This week, Catholics and many other Christians in the Philippines are set to commemorate the biggest foundation of their faith: the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to save humanity from sin and death.
With in-person religious activities now allowed to resume after almost three years of restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s Holy Week activities are expected to once again draw devotees who, in their own way, have endured countless sacrifices during the pandemic.
It’s quite an apt coincidence, it should be noted, that Easter Sunday, April 9, falls on another important day in Philippine history: Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor).
On this day, the Philippines commemorate the incredible sacrifices of Filipino and American soldiers during World War II, during which they endured enormous hardship at the hands of the Japanese occupying forces at the infamous Bataan Death March.
Giving up their own lives, so that others may live in freedom – that is the central message of Holy Week and Araw ng Kagitingan.
And after three years of a global pandemic that killed millions, put countless other lives at risk, and caused economic and social hardships, this may be the best time to remember how other Filipinos also sacrificed their lives and living during those trying times.
Let’s remember the “frontliners” – doctors, nurses, medical workers, volunteers, people in the government and in the private sector who still had to perform their duties – who put their own lives on the line and ensured that others will be spared from the worst impacts of the pandemic.
Let’s remember the sacrifices we ourselves made, when we were forced to stay at home and distance ourselves from all the social activities that had been part and parcel of our lives, including the added stresses and anxiety that we all felt because of the coronavirus and the uncertainty it hurled on our future.
This Holy Week, as our lives finally return to normal, let us ask ourselves: Are we willing, once again, to make those sacrifices?