Christ my Light

Living in this world is a constant journey.
There are problems you thought were not there.
There is a place you do not know has thorns too.
Even after prayer and faith, the works of God,

There are burnt down embers of a beautiful forest.
That forest is our lives, sweet and true,
But the burning embers is the reality of life,
And the offering of our hands before our Lord.

But will we offer it to our precious Savior,
Who can change it and make it good?
Who can cleanse it for the better?
Who can take all the darkness away?

How long can a man bear a cross, I ask.
But how foolish am I when in false expectation,
I expect roses coming now, when my Lord is there,
Walking every step with me.

He it is who bears my cross each day,
To carry pain and remorse and huge burdens,
To have gone into the depths of sin and shame,
By coming here to us and conquering all.

Yes, my all-­conquering Savior is the light now,
My solace and peace and comfort and faith,
Each day he looks at me like he did the Cyrenian,
He's the one who bears the weight of my heart.

Transformed

What happens when we meet someone special? What if that person can enter into our hearts and minds? What if that special one was God? The following poem is a dialogue with Christ, in gratitude for His gift of His Body and Blood:

My tears fill the vale below,
Tears, not of grief, but of joy!
Like water that flowed from You,
From your side, from your heart.

You have spoken to your servant, Lord,
My soul rejoiced in thanks and praise!
For that great sacrifice you made,
On your amazing cross!

I feel your blood and water flow, sweet Jesus,
I see your peaceful face that radiates!
A heart forgiven, bathed in love,
O it flows like a waterfall, a torrent.

O Lord, I was born of my mother here,
Her flesh and blood in me,
But when you enter in, dear Lord,
I am transformed, yes transformed!

My flesh cleansed by you perfect body,
My blood sanctified by yours, precious,
My hands, feet, face, eyes, organs,
My heart, soul, mind and spirit.

What more can I ask, Lord?
You have filled me up!!

Inexpressible gratitude

Holy Lord, You created me in love.
Purest God, You gave me my life.
Perfect Father, You let me live,
Despite knowing all my waywardness.

The years behind are not perfect,
The murky colours of unfaithfulness,
So all mankind is lost unless,
We throw away scales and measures.

Christ, You came to live with me,
Listen and bear all my guilt,
Through perfect love offer Divine grace,
Merited by Your perfect sacrifice.

Should I try to show my thanks?
Should I sing and lift my voice?
Rather, I will surrender to You,
And make my life a song of praise.

In the name of the Father

When a child is born, parents want to name the baby. The little one bears that name for the rest of his or her life. When I was baptized in our Church, I was given the name Terence. I have always preferred to be called Terence, though I have a second name and a family name or surname.

We all have names. Even though we know the names of people, we can forget people's names. For Catholics, the Mass or Eucharist is the highest act of worship. At the beginning of the Mass, the priest says:

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

The name of the Son

In Jewish tradition, the father had the duty and privilege to name the child. Saint Joseph was asked by the angel of God, to name the child born from the womb of his Mary. He was told "Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for what is in her womb has been conceived through the Holy Spirit. It was due to this reason that St Joseph went ahead and supported Mary, found a place for her to give birth to Jesus, and named Him exactly as the angel had told him. The New Testament speaks of the significance of the name Jesus when it says:

"He will be called Jesus, because He will save his people from their sins"

Jesus speaks of the "Father"

In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus speaks about prayer in chapter 6. He says in the following part:

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"When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

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But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

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^{3 4} In praying, do not babble ...

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... Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

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^{5 6} "This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

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your kingdom come, ⁷ your will be done, on earth as in heaven.

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⁸ Give us today our daily bread;

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and forgive us our debts, ⁹ as we forgive our debtors;

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and do not subject us to the final test, ¹⁰ but deliver us from the evil one.

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¹¹ If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you.

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But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.

To me, it is very clear from this and the further words in the Scripture, that Jesus teaches me that Father is the word by which I should call Him who created me and gave me life. He is the one who listens to me when I need help. He is the one with whom I can speak through prayer.

We have to understand that of the twelve, John is known to have reclined next to Jesus at the last supper. Jesus replied to the question of His disciples
He was close to Jesus and the Gospel which (I firmly believe) he wrote speaks more in the language of Jesus.

Who calls me dearly? Who pronounces my name dearly? Is it not the parents who gave me that name? And if I was baptized in a Church, will not my Father in Heaven (Heavenly Father) pronounce my name with the greatest unction? Jesus had greatest unction for our Heavenly Father. The words He spoke to His apostles is recorded in the Gospel according to John, chapters 14 to 17. In chapter 15, Jesus says:

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I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world ¹⁴ is coming. He has no power over me,

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but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me. Get up, let us go.

Clearly, Scripture affirms and confirms Catholic teaching. It clearly tells me that I should say Father, and call Jesus Christ the Son.