No keeping this priest from Mass

URDANETA, Pangasinan – A wheelchair-bound priest never fails to say daily Mass in this city, even if there is only a caretaker in attendance.

Father Primo Garcia, 61, suffered a stroke on Aug. 15, 2000 that paralyzed the left part of his body.

When he recovered after three years, he carried on with his duties, celebrating the 5 p.m. daily Mass sometimes in the chapel at the Bahay Pari (Priest’s Home) in barangay Pinmaludpod where he stays, or more often in his room, with a small table, candle, Mass kits and the crucifix.

Garcia says it is easy to say Mass with only two people present.

“It’s not chaotic,” he says, smiling.

In the Bahay Pari operated by the Urdaneta Diocese for old and ailing priests, Garcia has another companion, Msgr. Conrado Mendoza.

The latter, however, is bedridden and can no longer join Garcia.

“The Mass must go on,” Garcia says, laughing, adding that it has become a habit for him and is good for his spiritual growth.

Garcia says his Mass usually takes only 20 minutes but it has all the parts of the Holy Eucharist except for the homily.

“Maybe there are others faster than me,” he again says, laughing.

“When I say, the Lord be with you, Manny, my assistant, responds ‘And also with you,’” the priest says.

Manny Gabriel, his caretaker, makes all the responses for the community including the first reading in the Holy Bible.

“Manny is my reader, my singer, guitar player, during the Mass,” Garcia says.

But Gabriel insists it’s okay with him attending Mass with only himself and the priest around. He says his faith is strong because he had worked as a Catholic youth leader.

Manny describes Father Primo as “very joyful.”

Garcia says it is not boring even if there are only two persons at his Mass. He says people in the community are welcome to join, but most of the time, they prefer attending Mass in the nearby chapel in Barangay San Jose.

“You never feel alone if you are with God. You know that He is there,” he says. “It is in the Eucharist that God shows he is selfless because God is giving Himself, His body, His blood, His soul and His divinity and the whole being of Jesus Christ.”

Garcia says that when he suffered a stroke, he treated it as a challenge. “I look at it as God’s will for my own good.”

“Everytime bad comes from Satan, God allows it to get the best out of you – through pain or suffering – to make you better,” he adds.

Father Primo, the second in a brood of 12 who hails from San Carlos City, Pangasinan, is also a good writer. He showed The STAR copies of his writings on several subjects.

He says he expresses his thoughts during the homily of the Sunday 9 a.m. Mass outside the Bahay Pari in barangay Matulong.

He says he used to go out a lot and played basketball, believing that he has an advantage being 5’8” tall.

With his present condition, he spends his time writing, praying, eating, meditating and going around his temporary home.

He may have gone through a lot, but Fr. Garcia is certain about one thing – he never regrets being a priest.

“Everyone has a mission in life,” says Fr. Garcia. Obviously, he has found his.