Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Easter Warning: Crucifixion is Bad For You

The Catholic Church does not condone these bizarre acts but that has not stopped 21 men and two women from crucifying themselves during Holy Week in the Philippines. Four of these cats are going to crucify themselves with REAL NAILS! Oh man! I though I was making some kind of great sacrifice by standing in line for an hour tonight waiting for confession! These Filipinos (and Filipinas) are off the chart! I love the reaction from the local health organization,
“The City Health Office (CHO) autoclaved all the nails to be used and will administer anti-tetanus vaccine to all the “Cristos” to ensure their protection from possible infection,”
Yeah, when I am about to be crucified, the first question that always comes to my mind is "have these nails been autoclaved?" and, "when was my last tetanus shot?" How about a morphine shot? Or maybe 12 shots of tequila? What about some "healthy" advice, like, "Hey dude, you might not want to pound those 6 inch framing nails into your feet. It seems unnecessary and I think it will leave a mark."

I'm all for sacrifice and mortification but I think this crosses the line and becomes a spectacle of self mutilation (Mt. 6:16-18).

2 comments:

The Woman of the House said...

Eww that is bizarre. You have to admire the devotion behind the actions though. Amazing anyone even cares about what Jesus did in this day and age, let alone trying to feel what he felt to some degree.

Saw your blog on Spirit Daily today under true devotion. That's a beautiful picture of your little one.

God bless you,
Adele

Ragin-Cajun said...

Yeah. I guess you've got to give them credit for that level of sacrifice. My pain threshold is just not that high!

Thank's for the kind note about my little girl. I'll have to check out Spirit Daily.

Pax.