Fiesta, Tradition, Value

Last week, this paper published an article of entitled "The Youth and the Penafrancia Fiesta."  It instantly caught my curiosity. Aside from the fact that the opinion page rarely features the views of another generation, the recent well-meaning exchanges in print and radio regarding the Penafrancia Fiesta are more than enough to make me want to know a new take on the topic. Allow me to join the fray. I am glad that the author, young as she is, found the Fiesta worth her time to comment on and write about.  I am glad that the author came forward with her thoughts; although I have to acknowledge Fr. Wilmer Tria's efforts that the article saw the light of day. I am edified by the moral high ground from which the article is written. I appreciate the fact that it led me to revisit my own experience; then came an onslaught of questions which, aside from oxygen, make my heart pump blood day in and day out.What confused me is the fact that even when the author called for a genuine observance of the devotion, it is evident that she sees the procession as merely something to be watched. The article says "the youth love fun more than watching the procession." I had to underline the words. Why didn't it say "join" or some other word that would reveal more commitment and less passivity, to contrast the love for fun?   We are talking about able-bodied adolescents and young adults and not the graying men and women in the twilight of their years.  I am not attempting any linguistic exploration; it is beyond my capacities, and I wonder if it's even applicable here.  But yes, I am trying to understand to my wits end what the words really mean. I had to read again until I had to surrender.  I have to accept that this is how we value the procession. It is something to be watched – like watching a pageantry of men tugging from all directions.    Then why do we risk getting crushed along the streets when we could all just watch the telecast?  Why do people from other provinces choose not to watch comfortably in air-conditioned rooms so their prayers would not be distracted by the heat and the throngs of people?  On the other hand, if I organized a fundraiser for a charitable organization and decided to count the proceeds instead of attending Mass a few blocks from my place, am I remiss in my devotion?A priest once told me very emphatically that we should not judge other people's devotion. This happened when I was arguing quite strongly about how the line between the solemn expression of the devotion and the unbridled desire to make a huge fast buck seems to have been cancelled, erased and deleted.  I saw his point. Although the mad scramble to strut one's clout in the corridors of power - another phenomenon highly evident during the Fiesta - still does not sit well with me, I thank him profusely for broadening my narrow mind.