Discovering Reality

DISCOVERING REALITY

(The Blogger’s Humble Personal Insight)

THE ROAD TO AWARENESS

I grew up a Catholic. I studied in a Catholic school until high school where I welcome the Masses we had because we didn’t have classes in some subjects so we could attend it. We also went to confession, but at a young mind, it was like of a bit torment for me because I’m not used to divulging myself to other people. When I was studying, I saw my religion classes as just another subject, a history class and I really didn’t like history. I didn’t like memorizing dates, names, events, etc. I guess, as a student, I got a screwed perception on these.

I thank God for my mother who instilled in us the faith and love for God. As I became adult, I lived my life with God tucked tight deep in my heart. I was a typical Catholic who just went to Mass and tried not to be bad. There was a time, I became a member of a Catholic transparochial charismatic community where Jesus taught me about God the Father, the Holy Spirit, loving His Word, praise and worship, humility, obedience, service, relationship with Him and other people. He changed me. I was not just a member, I also became a servant leader of two ministries and a committee head of a yearly big event. I also had lead worship especially in ministry times of seminars and workshops. All these happened only by the grace of God and they were not served in a silver platter, they were with difficulties.

A time came Jesus led me out of this community of which I so loved and had given almost seven years of my life. I was perplexed by this leading because I didn’t know if there was a life outside my community. I was so fine within it. I was doing okay, so why in the world was He taking me somewhere else. It was a very hard decision for me and though I didn’t understand, I followed Him (“I heard the Voice of my Shepherd and I followed His Voice,” as I normally described it). I informed my leaders about this. I explained the process of my discernment and with their blessing, went off to the next chapter of my faith walk.

THE AWARENESS

Jesus led me to attend a Biblical and Catechetical Apologetics in a shrine near our home. Here we were taught about the teachings of the Church. I was truly amazed on how rich the Roman Catholic faith truly is. Gradually, Jesus opened my eyes about the Church, the reality of her situation in the modern world and about loving her, being concerned for her.

In the internet, I would read news about:

• the Catholic Church in some countries selling a few of their properties because they could not afford maintenance expenses
• there were even some churches closing down
• Catholics converted to other religions
• Bishops being imprisoned in non-Catholic countries
• Priests, missionaries being killed in their parishes or field of mission
• Priests involved in sex scandals or turning against the Church
• Churches being robbed

The climax of this awareness came to me when the battle regarding the RH Bill happened here in the Philippines. I read, heard  and saw how people attacked the Catholic Church, the Catholic faith, the Bishops and the Priests, and the Lay Catholics. They even used nasty and below the belt words. The saddest thing about this for me was: the attackers were not just atheists nor other religions, but also Catholics. This really was a pain in my heart. There was a division within the Church…and I would say one factor was because of the lack of catechism in the homes, parishes, communities, together with the lack of love and concern for the whole Church as well.

I was living a life in my own world, but now I became more aware that there is a bigger world that I am a part of.

THE ENLIGHTENMENT

Now, I am beginning to understand why Jesus brought me to the Church. Being part of a Catholic charismatic group is great. It can be one step in the spiritual growth process of a person. One can swiftly grow in wisdom about God and can be developed as a servant, as a person and as a child of God. But for some group, what was lacking was the getting to know about the Church that Jesus built and her teachings, about not just serving and loving people, but also loving, obeying, supporting and serving with their parish priests or shrine rectors, being a part of the parishes and shrines. Members follow what their lay leaders say and not anymore the Bishops of their diocese nor their parish priests or shrine rectors. Their loyalty was already on their group or community leaders rather than their Bishops and clergy. Though honestly,  I was also like this before. But hopefully one day, all lay leaders of groups under the umbrella of the Church would teach catechism to their members, and encourage them to also serve in the ministries in their parishes and shrines that they be rooted and be truly one with the Mother Church and uphold her teachings.

In two silent retreats I had, our Benedictine Monk spiritual director suggested: “Get soaked in your church so you would get to know the Church and get the feel of her.” and “Join a ministry in your parish to keep you rooted to the Church, but if the Lord still leads you to a ministry outside your parish, do not say no to the Lord, also accept it.”

As I learned about the value of the clergy, especially the Bishop of Rome who is the Pope and the Bishops, I gradually continue to try to know more about them and be in line with the endeavors of the Pope and the Archbishop in the archdiocese where I belong. I also began to read more about the teachings of the Church and I started to be enlightened of the real situation of the Catholic Church. I also began to really understand that I am not just a part of a parish or shrine where I live nor the Catholic Church in the Philippines, but I am also a part of the Universal Church. I realized, I cannot do much for the whole, but I can do even just a little something from where I am. For a start, I continue to attend the Biblical and Catechetical Apologetics in the shrine near our home, I read about the Church, browse the internet for news about the messages of the Pope and his activities, also about the local news regarding the Church here, I watch “The Word Exposed,” a program hosted by Archbishop Antonio Luis Tagle of the Archdiocese of Manila where I belong, and I started this blog, ‘I Am a Catholic by Heart’ and its counterpart FB page.

THE REALITY

In an article in newsflash.org, it is written: 

“According to the CBCP, the church had 209 bishops, 5,013 diocesan priests, and 2,508 religious priests in the Philippines in 2000. In 2001, there were 118 bishops, 5,122 diocesan priests and 2,492 religious priests. From the statistics, the number of priests grew by only 102 between 2000 and 2001. Obviously not enough to serve a predominantly Catholic population that grows by 2.36 percent a year, equivalent to two million infants, according to the Department of Health.

The Philippines has a population of 80 million, 85 percent of which is Catholic. Reyes (Fr. Robert Reyes) says the ideal ratio is one priest for every 5,000 parishioners. In his Our Lady of Miraculous Medal parish in Quezon City alone, Reyes and two other priests serve some 120,000 parishioners.”

In UCAN Philippines article dated April 9, 2012, it is written:

‘“There is an inability of the number of priests to cope with the growing Catholic population,” said Laguerta (Fr. Jason Laguerta), also the vocations director of the Archdiocese of Manila. In 2004, the ratio of Catholics per priest in the Philippines was 8,500. The figure ballooned to at least 11,500 Catholics per priest in 2010, an indication that the nation’s Catholic population is growing faster than the number of priests.

The archdiocese alone has 241 diocesan priests serving roughly 3 million Catholics in its jurisdiction – the cities of Makati, Manila, Pasay, San Juan and Mandaluyong. Of this number, 60 percent are nearing retirement, Laguerta told the Inquirer.’

The harvest is plenty but the workers are few. I understand how hard it is for our clergy to shepherd and lead a flock beyond the ideal ratio. To add to this, there are only a few to assist them to accomplish the ministry endeavors. As I mentioned, my services before were not served in a silver platter. It was also hard work and it was really only by God’s grace that all went well in the long run. The administrative side of a ministry needs time and focus, not to mention the pastoral side and the demands of outside factors, also the members who are not consistent in their commitment to the ministry. Shepherding is not easy. It is for the love of God that one does it and one remains truly faithful in doing it.

Imagine how hard it is for our Bishops and Priests to shepherd those under them with ample parishioners supporting and serving them? They didn’t just appear there by magic like a genie to serve the lay. Somewhere in their past, Jesus called them to leave behind their families, their properties, their previous life and embrace their celibate life, study for a long time and take on different responsibilities in the Church for the sake of the people who don’t even have blood relations with them and at times not responsive. This is also true with our Pope. It is for their love for God that they are where they are, they do what they do and only by God’s grace and their love for Him that they persevere in their endeavors.

Is it easy to stay celibate? Is it easy to stay holy with so much expectation from them? Is it easy to receive persecutions and nasty words? Is it easy to stand for the teachings of the Church that the Lord Jesus had given against the standards of this world? Is it easy to defend the faith and take care of the spirituality of people who ignore them and do not listen to them?

We, the lay often put them on a pedestal and the moment they make a mistake, some of us join the persecutors, we judge them, stones are thrown at them and the Church is so scandalized. A mistake of one clergy is the condemnation of the whole Church and some leave the faith because of this. We forget that they are humans, too. They have weaknesses, they are prone to temptations. To come to think of it, Satan is so coming after them because at a moment of weakness and they give in to temptation, they will create disgrace to Mother Church and Satan will be celebrating. Humans are not perfect and a mistake of a few doesn’t change the fact that Jesus is the one who built the Catholic Church and doesn’t change the truth of the doctrines and teachings of the Church.

It’s like there are only a few corrupt soldiers in the service who stain the dignity of their uniform, but the people accuse the entirety of the military as corrupt. In reality, there are so much more soldiers who are faithful to their job and in addition, the military system itself, as it was instituted before, remains intact and good. These corrupt soldiers made a mistake and we make the whole military carry the punishment.

Our Bishops and Priests are humans, too.  They also need our help to stay holy and to distance them from temptations. God can also use us to help them in this and our cooperation can assist them to fulfill their role as our shepherds and spiritual fathers. We also have a role. It is not theirs alone.

I am not stating this to tolerate the wrongdoings of some of the clergy, but I understand that they are also sinners like us. I am just stating a fact that we so often forget and ignore because we, the lay, expect too much from them.

In my desire to know more about my faith and the teachings of the Church, I discovered that there are so many websites that I can read about them aside from books and catechisms taught in churches. But one sad reality that I see is that the knowledge is available but many lay Catholics ignore it or do not take effort to read it. Many are more interested to read the latest news about their favorite movie stars, singers, personalities or other articles and websites of their interest. But learning about faith? There are those who feel they know enough or it’s not for them or it’s for the Bishops, Priests, preachers to teach me.

Recently, the New Roman Missal is being promoted. The clergy is taking this opportunity also to catechize the lay again about the value of the Holy Eucharist. Twice, my best friend invited me to attend evening Mass near their office because there would be a talk about parts of the changes in the Mass in connection to the New Roman Missal. In both instances, I noticed that even if these talks were announced often days before (as my best friend said to me) and at the start of the Mass before the talk, after it, who was left to listen to the talk was just half of the Mass attendees and most were servants of that church. Probably, this is the “What’s in it for me?” mentality and the “At my own convenience” factor.

As I observed in FB, only very few responded in liking and sharing about posts on catechism or even Scripture verses considering the Catholic page posting them had more than a hundred thousand members. But when a post is about a famous singer or personality, or latest craze, there were so many likes and shares. Well, I’ll be honest, before I am one of those who doesn’t help to make our faith viral in the social network.

Another thing is, here in the Philippines, many families now are so far from the values of the families before. We see children on the streets involved in quarrels and taking on the incorrect teachings of the streets, or in front of the computer browsing the internet or holding the latest gadgets. There were some families eating in restaurants and fastfoods, while waiting for the food to be served, they are not talking. Some parents are texting or are talking to somebody and the children are playing with their gadgets. When holiday comes, each members of the family have their own agenda in their schedules, not all stay at home. They don’t have time anymore for real family bonding.

Many parents are busy or some working abroad, they don’t have time for their spouses and growing children. Nowadays, the number of broken families is increasing. In TV shows and news, you will see and hear couples separating, then having another partner or relationships are damaged because of third parties and sexual activities are practiced outside the sanctity of marriage. There were those who are living in together.

Gone are the days when parents would encourage their children to consider being a priest or nun, that it will make them feel honored to have a son for a priest and a nun for a daughter. They now focus on career and being successful at it to bring in more money and success in their life. Parents before have more quality times with their children and teach them about God and the Church, pray the Rosary with them, go to church together. They were the first catechists in the life of their children.

My sister has a school and she observed that many parents seem to think that the school is the one more responsible in teaching their children to have good moral values and faith in God. These parents tend to forget that it is more of their responsibility than the school. They are the shepherd in the family and their children are the flock that God entrusted to them.

In one reflection of Fr. Rudy Horst in Sabbath, a daily reflection guide, he said, in reference to the Gospel where the mothers brought their children to Jesus (Matthew 19:13-15), that in that passage it is beautiful that mothers brought their children to Jesus. The fact that children are important to Him has not changed. They are the future of the Church. But he further said:

“Where are the mothers, like those in the Gospel, who brings them to Christ? I am often shocked when I realize that even some seminarians often do not know the basics about the Lord and the Church. They know a lot about movie stars and computer games, but not much about Christ. It is even worst in public schools. Where are the mothers who bring their children to Christ? Pope John Paul II wrote that the parents are supposed to be the first catechists.”

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta wrote in “Loving Jesus:”

“Children have lost their place in the family. Children are very lonely, very lonely! When children come home from school, there is no one to greet them. Then they go back to the streets. We must find our children again and bring them back home. Mothers are at the heart of the family. Children need their mothers. If the mother is there, the children will be there, too. For the family to be whole, the children and the mother also need the father to be present in the home. I think if we can help to bring them all back together, we will do a beautiful thing for God.”

Sad to say, nowadays, the home that should be the first source of joy, peace, love and friendship where each family member should look forward to staying is now just a place to sleep. They do not talk anymore nor even see each other even if they are living in one roof.

Many children and adults now grow with weak faith. They do not know what they believe in and why they believe it. They are easy preys to other denominations. Many get converted easily or became atheists or, without knowing it, do practices against the teachings of the Church, which as I mentioned, is handed down from Jesus to His Apostles, to the disciples of His Apostles, to the Church from generation to generation. There are those who have no concern for the Church.

It is not an easy situation for our Mother Church now, here or abroad. In other countries, abortion and divorce are legal, even marriage of the same sex and there were even news about marriage between animals, and also, a human being and an animal. The dignity of life and marriage is gradually vanishing. Catholics are declining in numbers. Many denominations are like mushrooms, they pop up and they are out to get Catholics. Satanism, a cult, is even existent.

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR CHURCH

What I have mentioned above are just my humble insights. There are more of these out there probably more comprehensive than this. But the fact remains that our Church faces many problems and she needs her children.

In actuality, she is truly like a good biological Mom, who wants only the best for her children as God inspired her to do. But most often, many children nowadays do not listen to their Moms, especially as they grow, because of the many influences and temptations around them. It's not easy to take care and bring up children, what they want should happen and be given to them. Some even rebel against their parents. But in the end, after all the mistakes the children make in their lives, they will realize, Mom is right, and when they come running to Mom, she’s waiting with open arms to embrace her so sorry children, to give them love. It is not easy to be a mother.

Our Church needs our prayer and help, our cooperation, our concern. Our Bishop of Rome, all the Bishops in the world, together with our priests and deacons need us to be one with them in faith, hope, prayer and action.

Just imagine if you are in their position right now, having their responsibilities on your shoulder. Or let’s lessen it. Imagine if you are in the shoes of your parish priest or shrine rector, having his responsibilities on your shoulder, how will you feel, especially if those under you do not reach back to you, but you have to keep on trying because God commissioned you to do that. It’s a humongous migraine, right? A position you will not want to be in.

If we take a look at Mother Church's situation now in this modern world, can you imagine how much is Jesus being hurt for her? He who instituted this Church, He who made sure He had entrusted her to be taken care of before He went to heaven, He who sent the Holy Spirit to be with her, He who continuously is praying for her in heaven, He who made her His very own bride.

As I mentioned, it is a joint effort of the whole Body of Christ, the Church. We also have a role as the clergy has their role, as the angels and saints have theirs. The little that we can do will be great in Jesus’ eyes if done with great love. 

We can start by praying for her, knowing a little about our faith, doing simple deeds to support our Church through the parish and shrine we belong and making our faith viral in the web. Beyond this, as Jesus leads each of us. 

Please pray for our Church...for our Pope, Bishops, Priests and Deacons, also for the families and our youth who will be the future of our Church. Please pray also that God may send more workers in the vineyard of His Church who will help her, love her and be concerned for her…the harvest is plenty, but there are only a few workers.

 LASTLY...

To fully live our Catholic faith, we need to integrate the teachings of the Church and the Bible with our lives. We need to integrate ourselves with the Church as a family. We also need to integrate ourselves with our own family. 

Finally, all this can be done if we integrate ourselves with God. We have to have an encounter with God first and experience Him in love. We have to get personal with Him because only then can we fully understand the way Jesus loves...the Father, the Church and the whole of humanity. This is the essence of our living. To love God above all...and to love those whom God loves as we love ourselves...

God bless you. Jesus and Mama Mary embrace you…