ILOILO City – The Archdiocese of Jaro reminded churches and parishes to celebrate Santacruzan based on its true essence and storyline.
Rev. Father Rex John N. Palmos, director of the archdiocese’s Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education, observed that Santacruzan is becoming a “festival of beauties” where fancy, colorful and expensive pieces of clothing are paraded.
“Santacruzan is about the triumph of our Christian faith over paganism. Amo na istorya ni Reyna Elena nga na-emphasize ang big role sang krus nga nangin simbolo sang kadalag-an,” said Palmos in an interview with Panay News on Wednesday, May 24.
Santacruzan is not a visual spectacle, he stressed.
“Hopefully, ma-emphasize man nga ang Santacruzan is a very beautiful story to be told nga bisan ano ka paraligban kag problema sa pangabuhi, ang krus ni Jesus padayun gid nga nagadala sa aton sa kadalag-an,” added Palmos.
The archdiocese also observed that churches have merged Santacruzan and the culmination of Flores de Maria (more commonly known as Flores de Mayo) to save cost.
But Palmos said if these two important traditions are merged, the essence and story of each are gradually lost, with Santacruzan focusing on looking for the cross while Flores de Maria focuses on the Blessed Virgin Mary and her virtues.
“That is why maayo gid subong nga ma-distinguish para mahatagan sang iya gid nga focus ang tagsa-tagsa ka mga tradition nga ini,” he added.
The Archdiocese of Jaro recommended that churches conduct Santacruzan every month of May (particularly the last week), especially this year, when Most Rev. Fr. Jose Romeo O. Lazo, Archbishop of Jaro, gave parishes the option to either have Flores de Mayo for the entire month of May or once a week from May to October, which follows the narrative of the Fatima story.
Lazo issued Circular No. 002/77/2023 on April 25 with the subject “The Celebration of the Flowers of Mary 2023” addressed to “the clergy, consecrated persons and Christ’s faithful.”
According to Lazo, the coronavirus pandemic brought challenges that altered the normality of people’s lives as well as religious practices and traditions.
Thus, facing this reality, the Jaro Archdiocesan Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education (ACCCE) presents the following recommendations that respective parishes can choose.
Flores de Mayo for the whole month of May
* The traditional Flores de Mayo continues, starting May 1 until May 30 and culminating on May 31 or any other day the parish chooses to celebrate.
* The scheduling of Flores de Mayo must be properly considered. Respect the needs of the students to study for their school requirements. If it is done daily, careful considerations must be made, such as its schedule, timeframe, and venue. We should value the traditional aspect of Flores de Mayo without sacrificing the other needs of the children, such as study and rest.
* Parishes must make sure that the conduct of Flores de Mayo emphasizes catechesis. ACCCE prepared the necessary catechetical modules and materials for the daily celebration of the Flores. The topics revolve around the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Creed and Church, and the Historia Sagrado.
Flores de Maria-Narrative of Fatima, from May to Octobe
* For parishes that wanted to opt for a more flexible approach to conducting Flores de Maria, this one option offers an approach that is only on a weekend basis, or simply once a week, preferably every Saturday or Sunday.
* This approach will be called “Flores de Maria” as it follows the narratives of Our Lady of Fatima’s apparition to the three children: Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco. It starts on the first weekend of May and will continue for six months (every weekend) until the last weekend of October.
* The culmination of Flores de Maria will be in October and will also coincide with the culmination of the Holy Rosary Month celebration, which is also the Catechetical Month in the Archdiocese of Jaro.
Palmos said churches that opt to conduct Flores de Maria from May to October would hold the culmination program in October. But if the church holds Flores de Mayo from May 1 to May 31, the culmination will be held at the end of May in conjunction with the Santacruzan./PN
