MANILA -- Fifty-seven-year-old Ruben Enaje, is ready to be nailed on the cross on Good Friday for the 32nd time in a row since 1986 to fulfill his promise to God after he survived from a near-fatal fall from a three-storey building unscathed in 1985.
In a phone interview Sunday, Enaje said he is fired and ready for the Good Friday ritual “as my expression of self-sacrifice to thank our Lord Jesus Christ for saving my life."
In that unforgettable incident, Enaje, a painter by profession, said he was painting a signage on the third floor when he fell.
“I slipped from the bamboo (platform) I was standing (on) and while I was falling, I uttered the words ‘Diyos ko!’ (My God) and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground, but conscious," he recounted.
“It was a miracle I survived the fall without a bone broken. In fact, when I was on the ground, I did not stand up immediately thinking I broke my legs and body, but after a few moment I found out I was okay,” he said as he recalled that incident.
“I owe my life to Jesus that’s why every Good Friday I have to undergo the crucifixion ritual,” he said.
Enaje revealed that it was only a year after the accident or in 1986 that “it entered my mind that I wanted to be nailed on the cross as my sacrifice every Good Friday. That was the beginning of my crucifixion.”
“In fact, the first year of my being nailed on the cross, I did not tell my wife and children what I was about to do. They cried when they saw me all bloodied, my head, hands and feet,” Enaje said.
“I explained to them and after that, they understood,” he said.
The site of the crucifixion is in Burol, a man-made elevated place in Barangay (Village) San Pedro Cutud, some three kilometres away from San Fernando.
Enaje said everything is ready - the wooden cross he will carry, the four nails and the crown of thorns made of steel that will be used by a “centurion” during his crucifixion and the “passion play” that will transpire during the ritual.
“The wooden cross I will carry measures 16-feet long and weighs 37 kilos, and I will walk 1.7 kilometres up to Burol,” he said.
He said there are four other penitents who will also be nailed on the cross on Good Friday.
During the walk as they carry the cross, “centurions” in full regalia and holding whips, will hit Enaje and the other penitents along the way to “Calvary.”
Enaje recalled that in one instance, he was kicked and “I tumbled down the road. The pain was excruciating, but I bear it out.”
According to him, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, which is the second biggest volcanic eruption in the world in the 20th century, did not deter him from continuing his devotion.
The Catholic Church has discouraged the faithful from having themselves nailed on the cross on Good Friday.
The Department of Health has also advised penitents to refrain from performing the said ritual for health and safety reasons.
For the Catholic Church, there is no use in copying the crucifixion of Christ more than 2,000 years ago.
But despite the Church's objection to the crucifixion performed by some Filipino penitents on Good Friday, quite a handful of them still practice the ritual that has attracted people, not only Filipinos but also foreigners.
As in previous rites, devotees are expected to line up along the route to give bottled water to Enaje and the other penitents to keep them from being dehydrated.
Enaje recalled that he was just four years old when he accompanied his father, who whipped himself as a flagellant every Good Friday. (PNA)
