My dear people of God in the Archdiocese of Manila,
We truly miss going to Church by now. We may see their big structures from a distance.
We may hear the regular ringing of their bells. We see them in our screens as we watch the online Masses. But oh, how we wish to go to them and pray. This feeling is very understandable after several weeks of quarantine. But let us not forget that though we may not be able to go to church, we can still live the church in our homes.
For the first three hundred years of Christianity, there were no big churches. Christianity was forbidden so the Christians could not construct big buildings; they gathered instead in their homes. They live the experience of being Church in their homes. Let us return to this. Let us be churches in our homes.
What makes a building a church? It is not the structure, nor the paintings or statue, much less the design. We go to church because there we are in the presence of God. We want to meet the Lord. There we experience the Lord in prayer. A building becomes a church because people gather there to pray together; it is there where the Word of God is being proclaimed. There we experience together that we are loved by God and we strive to love others too. Prayer. Word of God. Love. These are the essentials of the Church.
We can live these in our homes now. Let prayers be echoed in our homes, not just individual prayers but family prayers together. The Lord Jesus said: “In truth I tell you once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I am there among them.” (Mt. 18:19-20) During this quarantine days let us set aside time together to pray as a family. We join as a family in the online Masses, most especially on Sundays. The church bells are rung daily at 12 noon and 8 pm, inviting families to pray the oratio imperata and the family rosary.
In our homes too, the Word of God can be proclaimed and reflected upon. It would be good to have the family gathered together to hear passages of the Bible read as part of the family prayer. The family can have Bible sharing. Stories of the Bible can be told and retold within the family walls. The faith is not just a personal matter. It should be a family affair.
The Bible tells us: “We have recognized for ourselves, and put our faith in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.” (1 Jn. 4:16) Where there is love, God is there. Let us strive during these days to really love one another in very practical ways. Love is not just in emotions. It is shown in deed. “Love is always patient and kind; love is never jealous; love is not boastful or conceited, it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store up grievances. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but finds its joy in the truth. It is always ready to make allowances.” (1 Cor. 13:4-7) We can strive to do these in our life together in our homes. Parents can set the example to their children and thus lead them to holiness. Then love is there. Then God is there. Then the Church is there.
This love within the family can expand to the people around us. We do not have contact with many people during the quarantine, but surely we can be kind, courteous and generous to some neighbor, to the garbage collector, to the barangay tanods, to the storekeepers, to the poor around us. Then the church in the family is in action!
We can live the experience of Church in our homes. God is very much present among us even if we cannot go to Church. He comes to our homes when we pray together, let the Word of God be heard within our homes, and love is lived among us as a family.
Mother Mary lived that experience of church in her own home in Nazareth. Let us make the Holy Family the protectress of our family.
Yours truly in Christ Jesus,
+ BRODERICK PABILLO
Apostolic Administrator of Manila
1 April 2020
