Holy Week 2024 at Grotto

The observance of Holy Week is a tradition here in the Philippines. Even before I probably realized it as a child, people were already flocking to this site in Bulacan when good Friday comes around. People start their pilgrimage on a Thursday, coming from all over the metro, some from as far as Cavite on foot, to arrive in time for Good Friday. The traffic was blocked kilometers away to accommodate the crowd flooding the highway leading here so even if you did take the commute you still wind up walking a considerable distance to get there. I was in my teens when I was invited by my neighbor to go there on foot. We left our house 4 PM in the afternoon. We arrived just before midnight. The crowd then was shoulder to shoulder when you enter the gates. It would take you more than an hour to wade through the crowd to get to the main temple, and an hour more to walk around the grounds. People were lying on the ground everywhere. Back then people brought radios. No one had a phone.

But ever since the road was widened the trek here is now a comfortable one. Way different than how I remembered it when I tried the trend, earning nothing more than sore feet and some blisters.

This site was has also been reconstructed to elevate the experience. What was once a ground for devotees is now a family picnic venue. Everyone was busy taking pictures. But what was dead ground then still is dead ground today.

 

After I came out it was Moureen's turn to enter the grounds with Neil and distribute tracts. This blessed firebrand came straight from overnight shift to join the outreach. There is no stopping this blessed daughter of the LORD when it comes to serving Him. Currently she started leading family worship at home, reading scripture with her parents and sister. I am confident in Christ she will see the fruits of her labors and praise God for it on that day.

We made our way to the other end of the exit and greeted the people coming out with tracts. The better part of our stay here was when a gentleman took a tract and decided to engage us in almost an hour long conversation about church history. That encounter deserves another post.

This was the perfect spot for this evening. Midway through the pleading, a man stood across us for a good while and then left. He returned with water bottles and bread to give to us, and asked Moureen about what church are we from and if I was a pastor. She gave him a wise answer: "he is simply a layman." 

Was assisted with power by the Spirit in our witness for Christ. Glory to God alone.