Yesterday was so hot to the point we hesitated if we'd go to the procession or not. However, in the end, our will to continue our yearly family tradition prevailed, so we took a quick prep then we started walking to the venue. It was almost 4:00 P.M. when we started our walk, but even though it was already late afternoon, the sun was still scorching. Thankfully there was an occasional cool breeze that would blow on our way, so the heat wasn't that much of an issue.
On our way to church, I saw again the bougainvillea that I often see whenever going to church, but unlike the last time I saw it, the bougainvillea flowers seemed to be in full bloom now.
We passed by at our neighboring purok's cottage and down its window, I saw a pretty flower. Last Sunday it was still a bud, but now it had bloomed nicely. I'm not sure if it's a rose or some other kind of flower, but nevertheless, it was beautiful.
After an almost hour-walk, we reached the main road and there we saw the first carroza which had the statue of St. Peter. As soon as we walked our way to church, we saw different carrozas that had the important figures in Jesus' moments before, during and after his holy burial.
As usual, the church was super cramped and hot, so we decided to just wait for the procession at another spot. Like last year, it was way past 5:00 P.M. when the procession started.
As the prayer started, the crowd moved slowly. We lit our candles as soon as we started walking. At first, it was really crowded—like skin to skin crowded.
New procession joiners that emerged from small streets forced their way inside our lines and because of them, there had been a slight commotion. I tried to follow the prayer, but in the end, I got left behind because I couldn't focus anymore due to the noise.
And so I just prayed rosary by myself. I memorized the mysteries and prayers in it, so it wasn't much for me to pray it alone. However, as soon I started my prayer, the noise suddenly became too loud. I don't know if it's just coincidence or a test but I can't hear my voice among the cacophony of noises.
The sound of people chattering, the cries of little children, the humming of the generators that powered the carroza, the sirens blaring and many more distracting noises seemed to cloud my mind. I faltered while silently praying, so I decided to chant my prayers aloud.
The noise was still distracting and there were times I stuttered, but I didn't stop. My mother asked me something—not knowing I was praying, but thankfully my sister knew so she answered for me. Were almost at the turning point of the procession when I finished the rosary. I stayed quiet for the rest of the time and occasionally I took pictures of the carrozas that passed near us.
It was almost 8:00 P.M when we finished the procession. We proceed inside the church to sit and pray for a while. The church was dimly lighted that night and I stared at the dark ceiling and noticed that the painting was almost done.
It was so enthralling and beautiful that I tried taking a pic of it but unfortunately wasn't able to capture its beauty because it's too dark and obviously my phone's camera wasn't fit for capturing pictures in the dark.
We walk our way home again. The road was already so dark, but it didn't scare me because many people were walking with us. We arrived at our home at almost 9:00 P.M. and we were really exhausted.
My feet were quite sore and my hip was really aching, and just imagining how tiring it is to walk made me realize again how hard it was for Jesus to walk towards Mt. Cavalry. Plus he's carrying a cross which undoubtedly was heavy and with the people's jeering and insults, it sure became heavier. I couldn't fathom how tiring and tormenting that walk was—all just to save us.
But as I lay down on my bed that night, questions came to my mind. Are all those sufferings and sacrifices that He'd accepted and done for us worth it? With all the atrocities that we, humanity have done—are we even worth saving? I sighed and closed my eyes because I knew we didn't deserve those—His kindness and mercy, but still, he did it because He loves us... yet what are we doing now?
All the pictures that were used were taken by yours truly, ridgette, while the first picture was edited in Canva.
The procession reminds us not only of Jesus' journey but also of how we, too, sometimes carry burdens in our lives. I couldn’t help but think about how He walked that painful path just for us. It made me reflect on my own life and the things I take for granted.
Yes, somehow it's like the journey that we're taking in real life. There are times that everything seems to be so slow like everything feels like it hasn't progressed at all. But hopefully, like the procession, we'll get to the end line, and yes that walk did made me reflect on a lot of things—things that I often overlooked before.