Jesus Christ!

Too many times have I been greeted with a surprised smile along with the question "Are you Christian too?" when seen bowing my head in prayer before a meal, which is too often followed by a disappointed "Oh" when I reveal my Catholic identity.

It seems to be very common a misunderstanding here that the act of saying grace makes someone a follower of the Christian faith, when the truth is, I'd been reciting Grace Before Meal everyday over the seven years that I received education under the Roman Catholic school board in Toronto.

People get even more confused when I tell them I go to mass at a Christian church every now and then. Some even feel violated by my having accepted communion in a Christian church although I've never been baptized as Christian.

As far as I'm concerned, all that matters is that I believe in God. And as far as I know, this is the same God my Christian fellows believe in, whether they be Evangelical, Baptist or Evangelical Baptist. The little biscuit I received in the Christian church looked and tasted different from the ones I remember from Catholic churches, yes. But oh God, does it take an apostle to figure out that they essentially symbolize the same body of the same Christ, the only Christ?

One Step Closer

Had a 30-minute meeting with God today. He spoke to me through a colleague—one whom I'd least expect to be a believer.

It started when the usual crowd got together in the open office for their daily chitchat session. Apparently, they were on the topic of Christianity being dogmatic in that it doesn't accept other religions. Up till a few months ago, I agreed. I would've also described Christianity as pushy, because so many times I'd had Christian friends try to "recruit" me.

This colleague soon took center stage by sharing his story, from his days of being against Christianity to his moment of enlightenment. I couldn't help but overhear. I couldn't help but drop my work and take a front-row seat. It was clear He was speaking to me. The skepticism in the other colleagues' comments made me realize that this message was only meant for me.

There are those who practice a religion, they learn about the rules through religious teachings and follow closely; then there are those who believe, not for the sake of a comfortable afterlife, but because they've learned a truth that is better perceived outside of the Bible. Their faith builds up through their experiences—particularly experiences that are unexplainable. One's not necessarily more devoted than the other, but the latter usually has more interesting stories to tell. This colleague told us of how his unexplainable experiences unfolded some years back when he visited his brother in Canada. He described his most shocking moment as the instance when he received, at once, all the signals of the prayers his Christian siblings and their families had been saying for him; plus other events that he admitted had to be the work of the Almighty. The more rebellious you are, he said, the more far-fetched the experience God will have for you to bring you to Him.

I've been Catholic for many years, though never devout. Always got decent grades for religion class in school but rarely went to Mass, and when I did go very few of the messages were processed. It was like receiving files in a format I didn't have the codec for. Over the past few months I've been downloading that codec. It's also become more apparent to me that not all Christians have the codec. Some simply take in what they're fed and accept it as true.

When belief does not control your most important decisions, it is not belief in
the underlying reality; it is belief in the usefulness of believing. — from
God's Debris

The truth certainly is good news that's worth sharing. But faith can't be taught. All the Church can do is to spread the message, so that when people experience their individual eureka moments, they'd know where to go.