meet her Beloved Son

The Risen Lord anticipates the appearance of the Virgin Mother

The glorious event, the "Salubong," or meeting up

The Mother is reunited with the Risen Christ

Unique to the Philippines and countries colonized by Spain during the colonization years, the "Salubong," is re-enacted in churches throughout the Philippines.

 








In a "Salubong," there are two starting points.  One, wherein the Blessed Mother, accompanied by women faithfuls leaves a church courtyard or another place within the parish, and a second spot, wherein the Risen Lord, accompanied by the male faithfuls originates.

At a given point, the two central characters would meet up, a "Salubong," literally a converging point.

According to the Jesuit Gourmet, Fr. Joel Liwanag, " this is not written in the Bible, but the Filipinos' natural affinity to their mothers tell them that if there is someone to whom Christ will show himself first after his resurrection, it must be to his mother who loved him so much. This explanation is quite reasonable. St. Ignatius himself seems to have the same logic in his Spiritual Exercises (SpEx) when he highlighted this event by making it first among the contemplations of the Fourth week of the Exercises. He writes, "rising again, he appeared in body and soul to his Blessed Mother" (SpEx [219]). He explained that, "Although this is not stated in Scripture, still it is considered as understood by the statement that he appeared to many others." (SpEx [299])."

A full moon guides the "Salubong"

Fr. Vic of San Andres Apostol Parish, celebrates Easter mass, March 31, 2013 in an open field

A mass has been celebrated at the meet up point at about 4:30 in the morning, and before 6 a.m., the congregants headed back to Church in a procession.

The Easter procession passes through the streets of the village

It's Glorious Easter, a festive occasion,  called Pasko ng Pagkabuhay in the Philippines, so a marching band joins the faithful in the celebration

The Risen Lord heads back to Church after the "Salubong"

HAPPY EASTER 2013 TO EVERYONE.

Flagellation.

Many years ago in Bustos, Bulacan,  I saw up close how flagellants drew out blood from their bodies.

This was during a Holy Thursday "penitencia," or mortification of the flesh as a religious practise.

Flagellants struck and whipped their bare backs with small bladed weapons such as shreds of glass or wooden/bamboo pieces tied up in  a bundle and attached to a long rope or elastic band.

They were shirtless and had their faces covered except for their eyes.

The flagellants roamed the streets in an organized fashion continuously hitting their bodies in a rhythmic fashion without any word of agony coming out from their mouths. The spectators were the ones who cried as if in pain and disgust at the show of public remorse, and as blood squirted, sometimes, hitting the people lined up in the streets.

There were foreign tourists, too, in awe of the scene before them.

In many parts of the Philippines, "penitencia," is widely seen during the Holy Week season.  In Bustos, Bulacan, particularly, the event draws many participants and both their kababayans or townsmates, and visitors, consider the lenten custom, as part of their observance of the Holy Week.

We cannot judge these "flagellants," on the merit or demerit of what they're doing.  The Catholic Church does not condone nor belittle this type of penance.

I heard from a native Bustonian how the flagellants, after the "penitencia," took a quick dip in the river and miraculously, healed their wounds from the self-beatings.

The Missing Mother.

My summer months while growing up always included a sojourn to the mountaneous Antipolo.  Antipolo in the province of Rizal, now a vibrant city, is home to the Nuestra Senora de la Paz y Buen Viaje (Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage),  and also famous for the Hinulugang Taktak Falls, red clay-pottery, and for its Philippine delicacies such as suman sa ibos, kalamay and kasoy.

While on a parish pilgrimage (Visita Iglesia) last March 16th, our group visited the Church of Nuestra Senora De La Anunciata in the town of Tanay, just a few kilometers away from Antipolo.

Framed photograph of the Nuestra Senora De La Anunciata

The Nuestra Senora De La Anunciata was the first church built in the province of Rizal, older than the Church of Antipolo. 

It was built by the Jesuit fathers in 1700, damaged by an earthquake in July 18, 1880 and razed by a fire during the Second World War.  For a time, in the 1930's, it was abandoned to give way to a dam.  It was finally restored in 1995.

 The Church of Our Lady of Anunciata 
in Boso Boso, San Jose in Tanay, Rizal 

 
Today, the Church, practically just a remnant of a centuries-old church, stands as a vision of old stone with wild vines clinging on top of it.  A small chapel, built inside the church offers Sunday services to its parishioners. 

During our pilgrimage, a sorry tale was told to us.  That the original image of the Nuestra Senora De La Anunciata is missing.  It had been lost many years ago when it was borrowed by someone from Bulacan.

So, today only a photograph of a replica can be seen in the Church.  No one, it seems, knows the details about how the image had been lost.

Anunciation scene.

Like the missing Mother, the Church probably had missed many opportunities in the past.  It had only been restored recently, and canonically erected in 2004.

Wooden roof-dome

But with the help and aid of the Camilian priests and brothers and the laity, the Church is now actively pursuing the rehabilitation of its wooden roof and the reforestation of its environ.

Gate to a garden.

Restored stone wall.

We, the pilgrims, did the Tenth Station of the Cross at the Church

Fr. Vic Flores, Parish Priest of the San Andres Apostol who led the pilgrims, lamented about the loss of the image and wished that the Nuestra Senora De La Anunciata could be found soon and returned to Her home. 

Where could the Missing Mother be? 

Somewhere in Baliuag, famous for its Lenten procession where more than 55 religious images and icons navigate the busy Bulacan highway? Or anywhere in the capital city of Malolos where the historical Barasoain Church stands proudly? 

Could it simply be residing in a private house, consigned to a dark corner or in the attic gathered in dust, with the owner oblivious to the Nuestra Senora De La Anunciata's history?

Like the good priest Fr. Vic, I wish the Missing Mother could be located and like the Virgin of Antipolo, be adored in her own turf -  this Mother in her home in Tanay.

Holy Experience.

On a trip to Orlando, Florida , U.S.A., years ago, we went to a place to experience Holy Land, where they simulate the area of Jerusalem during the days and times of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The Holy Land Experience consisted mostly of several life-size Biblical scenes packed into its 15-acres. A Jerusalem street market, the Dead Sea Scroll caves, Herod's Temple, the tomb of Jesus -- were all there, impressively rendered. The park crew and employees wore period costume and we, the visitors quickly grew accustomed seeing Roman soldiers and coarse-robed civilians scurrying about in Birkenstock sandals, on their way to their next musical performance.

And towards noon, there was a re-enactment of the Passion and Death of Jesus.

The re-enactment started with the Way of the Cross when Jesus had been condemned to die by crucifixion, up to the carrying of the Cross from Pilate's palace to the narrow streets of olden Israel, and up to the Mount of Golgotah and ended with the crucifixion.

It was a very touching play; it was almost like being there, at the "moment" when Christ was suffering and dying.

But it was all a dramatization.

In our parish of San Andres Apostol, we have a "real" Station of the Cross which started on the first Friday of Lent and will end on Friday before the start of the Holy Week.

The San Andres Apostol Station of the Cross starts from the Church and goes to 14 houses within the village via a procession bearing the image of the Black Nazarene and a replica of the wooden cross of Christ.

It is a "live" Station of the Cross wherein a station of the cross is assigned to a particular house and parishioners move in a procession, from station to station or house to house, bearing a replica of the wooden Cross of Christ, and the image of the Senor Nazareno (Black Nazarene).

Church workers and parishioners join parish priest Fr. Vic on Lenten Friday Station of the Cross.

At each Station of the Cross, prayers are recited and a "personal sharing" is done by a parishioner or a church worker.

Author shares his story of conversion. 

* Pictures/images of Station of the Cross, courtesy of San Andres Apostol facebook account.

Long live the Pope!

The Catholic Church does not have a leader today.  Pope Benedict XVI resigned and his last day as Pope was on Feb. 28th.

How does an organization exist without a head?

If the church were an ordinary organization or corporate entity, it would have been simple. There would be a temporary or interim chair or officer or sometimes, a collective body, assigned to cover his work.

But a massive organization like the Catholic church, a church of more than 1 billion members, with a mission to strengthen the Church built by Jesus Christ, cannot simply be assigned an ordinary or interim leader.

The impact of Pope Benedict's XVI resignation is like a thunder roaring in the four corners of the world, and would continue to clap even when he and the generation of the year he resigned would be long gone. It is a historical event, not only in the Catholic annals but in the records of modern civilization.

I thought about this resignation. I read about Pope Benedict's reason for doing so, and I read about conspiracy theories, about various analyst's commentaries regarding this event.

And I found myself saying, "Pope Benedict, true to his academic-like tenure as Pope, having been regarded guardian and enforcer of conservative church doctrines, resigned because he believed that a Pope is not infallible, the Pope is just an ordinary human with human limitations, like getting weak as one gets older. So he resigned and showed the world that the papacy, while it is divinely-inspired, is also a human endeavor, and like any human task or assignment, can be faulted, can be erroneous, can be subject to stress and pressures, and yes, it can be departed from, and re-assigned to someone else."

All the talk about the ex-Pope being pressured by a larger, unseen, organized force within the Catholic church will just remain a conspiracy theory.

And although Pope Emeritus Benedict alluded to rivalry and individualism within the inner conclave of the Church and his advisers, the fact still remains that there are no direct public pronouncements regarding this.

Looking at it objectively, Pope Benedict left a legacy of strength and courage. For when faced with fragility of health and mind, and of doubt ("There were moments of joy and light but also moments that were not easy ... there were moments, as there were throughout the history of the Church, when the seas were rough and the wind blew against us and it seemed that the Lord was sleeping"), he chose the courageous act of resigning in order to give the Church a new start, a new leader who, he felt, could face better the daunting challenges of a new world ("However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith..")

His resignation has changed the Catholic church forever; it will become a precedent for future Popes. It will become an option for future popes who could not perform or who would perform below par. It would make the Catholic Church act more swiftly in terms of crises, and problems besetting it.

I think it was Pope Benedict's greatest contribution to the church.

By his resignation, he brought the Catholic church closer to the modern world which he found complex, by showing that like a man-made entity, the Catholic Church which was built by the human son of God, can be re-shaped for it to be better and more responsive and stronger.

Here's the full text of Pope Benedict's resignation letter, as presented on the Vatican web site:

Dear Brothers,
I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.  I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the barque of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects.  And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.

From the Vatican, 10 February 2013