I Take Off the Mask

I grew up Catholic, but I’ve only recently found out what graces have been made available to us through several devotions that have been handed down to us by the saints. O, what great consolations for us who strive throughout our lives to fight the good fight for heaven. While it is true that salvation is free and has been fully paid for by the sacrifice of Jesus at the cross, He has extended His grace and His mercy through various means. This is not to devalue what He has already done but to make it all the more available for us. He knows how weak we are and how we need help at almost every instance of our lives. He also knows how forgetful we are and how we badly need instruments to remind us of the path He desires for our salvation. Below are some of the devotions I would also like to share with you. Let us avail of them while we can and thank God for His providence and generosity. The Scapular “Whosoever dies wearing this Scapular Shall not suffer eternal fire!”- Our Lady of Mount...

Image by S?n Nguy?n ?ình from Pixabay “There is much in Christianity which can be subjected to exact analysis. But the ultimate things are shrouded in the silent mysteries of God.” – Hans Urs von Balthasar I can understand why people can be easily turned off by Catholicism. There are many facets of the faith that are not easy to understand. People question why we believe in purgatory when it is not clearly mentioned in the Bible. And it is never easy to explain how a simple piece of bread could very well be the true body of Jesus Christ. But then again, Christianity itself is filled with difficult concepts. To a secular world, how do we even start to preach that one man has risen from the dead? There is also the concept of the Trinity, three persons in One God. In a way, the Catholic faith is filled with mystery. And this mystery invites us to draw closer to God. It helps us to seek Him, to talk to Him, to ask Him the many questions we have at the back of our mi...

Image by Briam Cute from Pixabay These are my own reflections as I pondered on the unfathomable mystery on why Jesus, the Son of God Himself, must die in order to save us: • To show us God’s face , so we would know what true goodness, love, holiness, righteousness, gentleness, goodness, perseverance, patience, meekness and mercy is, even to the very point of selfless suffering and death. • To bear upon Himself our iniquities, to pay for a debt we could never pay. To be the sacrificial Lamb that would once and for all be the Perfect Sacrifice for all our sins, paving way for forgiveness without measure and infinite mercy for all who would accept such sacrifice and humble oneself as one who deserves to be punished instead. To reconcile God and man once and for all by the cross such that when the Father looks down upon earth, He would see it through the cross of His Son. • To reach us at our point of greatest pain and affliction, even to death, so we’d never feel alone even in such momen...

“All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” – Ernest Hemingway Have you ever felt like you wanted to share so much with someone but there’s just so little time? Maybe all you’d ever have is a chat as you walk down the street. Or maybe all that’s given you is what little time there is to finish that cup of coffee. As a writer, I’ve always felt there’s so much I’d like to share. But if I could only tell someone the most important things I think a person should know in life, I think it has to be about my faith in God. God is Love. That is perhaps the truest statement I know. That is also the most life-changing truth a person can ever believe in. And if there are only five things I could tell someone to elaborate on this, it would be as follows: 1. You can really love God like you love another person. How I pray that everyone can know this! That God is real and that we can love Him like we love another person. You can talk with God and receive ...

Image by Mircea Ploscar from Pixabay I have to admit it. Sometimes I want to believe in fate. There is something about fate that feels good, that feels right. To think that some wonderful events were meant to be. To believe that there are people that were meant to come into your life. Believing in fate helps you go through difficult moments. It gives you faith that there is some unseen force working in your favor, that wants the best for you, and that will make a way somehow so that you could have your happy ending. What a comfort to know that you are being taken care of and that things are under control even when they don’t seem to be. Ah, there is still hope even when you could no longer see how things could still be right. There could yet be a happy future despite the darkness that you see today. Such is fate. Positive fate. Who wouldn’t want a happy ending? Who wouldn’t dream of a life filled with meaning, whose every crisis was woven to bring you greater joy? But ...