Tags: Religion
By KC Santos
TAGUIG CITY, METRO MANILA – During Good Friday, Catholics all over the Philippines mourn the death of Jesus Christ. While others pray, penitents scatter the streets to perform their yearly sacrifice.
In the Philippines, the practice of inflicting pain on oneself is called penitensya. Flagellants believe that by this painful form of sacrifice, they become less burdened and forgiven of their sins.
Normally, flagellants would start their procession on Maundy Thursday but their numbers double during Good Friday. For someone who grew up in a province – I was born and raised in Cebu – without witnessing this public (and obviously painful) Lenten sacrifice, seeing it for the first time in our barangay here in Taguig was enlightening.
“Hila Malco! (Pull Malco!)” prompted the character of the Roman soldier to drag the “Kristo” (the guy playing Jesus Christ) violently as the latter carried his cross.
The rest of the Roman soldiers taunted the poor flagellant while they took turns in striking him with their improvised whips.
Every member of this public penitence showed dedication to their characters. People in the bylines gasped every time they lashed and pushed Kristo until he fell several times to the ground.
I could only imagine how much pain he went through. The scorching heat added pain to his already shaken body.
Just before he reached the barangay church, he slightly lost his consciousness. I could tell he didn’t stage it because his hands and feet were pale as white. After a few minutes, he once again bore his cross and continued walking.
Some spectators shrieked at the Roman characters and called them names, which the latter reciprocated by torturing the Kristo even more. One of them said they really intend to stir the emotions of the viewing public so they get the feel of how much harder it was for the real Jesus,who was publicly scorned until his last breath.
Residents, already accustomed to this Holy Week tradition, readied drinks outside their homes which were rationed to the penitents as they passed by.
Everywhere I looked there were people with cameras whose attention focused on the Kristo, looking to capture his suffering and emotion. Children mimicked the words of the Romans and bugged them with questions about the sufferings of Christ, which I took as a sign that they wanted to learn more.
The procession stopped twice with two characters, an elderly woman and Mary, sung their last words to the Kristo. A feeling of sadness struck the audience, including myself while listening to them, as if everyone felt the need to bid Kristo their own farewell, too.
I never understood before why these people needed to hurt themselves just to prove themselves worthy of salvation. I never saw it differently and positively until now.
I realized that more than a spectacle, the procession of penitents served as a window to the past. It wasn’t just a re-enacted account of events that lead to Jesus’ death but a call for us to reflect on how blessed we have become because of His selfless sacrifice.
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