Sunday, June 22, 2008
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11:27 PM
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St. Joseph Cathedral, Abu Dhabi UAEI've been planning to write about this two months ago. But I know how extremely delicate this topic is. Kanina lang, when I arrived at St. Joseph Cathedral in Abu Dhabi to attend the Sunday obligation, hindi na ako nakapagpigil. The time is right and I have to speak up.
It was sometime in August 2007 when I first landed my feet on a Catholic territory in the gulf region. Since I was so naive back then, I did not know the schedule of the mass. I ended up sitting somewhere inside the church while the priest said the mass in Arabic. Good thing there was this Salmo thing with the Sunday's readings in English. Para akong tanga kase English ang bawat response ko. Hehehe. I checked the schedules and from then on, I became a frequent Sunday guest in the area.
I started to ask myself and my friend why is the Filipino mass being held in a multi-purpose hall every Sunday. My friend told me, that's the way it is. And then, I tried to understand. I really did but one April Sunday, I was late for the mass. I entered a jam-packed venue. Nag-uumapaw talaga! It was so hot I thought air-conditioned units were not yet invented. Wala talagang ka hangin hangin! But I decided to stay and concentrate. Ilang mga linggo na ang lumipas, ganun pa din. Sobrang siksikan, sobrang init at hindi mo na marinig ang salita ng Diyos. What you can hear are snide remarks from Kabayans and some footsteps towards the exit. There was a time when my buddy Gio, left me inside the multi-purpose hall and headed to the Church where the Arabic mass was being held. Minsan pa nga may isang kabayan na nahilo sa sobrang init kase nga summer officially started two months ago. Kaya nga I told myself, it's about time.
Kanina lang, hindi na ako nakapigil! Padating ko, naguumapaw ang mga Pinoy sa multi-purpose hall. Sobarang inti at hindi ka na makapasok sa loob. What made things worst was that you cannot hear a single Word of God. I went to the parish office and talked to the guy named Ryan. He is the parish secretary, I assumed. I looked for the parish priest but he was on vacation and will be coming back on the 25th of this month. I politely told him my grievances and concerns. Ryan suggested for me to come earlier and I said, " the issue here is not just about myself. I know that these Filipinos are also complaining but for some reasons they do not speak up. We are all children of God, so I think it is just right for us to use the church and ask the attendees of the Arabic mass to use the multi-purpose hall because when we based the number of attendees, the Filipino mass has more attendees than the Arabic's." And Ryan politely said that I should talk to Father Felipe. And that's what I did. After the English mass, I went to Father's office.
Father Felipe was accommodating naman. At nagsimula na akong maglitanya. Father told me that it is impossible that these Catholic Arabs (most are Lebanese) will agree to use the muti-purpose hall. Kesyo Arabic daw sila at sila ang mga nauna sa schedule na yun. Sabi ko naman, Father, anak din tayo ng Diyos. Nararapat lamang na magamit din natin ang simbahan tutal mas marami naman ang uma-attend ng Filipino mass. Sadyang nakalulungkot na pati sa loob ng simbahan nagkakaroon ng pulitika. Impossible daw talaga pero babanggitin "daw" niya sa meeting ng parish. Iba daw kasi ang mga mga Arabo. Sabi ko naman, sa aking palagay, kahit ano pa lahi mo, kung isang kang tunay na Kristiyano, alam mo kung ano ang tama, kuna ano ang justice, equality and fairness kase yang ang itinuturo ng Diyos sa atin. Humingi din siya ng ilang suhestiyon sa problem ng venue. Nagbigay ako ng ilan. Susubukan daw nilang magawan ng paraan. Ayon pa kay Father, inaayos na din naman daw yung bagong katedral kaya sa hinaharap pede na magamit yun. Sana nga pero I doubt. Siguro pede nga magamit yun ng mga Arabs na katoliko pero ang mga pinoy sa lumang simbahan pa rin. Religion + Politics= SAKIT NG ULO! Tsk tsk tsk.
Sabi nga ng kaibigan ko, ganun daw talaga kasi daw sa bansang ito, hindi lahat ng gusto ko makukuha ko. Ang issue naman dun e hindi kung ano ang gusto ko. My point is what is right and just. It's about time to stand up for what I think is right. Masyado na naaabuso ang mga Pinoy. Kung sa kanila, okay lang yun; sa akin hindi. Naniniwala ako sa abilidad at galing ng mga Pinoy, sa worth natin bilang tao. Naniniwala din ako that we deserve better than the way we are treated now. Sabi ko nga, kasalanan din naman natin kung bakit hindi tayo iginagalang ng mga ibang lahi. Sana maisip na nating mga Pilipino kung ano ang worth natin bilang tao. Simulan natin sa mga simpleng bagay, sa ating mga trabaho. Magaling naman talaga kasi ang mga Pinoy. Magtulungan sana tayo na ibangon ang ating dakilang lahi. Paunti-unti, alam ko, darating din tayo dun. Let's start knowing our worth and asking for it!
Hanggang dito ba naman, pang-aabuso at pulitika pa rin? Tama na. Sobra na.
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Click here to view more images of St. Joseph Cathedral and the Multi-Purpose Hall
Posted by
rehabman
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