Picking up from last week, one of the reasons I was ready for Lent is that I am seeing this time differently this year. “There is enough suffering out there in the world,” Kaya Oakes, Writing Professor at UC Berkeley, tweeted at the beginning of Lent. “I invite you to imagine a God who suffers with us, not one who desires us to suffer. There is enough suffering out there in the world…Let’s not waste our brief lives piling more suffering on suffering.” Oakes goes on to suggest that if we feel the need to give up something to consider who profits from this. “Who or what are you making a sacrifice for?” she asks. Oakes is on to something when she asks if this is a question “we need to sit with more often.” Pope Francis concurs with Oakes insight saying in his Ash Wednesday homily, “Prayer, charity and fasting are not medicines meant only for ourselves but for everyone: they can change history.” (La oración, la caridad y el ayuno no son medicamentos sólo para nosotros, sino para todos; de hecho, pueden cambiar la historia.)
As we sit with our Lenten question this week we head to the Philippines through Mrs. Caballero, mother of Mrs. McFarland, 6th grade teacher. One of the traditions Mrs. Caballero remembers from her childhood in the Philippines was the live reenacting of Jesus’ scourging and crucifixion on Good Friday. Men in the town volunteer to be Christ, are actually scourged, and then hung on a cross. Mrs. Caballero’s grandfather participated each year and she remembers seeing the wounds on his back from being whipped. Though some men are nailed to the cross, most, like Mrs. Caballero’s grandfather we’re tied to the cross.
Mrs. Caballero also remembers altars that were set up on street corners starting at the beginning of Lent. These calbaryos would be filled with statues and other Catholic things where people could spend time in prayer. Some calbaryos would also have mini nipa huts over them for shade. The building of these altars was taken seriously as they would be judged by an official from the town each week.
Showcasing SHA talent: This picture of Calvary (really flowers) by a 7th grader is fitting for this week.
God bless,
Mrs. Alhadef
Campus Minister
4th Grade Aide
Jr. High ELA Aide