Recent controversial statements made against God and the Catholic Church stirred up an entire nation and different reactions have surfaced.  It paved way to heated arguments and emotional outbursts in social media.

I would like to express my two cents on the issue.  I am a Catholic and I come from a pure Catholic ancestry.  I had my education in a Catholic school from my preschool years up until college.  The values and practices that were imbibed in me are influenced by that of the Catholic teachings.  However, as I come to maturity and have seen and experienced life in its many interesting facets, I have developed my own personal faith that goes beyond religion.  And though, still much of that is influenced by the religion that I woke up to since I was born, a large part of it have come from the relationship that I have developed with an amazing God who revealed Himself through the many people who became part of my life and the situations I found myself in. People who came as blessings and those who taught me great lessons.  Experiences that form the simplest and most trivial of tasks, to the most challenging and excruciating ones which I had to embark in.

God was always there and He continues to be there in every moment.  And this faith, though has much to do with religion, is not all religion.  I believe, as we grow to maturity, (and by maturity, I don’t only mean age, but the awakening of one’s consciousness to the realities of life) we also grow in our faith.  All of us has this inner voice, that when listened to, will guide our perceptions and direct our actions.  And this also fuels our faith.  My own journey taught me that there is one God.  Someone whose love is so great and unconditional; whose mercy is beyond our understanding; and whose grace is endless.  Growing up, I have been exposed to many images of God.  Someone to be feared.  Someone who is jealous.  Someone who punishes.  Someone who knows everything and keeps records of every wrong we have done.  And this created an image of God that ignited fear and compliance of religious practices out of fear.  But the wisdom that God has given us also awakens us to a new reality of who God is.  And this is the reality my heart believes in.

And so I have wondered why I was not personally offended by the words spoken against the God being attacked in this recent controversy.  Does it make me less of a Christian because I didn’t feel offended? As I pondered over it, I have realized the reason.  It is because I feel so secured of my own faith of who God really is.  And no one’s opinion of what or who God is, can change how God has manifested Himself and how He made His presence felt in my life and in the lives of people I see around me.  Yes, I acknowledge that He knows and controls everything but His love for us is greater than any of us and bigger than anything, including our shortcomings.  And how He welcomes us in His loving embrace if we allow ourselves to surrender to Him.  He is the ultimate judge who does not judge.  He is a God of mercy.  A God of not only second chances, but who lifts us up each time we fall and call on Him.   Someone we look up to and follow, not out of fear or compliance, but out of love. Because He Himself is a God of pure love.  And this is not a God of one or any religion.  This is the one true God that lives in each of our hearts, whether we are Catholic or otherwise.

Religion, they say cannot, save us.  Our faith does.  And I believe so.  We can be full-fledged religious according to the books and practices, but not faithful.  And if we call ourselves truly faithful, how indeed do we defend our faith and our God when being attacked?  We defend it by living it.  How we live our lives is the best expression of our faith.  How we treat and relate with other people in our society becomes our own manifestation of who God is.  We ourselves are the best defense.  When we are faithful to the values of being a true child of a loving God and paying forward the goodness that has been received time and again.  To give. To forgive.  To serve.  To love even when it is difficult to do so.  And if we are Christians, to be the true Christian we all claim to be, not only by name or religion but by faith and action.