When we began our Novitiate, a Polish Redemptorist priest guided our group in a weeklong retreat. He was, technically speaking, our retreat master. But I can never forget what he said to us right before he presided the opening Mass: “The Holy Spirit is our ‘retreat master.’ In fact, the Holy Spirit is the true Master of your Novitiate journey.”

On a sweltering Holy Wednesday morning, under the cruel scorching heat of the sun, this was sacred time indeed to present a creative portrayal of the Passion and Death of Jesus on the streets of Manila.  It was not your traditional Way of the Cross.  It had a disturbing message.   Its feel, unsettling.  Its purpose, to confound the watcher. It was another way of presenting the Filipino people’s suffering. This multi-sectoral gathering represented by laborers, teachers, health workers, the urban poor community leaders and members and other lay church workers have given space for a presentation of a profound “people’s interpretation” of the Gospel’s telling of the Passion and Death of Jesus.  The “Kalbaryo ng Maralita”  (Calvary of the Impoverished and Marginalized) is a new way for deeply reflecting on the Filipino people’s situation.