Rubin Enaje (63) is a carpenter. On Good Friday, however, it is he who is the carpenter.
This is the 35th time Enaje will be carved up. He will use the time on the cross to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the South China Sea. He is joined by seven other villagers.
The very bloody tradition, which the Catholic Church strongly rejects, exists in Enajes village of San Pedro Cutud and two neighboring villages. It has become an annual tourist attraction that attracts hundreds of travelers to the villages north of Manila.
Clear call: – Only one you need
– Why have you left me?
According to the Bible, Jesus was sentenced to death on Good Friday after being betrayed by Judas. The death penalty was carried out by crucifixion. While on the cross he cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Later in Easter, the situation turned, as Jesus knew.
Enaje has considered quitting because of her age and health. But he can’t say no when the neighbors ask him to pray for their sick relatives. In addition, he looks with concern at the increasing level of conflict in the world.
– If the wars spread and get worse, more people will be affected, especially children and the elderly. These are innocent people who have absolutely nothing to do with the wars, Enaje said.
PRAYING FOR PEACE: Enaje has allowed himself to be crucified 35 times. This year he is using the time to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the South China Sea. Photo: Gerard V. Carreon / AP / NTB
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Grateful
He allows himself to be nailed to the cross every year in gratitude for surviving a fall from the 3rd floor in 1985. Later he experienced other things he counts as miracles – family members recovering from serious illness and several jobs as a handyman.
He and the other seven believers carried crowns made of branches and thorns as they walked more than a kilometer with heavy wooden crosses on their backs in scorching heat. Actors dressed as Roman soldiers nailed them to the cross by the hands and feet and planted the cross in the ground for ten minutes.
Other believers walked barefoot through the village while whipping themselves on the back with bamboo sticks and pieces of wood. The gruesome spectacle is a sign of the Philippines’ unique form of Catholicism, which mixes ecclesiastical traditions with folk superstition. Many poor people in the village try to atone for their sins in the ceremony, and pray for the sick or for a better life.
