Hari ini Jumat, Delapanbelas Maret Dua Ribu Sebelas

If I were in the Philippines, one of the conventual lenten observances that I would be doing is attending the stations of the cross around the parking area of Sto. Domingo Church, but I am not there am I? So the Indonesian version of it is Jalan Salib or Way of the Cross inside the Church. Today, I attended my first, and I just hope and pray it is not the last. Everything is the same except ofcourse the language and the venue, but both these factors gave the whole prayer a different taste and feeling. I purposely did not wear the habit in order to be with the people. I sat at the last pew of the Church in order to have a different view of the whole church and I really did. It is quite different when one is serving in front of the altar, where you have a limited view of what is happening because you are in front being observed by the people. The feeling is quite different when one becomes an expectator rather than the one being observed, and this made me nervous in a way. Another thing is the language, since I have limited bahasa in my pocket thus understanding what the prayers meant was quite difficult. The least I can do is to pronounce the words correctly and do it with the same pacing as the leaders. I felt like one of the participants of a choral recitation or sabayang pagbigkas contest were one is expected to recite with the group. It is just now that I realized how big the cross infront of the altar is. I would not have seen it unless I sat at the back portion of the church, be with the people and pray with them