FMM: Words of Tradition

If there's one thing that was on my agenda on this trip to Bicol, it was to go to Malinao and hear the Siete Palabras.

We did this when we where kids. As early as 1pm, we'd go to Sts. Joaquim and Anne Parish, and we'd listen to the  last words and wait for the image of Christ to breathe his last. Yes, the image of Jesus Christ actually "dies" at 3pm. And, back then, it was a novel sight for a kid from Manila to see.

I'm glad to have witnessed this again, albeit the scriptures and sharing went a bit overtime and the culmination happened around 3:30pm rather than 3:00pm.

One of the songs that they sang during the 7 last words is an old church song that's been a favourite of mine since childhood. And on today's Good Friday Magic Madness, it's only apt to play this song:

"Pananagutan" is a church hymn that was written sometime between the 60s and the 70s. It was written by a Jesuit preist named Fr. Eduardo P. Hontiveros, SJ, and has been part of church hymns ever since. 

It's such a classic song that while listening to it this 2026, it still hits the same way as it did when I'd listen to it as a kid in the 80s.

I'm so glad to have heard this, and witness this tradition, after decades.

FMM: Amazed

It's Good Friday, and also, Friday Magic Madness day.

And today, we're going back, way, way back to the 1920s.

"Amazing Grace" is a song that's been around for a long, long time. The original hymn was written in 1772 and has been sung, and continues to be sung until today. 

While trying to look for the earliest recorded version of the song, this version from 1922 came up, and listening to it was a transformative experience:

You can tell by the sound quality, the singers, and even the instrumentation, that this song is from an older, bygone era. But the song itself, it remains beautiful and timeless.

Now, that's amazing.

FMM: Act of Love

Among the many World Youth Day songs, it’s the 1995 one written by Trina Belamide that’s most memorable and meaningful.

That year, World Youth Day was held in Manila, and we were part of it. Some Adformatix friends and I decided to join WYD as delegates, and we’d go to Don Bosch Church in Makati after work for briefings and practices.

One of the things we’d regularly practice is the song and gestures for “Tell the world of his Love.”

The first time this song was players, it was clear that the song was a perfect hymn for WYD. The message was beautiful, the lyrics and arrangement were divine, and it. A-Tueres the Story of Christ in a way that’s young and relevant.

The intro alone was so real and heartfelt:

“For God so loved the world, He gave us his only Son. Jesus Christ our saviour, His most precious one.”

This song played in my head as the Good Friday procession passed by in front of the compund

As we celebrate Good Friday today, this song is a fitting reminder of how God loved and continues to love us.

It’s a Good Friday Magic Madness song.

FMM: Love and Sacrifice

It's Good Friday once again.

We were taught the relevance of this day at a very early age. My grandparents were very religious, and they would explain to us kids the meaning of Good Friday. Whilst they forbade us from playing, laughing, swimming, running around - basically having fun, they told us that it's a small sacrifice considering the huge sacrifice that Jesus did for us.

Because we were taught early, it was something that I personally carried with me until my adulthood. That's why Holy Week is usually a time of reflection, and a time that we really thank the Lord for what he did for us. 

Sacrificing His life was the ultimate and most selfless act of love for humanity.

And that love inspired this Friday Magic Madness song on Good Friday. 

"I Love you, Lord," is a song that we'd sing a lot during our choir days - not just on Good Friday - but even on Sunday masses. It's a song that professes our love for the Lord, and thanking Him for everything he did. Something that we should take to heart, not just on Good Friday, but everyday.

Here's to a meaningful and Blessed Good Friday to everyone.

FMM: Faith on a Friday

Today is a Good Friday. And it's the 2nd Good Friday that the faithful are remembering the Passion of Christ from our homes.

Normally, Good Friday is spent doing the Visita Iglesia and attending the "Siete Palabras" mass in Churches. 

When we were kids, we'd often spend Good Friday in my Mom's hometown of Malinao, Albay, and we'd walk to the church just across the ancestral home to hear the "Siete Palabras." One of the highlights of that mass in Malinao is how the image of Christ on the cross passes on at the strike of 3:00pm. It's a poignant sight for all the mass goers there.

But while we can't go inside the Church during this time, one thing that this pandemic taught us is that faith is where we practice it. And even if it's been more than a year since I've last heard mass inside a proper Church, hearing it and participating in it online makes our home the House of God as well.

Faith should be boundless, and that's a truism these days. Wherever we may be, if we have Faith, if we practice our Faith, and if we share our Fatih, then He is with us.

This reminds me of one of my favourite Church hymns about Faith. A hymn that we used to sing a lot when I was part of the Grade School and High School choirs. And a fitting Friday Magic Madness song this Good Friday.

As we commemorate the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, let's us also keep the Faith.

FMM: Good Friday Love

Today, we celebrate the ultimate sacrifice and act of Love that He gave us.

Good Friday brings back so many memories from different stages of my life. From my childhood in Malinao where we'd watch the "Siete Palabras," to the more recent Good Friday masses that Mark and I would attend in Tokyo. (Our favorite part of the Holy Week mass in Roppongi was the singing of "Go Down Moses".)

While hearing the Passion of the Christ in church, and hearing the priest talking about the love that was given to us through death, one song suddenly played in my mind. It was the World Youth Day song in 1995, "Tell the World of His Love."

This song has many meanings for me. We actively participated in WYD 1995 as part of Yuppeace, and we practiced this song - both words and actions - almost every night after work. And of course, the culmination was performing it in Luneta for Pope John Paul II.

Gosh, this song is already 23 years old! Which makes it perfect for today's Friday Magic Madness.



Truer words have never been spoken. Now, more than ever, we should really tell the world of His love.