Almost every year, Kib and I spend our Holy Week at Bataan, at my mother's hometown.  But with the scorching heat and extremely heavy traffic at NLEX during long weekends (two years ago it took almost six hours to get to Bataan, ang sakit sa katawan at ihing-ihi na ako sa kalye, waah!), I decided not to go there this year.  I also needed extra hours for my work.  I need to save money for something.  Anyway, lagi namang replay ang Senakulo, haha.

I was so lazy to go out during the holidays because of the heat.  But when I saw pictures of friends on Facebook who did some activities with their family in relation to the remembrance of Christ's death and resurrection, I got curious.  They do not need to go to a faraway place just to experience this.  It was in Bonifacio Global City and Eastwood City.

So on Black Saturday, I tried fighting off laziness by going out.  Yes, it's a miracle, there's no traffic in the Metro since most of the people are still out of town for the much-needed rest and relaxation.  

Kib and I first went to Bonifacio Global City for the Stations of the Cross.  The Stations of the Cross was installed along the 2-kilometer stretch of Bonifacio High Street.  It consists of 14 stations where on each station people has to do some reflection on what Christ did for us on the cross.  The Stations of the Cross is commonly used as a mini pilgrimage as the individual moves from station to station.  At each station, the individual recalls and meditates on Christ's last day on earth.  The whole activity was organized by Church Simplified.  They have been doing this at BGC since 2008.  This experience was something new to me since all the time I knew that Stations of the Cross is only a Catholic tradition.

It took us two hours to finish all the 14 stations.

Here are some of the pictures that we had during the activity:

The installation on Station 1

On Station 1, we were supposed to write down the things that hurts us the most or our present burdens.  After writing it, we must bring it with us

On our way to Station 2

On Station 4, we were reminded to help others.  Kib putting in some coins in the donation box installed there.

We were challenged to carry a cross on one of the stations.  By the looks of it, it seems to be heavy.  We didn't try carrying a cross though.

On another station, we were challenged to help others by praying for them.  We must get a prayer request from the bowl.

We also wrote our prayer requests and put it on the bowl.

Jesus carried all our burdens on the cross.  On this installation, we were about to surrender all our pains and burdens to Him by nailing it down on the cross.  It means we are free from our sins and pains.

On this station, we can see pictures of families hanging.  We didn't bring a family picture with us though.

We just prayed for our family on this station

We're supposed to write down the name of the person who made impact in our lives and pray for them.

Kib hanged our papers together using one clothespin

And then we prayed for them :)

After the Stations of the Cross activity, Kib and I went to Eastwood City for the Tabernacle Experience organized by CCF Eastwood.  I have already seen this installation inside CCF Tiendesitas but we were not able to get inside because it is only available for viewing on Sundays.  

The Tabernacle Experience shows how a tabernacle in the Old Testament times looks like.  It explained each and every section and how it is related to Jesus Christ.  

Take a look at our pictures at this activity:

This explains what the tabernacle's purpose is during the Old Testament times

The explanation about the gate of tabernacle.  There is only one point of entry in the tabernacle.  This represents Jesus Christ as the only Way, the Truth, and the Life

The gate

As you enter the tabernacle, you can see a bronze altar.  This is where the Israelites offer a lamb as a payment for their sins.  The lamb should be perfect: should be male, no blemishes, no defects, no illness.  Jesus is the perfect Lamb offered to pay for our sins.

The laver is where priests wash their hands before going inside the next room.  Priests should be pure and holy before entering the next room or else, they will die.

The entrance to the next room

On the left, there is a lampstand which is the only source of light inside that room.  This symbolizes Jesus Christ as the light of the world.

On the right is the table of the showbread which has 12 pieces of bread symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel.  This symbolizes Jesus Christ as the Bread of Life.

In the middle of the room is the altar of incense.  This is where the priests offer prayers to God.  For God, our prayers are like a sweet scent of aroma.

Only the High Priest can enter the inner veil once a year.  The High Priest must also be pure upon entering this holiest place inside the tabernacle or else he will die.

The Ark of the Covenant is inside the inner veil.  No one can touch it.  Whoever dares to touch it will die.

The Ark of the Covenant contains the Ten Commandments, the manna, and the staff of Aaron.