Judgement and intolerance aren't bad, nor they aren't good by themselves. Both are just mere actions and reactions. The targeted subject is what makes it either right or wrong. Since it's the Easter week, I am sharing my thoughts about tolerance and judgement towards our own Christian brethren.
We all had different journeys towards where we are now. Speaking about faith, many of us went through our weakest and coldest days. And those strong in faith are the ones expected to guide those who are weak. But the problem is identifying the weak. Most of us won't know or even deny it when we are weak in faith. We might even think that what we're doing are just fine. And maybe, they are indeed "just fine". Not wrong, but there are a lot of things that could be done to improve.
Fraternal correction must be done as it should be, fraternal. Though in reality, if we try to call out all that we see as not proper with everyone's practice towards the faith, we'll end up doing only just that. And there are also things that does not really need correction but a follow up and appreciation about what is good in what they do.
"Alay Lakad" and "Visita Iglesia" are two of the most popular activities during the holy week especially among the young ones. We hear a lot of reminders about not to make this just a "barkada gimik" to the point of being too hard on those who do it. Rather than being preachy, maybe we can choose to befriend some of them and when the opportunity to teach arise, we can provide a piece of our mind talking about the sacredness and real meaning of these activities. Young people love this kind of information as they are the curious ones. You might be surprised with their reactions when you do that.
Easter egg hunt is for the kids. This is new as it was recently adapted from the western culture by this generation. We can hear a lot of traditionalist whining about this and I could understand them fully. It was also my first reaction when it was initially proposed at our village. But upon learning the complete program which included a Holy Mass, a bible story reading about the resurrection then the Easter egg hunt as the last part, I thought that it's actually a great idea . This will get the whole family involved and will definitely bring the message to everyone especially the kids.
There are families that take their chances on these dates to have a vacation. It is definitely not a good practice to start with as sometimes, people forget the true meaning of the Holy Days. I myself would try to avoid doing it. It is avoidable. But for those who do it, they can still make their holiday silent, sacred and holy and the best thing about it is that their family is together.
We may be a catholic country for many centuries but to say that we are a model nation in practice, we still got a long way to go. Remember that all of these practices and traditions in one way or another lead us to being better followers of Christ. Individually, let's keep in mind that we all have a blank space to fill towards faith. And let's use this thought upon seeing all these "incomplete" acts of our brothers and sisters to try looking at things more positively. Rather than feeling disdained and calling them all out, appreciate them for a moment. Be thankful that no matter how secular this world and how busy most people become, the season still has an integral part of their schedule and while at that, let's try to make it more meaningful for someone.
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