A GOOD Friday

Reminiscing old times has always taken my breath away.

I left for Don Bosco Canlubang last March 21, Good Friday, to join the seminary community in celebrating Holy Week. After packing my things at gunpoint, my brother drove me to the bus station where I only had an hour and thirty to beat if i wanted to catch the 3 PM Veneration of the Cross. why was i rushing from Manila to Laguna at such a time? Obedience. I accepted a request of our Parish Priest to share a reflection on one of the Last Words of Christ: "Woman, behold your son... (Son,) behold your Mother."

Giving that talk was a blessing in disguise. Not because it was another crowning achievement, but because i needed that wake up call from the Mother of God herself. From the inside-out, it speaks of a time-tested relationship: that of a mother to her son and a son to her mother. And this was exactly what i needed.

Summing up my short sharing, i zeroed into the value of Commitment. specifically: Commitment to Jesus even in times of trial. You see, Mary and John were not just entrusted to each other, but Mary and John were, at the outset, in a place where they were not supposed to be: at the foot of the cross of a criminal. Mary's mere sight of Jesus should have her knees shudder with agony. The mere presence of an apostle to his master should have made John an easy target of suspicion. But they were both there, committed to their Lord even in the darkest and most terrifying of times.

Ironically, too, it speaks of my own sense of commitment. Do I know how to stand by Jesus at the foot of his cross? Whenever i choose sin to sacrifice, i abandon Jesus. Whenever i don't make relationships work, i disown my relationship with Him. Whenever i choose the easy way out instead of going through inevitable pains in life, I kiss Jesus goodbye and leave him for another false love.

This was the first of my realizations this day. the others were still to come as the day grew longer...

Grace made its way to me as i reached the gates of the school just in the nick of time, and safely. Actually i was a bit late, but i didn't miss any crucial parts yet. with hesitation, i disappeared into the crowd of seminarians and ex-seminarians like me, who were in the choir loft. a potion of inexpressible joy and anticipation gurgled in me as i smiled and curiously waved my accommodating hand once in a while to greet old acquaintances. I was there for a purpose, i whispered to myself. and it was to bring back life to my already-dying sense of Commitment to God.

As the cross was being unveiled in front of us, we sang, as we were made to. ever since i entered the seminary, Good Friday celebrations were my cup of tea, and these all slowly came back to me. "I used to be the one covering that cross..." "i used to be the one running here and there, orchestrating the movements of the servers and making sure everything was in place..." "i used to be a very big part of this..." And as i see things unfolding right before my eyes, the best and least thing i could do was to pray and relish the moment with Jesus.

We were supposed to "exit the church in silence," as the rubics indicated, but i couldn't help but get together with my batchmates, bestfriends, brothers who were there, sharing the same purpose with me. I, Marnel, Joseph, Edward, Ryan, Ronel, six from the original batch of sixteen, were all there to both catch up on the latest news and refresh their relationship with God. smiling faces were all around, even though a most solemn commemoration of the Suffering and Death of Christ had just preceded. With us together, we made our way to the Stations of the Cross and to the rest of the schedule.

The night grew darker as we joined the wake of the mother of our Rector, Fr. Rolo, which was in the bungalow adjacent to the Cogliandro House. I was able to once again relish my ties with Juvelan, my classmate in High School, who now happens to be one of the prenovices this year. I also had the chance to be with my classmates and just enjoy their company.

Recalling the many events of the day has made me quite tired. but just sitting down and 'being' made my day complete. i realized too that i didn't have to "be part of the action" to be able to feel the weight of things on me.

Looking at things again, Jesus was likewise "being" with the whole world when he suffered and carried that cross for us. and because of this, he was able to relish, feel, experience every part of our humanness in order to save us.