Blue card is not a way closer

I think it’s also good to talk about the church not merely about spirituality but about some priests who might be painting politics or capitalism which is not a good idea and perhaps can be so discouraging that some lay members give a general conclusion without proper judgment.

We are now in the Christmas season and we don’t feel like we celebrated it religiously if we haven’t attended the Misa de Gallo or at least even one Mass due to our hectic work schedules. This has been part of our tradition that both the rich and the poor Filipinos are in one faith of waiting and hoping for the coming of Jesus Christ. But before the year ended, there was a trending video in social media of a priest in a parish who made clear of putting money in a Christmas card with prayer intentions which would be hung on a Christmas tree for fundraising or for the development of the Church and its programs. For me, I think it’s really not good to imagine that other Christ in the altar mentioning an amount of money and jokingly say, the higher the amount the closer you are to Jesus either figuratively or literally P100 for a violet card, P200 for a green card, P500 for a yellow card, and P1,000 for the blue card, for instance.

Faith and salvation must not be measured by the money donated. It’s a blasphemy that is told maybe by someone whom later will explain himself that it is just a joke and later will apologize using, of course, the virtue that Christ asks us to forgive. If the issue in social media is limited not only to that particular parish but also to some, then I might say there have been truly capitalism or money making in some parishes, which I’m afraid would later become true in the whole Church. Why would money matter most?

The Church is also and must be for the poor. As the saying goes, the beauty and the riches of the Church are for the poor. Priests and religious leaders surely know this, but some are blinded by the selfish thought of getting or making money for the church as structure and for the programs to the extent of treating poor and rich parishioners unequally.

Is it reasonable to put a particular amount in Christmas cards? Is it good to do fundraising in this way? Isn’t it foolish to label salvation into a monetary amount? Is this how some understand a donation?

How I wish there would be no money making in some parishes by using sacred matters. How I wish to see no unequal treatment of poor and rich. If we are now living in a fast-changing world then let’s not only pray but live a life of genuine love and service to everyone who longs for Christ. It should have been a kind of donation, not making money.

Edmer John Caballes

Cebu City