Remembering the Real Passion of Christ

They say that the hardest thing to do when writing an article is how to start it and to be honest I am having a difficult time conceptualizing how to even start this article.

When I was a kid I always long for hearing the word Good Friday since this simply tells me that it is the start of my summer vacation.

I was raised as a Catholic growing up and also studied at a catholic school during my high school but all I can think of about Good Friday is that this is the day wherein Jesus Christ was put to the cross and died.

But is that really what Good Friday is about?  Are there other things that we can get from Good Friday?

Good Friday can be best summed up in three words, Passion of Christ.

The word Passion comes from the Latin word for suffering but so we know, the passion of Christ is a story about injustice, doubt, fear, pain and ultimately death. It tells us how God experienced these things in the same way as ordinary human beings and until we are aware of what transpired during that fateful event in the life of Christ, we would really never know the real meaning of Good Friday.

So how do we go about remembering the Passion of Christ? By simply being aware of what happened to Jesus Christ, we should be able to discern and think of ways on how we can go about remembering it.

The entire Passion of Christ reminds us about two important things – Praying and Forgiving.

When Jesus Christ was going thru the suffering, humiliation, cruelty and condemnation from the very same people whom at one point He helped, Jesus did not flinch nor retaliate but simply took all of it and even came to a point wherein He prayed to the Father and asked for their forgiveness.

While many of us would prefer to go on vacation, spend it on a beach resort in Boracay or escape the summer heat and go north to Baguio.  Still it dawns me, is it how we should remember the Passion of Christ? Getting crucified and nailed on the cross is a stark reminder that Jesus Christ went through a lot to just redeem us from our sins.

We might have been wronged by someone close to us, whether a family member, officemates, friends or simply by someone we know and the least that we can do is to remember all about what God had gone thru and that is to pray for them and simply forgive.

God Cannot Lie

Published June 10^th 2012 from the Series: Impossible

Is it right to say that it is impossible that God cannot do everything? Have you ever thought of the things that God cannot do? Some people might question that thought since as we know that God is after all, God. So we are assuming that he can do all things that we can think of.

In the first part of Bro. Jon Escoto’s talk on the new series titled: Impossible. He tells us that there are indeed things that God cannot do. He pointed out the first thing that God cannot do by using the bible verse from Numbers 23:19 which says:

“God is not a man so he does not lie, he is not human so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?”

Bro. Jon summarizes the 3 things that God cannot do.

God cannot Lie
God cannot change
God cannot fail

Explaining the objective of the series, Bro. Jon mentioned that the goal after the series is to know God more.

“Magtiwala sa kanya upang mapanatag ang Puso at mabawasan ang stress sa buhay…”

He then added,

“Gusto natin na ang mga mahal natin sa buhay ay di nagsinungaling.”

It was stressed that “God cannot lie because if he does, then he is not God” Bro. Jon then even mentioned that it might be devil but definitely not God.

 “Kung meron diyos di siya nagsisinungaling.  God is not just telling the truth, GOD IS THE TRUTH.” Bro. Jon explained

Bro. Jon then asked the audience, “Di nga ba nagsisinungaling ang diyos?”

When people pray, whether asking for a simple promotion in the office, a successful business or even a child, they would often question God’s truthfulness and even willingness to grant all of these prayers. We would even come to a point of doubting his abilities. 

After the sharing that was done by Bro. Gil Caballero, Bro. Jon Escoto noted that there are 3 things that we can take away from what was shared.

#1 Be firm with your dreams.

In here, Bro. Jon shared the story of Elijah and Elisha. Best friends in faith and sources of miracles. Elijah had 7 miracles during his lifetime. So when Elijah asked Elisha on what does he want before he leaves from this world, Elisha responded:

“Let me inherit a double portion of yourself.”

Bold, daring and courageous.  That is how Bro. Jon described Elisha’s answer. So when we pray to God, we should think like Elisha. Ask big things and do not limit yourself as Bro. Jon pointed that success goes to the bold the daring and courageous as long as our motive is to glorify and serve God, he often answers in ways beyond our imagination. Always remember the truth that we are serving God and if we work hard and pray hard and pray in faith, our dreams will be fulfilled.

#2 Be flexible with your deadlines

With the second takeaway, Bro. Jon noted that often when we pray, we would like to have it microwaved. We want it fast. He stressed that we wanted things that are too small, too fast and goes on to say that:

“Kumpara sa ating maliit na pananaw at makitid na pagiisip. Kadalasan ang gawa ng diyos ay malaki at mabagal.”

Comparing it with a home-cooked meal where ingredients are carefully picked and slowly cooked as such the reason why it is delicious.

Again, we should not rush our prayers as God does not give half-baked miracles.

#3 Be free with your details

The last point that Bro. Jon wanted to share is that we have to be always open to Gods best.

“ Madalas ang mga dalangin natin ay maliit may pagkakamali because of our limitation. Ngunit ang gusto ng diyos is much bigger than what we expect at a different time frame.”

When we pray, we should always consider that it will be granted not based on when we want it rather, when GOD wants it.

To end Bro. Jon shared a story about an Olympian who in 1924 gave up his chance of getting a gold medal for his wife who was about to give birth at the same time that the Olympics will be held.  Bill Havens in return was chastised because of his actions. But Bill Havens said that he was just being true to himself and to god and to his wife. He chose his family since that is important to him more than winning a gold medal.  But in the 1958 Olympics, his son brought home the gold in the event in which his father did not get because he stayed with his mother to watch over her while he is being born.

We might be praying for things on how we wanted it to happen  and even wanted it fast. But what God has in mind might be different from what we truly want. It may take longer but at the end it should be sweeter.

Be true to yourself and to God as He does not know how to lie.

The FEAST Laguna REWIND Articles

Every week me and family attends a weekly gathering called The FEAST - Central Mall in Binan, Laguna this is a Catholic Celebration of the LIGHT OF JESUS Family. 

In this weekly gathering that is started of by a Holy Mass and then proceeded by POWERFUL Talks from the Laguna  Feast Builder, Bro. Jon Escoto. Every week he discusses different topics ranging from Family Relationships, Love, Money, Work and almost everything that affects our daily lives. All of the discussions are infused with readings from the bible and every week, I sum up what was discussed during the talk and put it in an article and placed in a column called REWIND. This is included in our WEEKLY Bulletin and given to those who  attends the weekly gathering.

In line with this I though of posting all of the articles that I have written for The FEAST - Central Mall Binan, Laguna so that in my own little way, I can share the inspirational messages given by Bro. Jon Escoto and also share the teachings of God thru this blog article. 

I hope that you enjoy reading the articles and please feel free to suggest how I can further improve my writing. Since all of these would be for the Glory of God!