IN THE BEGINNING GOD

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light 'day', and the darkness he called 'night.' And there was evening, and there was morning - the first day."– Genesis 1:1-5

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”- John 1:1

It is most appropriate to start this blog with the ultimate beginning, God, and the best way to begin this first post is to quote from scriptures. The first verse was from the Old Testament Book of Genesis while the second was from the New Testament Gospel of St. John. Both attest that everything started with God.

We know that life is temporal. Our birth on this earth is the beginning and when we depart through death it is the end. In between these most significant moments is the great journey called life.

Indeed, life is a journey. Every journey has to start somewhere and there is a destination. Our faith tells us that all begins with God. Hence, our life started with Him and someday our destination is to be with Him in heaven.

An inspirational adage says, “The human spirit is restless unless it finds rest in God.” In a way, we feel some degree of restlessness in life. Amidst the cares of the world around us, we yearn for the spiritual. With this yearning comes the most profound yet commonly considered trivial questions, “Why are we born?” and “What is my life’s purpose?” Unless one believes that man has not only physical, psychological but also spiritual needs to fulfill, it would be difficult to learn and understand the concept of the Divine. Most of us may belong to certain religion, members of a church, religious congregation or has some spiritual affiliation and say “I do believe in God”, yet we may ask “What does God got to do with me?” In the midst of human sufferings, the personal challenges and difficulties that we face, many of us pray to the Unseen but familiar God taught to us from childhood. But how real is this God to us? Is our prayer simply a rite or a psycho-emotional coping device against the harshness of living? How are the human condition and our temporal existence related to the Divine? Constantly we seek for answers from every intelligent resource available to us or turn to the wisest authorities on the subject matter; we may academically or scholastically study the truths about God yet nothing suffices but faith alone. Even the revelation of God through the Church, sacred scriptures and writings are helpless to our personal quest without faith.

Hebrews 11:6 states “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him”. Although believing is an inherent requisite for faith to flourish, it is not enough. We may believe in something but we don’t necessarily have faith in that something. St. Paul defined it in his letter to the Hebrews saying, “Faith is the substance of things hope for the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Our knowledge of God is void without the faith that transforms us and guides our journey through life. Our intellect is inadequate to fully comprehend the mystery of God and our life. Yet, by faith we experience a sense of completeness beyond intellectual reason.

It is hard to have faith through our own efforts simply because it is God’s gift to us. If we search for Him and ask for it, it will be granted unto us. He promised, “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11:5-13). If we believe this promise, it would be certain that faith is instantly given unto us. For in faith lies our ultimate experience of God.

This blog shall be a personal log of my spiritual journey. There is something sacred and profound in this journey thus I think it most appropriate term for this is pilgrimage as it is distinct from any other journey we take in our life. Since I belong to the Roman Catholic Church, I shall talk about being Catholic and share my thoughts about the Church as an institution, its teachings and other issues that relates to her without prejudice to any denomination or religion.

I encourage others to join me in this pilgrimage. Although, I already stated that I do belong to a particular church, all are welcome particularly those who are in their own quest for God as they journey through. We don’t have to be of the same religious persuasion or denominational affiliation. In fact, in diversity we may come to know our faith in God is not limited to concepts, doctrines, dogmas and theological studies. Although these teach us the basic truths of our faith, they remain meaningless if we can not find their relevance to our relationship with God and others. We will most likely to share here our personal experiences as we move along in faith; how it transform us and guide us in our ways. We may share unique beliefs, ways of worship, prayers and distinctive rites and culture of our respective religion, church or congregation essential to our witnessing of our faith. We will do so without prejudice to one another but for better understanding of our common aspiration to get to our ultimate destination, God. There may be dissenting opinions however we will do so with respect for one another calling to mind that we are all children of God and that we are here on a pilgrimage.

Our pilgrimage begins today the first day of a new year, 2010 A.D. (Anno Domini). On this first day of the year this blog is launched consecrated to the Almighty and dedicated to all who are seeking Him in earnest and wish to be in this pilgrimage of faith. Let us pray,

O God Almighty, we are humbled by Your majesty as the great Creator. We thank You for the life that is given us. Thank You for all the blessings and necessary graces that You have bestowed us.

Bless this blog, O Lord. Make this a medium of Your presence among us. May everyone who browse this blog be enlightened by the flames of faith. Make this endeavor fruitful and fulfilling that anyone who joins this pilgrimage be blessed by Your graces. We offer every word that counts and help us make sense by Your wisdom.

Keep this blog pure in its intentions, genuine in its goals and delivered from selfish interest. Teach us to be humble in our thoughts and in our words that in all things You shall be glorified. Be with us as we communicate and express our thoughts. Remind us always that we are here not to battle each others intellect; or prove how much righteous we are against another; or more pious than any one else rather we are here to travel alongside one another in faith of You. As we learn from the sharing of one another, may we go beyond knowing for mere knowledge of our faith is useless unless we live it.

Grant us, O Lord, a charitable heart willing always to hear and understand each others reason. Give us all a sense of responsibility to bear with one another’s point of view and grant us a forgiving heart whenever it is needed. Teach us to present our contentions with respect and politeness and may we be magnanimous in every disagreement.

Lord, let us see You in one another. May Your Holy Spirit travel with us in this pilgrimage to guide and light our path. Grant us perseverance and the grace to follow Your divine will so that at the end of our pilgrimage we shall return to where we begun, You. We ask these through Christ our Lord together with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.