The Holy Thursday That Was

Hello everyone! How was your Holy Week vacation? It was great for us here. We spent three days in San Fabian Beach in Pangasinan. We left our place in the early morning of Holy Thurday. Along the way to our destination, we saw these men doing some penitential acts. One was carrying a big heavy cross while the others were whipping their backs with thorny whips until their backs were bleeding. This Pinoy customs are still very much seen around here during Holy Weeks especially on Holy Thursdays and Good Fridays. I thought we would see some real nailing on the cross on Good Friday that passed, but there was none in Pangasinan. I’ve heard it happens in Pampanga but we haven’t had time for it. I wonder what made these men wanting to go through this difficult ordeal. The Catholic Church are opposed to this tradition, however, to this men, perhaps they think their sins would be washed away by their penitential acts. Do you think so too?