Thanks to God, we're doing well! And we (my sis-in-law, my wife, our young adult son, and I) have had the opportunity to participate in today's Mass.
Celebrating the Mass with us today was a Monsignor and Catholic chaplain in one of the hospitals in the area. In his extemporaneous homily, he spoke about the Divine Mercy of Jesus, our Savior, and the "doubting" or "unbelieving" Thomas (one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ) who said, in the Gospel of John (20: 19-31) today, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."...Jesus said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."
Monsignor E likened Apostle Thomas to most, if not all, of us who always want proof or evidence so then can we believe. This is like our faith in shambles, at times. There are instances or circumstances where our faith is tested and shattered. We are like Thomas who doubts, unless we see. But Monsignor E encouraged us to seek Jesus' Divine Mercy, especially when we're losing faith or having doubts about our faith in God and His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior/Redeemer.
We've been familiar with the statement," To see is to believe." What if we don't see and yet believe? That's faith, isn't it? We don't see God. We don't see Jesus. Yet, we believe in God. We believe in Jesus. That's what we've always been praying/reciting in the Mass; thus, the Apostles' Creed..."I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontious Pilate, was crucified and was buried; He descended into hell; on the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen."
We have so many unanswered questions, at times, in our life. Questions like, "Where were you God/Jesus when I needed you? Where were you God/Jesus when I was asking for help? Why did you let me suffer? Why did you allow such thing/s to happen? Et cetera, et cetera...We doubt our faith, at times. Why? Because we're human. We have vulnerabilities, weaknesses. That's why. Yet, if we have a prayerful life, religious and spiritual, and honest life, with a strong, solid faith in God and Jesus, we're doing well. Everything will be fine in our life. That's our belief.
This is all for now. Until next time around, my friends. Thank you for your time. Take care. God bless us all!-chris a. quilpa, 15April2012
No comments:
Post a Comment