The First Holy Wednesday Procession of SJMV Parish

Who would have thought this day will happen in our Parish? I honestly gave up. I have made countless proposals, presentations etc etc. When our new Parish Priest arrived, one year in his term, he was able to convince the chapels under the Parish to invest on a Holy Week figure which will participate in the Parish's annual Holy Week procession. This for me is a testament that all things are possible when the parish priest and the community he serves work together...by God's will.

My Kristong Gapos joins the Procession

It was a bit last minute. I initially did not intend to join because this was not part of the plan (zero preparations) and secondly our community chapel has St. Jude Thaddeus so I worry who will pull the carroza, who will follow behind etc etc...but in the end I was persuaded by my Mom who was in turn persuaded by the PPC...

For my Kristong Gapos, I have always wanted to decorate his carroza combining flowers and one edible item, much like Iron Chef wherein there is one secret ingredient...since everything happened last minute I decided to use suman since it is a material I have already used in the past and my Mom wanted it as well.


So yellow it is...


Suman all around...


Kristong Gapos and the wind effect...


Kristong Gapos at SJMV grounds


Suman up close...


Clearly lack of preparation...the carroza handle broke while pulling the carroza uphill to the parish...but good thing it happened before the Good Friday procession in Bulacan...imagine how do you pull a carroza without a handle? EFFORT...


Our Chapel's St. Jude Thaddeus, the best image among the bunch...I do not know who sculpted the Parish image's but from what I have seen so far this is his best work...we are lucky!


The Carrying of the Cross


The Pieta



My Divine Savior, what didst Thou become, when for love of souls Thou didst suffer Thyself to be bound to the pillar? Ah! how truly then was fulfilled the word of the Prophet, saying of Thee that from head to foot Thou shouldst be all one wound, so as to be no longer recognizable! What shame Thou didst endure when they stripped Thee of Thy garments! What torments Thou didst undergo in that tempest of countless blows! In what torrents did Thy Most Precious Blood gush forth from Thy bursting veins!

I know well it was not so much the injustice of the Roman governor and the cruelty of the soldiers that scourged Thee as my sins. O accursed sins, that have cost Thee so many pains! Alas, what hardness of heart, when notwithstanding Thy manifold sufferings for me I have continued to offend Thee! But from this day forth it shall be so no longer. United to Thee by bonds of loyalty for ever, as long as I shall live, I shall seek to satisfy Thine offended justice. By the pains Thou didst suffer when bound to the pillar, by the scourges which tore Thine innocent Flesh, by the Blood which Thou didst shed in such abundance, have mercy on this unhappy soul of mine; deliver me today and always from the snares of the tempter; and when I have come to the end of my exile, bring me safely home to Heaven with Thee.

Behold me at Thy feet, O Jesus of Nazareth, behold the most wretched of creatures, who comes into Thy presence humbled and penitent! Have mercy on me, O Lord, according to Thy great mercy! I have sinned and my sins are always before Thee. Yet my soul belongs to Thee, for Thou hast created it, and redeemed it with Thy Precious Blood. Ah, grant that Thy redeeming work be not in vain! Have pity on me; give me tears of true repentance; pardon me for I am Thy child; pardon me as Thou didst pardon the penitent thief; look upon me from Thy throne in Heaven and give me Thy blessing.


Agony in the Garden


Priority of the Parish is to complete the 12 apostles, which I honestly do not agree with. When Jesus was arrested, his disciples all fled and were scattered except for one, St. John the Beloved. I'd rather have images from the Passion of Christ as top priority followed by the Holy Women of Jerusalem.


St. Matthew


Scourging at the Pillar


Scourging at the Pillar


Crowning with Thorns


Violets and...


Reds...colors of Lent


St. Jude Thaddeus

The Procession









































One of those Days

Blame it on the last minute preps...I shake my head in disbelief when after a sharp turn the head of my Kristong Gapos fell of the body...good thing it is "nakagapos" because the ropes tying his hands and neck are joined thereby catching the head...if not...I could not bear to imagine what will happen next...charge to experience...for some reason the stick that juts out of the head which connects to the body is gone...so all along there is no lock to keep the head in place...and yet we made it this far...


Me acting as a hudyo...huli ka! (securing the head in place...panic mode)


Juicy Fruit Gum moment...band aid fix...


The Parish's first Holy Week procession returns...charge to experience...sigh of relief...