I CHANCED on YouTube a Mass being celebrated somewhere in Philadelphia, US, and was impressed. The priest never deviated from the Mass as I used to know it from years ago. The homily was well prepared, rather sedate. I felt my focus was on God.
It was a far cry from Masses nowadays in many Philippine Catholic churches where, not infrequently, priests compel the faithful to “titigan mo ang katabi mo at sabihin: mahal na mahal kita.” Seems like a loving statement except that, if you haven’t noticed, hardly any one obeys as kindergarten air permeates the air.
There are other worse variations of such kind that detract from focus on Jesus in the tabernacle. It’s hard to understand how such practice has become common in many Masses.
Noticeably too, a good number of local priests seem preoccupied with filling up their homilies with attempts at humor, reminiscent of Vice Ganda. In the end, you remember only the joke.
Followers of Ely Soriano’s Ang Dating Daan and other such ministries are growing, without filling up their talks or sermons with laughables. I’ve heard impressive speeches of Iglesia ni Christo ministers, too. They talk serious and, judging from their mastery of Bible verses and sedate cadence of their logic, convey messages that take deep root in listeners.
Sometimes I think God allowed Duterte in Malacanang so to impart the virtue of humility — a bad from which good could turn out from the failings of Catholic leadership. The country has always been so Catholic that built-up overconfidence in the zealotry of the faithful has, finally, led to the increase of proselytes of other so-called Christian ministries.
Relative to this, let me quote Jesus Christ, as he commented on priesthood as relayed to mystic Maria Valtorta (1897-1961).
Here are the words of Jesus:
“Sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice, O priests. Prayer, prayer, prayer, O pastors.
“I called you ‘shepherds.’ I did not call you ‘solitaries’ or ‘captains.’ The solitary lives by himself. The captain marches at the head of his men. But the shepherd remains in the midst of his flock and watches over it. He does not isolate himself because the flock would be dispersed. He does not walk at the head because the absent-minded in the flock would be left behind along the way, prey to wolves and thieves.
“The shepherd, if he is not a madman, lives in the midst of his flock; he calls it and gathers it together; he tirelessly goes back and forth along its extent; he precedes it at difficult junctures and is the first to examine obstacles, leveling them as much as possible; he makes rough ways safe by his efforts and then remains at the troublesome spot to oversee the passing of his sheep, and if he observes that one of them is fearful or weak, he takes it on his shoulders and carries it beyond the point of danger; and if a wolf comes, he does not run away, but hurls himself against it, in front of his sheep, and defends them, even at the price of dying to save them. He immolates himself for them to satisfy the beast’s hunger so that it will no longer feel the need to tear anyone to pieces. How many beasts attacking souls there are! The shepherd does not waste time on useless chatter with passers-by and does not get distracted with matters which are not his concern. He takes care of his flock, and that’s all.
“Now observe. Doesn’t it seem we are reading the eighth chapter of Ezekiel?
“The first idol: jealousy.
“You should be charity, shouldn’t you? Charity to lead others to charity. What are you? Jealous of each other. You get off ended if a layman criticizes you. But don’t you criticize each other, and often unjustly? The superior criticizes his inferiors. The inferior criticizes his superiors. You are jealous if one of you attracts attention, if one of you is more successful, if one of you becomes wealthier. Furthermore, this aspect, which ought to cause you horror, is on the contrary, what you most covet. But was I, the eternal Priest, wealthy? Be perfect, and you will be noted and praised, though the praise of your God should be your only spur.
“The second idol–rather, many idols: the different heresies which in you take the place of the worship you should possess.
“Each of you as well, like the seventy elders named by Ezekiel, is incensing the idol he prefers. And you do so in the darkness, hoping the eyes of men will not see you. But they see you. And you scandalize them. For the faithful, and men in general, are like the children who seem not to observe, but who never cease to keep their eyes and ears set upon who are their elders.
“Why, don’t you know that, even if man does not see, God sees you? And why, then, do you cast your incense before the power of gold or the power of man? From the height of My throne, don’t I see too many of My priests devoting their time–the time I give them so they will spend it on their priestly mission–on human commerce aimed at increasing their well-being? Yes, I see this. Don’t I observe–and My heart turns–too many of My priests abjuring My Law to obey the law of wretched men, hoping to receive honor and gain from them? Yes, I see this.
“Oh, the politician priests! The current members of the Synedrium! Let them remember, however, what the lot of the Synedrium was at the hands of those at whose feet they had prostrated their consciences and violated My Law. And I will say no more. This is for the affairs of men. The rest will come afterwards from the eternal, just Judge.
“The third idol: sensuality.
“Yes, there is this, too. And I will say no more out of respect for My ‘spokesman’ (Maria Valtorta). But let each examine himself to see if in the place where the only female creatures to be remembered licitly with love by a priest are My Mother and their mothers there is not a pagan goddess. Consider that you touch Me and receive Me. And that’s all. Do not place the Most Pure One in contact with flesh stained by lust.
“The fourth idol: the adoration of the east.
“Sects. Yes, this, too. And shouldn’t I gaze at many of you with disdain and use the same apostrophes for many as I used for the Pharisees and doctors in My time? And shouldn’t I raise up ‘light’ among the lay people who love Me as many of you do not love Me, out of mercy on the souls you leave in the cold, in the dark, and in impurity, for the sake of the souls for whom you are not a way to God, but a path leading downwards? And how do you dare to repeat My Word and preach My Law when Word and Law are a condemnation for you? Let whoever is clean become cleaner and whoever is unclean be cleansed.”
