Cha-cha, con-ass, and Thanksgiving

 Lots of people watch Boy Abunda’s show “Private Conversations on ANC, executive-produced by Bobby Pilares whom ANC got after his stint in a news organization in the U.S. and who has an MA from Fordham University tucked under his belt; anyway; lots of people watch that show so I feel compelled to just post something to ask for clarification from people more learned in theology than I am. Their guest, Usec Elena Bautista (hope I got that right), former chair of the LTFRB, on the question of what she thought of the Thanksgiving Mass to be officiated by bishops from the CBCP today at the Luneta Grandstand, for which Malacanang had mobilized 16,000 policemen (can you imagine what 16,000 looks like; it’s half of the Malacanang siege during Edsa Dos estimated at 30,000, the break-away group) said that she was very religious, a devout Catholic, and she went to mass regularly, but she didn’t like the CBCP Thanksgiving Mass because she said “How can they call it a Thanksgiving Mass when the people they are thanking have not been invited?” (referring to PGMA who had sent feelers to the CBCP that she would like to attend but the CBCP spokesperson said that they might not be able to control the “exuberance” of the crowd, etc.).      

           So, to repeat, she said “How can they call it a Thanksgiving Mass when the people that they are thanking have not been invited?”      

          I’m no theologian, help me out here, but based on my general practice, we sponsor and hold special Thanksgiving Masses to thank, lemme see…. God; isn’t that why we have a Thanksgiving Mass? When our prayers are answered, well, when they are answered in a way that we prayed for, we thank…God. When we receive a big blessing, we thank…God. As far as I know, we don’t thank Gloria for the few-and-far-between blessings we get; we don’t thank Gloria whenever our prayers are answered; we don’t thank Gloria if by dint of hard work we are able to get by the day.        

         (Isn’t that why we have the expression, “thank God”?)      

          I don’t know, I could be wrong, I don’t go around advertising and professing my faith it’s personal, she and Gloria are probably holier than i am they have halos around their heads, I go to the chapel and pray when everybody has left i’m the last there, and I’m probably not  as devout a Catholic as she and Gloria profess to be, I could be wrong here so, somebody help, are we going to Luneta to the Thanksgiving Mass to thank….. President Gloria and her party members in Kampi and Lakas like JDV for backing off Cha-cha?