13 Apr – Memorial for St. Martin I, pope & martyr
St. Martin (d. 655) was chosen the 74th pope in 649 without imperial approval. He conducted the Lateran Council, which condemned the Patriach of Constantinople for Monothelitism, which claimed that Christ had no human will. This put him in opposition to the emperor, who had him arrested and tortured. Paul, Patriach of Constantinople, repented of his stance, which saved Martin from execution, but the pope died soon after from damage received during his imprisonment, and is considered a martyr, the last martyred pope.
– Patron Saint Index
Acts 4:32-37
Jn 3:7-15
If you do not believe me when I speak about things in this world, how are you going to believe me when I speak to you about heavenly things?
Recently, my YouTube fed me with content along the lines of ‘You wouldn’t believe this happened if it wasn’t caught on camera.’ I’ve clicked through some of them and indeed, some of those events had statistically very low chances of happening, but they did.
Our very lives are actually one of those amazing stories. From a biological perspective, fertilization is less than 1 in 200 million chance. This also means that there could have been at least 200 million different physical versions of us from the moment of conception. And after fertilization, there is a cascade of cellular activities in which any one can go wrong. Let us think about this probability of who could have been born instead of us. And yet, here we are.
That’s because God chose us. God chose this version of ourselves. God, from the very beginning, thought of who we would be. God knew our names even before we were born. And God loved us from the very beginning.
Some of us might think that it’s too hard to believe. For me, the odds definitely tell me that God wanted me to be here. To be honest, it was when I was studying cellular biology during my A Levels that I was amazed at how God planned me from the very beginning.
Recently, a youth asked during Catechism — If God didn’t create life on other planets, then what is the point of the rest of the universe? Now I’m not sure if there are lives on other planets (If there are, there will not be any contradiction in our doctrines). As unbelievable as it may sound, even if we are the only people in the universe, God would have still created the universe for us. He would have created it for us out of love.
While we are here on earth, God is already showing us how much he loves us. Through nature, through the people around us, he is already assuring us of his love. If we cannot believe how much he loves us when we can see things and measure things statistically, how can we believe him when he tells us that his love for us is infinite and eternal? These are unmeasurable and supernatural, and I believe that these are one of the heavenly things God wants to tell us.
You, me, and everyone are chosen by God.
You, me, and everyone, in our uniqueness, are infinitely loved by God. We are living the amazing story of our lives.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Stephanie Villa)
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me always to be amazed by your love for me.
Thanksgiving: Thank you, Lord, choosing me and for always reminding me how much you love me.
OXYGEN 
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