Good Fridays in the past have had me in my father's hometown in Cabatuan, Iloilo. We usually flew in on a Wednesday to get settled in and do the routine visits to nearby relatives before the Holy Week activities start on Maundy Thursday. Thursday late afternoon to evening would be for the Mass commemorating the washing of the feet. This was always a long celebration with the parish priest washing the feet of apostles usually played by town elders (during election years, these would be candidates for the local positions). Tatay and his friends jokingly refer to the Mass as "misang Batman," referring to the priest vestments that they compare with the superhero's cape/costume. The Last Supper commemoration is separate and held after this Mass. Good Fridays usually involved the Stations of the Cross in the morning to a hill in town that symbolizes Calvary. This was at Balic, which was at those times a rural part of the town past the Cabatuan National Comprehensive High School. In the afternoon, there is the procession featuring carrozas depicting the passion of Christ and the characters involved. Most prominent for me here were the antique images of the Santo Entiero and the Mater Dolorosa. During and after the procession, we usually went around to check out the temporary chapels set-up for the stations of the cross around town. There was usually a competition and winners were announced on Easter Sunday Mass.
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Iran has been in our minds lately, and mainly because of the attacks by the US and Israel that have led to a crisis now experienced by most of the world. Personally I have friends in Iran and I can't help but wonder how they are doing now. One of my closest friends at university in Japan was from Iran. We shared many experiences as foreign students in Japan and he was always kind, gracious and respectful. They (ordinary people) don't have means to communicate to the outside world. Internet is down and with the crisis still unresolved, I can only pray that he and his family are okay.
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Estimates stated that there were more than 6 million people (6.66M according to one estimate) who participated in the Alay Lakad to Antipolo yesterday, Maundy Thursday, until the early morning of today, Good Friday. Most of these people are of voting age, which I assume based on the physical capability needed to do the Alay Lakad. I wonder who among these voted wisely in the past 2 elections and who they will be voting for in 2028. These thoughts came to my mind as Alay Lakad is supposed to be a panata and for 'good'. Whose good exactly? Is it the selfish kind or the good of many (and by many I am not referring to just relatives and friends of those who did the Alay Lakad)? Were they really pilgrims or devotees or just there for the thrill of the experience or adventure?
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