O ye of little faith, watch 'Grace'
O ye of little faith, watch 'Grace'
Courtesy of Encore Theater / Feature art by Abigail Manaluz
Last year, Grace had two runs: opening at the PMCS Blackbox Theater in June and then at the Doreen Black Box Theater in September. I was only made aware of the play when a friend shared how much he liked it, but by then it was too late as all the dates were sold out. That was the first time I was really devastated to have missed out on a local production because I was sure that the play was right up my alley.
Born in a conservative family and raised as a Protestant Christian, most of my values were instilled by the church. I was exposed to many local and foreign religious organizations in my spiritual journey, from a meek boy in Sunday school to a formidable leader in the youth ministry. Even as a 22-year-old medicine student, I am still a persevering churchgoer, though most of the time it’s my mother who pushes me. Going through four years of college, however, changed the way I looked at religion. For good or for bad, it’s not really of the essence, but I started to ask questions.
Courtesy of Encore Theater
I have conjured up all the W’s in this faith investigation, getting deeper as I continue: What is the church? Who are considered sinners, and who aren’t? When do we ascend to heaven? Where was God during the elections? How can self-proclaimed religious people just turn a blind eye to injustices, all in the guise of submitting to the authorities?
But mostly the Why’s, as Jesus himself cried out in Matthew 27:46: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Some people may thump their Bibles at the sound of any curious thought that challenges the institution to which they have devoted themselves. But then I remembered a previous sermon, that true faith comes from doubting, as it is when we doubt and look for answers that we ultimately find God.
Grace, like an inquisitive Christian, raises many intriguing questions about the Church that may shake or renew one’s faith. It’s the search for verity in the controversial Lipa apparitions in 1948, where Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace, allegedly appeared to a novitiate, Teresita Lat-Castillo. All of these were interesting already to me as someone who was raised not to believe in images and saints. I personally still hold that same belief, but Grace urged me to listen for two and a half hours.
Courtesy of Encore Theater
What unfolded in those two acts was a revelation both shocking and new to me. I don’t usually pay mind to stories like this because I’m wired to be skeptical towards them, but Grace was not just about the petals and the Virgin Mary. It was about these people who, following World War II, had a new sense of hope as the Marian apparitions filled their hearts with inexplicable gladness.
It didn’t matter whether the whole thing was a farce or supernatural happenstance. The Vatican does have some jurisdiction over the dos and don’ts of veneration because it’s the seat of the Church. However, the people, moved by their immeasurable faith, chose to believe and worship in their way, and I think that’s where Grace’s beauty lies.
I may be treading on dangerous waters here, but when the doubters of the apparition began arguing their case, I thought it was yet another neocolonial power trying to get a hold of the sovereignty of Filipinos. The decision of their local bishop wasn’t even respected. The burning of the image and everything related to the Mediadora was like the Spaniards burning our documented precolonial history.
The mental torture they put Teresing and Mother Cecilia of Jesus through was just too much. As if trying to admit to something they swear isn’t true is not enough, they were also alleged to have engaged in carnal sin with each other. This brings to light the unfair treatment of women within the confines of the Church, especially in the past. As the nuns of Lipa bore witness to the imprinted petals, let’s not forget that the first person who saw Jesus after his resurrection was also a woman.
Courtesy of Encore Theater
Why was the Church so afraid of the people? Was it because they were Filipinos? Was it because they were women? The woebegone believers finally felt like they could sing praises again, but like some kind of divine intervention, the Church stood between the people and their faith and viewed their piety as repulsive blasphemy. Gatekeeping, if you will. I don’t know much about hermeneutics, but I believe that worship isn’t something that is prescribed; it is deeply spiritual and is ultimately to each their own.
Grace’s storytelling is unmatched. Floy Quintos’ way with words was flourishing in each scene, and I am so amazed by how he managed to take this apocryphal (that is, hidden) piece of history and make it both entertaining and compelling. The actors did an amazing job, with special mention to Frances Makil Ignacio for her accurate Batangueña accent. I also loved Reb Atadero’s portrayal of Father Angel de Blas, a character who represents both science and faith.
Production-wise, I liked the music and sound design by Arvy Dimaculangan. It embraced Christian mysticism and, in my opinion, set the ambience of the show. My only complaint is that the projection could have been better. We were seated in the orchestra and could not comprehend all of the newspaper clippings flashed, and could only gather context clues from the narration of the cast afterwards.
Given the chance, I would watch Grace again. It’s a moving work that resonates with our history as a nation of devotees whose religion wasn’t endemic to our land but whose faith is like that of a mustard seed. It makes me sad that Floy Quintos, like Jonathan Larson with Rent, didn’t get to see how wonderful his swansong turned out to be. Their art is an apparition in itself of humanity’s frailty and passion: intense and suffering.
Grace runs from June 14 to June 29 at the PETA Theater Center.
SINEGANG.ph is an official media partner of Grace.
