God is With Us: But, Are We Listening?

Looking at the insurmountable pain and sufferings that weighs down humanity all over the world, sometimes it is hard to understand that He is Emmanuel- God is with us. For a long time in my life I was a believer of the indifferent god - the one who merely watches everything from the sidelines. If God is with us here, then why can't he say something when I am in trouble, in pain, in despair? I read Diane McKelva's post Fear Not: Angels We have Heard on High about how a mysterious woman warned her about what lies ahead and how to react to it. I also thought about a similar experience my father had while he was going through cancer treatment, and though those mysterious voices didn't immediately solve their problems, it did help them persevere and eventually succeed. 

Mother of Christ

The word "Christ" is the English transliteration of the Greek word"Khristos", and it has the same meaning as the word "Messiah" which came from the Hebrew word "Mashíach". Both words essentially mean the "the anointed one" or "the chosen one". The Jews were expecting the coming of "the anointed one" who would deliver them from the oppressions of all their enemies and establish an earthly kingdom, based on many prophesies found in the Old Testaments. Collectively, these prophecies were referred to as Messianic prophecies. The prophesies for coming of the Messiah was fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus is called "Jesus Christ" because He is the one chosen by God and anointed by Him to save His people. Mary, being the mother of Jesus, thus also known as Mother of Christ.

Holy Virgin of Virgins

One of the well known and most revered titles of Our Lady is the Virgin. She is the Virgin Mother - a true paradox and a logical impossibility that prompted the teenage peasant girl from Palestine to ask, "How can this be, since I know not man?". At Annunciation, the angel replied "The Holy Spirit will come upon you". Her fiancé, Joseph, had the same doubt and was thinking about secretly leaving her. But an angel told him in a dream, "That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit". So today people all over the world lovingly call Mary - the Virgin Mother. And every time she is called the Virgin, people are praising God for the magnificent gift He bestowed upon humanity - His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. 

Causing Scandal

Saint Martin of Tours was born in the fourth century to pagan parents in Sabaria, comprising parts of modern day Yugoslavia and Hungary. His father was an officer in the Roman army. His family moved to Pavia in Italy when he was still a child. And there the boy first learned of Christianity, felt drawn to it, and became a catechumen. Afraid of the reaction from his parents and also of the largely pagan community, Martin kept his love of Christ hidden. Following his dad's footsteps, young Martin joined the Roman army at the age of fifteen. He was stationed in Gaul during a winter season. One day while riding into the city, he noticed a beggar near the city gates. The poor man was shivering with cold and had turned almost blue. Martin had no money to give him, but had a very heavy woolen cloak to keep himself warm. So he divided the cloak in two pieces, gave one half to the beggar, and barely wrapped himself with the other half. This kind act by the young man immediately caused a big scandal among his peers and the town folks. They realized Martin was a Christian.

Holy Mother of God

Christians believe that God is the creator of all, and that He has no beginning or end. So, in that sense, calling Mary the Mother of God is confusing. We can understand this salutation better by looking the Greek word for Mother of God, Theotokos. Literally speaking Theotokos means "God-bearer". So, Mother of God is not intended to be understood as referring to Mary as the Mother of God from eternity, but she is the Mother of God Incarnate. Mary carried Jesus in her womb and attributed towards His genetic makeup. That makes Mary, without any doubt, the mother of Jesus. Since Jesus is God Himself, calling Mary as the Mother of God should also make sense. Unfortunately though, many of the Protestant Christian denominations refuse to accept Mary as the Mother of God. And this has nothing to do with Mary, but everything has to do with the nature of Jesus.

The Holy Name of Mary

The Litany of Blessed Virgin Mary, as we know it today, was first prayed at the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto in Italy, where its usage was recorded as early as 1558. At the time, there were also many other litanies in existence throughout the world. In 1587, Pope Sixtus V approved the Litany of Loreto for the faithful use by the Church and suppressed all the other Marian litanies. The Litany of Loreto contains many titles used formally and informally for Mary, and it set before us Mary's exalted privileges, her holiness of life, her amiability and power, her motherly spirit and queenly majesty. I hardly ever paid any attention to any of these titles in the Litany while praying the Rosary, and often mumbled "Pray for us" without ever thinking who is it that actually praying for us. So it is certainly a good idea to examine each one of these titles to learn and meditate more about its origins, their relationship to the Scriptures, and more importantly, how it is connected to Jesus and points us to the kingdom of God.

Power of Prayer - A Testimony

A few weeks ago, as I was getting ready to attend a retreat led by a very gifted priest, I sent out a message on my Facebook account asking friends to make their prayer requests so that I could pray for them. Given I do not have many friends on Facebook, I was still saddened by the response I got for my request - I received three requests. Now, I know for sure that most of my Facebook friends are catholics or at least Christians, and I also believe that they all strive to maintain some kind of relationship with the Living Christ. I don't think I received only three prayer requests because the rest of my friends were living a life with perfect health, satisfying careers, and soothing relationships. It is just that they couldn't bring themselves up to asking God for some of their pressing needs. As I look back at my own life, I can't blame any of them for not approaching God with a prayer request. It took more than a few miracles in my own life to convince me of the power prayer. From my past experiences, here are three main reasons for not asking God in prayer: 1. They think that there is no need to ask God. God knows everything and will give what's needed, when it is needed; 2. They don't think God cares about specific problems of each individual; he is God and has the whole universe to worry about; 3. They don't believe they have problems that couldn't be solved by themselves. 

Can Anyone be Addicted to God?

There are instances where people who were addicted to things like money, power, luxury, recognition, or pride give up on those things when the love of God touches their heart. God actually finds ingenious ways to touch the hearts of those people who are addicted to worldly things. One of the most effective way He uses is by allowing suffering to enter the lives of those whom He wishes to touch. During the times of trials and tribulations, many tend to turn to God seeking relief from the desperate situations that they are in. Once a person discerns the presence of God - the warmth of His gentle and comforting love - there is no going back. Once we realize that the life offered by God through Jesus Christ is worth more than anything we ever possessed, it is easy to trade our life, with all of its riches and relationships, for a life in Christ. But many would argue that when somebody give up their worldly pleasures for joy in Christ, all they are doing is trading one addiction in for a different one. But is that really so, is it possible to be addicted to God?

Many Faces of the Virgin

In the vast world of Christianity, there is nobody more divisive than Mother Mary. Though the cause for fractions within Christianity can be attributed to many complex theological issues and doctrines such as the Real Presence, the Sacraments and the Papacy, I don't think there is anything out there that creates more emotional rift than the God-bearer. Catholics recognize Mary as the Queen of Heaven and Help of Christians. On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII exercised the rarely used Papal infallibility to declare "that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory". So what is it that Catholics see in Mary that other Christians failed to see? Why has the Church risked abandonment of many of the followers because of her devotion to Mary? What is the role of Mary in the Church?

Breaking into Peace

One of the last things Jesus gave to His disciples before glorifying God the Father on a cross was peace. " Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid" (John 14:27). Almost two thousand years has passed since then and majority of world's population has heard the Good News of Jesus, but the world still lacks peace. In fact, the world seeks peace with ardent desire everyday but does not find it. Even when there are no wars, the world is troubled and tensed with all kinds of conflicts. They say there is no peace in the world, therefore there is no peace in our societies, thus there is no peace in our families, and subsequently there is no peace within us. Then the question is whatever happened to that peace that Jesus left for us? 

A Purple Cross with Pink Flowers

A while back I heard somebody talking about a gift she once received, it was a handmade cross painted in purple with little pink flowers all over it. She liked it so much so that she put it where everybody could see it. At the time, I thought of it as a nice gesture by whoever took the time making a beautiful cross to be given away as a meaningful gift. But while reading an article by an Australian surgeon named Dr. Andreas Lambrianides about the practice of crucifixion by ancient Romans, the purple cross came back to mind. What I realized was that I too have fallen into the trap of domesticating the Cross. The Cross is not meant to be purple, green or yellow; it is not meant to be decorative or exuberant, it represents a device used for one of the most cruel and excruciating punishments ever devised by man. For Christians, it is a constant reminder that, "He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus Christ paid the price for Salvation with His own body and blood by dying on a cross, and even today His blood cleanses and nourishes the Church, His body.

My Encounters with the Devil

If you are reading this post because the title sparked your interest, then you are probably expecting to read about some out-of-this world experience that brought me face to face with the "father of lies". Unfortunately though (or is it, fortunately?) I have no such experiences to talk about. All my encounters with the devil occurred here in this world and there was no burning fire, black smoke, or smell of sulfur. The devil I met had nothing bad or undesirable about him. And this devil, I meet everyday! 

A few weeks ago, while talking with some friends, the conversation somehow veered off into some of the unfortunate incidents that occurred in our society recently. Someone suggested that incidents like the Sandy Hook school shooting, the Colorado movie theater shooting and the Boston marathon bombings show clear demonic presence in our society. Needless to say, within a matter of few minutes, many more got involved in this conversation and seemed like everyone was in agreement about how the devil and his minions had something to do with these unfortunate events.

The God of All Things

Earlier during the week, I read a comment made by a grieving mother in response to an article published in CatholicStand.com about God's plan. The author was trying to make a point that though God doesn't always give us what we want, He will always give us what we need. The person who made the comment couldn't understand how this idea of God's providence fit into the immense suffering and death of a child. She wanted her child, but God thought that her needs are better served by voiding her motherhood! In the past, I had made several attempts to delve into this problem of unanswered prayers - I am a firm believer that there are no unanswered prayers. But then, how would you explain the agony of this mother, how is it that her prayers for her sick child are ever going to be answered?

When There is No More Love Left to Give

For the past year or so, I have been writing a lot about love - God's love to be more specific. When God is love, then you can never say enough about His love. One of the things I also tried over the past year is to try to put what I write into practice. While analyzing God's love, it is hard to ignore the reason God is revealing His love to us, His fallen creation. God wants us to learn from Him, from His love. Then He wants us to practice it by loving Him and loving those around us. So the ultimate purpose of our life is to love. Unfortunately though, this is where I fail miserably. No matter how much I try, I always find myself more on the receiving end of love than on the giving end. Why so, I wonder, why is it so hard to love?

Tony, Tony, Turn Around. Something's Lost

St. Antony of Padua is one of those Saints who is known, loved and admired all around the world. He joined the Franciscan Order in 1221, when he was 26 years old. He died at the age of 36. He is typically depicted with the Infant Jesus, to whom He miraculously appeared. Saint Antony was declared a saint less than one year after his death. He is the patron Saint of sailors and fishermen.  When his body was exhumed 32 years after his death, his body was found to be corrupted, yet his tongue was totally incorrupt, so perfect and simple were the teachings that had been formed upon it. He had fervent devotion to Mother Mary and used the Holy Name o Mary to fight against the heretics of his time. His feast is celebrated on June 13th.

Can I Judge Without "Judging"?

In the Gospel of St. Matthew, we see Jesus using tough language against judging others: "Stop judging, that you may not be judged... Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:1,3). This passage brings up an interesting dilemma as it seems to contradict another important teaching of Christ from Matthew's Gospel itself: "If your brother sins, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone" (Matthew 18:15). In order to point out your brother of a fault, is it not necessary to judge him first? But is it not a sin to judge my brother to begin with?

Is God's Love Truly Unconditional?

Christianity is founded on the love of God for His fallen creation. The Catholic Church teaches its followers that God's love is unconditional - there is nothing that we could do to stop God from loving us! But is it all true? And if it is, then why do catholics, and Christians in General, have to obey so many Commandments, and observe Penance and other obligatory devotions? Don't we do all those things to get God to love us?

Ordinary Time Needs Extraordinary Faith

Ever wondered what's so ordinary about Ordinary Time on the liturgical calendar? 

Here's my latest article from CatholicStand.com

The Fire of Joy, Purification, and Torture

June is devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart is celebrated on the octave (eight day) of the Feast of Corpus Christi. This year this feast happens to fall on a first Friday, a day usually devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus throughout the year. The devotion to the Sacred Heart became universal following the visions of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647 - 1690). 

The most noticeable aspect of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the fire which represents His burning love for all mankind. In fact, the representation of fire as God's love goes beyond symbolism. The actual love of God the Father and God the Son is showered upon human beings in the form of fire - the holy Spirit came upon the Apostles as tongues of fire. As we live in the Age of the Church which is guided by the Spirit of God, this fire is ever-present in our everyday life. 

Why is God not a Woman?

While speaking to a group of youngsters during a Retreat, a young man challenged me for consistently calling God a 'He'. He said that according to his parents, God is neither a 'he' or a 'she', but an 'it'. By now, it should be no secret that I have all kind of questions when it comes to God. But this one was new territory for me as I never considered God as anything other than a 'man'. So ever wondered why God is always addressed as a man in Christianity, why not a woman, or something in between?