The hoopla and the solemnity

GIVEN our nature and condition, we cannot help but get

into modes of noisy excitement and silent, intimate solemnity whenever

we have some celebration. We are both body and soul, material and

spiritual. We, of course, have our human nature, but one that is

oriented to the supernatural. We are individual persons but also a

social being, unavoidably meant to enter into a growing web of

relations.

  

            It is because of these aspects of our life that we cannot

help but get involved in some hoopla and solemnity whenever we

celebrate a big feast, as in those of the Black Nazarene and the Sto.

Nino. We just hope that both modes of behaviour spring from the same

spirit of faith, hope and love of God and of everybody else.

Otherwise, we get into an anomalous condition of inconsistency that

will be detrimental to us.

  

            Thus, it is a challenge and a task for us to attain this

consistency, this unity between the hoopla and the solemnity of our

celebrations. Yes, we have to be as solemn as possible when we pray,

when we establish, nourish and develop our relation with God who is

the source of all good things meant for us. (cfr. James 1,17)

             But given the fact that we are also a social being, such

relation with God which should be a cause of great joy, can and should

be expressed with some festivity and hoopla. It is our way of sharing

the same joy with everybody else. And we express it in an external,

social and human way according to our earthly condition.

  

            In the Bible, there are countless instances where these

festivities were done. The only qualification to be made is what St.

Paul once said: “Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the

old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened

bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Cor 5,8)

  

            The proper way therefore to celebrate is when things start

with prayer, with our effort to relate the celebration to God,

thanking him for the occasion. That’s when our celebrations would be

“with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Thus, we have to

see to it that our own personal prayers should be maintained all the

time.

   

            But there is also a liturgical prayer that involves and

unites us in the living prayer of Christ and the Church, that is, of

everyone else. These prayers should be done as solemnly as possible,

directing our whole mind and heart to God through Christ in the Holy

Spirit.

  

            We should not forget that prayer is our personal encounter

with God. It is as necessary as breathing and the beating of the

heart. Without it, we cannot go far as a child of God. It should never

be left behind in all our celebrations, whatever the situation we may

find ourselves in.

  

            But since our celebrations are rooted on our love for God,

they also have to be shared with others. That’s because loving God

will always involve loving others. That’s when festivities and the

hoopla that accompany them enter into the picture.

  

            If we have the proper understanding of what really takes

place in a celebration, we would know how to combine the solemnity

that a celebration requires and the hoopla and the festive atmosphere

that it will always involve.

            Let us train ourselves to establish an organic link

between the solemnity of the prayer and the liturgical service

involved in a feast, and the hoopla, the festive atmosphere that comes

quite naturally.

   

            These two should mutually help each other. The solemnity

of the celebration should inspire the hoopla, and the hoopla should

lead us back to the solemnity of the occasion. One without the other

can mean a disaster to us.

  

            This is the challenge we have to tackle. A lot of

catechesis should at least be done in this regard.