Santisima Trinidad Parish holds street Masses

THE parishioners of Santisima Trinidad Parish in Malate, Manila, have been attending Masses not just in the parish church. They also hear Masses on the streets within the parish community.

Led by Parish Priest Fr. Carmelo (Jek) P. Arada Jr., street Masses are held twice a week besides the in-church Masses on weekdays and on Sundays. Fr. Jek, as he is fondly called by the parishioners, schedule the Masses in 21 barangays covered by the parish, he told the BusinessMirror after a street Mass held at Barangay 752 headquarters.

The street Masses are held “to bring the church, to bring Jesus closer to the people,” especially to those who have difficulty going to church, Arada explained.

Besides the Masses, the 14 Stations of the Cross are currently being held on Fridays of Lent also on streets, giving the parishioners, “more chances to be closer to Jesus.”

During the Stations of the Cross “we accompany Jesus so the people would see his suffering, and be able

They bring various foods in bamboo containers that they eat together after praying.

In other regions on the main island of Java, including in the capital, Jakarta, Muslims also mark the holy month by cleaning their relatives’ graves, scattering flower petals on them and praying for the deceased.

After evening prayers, many boys and girls across Jakarta parade through the streets of the densely populated neighborhoods. They carry torches and play Islamic songs accompanied by the beat of the rebana, the Arabic handheld percussion instrument.

People in Indonesia’s deeply conservative Aceh province celebrate the beginning of Ramadan with Meugang festivities by slaughtering animals, such as oxen or buffalo, as well as smaller animals like chicken and ducks.

The meat is then cooked and shared with family, friends, the poor and orphans in a communal feast.

Hundreds of residents in Tangerang, a city just outside Jakarta, flock to the Cisadane River to bathe in a tradition that involves washing one’s hair with rice straw shampoo to welcome the fasting month with a symbolic spiritual cleansing.

Islam follows a lunar calendar, so Ramadan begins around a week and a half earlier each year.

At the end of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate the joyous Eid al-Fitr holiday, when children often receive new clothes and gifts.

Indonesia’s Trade Ministry has said prices of imported staple foods including wheat, sugar, beef and soybeans have increased sharply this year as a result of rising global commodity prices and supply chain disruptions, particularly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But many people say the rise in prices not only impacts imported foods but also local commodities like rice, eggs, chili, palm oil and onions.

Gas and electricity prices have also gone up. Many blame the government for this.

Some Muslims worry how they will cope financially during Ramadan this year.

“Prices are going up every week. How come the government cannot help with this?

Anything to do with cooking is rising,” said Yulia Ningsih, a mother of two who lives in Jakarta. “I worry that rising food and energy costs will impact Ramadan celebrations.”

Niniek Karmini/Associated Press to relate it to the suffering they are undergoing,” he said.

Besides the Masses, Arada and the other priests of the parish also go around the community to pray for and anoint the sick, and hear their confessions.

Lay ministers also give communion to the sick, who could no longer go to church on Sundays.

Lyn Resurreccion

Editor: Lyn Resurreccion