Hoping and bringing hope

"I’m participating in the Keeping Christ in Christmas Blog Carnival, hosted by Raising (& Teaching) Little Saints, Truly Rich Mom and Arma Dei: Equipping Catholic Families. We'll be sharing different ways, tips, stories and real-life experiences that will help us focus on Jesus as the Reason for the Christmas season. Please scroll down to the end of the post to see the list of carnival entries.” 

It is Christmas time once again. Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year, with all the shopping, parties and heavy traffic. It's easy to be distracted with all this hustle and bustle and forget the true meaning of the season. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the God who became man to give us hope and salvation.

Hope and salvation. I must confess that there were times that I almost felt hopeless, especially in these recent tragedies. There was the shooting of innocent children in a school in the United States. In my country, our people suffered because of the loss of lives, property and livelihood in the southern Philippines in the wrath of Typhoon Pablo. But hope is what Christ brings, and in times of difficulty, we should learn to hope in Jesus Christ. In the letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians it is said that Jesus is all we need, He is our all in all.

But I also believe that we should not only hope, but also bring hope to others.  How do we bring Christ's hope? I think it is about what PraySing Ministry says about "sharing in order that others may receive what they need." After all, Christ "offered what He had so that we might receive what we need."There are many who are in need, and we are all capable of sharing, no matter how big or small. 

These things, to me, are what we can do to keep Christ in Christmas.  

Here are my fellow blogger's posts on how they are keeping Christ in Christmas: 

Homeschool Mosaics: Keeping Christ in Christmas
Joy: Keeping Christ in Christmas: Advent Interruptions
The Breadbox Letters: Interrupted by Glory
TwentyTuesdayAfternoons: Keeping Christ in Christmas/ The Season of Giving / A Wee Bit of Beach Holiday Angst
The Learning Basket: Staying With the Nativity Story
Tercets: Keeping Christ in Christmas
Rosary Mom: Keeping Christ in Christmas
Ate Maui: Hoping and Bringing Hope
Written By the Finger of God: 12 Traditions for Keeping Christ in Christmas
Dominique's Desk: Keeping Christ in Christmas
Felix at Fifty: What Jesus Wants for Christmas
Mommy Bares All: Birthday Cake for the Birthday Boy on Christmas Day
Between Now and Later: Keeping Christ in Christmas, I am trying...
Lique's Antics: Family Antics: Christmas Reflection
Life of Fortunate Chances: Our First Ever Christmas: Keeping Christ in Christmas
The Mommy Journey: Keeping Christ in Christmas
Roller Coaster Ride: How to Remind Your Kids of Jesus Christ This Christmas
Cymplified: Christ -Centered Christmas: Cymplified!
Mountain Grace: Keeping Christ in Christmas
Touring Kitty: Grown-up Christmas List
Mommy Chinkysoup for the Soul: A Very Special Christmas
City Girl, Country Home: Finding Jesus in a Flurry
Coffee Moments with Sam: Christmas Unwrapped: 5 Presents Our Kids Truly Deserve
Raising Lifelong Learners: Keeping Christ in Christmas
The Diary of a Sower: Keeping Christ in Christmas: Celebrating the Golden Days
Arma Dei: Equipping Catholic Families: Keeping Christ in Christmas
Raising (and Teaching) Little Saints: Keeping Christ in Christmas
Truly Rich Mom: The Greatest Gift of All This Christmas
Joy-Filled Family: CHRIST in Christmas
Blueberry 010: Keeping Christ in Christmas: Jesus is the Reason for the Season
Deeper Truth Blog: Keeping Christ in Christmas Carnival
Holy Ducklings: 10 Ways to Make Advent Special for Your Little Ducklings
Green Eggs and Moms: Keeping Christ in Christmas: Green Eggs & Moms Style!

Catholic Devotions

Recently I was able to listen to a Protestant show on radio. While I have been a Catholic for the longest time, the things that I have heard in the radio show have somehow affected me. The announcer was very critical about Catholic devotions. I remember I was told before that one of the reasons why a lot of Catholics have left the faith because all these other religions have convinced them of their expertise in the Bible, and that these other religions have criticized Catholic practices because they are not written in the Bible.

Of course my initial reaction was to feel bad about what the announcer had said. How come he seems to be critical only of Catholics and not included other religions? And why are they (Protestants) calling us (Catholics) unbelievers? Isn’t that unfair? It is true that the Catholic Church have had its mistakes before. The Church is human. It is not perfect. But it is trying to be through God’s grace. And I’m pretty sure that all the other churches are not perfect either. So why be critical on us only?

Another point that he has criticized was the Catholics’ devotion to Mary and the saints. He said that we are worshipping them well in fact we are asking for their intercession. That we are committing the gravest sin to God. I remember a scripture passage in the New Testament about the Wedding at Cana. Isn’t this a reason why we ask for Mary’s intercession to pray for us to God? We Catholics DO PRAY to GOD, and ask the help of the saints in our prayers. And the announcer is also critical of novenas and praying the rosary. It really broke my heart when the announcer said that the devotion that we practice is evil. True, there are Catholics that depend on novenas and other devotions to get their requests granted, and are being criticized for being fatalistic and who seem to be more DEVOTED to the saints rather than to God. But what about those Catholics who ask for Mary and the saints’ intercessions so they can be closer to God and become better persons/Christians? Can we judge a person’s faith as wrong if he/she has changed from his/her sinful ways to become a more charitable person through the rosary or a devotion to a saint?

But on the other hand, I feel that I have so much to learn about my faith. Admittedly, even if I have been trying to be a devout Catholic, there are some things about my faith that I do not know why we practice them. Maybe I was already sold to the faith and trust that what I am doing is right in the eyes of God. But for the things that the announcer has told me, I somehow felt lost. What if I was seeing him face to face while he is talking? How will I be able to defend my faith? I may have some answers to some of his arguments, but not all. And the way he makes his statements is very convincing. At some point while listening to him I became confused. But later on realized and resolved to learn more about my faith, and hopefully to become the person that God wants me to be.

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first posted Nov. 5, 2006