Philippines Vacation and Long Term Stay

By: J. C. Bulan The celebration lasts for eight days from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. The days are Palm Sunday, Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Black Saturday, and Easter Sunday. Often, Holy Week falls during summer vacation in the Philippines. There are specific customs done for each day. During Palm Sunday, church goers bring palm fronds with them to mass. After the mass, the priest walks through the church blessing the palm fronds, imitating Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. The Palms are blessed and are dried up. Next year all dried palms are gathered and burnt to be used on the next year’s Ash Wednesday. Holy Week is always spent with the family, like Christmas, but this time its the whole week. There are three events on Maundy Thursday. The first is the Chrism mass, the mass where many priests renew their vows. Church tools such as the Chrism, the Oil of the Catechumens, and the Oil of the sick are also blessed on this day. The second mass

by: Aileen Soriano HOLY THURSDAY Here's what I did with my family during Holy Thursday. We stormed the Holy Tabernacles with prayers of penance and thanksgiving. Holy Thursday is a feast day, its the day before Good Friday. Holy Thursday was a special day because it is when the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist was instituted. Historically, was the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples before being crucified. Holy Thursday is also the day when the Chrism Mass is celebrated all over the world. The Chrism Mass is when the those who had the gift of priesthood celebrate publicly. In the evening, the Holy Mass which commemorates the institution of the Holy Eucharist - a short play is usually done by the parish - 12 men are selected to act as apostles. The Parish Priest who represents that Jesus, washes their feet and kisses the washed feet. Then at the end of the Holy Mass, the Blessed Sacrament is transported to the "monumento".  This is the active re-enactment of the "A