Day 15: Refuge in a Busy Mall

I had a lunch meeting at SM MegaMall. It will take one bus ride and one MRT ride from where I'm staying to the MegaMall. I am impressed with the MRT. I won't say it is clean - but it is very efficient.


At the MegaMall, I was amazed at its size! I am more amazed that there is a chapel in it and further amazed that there is an adoration chapel beside it.


One of the good things about the prosperity of SM is that they promote the faith in their own way. You go to their malls and most of them stop to pray the Angelus at lunch time and the Divine Mercy prayer at 3 o'clock. (Please note, I am in no way suggesting that they are prosperous because they built these churches).

Only in the Philippines will you find such open devotion to the Lord - in a public place. And people accept it readily with most of them accepting it gratefully.

I was watching TV and one of the things that really ticks me off are those so called intellectual Catholics who argue as if they know everything. I believe the problem is these people think because they are highly educated, they think they know more than God. One such person is Representative Garin - co-author of the RH Bill. I'm wondering why she and the other congressmen are pushing for this bill. How much are they really earning for pushing this?

These people say the RH Bill will help the economy. But how will lesser people improve the economy? Even Lee Kwan Yew points out that his country needs to have more children to be born (Get Married and Have Babies). While prosperous countries want more babies, our law-breakers want less? Lee Kwan Yew steered his country to where it is now and he knows what he is talking about.

Other people who really tick me off are Catholics - specially priests and teachers or professors in 'Catholic' schools - who support the RH Bill. First of all, if one claims to be a Catholic and does not agree with the teaching of the Church, then that person should really, really really, think about what he is saying. For me - that person has gone over his head and is a person who looks for praises of men than praises of God. It is really, really disappointing that intelligent people miss the whole point of the argument and keep focusing on their own reasons.

They are not God and despite what they say or think, they do not know everything. No one gave them the authority to speak in the name of God. To even say, one is a Catholic and  not support what the Church teaches makes me cringe for their salvation. I just hope that when they come face to face with God, they have a good reason to give him.

I said it before, I'll say it again. If one does not agree with the teaching of the Church, one cannot be a Catholic. Just leave the Church. No one is forcing them to stay.

Being a Catholic is more than just being baptized. It is more than going to mass every Sunday. It is more than just doing good. It is definitely more than just having degrees - even doctorates in Theology. And definitely more than just professing that one is a Catholic. One is a Catholic IF one obeys and believes in the person of Jesus. And this results in obedience to Jesus and his Vicar. No argument can change that.

Like I said, if you cannot accept what I just said - then you should stop calling yourself a Catholic because you are not one.