Holy Week, the commemoration of the passion of Christ, begins today (Palm Sunday, March 24, 2013). I come from a Catholic country, so my Catholic family gives so much importance to this religious festival known asSemana Santa. When I was younger, my family and I used to visit seven different Churches on Maundy Thursday as an act of penance. This is called Visita Iglesia. While the activity may seem tedious and boring, it was actually exciting, because my cousins, who were more like my playmates, would go with us. Of course, it wasn’t all about getting to play with cousins we rarely met. Even at a young age, my sister and I were taught to pray. At church, we prayed. After that, we played. ^^
When we were done with the church visits, Mom would prepare delicious snacks at home, while the rest of the family watched Christian movies or TV shows that featured the life of Jesus Christ. Some television stations in the Philippines stop broadcasting until Black Saturday to observe the solemnity of Holy Week; some feature shows that have something to do with Lent. I used to complain about this, because I couldn’t watch my favorite shows, but today I found myself surfing channels and the internet, looking for Bible stories.
I’m glad that I’ve found a four-part adaptation of Bible stories in Jangfile.. It’s a mini-series produced by husband and wife Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, the ‘angel’ from the drama series “Touched by an Angel” which I used to watch when I was younger. The Bible started airing weekly in prime-time on theHistory channel (which I don’t have on my cable TV), but thanks to Jangfile, I can watch all the episodes this Holy Week. ^^ (The fifth episode which I think is the last one will be aired on March 31st, so I’m going to have to wait to download it until next week.)
Have a blessed and meaningful Holy Week, everyone. ^^
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ~~~ John3:16
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- A Truly Different Week (illuminatedbyhope.wordpress.com)
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