Well, here it is, my last night in Albuquerque. And I have to say, I'm not exactly sure how I'm feeling right now. All the emotions I expected to feel have been there (anxiety, excitement, nervousness, sadness, etc.), but I honestly expected them to be a lot stronger than they are, and I honestly expected to feel them the strongest tonight. And maybe it's just because I'm tired, but I'm honestly not feeling much of anything right now, at this moment. Funny how that works sometimes. I guess time will tell if it's God's way of telling me that I'm on the right path. Maybe it's just because I've been waiting so long for this day, and it's finally here, so I'm feeling the way I feel just out of sheer relief that I finally get to take the next step.
I do know one thing for sure, though.... I am leaving New Mexico, the only place that I have called home for the first 25 years of my life, and embarking on a brand new journey. I don't know where it will take me, or even where I'll end up 5 or 10 years down the road, but I do know this: If I am indeed following God's will for me, that will all become clear in time. All I have right now is faith that God will lead me to where I'm supposed to be. And sometimes, that's all that's necessary.
Well, I'd best finish packing... I'll be sure to post an update when I get settled in in Toronto.
God Bless!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine
So with all the recent doomsday predictions, The song that is the title of this blog has been in my head a lot, mostly because I knew that there was virtually no chance of the end of the world actually occurring when Harold Camping said it would. All you have to do is look at Luke 21:8, which states "See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,' and 'The time has come.' Do not follow them!" Or Matthew 24:36, which states "But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."
I just hope that none of Harold Camping's followers lose faith in God, because the rapture, or the end of the world, or whatever was supposed to happen, didn't. I also worry about the people who sold all of their belongings, because they "knew" the world was going to end. Now they have nothing, and they are stuck with figuring out how to continue a life they didn't think they would have to continue.
As Christians, we believe that Jesus will come again one day, for the final judgement. But if we start looking for a specific time for His coming, we lose sight of what our real purpose on this earth is. And that purpose is to do the will of God, and to bring him Honor and Glory through our daily lives. Our Pastor was talking about Christ's Second Coming at Mass this weekend, and he mentioned a case in which St. Francis of Assisi was asked what he would do if he knew the world was going to end. He simply replied: I would keep on tending my garden. And that is the spirit that we need to have. We do not need to wait on the Lord, but rather continue to serve him faithfully at all times, not always anticipating his return.
May God bless us as we continue to do His work. Amen.
I just hope that none of Harold Camping's followers lose faith in God, because the rapture, or the end of the world, or whatever was supposed to happen, didn't. I also worry about the people who sold all of their belongings, because they "knew" the world was going to end. Now they have nothing, and they are stuck with figuring out how to continue a life they didn't think they would have to continue.
As Christians, we believe that Jesus will come again one day, for the final judgement. But if we start looking for a specific time for His coming, we lose sight of what our real purpose on this earth is. And that purpose is to do the will of God, and to bring him Honor and Glory through our daily lives. Our Pastor was talking about Christ's Second Coming at Mass this weekend, and he mentioned a case in which St. Francis of Assisi was asked what he would do if he knew the world was going to end. He simply replied: I would keep on tending my garden. And that is the spirit that we need to have. We do not need to wait on the Lord, but rather continue to serve him faithfully at all times, not always anticipating his return.
May God bless us as we continue to do His work. Amen.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Thoughts on the death of Osama Bin Laden
I've been doing a lot of thinking since the news came out that U.S. Soldiers had killed Osama Bin Laden, and the only conclusion that I've reached is that I'm not quite sure how I should feel about it right now. I see all the footage of people chanting "USA! USA!" in the streets, and I can't help but wonder "are we any better than the Afghan people, who did a very similar thing in their streets after 9/11? Should we really be rejoicing over the death of another human, just because of how they chose to live their life?"
I've been doing a lot of reading on this very topic over the past couple of days, and the best conclusion I can come to is no, we shouldn't be rejoicing. I am in no way trying to justify Bin Laden's actions, I just feel like to rejoice goes against everything that I have been taught as a Christian. I know a lot of people have been quoting "an eye for an eye" and other verses like that to justify his death, but I prefer the saying, "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." And yes it may have been true that the old law was "an eye for an eye,"
but if you look to the Gospels, there is another message. The two verses I keep going back to when I think about Bin Laden's death, and the reaction to it are as follows:
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust."
Matthew 5: 43-45
"Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you."
Matthew 7: 1-2
I guess the point I'm making here is that I don't really feel comfortable with all the people who are saying " I hope hell is an extra kind of hot right now," or "he got what he deserved", or things like that, because it really isn't up to us to make those kind of judgments. Perhaps the best approach to this situation came from the Vatican in their statement:
I've been doing a lot of reading on this very topic over the past couple of days, and the best conclusion I can come to is no, we shouldn't be rejoicing. I am in no way trying to justify Bin Laden's actions, I just feel like to rejoice goes against everything that I have been taught as a Christian. I know a lot of people have been quoting "an eye for an eye" and other verses like that to justify his death, but I prefer the saying, "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." And yes it may have been true that the old law was "an eye for an eye,"
but if you look to the Gospels, there is another message. The two verses I keep going back to when I think about Bin Laden's death, and the reaction to it are as follows:
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust."
Matthew 5: 43-45
"Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you."
Matthew 7: 1-2
I guess the point I'm making here is that I don't really feel comfortable with all the people who are saying " I hope hell is an extra kind of hot right now," or "he got what he deserved", or things like that, because it really isn't up to us to make those kind of judgments. Perhaps the best approach to this situation came from the Vatican in their statement:
“Osama bin Laden, as we all know, bore the most serious responsibility for spreading divisions and hatred among populations, causing the deaths of innumerable people, and manipulating religions to this end.
In the face of a man’s death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men, and hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred.”
-Vatican Statement on the death of Osama Bin Laden
Again, I am not trying to discredit the horrible things that Bin Laden did. It just seems to me like celebrating in the streets is the wrong approach to the death of a human being, even though said human being was responsible for many deaths. I hope for our sake, and the sake of future generations, that our actions surrounding the death of Bin Laden do not have negative consequences. People are treating this as a major victory, but we must remember that Al-Qaeda still exists, and will still function, even though the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks is dead. We must continue to pray for peace, and help to spread love for all mankind throughout the world, and stop the spread of hatred, just as the Gospel calls us to do.
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