Ever wonder why, during Holy Week, even radio and television stations operated by non-Catholic networks here in the Philippines go off the air during Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Black Saturday?
While Holy Week has been traditionally a Catholic feast in the Philippines (and may I also include some congregations, including the Philippine Independent Church, which have retained many traditions and rituals of the Catholic Church), even non-Catholic media outlets have found the Holy Week a perfect opportunity to pause for "maintenance work" of their facilities.
After all, everything - from trains to TV stations, to, well, maybe even ourselves - need to pause, recharge and refresh from the hectic cycle of everyday life. And Holy Week here in the Philippines, for non-Catholics, has given them time to take a break and meditate on their lives.
When I was a kid, before the age of social media, Netflix and even cable TV, it's hard to keep oneself entertained during Holy Week. Television stations would break their regular programming to broadcast special series and Holy Week-appropriate programs, while radio stations (except Radio Veritas, the Catholic radio station) go off the air entirely until Easter Sunday.
The silence of the airwaves, and the break from the rituals to participate in the rituals of Holy Week, can sometimes be unbearable. Imagine not hearing anything from sunrise to sundown! If not for my bookish nature, Holy Week would have been a boring nightmare.
But as I write this article, I suddenly remember a story told by a seminarian who facilitated our class' recollection during high school. His story goes like this: one night when he was so bored and tired with silence, he started making noise through various means - even firing a gun. Yet, he recounted, after all that haranguing for noise, the silence remained. And it was that silence, oddly, that comforted him more than noise.
Then there's an article by journalist Alan Robles, written in 2007 but still relevant today, about how the Filipinos' love of noise may have been a key factor in our gradually deteriorating political and social climate. His reasoning: noise has robbed Filipinos of the capacity to think, meditate and understand the implications of the choices they are making, especially during elections.
"Here's how I see it: constant noise prevents any deep thought and reflection. The minute Filipinos are compelled to be quiet they'll be forced to start thinking about serious stuff like our political leaders and their bank accounts. And then there'll be real trouble," was Mr. Robles' take on our propensity for noise.
Holy Week has actually given us two days of silence - two days where we can really meditate on two important questions: where is our country headed? And, more importantly, where do we want it to head?
Let's use that silence wisely, please. Perhaps, when we do, then we'd have a more nuanced take of our political situation that goes beyond our personal biases and prejudices. Perhaps, just perhaps, when we'd used that silence to really think, we could really make informed choices a month hence.
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