Blessed Good Friday

     It's the Good Friday in the Catholic calendar, a commemoration of the death of Jesus Christ after he was persecuted by the Jews.

     I watched the seven last words broadcast live on TV from Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City, Metro Manila. It is the remembrance of the seven last words of Jesus as he was dying, crucified by the cruel Jews.

It's a national religious holiday

     The speakers took turns giving meaning to Jesus' last utterances. I remember my parents and grandmother were devout Christians. We used to fast, especially on Good Friday, they sang the traditional passion of Christ which I don't think anyone is still doing, and we prayed the way of the cross in church, religiously following the fourteen stations Jesus passed through carrying the heavy wooden cross. 

The seven last words

     I pray that with this passing of the Holy Week this year, may God continue to shower us all and my family with love, protect us from all evils and guide us in all our endeavors that we may be successful. 

Holy Week

     We have come to the final week of the 40-day Lenten season, the holiest week of all for Christians. It commemorates the tragic death of Jesus Christ who was condemned to death by crucifixion by the non-believers in Israel.

In 2016, BGC out up an ultramodern way of the cross

     During the 40 days, Catholics do fasting and abstinence although it's entirely voluntary, unlike what Muslims do during Ramadan when it's compulsory for them to fast. The ultimate part is the Holy Week, with Good Friday on the Friday and Easter Sunday on the Sunday when Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead. It is a religious festival of sacrifice and joy at the end.

     Last time when I was working abroad, I usually make sure I was home during the Holy Week. I brought my family to do the Visita Iglesia, literally church visits, usually seven churches. I think I did it two times with my family. It was like a pilgrimage to seven churches of our choice, praying at those churches and ending exhausted at the end of the day.

The Quiapo church, one of the churches we visited in one Visita Iglesia trip