That Mabolo church incident

That was really an unfortunate incident at the Mabolo church recently. A priest allegedly badmouthing President Arroyo during his homily. A churchgoer standing up to confront the priest for his diatribe against the head of state. It is unfortunate because a Holy Mass is a very solemn event. The highest form of prayer among Catholics, Jesus himself is present, body and soul, in the solemnity. In fact, the Lord himself is the one officiating the Mass although what we can see is only his instrument, the priest. At the Consecration we can hear the priest say: This is my body, this is my blood. But in reality it is Jesus who is intoning these words.

Theologians say the Mass is not just a memorial of the Lord; it is his Holy Sacrifice - not a mere reenactment of it, but the original living sacrifice, the same one which Jesus offered in Calvary. Spiritual writer Leo J. Trece explains: "Each individual Mass is not a new sacrifice in which Jesus dies anew. Each Mass is but a continuation through time of the once-for-all death of Christ upon the cross".

Difficult to understand, this one even for well-read Catholics. But the truth is at the Mass time and distance are "annihilated" in a mystical sense. The lay faithfuls attending the Mass are therefore not attending a mere reenactment of an event, but a reactivation of it, hence they are actually standing before the Cross in Calvary as the living son of God offers himself as the sacrificial lamb.

This sacrifice is the highest form man can offer to God because the Victim is no less than Jesus himself. For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son to save man, the Bible says. Love therefore is the cornerstone of the incarnation, the life, the passion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the understructure upon which the sacrifice at the Mass is founded. This being so, he who officiates it should be filled with love because he stands for God during the sacred moment.

The lay faithfuls participating in the Sacrifice should also be full of love. Without love they have no right to be present because they cannot achieve unity with the Giver of the gift. They cannot fully adore God, nor thank him enough for graces received. And their sins will remain unforgiven for lack of proper atonement.

Had the meaning of the Holy Sacrifice been fully understood and its merits deeply internalized, that incident in Mabolo church would not have taken place. A priest aware that he stands for Jesus himself in the course of the celebration simply cannot afford to be cynical, critical or spiteful. Out of a loving heart should tumble words of endearment, unity and brotherhood, not words that stir up disunity, mistrust, and ill-feeling. If at the pulpit he strays away from the gospel and harps on politics he undermines the sanctity of the Church's greatest event. Worse, if he forgets his priestly state and becomes a self-appointed political commentator, he turns his back from his God-given mission. For instead of inspiring love he instigates hatred, instead of encouraging oneness he enhances divisiveness.

For their part the churchgoers are expected to be in complete unity with the celebrant. For them the Mass is offered, for their health of mind and body, and for their very souls. But for the offering to be acceptable to God, they must be in a state of grace. Love will have to be in their hearts, love for the Lord and for their fellow human beings. Without a loving heart one's presence in the Mass is an anomaly. One might as well stay somewhere else and do something else. If he stays but his heart is empty he becomes a pariah to the community of worshippers.

An empty heart invites negative thoughts including pride. Then one's reaction to a homily such as that of the Mabolo priest would likely be: What right has this politicking priest to use the pulpit for his gripes? How dare he spoil my prayer with his spite? The next thing is to explode and do the unthinkable - standing up to confront the "culprit" priest! What a scandalous situation! Confrontation instead of compassion becomes the order of the hour, hatred instead of harmony reigns.

If only we could see the holy face of Jesus at that very moment...