It is actually not my first time to spend Holy Week here in Sydney. But last year, I was still too excited to see the differences on how we celebrate back in Manila since we just arrived here. Of course, there were the more obvious differences like people here are not so "in to in" like we Filipinos are. They don't have the "pabasa", a Filipino tradition where the elderly usually recall the Passion of the Christ by singing it from start to finish, continuously. They also don't have the Way of the Cross that goes around the entire neighborhood or community. They don't have Visita Iglesia. They don't have Pinetensya, where people with masked faces hit their backs with wooden sticks until they bleed as a sign of them asking for forgiveness.
This year was a bit different for me. For one, I didn't expect that I would be having a working holy week. As what I have posted in the FB status, I am not at all used to working during the holy week, but I am not complaining that I am. After all, these casual works are still His blessings. It was bit tiring. But more than that I was actually missing the practices that we had back in Manila. Then it made think, this set-up, working during holy week, is actually a good way to show what your priorities are. In Manila, you didn't have any choice because everyone is in Holy weeek mode. Everyone is quiet, reflecting, praying. You can't go out to the malls because most often than not, it will be closed. But here, you have all the reason to miss out on those activities because this is only one of the very few long weekends that you get to enjoy here (unlike in Manila, where there is a humngous amount of long weekends!). So people here, really grab that opportunity to go out and travel or unwind. I made me think that you can actually easily go with the flow if you don't have Him as a priority.
I don't want to sound like a self-righteous person but I believe that Holy Week is not something you spend on travels or parties. I believe that each one of us should allot a special time this week to reflect and to pray. This is just once a year! As I've said, I can't blame the people here.
Now, I got a little off track there, but going back, I was surprised to see myself working from Holy Tuesday to Holy Thursday knowing that in the past, I used to spend those days in Church already. Oh well, things change. It was a good thing though that even if I was working, I was still able to do some reflection through the student presentations that I witnessed in St. Andrew's Primary School in Marayong. Just watching the kids and listening to the songs really gave me goosebumps.
My holy week is still not done but work is. I am relieved. I am thankful and I pretty sure, sooner or later I'll get used to working during the Holy Week.
