Lent and Holy Week need third eye, ear and hand of faith

Mysteries of faith are invisible or unseen, inaudible or unheard, realities. They are also untouchable or intangible. But to believe that they exist, accept them as true, experience them as real with the use of the senses of sight, hearing and touch is impossible. This is so from the human point of view. But not from the perspective of faith.

Having faith or believing in mysteries is possible when God, Existence itself, tells us so. On His authority or testimony as an All-knowing Being, who in Jesus revealed Himself as to be physically seen, heard and touched, we can have faith, we can believe.

This capacity or power to surrender our human mind and intellect to accept mysteries on God’s Self-revelation means “to see, hear and touch with the third eye, third ear, and third hand—of faith.”

Lent and Holy Week celebrations abound with material objects presented as visible, audible and tangible symbols of God’s mysteries or divine realities like blessed palms, holy water, washing of feet, way of the cross, santo entierro, blessing of fire, Holy Chrism, Seven Last Words, salubong, alleluia hymns, Easter candle, consecrated bread and wine, etc. etc. To celebrate meaningfully and fruitfully the signs and symbol of Easter mysteries we need to ask Our Lord for the gifts of the third eye, ear and hand of faith.

This is the area of pastoral catechesis of Lent and Holy Week. In other words, maturing in Christian faith and life depends largely on the correct, clear and persuasive communication of the essence and meaning of the liturgical, religious and cultural signs and symbols that are presented our human, physical sight, hearing and touch as we participate in the different celebrations of Holy Week. Maturity of faith and belief rests and is due to its Essence, not its Practice or its public performance, display or demonstration by famous church officials and a mammoth crowd people. The fact that poverty, injustice exclusion and inequalities are committed by well-to-do Christians and Catholics put in question the religious maturity of our so-called faith and devotional practices like the Via Crucis, Seven Last Words, Mass of the Holy Chrism, washing of the feet, Easter vigil rites, salubong/sugat, Santo Niño, Marian novenas, Divine Mercy, and Black Nazarene.

We hope and pray that during this Year of the Clergy and Consecrated Persons and through the October 2018 Synod on the Youth some maturing development is done to the Third Eye, Third Ear and Third Hand of the Faith.