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I usually hear the Sunday mass (or watch is the appropriate word?) only through the TV mass aired over at Channel 23 at 9:00am. I watch this TV mass religiously eversince me and the kids went back from Australia last January 2006. I tried bringing the kids to the mass once during our second week here, but with 3 kids in tow I heard more of their whining (aren’t we going home yet?, etc.) rather than the priest’s sermon. Not to mention walking around the aisle and doing some cheeky stuff, and kept on bragging me to leave already so that we could go to Jollibee.

So that following Sunday, I searched the local tv for mass and thank God, I tuned on Channel 23 and got hooked since. My eldest Kaye already knows the time of mass so she would automatically switch the channel. The kids would normally sit there with me on the TV front, hold our hands while singing Our Father and give each other a kiss for peace. The TV mass is held every Sundays, 9:00 am, at the SM Megamall and the celebrating priest is Father Mario Sobrejuanite of the Society of St. Paul (SSP). I encourage you to watch this mass celebration, if for some reasons you can’t attend the regular Sunday mass at the church, and for sure, you will thank me for that.

Why I religiously “attend” this TV mass? Here are the reasons summed up:

1) As I have pointed out earlier, even if I wanted to go to church every Sunday, with 3 kids in tow and no yayas, how can i manage attending a mass and look after my 3 tods while in church? So i’d rather stay at home and “attend” the mass. I could focus more on the celebration without getting annoyed by the kids. I just make up for it by dropping by the Adoration everytime I go to town, and try to read the Bible as often as I can;

2) The mass celebration is very lively, not boring compared to the regular church masses. At the beginning and ending of the mass there are people dancing praises. Not usual, but it draws you more seeing how these people show their praises via dancing. A relief from the usual “stiff” or should i say, boring masses? I wonder why the Catholic Church don’t jazz up the traditional mass even only during Sundays? It could veer a little the conservative practice but it would not dwindle the solemnity of the celebration and but maybe could entice more people to go to church. The choir is also very good, and I check every Sunday the color of their coordinated shirts;

3) The celebrating priest is very, very commendable. Father Mario gives very moving homilies every Sunday, so touching that you can see people in the mass drying their tears. He’s the major reason why I’ve been hooked to this TV mass. You could feel the sincerity in his sermons; and,

4) Finally, the best part I always wait for is the concluding rite, not because I can’t wait for the mass to end, but because this is the part where Father Mario would ask the people to hum the name of Jesus repeatedly with the choir while he prays over the congregation, not just those at the venue but also those watching in TV. Not the usual way - after some few announcements, the priest would only tell the flock to go His way, say some few words, give the sign of the cross and finished, mass is ended! This is the part where I sing Jesus’ name over and over while hearing Father Mario’s prayers accompanied by the choir’s soft singing. Then I would feel as if calmness is reigning over me, feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, and feel connected. It’s as if Jesus sits just beside me and assuring me life is beautiful and there’s nothing to be anxious about because He’s with me. That’s why, in times of troubles, I just sing His name over and over, till I feel all my worries go.

Some of you won’t agree with me for only watching the TV mass and not bringing the kids to church every Sundays. Yes, sometimes I feel I needed to bring them to the church and hear the “real” mass. Maybe I would do that soon when the kids are a little older, or when my husband is again with us. I would also love to go there to Megamall and hear the mass “live”.

Nevertheless, for the time being, I would continue watching the TV mass because I feel the true blessing of the Lord while “attending” it, which I can’t find when I attend the regular mass in church.

               

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This entry was posted on Sunday, October 14th, 2007 at 3:22 pm and is filed under Inspirationals . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.