Bahala na… Diyos na lang ang mahibalo! Roughly translated, it means, “Come what may! It’s up to God!” “Only God knows! He knows better what to do.” “God’s will be done.”
These are commonly resorted to by Filipinos, particularly Catholics, when facing difficult situations. There are either ways that this expression is viewed: a resignation that nothing else could be done, or a boost to one’s confidence after having done something.
Although both considers that God is always there for support, these expressions are coming from different kinds of people who may have experienced the same crisis but responded to it in different ways.
The latter kind of people illustrates optimism — making bahala na a form of religious or cultural mechanism to withstand trials in life. Incidentally, literature on Filipino cultural values always associate bahala na to pessimism or fatalism of some, which highlights their tendency to be dependent upon the government and charitable institutions during emergencies.
This is a prevailing view associated with the poor, which may not be actually true. The poor also struggle a lot but they have limited opportunities due to structural and personal barriers, and that is why they resort to the bahala na attitude. This indicates that they believe in divine intervention.
Actually, there are no economic distinctions in resorting to bahala na between the rich and the poor as faithful. The distinctions may be on its social construction. There are those among the faithful who believe there is a God who looks after them in time of crisis like the CoViD-19 pandemic. In this social construct, God is a caring and loving parent who always secures His children. Praying is a way to get God’s comforting attention and care. It is a gesture of faith in a powerful God.
But there are also those, perhaps equally faithful but with a different view about a loving God, who interpret crisis as a punishment to sinful people. They picture God as an angry parent who inflicts pain to teach a lesson to his children who may have misbehaved. And only repentance, not to sin again, is a way back to the arms of God. In this case, praying is an expression of reconciliation. It calls for some contrition or repentance, then obedience to the commandments of God.
No matter what constructs one has about bahala na, the point is that a deep faith in God is working out during the CoVid-19 pandemic whose end continues to be uncertain. Every faithful always expresses hope that God will allow this, too, to pass. The feeling makes one more confident to be able to escape viral infection or untimely death.
But could the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine, and the enforcement of curfew stop the expression of faith given the fact that social gatherings are prevented and physical distancing is required? The answer is “no”, and to be more concrete, I will focus the discussion among Catholics, being one myself. (I am well aware that Protestants and Muslims also have their own ways how not to allow the current situation limit their expression of faith.)
Actually, it has been standard practice of the Catholic Church to celebrate Sunday masses or the Holy Eucharist on live streaming and broadcast over radio and TV.
This time in CoViD, the live streaming is particularly intended for those who cannot be physically present in church due to old age or ailments, emergency work, hospital admission, or being on quarantine. Now, the virtual mass, digitally or electronically-aided, has becomes the norm in an abnormal situation where our physical participation is rendered impossible.
From the Metro Dumaguete area, the churches that hold virtual masses include St. Catherine de Alexandria Cathedral, the Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish, and the Divine Mercy Church in Dumaguete; the San Agustin Church in Bacong; and the St. Anthony de Padua Church in Sibulan. The Catholic churches in Bayawan, Bais, Tanjay and Dauin also have virtual masses.
Indeed, while in quarantine, the daily virtual masses have offered the faithful convenient time to participate and listen to inspirational messages from the words of God which are extremely needed at this time. The “spiritual communion” recited after the mass maintains its holiness even without the physical act of communion, which is the heart of the celebration. This is a relief among those worried they cannot physically celebrate the Life and Passion of Christ which starts today on Palm Sunday, and ends on Easter Sunday on April 12.
In both forms of masses, the Grace of God is gratuitously given in the celebration, but this is dependent upon the disposition of the receiver, according to Fr. Leo Alaras of the University of San Jose Recoletos in Cebu City. Therefore, what matters is how one makes sense of the virtual mass, and not our mere participation. Despite the cancellation of the many other spiritual preparations and activities of the Catholic Church this Lenten season — like the Way of the Cross, Visita Iglesia, and Community Confession — the virtual masses are also occasions that the faithful can reflect on the sacrifices of Jesus Christ.
Father Alaras also narrated about a domus ecclesia (church house) in the early centuries of Christianity that was originally intended to avoid arrest and persecutions by the Romans. The early Christians would go to a private house to celebrate a secret mass, which was an innovation in worship in times of uncertainty. There are archaeological supports to this claim.
During the CoViD-19 scare, this practice seems repeated in having masses in isolation; involving only the priest, lector, and a few choir members to avoid viral infection and in compliance with government regulations. The only difference is that the mass is digitally or electronically-transmitted so the faithful can virtually participate — but no longer in secret.
So while the medical, psychological, social, and economic interventions are made to address the physical and mental effects of CoViD-19, the spiritual needs are equally attended to by the church by adjusting or innovating some religious rituals and ceremonies through technological means. Participating in virtual masses while in quarantine, and listening to the messages of the sacrifices of Jesus Christ for humanity, actually reinforce the deeper significance of the need to stay home to prevent viral transmission.
In one of his homilies, Msgr. Julius Heruela of the St. Augustine Church of Bacong said that staying home is actually an act of sacrifice (expected of Catholics in the form of fasting) instead of going to work to earn for food. Correspondingly, sharing food with our less fortunate brothers is also another act of surrender to the will of God.
Come of think of it, what we are going through in this time of CoViD is perfectly timed with our spiritual reflections during this Lenten Season: the true meaning and relevance of our purpose-driven life, the importance of valuing the welfare of others, the power of being able to work well with others for a greater good, the Christian attitude in facing uncertainties, the Christian response to dealing with diverse and even difficult people, and the anointing of the spirit in being able to decipher the genuine public servant from the grandstanding politicos.
Indeed, this CoViD-19 pandemic cannot stop the faithful from celebrating this God-given life, as we draw nearer to God amid so much uncertainty.
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Author’s email: [email protected]