Hey y'all - it's your friendly neighborhood YAM-NW Co-Chair, Bryan, again. Last week, on January 27th, a Cathedral was bombed in Jolo, Philippines as people were going to Sunday Mass. This breaks my heart for many reasons, not least of which is that the Philippines is my family's homeland. However, this terrible occurrence got me reflecting on just how blessed we are to be able to practice our Catholic faith freely and safely in the USA, and how we often do not recognize that.

If you haven't yet read the article, here it is: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/20-dead-as-bombs-target-sunday-mass-in-philippine-cathedral/ar-BBSMA8A?ocid=sf
An update to this article (http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2019/02/04/jolo-suspect-kamah-surrender.html) was posted linking the bombers to an Islamist terror group.

Now before I go any further, this is not a demonization of Muslims by any means. That is not the purpose of this blog. These bombers represent the very worst of Islam, not all of Islam. Furthermore, this is about the victims and their faith. So now let us proceed...

I have been to the Philippines multiple times over the last 20 years to visit family and such. Both of my parents are from the Metro-Manila area in Luzon, the northern island of the Philippines. Having been there during Holy Week, the sheer amount of open expression of the Catholic faith was staggering and amazing. In my father's hometown, the Gospel was read over speakers for the whole of Holy Week, and there were many enactments of the Stations of the Cross around the different parts of town. The Triduum Masses and traditions were essentially town events. It was really cool to see this kind of open witness, especially because we don't really see this as much in the USA.

Now, I have never been to Mindanao, the southern island of the Philippines. Mostly because I have been advised to not go there since it can be somewhat dangerous for Americans. Mindanao has a slightly different demographic, where while the majority of people are still Christian (predominantly Catholic), there is a large Muslim population there (24% in 2017 per the Philippine Statistics Authority of July 26, 2017). Sadly, this has led to much religious conflict, even going back to the time of the Spanish coloziation in the 16th century. Today, there are Islamic extremist cells in Mindanao who commit a number of crimes, from extortion, to murder, to bombings, and much more.

This is important to note because, as we have seen in the news, extremists consider places of worship to be viable targets. This means that going to mass is dangerous. And tragically, on January 27th, that potential to be dangerous actually became dangerous. On that day, 23 people were killed and more than 90 were injured. However, this is where we have to note: even though it is dangerous for them to go to mass, they did. They willingly put themselves in harm's way (potentially) to go to mass and receive God's grace. And this is not an isolated thing; around the world, there are many places where our Christian brothers and sisters cannot freely or openly express and experience their faith without exposing themselves to some risk. In the Philippines, China, India, and parts of the Africa (among others), people regularly risk a lot to simply be Christians.

Think of the early Christians, who faced so much persecution at the hands of the Romans and Jewish leaders. How they continued on inspite of being in fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Think of the early Saints, who were martyred for their faith. Yet, they still put their faith and their love of God above all things, even their own lives. 

So that brings the focus on ourselves. We live in a country where our religious freedom is guaranteed - we have the right to practice our religion openly and freely. However, how often do we choose not to? How often do we leave God and our faith at the door - be it our house door or the door of the Church? How often do we we find ourselves embarrassed to own our Christian/Catholic identity? How often do we allow ourselves to make something else more important than going to mass? Or getting involved? Or being a more active element of our faith? I'll admit, there are times in my life where yes, I too have been guilty of all of those.

So does that mean we are all terrible Catholics, and have betrayed God and no longer deserve His love, and are now doomed?!?!? No, that means we are just human - imperfect works in progress. Fortunately for us, we don't have to earn God's love and mercy; after all, they're free gifts from God - all we need to do is accept them and let those gifts work in our lives. Which is good for us, since we need all of what God provides us to do better and to be better.

I think that at times, since we have religious freedoms that our brothers and sisters in other countries don't have, we take it for granted that opportunities to enrich our faith lives will always be there tomorrow, when we have more time or desire. Now, I'm not advocating or yearning for that type of suffering or struggle - far from it. But there is a perspective to be gained.

I'm reminded of the Beatitudes where we hear "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven". Maybe that's the key to it all. Maybe our brothers and sisters are willing to risk so much because they have their eyes on a larger goal: heaven. Maybe sometimes our gazes are averted from that goal because we worry too much about not wanting to stand out, or not wanting to be different or counter-cultural, or not wanting to give up our free time, or not wanting to have to change ourselves to God. Maybe we don't want to face the challanges entailed with truly embracing our Catholic identity. I know that sometimes I fear being judged, and in fact have been judged, for being Catholic. And it's unpleasant to face any type of persecution, but as I mentioned before, we are lucky, since God gives us His love and mercy to strengthen us in those times.

Perhaps, even now, it's still daunting to consider really embracing our Catholic identity. Where does one even start? Here's a smart-alec answer: at the beginning. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Take it one step at a time. If you haven't been to mass in a while, try finding one that you get fed at. If you haven't prayed in a while, take a couple minutes to pray - something simple, doesn't need to be grand or long. If you haven't explored what else there is aside from Sunday Mass, maybe check to see if there is something out there for you *cough* YAM-NW events *cough*.

Remember, God doesn't demand perfection from us, only love. Our brothers and sisters who suffer in persecution have shown us that sometimes it's not easy and can be a challenge. We just have to decide if the struggle to love God is worth the challenge and the risk.