“The recollection serves as spiritual preparation for the joy of Easter, helping believers fully appreciate the resurrection”
THE San Beda Alumni Association has invited all Bedans and their families to a five-hour Spiritual Lenten Recollection on March 21, starting at 1:00 pm at the San Beda Multi-Media Room 2 at the university’s Mendiola campus.
The recollection will be led by Fr. Abbot Eduardo “Ed” Africa, OSB as the keynote speaker. This will be an opportunity for prayer, reflection, and spiritual renewal during this season.
Lent 2026 began on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18, which marked the start of a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, and alms giving for Christians, leading up to Easter Sunday on April 5, 2026. The season traditionally concludes on Holy Thursday, which is April 2, 2026.
Lent, known in the Philippines as Kuwaresma or Semana Santa, is a 40-day solemn season of prayer, fasting, and alms giving that begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes before the Easter Triduum.
It is a period of reflection, penance, and preparation for the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
On a very personal note, we remember the nights we played our B-flat trombone with the Pinili Troubadors, later the Pinili Tiger Boys, during the dusk processions in our hometown – where three bands were playing for the Aglipayan church, the Isabelo Reyes-faction Iglesia Filipina Independiente, and the Roman Catholic church.
For Filipino Catholics, Lent is deeply significant because it is a time for renewing their faith, reflecting on the passion of Jesus Christ, and participating in deeply rooted traditions that foster community and spiritual, sometimes physical, sacrifice.
Lent has three pillars: Prayer – Deepening one’s relationship with God through scripture reading and reflection; Fasting/Abstinence – Doing without certain luxuries or eating less to focus on spiritual rather than material needs; and Almsgiving – Sharing with those in need as an act of charity.
Theologians say the focus here is the time for inner conversion, detaching from worldly pleasures, and repairing one’s relationship with God.
Why does Lent matter to Filipino Catholics?
As the third largest Catholic country in the world, the Philippines, which received the Cross in the 16th century following the arrival here of Fernando Magallanes, a Portuguese navigator who sailed under the flag of Spain, observes Lent with high intensity, merging church traditions with deeply rooted cultural practices (kari or sapata among Ilokanos in northern Philippines, or panata among the Tagalogs).
During Lent, we can see the cutural identity and heritage of the Filipinos, with their traditions like the Pabasa, have been practiced since the 16th century Spanish era, making them part of the Filipino national identity.
Lent is also seen as a crucial season to repent for sins and experience the “passion” of Jesus, while others make personal promises or sacrifices to ask for healing, forgiveness or to express gratitude for favors.
Filipino Catholics also have their “communal faith” where traditions like Visita Iglesia – visiting seven different churches on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday to pray the Stations of the Cross –.and the Senakulo – a theatrical re-enactment of the life, passion, and death of Jesus Christ, often performed in the streets – are communal, bringing families and neighborhoods together in shared faith.
The Cross/Passion symbolizes the ultimate sacrifice and God’s love, inviting individuals to carry their own “crosses” through suffering and sacrifice.
Theologians say the recollection, often done in community settings, serves as spiritual preparation for the joy of Easter, helping believers fully appreciate the resurrection.
At the same time, the transformation challenges individuals to move from “dust to flame,” transforming their lives and encouraging growth in humility, compassion, and gratitude.
As the traditional Benedictine motto suggests: Ut it omnibus glorificetur Deus. That in all things God may be glorified.
