Chereads / The House of the Unholy / Chapter 41 - Lauds

Chapter 41 - Lauds

The parishioners flock the Parish of Our Lady of Sorrows the morning of the Feast of All Souls with their attires of purest white, the color of the liturgy. This signifies the cleansing of the souls of those departed who are still atoning in purgatory. The men are in white camisas paired with their white trousers; and the women in their white dresses and veil, with some holding or carrying their children who looks like cherubs in their white ensemble as well.

The Catholics, who each have their own departed kin to pray for, line up at the fortress church doors. Each of them knows that by visiting the church, they are helping the souls of their friends and loved ones to reach and fully enter the gates of Heavens by gaining for them plenary indulgence. The friar taught them that on this day, a living person who has a departed faithful to save from purgatory, has to visit the church and recite one Our Father and the Apostle's Creed. The Catholic then has to receive Eucharistic Communion and pray one additional Our Father and one Hail Mary for the Intentions of the Holy Father. The priest also strictly advised his followers to desist committing sins, even venial ones in preparation for the cleansing of their own souls while still living. They hold onto these sacraments as an obligation to their departed loved ones in the hope that they may enter the Kingdom of Heavens and be among with the beatified Saints.

Inside, there are already couple of attendees seated at the front isle. Near the central altar there settles Teniente Leon and his wife, Ana Rosa who looks paler than she used to, must be because her complexion is being muted by the white garments surrounding her. On the opposite bench there sit the servant Tatang Chuy with Jimena and Nanang Ditas. At the center isle there still settles Aling Nita and her husband with their son, Diego. The seat on the central isle has almost become the family's designated spot, as the previous regular occupants of that bench had given way to the grieving family since a week ago when the fray announced the disappearance of Utoy.

A woman can be seen pulling her child away from sitting on the central isle as the child knows where their family is supposed to be seated

"Their son is gone, and we should be empathetic to them," the mother reminds her child as she nods at Mang Gener walking away towards the next isle

The belfry sounds the church bells to signal the mass is about to start once everyone has settled.

"The grace and peace of God our Father, who raised Jesus from the dead, be with you always," Fray Luciano starts the mass with a greeting to which the attendees replies;

"And also with you,"

The priest then starts the opening prayer for All the Faithful Departed;

"Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine

Er lux perpetua luceat eis:

Requiescant in pace. Amen"

Teo walks into the church from the small door at the end of the altar clutching the hem of his sleeves. The townsmen fix their curious gaze at the young man walking towards the isles with his head down, as if trying to shield himself from the inquisitive eyes before him. Teo looks exhausted with his disheveled hair looking greasy, his trousers stained with splashes of mud at the hem, and most of all, his attire of dark coat and black pants is a blunt contrast to the collective whiteness of the church goers making him stand out despite his attempt to make his entrance as silent as possible

The Captain shudders in perplexity while watching his nephew walking into the side of the altar. His surprise turns into annoyance upon seeing Teo's filthy appearance, glances at his wife to point her at Teo's direction and shares with her his displeasure as he shakes his head while looking at his wife. The woman stares at Teo's direction stoically while the young man reaches the nearest isle

From the side of the altar Tinyo shakes his head in displeasure as he glances at the priest who has to put the mass to a halt to check the cause of the people's sudden strong reaction. Casually, the friar proceeds in his greetings;

"We gather here today to pray for our brothers and sisters whose bodies lie in rest, " he secretly gazes at Teo who has to lunge himself into the flock of church goers at the nearest isle to sit beside lsko, " those who have passed from death to life in the company with the Lord Jesus, who died and rose to new life , and are purified now of their faults. We pray that God may welcome them among all the Saints of Heavens"

The friar then proceeds to gesture at Tinyo to start reading the word from the Scripture on the podium at the side of the church;

"My dear brothers and sisters, the Holy Scripture from the Book of the Maccabees" he exhales softly as if to release his trepidation, "And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection..."

Teo finally reaches the end of the long wooden chair where lsko is seated. His lunging on the populated bench causes the other church goers to move over to give enough space to their Segnor to sit on

"Tatang Chuy said you did not come home last night. They claimed that you were with me," Isko whispers, "you look gaunt, Segnor. Where had you been?"

"I found Utoy" Teo whispers back while glancing at Aling Nita at the central isle

"Did you?" Isko enquire, "where is he then?"

"He has been working at the friar's lair for a cleaning job for a week while everyone was struggling to search for him. Fray Luciano and Tinyo claimed that they were unaware that one of their workers was the missing boy," Teo responds

"What in the world?" Isko claims loudly, to which the other church goers throw him a nosy look

Teo sees the friar looking at them from his high chair in the central altar looking suspicious of what he and Isko are discussing about. The look on the friar's face sends anxiety to him as he recalls their discussion in the refectory that morning, remembering everything that he learned, including those facts that he chose to forget, like the accidental death of Lito from his pushing when they were still altar boys.

"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins," Tinyo finishes the reading of the Scripture

"To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul" the church goers respond as one

The priest then stands at the center of the altar to begin his proclamation. He looks at his followers all clad in white clothes, brushing through the expressions on their faces;

"The Lord Jesus' resurrection has promised us an eternal life. This is the foundation to where our faith was forged in the hope for eternal life for ourselves and for all those faithful departed. In His death and resurrection, Christ has surmounted death for all those who believe in him," he pauses to acknowledge the approval of his audience, "when Jesus was resurrected, the first woman he obliged to visit was Mary, the Blessed Mother. He may be the Son of God, but he was also a son to Mary. The Virgin was seated at home when Jesus appeared to her, and rising at the sight of her son. It was such a beautiful reunion between the Mother and her son after His resurrection, Salve Sancta Parens,"

The friar walks towards the central isle where the family of Utoy is seated. Aling Nita grew much hopeful this time than she was a week ago, clutching a rosary with her right hand.

"Last week we learned that a son was missing which caused his mother to be inflicted with an unexplainable pain. A mother shall not suffer a loss of a child like how the blessed Mary suffered the death of her Son, Jesus. Every night after the last mass, I prayed to God to spare the child from danger, to spare his family of suffering further and mourning his loss. Since our God is a kindhearted God, our pleas have been answered" Fray Luciano looks down at Aling Nita with a gentle smile

Upon hearing the claims, the woman is thrilled as she can be seen clasping the hands of the friar excitedly.

"Brothers and sisters, just yesterday during the Feast of All the Saints, Captain Leon found the missing boy right at the house of the God as one of His workers. All the while we were looking for him, he was just under the church's roof; safe and being nourished as a cleaner to the House of God. The boy must have gone astray but our merciful God led him right into His home; and God must have led the Captain into His home to finally find the missing boy" the priest points towards the central altar

From the small door at the end of the altar, Teniente Leon walks in holding Utoy, the missing boy by his arm. The boy's appearance sends the crowd wild with some can be heard cheering, leading to a deafening applause.

"Oh, my son. My boy, Utoy! "

Aling Nita rushes to meet his son at the central altar, weeping hysterically despite the happiness which fills her heart at that moment. Her husband follows after with Diego to praise the captain who easily earns the admiration of the crowd. The friar raises his hands apart into the sky, praising the heavens above as he leads the Lord's prayer

Isko looks at his Segnor, confused, as if trying to make sense out of Teo's claim when the boy has just been reunited with his family right in front of them with everyone as witnesses. Teo remains silent watching the heartened crowd witnessing the touching reunion of a mother and his child.

"There's the missing boy, Segnor" Isko claims confusingly, "I thought you said…"

Teo rushes to stand and excuses himself from the flock of the church goers beside him. These people are now standing up to have a good look at the reunion of Utoy and his family.

"where are you going?" Isko watches Teo lunging himself into the crowd; away from the isle,

"Segnor!"