CATHOLIC faithful are once again expected to troop to churches and participate in some of this year's Lenten practices this Holy Week.
They also pray, fast and abstain from something, while observing other traditions that have stayed through the years.
Fasting and Abstinence
Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Villarojo, in an interview with Sun.Star Network Exchange, said fasting and abstinence are two different things.
Fasting, in Catholic practice, means taking only one full meal during the day, while abstinence means refraining from eating meat and to eat only food that is simple so that one can practice charity (eating less expensive food to be able to share with others what we have), he said.
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Superstitions in Philippines
Aside from fasting and abstinence, there are also some superstitious beliefs that some Filipinos observe and practice during Holy Week.
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Villarojo said that people practicing these beliefs have to make a careful distinction, because there are practices that have basis in faith but need only to be purified, and there are also practices that will have to be rejected by the Catholics, because they are truly superstitious.
"We need to educate people, to catechize people that the faith is not some kind of magic that whatever devotion or veneration we have for sacred objects does not extend to using these as lucky charms or as amulets," he said.
Visita Iglesia
On Holy Week, most of the faithful also flock to churches, particularly on Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday), to do the Visita Iglesia, a tradition of visiting at least seven churches to do a vigil on the Blessed Sacrament.
"The core mystery is the celebration of the last supper of the Lord and connected to that is His agony in the garden of Gethsemane, where he stayed, and He asked His apostles to stay with Him, to pray with Him and so we do pray with Him during this time in front of the Altar of Repose because He is there as Eucharist and is present among us. When we pray before Him, we are keeping Him company, commemorating the time when He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane and from one church to another, we continue to visit Him and to keep vigil with Him," Villarojo said.
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Sugat sa Minglanilla
This year, the Holy Week will end on March 27, Easter Sunday, when many Christians celebrate Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead.
Easter Sunday also means bigger celebration for Minglanilla, Cebu residents who will celebrate the town's Sugat-Kabanhawan Festival.
Sugat means welcome, while Kabanhawan is a Cebuano word for resurrection.
[WATCH: Sugat sa Minglanilla]
Minglanilla municipal administrator Concordio Mejias said the festival will have two rounds: Sugat in the morning and Kabanhawan in the afternoon.
Sugat will be held at 2:30 a.m. of Sunday and will be followed by a holy mass.
The crowd will be catered to games and amusement at 1 p.m.
Kabanhawan Festival will commence at 4 p.m. and will be followed by Festival Queen, Ritual Dance, and Street Dancing competitions. A disco is set to cap off the festival.
Sun.Star website at www.sunstar.com.ph will stream the Siete Palabras (12 noon to 3 p.m., March 25), Sugat (4 a.m., March 27), and Easter Mass (5 a.m., March 27) live from the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.
Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma had asked the Catholic faithful to repent and reflect on God’s mercy and love for mankind on Holy Week, which he said is not a time for vacation. (Jai Sandoval/Sunnex)