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..."

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."

Don't Buy a Lie (Lessons from the Tuko Trade)

TU-KO!

For a month now, I've been hearing a lot about the "Tuko" or the Philippine Gecko trade. It has been rumored that it's gall bladder enzymes can cure HIV, AIDS, STD and asthma. It can be sold at around Php1,500 each or auctioned.  Yet, never has it been proven that it can cure the mentioned illnesses at all.  Despite this, people still trade whether face to face or online and pay big money. At present the tuko is being illegally captured at night time in the rural areas.  Potentially, it can threaten the ecosystem of an area by disrupting the food chain.

That the tuko can cure AIDS is similar to what Satan wants us to believe, it's lies.  We are intelligent enough to know right from wrong. We even know the ultimate consequence of sin that is hell. Yet, we still "buy" in to sin.  We mistakenly fall into the lies of the temporary cures of this world, so we can forego the eternal healing, peace, and happiness Jesus wants us to gain.

I don't know how long this tuko trade will go on.  I think as long as someone is desperate to get cured of AIDS and will take his or her chances on the Philippine Gecko.  I don't know how long will we believe in Satan's lies of hopelessness, pride, and unforgiveness.  But for as long if we believe and trust in Jesus Christ, we will be guided to the truth and our salvation is in His hands.