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Category: Faith and Reason (Page 2 of 8)

We know how to rest our bodies, but how do we rest our souls?

January 14, 2023 /

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews: 

“Beloved: While the promise of entering God’s rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it.”

Story of Rest

When was the last time you felt rested? 

Recently I unintentionally fell asleep on our living room couch. It all started with me telling myself that I’m just going to place my head down for a couple of minutes until my kids arrive home from school. Of course, I have no recollection of them arriving home. The first thing that I noticed after waking up was that I was surrounded by my kids’ stuffed animals, including a stuffed Eoyore, Winnie the Pooh Character that I was grasping onto. My kids and wife started to laugh at me as they showed me embarrassing photos of me sleeping among the stuffed animals and hugging them. 

Image by Jeremy Bishop from Unsplash.com

Despite this immensely embarrassing power nap, I felt well rested and was prepared to tackle our evening duties. 

Making effort to enter rest

While physical rest restores our bodies and brains, resting in God (or spiritual rest) restores our souls. That all sounds very spiritual; how do we restore our intangible soul? In the same way we have to make regular time to eat and physically rest to restore our bodies, we have to make time for prayer to restore our soul. Prayer can come in different forms. 

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Spiritual Procrastination

January 13, 2023 /

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews: 

“The Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors put me to the test, though they had seen my works for forty years… They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.””

Do you consider yourself a procrastinator? 

Why do you think people procrastinate even when it causes anxiety? 

Recently, I was reading through the comments of a YouTube video on procrastination and the following comment caught my attention: “The amount of stress I got from being guilty of procrastination is higher than stress from my actual work.” 

The human mind is very mysterious. When I was in high school I would procrastinate, especially in classes that I had trouble in. I normally procrastinated when I had the greatest fear of failure. In my experience, fear of unknown outcomes normally leads to procrastination. 

Procrastination is closing ourselves off from the reality that we have to eventually face. I would procrastinate from studying for my chemistry test, but eventually I had to face the test and deal with the consequences of anxiety, fear, and failure. Alternatively, I could have studied and had more confidence on the day of the test. 

In the Old Testament the Israelites wandered in the wilderness just outside of their promised land for 40 years. The reward that God promised them if they remained faithful was right there, yet several times the Israelites chose to shut God out of their lives. In other words they were procrastinating. They knew what had to be done, but didn’t do it. Instead of remaining faithful to God, they worshiped idols and fought among themselves for power, ultimately rebelling against God. 

In the same way we procrastinate in our spiritual lives. We have a sense that we ought to live a life faithful to God, but we can’t see the exact outcome, so we just put Him off. Yet God’s plan for us is within reach, if only our hearts weren’t hardened towards him.

Let us pray, 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

Lord Jesus, all glory and honour is yours. Thank you for creating me with the potential to acquire and apply knowledge. Inspire me with the motivation and the discipline to productively work on my CPTs and study for my exams. Help me to focus and dispel my fears and anxieties at this time. I pray this in Your name. Amen. 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

“What’s my purpose in life?” is the wrong question to ask.

January 12, 2023 /

One of the big questions people often struggle with is, “What is my purpose in life?”

Perhaps a better question to ask is, “What is my purpose in life right now?” 

Photo by Matt Walsh from Unsplash.com

In Matthew’s gospel Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist. John’s baptism symbolized the start of Christ’s earthly ministry – what he was set apart for by God the Father. In Isaiah’s prophecy, Jesus said to be set apart for different roles. For some Jesus was a sign of justice, for some Jews he was a sign of God’s covenant with their people, for others he was a light of hope during a period of oppression, and for some Jesus was a liberator from spiritual darkness. 

Throughout our lives God can set us apart for several different purposes. Even now, He may have different purposes for you. Your obvious calling now is to be a student and a son or daughter. Beyond your immediate vocation, God may call you to bring healing and hope into someone’s day. Tomorrow, God may set you aside for another purpose. And several other purposes as you grow older. 

God has created you to be gifted multidimensional people. There’s so much you have to offer to the world, don’t limit yourself to just one purpose or label. If there is one purpose that we all have it is this: To know God, to love God, and to serve him in this world and to be happy with him in this world and the next. In John’s gospel Jesus says, “I came so that you may have life and have it more abundantly.” In other words our dignity and purpose are found in a relationship with God. 

Let us pray, 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Heavenly Father, I thank You for loving me, even when I am undeserving of Your love. There are many voices in this world that seek my attention and try to lead me further from You with false promises. As my move through my day leads me to open my eyes to how I can serve you in this part of my life. Help me to see the deeper purpose of things that now may appear mundane. Continue to shape me in Your image. I pray this in Your name. Amen. 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

From Death Into Life

January 5, 2023 /

When I was growing up, on the surface, my family was well off. My parents had respectable and well-paying jobs, had two cars, and lived in a generously sized suburban home in a quiet neighborhood.

Yet having material success did not equate to peace and love in our home. Our home was filled with conflict, animosity towards those whom we were supposed to love the most, and jealousy. There was always a sense of wanting more; never having enough. Everyone blamed one another.

The apostle John writes, “Yet if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:17).

Photo by Joshua Sortino from Unsplash.com

Not surprisingly, God was not a part of our home. Our hearts were so closed against one another that there was no space for God. Personal gain was more important than laying down one’s life for the other. Jealousy of other people’s possessions dictated decisions. There was no room for love in any of our hearts.

We were living in a state of spiritual death since we allowed sin to consume our hearts.

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My Response to Polly Toynbee, Vice-President of UK Humanists, on The tragedy of religious baggage that comes with Christmas

December 24, 2022 /

Today’s post is my response to Polly Toynbee’s article in the U.K. newspaper The Guardian, Christmas comes with good cheer. The tragedy is the religious baggage.

By the time I reached my early twenties I had rejected Christianity and identified as an atheist for many of the reasons Ms. Toynbee mentions in this article along with my study of Marxism. However, after a series of unexpected events I decided to embrace Catholicism.

Why would I become Catholic? Was I unaware of the hypocritical Catholic politicians, priests, bishops, and popes? Never mind the abuses that some men and women committed on behalf of the church. Did I willfully ignore all this? Of course not.

Photo by Kenny Eliason from Unsplash.com

I also did not ignore the role that Catholics played in the advancement of Western Civilization. The role of Benedictine monks in the modernization of agriculture across Europe. The role of copyist monks who preserved the ancient works of Greek, Roman, and Arabic philosophers (even ones that were contrary to Christian doctrine). The founding of modern universities. Contributions to the advancement of science, particularly in physics, astronomy, and biology. One notable example is physicist and Catholic priest, Georges Lemaitre, the formulator the Big Bang Theory.

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Are You A Source of Darkness Or Light In The World?

December 21, 2022 /

On Christmas Eve of 1914 Belgian, French, and German soldiers hesitantly climbed out of their blood and mud filled trenches and navigated barbed wire to meet in “no man’s land”. They shared tobacco, drank wine, exchanged pleasantries and even played friendly games of soccer. This historical Christmas day has come to be known as “The Christmas Truce.” Soldiers who were trying to kill each other on the French battlefields of WWI a couple of hours earlier, were now enjoying each other’s company and celebrating Christmas. There wasn’t an atom of hate, as one biographer described it. 

How is it possible that groups of people who seemingly hated each other all of a sudden became close friends? 

Such acts of humility, kindness, and joy are signs of Christ’s Spirit alive in people’s hearts. This historical event shows us that God’s spirit is inside everyone. However, we have the choice to ignore or embrace that voice. On Christmas of 1914 these men embraced God’s Spirit. As a result they became liberated from hate, anger, and fear and became Jesus’s light in the most unlikely of places – a bloody, muddy, disease infected, desolate battlefield. Men who were once sources of darkness to the world became sources of light.

There’s a lot of unavoidable darkness in the world. The question we need to ask ourselves this Christmas and beyond is this: Am I going to be a source of darkness or light to the people around me? This is a decision you and I need to make every day we wake up. 

Let us pray,

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

God, my light and salvation, enable me to find joy and hope even in my darkest days. Ignite my heart so that I may be a source of joy and hope to those surrounded by darkness and doubt. Amen.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

Carrying Our Burdens Alone Is A Sign Of Pride

December 18, 2022 /

A reading from the Gospel according to St. Matthew:

“My yoke is easy, and my burden light.” – Matthew 11:30

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I don’t want to be a burden to others.” This is a common thought that crosses our minds when we are wrestling with pain (mental or physical). We know that sharing our burdens can alleviate our pain, yet we convince ourselves that our peers and loved ones would rather not hear about it. Sometimes we can even convince ourselves that suffering alone in silence is somehow a sign of humility. 

Image by Marcin Simonides from Unsplash.com

In reality, trying to carry the burden of pain alone, can be a sign of pride. Remember, even Jesus allowed Simon to help with carrying His cross.  

The “yoke” Jesus is referring to is a wooden bar that sits on top of the backs of two or more cattle. It binds the cattle together and allows them to collectively pull a plow that on their own they could never do. Just as importantly the yoke ensures that the cattle don’t wander. 

Similarly, if we share our own burdens with people we trust they become much lighter. Who are the people in your life with whom you can share your burdens with? A close friend? A family member? A teacher? On the other hand, who needs you to assist with their burdens? 

Finally, Jesus invites us to share our burdens with him. Through faith, with Jesus, our burdens that were once perceived as too heavy will become significantly easier to overcome. 

Let us pray, 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

Lord, Jesus I thank you for loving me. I thank you for your endless patience with my constant impatience. Give me the strength as I continue to work in the different areas of my life. I pray for the humility to share my burdens with others and increase in love towards those who need someone to share their own burdens with. I pray this in Your Holy Name. Amen.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

God’s Light Never Fades (Even You Ignore It)

December 17, 2022 /

On December 11, 2021, NASA’s Parker Solar Space probe became the first spacecraft to touch the surface of the sun – specifically, the corona, while moving at 364 639 miles per hour (fast enough to fly from New York to Tokyo in under 1 minute. The spacecraft came just over 5 million miles from the surface of the sun. The corona of the sun is more than 1 million degrees, while its surface is much cooler at just over 5000 degrees.

Image by Jongsun Lee from Unsplash.com

The sun releases 3.8 x 10^26 watts of power every second, which is the equivalent of 1,820,000,000 Tsar Bombs – the most powerful nuclear bomb ever tested, exploding every second. The sun is extremely powerful, and potentially even destructive, yet it is also life giving. 

Similarly, despite God’s omnipotence, omniscience, and power, He sustains our very being and offers us grace (which mean, undeserved and unmerited gifts). Just as the sun is always present, even when we can’t see it, God’s presence and sustaining grace is also constant even when we don’t feel Him in our lives or don’t acknowledge Him. Yet, he is there, constantly working to form us in His image; His love never fading. 

Let us pray, 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

Heavenly Father, we thank you for loving us. Thank you for sustaining us and all of creation. Look upon us with mercy for the times we have turned away from you. We pray that the light of Your Son, Jesus, grants us peace, comfort and strength in our lives, especially in the parts where there is a lot of darkness. We make this prayer in Your Mighty Name. Amen. 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The Persecution No One Talks About

December 17, 2022 /

Yesterday marked the beginning of the third week of Advent. This Sunday has traditionally been called by the Latin name Guadate, which translates to “joyful” and is marked by lighting the pink candle on the Advent wreath. The reason this Sunday depicts joy is because it marks the second last Sunday of Advent before the birth of Jesus.

For many Christians around the world Advent is a time of fear. While it is rarely spoken about in our media, in the last 20 years Christians have been the most persecuted and displaced religious group around the world, particularly in the Middle East, and parts of northern, Sub-Saharan and Western Africa. For example, Syria contains the only majority Christian town that has Aramaic as its official language – the language that Jesus spoke. Between 2011 and 2013, Churches have been bombed, Christian icons (some well over 1000 years old) have been destroyed, and priests publicly executed. In Syria in 2011, there were 1.7 million Christians, today there are less than 450 000. In Iraq, the Christian population shrunk from 1.5 million in 2003 to less than 120 000 today. Even in Biblical areas such as Gaza and the West Bank the Christian population plummeted from 11 percent to less than 1 percent in the last 100 years. 

Many Christians in the Middle East are ethnically Assyrians, Suryani, or Coptic. These ethnic groups are indigenous to the lands and are even mentioned in the Old Testament. 

A couple years ago I met a Coptic Christian Egyptian man, who was staying at a monastery outside Cairo, Egypt. The monastery attacked and his life was spared because the attackers saw his peaceful faith in God even in the face of death. Another gentleman, I met 12 years ago, who today runs an NGO smuggling persecuted religious minorities out of the Middle East, shared with me that when he was a young man the Cairo police arrested and tortured him because he was found with a Bible. Even in our school, there are Middle Easter Christians who have escaped with their lives. I am grateful for their stories. 

On a hopeful note many of these Christian have chosen to immigrate to Canada where they can live out their faith in peace, not only among their own communities, but among other religious communities as well. Today, let us pray for the families of Middle Eastern Christians who have started a new life in Canada and for those who continue to live in their homeland. 

Let us pray,

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

Lord Jesus, we thank you for loving us. We thank you for the gift of your Middle Eastern followers., especially those who are part of our school community. We pray that those who are experiencing persecution for their faith be comforted by Your loving presence. We pray especially for those who had to flee for their lives and have become separated from their families. Invite into your loving presence those who have unjustly lost their lives because of their Christian faith. We pray this in Your name. Amen. 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

 

Do What Your Mother Says! Why we should honour Mary.

January 18, 2022 /

When I was growing up it was difficult to say “no” to my mom. Yes, of course, there were times when I was plain rude to her; especially as a teenager, but I always ended up feeling guilty.

Even today, if she asks me to do something I have a hard time saying “no” even if her request is annoying. For example, asking me to drive all the way to St. Catharines to set-up her new Ipad because she’s intimidated by technology.

It can be so difficult to say “no” to moms, thats why dad’s often say, “Listen to your mother!”

To me it’s a mystery why our mom’s have this spell over us. Perhaps it’s because we just don’t want to let them down, since they sacrifice so much for us throughout our entire lives.

Jesus honours his mom. Shouldn’t we?

I think the same is true for Jesus.

Often the focus of the Wedding at Cana reading is Jesus turning water into wine. In one sense, that is not that interesting. If Jesus is God, then he has the ability to suspend and alter nature’s laws. At this point in the Bible that has long been established.

What I find interesting is his obedience to Mary. Remember, Jesus is God incarnate. Mary is not divine. Yet, with little hesitation, Jesus does as she says. Mary must have had some sass. When Jesus makes an excuse for not providing wine, Mary doesn’t even bother to entertain her son’s excuse. She simply assumes that Jesus will do as she says by telling the servants “Do whatever, he tells you.” Jesus then turns the water into wine.

Jesus honored his mother, Mary. This is one the reasons why I as a Catholic Christian honour her. Why would I do anything different than Jesus? Once again, if we ask ourselves the often rhetorical question: “What would Jesus do?” We should be prepared to actually “do” what Jesus does. In this case, it is to honour Mary just as Jesus honoured her.

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