Rock Solid Faith in the Lord

While in Batanes, we came upon a row of stone houses located near the sea shore. The stone houses were built to withstand the worst storms. The people there through time developed this design out of the many experiences they had with all kinds of treacherous weather.

If the conviction of our faith is like a house, what is it made of? Is it made of stones or rocks that is immovable and strong even through tough conditions? Is the conviction of our faith made of Nipa (dried leaves made into straw), that when tested by winds of peer pressure or popular opinion will easily be blown down?

How can we build up our conviction?

1. Study and research about your faith. Nothing imprints on our minds and hearts better than the process of reading through and noting down. Discovering more about the faith through a laborious undertaking convicts us.

2. Engage in discussion with others. Our stand is tested in engaging through dialogue. By conveying and defending our beliefs to others, our convictions are deepened.

3. Have an Intimate relationship with the Lord. Having this type of relationship with God makes our faith like solid rock. Peter was referred to as the "Rock." He truly had a strong relationship with Jesus and he was convicted in his faith until his death.

Let us have a solid rock faith conviction; immovable and constant amidst winds that want to blow us to the direction of sin and pride.

He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.

He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. (Luke 6:48)

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."

A Love Triangle with God

We had our wedding vows renewed in Cana of Galilee. Together with 17 other couples in our pilgrimage group, we experienced being where Jesus  attended a wedding feast. As we all know, it is where he actualized his first miracle of turning water into wine.  This was one of our highlights in the pilgrimage.

Here are my reflections on love and our special relationships:

For a relationship to be faithful and fruitful it has to be a Love Triangle: you, your loved one, and your most Loved One.  God has to be the third person in any relationship, your most Loved One.  There will come a time when the other can be almost unbearable to be with.  One only has to look on God and how He loves us, then we are able to understand how to love the other.  Without a relationship with God, a marriage or a relationship is bound to deteriorate and be "civil" and eventually might break up. We need God's grace to truly and fully love our partner.  True love can only flow from the One who is Love.  For God is Love, and from Him we receive love of which we give to the other.  We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).

The bible teaches us how to love. St. Paul exhorts, "Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated,it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Cor. 13: 4-7)."  This is how God loves us and more. It can be our own checklist. Just substitute the words "Love and it" to your name (e.g. Kirby is patient...etc.).  This simple guide can help us love one another.

We renew our love for another on a daily basis.  Through a couple prayer, we recommit before God each day for the strengthening of our bond and for the mission He has given us.  We need not wait to reach our Silver or Golden anniversaries for our vows to be renewed.  Special occasions can help us mark our milestones.  But our commitment to God for our relationship is a day to day renewal.  Just like Jesus turning water into wine, He makes what is plain into something sweet and special.  With Jesus, we are renewed and we are able to treat one another with sweetness and specialty. 

May God strengthen our relationships, not only to our spouse, but to our friends, family, and neighbors.  Let us seek Him who is Love, so we may truly know how to love. Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God (1 John 4:7).

Faith is an Encounter with Jesus

October 28, 2011 (friday)
I went to a 6am mass in Mandalay and in the priest's homily he said,"Faith is not an ideology, not even a morality. Faith is life. Faith is an encounter with Jesus."
We can get caught up in the routine of service and lose the essence of why we serve or attend mass. In all we do, we are reminded to seek for an encounter with Jesus. This is what faith is all about, a relationship with our Lord.