ORATIO IMPERATA (Hiligaynon)

Oratio Imperata Batok sa N-Corona Virus

O Dios nga amon Amay,

kami nagapalapit sa Imo sa amon kinahanglanon

sa pagpangayo sang Imo panabang

batok sa 2019 N-Corona Virus,

nga nag-utas sang amon kabuhi

kag nagtublag sa kadamuan.

Kami nagapangayo sang Imo grasya

para sa mga tawo nga gintugyanan sa pagtuon

sang kinaiya kag ginhalinan sang sini nga virus

kag sang balatian nga iya gindala

kag sa pagtapna sang iya paglaton sini.

Ihatag ang Imo pag-ubay sa mga kamot kag ihibalo

sang mga dalubhasa sa medisina

agod ila maalagaran ang masakiton

sing may kasangkol kag kaluoy,

subong man ang mga ahensiya sang gobyerno kag pribado

agod sila makakita sang bulong kag kasolbaran

sang sini nga balatian.

Kami nagapangamuyo sa mga nagamasakit,

kabay nga ang ila maayo nga lawas

magapanumbalik sa gilayon.

Ihatag sa amon ang grasyo sa pagpangabudlay

para sa kaayuhan sang tanan

kag sa pagbulig sa mga nagakinahanglan.

Ginapangayo namon ini sa Imo,

paagi kay Jesu Kristo, Imo Anak kag amon Ginoo,

nga nagakabuhi kag nagahari upod sa Imo,

sa kaisahan sang Espiritu Santo,

Dios sa tanan nga mga tuig sang mga katuigan.

Amen.

Santa Maria, Mananabang sang mga Kristiano, ig-ampo mo             kami!

San Rafael Arkanghel, ig-ampo mo kami!

San Roque, ig-ampo mo kami!

San Lorenzo Ruiz, ig-ampo mo kami!

San Pedro Calungsod, ig-ampo mo kami!

Recuerdos de Tronos de Semana Santa: Thinking of The Good Friday Procession

By this time last year, the local Catholic parishes were busy preparing for the annual lenten procession of the carrozas de la Semana Santa - the story of Christ's Passion and the saints who were part of it.

A few days before that, hundreds of intricately designed palm fronds held by the parishioners were blessed at the Palm Sunday mass and days after, our parish priest washed the feet of the 12 Apostles.

The preparation of the carrozas starts weeks before but this time, in 2020, it's a different kind of Lent.

All Lenten activities this year have all been cancelled.

This Holy Week, no carrozas would be decorated, no 'santos' will be clothed, no flowers would be arranged, and no religious procession would journey through the streets of sin and sinners.

The salawikain (proverb), "Kahaba-haba man ng prusisyon, sa simbahan din ang tuloy", will not be literally proven again. At least, not this year. It means 'no matter how long is the procession, it would still end up at the church'.

And since there will be no procession of the pasos, I am sharing these images from last year's Good Friday when no one expected that, just 12 months after, He would bring upon the world, not fire and brimstones that would kill from without, but a punishment that would kill from within.

In the past, most houses would light candles by their front doors to illuminate the path of the thousands of  people joining the procession. And without those lighted candles, we all seem lost and can not find our way in the dark.

The streets are quiet, the paths dark, and the churches empty.

But our faith remains strong.🙏

                                                             * * * * * * * * * * * *

La Cuaresma De Cuarentena: A Quarantined Lent

The corona virus picked the perfect time of the year to punish us all: Lent. 

These days, Lent really feels like how it was during the Holy Week of the past when no one blared their radios and music players, television shows were all about biblical stories, most fasted and abstained from eating meat, and everyone stayed home.

Before, it was bad luck when people went to the beach or traveled during the Holy Week. Drowning incidents about revelers who went to rivers or beaches to frolic were attributed to the 'mari-it' atmosphere. 

'Mari-it' is a Hiligaynon word that means haunted because it is believed that engkantos are out and about during the Holy Week, and those who didn't care about staying put had it coming, so to speak. 

But this time, as the government ordered an enhanced community quarantine, no one freely roams the streets except to get food, no one travels to other places in the island except to deliver food, and sadly for most, no one can party due to social distance rules. Worse, no one can get married at the church and no requiem mass can be said for the dead. This virus literally can hold off a couple's public display of affection as well as postpone a departed's trip to heaven.

Fisherfolk though can still go out to the sea to fish but probably have to sell them at cheaper prices since they could not freely bring them to the public markets. But their kids, I'm sure, are having a good time swimming close by. I envy them. 😄

And also the farmers - they are still able to cultivate their backyard farms and harvest any fruit or vegetable they need. And their kids can play in the gardens under the sun. I envy them, too. 😜

But for us here in the urban settlements, we need to stay home. It's for the best. 

We restrict our movements; we restrict the virus from moving around.  Nobody knows if one is a carrier because he or she looks healthy, until he or she gets sick or gets tested. 

We all stay home but still share extra food with those who we think need it more. 

But let's not forget: we don't let politicians exploit the situation.

Call them out for passing the donated goods as their own. 

Call them out for not being transparent, for overpricing goods for donation, for keeping the choice donations for their own use, for using the crisis as a publicity to further their political agenda, and most important, for not making sure the rice and perishable goods paid for by taxpayers' money and distributed to the people are actually fit for human consumption.

In short, call them out for being dishonest and inconsiderate human beings in this time of crisis and especially in this time of Lent - the only time during the year when we re all reminded that...

Someone shared His life, bread and wine with others.

Someone preferred to wash the dusty, dirty feet of his followers than they washed His.

Someone preferred to be sold like a piece of commodity for 30 pieces of silver and even forgave such betrayal.

And Someone was crucified so that others would be redeemed. 😭

Quarantined or not, it is still Lent. 🙏

                                    * * *

Now, help this little boy find his mother and tell him to stay home.😍