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Good Friday Processional

Good Friday, San Jose - (17) more edit 2008-03-21 - rec# 56

As with so many adventures this one started with a bus ride, and almost ended there. There was, of course, no notice in the newspapers about the procession in Cartago. I knew of it because I stumbled across it two years ago. I went back to my blog to get the details and armed only with that information I started off. Figured that if I caught a Cartago bus around 8:15-8:30 all should be fine...and there's a bus every 15 minutes...right? San Jose empties out on Thursday of Holy Week. It's almost a ghost town, no city buses and few shops open, but the long distance buses run. I went via bus two years ago...right? So there couldn't be any problem. I arrived at the bus stop at 8:10. The highway was as I expected deserted. You could actually cross against the light, which is REALLY unusual. Around 8:20 a bus came by that looked like it SHOULD be a Cartago bus, but had no markings. I flagged it down and was going to ask the driver if he was going to Cartago. He did something that I've seen before and don't understand. He pulled over to the side of the road, slowed to about 10 mph, looked at me and kept going. What? Am I too tall? Anyway I just sat down and waited. There was a woman at the stop and she didn't seem concerned. I'm patient. No problem. Well, after about half an hour her ride showed up. She was waiting for a friend in a car. I had been sitting there now for 45 minutes and realize that the one drive by was the only public bus I had seen in that time. Maybe there were no buses on Good Friday... Then a man came and sat at the stop. Perhaps HE knew (or assumed?) something. I figured that if I waited for a full hour and no bus came by then the gig was up. At 9:15 a Cartago bus showed up and we were off. When I got off the bus in Cartago I went directly to the church. As I expected there were few people in town and only about 20 in the church. The Christ statue was ready to go and on the platform. OK...so I was in the right place on the right day. I was beginning to wonder. Interestingly it was a different statue from two years ago. Upon hearing the drum cadence I went outside expecting to see the columns of Roman soldiers approaching the church and I was not disappointed. Several hundred of the troops were in the street. I always find this a very emotional time for me. I usually am on the verge of tears and this was no exception. How many times must we crucify Christ? Why do we, in our lives, continue this ritual? Having some military experience it's way too easy to put myself in the place of the soldiers. It's really a soul searching moment for me, always has been. As with last time...there were thousands of people. Where did they come from? I have never figured that out. When I arrive in Cartago it's next to deserted. Then out of nowhere there are these hoards of people lining the street! (Fishes and loaves in reverse?) Knowing a bit of what was going to happen I was able to position myself better to get good photos this time. The soldiers entered the church and brought the Christ statue out where we we went through the first two stations of the cross along with a sermon. Then the procession begins. They take a loop around the block and then return to the church. This time I wanted to stay at the church and see what was going to happen. Last time I had followed the procession and missed something. Two things happened. One, the fourth station and the two several woman joined the procession. From their symbols I recognized two of them, but the others? There are two aspects of the Catholic church that I really like. Confession, the idea that you are responsible to and forgiven by the larger community. That you can expose your true self ritually and be accepted. Not that I'm a big fan of traditional Catholic morality, I'm really NOT! But the idea that there is a place where one can come, express their failings and release them...that I really like. The other is the acknowledgment of the female element. Modern scholars seem to think that Mary Magdalene was one of the original apostles, even the leader. That it was she who held it all together after the crucification and that it was the organized church that centuries later felt a need to expunge her from the history. The Catholics, on the other hand, seemed to have not felt that need. The yin and the yang. As a side bar...I have always found it interesting when women talk about Christianity as a "male dominated" religion. Church...yes, but religion...NO. The story starts with Mary (a woman). Joseph is mentioned, but soon dropped from the story, and it's made clear that he really didn't have anything to do with it. Christ begins his ministry and has a following that, according to the gospels, witnessed several miracles. Each time they were told to tell no one. When he decided to "come out" and preach his message he went to the woman at the well (a woman I'm quite sure) to deliver his manifesto. His "This is what I'm about, no go and tell your people" statement. The most quoted lines in the gospels. When you get to the crucification all the men have fled and are largely disavowing Christ. Mary and Mary (women BTW) are at the cross...and the men, where are they? We come to the most important part of the Christian story...the resurrection. Who was there...Mary and Mary (women I'm quite sure). Christ appears to whom? Mary (a woman). He catches up with the guys 40 days later. But I digress... While we deal with the fourth station "Jesus meets his mother" these other woman quietly join the procession. There's one more stop before the basilica. The sixth station. Other stations are marked along the way, flowers, tables, crosses. The procession passes by them one by one. At the basilica the crucification is reenacted.