A year ago today, I published the following blog. Because it is the Season of Jesus, I would like to revisit it for the benefit of those who missed it the first time.
Ever since I can remember, I’ve always been a Roman Catholic. Throughout my early school years, Sundays were spent attending the Holy Mass in Latin, responding, “Et cum spiritu tuo” to every priest’s “Dominus vobiscum.” I didn’t exactly know what I was repeating back then as growing up bilingual was confusing enough for me, but it felt good to follow the prayers in a dead language.
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Ever since I can remember, I’ve always been a Roman Catholic. Throughout my early school years, Sundays were spent attending the Holy Mass in Latin, responding, “Et cum spiritu tuo” to every priest’s “Dominus vobiscum.” I didn’t exactly know what I was repeating back then as growing up bilingual was confusing enough for me, but it felt good to follow the prayers in a dead language.
Today when I read about people of substance who are self-proclaimed atheists, I can’t help but feel sad. These people whom a Supreme Being blessed with remarkable skills and talents that made them world-famous don’t even acknowledge His existence! If you’re a Roman Catholic like me, you might feel extremely disappointed too.
You see, I’ve always believed that a Higher Power (the Invisible Someone) is responsible for everything around us. In the same manner that when a new technological device comes out in the market, a brilliant mind was behind its invention. My religion teachers taught me that the universe was created in six days and on the seventh (Sabbath) day, the Great Designer took a day of rest. I never questioned this belief, always taking it as gospel truth. Come to think of it, there must be Someone more powerful and more intelligent than human beings Who designed our universe, the other planets, the lunar and solar systems and global climates. Landscaping with trees and flowers to make our world look good. Planting crops to nourish our bodies. Breeding the animal kingdom in interesting colors, shapes and forms. Teaching the pioneer inhabitants how to build houses to protect themselves from extreme weather conditions, Showing them how to put together clothing to keep them warm. Designing the layout of mountains and oceans. God was not content to populate the earth with human beings who speak only one language. He created countries with a variety of dialects and speech patterns and had the inhabitants follow customs and traditions unique to their locations. Someone with a multilingual and multinational Mind was obviously responsible for that idea.
Even the telephone lines haven’t ceased to amaze me. How is it possible that people can speak to someone with clarity thousands of miles away? In another country… another continent? Even on another planet? The computer is another amazing invention. I click on the mouse and instantly get to go to different places in the world! I agree that human genius made all this advanced technology possible, but Someone with an infinite and absolute power allowed it to happen. He made it alright for telephone lines to go beyond boundaries and circuits to work across the globe. Now there’s the skype phenomenon which allows people anywhere in the world to see each other while conversing over the telephone line. If we take a moment to ponder on these incredible advancements in technology, we won’t find it hard to believe in God.
I never had a difficult time being awed by such creations because, fortunately, I grew up believing in that Amazing Divine Entity I’ve always called God. He is Good and Generous. All He expects from each and every one is to use the skills and talents we were given for the common good. Here’s what I believe: If we ever find ourselves in trouble, and we want to get pulled from out of that unhappy hole, all we need to do is to find a moment in our busy lives to chat with Him. Call it a conversation with God. Get the grief out of our system. (If our partners and significant others won't give us the time of day, God will let us have that one-on-one.) Plead our case that we deserve a better life. (God is the fairest Judge in the universe and He will grant what we deserve.) If we believe that our miserable plight will be resolved, in God’s time it will happen. But I also believe that the favorable response might happen quicker to those who do more good than bad. Although it's true that bad things can happen to good people, many times the reason is to simply test their faith and fortitude.
The reason that I have come to love this Internet activity called blogging is that it allows me to use my God-given gift. In addition, writing to an anonymous audience has allowed me to share my innermost thoughts with anyone out there who cares to be moved. My hope is to make someone smile... question... think... and ponder. If one soul gets uplifted from something I say, that would be my amazing reward. But the priceless compensation for me is to be able to convince a non-believer that our God-given universe is a gift to human kind for which we should be grateful.
I’m most thankful to my God for showing me a wonderful way to not put the talent I was blessed with to waste. As long as something needs to be said and shared, and whether anyone likes it or not, I’ll continue to blog my private thoughts. So help me, God!
