For many devoted Christians,
the Church is a place where people gather to participate in worship and
fellowship with fellow believers. To some, it is also a moment of respite, a
period where one could take a break from hustles of everyday life and the
events around us. The second applies to me as well, and nothing would make me
more content than to attend Mass, listen to the Word, be treated to a good exegesis,
and partake in the Eucharist.
Thus a person reading this
may hopefully understand why I am a little upset a few weeks back. It started
with the lector accidentally reading of a different passage for the second reading. This
becomes a little annoying, since the Church I frequent while here in university
often uses three, sometimes four different languages to accommodate its diverse
congregation of races, cultures and backgrounds. Hence the laity would have to
rely on the projector screen if they do not understand what is being said. And
while I could read the language displayed on the board, the voice of the lector
was really distracting, since I also understood the language spoken.
Then came the homily – a
really watered-down porridge concerning the passages of that day. These
two issues – the accidental reading and the shallow homily – I can tolerate,
but what really miffed me was the priest using the homily to bring in politics. While I
understand you cannot separate Church from matters of the nation, to use it as
a base to explicitly criticise a particular party is at best towing dangerously
close to the red line in my opinion. Singling out and making jabs to certain
individuals is touching or crossing it. But to promote a fund issued by the current
ruling government and setting aside the week’s collection to channel into it? Now
that is just way over the top.
What is more, this call to
donate came not from any individual Church but was made by the bishop himself. To help
save the nation, they put it. Are they saying that contributions towards
the goverment takes precedence over the wellbeing of the people of God? Are
they implying the Church does not do her part when she aids those through her
charity work? Even if the Church feels obliged to help, could her leaders not just
make an announcement at the end of Mass urging the laity to contribute? In this
day and age, donating can easily be done comfortably at home in a click of a
button or a tap in a screen. The justification that people are too lazy to
write a cheque and bank it in is a poor excuse if you ask me.
Not to mention the bishop
has the audacity to quote 2 Corinthians 9:7 as a pretext, “Each one
must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver.” How is this donation in any way related to St
Paul’s true intention for “the offering for the saints” (2
Corinthians 9:1)? And to top off the irony, the circular was signed
out with the words “Together building God’s Kingdom.”
I will not start on the
point that one should have a more thorough knowledge on both sides before
making judgments in this post. Even taking all the issues at face value and
true, actions such as these are what cause the Catholic Church to gradually
loose its direction as from God-focused to human-centric. Her
members become so sensitive to the voice of the world that they loose sight of
what is most important in this life and the next. They become more concerned
and up-to-date about what a party leader says than showing proper veneration in
Mass, where the Lord is truly present. Many who grew up Catholic do not even know/believe
in the Real Presence in the Eucharist, yet are likely to identify what this/that leader said/did.
I leave a leave these two
verses for those reading this to pause and consider, should there ever be a
time when you have to make a similar choice:
“But the
Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many
things; but only one is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall
not be taken away from her.’”
(Luke
10:41-42)
RFG always.
