Collective Power

Someone asked me: What's the purpose of going to Church, when you can just pray on your own at home?

I answered: Collective power. And I mean "power" in the supernatural sense, that mystical energy that you feel through the air.

One person protesting the government by shouting through a megaphone in the streets will not be quite persuasive enough. Two hundred thousand people can overthrow a president.

One person listening to the Eraserheads on his iPod might evoke nostalgia. Thirty thousand fans singing together can bring tears to the eyes.

One person praying at home is one thing. Hearing Mass in Quiapo Church is a different thing altogether.

Have you even seen the wall on the east side of the church? It has the names of the parish priests since 1582. That's anno domini fifteen hundred and eighty-two. The names are carved in stone, and it's so old you can barely read the letters (so it's not true that what is written in stone is permanent).

So it all boils down to this: more people, more energy; more energy, more power. The universe is one big ball of energy. It's just a matter of redirecting it.