Vignettes of Visita Iglesia (21st Century Edition)
I normally spend the Holy Week in a retreat house - sleeping, communing with nature, allowing some inner space for a deep personal encounter with my God, and being cared for by wonderful religious sisters. Since my son backed out of our plan to spend the Easter Triduum at the Brahma Kumaris retreat house in Tagaytay, I found myself at home - partaking of the passion and death through the performance appraisal reviews I had to write and washing several pieces of shawl accumulated from as far as January.
Yesterday, I found myself asking my sister-in-law and nephews to go for a Visita Iglesia. It had been ages since I did one, and I was half-amused, half-saddened by the experience. Here are some of the highlights.
SHOW US THE WAY, LORD
While we were familiar with most of the parish churches we visited, there were at least two that we weren't quite sure of. My nephew who was driving asked his mama which way to go. Mama responded: " Sundan mo yung dalawang sasakyan. Magkasunod eh. Papunta din iyon doon."
And on the second church, my nephew learned his lesson: "Malapit na tayo. Ma-traffic na eh."
CAREFUL WITH JESUS
Traffic was really bad on the way to one of the churches. While my nephew was trying to get us out of the mess, I blurted out:
"Oboy, ingat ka. Baka mabundol mo si Jesus."
Nephew was perplexed so I explained that there was a penitent carrying a cross on our right and trying to find his way between us and another car.
Sis-in-law: "Sayang, ang bilis niya. Hindi ko nakunan ng picture."
THE UNINITIATED
Enzo's last Visita Iglesia was when he was about 5 years hold and he had very little memory of it. Here is his own quotable:
"7 churches? Magsisimba tayo ng seven times?!?"
THE CLASSIC MODERN DAY VISITA IGLESIA
Enter the church. Take a photo of the altar or the adoration table. Go out and take photos of one's folks at the facade of the church. Leave.
Blame it on Facebook, but this new generation of Catholics just gets to my nerves. I am generally a very tolerant person but I just can't stand the way a solemn practice is turned into another expression of our Facebook mania.
MY THOUGHT BUBBLES
To Enzo's complaints about being hungry and tired: "You spend three straight hours in front of the computer and you don't feel hungry and tired. We're just here for a couple of hours and you act as if you're gonna die of starvation?"
To the rowdy groups who were too busy taking photos: "Guys and gals, this is a place of worship, you know. This isn't a park or a museum. Is this another church-turned-marketplace scene?"
To the people manning the church entrance/exit queues: "Why do you have to complicate things? You make us go to the middle of the church and go through a maze just so we can exit?!? All this when there is hardly anyone passing through the doors assigned for entrance? Talk about being Pharisitic."
And to myself: You really should have spent the night in the comforts of your room, finishing your last performance appraisal review, spending time in prayer and perhaps writing in your blog.
Next year, I'll go back to one of my sacred places. . . away from it all . . . one only with the One.
Yesterday, I found myself asking my sister-in-law and nephews to go for a Visita Iglesia. It had been ages since I did one, and I was half-amused, half-saddened by the experience. Here are some of the highlights.
SHOW US THE WAY, LORD
While we were familiar with most of the parish churches we visited, there were at least two that we weren't quite sure of. My nephew who was driving asked his mama which way to go. Mama responded: " Sundan mo yung dalawang sasakyan. Magkasunod eh. Papunta din iyon doon."
And on the second church, my nephew learned his lesson: "Malapit na tayo. Ma-traffic na eh."
CAREFUL WITH JESUS
Traffic was really bad on the way to one of the churches. While my nephew was trying to get us out of the mess, I blurted out:
"Oboy, ingat ka. Baka mabundol mo si Jesus."
Nephew was perplexed so I explained that there was a penitent carrying a cross on our right and trying to find his way between us and another car.
Sis-in-law: "Sayang, ang bilis niya. Hindi ko nakunan ng picture."
THE UNINITIATED
Enzo's last Visita Iglesia was when he was about 5 years hold and he had very little memory of it. Here is his own quotable:
"7 churches? Magsisimba tayo ng seven times?!?"
THE CLASSIC MODERN DAY VISITA IGLESIA
Enter the church. Take a photo of the altar or the adoration table. Go out and take photos of one's folks at the facade of the church. Leave.
Blame it on Facebook, but this new generation of Catholics just gets to my nerves. I am generally a very tolerant person but I just can't stand the way a solemn practice is turned into another expression of our Facebook mania.
MY THOUGHT BUBBLES
To Enzo's complaints about being hungry and tired: "You spend three straight hours in front of the computer and you don't feel hungry and tired. We're just here for a couple of hours and you act as if you're gonna die of starvation?"
To the rowdy groups who were too busy taking photos: "Guys and gals, this is a place of worship, you know. This isn't a park or a museum. Is this another church-turned-marketplace scene?"
To the people manning the church entrance/exit queues: "Why do you have to complicate things? You make us go to the middle of the church and go through a maze just so we can exit?!? All this when there is hardly anyone passing through the doors assigned for entrance? Talk about being Pharisitic."
And to myself: You really should have spent the night in the comforts of your room, finishing your last performance appraisal review, spending time in prayer and perhaps writing in your blog.
Next year, I'll go back to one of my sacred places. . . away from it all . . . one only with the One.
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