Traditional Penitence of the Filipino Devotees

Among the many traditional Filipino activities during Holy Week is the pabasa, or the reading of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ woven into a poem. But the most spectacular event that mostly happen on Good Friday is the procession of the images and the self inflicted penitence of the devotees which is done by beating oneself while on procession and some have themselves crucified on the cross. I am not a catholic myself but it has been a yearly activity for me to witness how people celebrate the holy week. I had witnessed people who actually had inflicted pain on themselves by having them nailed and crucified on the cross to fulfill their vows and devotions.

For years devotees consider this kind of activity as a vow or contractual obligation done in return for whatever good that happen to their life. Unlike a written contract, these devotees consider their devotion as a contract with God written in their hearts. This is done mostly by the devotees of the Catholic church where the Catholic denomination is opposed to this kind of activity.

Holy Week for most christian is a week of remembering and reminiscing how Jesus Christ died on the cross. As our savior and Lord, HE took away the sins of the world and died on the cross as a sacrificial lamb. All we need to do is accept Him as our savior and repent from our sins.

The essence of this yearly celebration of the Holy Week is far more than the self-inflicted pain some christian do, it is our relationship with the Lord. The Ten Commandments is all about love of God and love of neighbor, but the most important questions.... have i done my best for HIM? have i repented? have i love my neighbor? am i living the good and godly life everyday?

Ponder on this my friend.