6th Sunday of Easter
Acts 8:5-8,14-17
1 Pet 3:15-18
Jn 14:15-21
“In a short time the world will no longer see me; but you will see me…”
It has been more than 2000 years since Jesus ascended into heaven, and yet, the Catholic Church, our Church with roots all the way back to St Peter, is still standing. And this Easter in Singapore, and I know around the world, there are more and more people joining the Catholic faith.
What’s even more amazing is that our doctrines have not changed from over 2000 years ago. It has been intact. And time and time again, the teachings of Jesus have been proven true. If we had not been guided by the Holy Spirit, I’m not sure how our Church could have been sustained. Think about it. How many empires, how many regimes have risen and collapsed and yet, our Church is still here. How many companies have been started, and have closed? I just did a quick search in Google and saw that the oldest company had been in operation since 700AD. How did the Catholic Church stay relevant throughout all these years? How many persecutions had the Catholic Church survived?
I think it’s because during the times when the world no longer saw our Lord, we continued to see Him. Our brothers and sisters in faith continued to be witnesses to the Truth, to the truth that God had revealed in their hearts. I am truly grateful for all those who have persevered in faith — because of them, I know Christ.
Every now and then, the wisdom of the Catholic Church is tested. We have been told to ‘update’ our teachings to be more relevant. I would like to quote from GK Chesterton, “Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.” And because of the guidance of the Holy Spirit, because of the many people who keep meeting Jesus in their hearts, our Church has the courage and the wisdom to stand firm in what Jesus taught. Just read Humanae Vitae and Rerum Novarum. I’m pretty sure that when you read these documents, you’ll be awed by the Church’s wisdom, and probably think that indeed, the Church has been witness to Christ all this time.
So, brothers and sisters, what do we do next? I think the first step is to rejoice and thank God that he continues to guide us to live according to the Laws he had written in our hearts, even though tis is difficult. And then we pray. We pray to continue seeing his face, we pray that God shows us his face when we are lost, and that when we see him, we have to courage to do as he tells us to do.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Stephanie Villa)
Prayer: Of you my heart has said, “Seek his face!”. Your face, Lord, I seek; do not turn away from me. (Psalm 27:8)
Thanksgiving: Thank you, Lord, for always guiding us.
OXYGEN 
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