My problem with "My Jesus"

Jesus is a lot more than the God-made-man and the Redeemer for most of His followers. By taking a human form, Jesus encourages us to have a personal relationship with Him - something we don't quite able to do with God the Father or the Holy Spirit. "My Jesus" is a term we are very much comfortable with especially in times of sorrows and troubles. Having an understanding that Jesus is with us in our sufferings and sorrows help us to cope with it better. 

The Fear of Losing

King Herod could be a perfect icon for fear. It would be an understatement to say that he ruled Israel and Judea with an iron fist - an iron heart would be more appropriate. If you look for the cause for him to spread fear among everybody associated, the reasoning will bring you back to where you started - fear. In fear Herod kept everybody under fear to maintain his power and possessions, and to achieve more. This fear compelled him to murder one of his wives, one brother, several brother-in-laws, and three of his sons. This fear also enabled him to command his soldiers to slaughter all kids two years and younger in and around Bethlehem. The Church today remembers those innocent lives lost as the Feast of the Holy Innocents - the first martyrs in the name of Christ. 

The man who defined God!

The Bible, in an effort to help us better understand God, personifies Him. So we see many sides of His persona throughout the Bible - the Creator, the Provider, the Protector, the Liberator, the Healer, the Lover, the Punisher, the Redeemer, and so on. In line with the Bible, the Catholic church also profess the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity, which is defined as three persons - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit- in one God. But what is God, what is it that makes God who He is?

The day after Christmas

A day after celebrating the birth of Prince of Peace, the Church today commemorates the martyrdom of St. Stephen. It immediately establishes the connection between Bethlehem and Calvary - the stark realities of life: birth, happiness, sufferings, and death. I must say that it is also a good way of remembering Jesus' words, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword" (Matthew 10:34). A rather controversial statement coming from the Incarnation of an all-loving God. But 2000 years removed from when He said it, we should now know what it meant. And don't assume He was prophesying about many wars and atrocities that happened in the name of Jesus - that was not God, that was just arrogant humans taking up God's name for their own benefit. 

Finally on Facebook and Twitter

One of New Year resolution is to have a presence in social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. 

You can find me on Facebook by following this link here

My Twitter handle is @EmmanuelMJoseph

So please send me some friend requests and I promise to keep you updated with what matters the most - love of God.

Pope's homily: Find time for God in our daily hustle

Last week I was in a state of despair when I wrote Rejecting Jesus. And I knew right away that it was the Holy Spirit showing me the cause of my sorrow - I put too much emphasis on the creation, but not enough on the Creator. The Pope during his homily on Christmas Eve emphasized the same thing, but in a much eloquent way than I did or I ever could. Here  is the homily of Pope Benedict XVI:

The Jesus in me

During the dramatic encounter with Saul while on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians, Jesus asked: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" (Acts 9:4). For the next three days, Saul didn't eat or drink as he was contemplating the question. It's been said by many Bible commentators that what bothered Saul was the "me" part of Jesus' question. Saul didn't understand how he persecuted Jesus - he couldn't "see" how exactly Jesus got hurt during his murderous actions against the early Christians. Then
following instructions from the Lord, Ananias came to see Saul. Laying his hands on Saul, Ananias said, "The Lord has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 9:17). The Holy Spirit that came upon Saul also converted him to Paul. Saul was on a journey to destroy the New Testament. In answering Jesus' question of "why are you persecuting me?", St. Paul added fourteen books to the New Testament. 

The Truth behind Joseph's 'agony' and Mary's 'pain'

Here is a familiar scene from the Nativity: It is the eve of Jesus' birth, and Joseph and Mary just arrived in Bethlehem. Mary is in the early stages of labor pain and Joseph is desperately knocking on every door in search of boarding. The Redeemer of the world is about to arrive and there is no room for Him in a world He has created! But is that what really happened at the eve of Jesus' birth, or is it just another Hollywood's version of what happened? 

O Come Emmanuel

Christmas without Christ

I stayed away from blogging for a couple of days to prepare a talk for the Faith Forum discussion at our Church. I must say that I worked really hard for it, picked apart the hard language of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and came up with a talk about the mystery behind the simple and inglorious birth of Jesus. Then came the disappointing part - I had three people in attendance to listen to the talk! It turned out people were too busy to come to church an hour early because all of them were busy getting ready for Christmas. Some even suggested that it was really not a good idea to schedule a talk a day before Christmas - even though the talk was about Jesus' birth. I am sorry if I sound bitter, but am I the only fool to see the irony here? We are too busy preparing for the birth of our Savior, but what about the Savior who is already here?

Rejecting Jesus during Christmas

A billboard from American Atheists at
Times Square, NY

Many of us go into the Christmas season with lot of expectations - it is supposed to be a joyous time of the year, a time for family, a time to share gifts, a time to slow down and listen to the holiday music playing nonstop on the radio. But I don't feel all too happy this time of the year - things just didn't pan out the way I was hoping. I feel rejected during one of the happiest time of the year. I hope and pray that I am the only one who feels this way, but I know I am not. 

For most of us, Christmas is a time when we are anxious, frustrated and desperate. We spend months planning and making lists of things to do during Christmas. We park a mile away from the mall and fight the crowd to get around the stores, only to find out that half of the stuff on our shopping list is out of stock. We wait on an endless line to pay for the useless stuff we bought as gifts only to face the smirk of a cashier who would inform us in a less than sympathetic way that our credit card has been declined.

The way HE looks at us

So here is a fantasy with some reality mixed in: Let's say God sits in front of a giant screen all day. On that screen, everything everybody thinks and does appears instantly. HE watches everything, nothing is hidden. Now comes the fantasy part - you won some reality show on TV, and as the winner you get to spend an entire day with God. You will be sitting next to Him, drinking Kool-aid and watching the world. It will be a chance to look at people like God does, "to explore the mind and test the heart" (Jeremiah 17:10a).

There will be blood

A school, especially an elementary school, would easily be considered as a safe haven for kids. It is an essential place in the development of any kid - a place where we learn to adapt to our life, with the help of grown ups. A classroom is also a place where kids naturally feel  safe. A nation is in pain and the world shocked upon hearing about a coldblooded killer who trespassed into the safety zone of kids only to shoot them point blank one after the other. We are outraged about the senselessness and insanity associated with the incident. We can feel our stomach churn while looking at the pictures of the innocent lives that were taken away for no apparent reasons. Without taking anything away from the pain and sufferings of that community, I must ask, "Are we truly upset and outraged about the murder of the most defenseless of our citizens in a place where they should be most protected?"

The Question of God and Tragedies

As the world prepares for the arrival the Prince of Peace, a heartbreaking and unforgettable tragedy beset the town of Newtown, Connecticut on Friday December 14th. 20 year-old Adam Lanza went on a shooting spree that left 20 children and 8 adults, including himself and his mother, dead. Authorities are desperately seeking a reason for Lanza's actions, in hopes of bringing some sort of closure to those who are involved. In the coming days, I am sure the news media will be at it full time trying to dissect everybody involved - the shooter, the victims, and their families. We will hear about heroes and how they helped to prevent a much bigger tragedy from occurring. Of course, we will also get to hear about the culprit - everything from his Facebook account to a possible history of mental illness. Unfortunately, something also tells me that we might also hear from people who looks squarely on TV cameras and utter in disbelief: "How could God allow this to happen?". 

I failed to see the "Light" in Lucy

On Wednesday of this week I tried to write a new article only to realize that I am running on empty - I had nothing to write about. That never happened before since I started blogging. So I decided to wait it out and did my usual readings hoping to get a spark. But nothing. Could it be that I have done or wrote something horrible that God deemed me not worthy to write anymore, the doubter in me began to poke its ugly head by the evening. I usually resort to praying when the doubter shows up since I don't know how else to combat him. Then I had an inspiration to write about "light". And it made sense because we are in the Advent season, the Season of light. So I did that last article "Let there be light". But I felt something missing from that article, as if that's not what I was suppose to write. But I didn't know what else to write about light, so I left it alone.

Let There be Light

Book of Genesis says that in the beginning, when God created the universe, it was darkness everywhere and there was no form or shape to be found anywhere. "Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light" (1:3). Thus the story of creation. There are too many arguments for and against the Biblical narration of creation. But that's not what I want to talk about today - I just want to talk about light.

Miracle: Performed in a Local Dialect

Depiction of Eternal Father with Jesus to the right
painting Our Lady of Guadalupe

"Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak  to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her inequity is pardoned" (Isaiah 40:1,2). These words of God is often forgotten by the people who carry out the task of spreading the gospel all over the world. People are either intimidated into religion by words such as hell and eternal damnation, or lured into it with a promise of freedom from poverty. Evangelists, when blinded by the urge to follow the instructions of the LORD, fail to see the true reason behind evangelization - to give comfort to the suffering through the word of God, and to open doors to the endless love of the forgiving Creator. 

The Door Opening

Here is an excellent blog on Immaculate Conception, written by Rebecca Hamilton of Public Catholic: Immaculate Conception: The Door Opening

P.S. Both domain names www.emmanueljoseph.com and emmanueljoseph.com are working now. 

Don't get stuck in the island

'Life of Pi' is one of those rare films that makes you think. Though a commercial Hollywood movie, it is rich in philosophy with strong theological undercurrents. The whole movie is based around a boy named Pi Patel and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, and their struggle to survive following a shipwreck. However, when I left the theater another character from the movie had taken me over - an unusually different character than the ones we are used to. And that also will explain how 'Life of Pi' found its place in a blog that is dedicated primarily to faith in God (or the lack of it).

You could see her in His smiles

One of the arguments against Mother Mary is her lack of presence in the Bible, that she only had a minimal role once Jesus grew up and started His public ministry. Some would even claim that Jesus didn't give her much attention either as evident from the gospel of Matthew: "Someone told him, 'Your mother and brothers are standing outside, asking to speak to you.' But he said in reply to the one who told him, 'Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?'" (12:47,48). What we often doesn't hear is what Jesus said afterwards. He said, "For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Matthew 12:50). And that's what Mary did - she bowed her head and said "May it be done to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). Jesus never abandoned His mother. In fact He had so much love and respect for her, and her influence can be found in many of Jesus' actions. 

The Mystery of "Immaculata"

The following are excerpts from a well written article from the blog Canterbury Tales by Taylor R. Marshal about the Immaculate Conception: 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church beautifully states the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, that is, that Mary was herself conceived without original sin:

Mother of God

St. Mary's Church, Kuravilangad
My hometown church

As a cradle catholic growing up in a town filled with devout catholics and with a church dedicated to the name of the Holy Virgin, I had no problem assuming that everything about the Blessed Mother was a no-brainer. Mary is the mother of God and she deserves to be respected. As far as I knew, nobody had any problems with the Divine Motherhood, Perpetual Virginity, the Immaculate Conception, or the Assumption - the Marian dogmas. I have seen people regardless of their religious beliefs coming to my hometown church to pray to Mary. And that's right - I grew up praying to Mary, so did every other person I knew (I will get to this at a later time) . As I grow older and as my knowledge of the world expanded, Mary became a problem. I came to face some questions about the Holy Mother and I was at a total loss for answers. And this was totally unexpected. I began hearing things like catholics got it all wrong about Mary, and Marian worship is nothing more than goddess worship. I had no answers for such harsh accusations against the Holy Mother I grew up loving. It was easier for me to just walk away from Mary rather than doing the hard work of learning about her and defend my faith. 

What is the Truth?

In the gospel of St. John during His trial, Pilate asked Jesus, "What is the truth?". There is no mention of Jesus answering this question. This has confused me a lot over time. Just before Pilate asked the question, Jesus told him that He came to the world to testify to the truth. So why did Jesus say nothing when He was given the opportunity to do so?


Fast forward two thousand years, and we see that things has changed a good bit. Nowadays we only get to hear about the truth. Truth is everywhere and everybody is in favor of the truth. Everybody claims to know the truth - the faithful, the atheist, the pro-choice, the pro-life, the politician, the lifestyle guru, the scientist, the wealthy and the homeless. Yet the world we live in is divided in the name of the truth. So what is the truth? Is there such a thing called the absolute truth? 

A Few Small Changes

Just wanted to go over a few changes you might notice here. First of all, I have truncated the posts on the main page to help the page load faster. Just click on the "Read more" link and you will be taken to the entire article. There is also a comment box on the bottom of each article, please feel free to comment.

Another less noticeable change is the web address, I have changed it to www.emmanueljoseph.com  
I think I have successfully done everything per instructions so that you will be automatically redirected even if you type in the old address, awalkwithmary.blogspot.com

If you suggest this blog to somebody else (and please do), then remember to tell them to use 'www' before typing 'emmanueljoseph.com'. I still haven't figured out how to link it without the 'www', however I am working on it. If any of you experts out there, then please tell me how to do it in a language meant for dummies. 

Again thank you for reading the blog. It is truly a humbling feeling to know that you have found time and cared enough to read my blog.

Wait Santa, I am Not Ready

The Jesse Tree (Jesse is the father of King David)
A depiction of genealogy of Christ

December is here and it is Christmas time! For most of us December is a month of festivities and happiness. I can't think about any other celebration that has a universal appeal like Christmas does. People regardless of their faith, in some form, celebrate Christmas. It could be a couple of lights outside their house; it could be taking advantage of the promotions of the season and buying something new; it could be making a charitable donation by tossing couple of dollars into a Salvation Army bucket. Knowingly or unknowingly, we all participate in the spirit of Christmas, it is hard not to. And we should, all of us should regardless of our beliefs and religion. But is that enough for those who call themselves Christians? Should Christians be satisfied with Christmas trees, lights and decorations along with Santa Claus and Christmas carols, just like our Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or atheist neighbors? Do we need to do anything different during Christmas season to distinguish ourselves as Christians, followers of Christ?

The Catholic church celebrate the season of Advent which extends four Sundays before Christmas. It is a time of preparation . Advent means "to come to", and it refers to the coming of Christ.