Day 5: Free to Worship

I have a lot of things to be thankful for--my health, the roof above my head, I have a bed where I can rest, I have my family, I have friends, I have close friends, I have a lot of friends, I have a spiritual communities,  relationships are working, the weather is so good, I have work and I have something to eat.  I am thankful!   But I am especially grateful because in this place where I am now, I am free to worship.  

Last Kerygma Conference, Ms. Rissa Kawpeng shared about how Christians in some part of the world have to be discreet of their Christian faith.  Others have to hide in their closets just to be able to sing worship songs.   I also met someone after attending a catechism  class and  she told us how they manage to have a Catholic prayer meeting in a middle east country.  It goes like this, somebody will pick them up at a certain place and at a certain house, secretly they will have their prayer meeting.   They are lucky if a priest will be there to celebrate Mass.  The schedule was unknown. Even a romantic date has to be cancelled if a church service will be celebrated.  

Communal worship is the main reason why I attended prayer meetings before.  It is where people sing worship songs together and praise the Lord.  For me, in this kind of worship, the presence of the Lord is so strong.   I really love to sing even though I was not bestowed with a golden voice hahahahaha.  I still love communal worship so much but now I have lots of reasons to attend prayer meetings.  Through these gatherings, I also learned deeper about my Catholic faith.   

When I started attending prayer meetings, I rarely go to Mass.   However, when I learned through the services I attended to that the Mass is the highest form of worship I started to appreciate and love it.  Now, I go to mass as often as I can.  The mass is the highest form of worship because as Catholics, we believe that Christ's real presence is there.  He is the ultimate sacrifice, the spotless lamb, being offered in each and every Eucharist celebrated for the atonement of our sins.

I cannot imagine how will I be if I cannot freely access to these kind of activities. I am so grateful for where I am now because I am free to express my faith and  I am free to worship.   Thank You Lord!