Ash Wednesday

Eversince i was a kid, Lent has always been very sacred for our family and the community i grew up in.

Lent officially starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday. During this period people are made aware of all the sacrifices and sufferings that Jesus Christ endured just to save mankind from himself.

Men and women from all walks of life practice abstinence (from having sex or from eating meat) or fasting.

Though this is not a holy day of obligation in our tradition, many people would not think of letting Ash Wednesday go by without a trip to church to be marked with an ashen cross on their foreheads. Even people who seldom come to Church for the rest of the year may make a concerted effort to come for ashes. Those who do not share our customs often make a point of telling us that we have something on our foreheads, assuming we would want to wash it off, but many Catholics wear that smudge faithfully all day.

Lent came to be seen as a time to acknowledge our guilt for the sins that led to Christ's passion and death. Repentance was then seen as a way to avoid punishment for sin more than as a way to renew our baptismal commitment. With the gradual disappearance of the Order of Penitents, the use of ashes became detached from its original context. The focus on personal penance and the Sacrament of Penance continued in Lent, but the connection to Baptism was no longer obvious to most people. This is reflected in the formula that came to be associated with the distribution of ashes: "Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return." This text focuses on our mortality, as an incentive to take seriously the call to repentance, but there is little hint here of any baptismal meaning. This emphasis on mortality fit well with the medieval experience of life, when the threat of death was always at hand. Many people died very young, and the societal devastation of the plague made death even more prevalent. (http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0204.asp)

in our family, my lola always strictly implemented the following rules:

1. Laughing or giggling not allowed (She explained that it was not good to feel happy while Our Lord was suffering for us)
2. Playing not allowed
3. Meat is out, veggies and seafoods is in
4. Dressing up or partying up not allowed
5. Travelling especially on Maundy Thursday, Holy Friday and Black Saturday is simply not allowed. Would bring bad luck or death to those who would dare breaking this rule.

but as i was growing up into my high school years, holy week was not that holy anymore. if before people were so scared of even laying a hand on the very delicious-looking lechon, they were not able t o help themselves kesehodang holy monday na.

the essence of the holy week can no longer be felt especially now that i live in the city. i can no longer remember the last time i attended or joined the way of the cross. yes, zamboanga city is a religiously catholic city, but people no longer hold on to strict traditions maybe for lack of time and other reasons that even i use as an excuse not to practice my obligations.

for this Lenten season, i will try in the best of my ability to practice the following as my penance:

• vow of celibacy (i've been celibate for almost a year now)
• no-meat Fridays and Tuesdays
• allocate at least P50/day to the Church or individuals who need financial help
• join Way of the Cross and Mass every Friday afternoon