Church to Catholic youth: Visita Iglesia not a group outing

Public displays of suffering will not impress God and the traditional Visita Iglesia should not be treated as if it were a “barkada (group) outing.”

Catholic prelates on Wednesday gave this caution to Catholic youths who may be participating in the various special church services to mark the final three days of Holy Week.

A popular tradition on Holy Thursday—which commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles—is the Visita Iglesia (Spanish for church visit), which involves going to one, seven or 14 churches to meditate on the Way of the Cross.

Grace

But as practiced by young people, it has been reduced more often than not to an excursion, said Fr. Genaro Diwa, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on Liturgy.

“I hope the young people will realize that the experience has so much grace in store for them,” he said.

While it is a “good sign” that the activity is binding young people in friendship and has also become “part of the psyche” of the youth, they should not neglect its significance, Diwa said.

“As they go from one altar to the other and pray from one station to the next, they are actually opening their hearts to a greater sign of love … that every step that they take is a decision that they are eager to follow Jesus,” he said.

Imitation of Christ

Legazpi Bishop Joel Baylon, chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Youth, particularly discouraged young Filipinos against a literal imitation of the passion of Christ on Good Friday.

In some of the most notable demonstrations during Good Friday, penitents in some provinces self-flagellate and sometimes even have themselves nailed to crosses as expressions of penance, in fulfillment of a vow or thanksgiving for a granted request.

The crucifixion dramas of San Pedro Cutud, a town in Pampanga province, have become quite popular with pilgrims and tourists.

But according to Baylon, such “public displays of suffering” do not really make the last remaining days of the 40-day Lenten season any more meaningful.

“I don’t think the Lord wants that,” he said.

Jesus’ perfect sacrifice

“The Lord appreciates all these forms of sacrifices but He doesn’t really like this kind of sacrifice, which inflicts wounds to our bodies,” said Baylon.

Penitents and devotees should not copy the one great act of sacrifice that Christ already perfected to save mankind, he said.

“We don’t have to do that sacrifice anymore because the Lord has already done it … we won’t be able to truly replicate it,” he said.

He stressed that suffering, as a sign of penance, must be internal and deeply personal.

“There are other forms of sacrifice and suffering that would lead to real conversion, that’s what the Lord wants, not public displays of suffering,” Baylon said.

For the youth, this could come in the form of cutting down excessive texting, Internet surfing, smoking, drinking and even giving up a vacation trip this summer, he suggested.

Originally posted at 08:24 pm | Wednesday, April 04,  2012