Is There a God?

Recently, I encountered a blog post where the blogger tried to give a proof that God does not exist, hence, I thought of coming up with this post.

Have you ever got to the point where you questioned whether God exists or not? I can relate with you if you have because I have. After reading my past posts, one might conclude that I have always been “religious” or a “Spiritual Person” as some of my readers commented. The fact is this: there was a point in my life where I doubted.

Before I continue, I want to ask how many of you believed in Santa, wholeheartedly, as a child – with all the reindeers and North Pole thing and stuff like that?

I asked because I sincerely believed in him when I was younger. I received gifts from him in my socks every Christmas. I have waited every Christmas Eve for him and watched the moon for a sign that he passed. When I turned eleven, I was disappointed to learn that “Santa” was my parents.

"I have waited every Christmas Eve for him and watched the moon for a sign that he passed."

Someone even told me that I was too old to believe in Santa and laughed at me. Since then, I considered everything like the Santa episode as childish. Even without intending it, even the stories I learned as a child, mostly bible stories, I also treated as childish. Yes, it was a careless and hasty generalization.

I got to the point that I considered believing in the existence of Heaven and Hell as childish. I even thought that they do not exist. I almost fell to the pit called atheism. I almost believed that when I die, I will cease to exist. Those days were dark for me. My life had no meaning and direction. I was very confused.

I lost the Supernatural outlook I had when I was a child. I believe every child has that Supernatural Outlook. No wonder Jesus had a special mention of children in the bible (C.f. Lk 18:15 -17; Mt. 19:13-15; Mk 10:13-16). It’s because when we grow older, we usually lose it, especially at these times where fantasies are appealing and scams are widely spread; it is hard to tell which one is telling the truth.

But like anyone who has gone through that state, I had a pivotal point in my life. One evening when I was a graduating student in college, I attended a testimonial dinner with the new CPA’s from Saint Louis University, the school where I studied. Almost every one of them mentioned prayer as one of the factors why they passed the board exams. One even said that she offered a short prayer for every item in the exams. That incident led me to ask "really?" So when it was my turn to take the board exams, I followed their advice. During my review, I went to mass, said a prayer before I sleep, and really surrendered myself to God. While taking the exams, I kept saying a little prayer in my mind. I’m glad I took the advice of that new CPA in the testimonial dinner. If I didn’t, I might have failed. I credit my passing of the board exam to God, because honestly, I did not feel like I’m the most deserving. It’s true that I studied up to 16 hours a day that time but I still felt like it was not enough.

I go back to my question, is there a God? Yes, definitely. My experience is enough proof for me. You might ask me, “But Divine, that’s your experience. My experience tells me that there is no God.” Well, every person has a different story of how he encountered or will encounter God. Yours will be different from mine. But I won’t argue with scientific proofs and the like. I will leave you instead a phrase that my mother repeatedly told me when I was in doubt. “Where reason ends, faith begins.”

Praying for you,

Divine

P.S. By the way, I was shocked recently when I learned that Santa was real! He is Saint Nicholas de Bari! Well, he might not have a long white beard and reindeers and does not live in the North Pole but, hey, he lived! (I don’t know how his image evolved to the present Santa). The tradition of gift giving during Christmas came from him. Isn’t that amazing?

Give Me a Sign

As I was browsing in Facebook one afternoon, I saw a status update of one of my friends. She said “Give me a sign”. And below that status, another friend commented “beware, the devil hears you too.” It took a moment for that statement to sink in to me. How do we really know if the sign we just asked for came from God or from the devil?

As I reflected, my thoughts went to the wise King Solomon in the bible. He was a young king. To the standards of their time, “young” means naïve – inexperienced. As a young king though, he did not ask for a sign on how to rule his kingdom. He asked instead for wisdom. To this day, he is known as the wisest king who lived. (I’m not of course comparing him to Christ the King.)

My thoughts wandered through time. I remembered the times when I asked for signs. An example of a sign I asked was “Kapag dumaan yung truck sa harap ko, ito ang gagawin ko…” (When the truck passes in front of me, this is what I will do…) I know it might sound silly but I did ask for that sign when I was younger.

How do we know, really, if the signs are devil-planted or God-planted? My thought on this one is this: God embedded in the universe natural signs.

These natural signs are like symptoms

Four days ago, my brother and I experienced food poisoning. After eating our food, we suddenly felt sick. We had headaches, fever, and rashes all over our body. The headaches, fever and rashes are signs that we have taken something that our bodies did not want.

Signs can be as simple as that.

You might be telling me now, “that’s common sense. Of course, everybody knows that. Buti sana kung ganyan din kadali sa totoong buhay” (That would be good if it’s as easy as that in real life [literal translation])

My friend, I don’t know what you are going through right now. You might be going through an intense pain, confusion, and you do not know what to do.

But here’s what I learned from my life. We have to listen to those natural signs. For example, if you are being abused by someone, physically or emotionally, it might be a sign that your relationship might not be working. (Yes, I’m talking from experience). If you are unchallenged with your job, then it might be a sign that you need to explore other opportunities. If you are still broke despite your many economic activities, it might be a sign that your strategy is not working.

On the other hand, if you are doing well in your relationship, if you are enjoying your job and if you are seeing good fruits of your economic activities, then congratulations, you have just found your winning formula. It’s a sign that you have to continue what you are doing.

It’s a case to case basis of course. But what I’m trying to point out here is this. Do we really need to ask for signs like “hit me baby one more time”? My answer is no. Signs are already present. Look around. Look deep within. Reflect. And ask for wisdom instead of signs. And as a priest once said, "Look for the signs in the secular events with the eyes of faith."

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World Youth Day Saga Part 2A: Cuatro Vientos Miracle

(I will do you the favor of making it short today. :)

August 19 marks the day that I saw the Pope in the streets of Madrid. We waited for him in the side streets. When the Papal Mobil passed, one of our friends screamed with joy the cheering the youth had for the Pope.

“Esta es! La jventud del Papa!” (We are the Youth of the Pope)

I can only think, “Wow! How she loves the Pope so much that she screamed at the top of her lungs (like a crazy woman hehe).

The Pope was pinkish. Clearly he was affected by the so much heat in the summer of Madrid. Clearly he was suffering but wow! There was a smile in his face. Perhaps the heat was nothing compared to the energy of the youth which was channeled to him. The experience was all worth it.

On August 20, we headed to Cuatro Vientos Aerodrome (Cuatro Vientos means “Four Winds”). It was where the Vigil with the Pope took place. We went there as early as 12 noon. We were under the scorching heat of the sun, 41⁰C the news said. We felt that we were being baked alive. And knowing that the sun sets at about 8:30pm did not make us feel better.  A number of firefighters roamed around the place, spraying us with water like plants which needed to be watered. One of my friends shouted to one of the firefighters “Ei guapo, agua por favor” (Handsome, water please) (Pogi, tubig nga). The firefighter pointed the water hose to the one beside her, also our friend, and she was splashed with water, bull’s eye. You could only imagine her shock.

The Firefighters spraying water to World Youth Day Pilgrims
Photo by: Joy Torculas

We spent the afternoon taking photos, eating, cheering, getting to know other delegates, etc. while waiting for the Pope.

At about 7:00pm, the clouds finally hovered the sky and the four winds of the Cuatro Vientos Aerodrome were felt. It was a relief to us to finally feel cool. The Pope arrived and chanting and cheering and clapping was heard in the aerodrome. We stood in front of one of the wide screens because our place was far from the stage where Pope Benedict was. Our hearts were filled with joy as we await the address of the Pope for us. Just as he began his speech, the sky opened and the rain began to pour.  Angry thunders were heard and ferocious lightning were sketched in the sky. I can only laugh and ask the Lord, “Are you kidding me?”

What an irony, we were exposed to the scorching heat of the sun in the afternoon and drenched in the rain in the evening. Surely, the Lord wanted to tell us something that night.

The widescreens went off. We didn’t know anymore what happened to Pope Benedict. Later on we discovered that the Pope’s garb and his paper where his speech was written was so drenched and soaked with water. Still he was determined to continue and wait patiently for the rain to stop. The youth gave encouragement to the Pope shouting “Benedicto!” then they would clap their hands three times.

 The Master of Ceremonies spoke. She said, “This is the answer to your prayers.” Then she added, “Let us pray with the Pope.”

Everyone fell silent, at least me and my group mates. In the split of a second, I was transported to a different dimension. I recognize the place and I recognize the faces. It was also a stormy night, like the night at Cuatro Vientos. I was in a boat along with some disciples. We were so scared. At a distance, we saw something that is like a ghost walking on the water. But when He came closer he said “Do not be afraid, it is I.” I shouted with great courage, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you”. He answered, “Come.” I was happy and blissful that I forgot about the wind and the rain. But in the middle, the wind blew harder and I became suddenly afraid again. I began to sink. But before the water swallows me entirely, I shouted “Lord, save me!” He grabbed me with His Holy Arm and gently rebuked me “Man of little faith, why did you doubt?” I thanked the Lord, happy that He did not abandon me and He allowed me to call Him when I was sinking.

Jesus saves Peter. "Lord, save me."

After envisioning myself as Peter in that particular scene in the bible, I the rain suddenly stopped. Was this God’s way of saving me? In the silence of our hearts, we saw God. Even if we were subjected to the scorching heat of the sun and drenched in the rain, we felt different. A miracle happened. 5 to 10 seconds passed when the emcee asked us to pray with the Pope and the rain stopped! I looked around and all the other delegates were silent, perhaps, filled with awe like me.

The Pope continued his speech. "Thank you for your joy and resistance. Your strength is stronger than the rain. Thank you. The Lord is sending us his blessings with the rain. With this, you're leading by example."

The theme of the World Youth Day Madrid is “To be planted and built up in Jesus Christ, Firm in the Faith”. That night, I believe that it was achieved as more than One Million Pilgrims stood in the rain, unshaken, like a “house built up on rock” and a “plant deeply rooted in the ground”

Benediction followed. We knelt on the ground in silence, thanking the Lord for the miracle. Many hearts were transformed that night, including mine. After the benediction, the Pope left and the rain started to pour again, as if it only gave way to Our Lord. "Who is this Man that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"

I slept with my pants still wet. I was unprepared for it that I did not bring extra clothes. Yet, I felt at peace. There was inner peace with me that only the Lord can give.

P.S.

Want to witness more miracles? I think this writer has written it better than I did. Check  it our here. 

Read Previous Posts:

WorldYouth Day Saga Part 1 (France)

WorldYouth Day Saga Part 2 (Spain)