I just remembered these stories

ALONE

It was winter, at a time when there were no electric heaters yet. A priest visited a parishioner in his house. He asked him why he is not attending masses anymore. His response was, "I can just pray on my own. Jesus even said, "When you want to pray, go inside your room and pray in private, there your heavenly Father sees you."

Then the priest went to his fireplace. He took a piece of wood from the fire. The man keenly observed that the separated wood slowly lose its fire. Then he realized that without the community, his own spiritual life will slowly pass away.

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From what I have learned, prayers can be categorized as either private or public. Examples of public prayers are masses, community rosary, and novenas. Although we need sometime with the Lord in private, being with the community of believers is a great help for spiritual, social and personal growth. Yes, we can watch Masses over television but we cannot receive Holy Eucharist, which is the perpetual gift of Jesus’ own body to us.

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ANOTHER STORY

A catechist asked the class which part of the Mass is the most important. These were the students’ answers:

Student 1: The Readings: God manifests himself to us through the words of the scriptures.

Student 2: No, it’s the homily. It is where the Readings are explained and its relation to our present life is enlightened.

Student 3: Offering is also important. We give a portion of what we received from God and acknowledging that he is the source of everything that we have.

Student 4: I think it’s the Consecration- it is where the Host becomes Christ’s flesh and the Wine becomes Jesus’ blood through transubstantiation.

Student 5: I believe it is the Holy Communion. It is where the Faithful partake of Christ.

Student 6: For me, it is the END OF THE MASS!

At this, the teacher interrupted: Why? Because you can now go home?

Student 6: Yes, we can go home, and apply what we have taken out from Mass.

To you, which part is the most important?

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Of course, our Mass attendance must be compounded by our actions. Saint James said, “Faith without actions is dead.” For all who attend mass, may our attendance to Christ’s feast be a form of witness to others.
Let us also ask for the grace that our Mass attendance will bear fruit in our lives, lest we become a stumbling block to others' spiritual journey.

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There was a couple. The wife was a regular Churchgoer. The husband would always say, “Since we are a couple, just pray on my behalf.” And this always happen. Now, both of them died. Upon entry to heaven, Saint Peter called out the wife. “You may now enter heaven.” The husband reacted, “What about me?’ Saint Peter responded, “She will just enter on your behalf.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -I would always share the above story to trisikad drivers whenever I would attend mass, invite them and their answer was, “Sakupa lang ko da Miss a.” Now, because I attend mass more often than they do, does it mean I am holier than them? Not at all! Then, do I have the right to judge others because they are what we call KBL (Kasal, Bunyag, Lubong). Of course not! It is only God who knows the hearts of everyone. Yet, as a Christian, participating in Christ’s three-fold mission, it is my obligation to teach, in my own simple ways. As the song says, "...I want to pass it on."

Philippines is very blessed because attending daily Masses is very convenient and accessible. There are places where people just make ways to attend mass to the extent of being persecuted. The beginnings of our Masses are even more difficult…

GOD BLESS US!