Pasimban

In the Kapampangan language churches are called pasimban. During the Holy Week, I did the Visita Iglesia together with my hubby and in laws in Pampanga. It was my very first time do the Visita Iglesia out of town and it was a very memorable experience for me. Not only did I get to pray and make my 7 wishes (wishes are made for people who visit a certain church for the first time) but also I was able to see the century old churches for the very first time.

I was so amazed on how they were able to preserve the interiors of the churches and by looking at the structure you will really see the difference on how lives were lived centuries ago. There were no minimalists at all! Every detail you will see in each church has a history to it and it feels good to know that our fellow Kapampangans are taking good of our heritage up to this point in time.

We visited 7 churches in the following towns:

1. Sta. Rita


2. Gua Gua


3. San Fernando


4. Lubao


5. Floridablanca


6. Bacolor


7. Angeles

The church that had a significant impact on me was the Bacolor Church. If you are not aware, Bacolor was one of the towns that was strongly hit by the lahar flood when the Mt. Pinatubo volcano errupted years ago. More than hald of the church was covered by lahar. So you could just imagine what was taken away from them. But the people from Bacolor really came together to revive what was left of the church. The lahar did not destroy their hopes. When you enter the church you will find a mini musuem wherein pictures of the lahar flood, old photos of the church, church artifacts and how they restored it. Depsite what happened, the church still looks beautiful and you can feel the solemness when you are inside. For me this is how all Filipinos should be --- to always come together especially if its for God.

There was one thing that I noticed though during this trip of ours. During Holy Week, there is this tradition that is usually done in provinces called "penitensya". This is where a person (male) will walk from a certain point leading all the way to the church either carrying a cross (just like how Jesus did) or making use of something like a laso made out of bamboo which these people use to hurt themselves by striking it unto themselves until they bleed which they call flagging. What I noticed this Holy Week was that all and I say ALL that were doing their penitensya were young boys. Before it was usually men aged from mid 20's above. Well the ones hitting themselves had white cloth over their heads but the reason why I could tell that they were young because they were being escorted or followed by teen agers, maybe their friends or family members. You could also tell they were young by their body structure and how they move. Makes me think, is this how our young ones pay their debts to God? Just a thought.

Anyway, all I can say is after this act of love we did for God, my hubby and I want to do it again next year --- out of town again. This is something that I hope will become our own little family tradition until we grow old and gray.