Author: Rey Marc Viray-Regalado

Hi :) My name is Rey Marc. I currently serve in the Metro Region as a Mission Volunteer & as YCOM Area Head for the GTA.

A (Not So Little) Jump Start

This morning my mother called me downstairs. Our neighbour was in need of some assistance. His van battery was dead and needed a jump start.

Sounds simple enough but the ‘journey’ to get there was not as simple.

As I approached his house I saw that his van was in his garage and he was saying that it has been a while since they took out the van. At first I was trying to put his van into neutral so that we could push it out, but for some reason it was not working.

I ended up getting a battery charger from my garage to give it some power. We were able to get it into neutral and pushing the car was a little difficult because of how heavy the van was. There was a point where the van almost went into the middle of the street because my neighbour almost did not jump back into the van on time.

Eventually we were able to get the van to the end of the driveway but yet the van would not turn on. So I drove my car over and attached jumper cables and his van finally started.

Where am I going with this story?

I started reflecting on what jumper cables do for a car and what we are without that charge from God.

When we are not putting to use the things God has given us, like our talents or even our time,  we really are just wasting them and letting them rot to the point where they become “useless”. It is in those moments of desperation when we really need something but then it becomes unavailable because we left it alone for so long.

But our God is a generous God. Sometimes all it takes is a prayer and humility to say “I need help,” or in this case a knock on a neighbours door.  Sometimes with that knock we still have to work for the help, but it is the ‘journey’ in which you and the Lord take together. Eventually you will feel that ‘jolt’ of power from God that you and I need to live throughout the day.

For me, I consider the Eucharist as the ‘jolt’ I need to get through the day. A friend shared with me this quote from St. Francis de Sales in a book he/she was reading.

“Those who have little to do must receive Communion often, since it is not inconvenient for them; the same goes for those who have much to do, since then they have more need of it.”

God is there, he is just waiting for you.
What better way to ‘jolt’ your day than to have Jesus within you.

And with that may God be forever praised.

Noisy Doors & Quiet Tears

I find myself every once in a while to remind myself to listen.

Why?

Because the world is noisy.

But when you find that time to be silent, to be set apart from the world and really just sit and listen, the Lord will reveal so much to you. The prayer you have been praying really does get answered. You just need to be willing to listen. So this past week I have been really trying to just listen and the following are some reflections of what I experienced while listening.

These past few weeks I have been praying for many things. But I will touch upon 2 things that I have been specifically praying for in regards to my service to the Lord.

My love life and my family.

Last Friday I attended a wedding. I really enjoy wedding mass because the priest always has something awesome to say to inspire the groom and bride and give them hope for the future.

He said that everyone that to get married, everyone has to go through 3 different doors.

The first door is the Door of Loneliness.
When you walk through this door you realize that you are lonely without the other.

The second door is the Door Without A Name.
When you walk through this door, you see that you are facing an uncertain future. That whatever will be, will be. But because you have each other there is nothing to be afraid of because your decisions will be for the other and with the other.

The third door is the Door Without Condition.
As you walk through this door you realize that there are no conditions to love this other person, other than to just simply love.

Is this not the way we come to love the Lord? It is something that came to mind as the priest was preaching. Although this may have been directed to the soon-to-be married couple I couldn’t help but think that the Lord just wants me to focus on my relationship with Him and put everyone else in “the friend zone“. I have already been affirmed that I will be married one day but now is not the time for that.

If you put the things important to God first, He will take care of the things important to you.

And that’s what I’m going to do.

The following day I went to mass with my brother. For those who know me and my family they would know that it’s only recently that I started going to mass with my family. This mass was so awesome. The gospel reading was taken from Matthew 14: 22-33 but I was more focused on verses 27 and so on.

Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.
Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

The presiding priest is actually a bishop from a diocese in India and he came to do some mission work. His homily was all about mission and how ‘you and I have a mission. God has a plan that we should be the mission. You and I baked in the Holy spirit of Christ. God is purifying us everyday.’

Through out his homily he also preached that we need to be sensitive to the Lord when he speaks because sometimes ‘God whispers. Fight, don’t walk away.’

Lately my other prayer has been for my family. The thought of leaving my family to do mission work has something that I haven’t let go of until this day at mass. After mass I asked my brother if we could just stay for 5 minutes to just pray. So we both knelt and this woman in front of us turned around and started speaking to my brother. Then a little whisper stirred my heart.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”

As soon as I heard this, I started to tear. I have never teared in a church before, but this day I felt like everything that was said was just for me. And everything I heard was just what I needed to hear. The Lord will provide for my family, I just need to have faith and trust in the Lord, that he will take care of my family. I just need to worry about my current responsibilities and commitments and allow God to put my life in order.

I will leave you all with this quote from the bishop of India and what he said at the end of his homily.

“The Good Lord is standing at your door, and knocking.
Let your light shine before others.
Pray with persistence, with thanksgiving, without ceasing.
Share, care, grow, love and live.”

And with that may God be praised.

My Faith

About a week ago someone asked me, “why are you catholic?”

Whenever I get asked this question, I automatically think of the Eucharist.

The catholic church teaches us that “the Holy Eucharist is Jesus Christ giving his Body and Blood – himself – for us, so that we too might give ourselves to him in love and be united with him in Holy Communion.” This is said in the YOUCAT which is the Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church.

When at mass the bread and wine at the altar are not symbols of the Body and Blood of Christ. It is the REAL DEAL. It IS JESUS CHRIST and He is truly alive and present in our lives. He is simply waiting for us at church; to take 1 hour out of our busy schedules and spend it with Him.

In my opinion, I believe that He deserves more than just an hour of our time. The other day I went to confession and the priest responded by saying “kneel”. The posture of your body can easily communicate to others the posture of your heart. When we kneel, we are saying to the Lord that we adore Him. Just by simply kneeling we are already communicating our prayers to God. A few years ago, you would never see me kneeling in front of the Eucharist before and after mass. Now I love going to mass early and staying later because I know that it is time that is with the Lord.

All the Lord wants is to be in a relationship with you.

He already initiated it.

How will you respond?

Nowadays, when someone asks me “why are you catholic?” I answer…

Jesus is my homeboy!

Music of the Soul

Everyone has that one song that just relates to them. May it be something upbeat like house music (which I really enjoy dancing to) or something slow and mellow (like in times when I am feeling lonely… haha). There will always be a time for me when I have that song that I have to listen to music. Sometimes it speaks the words of my heart, when I cannot think of the words to speak.

I like reflecting on the songs that catch the attention of my heart. There are times when I pray about these songs to see if this is what God wants me to hear right now. The most recent song that has caught my attention was a song that I heard at my friend’s wedding reception.

“Love Never Fails” – Brandon Heath

I have never heard this song before and when I was listening to it then, I just remember thinking that it was an awesome song.

Love is right here
Love is alive
Love is the way
The truth the life

This song is based off of 1 Corinthians 13 and I am sure that all of you know this verse if you are reading this, but if you do not know this bible passage, it helps define what love is and what it is not.

Ever since I have felt and known the love of the Lord, I have always wanted to share that love with others. This song was a good reminder of how to be the loving person that I am called to be.

To be an advocate of love, is to be an advocate of Christ.

When I was at mass this past Sunday, there were so many things that were on my mind, but the biggest thing that came up in my prayer was the word adoration.

Adoration is love in its simplest form. Jesus, being held up high, for all His adorers to just come and simply love. In this day in age, the word love has been misused in every way possible, and I hope that by living out my call as a son of God the world may see love in a different way. The way it is meant to be known. And that way is through Christ.

I know that there are a lot of different genres of music out there, and that all types of music speak to all types of people, but I believe there is always a message that the Lord is trying to convey to us. We are just not listening or we are just afraid to be vulnerable and to respond to this love that is being offered to us.

Praise God that he speaks to me in the music I listen to, but he speaks louder to me in adoration. I hope that all who read this may go to adoration once this month. If it’s your first time going to adoration go with a friend and have them explain what they do. You will come to realize that everyone experiences the Lord in their own way, and eventually you will have your own way as well.

The Lord just wants to have a personal relationship with you. He’s just waiting for you to want a relationship with Him.

Lord, continue to speak to us even when we’re not listening and allow us to respond to your love every time you call.

Meeting A Saint

This is a story about my first memorable encounter with a saint.

This took place at World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid, Spain. To be more exact it happened in a small town called Torrelodones.

It was around noon and 4 friends and I had just finished eating brunch. On our way back to the villa where we were staying, A.C. noticed a church along the way.

After noticing the church, we decided to enter because we haven’t really had a chance to visit any churches during our visit.

We all walked in, and the first thing I remember noticing was the name of the church. St. Ignatius de Loyola. The next thing I noticed was that the church was empty. I was expecting a lot of people since it was during WYD, but I was mistaken. As soon as we walked in we all started to pray as you can see in the picture above. If you can see there are only 4 people in the picture because the 5th person is taking it. His name is R.C.

As we were praying I noticed a flash of light. I knew it was R.C. because he was the only one taking pictures in the church. A few minutes have passed and I noticed that R.C. was missing, but I did not think much of it.

After finishing my prayer I walked to the back of the church and I noticed R.C. coming out of a room and I asked him if there was a washroom there. He replied saying that he just had confession but the priest only spoke in spanish. I also wanted to have confession so R.C. led me to the room.

I was walking towards the room and the first thing I noticed was that R.C. was panicking. Then he asked me if anyone passed by me. I responded with a confused “no”. Then I realized that there was nobody in the confessional. R.C. was very surprised and shocked to see that nobody was there. He even had the idea that there must have been a trap door hidden in the floor. R.C. started freaking out, and he started calling out for the priest. “Padre? Padre? Padre?” is what he was yelling while looking for this priest, inside and outside of the church.

During this time I had no idea what was going on. I was just kinda observing everything. As we walked back into the church R.C. asked me what the church is called. I told him that it is the church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, but I do not think he heard me because he was so confused at the same time.

E.F. came to the back of the church because she noticed all the commotion that was happening.

She started asking R.C. about everything that was happening and she asked him to explain it from the beginning. I remember seeing a silhouette of R.C. and E.F. hugging in front of a cross hanging on the wall of the confessional.

After all the explaining we started walking towards the front of the church along the left wall. E.F. then asked R.C. about the appearance of the priest asking him “What did he look like?”

He was wearing a white stole. He was balding and had a beard. As we were walking towards the front of the church R.C. noticed a statue of St. Ignatius at the front of the church.

We stopped…

He pointed at the statue…

“THAT’S THE GUY! THAT’S THE GUY I HAD CONFESSION WITH!”

He just had confession with a saint.

We started freaking out. We immediately started to pray again. R.C. was crying and E.F was excited. I was just simply amazed. It was so funny because R.C. was so excited to do his penance and we were all in such awe.

Maybe around 5 minutes passed, and R.C. got up and sat beside A.C. and I remember seeing A.C. just rest her head on R.C.’s shoulder without really realizing that he was there.

After praying, I got up and just stood outside the church, simply waiting in awe of what just happened. Eventually E.F. and the last friend M.I. got up and met with me in the back.

It was so funny because M.I. was asking about everything and we simply just told him that R.C. met St. Ignatius.

A few minutes passed and the bells of the church started ringing. And it was ringing for about 15 minutes. R.C. and A.C. then followed us in the back of the church. E.F. pulled R.C. to the side and wanted to show him a picture of St. Ignatius on the side of the school which was beside the church.

This part will always get me.

R.C. responded with such confusion. He was getting upset with us as we were explaining what happened in the past 20 minutes. He thought we were making up a story because he only remembers his initial prayer when he knelt in the back of the church, then falling asleep and waking up beside A.C.

He could not remember anything that happened in between. He was in so much doubt that I had to show him the picture that he took of us praying. I believe God allowed us to have this picture that I am sharing with you as proof of this story.

To this day he still cannot remember what happened in August 2011.

God used R.C. that day as a tool to speak to E.F., A.C. and I. I initiated R.C. to go back into the room. E.F. comforted him and A.C. explained everything.

As A.C. was explaining everything, I remember them sharing with me something that happened during the explanation. As A.C. was processing everything, R.C. was glaring at the statue of Jesus, and as soon as A.C. said a specific phrase, the Jesus statue started to cry, with tears rolling down his face… After this experience we all went home and started researching about who St. Ignatius is.

Every single person in that church that day was facing something very big. Our crosses were very heavy as we entered that church, but our crosses did not become lighter, but we left being stronger.

During this time of my life, I remember praying a lot for God to answer my prayers.  I was discerning to be the East Sector Head of the GTA and I just remember being very scared about accepting a role like this prior to WYD, but after this experience, with the theme of that year being “the full armour of God”, and learning more about St. Ignatius and how he is the patron saint of catholic soldiers, and seeing what God has done for youth all over the world, how could I not say yes to Him.

God truly desires more for me and if it wasn’t for that experience in WYD 2011, I honestly do not know where I would be today.

May this story reignite your faith as it does mine every time I recall it.

Dear Lord, may you continue to bless this community with amazing experiences so that we can share the love that you have given to us. 

St. Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us. 

How do you know…

when God is talking to you?

I am sure that this is a question many people ask themselves and others who pray. I remember at my first camp, there was a person sharing about how “God talks to them”.

I remember thinking that these people were crazy. How could one just say this without any proof.  This was at a time where I did not understand the concept of prayer. Prayer to me at the time was just saying words that I have been taught to say when I am around others who are praying. I guess you could say I was never really taught how to pray, or talk with God.

When I was introduced to prayer as a conversation with God, that’s when my prayer life started to change. When I started praying to God as a friend, that is when I started to see God more.

I guess you could say that my prayer life started to evolve. And that’s when I realized that God has been talking to me ever since I was a child. He would speak to me through my family and my friends. He would speak to me through the relationship I have with my brother when we were younger. He would speak to me through the television shows that I watched back in the day. As a teenager, God would speak to me through my teachers and friends at school.

As I got older I realized that God speaks to me the most through the bible and other spiritual readings, by praying the lectio divina I can see that God can speak to me, even if He just wanted me to see one word. How amazing is our God that he just needs one word to communicate with me.

Ever since I started to pray more faithfully, that’s when I knew God is always around me.

Some may say that praying is for crazy people, but when you truly understand prayer and what it can do, you will see that prayer is the most beautiful thing that you can do.

Amen.

#MyHopeIn20

I remember at my first camp, I was asked about a dream that I have. That was in 2001 and to be honest I do not remember what my dream was back then.

Maybe it’s because I did not know how important it was to dream, but as I grew in this community, I learned that dreaming is important. My dreams have inspired me to think about the things that I could possibly do for the Lord.

Some may say that dreams cannot come true.

Doesn’t the Lord speak to us in our dreams? If an angel can appear in the Joseph’s dream (Matthew 1:20) then does that mean an angel can appear in mine?

I’m not saying that I am a mystic and that God always speaks to me in my dreams, but the Lord allows dreams to happen for a reason. I like to think that our good dreams are God’s reality.

My dream or “hope” for the next 20 years of CFC-Youth is to see YCOM as a program that will have a database of every documented event. YCOM will also be the supplier of all things for an event (i.e. no more renting from other places). I also hope that YCOM will have CCs for all the groups and sub-groups.

As we continue to ask the Lord answer our prayers, we must continue to seek for the truth, so that when the Lord knocks we are ready to open the door and respond to His love.

What’s your hope? Share your hope on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/tnc2014) or on Twitter or Instagram (@cfcysfc20yrs) using #myhopein20 and #TNC2014

And with that, may God be praised!