Reese Barcelon
Alay-Lakad is most commonly done during the Lenten season as a sacrifice.
The devotees walk when they are heading to the church or when they are doing the Way of the Cross prayers. It is therefore expected that they leave footprints as they depart the area, as a sign that they had gone to the place. However, the people didn’t leave an ordinary one, but rather an uncanny kind of footprint – trash.
A Facebook user named Krisay Lee wrote a post last Good Friday about the human footprints she had seen on their way to a church in Antipolo. Her post instantly became viral as there are a lot of devotees who were dismayed of what had happened.
Lee said that they were able to walk that far, but they couldn’t throw their waste properly.
She also attached a video of the streets which are visibly polluted.
The netizens who had seen the post felt like a lot of us are at fault, saying that there are others who don’t really care about what the season is about and what it means to reflect. They also said that aside from being religious, they should also learn other values such as being disciplined. Moreover, they had branded their sacrifice as Alay-Kalat.
Sacrifices are not only done spiritually, but also mentally and physically. Lenten is not all about showing religiosity, but rather striving to be a better person.
