Understanding the Faith

"Then Peter addressed them, 'I now really understand', he said, 'that God has no favorites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him." (Acts 10: 34 -35)

This remarkable confession was made by Peter, a disciple of Jesus Christ for three years. Peter with James and John were in the intimate circle of Christ. Jesus Christ appointed Peter as head of the Church. He suffered severe test of faith; he failed and was rehabilitated by Jesus. He received the Holy Spirit with the other disciples and preached Jesus with power. He performed miracles. Yet Peter confesses here that he did not understand everything about the faith at the beginning. His understanding of the faith was evolving.

How about us? Is our faith growing deeper every day? We grow in the understanding of our faith through daily contact with the word of God. The Holy Spirit teaches us the elements of the faith through the word of God and through the authentic and constant teachings of the faith by the bishops or those he appoints to help him.

Signs of Anointing

"It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." (Mark 1: 9 – 11)

In the Baptism of Jesus, we see the Holy Spirit anointing Jesus for his mission. The Father confirms Jesus' calling by his voice of approval.

What are the signs that attest to our calling and mission?

• The word of God
  
• The presence of the Holy Spirit
  
• Peace and tranquility
  
• Perseverance in good works
  
• Bearing trials and persecution with grace
  

These are some of the signs that our anointing is genuine.

You call, you make, you give

"I, the Lord have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations ..." (Isaiah 42: 6)

Lord, this promise is too much for me to appropriate. But then, when I think that it is your calling that justifies me, I begin to have some hope. I remember the Church's prayer on the feast day of St. Ambrose which is today:

"Lord, you made St. Ambrose an outstanding teacher of the Catholic faith and gave him the courage of an apostle..."

Lord, it is you who calls, makes and gives all things. You have the absolute power to make me whatever you want. Lord help me to surrender completely to your providence for me, so that you can make me what you like and give me all that you have planned for me. I ask this in your name Jesus. Amen.

Calling and Mission

"No one can have anything except what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can bear me out, I said, 'I am not the Christ; I am the one who has been sent to go in front of him." (John 3: 27 – 28)

Every calling and mission comes from God. John like other great men of God was profoundly aware of his mission and calling. Am I growing in awareness of my calling and mission?

I believe that Christ has called me again to be his friend and companion. His gift to me is his friendship and he wants me to communicate my experience of him to others. Who are these "others?" I am not sent to everybody. Jesus will lead and guide me to those he wants me to minister to. I understand this concept of target group from my marketing background.

"He must grow greater, I must grow less." (John 3: 30)

If I am to succeed in my calling and my mission, Jesus must grow greater in my life everyday and I must grow lesser.

False gods

"Children, be on your guard against false gods." (1 John 5: 20)

What are the false gods that want to take advantage of me today?

• False information that may breed doubts about God's plan for me
  
• Anxiety about job
  
• Anxiety about money
  

Jesus warns "Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap." (Luke 21:34)

Banish all doubts

"Our fearlessness towards him consists in this, that if we ask anything in accordance with his will he hears us. And if we know that he listens to whatever we ask him, we know that we already possess whatever we have asked of him." (1 John 5: 14 – 15)

The Holy Spirit enables me to pray to God with confidence. Because I ask the Holy Spirit to help me, I know that what I ask for is in accordance with God's will. The Holy Spirit knows the mind of God. I also know that I am asking for something in God's will for me when I have the grace of perseverance. Experience has taught me that I do not persevere in praying for something that is not in the will of God.

What am I asking God for today?

• Light and guidance
  
• Freedom from anxiety
  
• Prosper the work of my hands
  
• Strength and health
  
• Protection from all evil
  

I believe that all the above is in accordance with God's will. I know God listens to me. So I know that I already possess everything I ask of God. I rejoice in this fact. Although the graces come like tiny seeds, they surely will grow through exercise of faith. How do I exercise faith in this matter? I start giving thanks to God for these gifts. I banish all doubts.

Jesus as personal Savior

"Sir, if you are willing you can cleanse me.' He stretched out his hand, and touched him saying, 'I am willing.' At once the skin disease left him." (Luke 5: 12 – 13)

With this healing, this former leper now experiences Jesus as a personal Savior. Jesus healed him from a terrible disease and rescued him from being a social outcast. To heal him, Jesus touched him. Scripture asks the question: "Who can overcome the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5: 5) How can one believe in Jesus without knowing him? This former leper can surely overcome the world based on his new found faith in Jesus. An experience of salvation in any form is an experience of the saving Jesus.

Do I know Jesus as my personal Savior? I too have experienced the saving power of Jesus in these areas of my life:

Sin, health, family, money, job, tobacco, alcohol and anger.

"Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: For he has strengthened the bars of your gates." (Psalm 147: 12 – 13)

Having saved me from many problems, the Lord did not abandon me. Through his word, sacraments, prayers and spiritual reading, the Lord continually strengthens the bars of my gates. He has granted me peace in these former warring areas of my life. Thank you Jesus.

God’s Testimony

"If we accept the testimony of human witnesses, God's testimony is greater." (1 John 5:9)

• We accept the testimony of human witnesses every day.

• We accept what our doctors tell us about our health.

• We accept what the government tells us about the state of the economy.

• We accept weather reports.

• We accept what advertisers tell us about their products.

From the above, it appears as if man is naturally a trusting being.

"If we accept the testimony of human witnesses, God's testimony is greater." (1 John 5:9)

God's word is worthy of greater trust because it is more certain.

"The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.

The decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple." (Psalm 19: 8)

Jesus is Ever-Present Help

"Who can overcome the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5: 5)

To overcome the world means:

• To overcome sin in one's life
  
• To overcome materialism
  
• To overcome the sense of hopelessness and despair
  
• To overcome all kinds of addiction
  
• To live a victorious and free life
  
• To be in harmony with God's will
  

The Holy Spirit is telling us in 1 John 5:5 that we can overcome the world if we believe that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe this of course and so do many. But what does it mean to believe in this context? To believe here means to experience Jesus as a personal Savior. To believe equals to know experientially. Let me paraphrase 1 John 5: 5:

You can live a victorious life aligned to God's will if only you have experienced Jesus in a personal way in your life. Psalm 111:4 says that God won renown for his wondrous deeds. In other words, no knowledge of God's wondrous deeds means no loyalty to him. What wondrous deeds have Jesus performed in your life? Without this personal testimony, your belief is only intellectual. The Holy Spirit gives us a remembrance of God's marvelous deeds in our lives.

Some examples of God's great deeds in our lives that are foundation of belief are:

• Has Jesus ever healed you?
  
• Has he saved you from any trouble?
  
• Has he ever blessed you financially?
  
• Has he blessed you with peace?
  
• Has he blessed you with a good job?
  

All these are experiences of salvation. Whatever experience of salvation we had is repeatable. We gradually come to the realization that Jesus is "our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress." (Psalm 46: 2) With him by our side, "we do not fear, though earth be shaken and mountains quake to the depths of the sea."

The Spirit of the Lord

"The spirit of the Lord is on me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim a year of favor from the Lord." (Luke 4: 18 – 19)

This is the mission of Jesus Christ. He found it in the text of Isaiah. Like Jesus, my identity and destiny are also defined in the Bible. I am drawn to this scripture. I find myself visiting it again and again and asking myself: 'how do I apply this text to myself here and now?' The Spirit of the Lord is also upon me. What has he anointed me for? How do I know that he has anointed me to learn about Jesus and communicate this truth to the many who are afflicted today?

Today, we see the afflicted everywhere: home, church, street and workplace and also in the media. Everywhere people are crying for relief and hope, totally unaware that the answer is in Jesus Christ. The message of Jesus Christ will set free the captives, prisoners of fear and materialism, those bound by depression and hopelessness.

Jesus opened the eyes of the blind. His message continues today to open eyes blinded by ignorance, lust and selfishness. The true oppressed of today are not merely the materially poor but even more so the spiritually poor. The materially rich but spiritually poor cannot overcome the world because they lack the faith to do so. Those who poor libations to the gods of this world multiply their sorrows. The gods of this world "only take advantage of all who love them." (Psalm 16: 2)

Amazing Promise!

"This is what the love of God is: keeping his commandments. Nor are his commandments burdensome, because every child of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith." (1 John 5: 3 – 4)

Every child of God overcomes the world! Amazing promise! God promises that every one of his children can live a victorious life, right here and right now till the end. Yes indeed, we have the power within us to overcome whatever adverse situation we may face. We have this power because we trust in the wisdom and power of the all-loving and merciful God. We are also aware of the numerous witnesses to the power and faithfulness of God.

The child of God stays the course and endures to the very end fully aware that whatever God has permitted to happen to him is good for him. Our faith provides us the means to overcome the world in every situation.

Acceptable time

"In an acceptable time I heard you, on the day of salvation I helped you.' Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)

When is God's acceptable time for me? When is God's day of salvation for me?

The Church believes that Lent is the acceptable time of 2 Corinthians 6:2. Lent is indeed the acceptable time of God's favor for me. I have been blessed and spiritually enriched during many Lenten seasons. Once upon a time, I was a smoker. I did everything to quit but in vain. Then just before the beginning of Lent in 1988, I decided to forego smoking on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. My intention was to fast from smoking only for that day. But God healed me from smoking from that day. The desire dried up immediately. It is a miracle I cannot forget. After this event, it took some years for me to realize that Lent is a very acceptable time for God's favors.

If we seek God through prayer, fasting and almsgiving during Lent, we can be sure that our prayers will be answered.

Do not be afraid

"He was going to pass them by, but when they saw him walking on the water they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke to them and said, "Courage! It is me! Don't be afraid." Then he got into the boat with them and the wind dropped." (Mark 6: 48 – 51)

Jesus calmed the fears of his disciples by saying to them: 'Be courageous. Do not be afraid. It is me.' In order to fight fear in our lives, we need faith and courage. We need also to be intensely aware of the presence of Jesus with us. We are not alone in that place, in those circumstances. St. Paul when he found himself abandoned by his friends in court, picked up courage when he became aware of the presence of Jesus at his side.

What am I afraid of today? Money, shelter, security, job or ill health? O Holy Spirit, please reveal to me that of which I am afraid of now so that I can pray about it. Whatever I may be afraid of here and now, I am consoled by the thought that Jesus Christ has the absolute power to help me. He is in me and near me with his perfect love and perfect solution. So I will not fear.

Perfect love drives out fear

Perfect love drives out fear

“No one has ever seen God, but as long as we love one another God remains in us and his love comes to its perfection in us. This is the proof that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us a share in his Spirit.” (1 John 4: 12 – 13)

What is the proof that I love God and my neighbor? The presence of the Holy Spirit in me is the proof.

“Love comes to perfection in us when we can face the Day of Judgment fearlessly, because even in this world we have become as he is. In love there is no room for fear, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear implies punishment and no one who is afraid has come to perfection in love.” (1 John 4: 17 – 18)

Christ is the fearless One. He was not afraid of the antagonisms of his enemies. He was not afraid in his “Day of Judgment”, that is his passion and death. He was completely fearless because he is the very perfection of love.

Just as faith drives out fear, we learn that perfect love also drives out fear.

Writing

Writing

“Write down the vision

Clearly upon the tablets,

so that one can read it readily.

For the vision still has its time,

presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;

If it delays, wait for it,

it will surely come, it will not be late.”

(Habakkuk 2: 2 – 3)

Moses wrote down the law (Exodus 24: 4; Deuteronomy 31: 9, 24)

Samuel wrote down the ordinances of the kingdom (1 Samuel 10: 25)

Jeremiah had to write his prophecy on a scroll (Jeremiah 36: 2)

Baruch wrote at Jeremiah’s dictation (Jeremiah 36: 4; 45: 1)

What is written in the law of Moses (1 Kings 2:3)

Thus it is written by the prophet (Matthew 2: 5)

Thus it is written (Luke 24: 46)

It is written (Matthew 4:4, 6, 7, 10; 21:13; Luke 2:23; 15: 15; Romans 2:4)

As it is written in the book of the prophets (Acts 7: 42)

It is written not just for his sake but for ours (Romans 4: 23 -4)

Everything written in the past is written for our sake (Romans 15:4)

(Roget’s Thesaurus of the Bible)

It appears from the above references that writing is an important medium in God’s communication with us. I find that when I write down a prayer request, I remember it for a longtime after its fulfillment. As I remember an answered prayer, my faith in God grows. Journaling has become an important part of my spiritual journey.

Food

Food

“Then he took the five loaves and two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing; then he broke the loaves and began handing them to his disciples to distribute among the people. He also shared the two fish among them all.” (Mark 6: 41)

This event prefigured the Eucharist, the sacrament of love. Christ gave us his body to eat and his blood to drink.

“This is the revelation of God’s love for us, that God sent his only Son into the world that we might have life through him. Love consists in this: it is not we who loved God, but God loved us and sent his Son to expiate our sins.” (1 John 4: 9 – 10)

Today I reflect on Christ’s love for me in the Eucharist. He took pity on me as he did of the hungry crowd in Mark 6: 41. He drew me near to him and fed me with his body and blood. Lord Jesus, how am I to respond to this love? What does the scripture say about my response?

Jesus loves me and shows it through the Eucharist. He says to me today that I must respond to this love by loving my brother. Lord Jesus, I am ready. Teach me.

Christ gave me his body and blood in the Eucharist. I cannot share this. Just as everybody has to eat food to gain the nourishment, so must each person eat and drink of the body and blood of Jesus Christ to gain the spiritual nourishment. But I can share the word of Jesus with others. I can pray for others. I can look out for opportunity for little service to others today.

Emmanuel

Emmanuel

“Yahweh Sabaoth is with us, our citadel, the God of Jacob.” (Psalm 46: 7)

Emmanuel, God with us (Isaiah 7:14, 8:10; Matthew 1: 23)

The Lord is with you (Luke 1: 28)

If God is with me, it is accomplished. (Romans 8: 31)

God is with us (2 Chronicles 13: 12)

God is with you (Isaiah 45: 14)

The Lord is with us (Numbers 14: 9, 2 Chronicles 32: 8; Psalm 46: 7, 11)

God will be with you (Exodus 3: 12)

I am with you (Haggai 1:13, 2:4)

They will know that I am with them (Ezekiel 34: 30)

When we pass through the waters he will be with us (Isaiah 43: 2)

Do not be afraid, for I am with you (Isaiah 41: 10, 43: 5, Jeremiah 42:11, 46:28)

May the Lord be with you (Ruth 2: 4, 2 Samuel 14: 17, 1 Chronicle 22: 11, 16; Amos 5: 14)

May the Lord be with us (1 Kings 8: 57)

Perhaps the Lord will be with me (Joshua 14: 12)

I am always with God (Psalm 73: 23)

Son, you are always with me (Luke 15: 31)

Is not the Lord with you? (1 Chronicles 22: 18)

Is the Lord in our midst or not? (Exodus 17: 7)

(Roget’s Thesaurus of the Bible)

The Great Light

The Great Light

“The people that lived in darkness have seen a great light; on those who lived in a country of shadow dark as death a light has dawned.” (Matthew 4: 16)

Jesus Christ is the great light, a light that dispels darkness in our lives. He is the light that shows us the truth about:

• · Family
• · Health
• · Job
• · Money
• · Tools
• · Food

When we are beset by anxiety about any of the above, we can ask: “Jesus Christ, Light of the world, show me the light about my current situation.”

Asking and Receiving

Asking and Receiving

“And whatever we ask we shall receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what is acceptable to him ………Whoever keeps his commandments remains in God, and God in him. And this is the proof that he remains in us.” (1 John 3: 22 -24)

I meet again the wonderful promise of asking and receiving. This great promise is repeated several times in the New Testament in order to encourage us to ask the One who possesses all things and is generous in his gifts.

What am I asking for today?

• · To know Christ intimately.
• · To love him with great passion.
• · To serve him faithfully everywhere.
• · To be fully supported by Christ.
• · To depend on Christ for my security.

The Holy Spirit promises through 1 John 3: 22-24 that I shall receive these gifts. I believe this and I hold to it. I am also aware that I receive these gifts as a son who does what is pleasing to his father. This attitude and behavior cause me to remain in God and God to remain in me. The presence and activities of the Holy Spirit within me is the proof of this indwelling. The Holy Spirit manifests his presence through his fruits which are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self- control.” (Galatians 5: 22)

Light of Faith

Light of Faith

“They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house, found the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their coffers and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2: 10 – 12)

The wise men presented gifts to the infant Jesus through Mary. This calls to mind a variant of the prayer that many of us learned as children and many still repeat everyday: “O my Jesus, I offer you through the Immaculate Heart of Mary all my prayers, desires and hopes, all my actions, temptations and sufferings, my delays, disappointments and obstacles. I offer you all my time, talent and treasure. I offer all these on every altar of the world where the Eucharist is celebrated today. I offer them for the remission of my sins and for the salvation of souls.”

The Father revealed Jesus to the nations by the guidance of a star. Faith is our guiding star in life. The light of faith is strong. We see by it. The world is constantly seeking to impose limits to our life of faith.

“Father of light, unchanging God, today you reveal to men of faith the resplendent fact of the Word made flesh. Your light is strong, your love is near; draw us beyond the limits which this world imposes, to the life where your Spirit makes all life complete. We ask this through Christ our Lord.” (Opening Prayer, Mass of the Epiphany.)