REFLECT on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma urged the faithful. Don’t spend the Holy Week in the beach.
“Holy Week is not really a vacation week. Choose another time to go to the beach.
Semana Santa is not a time to swim or spend vacation,” Palma told reporters yesterday.
In his Lenten message, the archbishop asked the faithful not to treat the Holy Week as a sort of vacation, but as a way to reflect on the trials of Jesus Christ in the cross.
“God gave us this time and we must make good use of it in gratitude to the Lord. Let us not go swimming while the whole Christian world is in reflection,” he said.
He said the faithful should participate in religious activities related to Lent or visit religious sites across Cebu.
He said that while the churches are ideal places to reflect, there are some retreat houses where people can stay and reflect.
In a related development, new media startup InnoPub Media and Smart Communications Inc. developed an application to serve as handy guide for Cebuanos who plan to do the “Visita Iglesia” or the Lenten tradition of visiting seven churches on Maundy Thursday.
The VisitaIglesia App, whose first version was released in time for Holy Week, provides historical information about key heritage churches in Cebu, which can be visited during the Visita Iglesia.
The app’s release is part of the nationwide Digital Tourism program being conducted by Smart and Innopub. The program harnesses mobile technology to deliver tourism, cultural and historical information.
The VisitaIglesia App is currently available for Android phones and can be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store.
InnoPub Media co-founder Max Limpag said versions of the app for iOS and Windows Phone are still being developed.
