This morning while awaiting mass at my home parish I had to leave my pew to simply blow my nose in the washroom. On my way to the washroom an old teacher of mine from the elementary school stopped me near a processional box of the resurrected Christ. (It was a small-scale version of the parade cars that you see on TV for Christmas or different celebrations) She asked me if I could help them out with the Salubong procession.
What is “Salubong?” Salubong in its literal translation from Tagalog to English is “Meeting.” It essentially is the meeting of a sorrowful Mother Mary with the Resurrected Christ. The procession starts off with a group of women veiled and following a processional Mother Mary surrounded in flowers and covered in a black veil. The women accompanying the processional box are reciting the rosary while processing around the church. The procession meets at the centre of the church near the overhang of the church balcony and the processional box of Jesus approaches. Jesus is accompanied by men with instruments and tasked with making noise to alert people of the resurrection. Angels dressed in white are also singing a jubilant song in Latin. At the meeting of the Mother and Son, a dove is lowered and the Angels sing the Regina Caeli, at the same time the black veil is taken off Mother Mary. The Mother and Son are surrounded in song and Alleluias as they two are processed to the front of the church.
Simply taking part as a drummer in the procession gave me goose bumps. I tried imagining myself with the disciples and upon hearing the news of the resurrection of Christ eager to share with others the great miracle. I imagined how happy Mother Mary must have been after seeing her son alive again and in the flesh and how happy Jesus would have been to see his Mother smile and to wipe away her tears.
I pray that we may all experience the great miracle of the Easter season with our friends and families.
God Bless and See you in the Eucharist
Cristopher Sy