These things have to happen first thing in the morning.
What joy.
After my class this morning, I had to sign something in the front desk of where I work. The form had no dates, and I readily admit I always forget what day/date it is on a constant basis. So I turned to the receptionist and asked, “Ano nga ba petsa ngayon?” (“What’s the date today?”)
She looked at me as if I swallowed an infant, rolled her eyes, and said, “September 8! HELLO! Birthday ni Mama Mary, noh!”
In a singular sentence, she has concisely encompassed my problem with how some Catholics act, talk and think. In my mind, the two words that flashed were: What arrogance.
Let me state, clearly, for the record, before anyone imputes something twisted into my statements and my past blog entries: I have no problem with Catholics practicing their faith. To each his/her own, live and let live. I am a fan of all those sayings. Not just because they’re stated in popular expressions, but because it is the right thing to do.
We are all familiar with the Golden Rule: Do unto others what you would others do to you.
I would never imagine telling someone that “based on MY faith, you are doing something wrong!”. Yet, day after day, I see Catholics who have no problem doing the exact same thing, and frighteningly, on a national scale. They see it as their “business” to meddle with someone who doesn’t share the same faith at all!
What arrogance.
It is arrogant to presume that the things you believe in as a matter of personal faith are the exact same things I would also believe in. Who gave you the right to make that unfounded, ridiculous assumption? When I was still in elementary and high school, the one thing I remember clearly being taught was that “no special position/place is to be assigned to Mary. She is merely a vessel for Jesus. She is also human. We only worship God, not other humans.”
As a teenager, I always found it odd when Catholics prayed to “Mama Mary”, based on what I was taught in my religion. But I would never dream of ever going up to any Catholic and say, “You are wrong to pray to Mary, she is nothing special!”. That is what your faith professes and practices, and I will always respect that.
Unfortunately, you do not return the favor.
Instead, you feel it your “right” to tell me, and anyone else who doesn’t share your faith, to “follow our way, we are holding ‘the truth’!”.
You expect us to know who your saints are.
You expect us to know their birthdays.
You expect us to also pray the rosary.
You expect us to be silent when a priest says mass.
You expect us to follow your stance of viewing women as inferior to men.
You expect us to view gay people as abominations.
You expect us to hate the people your religion “allows” you to hate.
What arrogance.
This is exactly why I strongly support keeping the discussion of religion out of the public sphere. Matters of faith and religion are intensely private affairs, they are decisions that are based on personal beliefs.
I need to emphasize the word personal.
That is a decision you come to on your own. And if that is the case, you need to ackowledge the fact that each and every person is different. It is only right, therefore, to keep matters of faith to yourself.
Using your faith to claim some illusory mantle of moral superiority reeks to me of false entitlement and haughtiness. No one faith is “better” than another. (It always goes back to it being a personal choice. You choose what is best for you, and no one else.) It doesn’t matter if there are 100 million in one religion and just 2 million sharing 55 other faiths. Numbers do not give you the right to judge another person’s religion as being “inferior” to yours.
Back to this morning, I finished signing, then turned to the receptionist, and said: “File this, and file it in your brain that not everyone is a Catholic.”
Something that bears repeating in a country that assumes everyone is.
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Image from georgiehoon.multiply.com
I had fun reading the article. I remember spending my high school days in a Catholic institution and the admin expects a majority of the student population to attend Catholic rituals. Although I became an atheist on my fourth year in high school, the rituals we did back then were regal and solemn, so I went. i always discuss with my teachers and my classmates the very nature of Mary’s entitlement for veneration. It seems that the Catholics have this Marian devotion that to the trained eye would look like a cult. I remember my grandparents dragging me into a Marian shrine and kissing the mantle of the wooden doll. We had to wait for about half an hour under the harsh sun to enter a small upper room. I think that part of the ancestors’ belief in anitos was ingrained into the Marian devotion in the Philippines–that’s how my father explains it. But then I enjoy doing things with other Catholics. I attend some of their celebrations, especially our town fiesta. I do not mind them having their own way of living; I just don’t like it when their leaders force their beliefs to everyone.
It’s funny to think that a receptionist caused you to write this. ^_^
Trivia: Jesus never addressed Mary mother… just woman.
In my opinion being a catholic also has basis on the real role of Mama Mary as written in the Scriptures (the bible)..it is written in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew…a virgin named Mary shall bear a child…which is also in parallel with the Old testament…So Mary is the Mother of God…no question about that. However the dates like Sept 8 and Dec 8, Dec 25 are based on the long discussion and deliberation of early Christian Church…so it is not that accurate but it gives us Christians a change to remember the important dates and events which lead to our Salvation….We respect opinions but please be open minded also that all people are not perfect…if no one will also point out mistakes we wont change our views too…
Are you implying that because UP is a public school, it therefore teaches atheism? Have you even been to UP yourself? or should I jokingly say you’re a graduate of Assumption college.
Magandang isagot para mas masiraan siya ng bait, “Mama Mary? Sino yon?”
Get your facts straight before you make assumptions that all Catholics are arrogant people.
Catholics do not worship Mary and Catholics most certainly do not expect you to follow them.
Take a look at La Salle and Ateneo.
Are the students there being forced to adhere to Catholic beliefs and traditions? I think not.
Get your facts straight. You know what’s worst than arrogance? Stupidity.
They're required to take Catholic theology classes, regardless of their religion.
Get YOUR facts straight, genius.
That’s because they enrolled in a Catholic college. It wouldn’t be a Catholic school if they didn’t teach Catholic stuff there.
What do you want the priests there to teach then? Atheism?
Better study in UP then.
//What do you want the priests there to teach then? Atheism? //
Actually, they did. We had a very liberal Jesuit professor for one of our later philo classes.
And what is a rosary?
But sometimes it’s confusing. The way we adore Mary is almost like the way we worship God. Im just being honest here that Im confused.
> Using your faith to claim some illusory mantle of moral superiority reeks to me of false entitlement and haughtiness.
priceless .. good writing!!
> They see it as their “business” to meddle with someone who doesn’t share the same faith at all!
This applies to all theists .. not just catholics.
I agree with almost every point except for this one:
You expect us to be silent when a priest says mass.
I think this one is part of what you say as respecting how others practice or profess their faith. I agree that faith should not be imposed on anyone but it is another thing to be unmindful when others are professing/expressing their faith.
thanks so much for this. i am a catholic and yet i am offended by this kind of ignorance and arrogance, having been taught by my (very) catolico cerrado parents about religious tolerance and consideration very early on. monthly masses at company premises (and at company expense), daily rosaries during “rosary month” (and at company time, too!) and even altars at supposedly public offices are even more offensive. isn’t it about time we have a change of way of thinking and expressing our beliefs? its insensitive to those who believe otherwise.
From a friend in a non-Christian school:
Accounting Professor: "I'll give grades for whoever leads the prayer at the start of every class. I'll add it to 10% of your raw score, which is Good Morals and Proper Conduct."
Student: (raises hand) "But sir, I'm not a religious person."
Accounting Professor: (shouts) "Bakit? Sinong sinasamba mo? Si Hayden Kho?!?"
A week later, the student files a complaint and eventually hauls the professor to the Dean's Office. Professor is passed up for promotion to Higher Faculty.
believe me, this is so funny 😀
For all Catholics out there, I want to ask a question.
How did you find out that Mary's birthdate is Sept 8?
(I've always wondered about this)
A more interesting question will be, what happened to her after Jesus' supposed resurrection.
I am a Catholic, so I will answer this question:
a. It is not theologically correct to say that Sept. 8 is the birthdate of the Mary. September 8 is assigned by the Church as the date to commemorate the nativity of our Lady. It is to remain consistent with Dec 8 as the commemoration of her conception – so 9 months later she was born. But, nobody knows her actual birthdate. She was born long before the Gregorian calendar was invented.
b. It is not the teaching of the Catholic Church to assume that everyone is a Catholic. In fact, Nostra Aetate, the Church's teaching on interreligious dialogue calls for mutual respect. So, it is an unfortunate that there are some Catholics who still do this.
Just wondering, where did you get the December 8 as conception date?
Theologically correct? That must be the oxymoron of the day.
Actually, I am wondering if she was even born at all. Catholics also believe in the assumption of this lady they call their mama – that is, she was assumed, that is, in Catholic mumbo-jumbo was bodily taken into heaven. WTF? It gets weirder and weirder the more you think about what kind of BS Catholics believe.
I don't think it's arrogant for the woman to assume you're a practicing Catholic. You're Filipino, you live in the Philippines — there's a high probability that you would be a practicing Catholic who knew it was Mary's birthday or whatever. She simply thought you were part of the 80% of the population who would know such a fact.
If not arrogant, then I guess ignorant would be more appropriate.
And if that's true, then the church is still as effective as it was more than a hundred years ago.
Ignorance it is, or even naïveté. That's how I see such behavior. I always think that Pinoys have good intentions in most cases but their naïveté gets the better of them….
I agree. Majority will always oppress the minority, directly or indirectly. In this case indirectly because the Catholic faith is so embedded into our Filipino culture that "ordinary" Filipinos would mistakenly assume that you are following the same belief, out of naivete and ignorance. So as for us, free-thinking heretics and many other minorities, it is to be expected, but not acceptable.
Our job is to point out their naïveté as the author of the article did.
thanks for this!
Matthew 22:21
“Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
John 19:26
When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,”
"Separation of the Church and the State is inviolable." Peace!
God bless us on our ways as we pray "Our Father".
Look ma, someone's barking at the wrong tree! :))