The plaza in front of the Sts. Peter and Paul church in Ormoc used to be spared of the trading frenzy that invades our public plazas come fiesta time or the Christmas season. It used to be a clean place where children could play on weekends for such was its design. It was meant for children and I guess one time it was appropriately called the children’s park.
But that era seems to have disappeared. Nowadays, money making appears to be more important than keeping children happy. The children’s plaza has followed the fate of our other plazas, converted as it is into a site where they sell ukay-ukay and various other household goods that you can also find in the market.
Is the church also suffering from economic recession? That I doubt. The Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church is immune to all that recession. It is even immune to the misfortunes of war, insulated as it is from political conflicts. No, it was never a loser in any war, not even when Mussolini, the Italian dictator, suffered defeat in the hands of the allies during World War II.
 |
| Bluetooth speaker wireless microphone |
In war and peace, in economic recession or prosperity, the church collects tithes and contributions both from the victors as well as the vanquished. In fact, the greater the recession, the bigger the collections. Faithful churchgoers, no matter their social status, will always tend to offer more prayers in direct proportion to their tribulations and miseries in this world, and with the prayers come the contributions and the alms.
And so why the conversion of the children’s park into an ukay-ukay trading site? That I can’t understand. Maybe the church is raising funds in addition to its huge collections. But I haven’t heard of it being engaged in services for the poor or the needy. That concern seems to have been forgotten in the frenzied infrastructure build-up like the multi-million altar that would probably have scandalized the Lord Jesus Himself. Why, didn’t he castigate the Pharisees and scribes for allowing their temple to become a commercial hub?
I’m just thinking out loud.
No comments:
Post a Comment