Easter Reflection

This post is available in bahasa Indonesia as well.

I have just come back from Easter Vigil mass. The choir was awesome and whole mass was just amazing. That's not the point of Easter though.

In this year's Easter, I reflect on 2 things:

1. Why do I attend mass every week?

A catholic mass usually is a 1-hour mass, and the format is always the same every time. So, we can say that the only thing that varies from one mass with the other is the content of the homily (sermon).

So, sometimes I ask myself, why should I bother to attend mass, and not just reading bible at home, or listening to some sermon in youtube or such?

I know this is not the most ideal answer, but I come to a reflection like this.
There's a story when a rich landlord has 2 children. Unlike other landlord's children who usually can enjoy their childhood in a luxurious lifestyle, those 2 children have to work hard in the landlord's corn field every single day. When his neighbours asked him, why he can be so cruel with his children, because he definitely doesn't need the corn that much. He answered... "Friend, I am not raising corn. I am raising children." He doesn't really need the corn, but he still does the process so as to educate the children the importance of hardwork, resilience, etc.

Same with Sunday mass, God wants us to be faithful. God wants us to be very clear with our priority. He wants to be the number one in our life. Every Sunday morning, we can choose to laze around. We can choose to do unfinished office work. However, God wants us to choose the most important of all, to unite ourselves with our creator, God. If we can't even have discipline to attend 1-hour mass every Sunday, I don't think we can we trusted with bigger responsibilities.


2. Baptism

I don't have privilege to be born in a Catholic family. So, I get my catholic education from school, and by choice, decided to be baptized when I was 13. Sometimes I envy my friends who can go to church every Sunday with their whole family, something that I have never experienced, even on the day when I was baptized (none of my parents attended my baptism).

In the mass I attended just now, I saw some parents who were very happy to see their children to be baptized. I can see the joy in their eyes.

I pray to God everyday that my parents can be baptized before they die. I long to the day when I smile while congratulating my mom and dad "Mom, Dad, congratz for the baptism. God bless you." I have faith that day will come.

Happy Easter everyone!! I pray that this year's Easter can be a great blessing to all of you. God bless you always.