On Faith and Spirituality

I was raised as a Christian by my parents (a Roman Catholic, to be exact). As a child, I followed the norms of elder people. I believed so much in everything they said. I went to church regularly, prayed the litany by heart, honored the crucifix and other statues, and so on. There were even times when we would refuse to eat meat during holy week because people said that it is wrong to feel happy on that week. Until now, I still don’t understand how it’s all connected with it. Aside from that, I see people in television hurt themselves to repent. They say it is penitensya. I couldn’t really comprehend why people still need to hurt themselves to prove their covenant. But I was young, religious and innocent, I never dared to question it.