Reason is out of order

The Feast of the Black Nazarene ended this morning. As I was watching the news, what I saw  amazed and puzzled me. I could not understand how this black image of Jesus Christ could evoke such devotion and fanaticism to the common and even to some educated and sophisticated Filipinos.

I was discussing this phenomenon to a co-teacher, and I told him how ironic it was that a religion that produced great philosophers, logicians and systematic theologians that started the scholastic age and changed paradigms in education and changed western civilization would exhibit among its adherents such disturbing exhibition of blind fanaticism. I mean, the Catholic Church was the seat of philosophy and the temple of scholasticism for many centuries. Of course, this was history and had no bearing to the phenomenon at all but one can't help but wonder.

One question that kept popping in my head was, "are these people even aware of the official teachings of the Catholic Church?"

The adherents seemed to be unaware of the dangers of mass hysteria. Put a very large number of people together in a confined space, add the humidity, stress, anger, etc and all it takes is just a little spark, a shout, a commotion, and what you have is a stampede. In fact there was instance of a mobbing when an alleged snatcher was caught. If the police were not there to keep the peace, that alleged snatcher would have been torn to pieces. I saw the anger on the mob's face and they were shouting, "ipako sa krus!" I mean, what in the world was that all about! Of course, I am not saying that because of this incident, the feast had lost it religious significance, but what would a non-catholic say? And what would the True Catholics say?

I was imagining if it was the true Jesus Christ being paraded there...hmmmm. Imagine what he would say and do.

Many were injured and it’s worrying how some parents compromised the safety of their children by bringing them along into the procession. There was a boy who fell from the center island headfirst and was injured. It’s good that there were many Red Cross volunteers to help, but still, how could a parent do such thing?

One priest said it very well when he differentiated devotion from blind fanaticism and  that a true devotee could come to the church any regular day to touch and pray to the image. I mean...I'm no expert on Catholic Theology but compare our Catholicism with that of the Anglo Saxon (or the whites) and the difference is very evident; they are mor rational and theological compared to ours which is filled with animistic and folk mysticism and very little of the intellectual discipline and understanding of Catholic theology.

What was disturbing about this phenomenon was that most of the astrologers, witches, faith healers who were selling their services and their potions and amulets around the church claim that their powers came from the Black Nazarene. Here the marriage of the belief in the powers of the Black Nazarene with animistic belief of astrologers and faith healers was fused into one syncretic faith, a unique Filipino folk Catholicism that the common Filipino  accepts without question and seemed to be unopposed by the orthodox teachings of the Catholic Church.

I mean...

This is hard to explain and it is impossible to reason to anyone about this. Reason seemed to be out of order that day. 

The trash and garbage left by the devotees and the fanatics, I think, said it all.