Year of Faith culmination

As we close the Year of Faith this Nov. 20, 2013 on this date here in Mati diocese, it goes without saying that this is also a moment to express our gratitude and thanks to God Almighty the giver and inspirer of our faith. Together with this celebration of the whole universal Church, we also express cordial thanks to the missionaries and people in bringing this faith to us, including our own parents and relatives who became instruments in fomenting and strengthening the Catholic Faith in our lives and organizations as life went on in the course of the years. Being convinced of the true faith we too must do our part to live and spread the Catholic Faith as a vital instrument of truth to lead us on to everlasting life. The history and traditions of the Catholic Church provide ample proof enough to assure us of infallibility and security in following the footsteps of the Lord Jesus leading to life everlasting.

The one God

(Catholic Creed) The concept of God, perfect and almighty, requires that He is supreme. And this is actually what Tradition and the Scriptures have taught us ever since. For example, the Catholic creed expresses it this way: “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven: By the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death, and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.” Actually, if you think of it, the Catholic Creed expresses God’s loving intervention in our world as He deigned to share in our very human nature and existence. In the traditional Apostles’ creed it is expressed as a personal expression of belief: “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary..” Etc. etc. The rest expresses the same events of the normal Catholic beliefs regarding the life of Jesus and the Catholic Church.

Sure formula

In our frantic search for solutions maybe we miss the point many times. We keep on searching aimlessly but don’t hit the target because we are wrongly motivated. We aim at the wrong target. If only we lend a listening ear to the words of Jesus we would not be failing to reach our target of life everlasting and behaving therewith in accordance to Christian morals. Jesus has clearly assured us His support and guidance if we follow Him. That He says in Jn. 8:12—“He who follows me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.” If till now you are a confused person, enslaved by pride or false pleasures, come to Jesus, the fountain of life, then you will find out why the Saints whose only purpose was to live according to the words of Jesus, living in humility, became the happiest people on earth, as they endeavored to learn His life and teachings of love and humility. That indeed was a sure formula of Jesus which is mentioned in Lk. 14:11 and Lk. 18:11, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and the man who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk. 18:11, also in Lk. 14:11). It’s worth adhering to a sure formula, after all there are countless examples in history, proud people who became humbled by the untoward happenings in life just because they missed the lessons of humility lived and taught by our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God sitting at the right hand of the Father, being likewise true God and true man, the Savior of the world, as expressed in the Catholic Creed, usually recited on Sundays and Feast days of the Catholic world.