The bell has rung

Bells are often rung in church celebrations because they point to important events in the life of the Church. They are ‘awareness’ media, so to speak. Bells ringing in slow succession invite people to join the whole Church in praying for a dead Christian. Rapid ringing, on the other hand, invites people to join the whole Church in rejoicing with newly wed or christened brethren. Ringing during consecration announces the arrival of Jesus, the sacramental Lord, and alerts us of His most precious presence among us. Indeed, as one good priest said, bells are signs that the Church is alive.

But oftentimes the meanings of church bells are seldom understood, which is why they usually become ‘go signals’ for mechanical gestures rather than evocative symbols of authentic religious experience.

And while many Church members are unaware of the meanings of bells in the context of the liturgy, more perhaps are unaware of what bells ought to convey beyond liturgical life. For even if the Church may be perceived as alive because of meticulously prepared liturgy, this does not readily mean that the Church is pulsating with flesh and blood realities that bite not only a person’s conscience, but more importantly, the society’s consciousness.’

In these moments of moral, political and economic crisis, we should be alerted to the fact that bells -- it seems -- have not yet been significantly rung, nay audibly heard as a prophetic condemnation of socio-politico-economic evils such as multi-billion graft and corruption scams, jueteng, drugs, white slavery, 5/6, environmental destructions and dictatorship. As a Church, we examine ourselves: Have we exerted utmost effort to effectively carry out and sustain our prophetic role? Are our resolutions, pastoral letters and rallies enough? Have we renounced bankrupt structures and lifestyles that make the ‘haves’ richer and more luxurious, while the ‘have-not’ get poorer and more miserable? Are not these bankrupt structures and lifestyles some of the major factors that hinder the growth of a Basic Ecclesial Community (which, we believe, is one major solution to our crisis)? Answers to these questions (whoever gives the answer, be it the Magisterium, the theologian, the catechist or the simple farmer) must be scrutinized and weighed against the prevalence of evil and sin, especially the social ones -- the tree is judged according to its fruits.

In another viewpoint, we may also ask: Is it not the case that there are bells which cry against socio-politico-economic evils, but they simply land in the deaf ears and blank stares of indifferent, slumbering and complacent Christians? No matter, bells ought to be symbols which reflect flesh and blood realities. Accordingly, bells cannot unleash the full power of their symbolic capacity if they do not sing the cries of the poor and the oppressed who struggle each day to survive amidst factors of greed and injustice that push them even to intolerable levels of dehumanization. And while on this line of thought, it is good to remember that in certain contexts, justice-mercy-truth (the tripartite biblical concept which is the equivalent of the contemporary notion of social justice) constitutes the weightier matters of the law, and at times even weightier than worship (Cf. Mt. 9:13; 12:27; 23:23; Hos 6:6). In some sense, therefore, liturgical bells are less weighty than bells of activism. No wonder, Jesus had troubles with Jewish religious authorities because he preferred to promote life (and therefore social justice) than observe empty rituals (Cf. Mk 3:1-6).

Finally, we need to focus and work more on concrete realities than symbols. Symbols need not exist when reality is in place. Bells need not cry when we address real cries. For God, anyway, hears the cry of the poor and not the cry of bells. And how nice it will be when no one needs to cry because God has finally established His definitive Kingdom…with the Church’s effortful struggles to cooperate with God, of course.

Be that as it may, we make room for this post-script: For those who love bells and have made it their habit to live with bells ringing in their ears, bells may be sounded as symbols of jubilation in a society where God fully reigns. And so long as people hope, bells will ring. With strong conviction, commitment and authentic praxis, bells will ring differently until that time when all, in superlative jubilation, shall be with God and enjoy the blessings of total salvation in His Kingdom (that is, not only salvation from sin but also from any form of socio-politico-economic and ecological) evil…

…it is only then that the bell has truly rung…