CHRIST’S horrific death should gloriously conquer the world.
This is the message of Siete Palabras, the Catholic tradition during the Lenten Season of reciting the Seven Last Words of Christ before His death, said Fr. Nilo Lardizabal, O.P., provincial secretary and Siete Palabras 2009 host.
“Horrific because we saw in it the anguish and pain of someone who loved us yet we fail to love that person back in many instances,” Lardizabal said in an e-mail. “Glorious because it was through such death that he conquered the sin of the world.”
He added that these words encourage Christians to embark on a journey that even Christ took toward Resurrection.
“The Seven Last Words do not mean death,” Lardizabal clarified. “The highlight of Jesus’ sufferings was his resurrection from the dead.”
These statements that were left with Christians to ponder on include phrases and sentences from different parts of the Gospels: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34); “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43), “Woman, behold your son: behold your mother” (John 19:26-27); “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34), “I thirst.” (John 19:28), “It is finished.” (John 19:30), and lastly, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).
As time passed, the evolution of the ceremony had found musical presentations, which stimulate a reflective ambience that is aimed to enhance reflections and prayers.
Despite the nearly always unanimous use of the mass media for sensational, commercial and amoral purposes, the Dominican Province of the Philippines is utilizing the media to spread the Gospel.
“In the advent of great and sophisticated technology, many Filipinos out there are thirsty for the love and mercy of Christ; many are spiritually empty,” Lardizabal said, adding that “the goal is simple: bring the truth of the Gospel to all.”
“The method is simple: use the available technology we have,” he said.
Indeed, the Church’s right to use the media for evangelization has been firmly established. The Church after all is the author of the mass media as well as propaganda (which came from Propaganda Fidei, or the propagation of the faith).
According to Fr. Sonny Ramirez, O.P., one of the forerunners of preaching in Philippine TV, Siete Palabras is the “most inspiring religious program during Holy Week because people are tired of being entertained.”
In 1984, the first Siete Palabras was aired under the program, Sharing in the City, hosted by Father Ramirez. With Banahaw Broadcast, Inc. producing the show, the charismatic Lenten presentation endured more than a decade.
At first, the show shot had its setting at the studio, but to make the essence of the program more concrete, the production staff decided to explore real situations as their featured stories along with reflections from priests.
Father Ramirez recalled that even them, who are behind the Lenten presentation, were really affected by the real life scenes that they have encountered, which are based on the Seven Corporeal Works of Mercy.
“In giving our reflections, we present actual situations that are moving,” Ramirez said, sharing one experience where he had to preach beside a child patient in the hospital with tubes and medical machineries that are meant to revive the child’s normal condition.
“We had to shoot the video plenty of times because I really can’t stop my tears,” he said.
After a decade, the Dominican Province in the country slowly shouldered the whole of the production of the event. In 1995, the Siete Palabras started to have Dominicans (the popular name of the Order of Preachers) preaching the Seven Last Words at the Sto. Domingo Parish in Quezon City. In 1998, the whole production was transferred entirely to the Order, which keeps the tradition until now.
The Varsitarian. Vol. LXXX, No. 10 • April 15, 2009
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