Do you still have no faith?

Why are you so frightened? Do you still have no faith?

- From the Gospel Today (January 31, 2009), Mark 4:35-41

Today, Paul highlighted the faith of Abraham and Sarah. They uprooted themselves from their home and went out to go to the promised land, out of sheer faith. They trusted that the Lord will make Abraham the father of nations, and they waited for their first son until very late in their lives. Abraham trusted still, even when God asked Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice.

That was faith.

Image from Green Canticle.

Paul could have been referring to himself too when he highlighted Abraham. Out of blind devotion to God, he persecuted Christians. But when Christ showed up on his way one day, the blindness went away like scales falling from his eyes, and Paul went all out to proclaim the gospel of Christ, to the great disbelief of those whom he earlier persecuted.

Does the seed sprout and grow in you?

The seed sprouts and grows, he knows not how.

- From the Gospel Today (January 30, 2009), Mark 4:26-34

We know that the "seed" refers to the Word, don't we? A time will come when every lip shall praise the name of Jesus. That, to me, is the Kingdom of God.

At this time that vision is just that: a vision.

But the work towards its realization continues.

Ask any man of faith, and what he would tell you is that the kingdom of God is here, right now. But then most of us will, "What do you mean? I don't see anything!"

Christ Wants YOU To Be a Fisher of Men. Yes, YOU!

"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.

- From the Gospel Today, Mark 1:14-20

The Church started with these words from Christ..."Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."

Yes, to me, that was how the Church started, and that is how the Church should be...here, now. A Church that does not act like fishers of men is dead, or at least not doing its mandate, and is therefore disobedient to the Lord.

The image is linked to "What Does The Prayer Really Say?" a site of Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, who is also the moderator of the Catholic Online Forum.

The image is linked to "What Does The Prayer Really Say?" a site of Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, who is also the moderator of the Catholic Online Forum.

It is noteworthy that the object of such command weren't really the "bright" ones in society in those days. These were simple folks doing their livelihood. We have a word for people like these in today's times: the laity.

Doesn't that bother you?

Don't you know YOU are John the Baptist?

John the Baptist: I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.

- From the Gospel Today, Mark 1:7-11 (January 11, 2008, Feast of the Baptism of our Lord)

John the Baptist lives today, and as before, he's a voice crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord!

Have you seen John the Baptist in your life lately? He's the person next to you who talks to you, man to man, about Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

When was the last time you talked to such person in your life? If you conversed with such person in your life lately, know that you're blessed. We don't have much people like that in the Church today. Then and now, he's a voice in the wilderness.

Image from website of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Oklahoma.

The role of the Laity in the growth of the Church is both challenging and exciting. We have more in our hands than we realize. Let me sum up such excitement this way: If the clergy represents Christ in the Holy Mass, leaders among the Laity should act like John the Baptist was for Christ.

Think with me...

Where is the Newborn King?

Wise men from the east arrived...they asked, Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw the rising of his star in the east and have come to honor him.

- From the Gospel Today, Matthew 2:1-12

Non-believers portray Christianity these days as nothing more than a duplication, or triplication, or quadruplication of previous religions. They question even the Bible itself.

Watch the Zeitgeist video to find out what I mean here. It will either strengthen your resolve, or weaken you. Go ahead and find out what you're faith is made of.

Photo Credit: "Adoration of the Magi" by Abraham Bloemaert, a Dutch painter, as taken from the "A Catholic Life" blog

What a way to start a reflection, isn't it?

This far, I can already cite one statement in Zeitgesit that is already worth mentioning: it says that religion is nothing but an instrument of the powerful to "control" the masses towards a one world-government!

To which I say, there's some truth to that, proudly speaking. In a way, that's what Christians have been saying since the beginning!

Many Don't See the Chosen One of God

I saw the Spirit coming down on him...I declare that this is the Chosen One of God.

- From the Gospel Today, John 1:29-34

The inner certainty of the existence of God, one who dwells among men, is a GIFT. John the Baptist certainly has the grace to have it, as well as the rest of the saints.


Image from St Mary, Brome, Suffolk, as captured by Simon.

Not everyone has that grace. Some people are spreading a different gospel, the gospel of doubt, of cynicism, of constant questioning about God's existence through human logic. They're thoroughly convinced they have a solid case against God, with the same passion as Christians who are thoroughly convicted to their faith.

These people are out there with a single purpose: to capture God in a bird cage and then show this cage to the whole world, saying, "Here's your God, people!" Bill Maher, a former Catholic, is one of them. There are a lot more.

Who is the Liar?

Who is the liar? The one who denies that Jesus is the Christ.

1 John 2:22

It isn't enough that we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, a victorious King who will rule the nations. Recognition of Jesus as God, as one of the persons in the Holy Trinity, co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is Christianity.

Image from Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration Association.

At least that's what has been emphasized to me lately in an email forum wherein we discussed which baptisms are recognized by the Catholic Church. Some so-called "Christian" sects are still out of the list, and you couldn't help but ask, why. The exclusion had something to do with how these sects view God. They fall short of recognizing the full divinity of Christ.

He was named Jesus

On the eighth day the circumcision...had to be performed; he was named Jesus.

- From the Gospel Today, Luke 2:16-21

The Year 2008 has just gone by, and all we see are the waves on its wake. I used to ride passenger ships when I was in college, and I could actually see the imagery of what I just said.

Image from Musings of a Pertinacious Papist.

How do the waves look in your own life? Does it contain the footprints of God?