Christ is risen!

"Christ is risen, he is is truly reason! Happy Easter!" This was the text message from my good friend, Imelda, that woke me up at 5:30 this morning. Indeed He has risen!

It was a meaningful Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Manny and I heard the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Thursday, and went on a Visita Iglesia with Jog, his girlfriend, Lauren, and Tif after the Mass. We finished past 10 and met up with Manny's brother, Boy, and his family for our traditional get-together after Visita Iglesia. Two years ago we went to North Park in Makati, last year to Italianni's in Eastwood, and this time, we stuck close to home and went to Yellow Cab in Katipunan because I had a craving for the Four Seasons pizza which I first tasted during our Boracay trip. Friday morning, I watched the Passion of the Christ for the second time. I'd like to share with you what I wrote on February 29, 2004 after I saw it the first time when we were still living in the US:

The Passion was all it was hyped up to be—and more. We were at the theater 15 minutes before the screening time, and it was almost full. We had to split up into 2couples—Manny and I preferring to sit in the middle but farther back, and James and Anna at the side but nearer the front. (So far, the Passion has grossed more than $80 million.)

I resolved to myself that I would not close my eyes, even at the goriest scenes. (I usually close my eyes or peek through my fingers at bloody scenes; in The Last Samurai, I barely saw the skirmishes.) I stuck to my resolve—kept my eyes open—but sometimes couldn’t see the subtitles because of my tears. I started tearing up during the scourging, and barely stopped. Yes, it was violent, it was bloody, it was totally-in-your-face. But all that succeeded in bringing me into the story, and not just watching it. I felt Judas’ despair at his betrayal, Peter’s remorse at his denial, Pilate’s anguish at his cowardice, Mary Magdalene’s unworthiness of Jesus’s love, Mary’s sorrow over her Son’s extreme suffering, and all the pain inflicted on Jesus (there were moments when the audience audibly gasped).

One happy surprise for me which I hadn’t read about, but saw and appreciated in the film was Mary’s prominent role in it. There were tender encounters between her and Jesus. And the film beautifully portrayed not only that He was her Son, but that He was her Lord too. The other marked role was Satan’s. It was clever the way she (he?) was portrayed—a beguilingly beautiful woman with the compelling voice of a man (Satan has no gender!). And it was enlightening that the film showed Satan in most of the scenes—constantly tempting Jesus and the others—to show how real, insidious and ubiquitous Satan is in our lives.

If there’s one thing that didn’t quite measure up was the wooden performance of the actor playing John the Beloved. Even at the crucifixion, he showed hardly any emotion. But that’s a small blot in a brilliantly directed, well crafted, and powerful movie. There have been many films—most recently, Lord of the Rings and the Last Samurai—that are rich in beauty, imagery, and meaning. But the Passion is so much more. Because it actually happened, it’s real. And it would be a rare soul who will watch it and not be deeply moved by it.

All that I wrote 5 years ago is still accurate. But I didn't cry as much this second time around though I was no less moved. But there was something I failed to mention in my account from 5 years ago which I realize now has left a permanent impact on me. During my speech on my 55th birthday, I said that, given our experience with Manny's illness especially the discovery of the nodules in his right lung which filled us with fear and dread, and his physical recovery from lung surgery and our emotional and mental recovery wrought during our 45 day stay with Anna and James in the US, my favorite Biblical passage now is "He makes all things new." I knew that I got this passage from the Passion, but I couldn't recall the scene in which this line was spoken. It turned out that the actual line was slightly different.

Just as Satan was a witness to Jesus's suffering so was Mary. But unlike Satan who was weaving in and out through the crowd, Mary initially watched Jesus from a distance. But during the way of the cross, she asked John to bring her nearer to Him. So John led Mary and Mary Magdalene on a route where they could wait for Jesus to pass by. But when Jesus was very near, Mary stopped and couldn't go on. She was too overcome with pain over her Son's suffering and fear of what was to come, and didn't know if she could face Jesus. John was prodding her to get up but still she remained crouched in fear and anguish. But when she saw Jesus fall, Mary remembered a scene when Jesus was a toddler and stumbled, and Mary ran to scoop him up and comfort him. So she summoned the courage to get up to touch Jesus to comfort Him. And when she did, Jesus said, "See, Mother, I make all things new."

So even while His body was all bloodied up, His strength almost gone, His spirit all but crushed, it was He who comforted His Mother and, with a smile, gave her hope. And after that scene, Mary was afraid no longer.

Watching the Passion on Good Friday morning was an excellent preparation for the Good Friday services on the Lord's passion and the veneration of the cross in the afternoon. During the reading of the Gospel which was narrated by Onofre Pagsanhan and re-enacted by Dulaang Sibol with our parish priest, Fr. Manny Sarez, speaking Jesus's lines, I could easily place myself in the scenes. And during the veneration of the cross, I chose to kiss Jesus's chest which the soldier had pierced with a lance and I was moved to tears.

We weren't able to attend the Easter Vigil mass because of the commemoration of my cousin-in-law's first death anniversary last night. So we will be attending the Easter Sunday mass later. But I'd like to end with the following excerpt from my April 20, 2003 email which I wrote after hearing the Easter Vigil mass:

One of the verses in the Easter Proclamation goes:

"O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam
which gained for us so great a Redeemer!”

I had difficulty understanding this verse before. How could Adam’s sin be happy? Even one soul lost because of Adam’s sin is one soul too many. At the Easter Vigil mass, it finally dawned on me. Adam’s sin is still a sin, and sin can only be ugly. But even from sin, good things can come. Adam’s sin gave us our Savior! And all our boulders—our attachments, attractions, resentments—can turn to good too if we learn to overcome them and realize that it is through God’s grace and our correspondence to His grace that we are able to do so. A great writer once said that there is no virtue without temptation. So happy fault indeed!

May the joy of Easter remain with you throughout the year.