This is how some Catholic prelates are attempting to reconcile the modern-day Filipino practice of using the long Semana Santa break to relax and unwind, leaving the city for the nearest beach or resort, and all but forsaking the solemn religious observances of the season.
“There’s no rule in the Church that says you can’t take a vacation during the Holy Week because it is also a time to unwind with the family and exchange stories with one another,” said Msgr. Hernando Coronel, rector of San Carlos Seminary in Makati City.
Spending time with the family is also one way of pulling oneself away from materialism and individualism, which is also a message embodied by Holy Week, the prelate said.
The weeklong break from work provides the faithful an opportunity to reconnect, not only with God but also with their families, something that most people, consumed by the daily grind of workaday life, neglect to do, according to Coronel.
“We have to go back to our values, strengthen our faith and family, so Holy Week is really a good time to be able to connect with them, to laugh and enjoy one another,” he said.
Go to church
But one must also find time, in the middle of this rest and recreation, to visit the church and pray.
“You don’t need to be very serious, but go to church, spend some time in gratitude for what Jesus has done for us … that’s the request of the Church,” Coronel said.
While churches across the country have special services and ceremonies scheduled to commemorate the last three days of Christ’s life—Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Black Saturday—the faithful are not required to attend all of these events, he said.
“You don’t commit a mortal sin if you don’t attend but you must not miss Easter Sunday because it’s a holy day of obligation … it’s the day of the Lord, the day of resurrection,” Coronel said.
Parents must teach
Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, media director of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said parents should also encourage their children to watch religious-themed movies, eschewing the usual television fare that is not appropriate for Holy Week, which commemorates the Passion and death of Jesus Christ, His resurrection on Easter Sunday and the fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation and eternal life.
Movie marathons during the long holiday are not prohibited, but the faithful, particularly children, must also learn to appreciate movies with religious relevance, Quitorio said.
Parents, whose obligation as Christians is to nurture the spiritual growth of their children, must take the Lenten break as an opportunity to teach their children about faith and one way to fulfill this is to guide them through the movies or TV programs they watch during the holidays, he said.
“Holy Week is the right time for parents to exercise their role as Christians and educate their children on their faith because this is something that they are still too young to understand,” Quitorio said.