10 April 2009

While saying goodbye to each other during our music ministry practice at Ela's house, Daisy said, "See you on Friday." I was a bit puzzled with that - I might not be around when she told about the invitation, and Ran said that Daisy sent an invite about doing a Good Friday Walk. I had no idea what's it about, but because I am basically at home every Good Friday, I said yes to it.

In my previous post, I told about this church in Bulacan where people visit every Holy Week, and I thought that's where we will go. Sometime last Wednesday or Thursday, I received a message from Goody saying hello and asking how was I during the Holy Week. I told him about the walk and he said he would come as well. Goody said he had been doing it for two or three years now and through him I found out that we will walk not to the church, but a novitiate in a different route and place, but still in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.

A night before, I received a forwarded text message asking all participants of the walk to bring extra shirts, water, packed lunch, and writing materials. Hmmm.. this could be an all day event!


The forwarded message specifically said to be in Ciudad Real chapel as early as 6:30AM. I left the house at around 6:10AM, and it was a bit difficult to get a jeepney to ride on! It took me about 20 minutes before I was able to get a ride, but was happy because the time I arrived by the entrance of Pangarap Village, I saw Marvic. Ran and I talked about meeting by the entrance of the village at 6:20AM, but he said that he and his cousin Mhau were just about to leave the house. Marvic and I just decided to go to the tricycle terminal and it was where we met up with Shae. Last time I saw her was during the SFC ICon in Cebu City, and it was great to see her again.

It was around 7:30AM when we started walking. The novitiate was located inside a private property, and for us to enter the gate, we needed a letter of permission. Daisy secured it for us and off we went!

According to Jorem, this walk started in 2002, when the members of SFC living in Ciudad Real decided to do some bonding moment on Good Friday. Since the church where people visit during the Holy Week was no longer Catholic, they found a great alternative - walking to the Blessed Sacrament Novitiate. Walking there would take around 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the participant's stamina. Not only was the place far, there were uphill and downhill slopes in the road, and the sun's heat also played its part to give the people quite a hard time.

This walk gave Ran and I the chance to talk. He had been sending me text messages about his concerns and his problems, but because it was text messaging, it was difficult to converse about it. We decided to be at the back of the pack because he wasn't prepared to tell everybody about it just yet.

Somewhere in the middle of our walk, Noel arrived with his motorcycle. Ran asked Noel if he could just give me ride to the novitiate, but I didn't want to. I came there to walk, and walk is what I will do. The last time I walked to my limits was when my sister and I walked from Burnham Park to SM City in Baguio City, and I want to test my limits again. Happy I was able to handle it!


After about 1.5 hours, we reached the place. Jorem (one of the pioneers of the walk) said that before they would stay by the gazebo, but they were informed by the seminarians that we couldn't stay there. We just found a spot at the corner of the yard where we fixed ourselves and took a little rest.

Led by kuya Arthur and Jorem as the guitarist, we did a little praise and worship. Soon after, the seminarians told that if we want to do some confessions, we can do so on that day. While the others were doing their confessions, we grouped ourselves - the guys were one group, while the girls were divided into two groups. Daisy prepared some discussion topics, which will be shared once we were complete.

It was such a good thing that I brought brother's tripod with me - it was a very helpful tool in getting all of us in one picture.


As soon as everybody had their confession, we went with our respective groups for a round of discussion. SFC members do this during bonding moments - a way of getting to know more of each other as well as voicing out concerns and letting go of things that we were keeping in our hearts.

We had our lunch after the discussion. I wasn't able to bring my rice, but I did bring a can of tuna. One of the good things about SFC during moments like this one was that they always know one or two would not bring any food, so they would pack more than the usual for all of us to share. Ran shared his rice with me, and I was a happy eater! =)

By 1PM, the seminarians invited us to watch "The Passion of the Christ." It was my first time to watch the movie and I cried a river! It was a bit too much seeing how they punished Jesus Christ at that time, but what got me to cry the most was seeing how Mary was trying to be strong. I think if I would be a mother and I see my son being tortured that way, I might die.

Following the film showing was a mass. It was quite a long mass, but I learned so much from it - especially when the priest talked about our "cross." I couldn't help but agree in everything he said.

It was around 4:30 or 5:30PM when the mass ended, and we all prepared to walk back. As usual, Ran and I went at the back of the pack again, but we weren't alone - Daisy and Vic were with us. Our mindset was that we don't get to do this everyday, in fact we would only do this every Good Friday, so why not enjoy the road back? We walked slowly making sure we get to see the the sights, and Mother Nature gifted me with:


... a ladybug. I found it really amazing that even with all the trees and the grasses by the sides of the road, I was able to spot this little bug. This wasn't a good shot as the bug was walking endlessly, but I still love it!


Nearing the end of the road, we saw that the surroundings were turning golden, so we stopped walking and waited for the sun to set. What a beauty!


And because I had the tripod with me... why not shoot a group shot?

When we reached the chapel where we started the walk, some of our companions already left, while some were patiently waiting for us. Everybody was still in the walk mood that we walked from the chapel to Quirino Highway, where we took the jeepney ride back to our respective homes.

This walk made my back and feet hurt so much, but it was a sweet kind of pain. I am happy to be able to spend a day with these people.

*** Jenn ***