Holy Week was always busy in the parish, but the
intensity of Holy Week took on a new meaning once I saw just what it means to
the people here in Guatemala. School is out for the whole of Holy Week (instead
of the week after Easter, as it is in the US). The days are characterized by
large processions that make their way through the streets of the town, with
enormous floats carried on the shoulders of the faithful. The floats support
scenes of Jesus and Mary, and are preceded and followed by musicians and
crowds, many dressed in traditional garb. The street is covered with
“alfombras” (“rugs” in English) made up of designs composed with colored
sawdust, flowers and flower petals, pine needles, and fruit. The individual alfombras are works of
devotion, each made by a family (the closest thing I can compare this to would
be the tradition we have of spreading rose petals on the ground for a bride to
walk over on her way into the church).
Each of the five Holy Week processions in Parramos lasted three to five
hours, with various “shifts” of people taking turns carrying the floats. In Parramos, which is a small town, the
floats are carried by about twenty-five people- an impressive sight. In nearby
Antigua, which draws tourists from around the world for their processions, the
floats are even larger, requiring the strength of up to a hundred or more
people to carry them. Each float is
managed by a fraternity of men or women, for whom helping to carry the float is
an act of personal religious devotion. Individuals pay for the privilege of
helping to carry the floats for a certain distance, and this money helps to
support the fraternity and the parish. The kids were all very excited to be
able to make a couple of excursions into town and take part in the processions.
One Wednesday of Holy Week I joined the hundred or so
priests of the diocese for the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral in the town of
Sololá. The bishop here seems to be a beloved figure, and the priests are
almost all native and very young. There are about 40 parishes in the diocese,
which may not seem like a lot- but each has a number of mission parishes, and
so the priests spend a fair amount of time visiting those in outlying areas.
The seminary is full- about 80 in Philosophy and Theology. The seminarians I have met seem to be serious
and friendly young men with a sincere desire to serve God and their brothers
and sisters. Only two of the
parishes in the diocese do not have parishioners in the seminary at one
level or another. In the back of my mind, I wonder whether we might be able to
recruit some of these for Chicago- for the reality is that, even if there were
enough work here, there are simply not enough financial resources in the
parishes to support them all once they are ordained.
Triduum and Easter here at NPH were great, although quite a
change from the majestic liturgies we had at Saint Alphonsus. Since there was
no priest here before, the liturgies of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy
Saturday were firsts for most of the kids. We adapted them some, given the
make-up of the congregation. But I think we remained pretty faithful to the
Church’s prayer, and the kids were drawn into the Mystery that Catholics
throughout the world celebrated during those days. Good Friday was especially
full, as we walked a “living” Stations
of the Cross in the morning, followed by the Good Friday procession in town and
the afternoon liturgy. Easter Sunday was glorious, and I hope that by next
Easter, our chapel will be built so that we will be able to hold these services
there.
Please see the page with pictures- I posted a batch from
Holy Week, including from the procession in Parramos.
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