RAMBAK
KRISTO ARI 2007 ACTIVITIES
By Former Vice Mayor Norman V. Mendoza
Introduction
It was in 1972 when the Rambak Kristo Ari (Feast of
Christ the King) was first celebrated here in San
Esteban. The Parish Priest then was Fr. Marcelo
Cantorna. Every year thereafter, the Rambak Kristo
Ari had become a much-awaited Christian celebration
that passes on from one parish to another and is
held every 3rd Sunday of the month of
November. This year, St. Stephen once again hosted
the event under the stewardship of the Parish
Priest, Fr. Amador Cabaluna. The Archbishop led the
concelebrated mass on the culminating day and was
attended by thousands of devotees from all over the
province as a way of showing homage to the Kristo
Ari. Due to the immense physical preparations, the
local government units, private business sectors and
concerned parishioners were enjoined to extend their
invaluable cooperation and assistance.
September 16 to November 19 - Spiritual
Preparation
To host the Rambak Kristo Ari, parishioners should
be spiritually prepared to welcome and accept Kristo
Rey into their hearts. To achieve this, the
barangays were clustered into neigborhood SISAs (Simbaan
Sangkakarubaan) who were named after their chosen
saint. Thus during the “Panagdaliasat ni Kristo Ari
Kadagiti SISAs” (The Journey of Christ the King to
the neighborhood SISAs), the parishioners were so
excited to have with them the Kristo Ari. In its
journey from
one barangay to another, parishioners
processioned the Kristo Ari in such a way
that one barangay sent him off and the other
welcomed
him. The Kristo Ari was ensconced in a public place
in the assigned barangay for certain number of days,
either at the barangay chapel or at the plaza. The
Kristo Ari went around the barangay and stayed in
some selected households. A SISA mass was held at
the house of a host SISA resident. Throughout its
stay, a vigil was held
and the SISA members
prayed the
rosary,
read the bible, shared experiences, paid tribute and
through the night
they sang, played games, had snacks and did
all sorts of activities to keep them awake. The
daily masses also included the sacrament of
confession and penance so that every parishioner was
clean in mind and heart and spiritually prepared to
accept the Kristo Ari.
Likewise Novena Masses were offered and for nine
consecutive days, from November 16 to 24, masses
were celebrated at the church by different priests
and sponsored by the different barangays and
religious organizations.
November 24 - Youth Involvement
One reason why every Rambak Kristo Ari became
popular is because of the participation of the
youth. The Ilocos Sur IYM (Integral Youth Ministry)
held its Misyon Kabataan
2007 on the
eve of Kristo Ari whose members come from different
municipalities. For their overnight board and
lodging, they were grouped in twos or threes and
dispersed to
households all over San Esteban who had
volunteered to become foster homes for a period of
two days. The youth were warmly welcomed by the
foster families, joined them in meals and had
personal and bible sharing with the host family. A
Youth Jam was held on the evening of Nov. 24 and
after that the attendees made the final vigil for
the Kristo Ari. When it was time for the adopted
youth to go home, they secretly left in their foster
homes a token figurine, a symbol of their gratitude
with a short note of thanks.
November 25 - The Main Event
The concelebrated mass was held at
a makeshift stage built in front of the church
entrance. It was adorned with abundant fresh flowers
and topped with the traditional gold and white
festooned linen. Archbishop Ernesto Salgado was the
main celebrant joined by the clergy of the
Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia. Thousands of devotees
came to hear mass among them were government
officials from the province and other towns. The
atmosphere was sacred and at the same time festive.
There should have been a procession around the town
but typhoon “Mina” interfered, it caused a slight
drizzle that forced the cancellation of the
procession. All told, the Rambak Kristo Ari 2007
held at San Esteban was a big success.
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