Pope Francis has declared the upcoming year as A Year of
Mercy. We will begin to celebrate this
jubilee year on December 8, the feast day of the Immaculate Conception.
Throughout the coming year, we are
asked to celebrate the mercy that God has freely bestowed upon us. We can get off to a good start during this
season of Advent ~ the season in which we should prepare our hearts for the
coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ. For me,
Jesus is the ultimate sign of God’s mercy.
He came to earth to reveal God’s mercy.
The traditional themes for the
weeks of advent are hope, peace, joy and love.
This year, we are asked to focus on the virtues of faith, mercy, hope
and love. So, let us light the candle of
faith this first week of advent. Faith
is certainly a hard concept to describe to someone, isn’t it? Faith to me is more of a feeling of complete
belief in something or someone. I want
to share with you how my faith in God and in our Church has grown throughout my
life.
For me, faith seems to be part of
my DNA – perhaps that is the same for many people. My faith in God has never wavered, even
through the most difficult times of my life.
In fact, during my darkest times, my faith in God seemed to just grow
stronger. I have often wondered how I
came upon such a strong faith. I want to
share with you the three strong pillars which have helped me in my faith
formation:
Family: those chosen by God specifically for me; most
notably my Mother, Grandmother and Godmother.
Oh what strong pillars of faith these women represent in my life! Filled with faith and love enough to move
mountains! Their faith in God and Christ
was so full that it spilled over to everyone they touched. My prayer to God is to always fill my cup so
that I may be a witness of faith to others.
Faith Community: those in our Parish, our Catholic School and
in the wider church. God has placed so
many wonderful people on my journey of faith who have inspired me and have shared
their faith with me. I find that faith
can be a very contagious virtue!
Life Experience: those times in my life that I know with
certainty that God’s hand had touched me.
These moments are plentiful.
During NCYC I had one such “God moment.”
It happened during Adoration, in the silence of 24,000 members of the
young church worshipping our Jesus Christ.
I
am kneeling in adoration on cold cement floor.
The Bishop begins the chant “Jesus”, “Jesus”, “Jesus.” The room grows quiet as I gaze upon the altar
on which sits the golden monstrance which contains the body of our Lord. I begin to feel a chill – it starts circling
round me, then stops behind me and oh so very slowly embraces me. My heart races and my breathing becomes fast
as I try to maintain control and allow my senses to surrender to this
incredible feeling. Close your eyes and
try to picture this moment . . .I pray that God comes to you and touches you in
this way! KNOW that it is God.
I have come to understand that
faith is a seed planted in the core of who I am and by the witness of family,
friends and life experience, the seed grows into a mighty tree built to
withstand the roughest of storms. I pray
that you nurture the seed that God has planted within you for you never know
how you may be that witness of faith to others!
Shalom,
Tina
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