The Essence of Faith: Love
Posted on Saturday, 3 January 2015
The
Essence of Faith: Love
By Apolinario Villalobos
A viewer of my blogs for a long time, and
who I met personally upon his request, asked me if I was a “minister” because
of my shares about God, religion, faith, etc. I told him that my heart was open
to any religion, but not a minister. He was surprised and before he could ever
mention something that would trigger a never ending discussion on religion, I
just asked him to believe in God…period. However, to help him understand how it
could be possible, I told him to appreciate what the ministers of the different
religions were doing, as long as they preach nothing else but love of God and
others. Also, to just open his mind to all that they preach, and absorb in his
heart what he thought he could practice with sincerity, still, based on love.
I told the guy that, the essence of Faith
is love. It is only by acting out this essence that we can show our Faith. If
we believe that God exists, then, we can act out what He wants us to do…love others.
I added that sacrifice is sacrificing for others – literally. These could be
sharing our money, food, clothing, etc. with others; giving up of our seat to
an elderly, a person with disability, a pregnant woman; giving up of our place
in a queue. And, since I am not bound to become a saint, I told him that I do
not do sacrifices that can hurt me, most especially, fasting because I might
develop ulcer, and if I have emaciated myself, how can I serve others? We have
to be mentally and physically fit so that we can be strong enough to “carry” others,
I added.
I found out that the guy who asked to meet
me confided that he and his wife were planning to go on separate ways and
thought of seeking my advice. He must have thought that I was an authority on
this matter. They have four children. While he was 37 years old, his wife was
33. When I asked if it is okay for me to meet his wife, he acceded. He asked if
we could meet again the next Saturday during which he would bring me to his
home for lunch.
The following Saturday, the guy picked me
at the restaurant as agreed and brought me to their home in Bel-Air, Makati. I
was introduced to the wife who was strikingly pretty, but only their two kids
were around. Over coffee after lunch, I opened up the subject of separation, as
I expected the wife to have already known the reason of my coming. Emotions
were controlled during our talk. I found out that no human third party was
involved. The culprit was the conversion of the wife to a Christian sect! The
husband remained a staunch Catholic. The decision to split came from the wife
who obviously became a fanatic practitioner of her new-found faith.
I asked the wife if her pastor knew about
her plan of breaking up with her husband, and she answered in the negative. She
admitted that her decision came about as dictated by her “feeling” and
conscience as a new Christian. When I asked, if they and their children go to
Mass regularly before the wife became a new Christian, both looked at each
other first before answering in the negative. Hearing that, I told them that
they have no problem, as they can go their own way according to their faith,
and let the children choose who among them (parents) to accompany during the
day of worship. Most importantly, they should not impose on each other what one
believes based on the earthly teachings that they learn. Both remained silent
for a long time.
I told the couple that they should not make
their respective faith as reason in breaking their family up. Turning to the
wife, I told her that I am sure, her Christian pastor will not agree to her
decision of separating from her husband. I told her that she is worshipping the
same God as her husband as a Catholic. There could be “innovations” on the part
of the new Christian sects, I told her, but they have the same faith. I told
them that it is senseless for them to break up a home after having four
children just because she became a new Christian.
Before I left them, I told the story of a
couple who decided to split due to the involvement of a third party, but which
I was able to prevent. I told them that they should be thankful that this kind
of a “third party” interference did not
happen to their marital relationship, for it could have been worse.
The episode happened in the middle of 2014,
I think, during the month of May. Two weeks after I had a heart to heart talk
with the couple, I received a call from the husband who invited me to join his
family for lunch at a restaurant in Greenbelt, Makati on a Sunday. At the
restaurant, I found out that they attended the Mass that morning – this time,
the whole family, with the couple’s four children. They told me that they
decided not to break up anymore, and that their family would attend both
Catholic and Christian worships, as there was no conflict in schedule, anyway.
On that day, very obvious was the presence of love in the way they touched and
talked to each other. Praise the Lord!
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