ABIDING by its centuries-old evangelical mission, the Order of Preachers again reminded Catholic faithful of the message of Holy Week in the annual Siete Palabras (Seven Last Words) at the Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City last April 22.
Organized by the Dominican Province of the Philippines and attended by hundreds of Catholics, this year’s Siete Palabras had the theme “Ang Pasyong Mahal sa Buhay ni Juan.”
In the first of the seven last words of Jesus, “Ama, patawarin mo sila, sapagkat hindi nila nalalaman ang kanilang ginagawa (Father, forgive them, they know not what they do),” UST Rector Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P. started preaching by telling penitents to remember what Jesus had done for them amid all the sacrifices of Lenten season.
“Our attention is focused on penitence, the Way of the Cross, the Stations of the Cross, flagellation, and fasting, that we become busy doing things for God, that we forget what God has done that merits us forgiveness and penitence. We must make ourselves deserving of God’s mercy,” De la Rosa said.
He noted that many Catholics witness the Siete Palabras during Good Fridays, but fewer people come to join the Easter Vigil.
“Most of us think Holy Week ends on Good Friday. But Good Friday ends on Easter Sunday,” De la Rosa said. “Sana ngayong Biyernes Santo, hindi lang ang ating kasalanan ang ating isipin, kung hindi pati na rin ang walang maliw na Pag-ibig ng Diyos.”
Giving his insights on the second word of Jesus on the Cross, “Sinasabi ko sa iyo: ngayon din ay isasama kita sa Paraiso (Today you will be with me in paradise),” Fr. Enrico Gonzales, O.P. of Sto. Domingo Convent said the world could never achieve paradise because no one admits his faults.
Gonzales added that the difference between us and Dimas (the revolutionary who was nailed on the cross alongside Jesus) was that the latter confessed his sins to the Lord.
“Si Dimas, inamin ang kanyang mga kasalanan. Ang mga iba, hindi umaamin; tumatakas sa kasalanan. Hindi magkakaroon ng katahimikan sa Pilipinas hangga’t may mga kaluluwang naghahanap ng katarungan [sa mga nagkasala sa kanila],” he said.
He also criticized the Reproductive Health bill, saying the government could neuter every Filipino in the Philippines to attain the desired zero population growth, but it would not be able to give paradise.
In the third saying, “Babae, narito ang iyong Anak; Anak, narito ang iyong Ina! (Woman, behold your Son; Son, Behold your Mother),” former UST rector Fr. Tamerlane Lana, O.P., now Colegio de San Juan de Letran rector and president, cited the importance of the number three, saying that people are anchored on three things: minds, words, and actions.
“Three means divine perfection. God knows everything (omniscient); He is always there (omnipresent); and He is all-powerful (omnipotent),” Lana said.
Fr. Filemon de la Cruz, O.P., UST vice rector for religious affairs, talked about the trials and tribulations of life in the fourth saying of Christ on the Cross, “Diyos ko, Diyos ko, bakit Mo ako pinabayaan? (My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?).”
“Inihahanda tayo ng ating mga magulang para sa pasakit ng buhay. Ngunit hindi ito sapat para tayo’y maging handa. Sa ating mga buhay ay pinaghahandaan natin ngunit may mga bagay sa buhay na hindi natin inaasahan [na dumating],” De la Cruz said.
When tragedy comes to a person the first thing he would do is to question why; then he would start to hold a grudge. Thereafter, he would learn to be indifferent; later, he would give up on life, he said.
“Walang sagot [sa mga trahediyang nangyayari] ngunit may larawan akong mapapakita sa kanila na makakatulong—ang larawan ni Kristo sa krus. Palaging tandaan na mahal tayo ng Diyos,” De la Cruz said.
Fr. Allan Lopez, O.P., parish priest of San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish in Quezon City, began his reflection with a personal anecdote. He said that while he was riding a boat at the sea near Navotas, under the heat of the sun, he got thirsty. He pointed to the irony that although he was surrounded by a body of water, he had nothing to drink. Good thing his companions rushed to his needs and swam ashore to find him a drink. He connected this story to the fifth saying of Christ, “Nauuhaw ako! (I thirst).”
“Kinakaya nating magtiis ng uhaw. The tragedy of life is not what we suffer, but what we miss. Marami ngang bata diyan ang hindi nakakaranas ng pagkabata dahil maaga sila namulat sa katotohanan,” said Lopez. “Hanggang kailan tayo mauuhaw?”
Fr. Roman Santos, O.P., of the Convent of St. Raymund of Peñafort in Legazpi City, said the meaning of Jesus’ sixth word, “Naganap na! (It is finished!),” is the ending of one’s mission in the world.
“Ito ay humuhudyat na ang misyon ay tapos na o humantong sa pagtatapos. Natapos na ang paghihirap ni Kristo. It is consummated,” Santos said.
Santos also said that this ending means the “start of a new beginning.”
“Tayo ay dapat tumanaw sa isang paghamon upang muling magsimula. Simulan natin ang pagbabago sa pamamagitan ng pananalig sa Diyos,” he said.
Capping the Siete Palabras was Fr. Nilo Lardizabal, O.P., provincial secretariat of the Dominican Province of the Philippines, who gave a sermon on Christ’s seventh word on the Cross: “Ama, sa mga kamay Mo’y ipinagtatagubilin ko ang aking espiritu (Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit).”
“Ipagkaloob natin ang gating sarili sa Diyos ng walang pag-aalinlangan. Marami tayong pinagkakatiwalaan sa mundo, subalit ang punot-dulo nito ay ang Diyos,” Lardizabal said.
People are not capable of bearing the reality of life that they eventually revert to God, he said.
“We can be like Christ; we can trust Him, sapagkat naging mahina rin siya katulad natin. Ang sagot [sa mundo] ay nasa pagtitiwala sa Diyos,” he said.
Lardizabal said there was an “eighth last word” of Jesus Christ, something that can be heard but has not sound—silence.
“Tapos na magsalita ang Diyos. Mayroon lamang ay silence o katahimikan. Napagtanto na natin na hindi tayo pinabayaan ng Diyos. Nalaman natin ito dahil sa katahimikan. Magsisimula ang lahat sa katahimikan, na doon natin mahahanap ang tiwala sa Diyos,” he said.
The Salinggawi Dance Troupe, Jaime Rivera, and Elisanta Cortez, together with the UST Conservatory of Music, Bayanihan-the National Folk Dance Company of the Philippines, Hail Mary the Queen Children’s Choir, Mandaluyong Children’s Choir, and Aquinas University of Legazpi Dance Troupe, among others, performed song and dance numbers.
Siete Palabras, which started in the 1980s, is the longest-running Lenten program on Philippine TV. GMA-7 broadcast this year’s event.
