It’s another Sunday.

But not the usual Sunday.

I do not have any other mass in the afternoon since I only go to Sueyoshicho for their afternoon English every other month.

But it was just the right timing. Today, we had the Parish Assembly. And I am not happy for what ever was discussed or for whatever happened in there. Why?

Try to get the picture. 2, 137 in the 2010 list of parishioners. That is a lot compared to other parishes. Yet, for today’s Parish Assembly, there were not even like 80 who participated

Of the less than 80 who were there, I and another one were the youngest... at 40! They could have just called the gathering “Middle and Old Aged Assembly”!

The Parish has 41 groups. And I am very sure not even half of the groups were there.

It was actually an open invitation. The only ones who attended were those who had concern for the parish. The rest... well, they were hurrying to go home or spend some time drinking coffee or tea at the parish hall. I do not like to regard them as people with no concern at all with parish life. They also contribute to the financial life of the church. Yet... but....

Parish Assembly... from 11:45 - 12:45. Only an hour. Only an hour would be OK for me. But 35 minutes of that time was devoted to discussion on money. Ah yes, another 5 minutes on trash collection and separation. Only an hour... not enough time even to renew parish goals. Only an hour... not enough time to discuss vital matters like improving pastoral action, promotion of vocations, youth ministry....

I am only in my 3rd year in parish life as a diocesan priest and I now see a lot of things that are really lacking, or should I say, slow, compared to the pace of the real Japanese corporate world. Yes, the church is not a company and the company is not a church, but there are things in the companies that can actually make the church more effective in the way it moves.

After this Assembly, I see some points that need improvement:

1. Require all the 41 groups to send representatives to the Parish Assembly and not just limit it as open to anyone. Even the middle and high school kids, even the elementary kids deserve to be there. If you open it for ANYONE, eventually NO ONE will come.

2. Have a definite theme for a definite Parish Assembly. Preparations are needed months before the actual day, like, working paper, surveys to answer, collation and summary. A committee is the best body to prepare for this rather than just one person.

3. Use more media, preferably the projector, or if handouts are needed, print on the backside of used paper so that the church itself can answer to the ecological call of society to reuse and reduce.

4. A moderator should handle the meeting and not the President. This will prevent long discussions and one-on-one debates because if the one who holds the microphone is the President, he will always have an answer for any question asked even if it is not directly to him.

5. Have an agreed order of presentation, questions and suggestions. The content and order will be planned and implemented by the Committee In-charge. Have someone act as time-keeper to minimize the usual Japanese tendency to lengthen their line of thought.

6. There has been so much discussion on money, and electricity was 1/3 of it. Yet, there were other people using other rooms and halls during the Parish Assembly -- yes, using the rooms with lights and heaters! The Parish has to decide that the Parish Assembly is the ONE and ONLY activity allowed at that particular time. Close the coffee shop. Early notices have to be handed out to the groups and or people who do not intend to join.

7. Focus. We are a church. We are not a company. Money is not supposed to be the bulk of the discussion. It is the reflection and discernment if we are truly fulfilling the mission that Jesus has given to each one of us and to us as a church.

8. Have a goal. After the Parish Assembly, what is it that each participant would be able to bring home in their hearts?

9. If there are other things to be discussed in detail, most especially if it concerns finances, let it be discussed in another assembly, or sort of like an open-for-all discussion.

10. The Parish Assembly is not just information. It is formation.

Have We Lost the Sense of the SACRED?

I really did not like to do it.

But it really had to be done.

For some “shock-effect”, so they say.

But for me, personally, it is just to call people to something very important.

After an English mass that I was asked to celebrate in another church, I had to use the announcement time to wake up the people who came. Actually, it started like 40 minutes before the actual mass. People started coming in the church. Not even one made a reverent bow to the Blessed Sacrament. The people who were there earlier were all talking as if they just got out of the classroom after a boring 2-hour lecture... not even a whisper... yes, plain, loud talk... and laughter, too! Not even one prayed silently to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and started talking to one another as if they were a tour-group waiting at the pre-departure area of the airport. The children who were with them sat down as if they were sofas.

Then, the mass started. Great singing. Yet, there were a lot of mothers who did not even bother to correct their kids. Everybody was standing but one boy was all bored and just sitting down. One boy was chewing gum till the end of the mass. That same boy was so busy with his baseball cards. Two little girls just kept on running and running as if they were olympic athletes. One little boy just kept on shouting while the mother just focused on the missalette in her hands. Of course, the clothes. Yes, their clothes! The usual clothes that you wear when you go out of the house. Not the ones you wear on formal parties, weddings or funerals. Not the ones you wear on job applications. Only the usual one. Not the ones you worthily wear in church.

And so I had to say my mind.

What happened to the sense of the sacred?

What happened to the value we have for the Holy Mass, the church, Sunday as the Lord’s day, even the external disposition worthy of offering to God? Have people lost their sense of respect to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament that they come to treat the church in the same way as a social hall?

Some faces twitched as I spoke my mind. I was careful not to let it become a mere “personal” grievance against mediocrity. I knew that some of those faces were telling me, “We don’t deserve to be judged! God knows what is in our hearts, even if our external dispositions aren’t good for you!” Well, if I really have to switch to my “personal” view, I always go with the principle that there is a great link between what is in the heart and what is external. Your heart and your clothes have a link. Definitely, so is the link between your heart and your twitching face!

The organ could not immediately play the introduction to the Final Song. She lost her copy? Was she crying? I don’t know. But all I had to do was change as fast as I could and get away from the place. I did not like them to feel my kindling anger. I also did not like to hear their apologies just that early. I wanted them to think. I wanted them to evaluate. I wanted them to at least feel the shock and get to something more concrete.

Ah... the sacred!

I remember the Sunday Best Barong of my aspirantate days.

The matching pants for that barong.

The shoes. The special socks... those which I

did not wear during school days!

I remember the Saturday singing classes. I reminisce the music played on Sunday mornings. The free time. The free games. The softdrinks on the dining table!

These reminded us of Sundays!

These reminded us of something special... some SACRED day!

Picture taken from: http://www.gettyimages.co.jp/detail/3242588/Hulton-Archive