My
four brothers and I were reared by a devout Roman Catholic maternal grandmother,
Eusebia Tizon, whom we fondly call Bai
Biao. She was so caring and attentive to our needs while our parents were
busy attending to other people’s needs.
We
had an unusual household; the children were under the care of Grandma, while my
mother, a public health nurse, was busy rendering nursing care to mothers and
children. My mother went out of her way to make home visits: providing prenatal or
postnatal care to mothers; vaccinating children (against smallpox and
tuberculosis, during those days), and counseling people with health problems.
On the other hand, my father, who was then a retired Justice of the Peace, was
busy attending to people in need of free legal advice. Our home was virtually a
free legal center at a time when legal centers were not yet known.
It
was my Bai Biao who took care of us and
who spoiled us in the sense that she wanted us to live a carefree life. But,
she was very strict in matters of faith and morals. We had to join her in
praying the rosary every evening at six o’clock after the church bells rang the
angelus. Sundays were days of obligation. She went to the Roman Catholic Church
while we went to the local Methodist Church for our Sunday school and worship
services. Bai Biao accepted the fact
that our home was an ecumenical home and whatever influence she could exert on
her grandchildren was meant to open their minds to a great and loving God.
The Lenten season reminds me of my growing-up years with Bai Biao. The Holy Week was indeed holy and that “holiness” was expressed by praying the rosary, listening to the “pabasa” or reading the Bible, staying indoors, and being contented with the simple fare on the table. No meat on Fridays starting Ash Wednesday and no meat on the menu throughout the Holy Week. Children were not allowed to turn on the radio. They were not allowed to play outdoors or even to play or to laugh. When the siblings played and dished out jokes to each other which elicited laughter, Bai Biao called our attention with, “Don’t you know it is Holy Week? Stop it.”
My
memory of Bai Biao is most vivid when
the Lenten Season comes around. For her, the season of Lent is a time of
repentance, spiritual renewal, and transformation of oneself into an authentic
follower of Christ and his teachings. It is the time to turn away from
sinfulness and human evil in order to respond to the gospel and to prepare our
hearts for the joyous Christian celebration of Easter, the
resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The
rich cultural Lenten tradition that has defined our spirituality as a people is
being eroded by the American way of life. The principle of separation of church
and state has wrought changes in how we think and act. In the Philippines,
Maundy Thursdays and Good Fridays are holidays. In America, it is work as
usual; you don’t invoke your religious beliefs in the workplace and you can’t
see religious icons in office buildings. In the Philippines, offices are
fraught with religious images, and the faithful are allowed to say their
novenas during lunch breaks.
Be
that as it may, as Christians, we can observe the Holy Week in a more
meaningful way, not through rituals but through our actions: humility and
compassion, as Jesus Christ demonstrated when he washed the feet of his disciples
during Maundy Thursday; sacrifice and self-denial, as he carried the cross to
Golgotha that Good Friday; hope and renewal, as he rose from the dead on the third
day, the day of his resurrection.
To my readers, “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad … Christ has risen! Christ has risen indeed! Hallelujah...."