Douglas Hyde, a statesman, a once dedicated Communist and former editor of Britain’s communist paper, was converted to Catholicism. But prior to that, he felt there was something blocking his desire.

Relating this experience in his book titled “I Believed,” he wrote:

One day as he was going to work in London, he saw a sign which read, “St. Etheldreda’s Catholic Church.” He decided to get off the train and enter.

He sat in the last pew, wondering what strange power had brought him there.

He saw a teenage girl going straight to a statue of Mary. As he passed, Hyde noticed the troubled look on her face. The girl knelt at Mary’s feet for a long time. Then she got up and left the church. As she did, Hyde noticed that her troubled look was gone. She was totally at peace.

Hyde decided to do what she had done. He recalled, saying: “I heard myself mumbling something which seemed inappropriate. But it did not matter. I knew my search was at end.”

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The 32nd gospel of Sunday marks the dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran. In the gospel, our Lord, in a stance rarely seen of him, is fuming mad. He drove sheep and oxen out and overturned the money changers’ tables,” and ordered, “Stop turning my Father’s house into a market place (Jn 2,16).

The church is the house of Jesus’ Father, a place to commune with God and Mother Mary, like what Douglas Hyde experienced in the above story. This needs stressing because there’s so much disrespect and irreverence happening in our churches today.

For instance, not a few take advantage of the quiet and solitude in churches by taking a nap, reading or reviewing class subjects, or making calls on the cell phone.

Others go to the church, preferably up the choir loft, for boy and girlfriend to meet. Some people use the church and surroundings as places for doing business. What’s worst is brazen robbers break in and steal.

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Mother of all the churches

What's so significant about the Basilica of St. John Lateran?

St. Peter is the most popular church among Catholics, but the “head and mother” of all churches is St. John Lateran. The main reason is because St. John Lateran is the official church of the Pope, as bishop of Rome.

The Basilica of St. John Lateran is not just a building but a “symbol” of the head of Catholicism. As Catholics, we ought to show loyalty and solidarity to the head.

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Laugh one another. A small boy is praying beside his mother in church: “Lord, bigyan mo ako ng cheeseburger, French fries, apple pie, strawberry shake, diet coke…”

Priest passing by, said: “Iho, nanalangin ka ba o nag-oorder sa Diyos?” (Son, are you praying or ordering God?).

“Don’t leave your bag unattended. Some churchgoers might think it’s the answer to their prayers!”

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Help seminarians. One benefactor wrote to me: “I’m not very rich but I don’t wait till I become one. With the little we have, I should give my share in the work of God.”

Share an amount or sponsor a seminarian's schooling through our Adopt-A-Seminarian scholarship program. Seminarians are very important in the Church. Without them, we cannot have priests, bishops, and Popes.

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