Last March 18, I had the chance of celebrating the “Bisperas”
in San Jose, Batangas. I was excited to see the ivory image of San Jose that
joins the replica procession on the bisperas. My companion and I were still in
the jeepney when we saw the procession which prompted us to alight immediately
and rush to the procession.
We searched for the ivory San Jose. We squeezed ourselves to
find our way into the procession but to no avail. Then we thought maybe he’s
enthroned inside the church. We stopped and I clicked photos of the replicas.
The church façade was repainted red this year. Last time I
was here, it was done in blue. We sat down for the Novena Mass. His Eminence
Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, former Archbishop of Lipa and Manila. Sadly due to
time constraints, since we had to catch the last bus trip back to Manila, we
had to leave when the homily began.
To our dismay, we found out that the San Jose we were
looking for and longing to see was really absent from the celebration. To add
to our shock was that the elderly woman taking care of the image was robbed and
mercilessly murdered. The hopes of the San Jose joining the yearly bisperas
seemed dim. However, suggestions were given that hopefully when considered, the
good old San Jose, in his holy glory and rich history, may one day grace again
the streets of San Jose, Batangas.
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