Novena Masses
Attending the Novena Masses of the Feast of Nuestra Padre Jesus Nazareno (NJPN) is in itself a celebration. With different Priests and Bishops celebrating the Holy Mass, listening to their homilies is so interesting and enlightening about our faith and how to do about the ills of society.
I remember Fr. Erik Adoviso talks about the new definition of squatter and poor people and social injustices. He also said that we have compassion but we do not do anything about our compassion to the poor. We are numb when we see poor people with no descent shelters or no shelters at all. We are numb when we see kids asking for alms and food when they approach us in e the streets and in the church specially in Quiapo Church. Yes, we have compassion for them but we do not do anything to help them. To give them dignity and treat them as human being.
Also he talks about the ordinary workers who have been working very hard but remains contractual even if they work for a very long time in the same company. Where is social justice there. Where is compassion there?
Pera Pera na lang!
The feast of NPJN is also an opportunity for many people to do business. Again Fr Erik reiterated that there are people who are using the poor to gain financially. Take for example some scrupulous politicians that gets a huge amount of money from the government and using the poor people of their ghost projects.
What I like about the novena masses is that there are different themes in each novena mass. There is one particular theme about Jesus as our Healer. Jesus cures as it is written in the bible many times. but the Chaplain of the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan talks about his 10 years of stay in the hospital. What is true in society is that all of us are sick. All of us need not cure but healing. He differentiate Cure and Healing. Cure is more of temporarily easing the pain in the body but Healing is more of a total cure of oneself. Healing is curing the Physical, Emotional and Spiritual diseases of the body. "Si Hesus ay hindi lang mangagamot kundi isang Manlulusog din".
