The venerated image of the Christ of La Laguna yesterday returned to descend to its faithful in the traditional ceremony of the Descent, after the past 2020 had to be canceled due to the pandemic, limiting itself to the Eucharist. Even so, this year the suppression of Besapié has been maintained due to sanitary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Nor was it possible to celebrate, like last year, the procession of the transfer of Christ to the Cathedral, limiting all religious acts to the royal sanctuary or its atrium.
Thus, the religious acts on the occasion of the Festivities in honor of the Santísimo Cristo de La Laguna started yesterday with this traditional Descent ceremony, preceded by the Eucharist in the royal lagoon sanctuary, presided over by the Bishop of the Nivariense Diocese, Bernardo Álvarez, and that I can follow live through the YouTube channel of the Bishopric of Tenerife.
Together with Monsignor Álvarez, the bishop of Monterano and auxiliary of Valencia, Javier Salinas, in charge of preaching this year on the big day of the festivities and on the solemn quinarium, concelebrated. The rector of the sanctuary, Víctor Álvarez; the eldest slave of the Slavery of Christ of La Laguna, Francisco José Doblas; the Lieutenant General Chief of the Command of the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, Carlos Palacios; as well as a representation of the Municipal Corporation, a large group of slaves of Christ and members of brotherhoods and brotherhoods.
As reported by the Bishopric, the Nivarian prelate began his homily by recalling that the celebration of this day “reminds us of when Christ was taken down from the cross and placed in the hands of Mary, to then be taken to the grave.” “We already know the end of that event. Christ is risen and lives forever. That is why we honor and venerate him, ”he said.
Monsignor Álvarez explained that this year the Besapié gesture had to be suppressed due to health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. “However, we can, with our hearts, bow gratefully before Jesus Christ because, through him, salvation has come to the world,” he said.
The bishop, at another point in his homily, stressed that, during these festivals, what Christians do is put themselves at the feet of Christ to ask him to act. “The salvation that Christ offers us is a salvation of the soul. Let us not forget that the evils in the world come from the desires of the heart. Sometimes there are storms, earthquakes, pandemics like the one we are experiencing, but all of that is insignificant compared to the evil that human beings produce. Selfishness, wars, confrontations, even within one’s own family… Doing good, on the other hand, is determined by the Word of God. Those of us who believe in him trust his word and try, even if it costs us, to put his commandments into practice, ”he said.
The Nivarian prelate continued his homily referring to the message that this year he wanted to share in the program of the festivities: “I wanted to highlight the dimension that Christians are called not only to believe in Jesus Christ, but to think, feel and act like him. ”. In this sense, Álvarez added that, in his opinion, the first and most difficult thing is to think like Christ: “Conversion means changing your mentality. If we do not identify with the thought of Christ, we cannot put it into practice. Therefore, we must ask him for the grace to tune into his thinking. Only in this way will we feel more motivated to feel and act like Christ ”.
After the homily, the new slaves were blessed and medals awarded. Subsequently, the bishop gave the final blessing and the long-awaited ceremony of the Descent of Christ took place, at which point the salutes began to be heard in honor of the venerated image.
A screen without an audience
Meanwhile, in the afternoon, at 7:30 p.m., in the atrium of the royal sanctuary, where the image of Christ was placed, the solemn quinary began with the Eucharistic celebration presided over by the bishop and preaching by the titular bishop of Monterano and auxiliary From Valencia. The Cabo Artistic Union sang the mass.
The celebration could also be followed live on YouTube, as well as through a screen that the City Council had set up on the stage of the Plaza del Cristo in case the capacity of the atrium, reduced to 170 people, was full. Forecast that did not happen, so the screen of the square was left without an audience.
