Many processions will be held these days. Every parish, almost every chapel will have processions of well decorated images of the Holy Week characters. I have always been fascinated by processions. I have always been fascinated by the behavior of people who join in this religious practice. There are the people who stand on the sides to watch the procession pass by; the people who avoid the potholes and the leaking water pipes on some streets; and the people who have to stop, time and again, to seek light from another for their blown-off candles. A procession has lessons about life. A procession is a microcosm of life.
Our processions in the city are so different from our processions in rural towns. In the city, we have to craftily dodge manholes, potholes, water leaks, litters and other street obstructions. Even the supply of oxygen can become scarce because of the carbon monoxide-belching vehicles that fill the air. We have to avert our eyes from the distractions afforded to us by shop windows displaying beds, tiles, cabinets and the like. Then, of course, there are rows of restaurants that likewise compete for our attention, sometimes successfully snatching it away from the rhythm of the prayers, the rhythm of our solemn march. let, there lies the challenge. There is that perennial challenge, as it is in ordinary, everyday life, to continue to maintain that rhythm from within. We must keep that prayerful stance and altitude. The world can bombard us with all kinds of stimuli, distractions and even temptations; but if we keep that inner rhythm that allows us to be attuned to the Powers on High- the only power that counts then we shall not be in high danger. The buses and passing vehicles can make all the noise they want The prayer leaders voice may be drowned by the din of the roaring cars and trucks. The candle may slip from our hands be snuffed out by we continually struggle to keep aflame may be snuffed out by the wind. But ief we maintain the rhtynth, if we keep out the rhythm, if we dong out aze on co, nd., can continue our procession sut et Tonal lites pilgrimage without can faltering or being confused.
The nice thing about processions is that we are with all these people who try and maintain that same rhythm that we keep.
The people we are with have the same disposition and posture.
And even if they are sometimes strangers to us and merely co-pilgrims, we look to them and turn to them when our candles die out. Each one is more than willing to help us bring back the fire to our small torches.
Sometimes, it is our turn to give someone the light. Even those moments are sacred. We have to stop awhile and concentrate on giving each other the light. The encounter might work or it may also fail. We have the wind to contend with and other factors to consider too. From the brief moment, we try to connect with our co-pilgrims. Sometimes, we fail to light our companion’s candle because we rationalize that we cannot afford to stop for too long. The questions arise: should we then step aside and rejoin later just so we can share this light? Or should we allow our co-pilgrim to leave the encounter still without her light?
The reality is that sometimes these encounters fail. Lack of persistence, too much pressure from others, too many obstacles.
Yet if we fail, the procession moves on. The pilgrimage goes on.
Then our neighbor, whose candle is still not burning, must depend on other people’s light. Only when she is willing to risk again or when someone reaches out to her to give her the light can she start anew.
The important thing is that, no matter what, we must not forget to maintain the rhythm of the procession. There is a distinct one. Even if we do not hear it from the outside or we get sidetracked one way or another, the rhythm must keep reverberating in our heads. It is a rhythm of life that tells us that when all else fails, and there is no one to walk the path with us, and our candles have been extinguished, God is there. God loves Us.
His light, His love never fails.
We just have to keep that inner rhythm and stay attuned to Him from within. He is the Light. He is the Way. Better believe it . . this is the truth.
ChatGPT
Many processions will be held these days. Every parish, almost every chapel, will have processions of well-decorated images of the Holy Week characters. I have always been fascinated by processions. I have always been fascinated by the behavior of people who join in this religious practice. There are the people who stand on the sides to watch the procession pass by; the people who avoid the potholes and the leaking water pipes on some streets, and the people who have to stop, time and again, to seek light from another for their blown-off candles. A procession has lessons about life. A procession is a microcosm of life.
Our processions in the city are so different from our processions in rural towns. In the city, we have to craftily dodge manholes, potholes, water leaks, litter, and other street obstructions. Even the supply of oxygen can become scarce because of the carbon monoxide-belching vehicles that fill the air. We have to avert our eyes from the distractions afforded to us by shop windows displaying beds, tiles, cabinets, and the like. Then, of course, there are rows of restaurants that likewise compete for our attention, sometimes successfully snatching it away from the rhythm of the prayers, the rhythm of our solemn march. Yet, there lies the challenge. There is that perennial challenge, as it is in ordinary, everyday life, to continue to maintain that rhythm from within. We must keep that prayerful stance and attitude. The world can bombard us with all kinds of stimuli, distractions, and even temptations, but if we keep that inner rhythm that allows us to be attuned to the Powers on High—the only power that counts—then we shall not be in high danger. The buses and passing vehicles can make all the noise they want. The prayer leader’s voice may be drowned by the din of the roaring cars and trucks. The candle may slip from our hands, be snuffed out by the wind, but if we continue to struggle to keep aflame, we can continue our procession without faltering or being confused.
The nice thing about processions is that we are with all these people who try to maintain that same rhythm that we keep. The people we are with have the same disposition and posture. And even if they are sometimes strangers to us and merely co-pilgrims, we look to them and turn to them when our candles die out. Each one is more than willing to help us bring back the fire to our small torches.
Sometimes, it is our turn to give someone the light. Even those moments are sacred. We have to stop awhile and concentrate on giving each other the light. The encounter might work, or it may also fail. We have the wind to contend with and other factors to consider too. From the brief moment, we try to connect with our co-pilgrims. Sometimes, we fail to light our companion’s candle because we rationalize that we cannot afford to stop for too long. The questions arise: should we then step aside and rejoin later just so we can share this light? Or should we allow our co-pilgrim to leave the encounter still without her light?
The reality is that sometimes these encounters fail. Lack of persistence, too much pressure from others, too many obstacles. Yet if we fail, the procession moves on. The pilgrimage goes on. Then our neighbor, whose candle is still not burning, must depend on other people’s light. Only when she is willing to risk again or when someone reaches out to her to give her the light can she start anew.
The important thing is that, no matter what, we must not forget to maintain the rhythm of the procession. There is a distinct one. Even if we do not hear it from the outside or we get sidetracked one way or another, the rhythm must keep reverberating in our heads. It is a rhythm of life that tells us that when all else fails, and there is no one to walk the path with us, and our candles have been extinguished, God is there. God loves us. His light, His love, never fails. We just have to keep that inner rhythm and stay attuned to Him from within. He is the Light. He is the Way. Better believe it…this is the truth.
LIFE IS A PROCESSION
#LookingForJesus
