Stopping by Pillars on a Sunny Noon

It was a sunny Thursday, the sun
shone brightly as the students helplessly continued the day while dealing with
the tropical heat and the complaining stomachs asking for lunch.

I was walking with my friends to
buy lunch when the PA in campus rang the bells signaling it was time to pray
the Angelus. As usual, everybody in
campus just stopped, as if hell has just frozen over.

We got caught, said my friend in the
local dialect. We just stood there until
some time around the middle of the prayer, something caught my eye. It was a woman, probably a student, who
walked on past by all the statues as if frozen by some unseen force. It was either she had guts, or she was on a
hurry caused by grave reasons. Nonetheless, she continued to walk until she got through the exit,
attracting attention from all the students she passed by who could not help but
stare.

It is a free country. We can do what we want, as long as we don’t break
the law. Freedom to practice religion is
one of the very basic rights that most of the people around the world have.

But for those who do stop in their
tracks when the PA starts reciting the prayer, are you sure that you’re
stopping for the right reason? Are we
stopping for the right reasons? Do we
stop to pray, or just because everybody else is doing it?  Is this the culture or counterculture that we
need in the world today?