Entering Holy Week...

by Emma Buckhout, IWM serving in Santa Fe, Mexico City, Mexico.

When I started writing this blog entry it was Thursday of Holy Week, but then I was sidetracked by a rather busy series of events to remember and celebrate Easter. Now that it is Monday after Easter, “entering” might not be as appropriate a title. However, by “entering” I meant to refer not only to the timeframe, but also to entering into a new series of traditions and celebrations in the Mexican Catholic culture of Santa Fe. People had told us the rough outline of events for Holy Week, but I knew it was something I was going to need to experience for myself.

 After four years of trying to celebrate Easter at a secular university that held classes all the way through Good Friday, spending Easter in Santa Fe was a welcome change. Most people get all of Holy Week off of work, and almost everyone gets Thursday to Sunday off. Public schools are closed both Holy Week and the week after Easter. The guardería was closed for vacations all of Holy Week, so that meant a break for both Tara and me.

It was definitely advantageous not to have to go to work at the guardería this particular week, because I`m not sure how I would have seen everything else going on! As a missionary, it doesn`t feel as though I`m ever on vacation as long as I`m still in Santa Fe-- mission is a whole-life thing, not just about the hours that I spend at the guardería. However, Tara and I tried to strike a balance this week between taking some extra time for rest, our usual activities and responsibilities, and taking in the Holy Week traditions and extra activities at the parish.

The highlight of our resting came on Wednesday as Tara and I ran up to the mall in the beautiful sunshine for an errand to the phone company, but then treated ourselves to a fresh salad feast. We walked the hour or so home as well, chatting about US and Canadian political structures. I then spent the late afternoon wandering around parks with Jessica in the neighborhood called the Condessa, a half hour bus ride away. Salads and parks are a rare treat in life in Santa Fe and I definitely counted it as a day of celebration.

Tara and I spent Tuesday taking our grupo juvenil on a picnic to Chapultepec, the largest park in Mexico City, for some extra bonding time. Fifteen of us gathered at the parish, made sandwiches, and then trekked off on two different buses to arrive at the park. There we found a quiet spot to spread blankets and did our weekly reflection as guided by the Jesuit group materials. Then we shared a meal together, played some games, spent an hour on paddle boats on the lake, stopped by the traditional Mexican "voladores", and then hopped the buses back to the parish in the late afternoon. It was great to spend some time in green space and a valuable community building experience to share time outside of our normal space with a special boating treat. 

As for parish activities, my original blog writing intentions were interrupted by a series of reenactments performed by the parish group Gregorio Lopez, made up of community members of all ages, and the traditional masses. Gregorio Lopez has been practicing nightly since January for this week`s representations. It is an impressive feat. They began on Palm Sunday, enacting several biblical scenes of Jesus` life including the Samaritan woman by the well, and the multiplication of the loaves, during which everyone in the huge crowd of people at the parish (including the children`s choir that I was helping practice before mass) received a small loaf of bread. Then, in conjunction with the Triduum mass schedule, on Thursday the group began to act out the Easter story.

I will try to give as brief rundown as possible of the weekend’s schedule:

Thursday evening began with the mass of the washing of the feet, during which parish ministers washed the feet of most of the gathered congregation, including Tara and me, a beautiful and humbling experience. Then from 8 to 10pm Gregorio Lopez began their weekend by performing the scenes of the Last Supper and Jesus appearing before Pilot.

The morning of Good Friday Tara and I did a Stations of the Cross focusing on indigenous people in Mexico with the Parish ministers. At noon we joined the thousands of people that crowd inside the parish gates to watch the beating and sentencing of Jesus performed by Gregorio Lopez. The Roman army then took Jesus and the two thieves on what looks like a parade through the neighborhood as he carried his cross. Around 3pm they returned to the churchyard to perform the crucifixion. In an understatement, it is a hugely powerful presentation. Popular religion is, well, very popular in Santa Fe and Good Friday’s representations probably bring the largest crowd to the parish all year. An evening mass for the adoration of the cross and then a silent procession with images of Mary in mourning and the wounded Jesus concluded our Friday at about 9:30pm.

Saturday was relatively tranquil, leaving us time to plan youth group events until the candlelit Easter Vigil at 8pm, which was followed by a celebratory meal in the parish kitchen.

Resurrection Sunday was celebrated with the normal eight mass schedule, but included a special corn-planting ceremony based on indigenous prayer traditions and again, celebratory meal in the afternoon. There is a small plot of land behind the parish that Father Salvador has designated as a small corn field to celebrate Mexican indigenous roots and promote greater conscience of our connection to God’s creation. (I should also mention that the parish has acquired several chickens, ducks, and rabbits, so we celebrated Easter with real bunnies this year.) We concluded Sunday by watching Gregorio Lopez’s final reenactment of the resurrection, Jesus appearing to Mary, Mary Magdalene, and the disciples, and the coming of the Holy Spirit. My favorite part was the prayer that the man playing Jesus led for the whole crowd at the end, concluding in an Our Father.

All in all, it was quite a week. I am thankful for new ways of reflecting on the meaning of Easter, experiencing its sorrows and joys through new images and new celebrations with our community in Santa Fe. And I am also going to get a few extra hours of sleep today! J