Why do people need Jesus?
Why do people need Jesus?
What exactly is the primary reason Christians are driven to evangelize?
I would like to invite Christians of all denominations to reflect upon these questions. The Christian way of life is under a serious threat from Secularism, Modernism and other ways of life that are contrary to the ways of Christ. People all over the world suffer injustices and evils which the late Bl Pope John Paul II described as “crimes and attacks against human life” in his encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae. I listed many of these in my previous article on Morals and Conscience. People are attacking religion from all angles without truly understanding why or adopting premature conclusions and notion about religion. Many a times, we ourselves are responsible for creating these false notions. The world is hurting, and why?
It sometimes upsets me to hear fellow Christians say things like “accept Jesus and be saved” or “turn away from Damnation” and other cliché slogans that have been promulgated to non-Christians in an attempt to gather them into the Church. Very often, people develop a hatred for Christianity and keep away from Christians. They become weary of anything Christian and as we all know, the guarded heart is the hardest to penetrate.
I am a Roman Catholic. My parents raised me to be God-fearing and to be good… “or else”. They taught me to reject Satan (who as my dad would say “is as real as God”) and all his empty promises from the time I was Baptised (as an Infant) to the time I was confirmed. As I grew older, I learned about the importance of a deep and intimate relationship with God. I love the way I was raised. Getting a child to develop a certain Fear of the Lord and at the same time a Love for Him is in my opinion the best way to raise a child.
However, what is the best way to sell Jesus to people in this time and age? Certainly the cliché slogans used in the earlier paragraph seem to emphasize a lot on Fear of the Lord. Just think about it for a while… “not being saved”, “hell”, etc. (From a Roman Catholic point of view, these slogans are completely false as we believe that salvation can be found through other religions. However let us not go there for now). People today are more rebellious. Conformity is not on the cards. Rules are for losers. Why be a saint? Christianity with all its rules seems to be serious outdated and irrelevant! This need to challenge the system will render many of the God-fearing slogans used to “scare” people into the church ineffective and useless.
So how do we sell Jesus? As we cannot use this “Fear of the Lord campaign” (which is not only Theologically inaccurate but also extremely counter-cultural), we have to start resorting to the approach of an intimate relationship with Jesus.
Father Gino Henriques came to St Francis Xavier parish and told the congregation the story of a Canadian man who spent 15 years doing charity work in a small village in South America. He built houses, schools, Churches and did all sorts of charitable things for the natives there. Upon arriving home, his priest congratulated him and told him what a wonderful job he had done. He looked at his priest and said, “Father, my one greatest regret is that I did not give them Jesus. When I left, they had a lot more. But they did not know God.”
The idea of having such an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ is in my opinion the one thing that defines Christianity. Jesus is the ultimate role model who lived in this world as a man and suffered death in the cruellest form of Roman Punishment reserved for common criminals. His teachings were radical for the time and age in which he preached, promoting humility, understanding, agape (unconditional) love, concepts which were associated with the weak and poor. He preached the beatitudes:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek; for they shall possess the land. Blessed are they who mourn; for they shall be comforted. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice; for they shall have their fill. Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure of heart; for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called children of God. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
All of which were revolutionary ideas. These teachings of Christ tie in with the Eternal Law of God which as discussed in the previous post on Morals and Conscience dictates the way men are called to live.
Bl Pope John Paul II said “Jesus is the answer to which every human heart is the question”. The intimate connection with Jesus as a brother, and as a friend who loves us is the CORNERSTONE of the Christian faith. It should be the insatiable desire to help people, out of love, out of the basic human need to help alleviate their pain that drives us to introduce Jesus Christ to them. Many people today do not fully understand what love truly is. I spoke about the different forms of love one of the older articles Reflection on Love. Love today is so easily misunderstood and confused with secular definitions.
The Medugorje message from Our Lady speaks of the love that Christ has for the world saying “If you knew how much I love you you’d cry for joy”. Everybody wants and deserves to be loved. Everybody wants and deserves to be understood.
How many teenagers do you know who say “my parents don’t love me”? How many more do you know who say “I’ve done so many bad things. I’m such a bad person”? How many teenagers/people are there who suffer from inferiority complexes, insecurity issues and poor self-esteem, and resort to all kinds of vices to find fulfilment and acceptance. There are children, teenagers, young people, adults, people of all ages who have lost respect for themselves as Children of God. They feel unloved. They put on “masks” to hide their fears and hurts, and become people who hurt other people just to hide their own pain. They do not know that there is someone out there, whether they chose to acknowledge Him or not, who loves them so intimately and deeply, who is willing to forgive so readily, and who is all compassion and mercy.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Some of you may have experienced God’s love in different ways. Radiate that love to the world. The kind of love that does not condemn, but affirms. We have to start working together to bring Christ to the world NOT because we want to “save souls”, but because we want to bring the understanding, joy, forgiveness and love of Christ to our fellow Man.
Start with a simple “God Bless you” to the stranger on the road. That smile can go a long way. We are all responsible for each other. We are our “Brother’s keeper”.
Many people are hurting, lost and confused. Jesus is the answer to which every human heart is the question.
Morals and Conscience
The conscience is sometimes defined as one’s inner sense of what is right or wrong with regard to his/her conduct or motives. It is what some people may call the “voice inside our heads that tells us what to do and what not to do”. The conscience that will be referred to in this post is from a Theological angle. It is not totally the same as “psychological conscience” but the issue of that type of conscience will also be addressed.
“Psychological Conscience” very often refers to the Freudian superego which suggests that a child’s understanding of what is right and wrong is largely influenced by his/her parents. Freud states that “The long period of childhood during which the growing human being lives in dependence of his parents leaves behind it a precipitate, which forms within his ego a special agency in which this parental influence is prolonged. It has received the name of ‘superego’. The parents’ influence naturally includes not only personalities of the parents themselves but also the racial, national, and family traditions handed on through them, as well as the demands of the immediate social milieu which they represent.”
Conscience, as defined by many Theologians and Philosophers like St Thomas Aquinas, is something that reflects the Natural Law in our hearts and is the voice inside us that tells us what to do and what not do. The most fundamental principle of what the Natural Law commands is that “good is to be done and pursued, and evil avoided.” Natural law is related to the Eternal Law of God (the higher being who is the Creator, Saviour and Sanctifier) and is something that is “written in our hearts”. It functions as a moral compass to all men regardless of their beliefs in God and religion. It is in short, a Moral compass that guides us to do what is good, and avoid what is evil.
When it comes to the idea that our conscience is something that comes to us from a divine source, many people are quick to challenge this Church teaching raising a plethora of analogies, moral issues, and examples to debunk this teaching.
Some critics would ask, “If everyone has a conscience reflecting one Natural Law that comes from the same divine source, then why do people differ in opinion when it comes to deciding what is right and what is wrong?” This is a very valid point. Many people/groups of people spend years debating various moral issues such as the use of contraception, abortion, pre-marital sex, divorce, etc. However, the question is, does everyone reach the same conclusion with regard to these moral issues? The answer is a pretty easy one… NO!
Many well-read theologians and philosophers debate these issues using societal trends, statistics and whatever may seem logical to justify the practicality of something like contraception or abortion in society. Today more moral issues are coming into question such as *Homosexual Acts (not the same as Homosexuality). There are many differences in opinion regarding these moral issues. Even among different Christian denominations, there lie different teachings and sets of morals. For example, while the Roman Catholic Church, The Lutheran Church (in Missouri), and Presbyterian Church (in America) are strongly against abortion, The United Church of Christ (UCC), and The United Methodist Church (in the U.S) support the pro-abortion position.
The differences in Moral teaching among different groups of people are pretty evident. So is the conscience in Man really a compass pointing him in the direction of one Universal Natural Law in conformance with God’s Eternal Law? To fully understand and realise the promptings of the conscience within us, much Wisdom and Prudence is required. Because of the Naturally Sinful Nature of Man, his Judgement is always clouded by emotions, desires, his thirst for instant gratification and other factors and sins that may cause his understanding of his conscience to be “perverted and incorrect”.
Through our Human Nature, we become selfish, greedy, and prideful and work to satisfy the desires of the Flesh without even taking the time to think about the impacts of our deeds on others and society. We justify these acts by choosing to only see the good that we stand to gain from our actions. Today, we see in our society numerous “crimes and attacks against human life”. Bl. Pope John Paul II defines some of these crimes and attacks in his encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae. He writes, “Whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or wilful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body and mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where people are treated as mere instruments of gain rather than as free responsible persons; all these things and others like them are infamies. They poison human society, and they do more harm to those who practice them than to those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme dishonour to the Creator”.
The Catholic Church teaches the concept of Primary Vocation, to the Faithful. It teaches that ALL men “are called to Holiness” (to appear as saints before the Lord). Through our conscience (and Wise and Prudent Discernment/Examination of our Conscience), we can live here on Earth, meaningful, good and Holy lives that will prepare us for our Eternal life and Glory. Religion acts as the best Moral Compass as they are gifts from God to Man to teach us the right way to get to him. It is very hard for us to find holiness on our own as we are Sinful Individuals tainted with Pride, Lust and other Sins that may harden our hearts to the Truth.
I love the Analogy of God on the Mountain. It goes like this:
“All men are at the foot of a huge mountain. God is at the top of the mountain. To get there, we all take different paths. Our conscience is the driving force that gives us the desire to search for God at the top of the mountain. Our religions are all different paths leading up the mountain to the top where God is.”
*There should be a clear distinction made between the two issues concerned above, i.e. the issue of Homosexual Acts being committed and the issue of individuals having Homosexual inclinations. It is important to note that The Roman Catholic Church does not in any way condemn Homosexual men and women. It does however consider the Homosexual act a grave sin. Prudence is needed in considering the difference between the two issues, and in understanding the Church’s stand regarding them.
What’s so great about being Catholic?
Some time ago (2 years or so), someone asked me a very simple question that I just could not answer. He asked “Just what is so great about being a Catholic”?
I have been asked many Theological and complex questions about the Faith, and have at many times needed to defend some of her teachings. I do not consider myself the most knowledgeable of young Catholics around as I have still much to learn about Church doctrines and teachings. With God’s grace however, I’ve managed to explain many of these Church teachings to the many people who have asked me questions regarding The Holy Universal Church of Christ.
I went back home after being stumped by this extremely simple question (i.e. “Just what is so great about being a Catholic”?) and pondered on it for a while. It’s always the easiest questions that require answers from the heart and not the head that are so difficult to answer!
Sometime later, I came across this youtube video while attending a talk in Church. Watching this video was really a hair-raising experience as it gave me the answer to that very simple question. In 2 minutes, it summarised Theological, Historical, Scriptural, Logical, etc, stuff (that I had already known!) that made the Catholic Church so appealing to me. It was in those 2 minutes that I learned how to answer that question.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs6qZd_xP1w
It’s funny how sometimes we have the answers in our heads, but we just can’t find them in our hearts.
Reflection on Love
Eros, Storge, Phileo and Agape. These are 4 different kinds of love in the Greek Language. Each indicates a level and stage of love.
Eros love refers to physical passion. The origin of the word comes from the mythical god Eros, the God of Love in Greek Mythology. It is a very low level of love and is motivated by physical attraction and is simply erotic in nature.
Phileo love refers to “brotherly love”. Some examples include the kind of love between young lovers (affection), lifelong friends, parents and children, fellow-soldiers, members of a tribe and a buyer and a seller.
Storge love refers to “familial love”. It is the Greek word for natural affection. It exists between family members.
Agape love refers to “unconditional love” and is the highest form of love in the Catholic Church. It is also called “Charity” in the New Testament. Agape love is God’s kind of love. It is to seek the welfare and betterment of others regardless of how we feel. Agape does not have the primary meaning of feeling or affection. We can (and are called to) agape our enemies regardless of how we feel.
Christ displayed the greatest love when he died for us sinners. His non-verbal display of love had no reason and was purely unconditional. Agape love is not motivated by emotion, feeling and affection. The unconditional and self-sacrificing love is what we are called to have for God and our neighbours.
When asked what was the greatest commandment, Jesus said “‘Love (Agape) the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second: ‘Love (Agape) your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22: 37-41)
The love that us Christians are called to exhibit (Agape love) should be a love that is divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active and thoughtful. It defers greatly from the kind of love that we see in the secular world which most of the time encompasses lower levels of love. We are called to love our enemies regardless of the hurt they inflict on us. We are called to forgive those who hurt and offend us. It is easy to love people who love us and are good to us and very often, we are exclusive with our love and only love people who are easy to love. Agape love is not cheap… It is free! We’re called to love everyone equally regardless of how easy it is to love them.
Father Alex shared a story during Mass the other day. A man and his wife celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary with a quiet dinner at home. The wife had spent hours working on the dinner preparations. As they ate together, the woman suddenly asked, “Why do you love me?” Her husband promptly answered, “Because you are so very beautiful”. The woman pursed her lips and asked “But what if I were no longer beautiful? After all, I’ll not always look like this. Age will catch up with me at some point. Why would you love me then?” The man looked up and said “Because you are intelligent.” The woman again thought for a while and asked, “What if you no longer found me intelligent. Why would you love me then”? The man started to get uncomfortable but answered the question by pointing out something else that he found lovable about his lovely wife. The “interrogation” continued with the wife asking “What if I was no longer…”
Father Alex pointed out that in Agape love, we do not set conditions to love people. If God were to set conditions for us, we would all be in serious trouble! We’re all called to show Agape love, which is unconditional.
Easter is Here
Easter is finally here. And chocolates are BACK! YEAH! It has really been an awesome lenten journey. During lent, I made it a point to take frequent trips down to the adoration room to just sit there and reflect in silence. (By the way… this is no insane feat to me as I live 2 minutes away from church and have all the time in the world. :) )
Spending time in prayer in the adoration room is truly an awesome experience. A friend once shared that “to ponder is to pray” which was what our blessed mother did exceptionally well.
Through pondering in front of the holy Eucharist, I often find myself seeing things from different angles. This often allows me to understand people and their strange habits and even to see my own strange (and sometime offensive) habits. It is through silent prayer/pondering that we irrigate the seeds of wisdom (from the Holy Spirit) and allow them to grow into divine inspirition. The adoration room is certainly a venue I’ll be frequenting more often!
So, with lent over and Easter around, what’s next?
Well… I’m certainly going to start focusing on a couple of aspects that have caught my attention. Firstly, I’ve realised that though I have all the time in the world right now, I’m hardly doing anything outside church to make a difference to the lives of people in the community. Hence, I’ve decided to sign up as a volunteer in the Cheshire Home. This will be a great way to help cheer people up and keep them company.
I’ll also be focusing on helping build up the SMK Choir, so that she can become… “self-aware” and able to lead the congregation effectively. My strength lies in teaching vocal technique and I can sometimes get pretty technical about vocal stuff. I used to always think that to be technical about music in church was wrong as it takes focus away from the mass and draws the congregaton’s attention to the beautiful music. However, after much thought and listening to other choirs in church (such as the youth choir), I’ve come to realise the importance of inspiring music during Mass. I’ve put my thoughts down as follows:
“I acknowledge fully the importance of the spiritual aspect, feeling, emotions and prayer that are required in singing a hymn in church. However, without volume, depth, and strength in vocals, the choir is merely whispering a meaningful and inspiring prayer to itself and not leading the congregation in one. We owe it to ourselves to be the best that we can be.”
So… the choir can expect to be worked much harder from now on. MUAHAHA!
Thirdly, I’ve decided to start a spiritual journal to pen down my thoughts during reflections, mass, prayer, etc. I’ve decided to pick this habit up after much persuation from “The Pinkie Boy”. Also, I’ve come to see that much of the stuff that comes out of silent prayer and reflection is really insightful stuff and should be remembered. So thanks pinkie boy for the awesome suggestion!
Lastly, since I have so much time, I’ve decided to do more extensive study on Church History and Theological Writings and stuff. This stuff is all really interesting, insightful and truly the work of the Holy Spirit. It kinda builds a sense of Catholic Identity and gives you scriptural, theological, factual, statistical and historical reasons why Catholic doctine is… to put it simply… a testiment of true wisdom in the world.
So I guess what I got out of lent was basically a good number of things to reflect on, and a number of healthy practices to start implementing.
Happy Easter Everyone!
In these Days of Lenten Journey
As lent begins, we enter into a period of 40 days (not including Sundays) of preparation for Christ’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday. So what exactly is Lent all about? Let us look at the 3 pillars of Lent to get a clearer picture. The Catholic Church cites the 3 pillars of Lent as Fasting, Prayer and Alms-giving. Through Fasting, we are called to deny ourselves the earthly pleasures and give more time and attention to God from whom all good things come. We should think of how our ways -sinful or not- have denied us the opportunity to realize the presence of God in our lives.
Looking at my life, I realize how fortunate I am to be living here in Singapore. Over here we enjoy peace, good food on the table, good homes, friends and family. Although we have so much already, we still find small things to complain about, like the weather, school, work or people that may irritate us. Let us think about how much we have and spare some thought this Lent for all those who have so much less than us.
Everything that we have is God’s gift to us. He calls us to share with others and help those in our own community who have so much less. Let us think about the elderly, the forgotten, the disabled in our society who suffer neglect and discrimination. It could just be that simple smile or hello that makes all the difference. Let us be their help and their hope this Lent as we the Church unite ourselves with the mystery of Christ’s 40 days in the desert.
One person who I would like to emulate this lent is Mother Teresa. A woman of such simplicity who served the Lord all her life and saw the face of Christ in the poorest of the poor. In one incident, she refused to curse a man who broke into her Missionary’s home stealing food and supplies telling her offender “how can I curse you when God loves you”. Even under such conditions, in the midst of such extreme poverty and suffering, she still found how to love and forgive those who offended her.
God has blessed us with so many gifts and talents. Being a leader in the choir, I see how many of us are blessed with the gift of Music and good voices. Mother Teresa may not have been able to sing, but she could most certainly melt hearts with her voice of gentleness and compassion.
Good luck for your Lenten Journey!
Colin.
