These are the articles that I wrote for the coffee table book: The Procession of Faith: The Passion of Christ in the “Pasos” in the Parish of Saint Gregory the Great Cathedral Old Albay District Legazpi City. It has a spiritual and evangelistic theme
which includes these elements:
A. Introduction
B. Opening
Prayer
C. Opening
Song
D. Scripture
Reading
E. Reflection
F. Family
Intercessions
G. Closing
Prayer
H. Story
of the Paso
Read On...
Read On...
INTRODUCTION
THE HOLY WEEK PROCESSION
IN THE
PARISH OF SAINT
GREGORY THE GREAT
The Filipino
family gathers in their home provinces during Holy Week to pray and reflect the
passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ in union with the Catholic Church
throughout the world. The Albayanos call it in the same way the Spanish calls
it: “Semana Santa”. The celebration
lasts for a week, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. Palm Sunday, otherwise
known as Passion Sunday, is known in Spanish as “Domingo de Ramos” in formal reference to the event and casually
referred to as “Osana” in other
towns. It is the commemoration of the Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem.
The
devotion of the Albayanos stands out through three customary processions in the
Parish of Saint Gregory the Great Cathedral. The first is the procession of the
images, colloquially known as “paso”, of
the passion and death of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. The pasos are evident influences of the
Spanish era. Pasos is a Spanish word
which means processional platforms or stage decorated with fresh flowers and
lavish ornaments. Each paso is taken
care of by a family for several generations.
According to Reverend Jeronimo R. Sevilla, Holy Week procession is a
tradition in Seville, Spain. He further says, “When the Spaniards came to the Philippines, they noticed that
Filipinos worship anitos. This observation prompted the Spaniards to introduce
religious images to the Filipinos as a way to convert them into Christianity”.
The second is the procession of the paso, Kamunduan sa Pamitisan kan Krus entitled in English as Solitude at the Foot of the Cross, also known as Soledad at nine o’clock p.m . The image is owned by Arguelles/Serrano family of Barangay 7 Old Albay Legazpi City. “An Soledad ay ang pagsosog ni Maria sa dalan ni Jesus”, says Reverend Sevilla.
The second is the procession of the paso, Kamunduan sa Pamitisan kan Krus entitled in English as Solitude at the Foot of the Cross, also known as Soledad at nine o’clock p.m . The image is owned by Arguelles/Serrano family of Barangay 7 Old Albay Legazpi City. “An Soledad ay ang pagsosog ni Maria sa dalan ni Jesus”, says Reverend Sevilla.
The third is the Easter Sunday Procession of the images of Santa Maria, Agum ni Alfeo, Santa Salome,
Maria Magdalena, San Juan Apostol asin Evangelista, Santa Maria and Resureccion at four o’clock a.m for the
Easter Dawn Mass or “Salubong”. The paso, Jesus Nazareno is presented on the
first Friday of Lent or “Cuaresma” in the Saint Gregory the Great Cathedral and
leads the Station of the Cross every Friday. As written in the Semana Santa
2014 Program brochure of Saint Gregory the Great Parish, An Cuaresma iyo an 40 aldaw na pag andam asin paghorop-horop para sa
Misterio Pascual kan satong Kagurangnang: An Pagkasakit, Pagkagadan asin
Pagkabuhay Liwat ni Kristo.
“The procession in Old
Albay district started probably in the same year the Parish of Saint Gregory
the Great was established”, says Father Deogenes Barja,
the Parish Priest of Saint Gregory the Great. “There are
no records available that chronicles the exact year of the Holy Week
procession”, he added during the interview. “The procession back then was held every Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Good
Friday and Easter Dawn but now we only hold it on Good Friday and Easter Dawn.”
In an electronic mail interview with Diyosis kan Legazpi via their Facebook Page, states that “As to when Holy Week Processions started in
the Parish, it has been a long standing practice in Catholic parishes to hold
such processions – perhaps starting with simple carroza to the elaborate huge
ones we have today”.
What began years ago
with a few images, has blossomed into a host of faithful devotees of images owned
by families from different Barangays of Old Albay, Legazpi City passed from
generation to generation, today numbering to forty eight (48) pasos. The procession has become the
main religious practice every holy week that brings in local tourists and
parishioners. Ryu Anakin Tanriosa was only __ years old when he first witnessed
the Good Friday Procession with his parents in their home town in Albay in
2009. While he was looking at the images move through the streets one at a
time, he said, “I like the story”.
The first
in the Good Friday procession are the acolytes
with hands clasped together in supplication, seminarians, priests and church
officials. A group of men dressed as the twelve apostles and children as angels
comes next before the first paso arrives. The paso is brought through the streets of various barangays in Old
Albay, with devotees reciting the Holy Rosary and carrying lighted candles
behind the carroza.
As
it passes along barangays, it halts for a biblical reading about the paso at a Kinurobong. A kinurubong, which
signifies one station of the cross, is a creative representation of Mount
Calvary made of various materials like abaca and paper mosaic. Mrs. Rhodora S. Acuña, a parishioner of Saint
Gregory the Great Parish still remembers the big kinurubong located in different places she saw when she was a
child. She said, “. The last kinurubong is in the church where the paso lines up until the last paso arrives.
Father Barja pointed
out that a biblical reading is read by Lectors and Commentators or LECOM every time
a paso passes by a kinurubong is for the evangelization of the people. It aims for an evangelized
and evangelizing community. This is explained by
Lectors and Commentators or LECOM at the
start of the procession:
Dios marhay na hapon/banggi sa saindo
gabos mga tugang.
An prosisyon kan banwaan nin
Diyos, kaiba an manlaen-laen na pasos na nagladawan kan Mahal na Pasyon
ni Jesukristo, sarong magayon asin makahulugan na kaugalian niato sa
lambang pag-abot kan Biernes Santo.Ini ginigiboniato bako sanang tangani
kita magpitinensya asin makapaghorop-horop bilang mga parabaklay sana sa daga
siring man tangani na matawan Kita nin ladawan, orog na an mga
kaakian, na makatabanag sa papasabot kan mga mensajee na boot ipaabot sa paagi
kan lambang paso.
Bilang
kasimbagan kan pangapudan kan renewed integral evangelizationAn lambang paso na mahihiling nindo
ngonian ipapasabot an kahulugan ta sa siring na paagi, matabangan kita sa
paghorop-horop kan pasyon nin satong Kagurangnan Jesukristo asin masabotan an
agi-agi kan satong kaligtasan.
In
February 2014, Reverend Jeronimo Ma. Rosario R. Sevilla, whose family also owns
a paso, wrote a thesis about the pasos in Albay for his Master of Arts in
Theology Major in Dogmatic Theology entitled “A Proposed Evangelization Program
for Paso Owners of Saint Gregory the Great Catehdral Parish.” Accoding to
Reverend Sevilla, he chose it as a subject because _____________________________________-
The life size pasos of the Apostles of Christ followed by the pasos of images that depict the
liturgical story of the passion of Christ line up in this order with their
official names:
1.San Pedro, Apostol
2. San Bartoome, Apostol
3. Santo Tomas
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12. Huring
Pamanggi
13.
14.
15.
The
solemnity of the procession every Holy Week in the Parish of Saint Gregory the
Great Cathedral has a significant place in the Catholic faith of the Albayanos.
“It is a reminder kan agi-agi ni Jesus
pasiring sa Calvary. We are called to join Him in our everyday life to Calvary.
Holy Week does not end in Good Friday. We look forward to Easter Sunday.
Makapadagos kita gabos sa paglakaw sa Easter Sunday”, says Father Barja.
Indeed,
Holy Week renews our faith in the Lord. Every Lenten experience give us a
reason to keep on believing as Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen.”
OPENING PRAYER
In the name of the Father…
OPENING SONG
One bread, one body
One Lord of all,
One cup of blessing which we bless,
And we, though many,
Throughout the earth,
We are one body in this one Lord.
SCRIPTURE READING
THE PREPARATION FOR THE LAST SUPPER
(Mt. 26:17-19; Mk. 14:12-16; Lk. 22:7-13)
On
the first day of the Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the
paschal lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where do you wish us to go to prepare
the Passover supper for you? He sent two of his disciples, Peter and John, off
with these instructions:
“Go
into the city and you will come upon a man carrying a water jar. Follow him in
the house he enters
LAST SUPPER BEGINS
(Mt. 26,20; Mk. 14,17; Lk. 22, 14-18)
As it grew dark he arrived with the Twelve.
When the hour arrived, he took his
place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them: “I have greatly
desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. I tell you I will not
eat again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
Then taking a cup he offered a
blessing in thanks and said: “Take this and divide it among you: I tell you,
from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the coming of the
reign of God.”
(1 Cor 11:23-25)
For
I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on
the night he was betrayed took bread, and when had given thanks, he broke it,
and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In
the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant
in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
REFLECTION
Huring Pamanggi is the twelfth (12th)
paso presented during the Good Friday
Procession at the Parish of Saint Gregory the Great in Old Albay, Legazpi City.
The image depicts Jesus giving His body and blood to His apostles in the form
of bread and wine. The Last Supper of Christ with the Apostles is the first station
of the new way of the cross and also the Fifth Mystery of Light of the Holy
Rosary. As it
passes by a Station of the Cross or “kinurubong”,
a commentator from LECOM reads a brief narrative in the local dialect:
An nagdadangadang na paso iyo an ladawan kan
huring pamanggi nin Satong kagurangnan bago siya magadan kaibahan kan doseng
apostoles.
Bago si Jesus nagpuon kan saiyan pasyon,
binoot niya na makahampang an saiyang doseng apostoles na sinda, Simon Pedro
asin an saiyang tugang na si Andres, si Santiago asin an saiyang tugang na si
Juan ng mga aki ni Zebedeo, Si Felipe asin Bartolome, si Tomas asin Mateo
parasingil nin buhis, si Santiago Alfeo, Tadeo, Simon Cananeo asin si Judas
Iscariote, an nagpasaluibKi Jesus.
Sa Huring Pamangging ini, tinugdas ni Jesus an Santa Misa na iyo an pinakahalangkaw na pangadieon sa gabos na debosyon asin man an Sakramento nin Pagpadi. (Mk 14:22-25/Lk. 22:17-19)
Sa Huring Pamangging ini, tinugdas ni Jesus an Santa Misa na iyo an pinakahalangkaw na pangadieon sa gabos na debosyon asin man an Sakramento nin Pagpadi. (Mk 14:22-25/Lk. 22:17-19)
Huring Pamanggi is the scene where Jesus established the
Eucharist which is the summit of our worship. The Eucharist is a living
memorial of Christ’s redeeming sacrifice that has sealed the new and
everlasting covenant. In the Gospel, Jesus says, “For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains
in me and I in him (Jn 6:55-56). This tells us that when we partake of the body
and blood of Jesus, we have a glimpse of that moment when Jesus comes again and
fulfills completely his offer of life to the fullest. In the mystery of the
Holy Mass, the past becomes present. It
is an experience of God’s love.
The loaf of
bread broken, and shared richly, symbolizes our being together as one believer
of Jesus, the Lord (1 Cor 10:16-17). In one of Bo Sanchez’s Special Meditation,
he said that “The bread represents us –
our trials, tribulations and weaknesses. The bread becomes Jesus. The breaking
of the bread is the broken body of Christ and the cup of wine is the blood
gushing forth. If God can change bread into Jesus, He can change you into another
Jesus.” The wine is also used during the offertory of the Holy Eucharist as
a symbol of fruits of our labor.
The
institution of Holy Orders also took place during the Last Supper with Jesus’
words, after He had blessed the bread and wine, ‘Do this in remembrance of me”
(Luke 22:19). The first priests were the Apostles.
FAMILY INTERCESSIONS
Help
us to see the people around us as fellow members of the Body of Christ that
will enrich our life. Lord, hear our payer.
That
our Eucharistic meal may inspire in us love that seeks the happiness of others,
communion that desires reconciliation, and joy that anticipates the happiness
of the heavenly banquet, we pray.
Heavenly, gracious Father, may everyone in
our family draw near to you during Lent and receive the grace you offer through
the sacrament of the Eucharist. Heal our darkened minds and hardened hearts
that we may repent and seek refuge in you. Lord, hear our payer.
CLOSING
PRAYER
O Lord, thank you for sharing with
us the joy of your Mystical Body, the communion of the saints. Sensitize our
hearts that we may be aware of those who are begging silently for our time and
attention, encouragement and affirmation, understanding and appreciation,
listening and forgiveness. Amen.
THE STORY OF THE PASO
FAITH AMIDST TRIALS
Despite
going through a lot of challenges in life, Mr. Gerardo Ralla experienced God’s
merciful and redeeming love for him through the compassion of Father Don Vito Pavilando, the Chaplain of Saint Agnes’ Academy
where his children studied. Father Don
Vito Pavilando touched the heart of Gerry and helped him surpassed
misunderstandings and harsh criticisms. His change was gradual but deep. It was
in the many difficulties he had to face that he grew in the virtues of faith,
hope and perseverance.
The carroza was created for two months. It was
placed on top of a jeep. The unique design of the carroza which was perfected by trial and error supports the heavy
weight of the image of Christ, twelve apostles and a table. The names of the
Apostles in local dialect are written around the carroza: Simon Pedro, Andres, Santiago,
Juan,Felipe,Bartolome,Tomas,Mateo,Santiago Alfeo, Tadeo, Simon Cananeo asin si
Judas Iscariote. Each image of the
apostle also have their names inscripted at the back.
The
apostle, Judas is portrayed standing away from Jesus Christ with a pouch on his
hands while some of the apostles are seated beside Jesus Christ, kneeling in
front and the others are standing at the
back. The vestments in silk and velvet are
woven with gold thread. A security guard looks after the images at night.
To continue the
unwavering devotion to Huring Pamanggi,
the second generation Ralla takes an active part in the preparation of the carroza every Holy Week with steadfast
commitment. Miriam and Jesus Rosendo assists in the checking of the materials
to be used and assembling of the tent in front of their house. The image is
displayed by Holy Thursday where a security guard looks after the images at
night. According to Mr. Gerardo Ralla, there was a time that the gold-plated chalice
was stolen.
After the end of the Good Friday procession, the loaf bread is
given to the devotees. The images are safely kept in an exclusive room. The
dresses are carefully packed and stored. The Ralla family plans to build a
modest chapel of devotion to the Last Supper where the wooden image of the Huring Pamanggi will be enshrined in a
high altar where devotees can attend mass, pray the rosary, offer flowers and
light candles.
References:
Holy Bible
Family Prayer Book
Holy Bible
Family Prayer Book
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