how true...

i went for lunchtime mass today on a whim. well, not really a whim, i sorta planned it yesterday. but anyhow, it's not a common occurence altho i'm trying to make it one.

i'm lucky to have a church 2 blocks away from my office and it's one of those old stately buildings. no a/c, but very rustic with loads of atmosphere.

i remember the very first mass i ever attended was with kale in Stanford in Tressider Union. i remember thinking the homily was really quite apt and mentioned as much to kale as we walked out. and i'll always remember what he said. he said that that's the awesome thing about church, the homilies always speak to you in your own little way - if there's something you need to hear, or something you should hear. the same homily can mean a vast number of things to the different people gathered to hear it, but each takes something away from it.

that was how it was today. the priest made a good point. he said that he sees many of the people there at mass everyday. he then asked "what's your motive for coming to mass? is it to come and be blessed so your business will be successful?" he said that it should be to ask God to show you how to love Him more.

it touched me because to a certain extent, he was right. i went to mass today cos i wanted to seek comfort and i wanted to be blessed. i also wanted to seek atonement (sorta) for putting other things before church. and so his comment hit home.

it reinforced what Becky told me when i called her a few weeks ago to say that i was beginning to lose faith in mass cos i felt i wasn't getting anything out of it.. she advised me not to look at it as a time where i get something out of church, but as a time that i set aside for God. a time that i give back to God. and that resonated with the homily today.

so yeah, didn't mean to get all preachy on this blog. but eh, i was pretty touched, so i thought i'd share. i'll probably still gripe about something today to even things out. haha.