Strength of the Word

"Evangelization is the carrying forth of the Good News to every sector of the human race so that by its strength it may enter into the hearts of men and renew the human race." (Pope Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi)

The Word of God has its own strength.  This is the reason why despite cultural barriers or even with our inadequacies, the Word still penetrates into the heart of man.  What the Lord requires of us is to bearers of the Word both in speech and action.  The power of the Word is not dependent on how well we share it or how eloquent we are.  It lies on whether we share it at all. "As the Father sent me, so I send you (John 20:21)." When God' s Word is released, it is up to the Holy Spirit to touch and transform.  Let us remember that we are mere proclaimers but Jesus is the Savior.

When we encounter the Word in our time of prayer and Scripture, we put into our minds and hearts the power that is before us.  To take the Word for granted is like throwing away gold or refusing to grasp the hand of a person who will save us from drowning. God's Word is all powerful and strong for the Word is Christ Himself. "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John1:14)." Let us then rely on the Word.  Let our day be anchored on it see how it's own strength changes our lives and the lives of other people.

I Believe in God

When a man courts a woman, he shows gestures of love and affection like sending flowers or expressing his love intentions, so that the woman may believe in him and accept his love.  When there is no belief, there will be no trust and love.

What God asks of us is to believe.  Believing is the response we give to God for His love for us through His death on the cross.  When we believe, the other essentials will follow.  We notice that The Apostles Creed starts off with, "I believe in God...".

We sometimes lose the essence of the Eucharist because along the way we are focused on the ritual rather than believing that truly the host is transformed into the body of Christ.  When we believe in the transubstantiation of the host, when we are convicted that it is truly Christ we are receiving, then the Holy Communion will surely be an experience that nourishes and transforms us.

Believing is the beginning of our faith.  We are touched and transformed by Christ because we believe that His love is real.  If our spiritual life is waning, we have to start believing again.  With conviction we say, "I believe in God..."

Living Out Loud

I was inspired and amazed by a Praise Concert spearheaded by CFC Youth for Christ. It was called "Liveloud." It packed over 7,000 people in the Cuneta Astrodome. It featured original worship songs composed by the community members.  We were on our feet for almost two hours, singing, dancing, and worshipping God.  Even after the concert was over, people still wanted more and even lingered for a while in awe of God's greatness through the songs and sharing of young Christians. We were encouraged to boldly or loudly live out our faith and be on fire to bring others to God.

I am reflecting on the words "Live Loud."  For me it is a challenge of boldness in Christianity in today's age of materialism, apathy, and secularism.  One of those who are living loud in faith is a known Filipino American football player named Tim Tebow, wherein the term "Tebowing" was derived from his act of kneeling before God in the game.  He also wrote on his eyeblack area the verse John 3:16 where it gathered 90 million searches in Google that day he wore it.  Not to mention that he is one of the National Football League's best players today as a quarterback and he is using his influence and fame as a platform for evangelization.

Tebow is living his faith out loud. There are many who praise him for his religious boldness but many also criticize him for the same reason.

In Bishop Quevedo's talk in one of our teachings, he quoted a Vatican paper on New Evangelization about the "New Areopagus" or the "New Courtyard." The Sermon on the Areopagus was referred to the preaching that St. Paul did in Athens (Acts 17:16-34), wherein he gave his fullest speech as a missionary.  He talked boldly against idolatry and elaborated about the one Creator.  In today's modern age there are different  types of  Areopagus or Courtyards. These are the Areopagus of social communications, migration, economy, scientific and technological advancement, and the civil and political life.  Tebow definitely made an impact in the courtyard of social communications side through sports media.

We may not be a sports superstar like Tebow, but each of us have our own "Areopagus" as a venue to be a witness of God's greatness in our lives.  How are we using our influence to bring others closer to God?  What hinders us from Living Out Loud the faith that God wants us to spread in our workplaces and in our homes?  Let us go forth boldly. Let us remember that we evangelize because of the One who saves, Jesus Christ.

For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control (2 Tim 1:7).

Our "To-Love-List"

Father Andrew Recepcion mentioned in our recollection, "Many missionaries today overwhelmed by the immensity of the work in the mission field have become enslaved by to-do-lists and goals to achieve according to a mission plan to the detriment of a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus."


Does our to-do-list run our lives or does Christ still run it? We have to get back on prayer and build that relationship with our Lord.  At the end of the day, we do get our instructions from Him.  This is a "Martha and Mary" lesson where the Lord commended Mary more for doing what is more important.


"You grow in belief by believing (St. Augustine)."

How do we increase our faith? Is it by increasing the length of our prayer time?  Spending time with someone can indeed build a relationship. But how much trust is in that relationship? You can spend a whole day in prayer, yet not being able to fully trust everything to God.  Believing is trusting, and so our faith grows. When you are with someone you trust and believe, your time together will never be enough because you have your whole lives to share. When with God in prayer we are lost in time, for in Him we trust and believe and have our whole lives to share.

When immersed in a love-trust relationship with God, our to-do-list becomes our "to-love-list." Do all your works in love (1 Cor. 16:14). Our burdens become light, for we do things out of love for Christ.  We have to find Christ in the menial acts that we do:  In washing the dishes, in arranging paper, in texting people to remind them, in commuting, and more. This is finding God's grace in the ordinary.

A personal and intimate relationship with Jesus is what we need to achieve.  The rest of things we do will just be expressions of our love for Him.  Now, get your pen and paper and start jotting your "to-love-list."

Becoming A Person of Love

We had a powerful recollection by Fr. Andrew Recepcion and he mentioned, "Love is not what you do, it's who you are."  We can do many good things in this world, and yet if we are not transformed to be a person of love, then for us it would have been all in vain.

Some questions we can ask ourselves:

Are we patient? Are we kind? Are we not jealous? Do we keep a record of wrongs? Are we not pompous? Do we rejoice over wrongdoing? Is our temper quick to rise? These are some questions based on the guidelines about love in 1 Corinthians 13, written by St. Paul.

Becoming a person of love is the evidence of a life surrendered to God.  We allow God to take control of our lives, making us love, for God is love.  Like Mother Teresa or the Pope, people cannot help but be transformed with their presence for God flows through them, love flows through them and into our lives.

Fr. Andrew also said, "No person should pass your way in vain."  This was particularly striking. It was a challenge that every man or woman we encounter should have felt the love of Christ through us. It would be in vain if we left no impact because we lack love.  For Christ's love compels us...(2 Cor 5:14).

A friend of mine, a fellow missionary described to me a person that impacted him while on the way to the recollection.  He said, "I saw an old lady all filled with sweat on her face and was carrying the image of the Sto. Nino with difficulty, but I could not fail to notice that despite her situation her face was full of joy."  This lady, without saying anything inspired my friend.

Let us then take the challenge today to make Christ felt in every person we encounter, and not let the opportunities go in vain. It may be the taxi driver, the waiter, your co-worker, or the person nearest you as you read this.  For Christ's love compels us...(2 Cor 5:14).