The following is by a member of the Almond Branch, Celine Dillon, who writes of her experience growing up in the Philippines, and her discovery of grace…
Do you have any Lenten Traditions?
I grew up in the Philippines and during Holy Week, the week starting from Palm Sunday until Good Friday, all radio stations were either closed or, if they were open, they would not play any loud or happy music. Movie houses were closed. Restaurants were closed. Department stores were closed and offices were closed. (In fact, I had culture shock when I came to the U.S. and I had to go to work on a Good Friday.) In the church, the statues of the saints, the Virgin Mary, the Holy Family and Jesus Himself, were covered with purple cloth.
On Palm Sunday, I remember getting dressed eager to go to church with my palm frond beautifully woven and decorated with flowers. At the end of the mass, I would wave the palm frond along with all the other faithful people, as the priest went up and down the aisle to bless the fronds. My mother and grandmother believed these fronds had healing powers and boiled pieces of these in water and had me drink the water whenever I got sick. I don’t remember if it actually healed whatever was ailing me at the time.
On Good Friday, some people would show their penitence by either walking on their knees from the entrance of the church to the front of the Altar.  On one extreme, some men would re-enact Jesus’s carrying of the cross to Calvary by carrying their own cross, flogging their backs as they walk with some kind of a whip. Some would even be crucified themselves. They did these things in order to atone for their sins. In some towns, this was actually a tourist attraction. I went to see such a re-enactment with my mother one time (not because of the re-enactment though, but because of the cotton candy and other sweets that vendors were hawking).
Then the long awaited day came. Easter Sunday! As soon as we woke up, my parents would tell my brother and I to jump as high as we could. This was supposed to make us grow tall. I don’t really know what Jesus’s resurrection had to do with my height. But I remember doing it anyway. And as you can see (for those who know me), it really did not help my height. Surprise! The purple cloth covering the statues in church were finally removed. After mass, we would go to our favorite restaurant across the street from the church and have lunch. I would eat my favorite food, a pork dish with dipping sauce and fried rice.
It would take several decades before I learned that when Jesus died on the cross, He spoke these powerful words: IT IS FINISHED! In the Greek, it is one word: “Tetelestai!” With this word, Jesus declared that He paid for all our sins – past, present, and future. He paid for our iniquities with Himself. The work is complete!
“But He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet.” – Hebrews 10:12-13
“Now where there is forgiveness of these things, an offering for sin is NO LONGER REQUIRED.” – Hebrews 10:18
There is no more need to walk on our knees, or to flog ourselves, or to be crucified. Good Friday should no longer be a day to be sad, but a day to spend in remembrance of what He did for us; a day of rejoicing and thanksgiving; a day of anticipation for His victorious return!
He is Alive!
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