ILOILO City – For the second straight year, Christendom is observing Lent under the shadow of a precarious coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Holy Week kicked off yesterday with a muted observance of Palm Sunday. The faithful were advised to just stay home and join services online.
“We learned a lot from last year,” said Archbishop Jose Romeo Lazo of the Archdiocese of Jaro.
“It seems this year we’re back to square one as we experience once again an upsurge in COVID-19,” he said in his Holy Week message.
Lazo, however, acknowledged that “our situation here in the archdiocese is a little different from that of Manila and nearby areas” where the surge in COVID-19 cases has been sharp.
Even then, Lazo said, health protocols must be observed in all churches under the archdiocese such as the wearing of facemask and face shield, physical distancing and washing of hands properly.
Yesterday, so as not to draw large crowds, no Palm Sunday procession around the Jaro public plaza took place before the 7 a.m. mass at the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral.
There was no traditional blessing of palms outside the cathedral, too; this was instead done inside the cathedral.
The cathedral also limited to 200 the number of faithful allowed to enter it.
“Gin-ayo sang aton city government nga kon puede wala lang sang mga tawo sa compound ukon sa gwa sang simbahan kay basi indi ma-control,” said Father Angelo Colada, director of social communications of the Archdiocese of Jaro.
“Sa sulod wala ‘ya sang problema kay organized. Kita gina-aku ta nga budlay gid man mag-disiplina sa mga tawo sagwa,” he told Panay News.
The Catholic faithful had the option to attend services via Facebook Live.
Here is the schedule of activities at the cathedral:
* Holy Monday (March 29) – Mass at 5:30 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., and 5:30 p.m.
* Holy Tuesday (March 30) – Mass at 5:30 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., and 5:30 p.m.
* Holy Wednesday (April 1) – Mass at 5:30 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., and 5:30 p.m.
* Maundy Thursday (April 2) – Chrism Mass at 7 a.m. and Mass of the Lord’s Last Supper at 5 p.m.
* Good Friday (April 3) – Stations of the Cross (stationary) at 6 a.m.; Siete Palabras from 12 noon to 3 p.m.; and commemoration of Christ’s life, passion, death, and resurrection at 4 p.m.
* Black Saturday – Bihilya sang Paskwa at 8 p.m.
* Easter Sunday – encuentro or dampog (stationary) at 4:30 a.m. and Masses from 5 a.m., 7 a.m., 9 a.m., 12 noon, 3 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7 p.m.
“Wala naman kita sang Visita Iglesia sa tion sang Holy Thursday and tungod sang pandemic, wala naman sang paghalok sa krus kag wala na sang may mabisita sa simbahan sa Good Friday,” Colada added.
Archbishop Lazo, meanwhile, said the 500 years of Christianity will “always remind us of the gift of faith that has been given to us in our baptism.”
He added: “Holy Thursday invites us to recognize three important events: the institution of priesthood, institution of Eucharist, and sacrificial loving service of Jesus through the worshiping of faith.”
For this Good Friday, Lazo invited the faithful to “look into our experiences of suffering, struggle, loses, death especially during this pandemic and find meaning in them.”
“We have much to embrace this Holy Week, recognizing the pains and struggles we have been through and bring us deeper in faith and trust – with God of mercy and love, a God of hope and light, a God who would accompany us in our journey in faith,” Lazo added./PN
