By Bro. Pete Lapid
Our topic for this issue is taken from
John 15:7 - Remain in Him and in His Words. And it is good for us
to look in the Bible to help us understand better why this is
something important for us to do and what we need to do to achieve
it.
Throughout the Bible, it is truly amazing to see how much GOD
desires to be with His people and for His people to be with Him.
This is especially true in the Old Testament, beginning from
GENESIS where we see Adam and Eve being with GOD and conversing
with Him in the garden. Likewise we see Noah, Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob being in the presence of GOD and talking with Him. And later
on, we see Moses, David and the prophets also communicating with
Him.
What do we see in the Bible that made these people remain in the
presence of GOD? We can find several things.
1) Altar
– The people in the Old
Testament built sacred altars for Yahweh. Even when they traveled,
they built altars from rocks or stones for GOD. And they worshipped
GOD and made covenants with Him in those sacred places. They know
and believe that Yahweh is truly there.
In our time, we too have our sacred places of worship – our
Cathedrals, Churches, Chapels, and Adoration Chapels. Some families
even have their own prayer room in their homes. And we believe that
GOD is present in these places. Likewise thru the one holy,
catholic and apostolic Church, GOD remains in us and we remain in
GOD.
2) Ark of the
Covenant - The Old
Testament people had the Ark of the Covenant in their midst and
they saw GOD’s glory in it. GOD guided them thru the Ark. And
wherever the Ark was, GOD’s blessing was there.
For us, we have the Blessed Sacrament, where we believe that Jesus
is truly present. We highly recommend frequent visitations to the
Blessed Sacrament. During these times of one-on-one conversation
with the Lord, expect that He will speak to you. (We are blessed
that we now have at St. Theresia Parish an Adoration Room where we
can visit the Lord more often.)
3) Sacrifices and
Offerings - They
offered various sacrifices – burnt offering, grain offering, peace
offering, sin offering -- to Yahweh in their altars. And they
believe that GOD hears them and accepts their offerings.
We too have our celebration of the Holy Eucharistic and the
Sacraments, such as Baptism, Confirmation and Confession. Thru
them, GOD’s presence and graces is made manifest among us.
4) Consultation with
Yahweh - Abraham,
Moses, David, the prophets and kings – the whole people - consulted
Yahweh for their concerns and major decisions. They wanted to make
sure that GOD is blessing their decision and that He will be with
them every step of the way.
We call this PRAYER. And it is available to us twenty-four hours a
day, seven days a week. Prayer connects us to GOD. It helps us to
remain in GOD and with GOD. It is a very good practice to offer our
day to GOD every morning. Thru prayer, we can know GOD’s will for
our lives.
The people of the Old Testament found ways to be in GOD’s presence always. We too, the people of the New Testament, certainly have the ways and means available to us. May we aspire to remain in GOD always, for GOD desires so much that we remain in Him.
