I Take Off the Mask

Our grief is personal Our griefs are as personal as the people we have love and lost. Grief books are like that also. They are special because they came from the unique bond the authors have had with their loved ones who died. No one can ever say that they had the exact same grieving experience as another. We grieve in our own way and in our own time. This doesn’t mean, however, that we cannot understand each other’s sorrows. Grief is also a bond shared by everyone who have lost the ones they love. Those who have been left behind all feel the emptiness and hurt after their loved ones have passed away. Perhaps we read books about grief because we want to know that we are not alone. Someone out there also misses their loved one. Someone also cries every night, calling out the name of the only person who can take their pain away. Here is an alternative list of grief books you may want to read after the death of a loved one. They are not the most popular ones you often see. But they, t...

When you find it hard to look forward in hope “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.” – Psalm 27:13, NASB 1995 When problems rise up against me, when troubles surround me, and when I see injustice everywhere, that’s when I’m tempted to be in despair and to lose faith. I ask God so many questions. “Where are you when the poor have nothing to eat?” “Where are you when the sick are suffering in pain?” “Where are you when the innocent are being unjustly accused?” It’s not so easy to trust God then as when the days are good and the blessings are plenty. During such times when I need God so badly and He remains silent, I feel a deep chasm between us that I could never cross and He is as distant as a dream I could never reach. I have read and I have written so many articles about the existence of evil and why such evil had been allowed by a good God. But everything seems useless when one personally experiences u...

Image by Václav Závada from Pixabay First of all, I would like to say I’m Catholic. That said, I abide by the dogmas of the Catholic Church. However, I believe that the Church can make some improvements when it comes to the application of its teachings. The Catholic Church had always been driven by its teachings on God’s mercy and compassion. These are two words that should have made it easier for almost everyone to come. Two words that should have made people feel welcomed instead of being driven away. But why is it that many people feel afraid of approaching the Church? Why is it that instead of feeling understood, people feel that they are being judged and cast away? When I think about these things, I can’t help but think about that one word that may be driving away so many LGBTQ people: disordered. To understand it better, here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about homosexuality: Chastity and homosexuality Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between...