Lenten Vigil 2002

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	LENTEN VIGIL AT ST. ANTHONY'S This year's Lenten Vigil was very special to me. It is my last year in St Anthony's Canossian Secondary School and in addition, I was a part of the dramatisation play of the Lord's Supper and Stations of the Cross. I played the role of Jesus. You might not find that funny but I found it very amusing because Sr Edwina Yeow and Ms Karen Teo asked me to play this part at 2am in the convent library. We were having a stay-over to plan and to prepare for the Lenten Vigil. I was more amused than shocked by the request. Reality sank in much later when Ms Karen Teo asked if I was up to it. I was so tempted to say "no" and take the easy way out, but I didn't. I just sat there, staring at everybody, trying to respond. It was an honour to be given the role … but to act? Anyway, Sr Edwina and Ms Teo gave me time to decide so, I thought and thought, and prayed, and thought some more, and prayed a little more. Finally, I relented.





		Four more days to Lenten Vigil and we practised every morning. Very soon, the day came! It all happened so quickly. I had butterflies in my stomach and was a nervous wreck the whole day, thinking of what was going to happen later that night. I helped out in the registration, then everyone went for mass, then to school for dinner. The Secondary two and three students went for church visitations, while the graduating students had a different agenda. We did activities that helped us to reflect on our lives, families and friends. It was these activities that made me value and treasure what I have.
		At midnight, the other students came back from church visitations and the Paschal meal was at hand and I started to panic… my heart pounded as the group of us, 'Jesus and his twelve disciples', headed for the music room. I couldn't believe it was happening! There I was, as Jesus, inviting the students for the Paschal meal. Once the enactment started, everything just happened rather quickly.
		The Paschal meal and washing of feet were very touching episodes. Some students cried during the washing of feet as it was a very humbling experience.
The Stations of the Cross followed and I was getting jittery again. The night was hot and I was in a robe. Before long, I was perspiring profusely. It was tough enacting the Stations, carrying a life-sized cross, walking around the whole school compound. At the station where Jesus was to be nailed on the cross, we were made to nail our sins, written on a piece of paper, onto the cross. The hammering of nails was really eerie and it made my hair stand on end. I could almost feel the nails being driven into the Lord's flesh and the pain was so real. Walking the path that Jesus took during the last hours of His life made me reflect on what He had done for us. To be condemned for something that made no sense and to be jeered at was not easy. But yet, He so loved the world that He suffered so much for us. It was a very meaningful and poignant experience. I'm glad I didn't say "no" to this role. Dominique Prima Tan of Sec 4.8, S.A.C. Secondary School

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