THANKS to God, we still have and are
blessed with a strong
and deep tradition of celebrating fiestas in our country. Fiestas are
a great occasion of joy and thanksgiving, an experience of sublimity
that satisfies a primal yearning of the heart.
In practically all places and corners of our country,
fiestas are celebrated due to a religious reason. And this is very
understandable, because more than any human accomplishment, it is the
truths and mysteries of our faith, the triumphs achieved by the saints
that offer the ultimate reason for joy and thanksgiving.
These religious spiritual reasons of fiestas stand not
only for a time. They stand for all eternity. If handled properly,
they can foster and reinforce the religious and spiritual dimension of
our life that we often fail to properly take care of and develop.
If we have the right understanding, attitude and practices
relevant to fiestas, we will realize that we are actually already
sharing in some way the indescribable joy we can expect in heaven, our
definite home and ultimate state of life.
There is a certain sense of gloriousness that we can feel
during fiestas. It’s a gloriousness that is compatible with humility,
not pride, vanity and frivolity. It’s a gloriousness that fills us
with peace and a great desire to give ourselves more to God and to
others, all done in a quiet, natural way, without acting strangely or
weirdly.
We need to see to it that this sense of gloriousness is
kept pure and uncontaminated by unwelcome worldly values that have the
penchant to spoil the true nature and purpose of fiestas.
We just have to make sure then that the celebration of
fiestas is driven first of all by the religious and spiritual motive
that is their basis and raison d’etre. We should strengthen that
motive in a deliberate way especially when it has to contend with new
and very seducing manifestations of these unwelcome worldly values as
flow in time.
There is, first of all, commercialism that while having
some valid reasons can also undermine this religious and spiritual
motive. Then there’s the tendency to splurge and to wallow in
gluttony, frivolity, showing off and flaunting, throwing to the wind
the requirements of temperance and self-discipline that are always
necessary to us.
Other ulterior motives can come—political, social,
economic, etc., that can go beyond their valid reasons during fiestas.
We should be quick to recognize them and quicker still to avoid, undo
or make up for whatever damage these motives can cause.
There should be an effort to connect these motives to the
religious and spiritual character of the fiestas. Thus, certain
organized activities can already be disqualified a priori, like
illegal gambling, wild parties, games, beauty contests, and other fun
activities that would be hard if not impossible to relate to the
religious motive.
Fiestas, of course, should not be deprived of festivities
and the fun connected to them. But they should be so organized as to
boost rather than weaken the religious and spiritual motive.
This will require a keen sense of discernment and
judgment. Competent officials should take care of supervising the
whole affair. Obviously, this will involve the cooperation and
coordination of both civil and church authorities, and other figures
that may have some say on these matters.
More important is to promote the proper understanding,
attitude and practices relevant to fiestas. Thus, fiestas should be
the best occasion to study the cause of the celebration. With our new
technologies, this practice can easily be done in a more widespread
way.
We have to go beyond the level of slogans and the use of
catchwords. While they can serve a purpose, they should not be left
alone, but should always be linked to a deeper explanation and
description of the celebration. These explanations should include the
practical implications of the fiestas.
The practice of holding novena Masses before the fiesta is
one way of educating the people about the true significance of the
fiesta. This should be maintained and improved. They should be adapted
to current developments, both good and bad, so people can be
enlightened and helped to celebrate the fiestas accordingly.
We should also remember that the best way to prepare for
the fiestas, celebrate them and purify and rectify whatever needs to
be rectified after the celebration is to offer a lot of prayers and
sacrifices. Fiestas are no mere social events. They are first of all
religious and spiritual means that require the appropriate spiritual
means also.
We need to tap some people to lead in this.
and deep tradition of celebrating fiestas in our country. Fiestas are
a great occasion of joy and thanksgiving, an experience of sublimity
that satisfies a primal yearning of the heart.
In practically all places and corners of our country,
fiestas are celebrated due to a religious reason. And this is very
understandable, because more than any human accomplishment, it is the
truths and mysteries of our faith, the triumphs achieved by the saints
that offer the ultimate reason for joy and thanksgiving.
These religious spiritual reasons of fiestas stand not
only for a time. They stand for all eternity. If handled properly,
they can foster and reinforce the religious and spiritual dimension of
our life that we often fail to properly take care of and develop.
If we have the right understanding, attitude and practices
relevant to fiestas, we will realize that we are actually already
sharing in some way the indescribable joy we can expect in heaven, our
definite home and ultimate state of life.
There is a certain sense of gloriousness that we can feel
during fiestas. It’s a gloriousness that is compatible with humility,
not pride, vanity and frivolity. It’s a gloriousness that fills us
with peace and a great desire to give ourselves more to God and to
others, all done in a quiet, natural way, without acting strangely or
weirdly.
We need to see to it that this sense of gloriousness is
kept pure and uncontaminated by unwelcome worldly values that have the
penchant to spoil the true nature and purpose of fiestas.
We just have to make sure then that the celebration of
fiestas is driven first of all by the religious and spiritual motive
that is their basis and raison d’etre. We should strengthen that
motive in a deliberate way especially when it has to contend with new
and very seducing manifestations of these unwelcome worldly values as
flow in time.
There is, first of all, commercialism that while having
some valid reasons can also undermine this religious and spiritual
motive. Then there’s the tendency to splurge and to wallow in
gluttony, frivolity, showing off and flaunting, throwing to the wind
the requirements of temperance and self-discipline that are always
necessary to us.
Other ulterior motives can come—political, social,
economic, etc., that can go beyond their valid reasons during fiestas.
We should be quick to recognize them and quicker still to avoid, undo
or make up for whatever damage these motives can cause.
There should be an effort to connect these motives to the
religious and spiritual character of the fiestas. Thus, certain
organized activities can already be disqualified a priori, like
illegal gambling, wild parties, games, beauty contests, and other fun
activities that would be hard if not impossible to relate to the
religious motive.
Fiestas, of course, should not be deprived of festivities
and the fun connected to them. But they should be so organized as to
boost rather than weaken the religious and spiritual motive.
This will require a keen sense of discernment and
judgment. Competent officials should take care of supervising the
whole affair. Obviously, this will involve the cooperation and
coordination of both civil and church authorities, and other figures
that may have some say on these matters.
More important is to promote the proper understanding,
attitude and practices relevant to fiestas. Thus, fiestas should be
the best occasion to study the cause of the celebration. With our new
technologies, this practice can easily be done in a more widespread
way.
We have to go beyond the level of slogans and the use of
catchwords. While they can serve a purpose, they should not be left
alone, but should always be linked to a deeper explanation and
description of the celebration. These explanations should include the
practical implications of the fiestas.
The practice of holding novena Masses before the fiesta is
one way of educating the people about the true significance of the
fiesta. This should be maintained and improved. They should be adapted
to current developments, both good and bad, so people can be
enlightened and helped to celebrate the fiestas accordingly.
We should also remember that the best way to prepare for
the fiestas, celebrate them and purify and rectify whatever needs to
be rectified after the celebration is to offer a lot of prayers and
sacrifices. Fiestas are no mere social events. They are first of all
religious and spiritual means that require the appropriate spiritual
means also.
We need to tap some people to lead in this.
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