Christian Peace

The closest human experience of Christian peace if when children make peace. They may be the fiercest enemies when they are at odds against each other, but when they make peace, it is always genuine and true. It brings an almost instant healing to both parties. Peace, according to Christ is reconciliation. It is an offer of the healing of the soul. It is forgiveness and union. God initiated peace when He decided to become one like us in the Incarnation. At that time, the world was in great sin. The world needed a savior. The world needs to be reconciled with God. God was the one who initiated the healing of the world. When Jesus resurrected, the healing and forgiveness was merited by human kind. Subsequent sins, when truly repented would be forgiven by God. The sinner will be given another chance. After the resurrection, Christ greeted the apostles with "Peace!" He really meant forgiveness and offer reconciliation. Christian peace therefore is salvific. It seeks not only to reconcile man to God, but also to offer eternal life. Christian Peace is an invitation to life everlasting. Christian Peace is being in heaven with God!

Election - 107 Election 2007, "Generally peaceful."

Almost everyone who was asked about the conduct of the 2007 elections said that it was generally peaceful The Comelec, led by Commissioner Ben Abalos claimed vindication that the elections are peaceful and clean and not violent and dirty as the opposition claimed. What does "generally peaceful" mean? Does it mean the disenfranchisement of millions of voters? Does it mean the buying of votes and election violations (presence of police, government officials, display of posters, etc.) right in the precinct areas? Does it mean the killing of some poll watchers and BEI personnel (e.g. burning of a school that led to the death of a teacher?)? Does it mean the massive cheating by both camps and the delaying tactics in the municipal and Comelec Canvass? Does it mean overspending? Does it mean forcing barangay officials to fulfill the "command vote" and then get one million pesos for doing so? Does it mean selling the results of an election for a big amount? And maybe other violations more that may never be known. If this is what "generally peaceful" means, then, we might just include "generally peaceful" as a reason for failure of elections. I can just cite one of the main reasons why these "generally peaceful" activities continue to happen. Poor enforcement of the election laws, failure to convict the guilty, and rewarding those who violated. Only in the Philippines!

Why Jesus Had To Leave

After His resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ bade goodbye to the apostles and Ascended into heaven. Why does he had to leave? Is it not more effective if He remained? His appearance will be the best testimony to His resurrection.

The resurrected Lord, in the first place, is not anymore like any human being. He already had the "glorified" body. He does not belong anymore to the world. Besides, it was part of God's plan for the Lord Jesus to be born, minister, suffer, die and resurrect. But the resurrection is not the end. He will send His Spirit who will make the Lord present not only to the apostles, or the Jews, or the Gentiles. His Spirit will make it possible for Him to be present in each and everyone of us at the same time! If He did not leave, His presence will only be limited to where He is. Now that His Spirit is with us, He is here, there, and everywhere!
In His Spirit, we always experience His presence and guidance.

Our New Church Will Bring Us To Hell?

I received a reaction that because of the church we are building, we are going to hell. I was not sure about the reason why such statement was made. But, honestly, I was taken aback by the comment. Suddenly, I questioned what we were doing. Suddenly, I began to reflect on it again. I presumed that the point was that we were making a very "expensive" church. It may seem to be expensive, but I would rather see it as relatively expensive and therefore may be justifiable. If the assumption was that spending so much money for a church is a grave sin and immoral and therefore will bring the builder to hell, then, so many are going to hell! How about those "rich" people who built houses that were exorbitant? How about the Basilicas in other countries? St. Peter in Rome was definitely expensive even during its time. Is damnation and salvation determined by the "cost"? Our parish church maybe expensive for some reasons but many do not know that most if not all of the parts of our church were carefully designed and their use and relevance were a result of so much reflection before they were made. The process of deciding the material and the design underwent a very tedious process. We were fortunate to have an architect that cared so much for our church that he really researched and exerted efforts that will make our church meaningful, relevant, and still beautiful.
With this church, I am willing to go to hell! But I know that I will be proud when I appear before God because I had tried to give to His home here on earth, our place of worship, only the best and the most right! How about the others? Can they claim the same for the buildings or houses they had built? Can they claim the same for the money they had spent for things they had acquired?

Can You Prove That You Are A Christian?

Jesus, before He went back to His Father gave the commandment to all of us through His apostles that we must love each other the way He loved us. It means we must do everything to show our love for each other. Even if it will entail suffering and death, we must continue to love the way He unconditionally and consistently loved us by suffering and dying for us while we were still sinners.
This commandment of loving one another and the way He loved us is our entry to heaven. It is our identity. It is our symbol. Christians would be known because of the way they love each other. Though other symbols like uniforms, badges, emblems, motto, certificates, and other human symbols are important in the initial recognition of a Christian, Jesus meant for us to show it by loving. The essence of being a Christian lies not in the externalities but in the living of the faith.
Did you know that our faith is so beautiful that great men of other religion are very attracted to our Lord Jesus Christ? However, we, His followers, are not being good witnesses to the teachings and life of our God. They like Christianity but not the Christians. Picture this, when you meet St. Peter in heaven's gate and ask you to prove that you are a Christian, can you prove it?