A "Holy" Holy Week

It's almost the end of my Holy Week break, and though the heart stil longs for that vacation trip out-of-town, I admit that this week had still been quite eventful for me, especially on the spiritual side. Palm Sunday was celebrated at St.Francis, as is customary every year, and surprisingly met up with Earlene and Carlo's families, both of whom also celebrate Palaspas at the Church.

Holy Tuesday was spent on a pilgrimage to Quiapo, my first time inside the Church in years. After fixing my civil service papers, Mom and I trekked that long street to the Church to pray the novena and go to confession. I have always been wary of priests after a quite scary confession rites I've been initiated to when I was younger, so I've always sought solace in DAYS confessions instead. But this year has been quite good, the priest I have (at the last minute) queued for was very loving and understanding, and I felt light and peaceful afterwards.

Holy Wednesday was conveniently first Wednesday of the month, so I begged Mom to wake up earlier for my usual Baclaran visit. En route via two LRTs, we made our way amidst the bustling crowd (my first morning visit to the Church) to offer candles of petition and pray the Novena to the Perpetual Help. Even though the rides to and fro was longer than the actual visit, I'm glad I was able to visit and again offer my thanks in Baclaran.

Holy Thursday was our family's annual Visita Iglesia. We made our way to our usual churches in QC, Pasig and San Juan (many of which have sentimental value to us) onwards to our last destinations in Manila. Met up with some yuppie dazers who also reflected on the Holy Week with their own activities. I'm happy and blessed to have continued this tradition with my family. Prayers truly bring us closer, as I've felt during this year's Visita.

Holy Friday was another family tradition--this time to Bulacan where we prepared the carroz and the Nazareno santo for the town procession. Being the eldest in our generation of cousins, I was told that eventually I would be in-charge of preserving the Nazareno's participation in the prusisyon, so I tried to learn everything I could already. Was great catching up with my lolo and tita, meeting up with my second cousins... lots of kids growing up so fast!... and with Milo who lived just a few minutes away from our ancestral house! Galing tlga. After Ling passed the "meet the angkan" test, we looked for an open Starbucks, which took us out to NLEX's Petron Station in the end. It was nice catching up with him, and he made me realize how much I missed our usual talks and DAYS most especially. Thanks to Ling for bringing me home safely, amidst the dogs and the jueteng boys! Haha!

Easter Sunday was at Christ the King. Though I was not able to wake up earlier for Salubong, I did learn a lot from the Mass.. that it's not just celebrating Christ's resurrection but also renewing your faith and renewing youself to become a better person and a better Christian.

I'm glad and grateful for this long extended vacation to be able to fix things, personal errands that I've put off for so long (like fixing my Civil Service Eligibility papers, reading books that have been gathering dust in my shelves, and reconnecting with family and friends). I admit that I've prayed and reflected the longest these past few days--I truly have a lot to be thankful for, not just for myself but for my loved ones. And I know that with the opportunity taken to strengthen my faith, I can now look forward to the next days and months with a renewed spirit and more hope for good things to come.