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IN
THIS ISSUE:
Cover
Page
by Bro.
Pete Lapid
The
Father Speaks
By Fr.
Binzler, SJ
Our
Faith
By Fr.
KJ Veeger, MSC
Place
of Refuge
By
Philip Yuson
Surabaya
Corner
By
Ramon Martillano
Sharing
By
Pinky Torres
Here's
the Latest
By
Tintin Magbitang
Sharing
By
Jovie Joaquin
God
Answers Prayers
By
Beth Manibog
Saint
for the Month
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- Catholic
Links
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 - PROFILE
OF THE
- GENESIS
CATHOLIC COMMUNITY
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- OUR
FAITH
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It
is not what we know of God by our abstract thinking that brings us
nearer to Him and makes us open up and surrender ourselves to Him, bu t
what we experience and feel in our innermost self. Many a person has
extensive knowledge and is able to lecture in religion, but is not
religious, because by mere intellect he is locked up within himself
– unable to break the walls of his own narrow, analytical mind. A
German writer once compared those people with the crew of a boat with
such thick steel walls, that its compass could no longer point to the
North, but to itself only. As a result the boat sailed in circles.
However
in seeking God, we don’t want to find an idea – self-constructed
by the mind – or a merely theoretical God, the conclusion of our
reasoning. We want, if possible, to arrive at God Himself and relate
to Him by our whole person. The only road would be the road of our
experience.
Perhaps
I may share something personal that I experienced when I was still a
novice. Once it happened that I took a walk down the hill, which was
the beautiful backyard of the house, or rather, a well-preserved bush.
When I had passed the little cemetery at the lowest end, all of a
sudden I was seized by an indescribable feeling of tremendous joy and
through intuition I grasped that by God’s love I was chosen to be
His child. Whatever the circumstances in life would be, nothing in the
world would be more precious than God’s presence as Father. At that
time I had beautiful wavy hair and was proud of it. Spontaneously I
prayed, “Lord, take it away from me; it will be no loss at all
because in having you, I have all.” The experience was concrete and
so vivid that I never forgot it.
Humans
are much more than just thinking beings. We experience wonder and awe!
We experience joy, enthusiasm, creativity, as well as loneliness,
emptiness, being incomplete and longing for fulfillment. The God we
want to find must touch our whole person and existence. Do we have
such experiences that might be conducive to Him, point to Him, or at
least put us in His direction? They must be experiences referring to
the totality and embrace everything that is. Further, they must come
– not from our own ego – but from the reality around us to prevent
us from imposing ourselves upon the outside world.
We
can think of two such experiences:
First, what
can be said of everything, whether galaxies or atoms, whether birds,
flowers, oceans or human beings, is that they exist, and exist in a
most wonderful manner. Scientists tell us that since the time it all
began, four thousand million years have passed. It means that every
cell of my body has been evolving for four thousand millions of years.
We are all connected with the past. All things are inter-connected. We
live in an ingenious system, in which the very thing the leaves of
tree exhale, we inhale. Questions may arise… “Do we live in a
universe that is not ours? If I cut my finger, it heals by itself. I
am part of a whole, bigger than what I can think of. Everything
evolves towards greater and more perfect existence. I feel at ease in
belonging to its dynamics. I am a relative to the whole nature. And I
am wondering about “what” or “who” is behind it, or
constitutes its deepest foundation. Indeed, I also experience
disaster, death and many conflicting things. But could it be? Is it
God? Second, another experience directed to totality, is “love” or
unity, harmony, justice and peace. Now even many more conflicting
experiences force themselves on us. Battle cries – the cries of the
numerous victims of hatred, the lamentations of the unjustly treated
– are deafening the ears and many say in despair, “why do bad
things happen to good people?”
But
all the pain and tears of the world cannot undo the fact that a deeply
founded desire, yearning and craving for love and harmony exist in the
hearts of men. Isn’t it nostalgia for Paradise? Isn’t it man’s
conscience that takes the side of good? And more questions may arise
such as, “Could it be that this universal desire for love is
anchored in the love and order to which the entire cosmos is called…
so that disorder and injustice are felt as pain? Could it be? Yes? No?
We
must not start a theoretical discussion but be wide open with our
whole self, and listen – always listen – to what the reality has
to say. Then by deepening our experiences and listening also to
God’s word we believe in, we will come to the answer “Yes… It is
God who calls!”
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