Calvary

WITH rising fuel prices, the incessant repatriation of OFWs from Japan and the Middle East, the impending decline of OFW hiring in the coming months, Pinoys convicted in foreign countries for drug trafficking and the neverending debate between the Church and State over the Reproductive Health Bill, the Philippines, indeed, has a weighty cross to carry – a burden that is especially felt during this Holy Week.
For most Filipino Catholics, Holy Week is a very spiritual time — a time for deep reflection, sacrifices and repentance. For the devout, keeping to age-old Catholic traditions and practices is mandatory: abstinence and fasting, the Pasyon, Visita Iglesia, Cenaculo, Washing of the Feet, to name a few.
It is through these acts of commemoration that most Filipino Catholics are able to feel a sense of fulfillment when it comes to their lenten obligations.
However, Pres. Aquino looks at Calvary in a new light — especially in the context of the trials and tribulations that face the nation.  He exhorted his kababayans through his Lenten message: “As long as we equal hard work with prayers, as long as we carry our nation together, as long as we focus on the welfare of the majority more than ourselves, no Calvary, no Herod can stop us from achieving the changes we aspire for.”
“This is the lesson of our Lord, to equate charity work with prayers and voluntarily help in carrying the cross of people experiencing hardships,” he added.
It is a burden that can be alleviated by a sense of bayanihan — just like what Simon of Cyrene did for Jesus Christ, albeit involuntarily. It need not be an unbearable weight to carry. Our collective strength as a people will lighten the load and make it more sufferable.
The solemn and austere atmosphere of the Holy Week is also an opportune time for us, as Pinoys, to look into these hardships with more clarity and to reflect on possible solutions that we can contribute as concerned citizens.
As the great Publius Cornelius Tacitus once said, “In seasons of tumult and discord bad men have the most power; mental and moral excellence require peace and quietness.”
Sometimes, all we need is a moment of quiet introspection to find the answers. (AJPress)