Seeing my Church in better light amid Edsa chaos

Shrine of the Sacred Heart, San Antonio Village, Makati City. PHOTO from www.splendorofthechurch.com.ph

I went to Mass early last Sunday at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in San Antonio Village, Makati City. The priest who celebrated the Mass was a very vocal person who would speak strongly on issues of the day.

I once wrote against that priest because he kept on attacking the reproductive health (RH) bill. He would argue against birth control even if he could see the poor outside the church hungry and begging for alms from churchgoers.

The poor women around the church had children trailing them and some were pregnant and expecting their sixth or seventh child. In fact, one of them gave birth to twins during the RH controversy.

Going back to that priest, his insistence on banning birth control methods and devices gave me terrible headaches as I could not stand up and refute his statements, not because it was not really allowed but because I think it was more of a Catholic tradition to just leave the priest alone with his homily.

Actually, I have argued many times with an assistant to the parish priest about a lot of things, but she tried to explain things simply without triggering a fight.

Essence of Christianity

Yesterday, I listened to the same priest and expected him to rile against people causing a traffic mess in Metro Manila but to my surprise he did not take the opportunity to lash out at them. Instead he gave a beautiful homily on the sacraments, and in the prayer of the faithful there was a petition for the mass media not to destroy the reputation of people.

I salute my Church for its kindness, discretion and decency. That, I think, is the essence of Christianity.

The Catholic Church, for all its faults, allows its faithful a lot of freedom. For writing against a priest of the Sacred Heart Church, I could have been banned from the church and its premises. But even after that negative article, the parish priest, on my request, came to my house to bless my image of the Sacred Heart with all the graciousness that a holy man could muster.

Freedom of choice

The Catholic Church has its causes, too. For instance, people sometime ago were asked to rally against the RH bill but many of us who were for it did not heed the call and no one was punished for not being there.

In my opinion, my Church’s policy has always been you are free to choose what you believe in and God forgives your soul if you are wrong.

Contributions to the Catholic Church are always voluntary and in fact I sometimes get embarrassed for my fellow Catholics when I hear the jingling of coins from two out of seven people in a pew.

Sometimes you hear a priest or two complain about the measly contributions Catholics give but, generally, the Church refrains from asking people to contribute more.

Luckily, there are thoughtful followers who give generously to help sustain the Church’s operations.

Except for Sundays, we are never obliged but encouraged to gather for church celebrations. Expect Catholics to come when they deem it good for their spirituality.

A loving Church

Look at the number of people who came out in throngs for Pope Francis during his visit in January. They came to see this man who loves the poor, who shuns luxurious mansions and cars, and who exhorts Catholic priests and the faithful to lead simple lives, love the poor and love their enemies and sinners, and told priests to stop talking about birth control.

Pope Francis says the Catholic Church should be a loving Church. He does not tell Catholics that they have exclusivity to heaven but that everyone, members of other sects and even sinners, who reconcile with God in their own way are also given by God the chance to be with Him and have eternal life.

Francis urges the Catholic Church to be more forgiving and open its doors to people it used to marginalize—sinners, divorcees, people from other faiths.

He has openly asked forgiveness for the criminal offenses of Catholic priests—pedophiles and other sex offenders and other errant priests.

The Catholic Church, like any Christian sect or organization, protects its privacy but when secrets come out in the open, it does not chastise the media but faces the problem squarely.

Thank you dear Church for allowing us to throw stones at you once in a while and thank you, too, for granting us all the freedoms humans are entitled to. We appreciate and are deeply grateful for your acceptance and tolerance of our complaints and criticisms.

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