"OH, REALLY?"

“OH, REALLY?”

 

“Do not be unbelieving but believe.” – John 20:27

 

One morning, I hurried into the church where I pray every day before going to work. I was surprised to bump into a friend I hadn’t seen for a long time since my release from prison.

Ate Susan was just as excited to see me as we embraced each other. “Beth, our meeting is not accidental,” she exclaimed.“God confirmed His message to me. You are called to evangelize more,” she shared. “Oh, really?” I replied doubtfully. I didn’t give much importance to what Ate Susan had “ prophesied” although, subconsciously, I had been longing and praying for another ministry where I could serve the Lord more.

Not long after that, I was invited to give my life testimony and talks on brokenness and empowerment in Bangad, Talim Island and in different communites in Visayas and Mindanao. These people who were downtrodden and hopeless were also involved in prison ministry.

God really is an answering God — He gave me a new service — prison ministry (again) but this time all over the Philippines. Who knows? I may be destined to go around the world proclaiming the good news of Jesus. Beth Corral (bethcorral_0330@yahoo.com)

 

REFLECTION:

Nothing is accidental. Everything works out for good according to God’s will especially for those who love and obey the Lord (Romans 8:28).

 

Lord, continue to use me mightily where You will be glorified and Your name be always exalted.

 

THE AUTHORITY GIVEN TO THE APOSTLES

 

I get a bit tired defending the Catholic Church’s position on the authority given to the apostles against any of the Protestant Churches as, after all, they are the ones who insist on taking the Word of God literally. It is quite plain and simple to see that Jesus gives the apostles the authority to forgive and retain  sins. I do not see how the text in today’s Gospel can be interpreted in any other manner.

It is not just this text but there are many other texts that support the fact that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is instituted based on a theological point of view. If this is not enough, the undisputed evidence of Church history for the first 1,500 years after Christ also supports the Catholic Church’s position. If the Protestants want to do away with the Sacrament, they will have to do a lot better than merely asserting that they are developmental mistakes of the Catholic Church. Like nearly all of the Protestant theological positions, we are ultimately left with supporting arguments that pick and choose those pieces of evidence that give vague support to what they want to establish and reject anything that remotely disagrees with their position no matter how well attested the evidence may be. There is no intellectual credibility, let alone integrity in such a position.

As Catholics we need to better understand our faith so that we can live it more faithfully. Ironically it is the converts who are in the forefront of renewal here. There are many recent converts to Catholicism who witness to the fact that it is precisely when they take history seriously and search for what the early Church believed and why, that they become convinced of the authenticity and correctness of the Catholic Church’s position. One of them, Scott Hahn, echoes another of them, Cardinal John Henry Newman, when he says words to the effect that you cannot remain a Protestant if you take the study of Church history seriously. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

 

Reflection Question:

How well informed am I about my own faith? Have I seriously attempted any sort of study as to what the Catholic Church teaches on many of the pressing issues in today’s world?

 

Holy Spirit, guide me in the truth and help me to discover more about my faith as a Catholic so I will be better able to defend what I believe.

 

St. Godebertha, pray for us.