Folk Catholicism or true piety?

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Thursday, January 9, the feast of the Black Nazarene, is when photographers and videographers have a field day. There’s so much movement to capture in outstretched arms, bare feet, adoring faces, and sweaty bodies jostling to get near the centuries-old icon. The emotion is palpable in these photos and videos: reverence, love, hope, even despair, and obsession.

Devotion or delusion? Many dismiss the raw passion and unswerving belief in miracles as superstitious, even fanatical. Rappler’s Rambo Talabong explores the question in his podcast and arrives at a penetrating, surprising conclusion. He quotes the former rector of the Black Nazarene, Monsignor Jose Clemente Ignacio:

“Whether some expressions are delusional or devotional, it is the heart, the interior of the person, that will decide if an expression is right or wrong. It is only God who could see the hearts of peoples.”

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Through the day, it was becoming increasingly apparent that this was not your usual Nazareno parade. For one, the parade left the Luneta grandstand early. Devotees were not allowed to go near the sides of the carriage, with the throng kept at a distance by a thick cordon of police.

As the day wore on, elation transformed to frustration as the “andas wall” of the police deprived many devotees of their vow: to touch their beloved icon.

Do the police understand what they just did? This is not the Sinulog or a Santacruzan, where watching from the sidelines is the full experience. Most of the devotees believe the touch itself is miraculous – hence the rush to touch or wipe the image with a towel. Watch below.

Here’s that tension-filled video of the image of the Nazarene entering the Church. That final homeward push has always been a communal endeavor as devotees police their ranks. Today, the experience was tinged with resentment of the police.