Holy Week is for prayers, not for excursions, says bishop

Fr. Butch Señoron of Sto. Rosario Parish sprinkles holy water as he blesses palm frond-waving devotees at yesterday’s Palm Sunday rites. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

MANILA, Philippines — ‘Tis the season for reading the Bible, going to confession and retreats, not for summer excursions.

A Catholic bishop made these reminders to the faithful on Tuesday as the 40-day Lenten season drew to a close with the start of the Holy Week on Sunday.

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said Lent, especially the Holy Week, should be reserved for spending some time with God by participating in church activities aimed to deepen their faith.

Christians around the world celebrate Palm Sunday to remember the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem on the Sunday before Easter. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

“The season of Lent is here so we may rekindle our faith in the Lord. It is our call to every Catholic Filipino that they participate in the church activities we have so they may become closer with Jesus Christ, our savior,” said Pabillo through CBCP News, the official news service of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

The prelate lamented that secularism has made many Filipino Catholics forget the sacredness of the Lenten season, merely treating the week-long holiday break as merely a time off from work.

“Nowadays, many people only see it as a time off from work, a time for vacation,” said Pabillo. But he stressed that the Holy Week, particularly Holy Thursday and Good Friday, has been officially declared as non-working days so that the people can have time to reflect and pray.

The occasion marks the beginning of the Holy Week, the most sacred days of the Christian calendar, to be followed by Maundy Thursday and Good Friday all the way up to Easter and the events leading up to the resurrection of Christ.

He also suggested that during the Holy Week, one must find time to read the Bible, go to confession and attend retreats and recollections so that they would realize the importance of God’s love and the sacrifices made by Jesus.

“We have to be more prayerful during [the Holy Week]. This is officially declared as non-working days so we may reflect and pray,” he said.

“I hope that the sacredness of this season will not be diminished; Let us use this time to be one with Jesus Christ’s plans for us,” he said, underscoring the importance of going to confession as the most effective way to rekindle one’s faith.

“Let us take this opportunity to go to confession because this is a very effective way for us to rejuvenate our faith in the Divine,” he added.

“Lent is the time for us to be one with our brothers and sisters. Let us be more helpful. Let us not rush in our daily lives, and whatever it is that we will save in our penance and abstinence, let us use to help our less fortunate brothers and sisters,” he said.

The 40-day Lent culminates in Holy Week, which starts this year on April 13, Palm Sunday and ends on April 20, Easter Sunday.