Have a Blessed Holy Week!

Growing up in a mainly Catholic country, Holy Week was something people observed. I remember going to confession, doing the stations of the cross, the 7-church "Visita Iglesia", remembering Jesus' death at 3:00pm on Good Friday, then of course Easter Sunday. The only non-religious thing we used to do was to color easter eggs on Saturday so we could hunt for them on Easter Sunday just before we went to church.

It has been a long time since I have done all of the above. I do try to go to confession in preparation for Lent specially since our priest keeps on hammering the point. In the past, it was a secretive ritual, I would go into a confessional booth and pour out my sins in blessed anonymity. Later on, it became a penitential rite which I would attend, and I would confess my sins to God in my heart. Nowadays, it is face to face with a priest and I am always filled with anxiety beforehand, because I am afraid that he will recognize me. That is why I am always glad when it is a visiting priest and not my parish priest. Times have certainly changed though. During my last confession, the priest's cell phone rang and he had to take a call in the middle of my admission of guilt.

I am a bit saddened that it now seems to be considered as more of a holiday, a vacation time for people who would normally not be able to take time off work. When did this happen? It seems Holy Week is a time for domestic tourism. Beaches are swarming with "beautiful people" and unless you book your rafting adventure in advance, there are no slots available. While I am honest enough to admit that if I were in the Cebu, I would also choose to go to the beach with my family, part of me wishes for a time when Holy Week was, as its name indicates, holy.