26th May
Today Catholics around the world celebrate Pentecost. The day when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles and they went out preaching the good news.
Today's reading stuck with me and I would want to share it out
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law" (Gal 5: 22-23)
I wonder how many of those that I possess and not just possess, but act it out behaviorally. How many of those above you possess and act out?
This made me want to express another point. In the Bible, Jesus once mentioned a parable. A father has two sons. He went to the first and ask him to work in the vineyard and the son replied "No" but later thought better of it and went. The father went to the second son and ask the same thing. The second son said "Yes" but did not go. Jesus asked the people who did the father's will and the people answered the first.
Action speak louder than words. And this is true for Christians and Catholics alike. If we say we are followers of Jesus but do not bear fruits of the Spirit, we are merely giving lip service.
And I believe (personal opinion) that non-Christians (or Catholic for that matter) who bear the qualities above will have salvation even when they do not profess the faith. Of course you can argue that they might not care about salvation and eternal life, but that's beside the point. Point is, we will not be saved just by lip service. It will come through our act and ultimately God's grace.
That is why I would say that I want my kids to be taught the Catholic faith and start young. People know the value of good education for kids. The value of good religious education is as important too. It doesn't matter if they want to change their religion when they get older. That is their choice. But I would want to do my part as a good father and let them start somewhere. I am so glad that I am raised as a Catholic. It is one of my pillar of life.
People can argue that I am reducing my death anxiety by conjuring up this ultimate being known as God and the concept of eternal life. Granted, I think it is almost impossible for me to argue otherwise (it would also be almost impossible for them to argue that God does not exist). But if by having this faith, it teaches me how to live a better life, I don't see why not.
I hope my life will exemplify some if not all of the fruits of the Spirit!
God Bless~
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Mad
20th May 2012
Many people around me wonder whether I will ever get mad, and even if I do, will I ever act on that anger. I wonder myself too actually.
Have I gotten mad before? Well I have gotten angry and very disappointed before but I don't really remember an incident which I was mad. I do remember yelling at my dad once though. I don't think that was mad, more of disappointment.
I was 13 I think. Or probably 14. And I was about to go for a badminton practice (which later happened to have been canceled. boo hoo). So I need to leave the house but there was no one in the house except my little sister. My dad said he was coming back, but he haven't reach home and I was about to be late.
So I went off, and when I came back, I was scolded by my dad for leaving my sister alone at home. I was sad of course and disappointed and angry that he didn't see it from my perspective, that I was getting late for practice (when you are young, everything revolves around you right? XD).
I got the scolding, and I was quiet for a while. I wanted to bath and the feelings were welling inside of me. Just before I got into the bathroom, I shouted at my dad saying things like he only thinks of my sister and not me and whatever else which came to my mind then, and I was crying (Yes, I was crying then).
I was so embarrassed to have shouted at my dad. I think he got a shock. I got a shock. Didn't know I could actually do that.
So back to the question. Will I ever get mad? Maybe, but I don't think I will act on that madness. I will be more disappointed than mad, and instead of shouting, I will most probably keep quiet and be by myself.
I don't see the point in shouting when mad. If you want to get a point across, talking at an audible voice is perfectly fine. If the other person doesn't want to listen to you, no amount of shouting will do
Of course, it's not that I don't shout. I will if lets say I see someone do something dangerous or something, but not out of madness.
God Bless~
Many people around me wonder whether I will ever get mad, and even if I do, will I ever act on that anger. I wonder myself too actually.
I was 13 I think. Or probably 14. And I was about to go for a badminton practice (which later happened to have been canceled. boo hoo). So I need to leave the house but there was no one in the house except my little sister. My dad said he was coming back, but he haven't reach home and I was about to be late.
So I went off, and when I came back, I was scolded by my dad for leaving my sister alone at home. I was sad of course and disappointed and angry that he didn't see it from my perspective, that I was getting late for practice (when you are young, everything revolves around you right? XD).
I got the scolding, and I was quiet for a while. I wanted to bath and the feelings were welling inside of me. Just before I got into the bathroom, I shouted at my dad saying things like he only thinks of my sister and not me and whatever else which came to my mind then, and I was crying (Yes, I was crying then).
I was so embarrassed to have shouted at my dad. I think he got a shock. I got a shock. Didn't know I could actually do that.
So back to the question. Will I ever get mad? Maybe, but I don't think I will act on that madness. I will be more disappointed than mad, and instead of shouting, I will most probably keep quiet and be by myself.
I don't see the point in shouting when mad. If you want to get a point across, talking at an audible voice is perfectly fine. If the other person doesn't want to listen to you, no amount of shouting will do
Of course, it's not that I don't shout. I will if lets say I see someone do something dangerous or something, but not out of madness.
God Bless~
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