Sunday, May 11, 2008 Bennett: To Baguio children Good Friday means 'being good' By Nonnette Bennett Stories
CHILDREN in a new parish in this urban region 1,500 meters above sea level say that Good Friday means that one should "be good" because God is good.
Joshua Villanueva, 10, a male student of a non-Catholic school, said that he joined the Stations of the Cross for the first time because it was the commemoration of the death of Jesus Christ. He said Christ died so that the sins of the world would be forgiven by God.
"I should not hurt anybody. I should not say bad words and should not take what does not belong to me," Joshua said were the meanings of being good.
Prince Tabajen, 11, male, joined his uncle in the Stations of the Cross for the first time. When asked the meaning of the death of Christ said, "We have to be good because God is good."
The boys were among the 25 or more children who formed an assembly of some 100 members of a Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) of a village procession commemorating the passion and death of Jesus. Through 14 Stations of the Cross spread out along the road about 300 meters long, 13 households hosted a station each the last being in a makeshift church. This was the first procession and their families came from homes in a radius of a kilometer away.
Father Paul Basilio, 35, said that the parish of Divine Mercy from which the residents come has no physical structure yet. There are three BEC that have decided to form a new parish after three years of celebrating the Sunday mass in the garage of the North Luzon School for the Blind. "This is our first gathering for this celebration in Suello Village because the BEC asked to celebrate it," he said.
Baguio City is located some 250 kilometers north of the Philippine capital region of Metro Manila.
Hannah Mae Wakat, 15, a female high school student from a public school two kilometers away said, "This is a way to serve God." She joins her aunt and uncle every Sunday for mass because her parents live in San Pascual, Tuba, Benguet an agricultural community some 25 kilometers away from this city. She says no one has influenced her to join the church celebrations.
Hazel Anne Pidazo, 11, a female fifth grade student, has joined the Stations of the Cross for the last five years. She said that she joined her mother at the Lady of Atonement Parish Cathedral before joining this community. "By going to church and praying," were her ways of expressing her faith for the "love and care that He gives us." She says that her prayers were for the restoration of the health of sick people and for protection from harm.
Jose Paolo Luspian, 11, a male fifth grade student from a Catholic school said, "I thank Him for blessings and obey His Will." He described God's Will as respecting elders, praying for the sick and helping the poor.
Arianne Luspian, 14, sister of Jose Paolo and a high school student said that she has joined her mother for the last four years during the Stations of the Cross. She said, "I repay Him by praying," when asked how she showed God her gratitude for sacrificing His life. She said it was not difficult to join her mother during the Good Friday celebrations.
Joshua said that prayers were important apart from being good. He believes in the power of praying because God has answered his prayer. "Once I prayed to God and asked Him for a visit from my grandfather. My grandfather arrived!" he said. He said that he only prayed four times and God granted his prayer. Joshua now prays that his 14-year-old brother becomes good because their 60 year-old mother has problems with his behavior.
Joshua believes that God will answer his prayers too if he remains good.
When Fr. Paul celebrated the veneration of Jesus Christ on the cross as the mass ended, it was then the one understood why the children enjoyed the Good Friday celebration with their families. The veneration of the image of the crucified Christ was the best part of the day for these children as they expressed their love for Christ by kissing His feet.
According to Erwin Falbush in the Encyclopedia of Christianity, the core of veneration in the Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, is love.
