The sound of school children talking at the same time some at play had the sound of the collective singing of the cicada, only several times louder. This prompted the priest to stop several times in the middle of the on-going mass of the Ash Wednesday event to remind the children to moderate their noise. The mass went smoothly though. In a town where all the children know each other, the noise is understandable. Children can convert any event into a playtime mode even as solemn as this occasion.
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I was able to take both the before and after photos of the Lenten commencement ritual known in Bulusan simply as Pakrurosan. The official name though is Mierkoles de Sinisa (Miercoles de Ceniza) as mentioned briefly in the mass. I t is Ash Wednesday to many. This year, the date falls a day before Valentine's day. I promised a friend that every major occasion in Bulusan will have a corresponding photo and a short anecdote of what transpired. Hence, these images.
The good thing with religious occasions in this community with an almost 400 year history of Catholicism (Parish of Saint James the Greater) is that the parishioners go with the rhythm of the religious rituals with out much ado. In Bulusan, the children were as eager to be the first in line for the sign of the cross be marked on their respective foreheads. It helps also that the present Parish priest is well liked. Father Edu Fulay's familiarity of the place and its people stems from the fact that he hails from a neighboring town. His patience for the children's uncontrollable noises during the mass was admirable.
The photos were taken by me as fast as I could so as not to call attention to myself since I was taking these photographs at a closer range--near the altar.
Placing the sign of the cross with ashes on the foreheads was done by the Parish Priest assisted by lay ministers and a nun.
My own sign of the cross was a little lighter than last year's. But that is another story.
Photos by Alma P. Gamil
Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines
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