For the past seventeen years, religion has defined how I lived my life.
Religion is the creed embedded to us when we were baptized. It is the noun which identifies us to what tradition or practice we are following. It is the particular system concerning the existence, nature, and worship of a deity or deities. It is the strong belief that embodies our faith to an omnipotent being. It is our cradle when everything we do goes wrong. It is the holding of hands of many people while looking up above, praying. It is also the kneeling and bowing of one person, facing a direction of holy place.
I am a Roman Catholic, and I know how I came to be a practical Christian. First, I was christened in San Guillermo Parish, Pampanga. In my religion class, I learned that, when I was baptized, my body became a templeof God. Thus, He is with me everyday, and He will never leave me until the bitter end of life. Baptism is the sacrament that we first receive in life.
Second, when I was two years old, my mom taught me how to pray. Every night, before we slept, she held my hands together and said in a soothing voice, “Baby, this is how you pray Angel of God.” The key to praying is listening to God’s voice for praying is talking to Him. Actually, there are four purposes when I pray. These are to adore, to praise, to thank, and to ask. I often thank God when I talk to Him for I believe that everything that is happening in my life couldn’t have been possible to happen without Him, and everything that He allows to happen has a reason that is for everybody.
Next, my family and I always went to Holy Masses during Sundays. With that, I knew that God has to be praised for He is the One who created us all. Eventually, with my knowledge about who God is, I received the next Holy Sacrament, which is the Sacrament of Confirmation that enabled me to participate in the Holy Eucharist during Masses. Holy Eucharist, on the other hand, is the next Sacrament, which allows me to take the Blood and Body of Christ. At first, this was hard to understand for me because this is a part of thePaschal Mystery, but then, I realized the thought. Knowing and understanding the mystery are not the real concern. Instead, it is faith.
Afterwards, I learned how to lay down myself with the Sacrament ofReconciliation. Committing sins is a big crime for me. After I do it, my conscience always bothers me that I cannot focus on my other works. Reconciliation is process that involves admitting sins, being humble, confessing, regretting, and praying the Act of Penance. With Reconciliation, I found out that God really loves me even if I turn to wickedness. Of course, it is better to be benign.
Finally, I was taught how Catholics live, how they celebrate feasts, how they venerate Mary and all other saints, how they commemorate Christ’s life, how they teach God’s love which is told in the Bible, and the like. These are the things that I actually enjoy doing, even though doing such requires a lot of sacrifices. Nevertheless, in the end, there are fulfillments that are felt by me.
There may be loopholes in the process of being a Catholic. There are some statements that are hard to understand that ended without further explanations. These focus on the central point of my religion, and the holes ask, “Does God really exist?”
The Bible is not an enough evidence to show that Yahweh exists. The Book of Books is just a mere manuscript or form of literary work written by people inspired by God. No one knows if they based their work on true happenings or imaginations. The Book of Genesis is an example of writing that only assumes that there had been a deity before anything else came into existence. How could have the Creation been true if there was no witness to tell or write the story? How could have the writer knew that God created everything in seven days? Why not in just a nick of time? Some of the plagues in the time of Moses, the Exodus, were already proven to be real by science, not by religion or miracles. Moreover, God only showed Himself in form of symbols like the burning bush, clouds, lightning, and characters in Jesus’ parables.
Nonetheless, throughout the despising, I’ve stayed to be a believer of God. Whenever I pray to Him, I feel His presence. Whenever I need Him, He is always at my side. In times that I fall on my knees, He is ready to catch me, or he lets me fall and, later on, heals the wound. I believe in His divine intervention, and to prove it, I have experiences to tell.
When my best friend, whom I consider a part of me, had a series of arguments, I just prayed to God and asked him not to let our friendship fade away. He answered my prayer. My best friend and I reconciled.
I had attended novenas before the University of the Philippines College Admission Test results were released. I believed in the power of God that He will make me study in the country’s premiere state university, and I heard the next day that I passed.
When I was in high school, I was chosen to represent our school in a speech contest. At first, I didn’t believe in what I got, but when I prayed to him, “Lord, please help me win,” he eventually answered my prayer. I thanked Him so much.
The only weapon I carry in life against entities or happenings that may harm me is faith. As long as I believe and trust God, I will not lack anything for he will fill my needs. Yes, it’s true that I can’t see Him, and if I He doesn’t exist, why do I love Him?
If I never felt pain, how would I know that He is a healer? If I never felt sadness, how would I know that He is a comforter? If life was perfect, would I still know Him? I believe God does exist. I just can’t prove it.
In the course of this development, I identified myself as a Christian in practice. I knew that thru good deeds, God’s love can be multiplied. I now live life they way it should be, according to Church teachings. This religion of mine defined how I live my life.
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“The Catholic” is my final paper answering the question, “What dimension of identity do you feel has most defined how you lived your life?” This is in partial fulfillment of the requirements in English 1, 2nd semester, S.Y. 2006-2007.
May 12, a Saturday, was really a good day for me. Days before, I was having fierce frustrations in my mind. There were thin thorny lines that were passing through my chest. I was feeling pain because of damn everything. Everything seemed so wrong. I just can’t explain well.
). I suffer from severe bronchial asthma, so I am prohibited from eating “fishy-smelling” food. My brother is always having high blood pressure, and he has symptoms of heart disease. He is prohibited from eating fatty food.
For three hours, Anthony, Benj, and I were sharing many things about college life. Of course, the other things we talked about are secret.
