Finestkind Clinic and fish market

Here in the Philippines, people understand suffering. Yes, things are "modernizing", but most of the country is very close to nature, and herbal and chinese medicine is widely used, as is massage and other natural treatments. But suffering and death is part of life, seen closely in close knit communities...

This is why there is admiration of courage in suffering. A person may seek a cure, but will stoically bear the pain...

And similarly, there is an identification with the suffering of Christ on the cross.

God isn't way up there, distant. He's part of the family. And Mama Mary is the mother, nearby for all your troubles, and greatly loved.

Historically, this is why a playboy like Ninoy Acquino, when placed in jail and offered an easy "plea bargain" by Marcos (i.e. that would leave him free but essentially eliminate him as a viable political opponant of the Marcos disctatorship), Ninoy said no...at first, it was purely a game, being stubborn...but then he held on. He found courage....and stayed in jail until Marcos finally used the excuse that he needed open heart surgery to get him out of the way.

But then something else happened...Ninoy found the courage to return to oppose Marcos in the presidential election, an act that led to his assasination at the airport, his wife running against Marcos, and ultimately the "people power" revolution that overcame Marcos.

So what does this have to do with Penitants carrying crosses down the streets of Philippine villages?

The supernatural is not so distant here as in the "logical" nations...
Ninoy reportedly had a vison of Christ in jail that gave him the moral strength to oppose Marcos, and the reason that Marcos' thugs did not shoot the praying crowds on the EDSA was that the soldiers said a beautiful lady in white came up to them and begged them "don't shoot my children"...and they didn't...

(Cardinal Sin (!) was once asked if the "Lady in white" could have been one of the nuns...he answered with a twinkle in his eye that he knew all the nuns, and none of them were that good looking.)

So we have the penitents scourging themselves in Pampanga, and reenaction of the crucifixion.

In our town, I haven't seen any cross carrying...But around here, we have people putting up small chapels and chanting the gospels and prayers for 3 days...kept me awake.

And some nearby towns had people carring crosses, and processions singing hymns and carrying statues.

Ah, but we Americans are too sophisticated for that, aren't we?

Well, I wonder why pep rallies for football teams are more "logical" than those celebrating God coming to earth and sharing our sorrows.

As for visions... it is not unusual for patients to shyly relate voices, dreams or visions that happened to them at time of stress...but in the USA, few will tell you about them unless they are sure you will not ridicule them.

There is even a jolly man who sells grills on American TV. I'm old enough to remember when he was mean and hated in the boxing world. What happened? He lost a boxing bout, and was sitting cursing and angry and shouting at those around him, and then he looked up...and saw Christ...

No photos of any of this: my camera doesn't work at night.

and no blogs for awhile: Electricity is off again, and laptop battery is getting low...
http://www.tempo.com.ph/news.php?aid=9924
is the article about the Penitentes....