Being raised a Catholic mostly did me good. The parables, the gospel readings, and the verses I was made to be familiar with influenced my daily routines, my beliefs, even my way of dealing with people. Following them, I thought, would be the only thing I should ever do or care about. Back then, I thought that prayer was as good as taking actual action, that it was and is the most important contribution for a Catholic—a Christian—in any eventuality. Such thought does not stand true anymore.
Over a month back, I remember listening to the homily of the priest presiding over mass. Assessing the current track performance of the Duterte administration, the priest mentioned the numerous faults and lapses of the government, and even got specific, mentioning the war on drugs and the “unnecessary fatalities” brought upon by such campaign. I am concerned about the welfare of the rest of the Filipino people. But I was more concerned about the soundness of the minds of those listening to the homily, how they processed all that. The topic alone was enough to make me uneasy, but what the presider mentioned afterwards bothered me even more. According to him, as long as the congregation prays for the welfare of the nation, things will eventually be made right, that prayer will be our ultimate contribution in alleviating the current situation of the Philippines. The rest, he said, will be in the hands now of the Lord.
Do not get me wrong; I am not against the unexplainable phenomena caused by the act of praying. As I would believe it, I still am an individual rooted in my faith. However, as a human being, I am very much sure that more things can be done. The Catholic Church, as an institution, is composed of humans, mortals—physical beings. We are capable of playing a more active role in taking part in conflict resolution and offering practical and economic solutions to problems faced by fellow humans.
It is as if the Church relies too much on the divine power of the Supreme Being that it forgets that it can urge its constituents to take action and help out the people they pray for. This is not a generalization of how it is as an institution; but this thought, however, should serve as a reminder that the institution can do better than being solely dependent on the Almighty. As the quote says, “Nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa.”
Moreso, there, indeed, is a separation between the law and the Church. This almost obscure line is further made ambiguous due to the fact that the institution itself wields such a big influence and power that goes beyond the Christian community. Given this, I wonder why dialogues among ourselves and the leaders of the Church about how our government has failed its people and what we can do about it have not been seriously undertaken. Being involved in discussion, afterall, is voluntary, but then again, the matters of our government are matters of its people, the nation being a democratic republic. Therefore, we should be involved.
They say that as Catholics and Christians, we are members of society working toward the betterment of each individuals’ situations, especially of the last, the least, and the lost. We shouldn’t just limit ourselves to debates on the implications of broken marriages and the constrained involvement of women in reproductive health concerns. Our power, together, can do more than just that—like realizing how inhumane we are to our fellow men by having such policies in the first place.
With the Lenten Season coming to a close, it is due time for us to reflect on how we will choose to practice our beliefs and exercise our influence on others to actually be Filipinos working to correct the wrongs of its nation. This time, we should not just rely on prayer. This time, we rely on our capabilities as human beings.
Personally, I find nothing wrong in sometimes questioning or doubting our beliefs and practices, especially if it allows us to look beyond ourselves and be better individuals in the end. Prayers can only do so much, and so can we. But imagine our faith and our actions combined. Reflecting on the scriptures we’ve read, even Jesus did exactly that.
