Jokes During Homily, Improper Attires And Food And Drinks

Cracking jokes during homily,
telling funny anecdotes
or remembering hilarious experiences
by priests during Homily
taint the essence of a Holy Mass
and consequently making it Holy no more.​

First Holy Mass on Sunday February 18, 2018 at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu, Philippines

​People will be laughing 
as if they were entertained 
inside a comedy bar.
It's no good going to mass
where you feel you are inside a park
or some public place
where you can just sit around
and have fun.
The church should always 
and forever be a Holy Place 
for people to pray 
and pour out all their sentiments
to the Almighty.
Almost everyday that I attend the Holy Mass
homilies had some funny lines among them
making people laugh
when they should be in utmost quiet and silence,
maintaining the atmosphere in complete serenity.
And the only thing you hear 
are the whispering prayers,
the piano or the organ
and the songs being sung.
I don't know if jokes are an essential part
but what I do know is
it's not appropriate inside the church.
When inside the church,
I want to feel all the time
the quiet and silence of the whole place
so I can easily go into some kind of trance
that will make me feel very close to God
as if God Himself is seated 
directly in front of me.
Then I could concentrate on how to speak
or how to properly communicate to God
with all reverence and humility.
Everything will be serious and earnest
and I could also feel God
listening to all my intent,
my praise and worship,
my petitions and my thanksgiving.
But if I'm only laughing
to the jokes of the priests,
then I would never feel 
I deserve what I'm asking God for.
I will feel all my prayers
will just go past the clouds
and into the vastness of space
without heading towards Heaven
where God Almighty is.

​​Some more things bothered me much
many times inside the church.
People were wearing shorts, 
short skirts and slippers
like they were just staying home.
Others had revealing or backless tops
and plunging necklines
that were not easy to just let them pass.
Those attires are improper in a Holy Place
but still many wore them.
Rules are posted in some walls
about the proper dress code
but obviously ignored. 
Those rules are not strictly enforced. 
I also saw some people and children
bringing in food and drinks,
and this too should not be allowed.
The only food you should consume 
inside the church 
is the very word of God,
and if you can't resist the hunger and thirst,
you can always go out 
and consume all you want
but never inside the church.

Taho and coffee are two foods often consumed inside the church.

As a Catholic devotee for many years,
the First Holy Mass is my ideal
for all time to come.
It makes me start my day 
earlier than the sun
making sure I'm putting God
the very first everyday of my life.
The Holy Communion or Holy Eucharist
has always been the first food
to enter my stomach
before any food or water.
My being a devotee 
made me realize 
how important the whole Holy Mass is,
how serious homily should be 
(no jokes, nothing funny whatsoever),
how important to dress properly 
and refrain from munching anything
and how important to behave properly
inside the church
with no other thoughts in mind
but concentrate on the words of God.
Respect, reverence and humility always.

Right after the first Holy Mass, people stood at the center of the Pilgrim center of the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu, Philippines on February 18, 2018 waiting for the Lay Ministers and the Priest to bless them with Holy Water.