Kenosis on Black Saturday

Can't exactly remember what Fr. Balongag said kenosis meant but it had something to do with us coming on Black Saturday and helping clean the church. The way he explained it made it sound like a worthwhile thing to do during Holy Week, something better than going to the beach, and people did come with their rubber gloves, cleaning fluids, mops, buckets, and lots of elbow grease. Some brought their helpers to scrub, too, and someone brought a water truck to get at the stubborn dust and grime that inevitably accumulates on all buildings, especially those in the busiest part of the city.

Throughout that morning, people cleaned and everything was like clockwork! And everywhere you looked everybody was smiling. Afterwards, some of the children said, "That was fun! When are we doing this again?"


Cleaning the base of the altar.

The Ursuline Sisters of Somasca came armed with aprons, cleaning materials and good humor.

Franz vacuuming the statues.

A water truck was used to hose down the facade of the church - it's annual "shower"

Just finished scrubbing hundreds of plastic chairs. Yes, our church is a vibrant one and it's always overflowing with people, hence the extra chairs.

Trimming a patch of green on a concrete sidewalk. A beautification project of the Mary Immaculate Parish Women's Assn, it sets the welcoming tone even before we get to the church doors.

Finishing touches. Not shown (because the photographer was busy scrubbing) are the dozens of parishioners who came and washed, scrubbed, mopped, polished, vacuumed, and cleaned the church from top to bottom.