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Of flagellants and flood victims

by Roberto E. N. Rivera, S.J.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
April 16, 2010

IN THE LITURGY OF THE CHURCH, THIS year’s Easter Season spans most of April and ends with the celebration of Pentecost Sunday (the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles) on May 23. With the tumult of the electoral campaign having beset us all through Lent and Eastertide, it is not difficult to see the travails of the country as a veritable passion leading, we hope, to some semblance of a resurrection through the promise of new leaders and a fresh mandate for governance.

Two events held on opposite sides of the metropolis during the recent celebration of Holy Week impressed upon me these themes of passion and resurrection that bring the country to a standstill every year, even in the heat of frenzied electioneering.

On Holy Tuesday, I found myself in Plaza Miranda, leading the prayers at the start of Kalbaryo ng Maralita (Calvary of the Poor), the annual remembrance organized by the urban poor coalition Kilos Maralita of Jesus’ carrying of the cross and his crucifixion. In this year’s edition of Kalbaryo, Mendiola Bridge served as Golgotha, where Jesus and the two criminals were then nailed to the crosses of “human rights violations,” “illegal demolitions,” and “traditional politics.” The latter issue was especially highlighted in this year’s gathering. Representatives from several people’s organizations bewailed the fact that trapos were wantonly using the concerns of the impoverished to further their campaigns, without necessarily offering anything concrete to alleviate the plight of the poor.

Trailing the usual reenactors of Jesus and the two thieves and just ahead of several hundred urban poor folk joining the march was a phalanx of flagellants, six rugged men using whips tipped with wooden studs to beat their backs into a bloody pulp. As this mournful cortege made its way through the streets of Quiapo and Recto, one could see bystanders alternately awed by the solemn procession and shocked by the effusion of blood from the flagellants. My own reaction was quite utilitarian: “shock value” after all has its benefits in conveying the message. But as we neared Malacañang, I came to a slow realization of the appropriateness of the gesture. The self-inflicted wounds, as with the other gestures of the day, were signs of atonement, writ large (by necessity, for an ever indifferent government), for the grievous sin of urban poverty. The whole event was indeed representative of the ongoing passion of the poor.

Maundy Thursday saw me at the chapel of Provident Village, presiding the Mass of the Lord ’s Supper. This celebration commemorates the institution of the Eucharist and Jesus’ washing of the feet of his disciples. Provident Village, of course, bore the brunt of the worst flooding from Storm “Ondoy” last year. The chapel still showed tell-tale signs of the disaster. Beneath the freshly painted chapel walls, shriveled and crumpled wood was still visible. Marks of water damage were evident on the image of the Blessed Virgin as well. Before the start of the Mass, one of the chapel attendants very apologetically told me that there would be no canopy for the traditional procession of the Blessed Sacrament after the Mass. The canopy had been washed away by the floods, along with many other chapel paraphernalia.

In the middle of the Mass, we proceeded with the reenactment of the washing of the feet. After I washed the feet of 12 parishioners representing the 12 disciples, they were then sent out to wash the feet of several other people in the congregation.

I could not help but be moved by the deep significance of these actions. These 12 parishioners, like their fellow villagers, had experienced and survived one of the worst natural disasters in recent memory. All of them had been grievously affected by the flooding, and at least some of them had lost friends or loved ones. But Provident Village has moved forward and risen from the destruction. In their gesture of washing the feet of their fellow villagers, these 12 parishioners conveyed the kind of love and service that allowed their community to persevere. Good Friday had yet to be celebrated, but the residents of Provident Village already had a glimpse of the resurrection all around them.

Perhaps these events teach us that even as we collectively commemorate the passion and resurrection of the Lord, our most profound experiences of dying and rising in Christ are experienced in community as well. This Easter Season, then, is an invitation for us to strengthen our bonds of solidarity especially with the poor, even as our nation continues to go through the crucible of economic and political instability. It is a challenge aptly summed up by the message of the Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, auxiliary bishop of Manila, during Kalbaryo ng Maralita: “Let us continue the saving work of Jesus in our union with the poor, that they may not be deprived of the right to work and shelter …. The story of Calvary does not end in death. We have witnessed the Resurrection. Just as death has given way to new life, so too our collective efforts will bear fruit for the least of our brethren.”

As one community in solidarity, let us continue the work of Easter.

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