When the Holy Week was Holy

When the Holy Week was Holy By Prospero Pulma Jr. Imagine a Philippines where television and radio stations went off the air, businessmen shuttered their shops, vehicles stayed off roads, newspapers shut their presses, people mostly stayed at home, and churches held the only sign of a thriving community for almost a week out of a year’s 52 weeks. No, it is not a post-apocalyptic Philippines. Welcome to the Philippines in which elderly and middle-aged Catholics lived in when Filipinos observed the Holy Week rites religiously like priests and nuns following their religious vows. Elderly Catholics would tell their young that Lent and ultimately the Holy Week were opportunities for them to practice Catholicism with greater fervor. Because the Internet and cable television were unheard of then and TV and radio stations signed off on Good Friday, with some staying off-air longer, they had more time to participate in almost all of the religious rites and ponder on the holy days’ significance. Visiting the beach, partying, playing and listening to non-church music, singing nonreligious songs, dancing, playing, working, and even bathing during the week were taboos. A sound chastisement from the elders awaited the violators. Observing the Holy Week then was a monastic experience. Filipinos born in 1990 and onwards may not remember a time when life totally stood still in large swaths of the archipelago from Holy Wednesday through Black Saturday because Holy Week has been fighting with technology and changing lifestyles to preserve its sanctity. Apart from making and taking calls and sending messages, a Catholic can check his social networking accounts and email, surf the Internet, listen to music with his phone during a Holy Week rite. Cable television takes over the entertainment chores of Philippine stations that shut down for the Holy Week, although some local TV outfits have cut their downtime to only Good Friday. Rather than visiting churches, some people have been heading to popular resorts to unwind during the long Lenten break. The clergy and the pious laity must be anxious over the desecration of Holy Week and its dimming significance to some Catholics. If placed beside today’s casual Holy Week observance, the conservative Holy Week practices of a few decades ago could be mistaken for 19th century rituals. For today’s Catholics, preserving the sanctity of Holy Week has turned into a challenge amidst the temptation of technology and gaiety of the modern world. Remaining faithful to the meaning and traditions of Holy Week when it has become too easy to step on the growing path to worldly pleasures during the holy days has become a sacrifice by itself. At a time when distractions are pulling Catholics from their faith, observing a sacred Holy Week has become more spiritually rewarding for the faithful. END