Good Friday 2012.

Good Friday Service. Quite and solemn.

When we were kids, we were admonished to be quiet, reserved, not to laugh, to be sullen. We were told not to listen to the radio (except for the sermons on Jesus' 7 Last Words and the Passion being sung), not to watch TV. Our help also told us not to bathe. We played with our cousins, then were asked to stop at 3 p.m., the time of Christ's death. It seemed like a long Good Friday then.

No Mass is celebrated on Good Friday. A special liturgy which consists of (1) the Passion and Death of Christ according to the Gospel of John is read, (2) a series of intercessory prayers (prayers for special intentions) are offered, and (3) the faithful revere the Cross by coming forward, kneeling, touching and kissing the Cross. We did not have Holy Water nor flowers in the Church this Holy Week.

The procession with Father and Deacon was silent, after which they lay prostrate at the foot of the altar.

The Passion of the Cross was read during Gospel, the Liturgy of the Word. I remember it being sung/chanted in Ybanag, "Passion" (with the accent on the second syllable)..

The Veneration of the Cross was most touching, where we quietly knelt, kissed, touched the cross with the choir singing.

The Good Friday liturgy concluded with the distribution of Holy Communion. The hosts used were consecrated from yesterday's Mass of the Lord's Supper since no Mass was held.

We all departed in silence, with the priests just going straight into sacristy (no Recession). A prayerful day to you.