Holy Week in the Philippines is widely celebrated not only because we are predominantly a Catholic nation but also because this means long vacation. Most in the metro would be leaving to their respective provinces to reunite with their loved ones. Some families have traditions that they follow during this season while others take this opportunity to go out of town. I, on the other hand, was able to experience both last Maundy Thursday. Together with my girlfriend, we were able to do Visita Iglesia (Church Visit) in Pampanga, a province in Central Luzon.
Personally, this was my second time to do Visita Iglesia. Our family is not religious so we don't have such tradition like any other Catholic families. However, since I spent most of my college life in CFC-Youth for Christ (YFC), I got to experience how it is to do this widely followed Catholic tradition. We literally walked around Manila and visited various churches to pray. That was also my first time to tour around Manila.
Anyway, as we were heading to Pampanga, we had to endure the 4.5 hours of traffic in North Luzon Expressway (NLEX). That was my first time to experience an EDSA-like Carmageddon but we were cool enough to let it pass by singing in the car. That was really fun!
As soon as we arrived at the first of the seven churches, we prayed. My girlfriend prepared a personalized booklet that served as our guide to our Visita Iglesia. Compared to my first experience, this one made an impact on me. I think that's because of the reflections that came with each prayer as we recite the Stations of the Cross. It's probably just me being a deep person but this whole Visita Iglesia experience gave me that sense of purpose. It made me realize the importance of this Holy Week.
We were able to tour around Pampanga specifically in Lubao (St. Augustine Parish Church), Guagua (Immaculate Concepcion Parish Church and Betis Church), Bacolor (San Guillermo Parish Church), Santa Rita (Santa Rita Church), San Fernando (Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Ferdinand) and Apalit (St. Paul Parish). The whole Visita Iglesia experience only took us around four hours. I know the travel was even more time consuming but I personally think that it was worth it.
More than the beach escapade that others spent their time with this week, I personally think that what we did was more worthwhile. I'm not judging them by their preference though. Summer is officially here and a long vacation like this one is a good opportunity to escape our obligations at work or in school. May we all realize that we're not merely using this long vacation for our own personal getaways but also for our own personal reflections.
Lord,
Thank You for letting me experience this. I never thought that this would be this fun and meaningful. While it was really tiring, it was also inspiring and self-satisfying. It made me feel whole again.
Also, thank You, Lord, for the gift of my relationship. I would've not experienced this without her. Her patience and love for me assured me that she's my answered prayer. She's a living testament to my prayers.
Amen.
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