Faith is the hope of the future, illuminating the present...

It has been a busy time of self discovery and time spent with family and friends... In a blink of an eye, it is almost the end of the year.

At a recent Sunday mass at Hammond Park Catholic Primary, Father shared the words of Pope Francis. If I recall correctly, Our Holy Father said: "Faith is the hope of the future, illuminating the present, to carry us into the future".

I draw strength from these words. Without hope, our spirit dies... It is with faith, that we can hope in a better tomorrow, and at the same time knowing that God will guide us there, regardless of the situation we are currently in.

Increase our faith Lord, when we feel hopeless and downtrodden.

We are a work in progress

Lent has come and gone, and it is now Easter.

I was particularly struck by one of Father's homilies during the second week of Lent. He said that we are a work in progress. God is continually molding and forming us into His image and Likeness.

I'm not sure able you but I always beat myself up when I do something that is wrong or bad. I don't mean literally but figuratively. I would blame myself and this not only affects me but those around me as well.

It is comforting to know that we are really a work in progress and it is ok to fall, to make mistakes. That is all about being human. God is making us into the person He intends us to be, through the our wrongdoings, in His time. Let us accept that we are only human, and that each mistake is a learning experience for us to be a better person.

Thank you Lord for all you do, for Christ Jesus your Son!

Seeing the miracles in our lives

Recently at Mass, the Gospel was on the Wedding at Cana, where Jesus performed His first miracle. Father shared with us how important it is to be thankful for the miracles that happen to us everyday.

Every time I hear this Gospel, I am reminded about my own wedding. We were also running low on wine, and through the kind gesture of the hotel banquet manager, supplied us with additional bottles of wine as compensation for a minor hiccup at the start of the celebration. Although there was no need on his part, he went ahead. This to me was a miracle like that at Cana.

Since then, I have tried to give thanks to God for the little miracles that has happened to me. Many times I have focused too much on my petitions, praying for a miracle to happen but receiving nothing. During those times, I have failed to see the other miracles that occurred, until on hindsight.

I pray that as we embark on this new year, let us always be thankful for the many miracles in our lives and may His grace open our eyes to see these miracles.

Small steps in faith

A few weeks ago at mass, Father shared with us one of the lessons he learned during a gathering of priests. They were asked 2 questions.

First, would they still choose the path of the priesthood had they known the challenges they were going to face? All of them answered a resounding No.

The second was did they regret choosing the path of the priesthood? They all replied without hesitation No.

Father explained that we all shy away when faced with huge and immense tasks, but when we tackle them in small steps, they become manageable. It is precisely these small steps of faith that allows us to conquer the giant task of being Christians. Let us not be overwhelmed by the task at hand but to take those small steps in faith, knowing that down the road, we will be able to accomplish great things.

Desperate for Christ

I recently attended the Closer retreat conducted by the Catholic Guy ministry, and it was very refreshing indeed. The message from one of the talks spoke very strongly to me.

"We need to be desperate for Christ". The speaker shared the stories about the woman with a hemorrhage, the paralytic and his four friends, and Zacchaeus the tax collector. They were all desperate for Jesus, and Jesus repaid their faith through healing and conversion. Both the woman and the paralytic were healed, and Zacchaeus was converted.

I seem to be cruising through life without a thought of wanting Jesus to really come and rock the boat. I have never been in similar situations like those mentioned above to warrant desperation for Christ, though I must admit I have come close... Nevertheless, I came away convinced that in order to receive healing and conversion, I need to be desperate for Christ in all situations.

I pray and offer up my present situation to Jesus and that I may be desperate for Him always. I believe that God will change the aspects of my life which needs His intervention. May you also be desperate for Christ in your own unique situation, and experience His healing and conversion.

The Cross always leads to the Resurrection

"The Cross always leads to the Resurrection" These words of Father at mass recently struck me. All of us at any moment in our lives are carrying some form of crosses. Let us not focus on these crosses but on the Resurrection that will come.

Father shared with us that in life, we will always have our crosses to carry. God does not want us to suffer but allows us to experience pain, so we can come out stronger and better. Christ is the perfect example for us. God allowed His Son to die on the cross so we can be saved through the resurrection.

Let us embrace our cross and focus on the resurrection that comes through it. Remember that God will not allow us to bear a cross that we cannot handle. Let us take heart in that and look towards Christ for strength to endure the journey and emerge victorious with Him!

What are your pursuits?

It has been a very busy past few weeks. We had my family visiting and we had such an amazing time. So much has happened since. I received an email from work informing of new changes to how things are done. I was very excited about the prospect of this, but alas it was really about changing the people involved in doing the work.

I knew that the workplace is changing and people can very easily lose their jobs. This time around, such an event has happened to me. I remembered Father's homily recently. He spoke about our pursuits. What are your pursuits? Do we forget to pursue Christ in our daily lives? It got me thinking. Is Christ the main pursuit in my life? If so, would He not care about what happens to me? If I pursue Christ in all that I do, He would ensure that I am well taken care of. This loss would only be temporary as I am confident that Christ has a new plan for me.

On hindsight, Christ has blessed the people on the other side of this world with jobs. He knows that they need it more than me. Help me to trust in your great plan for me and for everyone else. As I step forth into the unknown, I pray Lord, take my hand every step of the way. Thank you Lord.