The sins committed in God's name

A "monk" who has been ousted by the group that is running the shrine of Our Lady of the Holy Eucharist in Simala, Sibonga has said quite a mouthful against his former brothers and their activities.

The tales he told were the stuff of which scandal sheets are filled. But they attracted the mainstream media because of the proximity of the events, happening as they did right in the navel of our province, and the sensitivity of their consequences on our deep-seated faith.

Gay sex and entertainment, caches of guns and shooting, obscene amounts of cash and jewelry. Such allegations should be enough to force a second look at the "monks" in Simala and how they go about their affairs.

That the allegations come from a very polluted source does not dimish their seriousness and we and the Roman Catholic Church in Cebu would be remiss in our responsibilities as good Christians and Catholics if we do not at least try to sort things out in the interest of faith.

I agree with most observers who have already spoken about the issue that our faith remains steadfast and unaffected by the charges. But while devotion to Mama Mary is inviolate, we cannot remain impervious to any filth that may litter her house.

An investigation does not necessarily mean acceptance of fact. It is in fact a process by which truth or falsity can be separated and determined with greater certainty, the way chaff is separated from grain by milling.

Besides we are not blind mice being led away by some Pied Piper. We are intelligent enough to be uncomfortable even if our discomfort eventually gets soothed and assuaged by the sheer blessedness of faith's power.

What I mean is that those who have been to Simala, as I have, must have noticed certain things that, while prompting discomfort, are eventually swept to the back of the mind on the notion that they might interfere with the purpose of the visit, which is to see Mama Mary.

In other words, we are afraid that the Blessed Mother may not take too kindly to our having dirty minds. And we are too burdened by the wages of sin to bother about the possible sins of others. So we pretend not to notice.

But notice we do. Or at least, noticed have I. I have seen with my own eyes what I feel is the crash commercialism at Simala. It is as if so much of my devotion has suddenly become for sale and a matter of acquisition.

Take for example those multi-colored candles. There must be over a dozen differently colored candles, with each color representing a wish, a miracle, a virtue, or whatever it is we pray to be granted with each lighting.

I have always thought that a white candle is sufficient for anything for as long as the prayer that comes with it is said in all humility and in earnest. But the impression given by multi-colored candles is no longer that of prayer but of product, each with a specific purpose.

The multi-colored candles, like products, come with precise labels. As such people are led to believe that you must buy, say, a red candle if you want love, or green if you want fortune, brown if you want to pass, and so on. Prayer has never been so precisely packaged.

But because I am afraid of eternal damnation, I suppress my feelings and just buy as many colors as I can since, poor as I am, I admittedly have a wide variety of needs. Never have I felt the plain and simple white candle become so puny and insignificant than there.

I know of certain churches that have dimly lit prayer rooms, where the only thing you need to communicate with God is the quiet sincerity of prayer. There are no candles. There are even no chairs. You just kneel or sit on the floor and cry, letting your tears wash away sin.

I wonder if God's forgiveness, upon which this great faith of ours is anchored, is any different in these prayers rooms than it is in Simala. And it doesn't help when you notice that the "monks" just happen to look a little different. Something in them saps my confidence.