A Night Scene in Turbina, Calamba City, Laguna

* into SCTEX

* views from the bridge

This is a purely random post. It was on a whim that I walked from Crossing Calamba to Calamba Exit in Turbina. The hike was literally tiring (not to mention toxic due to the smoke one gets to inhale along the way) but you are rewarded by the great view of the start of the SCTEX from the bridge connecting Brgy. Real and Brgy. Turbina. I tell you, the bridge actually shook as vehicles passed through it. Pedestrians are not advisable to be in that place as vehicles are all in speed. Cheers to an occasional random walk and an occasional random post!

 

Pabasa at the San Pablo Cathedral, San Pablo City, Laguna

* guide for the Pabasa chants

Pabasa can be briefly described as a way to narrate the Passion of Christ through chanting. I first heard a Pabasa being held was in a village in Nasugbu, Batangas. It was only this time that I got the chance to observe this Holy Week tradition closer. It was said that the Pabasa can last even beyond midnight, depending perhaps on the number of willing participants.

* elders and the young alike join together

in the Pabasa at the Resurrections Chapel,
San Pablo Cathedral
* the book of chants

Thanks to a friend, Paul Jensen Lara, I was able to come inside the venue of the Pabasa in the San Pablo Cathedral and take photos and a video. To witness this is a pleasure knowing that its origins can be traced back during the Spanish times in the country. It was a long time yet it is still here with us.
   

Pagdiriwang ng mga Mahal na Araw 2012 | San Pablo City, Laguna

The details you’ll see below were obtained from the tarpaulins set up along the perimeter of the San Pablo Cathedral. Any changes to the posted schedule are entirely in the hands of the organizers of the commemoration of the Holy Week.

Pagdiriwang ng mga Mahal na Araw 2012

Holy Monday – April 2, 2012
Masses: 5:30am / 6:15 am / 7:00 am / 5:15 pm / 6:00 pm
(8:00 am) Pabasa, Resurrection Chapel

Holy Tuesday – April 3, 2012
Masses: 5:30am / 6:15 am / 7:00 am / 6:00 pm
General Stations of the Cross:
(1:00 pm) Assembly at the Lion’s Club
(1:30 pm) Stations of the Cross
(5:00 pm) Celebration of Holy Mass at Doña Leonila Park, Sampaloc Lake

Holy Wednesday – April 4, 2012
Masses: 5:30am / 6:15 am / 7:00 am / 5:15 pm / 6:00 pm
General Procession after the 5:15 pm mass

Maundy Thursday – April 5, 2012
(6:00 am) Chrism Mass
(5:15 pm) Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper
Vigil after the mass until 12 midnight

Good Friday – April 6, 2012
(7:00 am) Tenebrae (Morning Prayer)
(12:00 noon) The Seven Last Words
Celebration of the Lord’s Passion
(3:00 pm) Liturgy of the Word
Veneration of the Cross
Holy Communion
(5:00 pm) Solemn Procession

Black Saturday – April 7, 2012
(8:30 pm) Blessing of Fire, Cathedral Patio
Procession of Paschal Candle
Liturgy of the Word
Blessing of Water
Litany of Saints
Renewal of Baptismal Promises
Liturgy of Eucharist
Baptism and Confirmation of Converts

Easter Sunday – April 8, 2012
Masses: 5:30am / 7:45 am / 9:00 am / 2:00 pm / 4:00 pm / 5:15 pm / 6:30 pm
(3:30 am) Assembly
(4:00 am) Procession to Cathedral
(4:45 am) Solemn Mass
(3:00 pm) Easter Egg Hunting

I personally anticipate the procession detailing the life of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. I have always seen them as a child but I do that this will be the time when I will be able to document this and the San Pableños devotion to their religion.
 

Sunset Views in Sampaloc Lake, San Pablo City, Laguna

* the ever captivating Mount San Cristobal

* Trailer Pransis striking a pose

* got attracted by those branches

Sunset views in Sampaloc Lake are beautiful as much as the morning views are. In these times when summer is approaching (or is it already here?), the afternoon breeze blowing over the lake is surprisingly cool. And since the vacation time is nearing too, more visitors and frolickers are seen on the lake’s perimeter especially on weekends.

* I took this shot

* shadow on a sunset

Still my plan is posted in my mind: go rent a boat and skim through the lake’s waters.

2012 Palm Sunday Afternoon in San Pablo City, Laguna

* children participating in the annual
Palm Sunday celebration

* the parish priest blessing the palm leaves

* all for the palm leaves blessing

As we enter the month of April this year, the devout and non-believers alike are greeted today with the rustling of the palm leaves. This week is part of one of the high holidays in the Christian religion (particularly Catholicism): the Holy Week. Palm Sunday is the commemoration of Jesus’ – Christianity’s Messiah – triumphant entry to Jerusalem after ministering to different places. However, as any bible reader knows, He would be later persecuted (born it seemed out of conspiracy among those who oppose Him) leading ultimately to his crucifixion by the Romans. This was one of the most brutal forms of corporal punishment during that time.

* the presiding priest on the way to continue the mass celebration

* the image of Christ riding on a donkey as he enter Jerusalem;
found inside the San Pablo Cathedral

* palm leaves for sale

Thanks to childhood bible school and teenage Sunday bible training I still remember those details. But I am not in any way religious. My attraction to these Filipino traditions (albeit Spanish implanted) is born out of the desire to know more about our country’s past. The aim may seem too simple and static but this is essentially what Back Trails is all about.

As I have the luxury of time, I shall document the activities for the Holy Week here in San Pablo and hopefully embark on a Visita Iglesia.