Tag: catholic

Abundantly Blessed

Each and every single day the Lord blesses us from the moment we wake up to the moment we fall asleep. Reflecting on the Sunday Gospels these past couple of weeks there was a similar view in them — the Vineyard Parables. Where we see Jesus teaching about how what we give here on earth, we will be blessed in Heaven.

“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in Heaven” — Matthew 5:12

Giving is not only a matter of donating money, clothes, food. It’s also a matter of giving of our time, talent and treasure. The Lord has blessed us with so much and is giving us so much more each and every single day! Only through the Lord’s grace are we able to give and share our blessings which are meant to be shared amongst others. So if I were to sum it all up in one sentence — each and every single one of us are abundantly blessed to abundantly give so that others can do the same.

Lord, we praise You and thank You for all the blessings you have given to us. Let us not take it for granted in any way, shape or form but instead, let us share our blessings to others so that they too, can feel your abundant Love. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Christian Medeiros

Joyful Mystery

From the Annunciation to the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple. There is a lot of uncertainties within this series of decades in the Holy Rosary. It makes you wonder, why is it called the Joyful Mystery? The title of each decade is very exciting and it holds a beautiful story, but when we look deeper into each story what does it really say.

I was very inspired to write this reflection based off of Fr. Mike Schmitz’s video on “Having Joy in the Uncertainties”, which made me then realize the joy in the midst of this life of suffering. Momma Mary, in the Annunciation was approached by the angel Gabriel and was told that she would bare the Son of God. In response she said “Let it be done unto me according to thy word”, I never realized this until I watch the video with Fr. Mike, was that the very next sentence was “then the angel departed from her”. Can you imagine being in that moment, being told that you are going to have within you the Son of God and that was literally it? No context or anything. Like where do you go from there? No one told Mary and Joseph that they would have to go to Bethlehem and give birth to Christ in a manger. No one mentioned that they would have to flee to Egypt to save their Son from being killed. No one told Mary that she would have to witness her Son be tortured, spat on and crucified. There was so much uncertainty that the only thing that was certain was and still is the past. Yet, Momma Mary was still joyful. The Apostles were still joyful, they spread the Good News throughout the world. Through their suffering came out a lot of joy.

It is very humbling to know that in this life of suffering, there is joy that will follow. Yet, we do not know when or where that will come but we remain hopeful. I know for myself in this pandemic, at the beginning of the year, everything was set in stone, I was ready… then the NBA got cancelled, that’s when I knew things were going to change. It was so humbling for me to realize that everything can just be taken away in the snap of a finger. There was so much that was unexpected at that point in time that I had no choice but to rely on God and entrust myself to His will. It was hard to remain hopeful but after households, after one to ones I felt the joy and the hope that the Lord was wanting me to feel. To understand that I was being called to love in the uncertainty, to be joyful in the midst of the suffering. There is so much that I do not know and I can only pray the Lord, for you and I both, gives us the heart to overcome the world. To love beyond our capacities. There is joy and hope because God is with us.

Lord God, help us to entrust our lives to You in the midst of these times. There is so much uncertainty but with You we find hope and joy. Give us the strength to carry on. This we ask through Christ our Lord. 

Amen. 

Christian

An Invitation

The world is literally crumbling right now. It’s amazing how just one virus can bring the world to its knees. A lot of people are suffering and dying because of it. It brings us to the question, how could God allow something like this to happen? What is the good in all that is happening around the world right now? Where is God?

It’s funny because before everything happened I wasn’t really taking Lent seriously, it was more so as a routine for me. Actually I didn’t even realize it was Lent or take it in until I was at the Ash Wednesday mass. I went about this Lent just thinking that it is just another year where I have to get through these 40 days that nothing was going to come out of this. Man, was I ever wrong. Once COVID-19 started to get worse as the days went on, I began to realize what I was missing. It was hard not being able to go to mass, realizing that I was not able to be with Christ physically. With everything going on it is making me realize of how much I am missing and how much of my life is not centred around Christ. Here I am, at the beginning of Lent thinking it’ll be okay because I will continue to serve and that will be pleasing to the Lord. I’m not saying that serving Him is not pleasing, but when not putting Him at the centre of my life, I realized that my service becomes routine as well and just “another thing to do”. Now that I am not able to be with Him physically, I felt like it was all over. I realized that I relied so much on Christ being there physically present so much that I forgot that He is literally everywhere and in everyone we encounter.

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” – Blaise Pascal

With everything that is going on and with a lot of reflection, I am realizing the aspects of my life that Christ is asking me to put Him at the centre. That with all that this world throws at us, God gives us the opportunities to be closer with Him. Suffering is an invitation to be closer with God. We are given a sliver of Christ’s cross to carry. Nothing that we are feeling – the pain, anger, tiredness, sadness, it is nothing compared to what Christ went through, bearing the whole world’s sins on His cross that He carried. The mere fact that Christ walked this earth shows just how much God wants to be present with us and a part of our lives. So I pray, continue to let Him into your hearts. Pray for me as well that I do the same. Make Jesus the centre of your life – in all aspects.

Lord, thank You for blessing us with this life, with the opportunities to encounter You. Lord, protect us from all that is happening right now in this world. So many are suffering but in the same way we know that You are hurt as well seeing us in pain. Protect those on the frontlines Lord – the nurses, doctors, janitors and all those who are putting themselves at risk with everything. Through this suffering Lord, allow us to seize those opportunities where we are able to bring you to the centre of our lives, but to also be a beacon of hope for those around us that aren’t seeing or experiencing Your love.

Amen.

Christian Medeiros

Familiaris Consortio

One thing that I struggle with is actually finding a topic to reflect on, but it’s funny because I am just taking this in as I write this. It is not more so finding a topic but just listening to what God wants you to write.

I guess it all starts from Saturday, I was asked to give a talk called “In the Midst of the Storm” at a General Assembly in the Scarborough-Markham Chapter here in Toronto. Which is a talk about the family and through the hardships you go through, the family is always there with God protecting it. If we fast forward to today, I attended my SFC CLP and todays first session was one The Christian Family. I couldn’t help but wonder, in the midst of wondering what I was going to write about today, it was right in front of me. The family, and more to it, my family.

So I grew up in a Catholic Family of four- my dad, my mom and my sister (she is one year younger than me). Praise the Lord for blessing me with a loving family, but just like any other family, we are not perfect. I remember growing up, every Sunday we would go to church as a family and I would actually dread going to mass. I just wanted to sleep in. I never really knew why my parents, most especially my mother, would want us to go every week together. Yet I never questioned it. It wasn’t until I actually started serving the Brampton Chapter as Chapter Head that I never really took in the importance of us going as a family. It’s been a couple of years now since my sister has stopped going to church, for reasons I have yet to get an answer but it really showed me how important it really is to go as a family, not only for my mom, but for all four of us. To keep it simple, we’re a really busy family- my dad works Monday to Friday and goes wherever my mom does, my mom works part time but if not she is always at home and she is just recently very active with the Sisters For Life, my sister is in school and actually lives now in St. Catherines because of her school and co-op, as for me, I am working right now Monday to Friday and on top of all that I serve the youth. Being so busy, it really is hard for us to come together and spend some time with each other. It wasn’t until I realized this that I noticed the reason why my mom always wants us all to come together for mass on Sundays. It literally is the only time that we would have together.

It’s funny too because the question that was brought up, “Are we fulfilling God’s plan within our families?”

Simply put, my answer to that was I don’t know. God works in many ways and in His timing. So because I am just realizing this now, it is definitely going to be a primary focus for me. One thing is for sure though, I strive for my family to be just like the Holy Family. To be like them meaning to surrender ourselves to God and to continue to say yes to His plan. Whatever His plan is, is our plan as well. My current prayer for my family is for us to go to Sunday masses together again, so please pray for us!

– Christian Medeiros

“But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord”– Joshua 24:15

Bohol, Philippines 2012

Momma

Dear Momma Mary,

Since I was young I always knew you were just there. I’ve never really seen the importance of your presence in my life. So I want to take this time to say I’m sorry. Sorry for denying you, for pushing you to the side and for not acknowledging you and what you have done in my life. I can’t help but be hurt for the hurt that I’ve must have brought to you through my sins, my failures and just my stupid decisions. The amazing thing is, just as a mother always does, you still love me. Through thick and thin. So with that Momma, I would love to thank you, for never letting me go and for showing me the way to your Son, Jesus. In the times I struggle please continue to be there for me, with your most holy intercession. Draw me closer to your Son. I know that I still struggle to pray for your intercession and to acknowledge you in my life, but know that I am trying and will continue to.

So Momma, thank you and I love you.

Love,

Christian Medeiros

Why?

‘We gave you a strong warning’, he said, ‘not to preach in this name, and what have you done? You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and seem determined to fix the guilt for this man’s death on us.‘

A lot of times we are faced with warnings like this or we get judged and criticized. This is actually a huge fear of mine. It is not like I am afraid to be Catholic, but more so afraid to proclaim that I am. Reading this verse from Thursday’s readings I couldn’t help but think of myself being in front of the high priest shook and distraught, sweating and nervous. I can’t help but think I am so weak that I can’t even defend the God that has given me so much in my life. Then I read the second part of the reading.

‘Obedience to God comes before obedience to men; it was the God of our ancestors who raised up Jesus, whom you executed by hanging on a tree. By his own right hand God has now raised him up to be leader and Saviour, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins through him to Israel. We are witnesses to this, we and the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.‘

So after reading that, I questioned myself, why am I afraid? Why can’t I be just like Peter and not be afraid to be obedient to God? What is it that I am really holding back? Sometimes I think, the early Christians, they faced way more than what we face today. They were discriminated, stoned, judged and even killed. The amazing thing is, they did not run away they faced all of this  hatred and defended their faith. They stood on their solid ground. So what are we really afraid of? It’s funny because whenever I ask that, I am always recalled to my life verse.

“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?” – Matthew 14:30-31

Constantly I am reminded of this verse and I am always called back to it. Why is it that I doubt? I know the Lord is taking care of me and He will protect me. No matter how many times I reject the Lord in my life, I am called to have faith in Him and believe in His love. So to say that by the end of this reflection I know the answer now would be wrong. I don’t know the answer as to why I doubt or why I am afraid to proclaim I am Catholic, all I know is that there should be no reason to doubt when the Lord’s plan will prevail.

Lord, guide me and protect me. Allow me to be a defendant of the faith. Give me the strength and the courage to proclaim Your Glory. Holy are You Lord God, let Your will be done.

Amen

Christian Medeiros

 

 

Why I Am Catholic And Not Just Spiritual

It is very common to hear this line from your “average” Christian.

“I am spiritual, but not religious. I don’t need the Church, all I need is a relationship with Christ.”

At one point in time, I even held this point-of-view. But in my personal journey, praise the Lord, that I have also grown up and away from this very superficial point-of-view.

Here are some of my personal reasons:

1. Spiritual usually means that I just feel good about my own perception of God.

If God fits the mould that I imagine Him to be in, then He is not God. God, ironically enough, by definition should not even be definable.  He cannot be put into a certain view-point or a certain mould. That is why He tells Moses, “I am who I am”. (Ex 3:14) God is simply God. Period.

If I simplify God using my own personal finite cognitive skills, then God ceases to be infinite, which in fact is one of His attributes.

How then, can I come to know God? Well, through how He revealed Himself. He reveals Himself to us in a myriad of ways, from the beauty of nature to the razor sharpness of logic as well. I believe God has revealed and reveals Himself in us, when we discover this God-shaped hole in our hearts as St. Augustine would say. This inescapable emptiness that can only be filled with this infinite God. This infinite God who fully revealed  Himself in Jesus Christ. Which leads me to my next point.

2. Jesus was the Word made flesh. He was not just spiritual, but more importantly physical as well. (John 1:14)

This is where things get interesting. Christians, including me, like to spiritualize things. But God, though pure in spirit (CCC 370), created us in a very PHYSICAL world. We act as if anything that is physical is evil, but the reality it is not. For everything that God made is in fact VERY good.  (Gen 1:31)

And if Jesus is any example – he would be the best – since He is fully human and fully divine, He is also fully good. His humanity and physicality doesn’t take away from His goodness. Neither should our reality of being physically present take away from the innate goodness that God has made us to be. Jesus shows us the way, He integrates the spiritual and the physical. He does not differentiate between both.

This is why for us Catholics, good works are an integral part of living Christian lives. One cannot separate the follower of Christ from good works. Since the source of all good is God Himself. These good works were enumerated by Christ in the Bible. But since not all of those things He said were explicitly said, a lot of them were passed on to His followers – the Apostles and the disciples. (2 Thess 2:15) Which leads me to my next point.

3. I believe in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

The very same Church whom Christ established through Peter (Matt 16:18), the One(not multiple) Church that is made Holy through Christ and not by the people in it. The One that is sent to all peoples, and not just to a select few. The One Church that has a proven lineage that traces itself back to the Apostles and back to Christ Himself. The Catholic Church.

This may come as a shock to some of you, but the bible you know now was compiled by the Catholic Church. In fact the Catholic Church predates the Bible in that sense.

Which brings me back to my second point, remember the time Jesus said:

“While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” – Matthew 26:26-28

Jesus didn’t mean that in a figurative sense of partaking His body or drinking from His cup. He meant it not only spiritually but very much so literally and physically. And guess which Church takes this to heart?

This Church.

Which goes back to my first point, only is it in the Catholic Church that my faith is asked challenged to go beyond the confines of what comforts me. The Catholic Church challenges me to conform my will to something infinitely higher than me. Which is God’s will, because He has revealed Himself through this Church.

I think it would be a sad day if the fullness of God was limited to what I was comfortable with. I want a faith that doesn’t stop at prosperity, but actually challenges me to pick up my own own cross (Matt 16:24) and be crucified in it. I want a faith that tells me to say Yes to His will and say no to the limited world-view. I want a faith that does not want me to compromise Him for the sake of my own personal gain. I want a faith that transcends my limitedness.

Going back to its roots, Religion is taken from the word Religare which means relationship. My religion is the relationship which God has instituted so I can have a fuller relationship with Him. And like any relationship, try going about doing other than what the other person wants/needs and you’ll end up in a very unhappy and unfulfilled relationship. A relationship is about giving oneself to the other, religion is the giving of oneself to God – Catholicism is its fullness. Why would I give God something less than what He wants?