December 2006Last year, I visited a parish church. A young woman recognized me and said, “Are you Brother Bo?”
“Yes,” I said, “do you belong to this parish?”
“Yes. I’ve been a Mass commentator here for three years now. But I won’t be serving for long…”
“How come? Too busy?”
“No, I’ll be serving now this Born Again church in Ortigas…”
I was taken aback by her response. I blinked hard and asked, “Why?”
“Oh Brother Bo, I don’t feel spiritually fed here. The homilies are lifeless. I don’t feel ministered in my soul. My spiritual thirst isn’t quenched. After Mass, I don’t feel inspired.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but…”
I couldn’t interrupt her. “But Brother Bo, six months ago, my friends invited me to this Born Again church in the Ortigas area and I’ve been so blessed. My life has changed! The preaching really feeds the spirit. And the worship is alive. I go home after the service bringing home God’s message in my heart.”
“I understand. But if you really understood the truth of the Eucharist, you’ll realize it’s the life-giving Body and Blood of Jesus Himself. How can you not be fed?”
“But where will I get fed with Gods’ Word? Don’t get me wrong Brother Bo, I’ll always remain Catholic and I’ll still go to Mass here. But right after Mass, you’ll also see me attending in that Born Again church. Because that’s where my soul is fed with God’s Word.”
“Have you ever attended our Kerygma FEAST?”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“It’s our monthly prayer meeting. Whatever you find in that Born Again church, we have it too. With beautiful worship and dynamic preaching of God’s Word. But there’s Holy Mass too. That’s why 3,000 people attend every first Sunday of the month. People from as far as Tarlac in the North and Cavite in the South travel all the way to Quezon City just to attend the FEAST.
“Wow, that’s great! Okay, count me in. But I have a question…”
“Yes?”
“Why only once a month? What will I do with the other Sundays?”
“Uh… gee….” I was stumped.
Friends, this conversation took place last year.
I now have an answer for this woman.
Starting next year, I want the FEAST to be weekly!—complete with Holy Mass, Worship, and Preaching.
Here are my reasons for making it weekly…
1. I want to draw people who are no longer attending Mass on Sundays.
Why? For some reason, they no longer find God or the Mass relevant in their lives. According to statistics, only 15% of Catholics go to Mass on Sundays. So if there are 8.5 Million Catholics in Metro Manila, that means there are 6.7M Catholics who are no longer go their parishes. These are the people I want to bring to the FEAST.
2. I want to draw the millions of Catholics who now attend Born Again churches because they find their parish Masses dead—while their protestant services life-giving.
Of course I don’t believe the Mass can ever be dead. It’s the center of our faith. But I’m just telling you the facts: millions have left the church. I want to bring some of them back through the weekly FEAST. I want to tell them that the Holy Spirit is alive in the Catholic Church.
3. Ultimately, I want to “franchise” the FEAST to the various parishes all over the Philippines—and around the world.
Through the internet, we’ll be video streaming the Manila FEAST to hundreds of similar gatherings in various parish churches, thus strengthening the parishes by giving their parishioners the option of attending the FEAST in their own local parish.
I have a little problem though. Can you help me find a venue large enough for the weekly FEAST? A place that can accommodate 3,000 people. If you know of an empty property we can lease—somewhere centrally located—we could build an air-conditioned tent over it. Temporarily, we’re willing to move to a mall or building or factory that can accommodate us in a weekly basis. If you have suggestions, call Sol Saura at 7266728 or 7263334 or 7263929.
Yes, I want to nourish more people with God’s Word on a weekly basis.
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