YOUTH'S INVOLVEMENT. Young girls dressed as angels sing 'Hossana' to re-enact the triumph of Jesus' entry to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The Iloilo Provincial Tourism Office assured the continued observance of Lenten traditions as younger generations are involved in religious activities in the Holy Week. (Photo courtesy of Rose Falle)
ILOILO CITY -- The younger generation in the province of Iloilo are now more involved in religious activities this Holy Week, the Provincial Tourism Office (PTO) has said.
Gilbert Marin, Iloilo tourism officer, said on Wednesday that the Lenten tradition is kept alive through its annual observance.
“Lenten activities are annually being practiced and we do not fear that it will be lost. We can also see that teenagers are getting themselves involved in the religious activities,” he said in an interview.
Teenagers do not only go to the resorts for vacation but also take the opportunity to reflect and repent for their sins, he said.
Marin observes groups of teenagers visiting churches yearly for Visita Iglesia, the practice of visiting at least seven different churches on Holy Thursday or Good Friday.
Other traditions that Catholic devotees, including the younger generations, practice are the Good Friday procession, Stations of the Cross, and Pasyon.
Marin said the Good Friday procession is most popular in the towns of Cabatuan, Leganes, Sta. Barbara, and Janiuay.
“These towns possess old saints and we can see the devotees follow the procession all throughout the start to finish,” he said.
Younger people are also seen praying the Stations of the Cross in different municipalities.
In Cabatuan, Stations of the Cross are designed with indigenous materials like sawdust, seeds, dry leaves, among others, he said.
Marin added that teenagers also participate in the creative process of making the Stations of the Cross.
The Pasyon or Pabasa, “an early 16th-century epic poem narrating the life, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the local dialect” is also one of the religious traditions kept alive for years.
“We only celebrate this once a year and we are assured that this will continue because the faithful that participates in our activities come from different generations,” he said. (PNA)
