The Philippines is acknowledged as one of the biggest Catholic countries in the world. The Holy Week ushers in major colorful, religious events that reflect our deep piety and faith that commemorate the passion, death, and resurrection of our savior, Jesus Christ.
The Lenten season has already started with Ash Wednesday, wherein the faithful received ash on their foreheads to remember our mortal existence. Catholics marked this day with ardent prayer, fasting, and abstinence from meat.
Palm Sunday is the next major activity, marking the official start of the Holy Week. Waving palm fronds or “palaspás”, the devotees troop to the church to have these blessed. These blessed palms are brought home and placed on doors, altars, and even windows.
On the side, devotees also do Stations of the Cross by visiting seven (7) churches. Also known as Visita Iglesia, the tradition meditates on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ by praying on each of the fourteen (14) stations.
Recollection, retreats, and even international pilgrimages are also organized by churches and other religious groups to make the season more meaningful and solemn.
In some areas, usually in the provinces, the faithful watch the staging of the “Senákulo” or what is also known as the Passion Play. Probably the most popular Senákulo is staged in Guimaras.
There is also the “pabasa” or the chanting of the Lord’s passion. In Pampanga in particular, devotees self-flagellate or have themselves nailed to the cross to atone for their sins.
The mourning of the death of Jesus Christ continues until Black Saturday through an Easter Vigil and ends on Easter Sunday, the most joyous celebration of all. It is celebrated with a “Salubong” wherein the risen Jesus Christ is met by the Blessed Virgin Mary.
During this solemn season, there are a lot of physical movements among Catholic devotees in visiting many churches and attending various activities, even in far-away places. Needless to say, there is a need to send and receive money to cover these expenses.
With M Lhuillier, doing these financial transactions, either domestically or internationally, will surely be convenient, easy, fast, and also safe. M Lhuillier’s domestic remittance service has expanded its branch network with its partnership with other big networks. Meanwhile, its international remittance service enables its customers to receive money in any part of the world through its network of partners worldwide.
Another useful service during this season is M Lhuillier’s ML Wallet, an app that enables its customers to send and receive money, cash in and cash-out, pay bills, and even buy e-load.
Widely known for its pawnshop heritage, M Lhuillier has expanded into a huge network of 3,000 physical branches that offer a wide range of reliable financial services such as Kwarta Padala, Quick Cash Loan, bills payment, Insurance, money exchange, jewelry, ML Wallet, ML Express, ML Moves and Telco and online TV Loading. True enough, M Lhuillier has now earned a reputation as the largest and most respected non-bank financial services network in the country… and so much more!
The Lenten season is a revered occasion for the Catholic faithful. And with M Lhuillier’s services, the devotees can just focus on the solemnity of the season instead of fussing over financial concerns. In this way, they can make this year’s commemoration meaningful.
Ang M Lhuillier may MLsakit sa iyong pangangailangan!
M Lhuillier, the Philippines’ largest and most respected non-bank financial institution, continues to uphold its promise of being the Tulay ng PaMLyang Pilipino, with more than 3,000 serviceable locations nationwide. It continuously seeks better and innovative ways to serve its community by providing fast, easy, and reliable financial services such as Kwarta Padala, Quick Cash Loan, Car Loans, Home Loan, Bills Payment, Insurance Plan, Money Exchange, Jewelry, ML Wallet, ML Express, ML Moves, and Telco and online TV Loading.
Follow M Lhuillier Financial Services, Inc. on Facebook, or visit mlhuillier.com for more information. For inquiries, contact Customer Care through its mobile number +63-947-999-0337, +63-947-999-2721, +63-917-871-2973, +63-947-999-0522, +63-947-999-2472 or email customercare@mlhuillier.com.
By JOEL C. MANGAHIS