Holy Week is the only time of the year when Pinoys commemorate the execution of Jesus, his torture and agony, and His nailing on the cross.

It is also the time for prayers, confession of sins ... and some deep introspection and reflection on how one spends their lives.

If Jesus carried the cross and was crowned with thorns, Holy Week is also the time for Christians to do some acts of penance; some do simple penitence, some excessive, and some bizarre.

Simple acts of penance include acts of contrition like confession of sins, where absolution is given after praying the rosary, 3 Hail Marys, and the Our Father.

Some do the Stations of the Cross or do Visita Iglesia, where one visits 7 churches as part of their penance.

I saw several people in Quiapo who kneel-walk their way to the altar before the critical and judgmental eyes of the public.

I also saw Pinoys who do voluntary self-punishment, inflicting pain on themselves as an outward expression of repentance for having done wrong.

In Pampanga, particularly during Holy Week, penitents perform various rituals involving self-inflicted pain as part of penance. These include flagellation (self-whipping), carrying crosses, and even being nailed to a cross

On our side, we did a simple penance. We thought walking a 3-kilometer procession under sweltering heat was an act of self-flogging by itself.

Others may think that what we did was NO SWEAT, but I beg to differ. The whole exercise was ALL-SWEAT in the real sense of the word.

I saw many seniors participating, and looking at their faces, I can sense they are trying to resist the temptation of stopping by 7-Eleven and buying the much-needed thirst-quencher.

Some diabetics experienced hypoglycemia. But they persevere and do not succumb to the calls of the flesh.

This is Holy Week after all ... our simple way of self-flogging and self-harm is our simple way of doing our penance. It is our simple way of mortifying the flesh and expressing remorse for the sins we committed. Nobody can frown and dictate what options are acceptable ways of atonement.

This is the time para sa konting pagtitiis at penetensiya. Kung nakaya nang lahat ... ang pawis, ang init ... ang kalam ng sikmura ... ang pagkauhaw ... dapat kayanin rin natin.

Di ba lahat ng yan ay kinaya din ni Jesus mai-ahon lang tayo sa kasalanan?