One thing I love about the Holy Week is the beautiful moon during the night. Last Good Friday was a Full Moon. I had learned from Answer.com and Wikipedia that the church authorities have a standard procedure to designate the exact date for the commemoration of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Golgotha. They do it using the Computus (Latin for computation). According to Wikipedia, Computus is the calculation of the date of Easter in the Christian calendar since the early Middle Ages; Good Friday is the Friday before Easter, the canonical rule is that Easter day is the first Sunday after the 14th day of the lunar month that falls on or after 21 March. I don't think I have to discuss what lunar month is, the meaning of vernal equinox, Paschal full moon, or Ecclesiastical full moon; I just want to emphasize here that the beautiful moon during the night of the Holy Week is not just a coincidence or a miracle, but because of the age-old church tradition.
Born and raised in a very Catholic family, I can surely say that I had never missed a single Good Friday ceremony since I was seven years old. Thanks to my Lola Mommy Tinang, my first religion teacher who was very diligent and patient in inculcating in my young mind then, the beauty and essence of Catholic rituals and traditions. I had always spent my Good Friday in Catmon, but last year I spent in Carmen and this year in Danao City. The only valid reason why I opt to celebrate my Good Friday in a different parish is just to be by myself; to have time and space to think clearly, not to be disturbed by saying hi and hello to my friends and acquaintances.We have more time for our friends, but Good Friday is for Jesus.
Last year, I spent it with the Benedictine Monks in Carmen. I was expecting to experience different ceremonies and rituals, but I was wrong, it was still the same Gospel readings, prayers and songs. So I realized that it doesn’t really matter where you will spend your Good Friday, I think what is more important is a deeper contemplation and reflection of your life, and understanding fully the essence of the celebration.
God is love. What a beautiful line to think of. But with that message, we can sometimes ask this question; If God is love, why do we have sufferings, problems, diseases, ailments and catastrophes? Are these things permitted to happen by God who is love? One of the seven last words of Jesus is somewhat similar to the questions we often ask God. Jesus cried, “Father, why have you abandoned me?” During the darker times of my life, I forget about God’s love. I was blinded by sorrow and pain. If Jesus had asked the Father that question, then we can say that nobody is exempted to experience a point in our life that we almost give up everything, including our faith. But Jesus said later in the cross, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”. After the cry of anguish, pain and remorse, we hear now Jesus surrendering everything to the father. Jesus is the best example to follow. God’s love in the end will save us from eternal damnation, the permanent loss of our faith.
