IF YOU CAN, HEAL MY SON -- I DO BELIEVE, HELP MY UNBELIEF

"'If you can?' said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." The father then requested, “I do believe, help my unbelief.”  This is the Scripture that awakened my meditative self this evening.
As I attended the weekly Bible Study at St. Christopher’s Catholic Church.  I was surprised at the depth of the description that was both attention getting, and entertaining.  The awareness of the fact that commitment, obedience with Faith, will cause us to receive the
many things that we request from our Heavenly Father. This was illustrated by the scene when our Lord Jesus healed the epileptic son of a believing, sincere, and requesting dad. The scene also
cast light upon a Faith fact, that even when things seem "dead", our Lord Jesus will reach out, take us by the hand, and raise us up. Whatever the situation may be, Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief.
In the many events of our life there are times when we ask with seemingly no results forthcoming, till we do even more like give up certain areas that may be pleasurable. This would be called fasting. There is a Fasting that I do,it can be found in Isaiah 58:6 -12.   Many times I have received that which I have asked in prayer by following this fasting regime.

I also learned two new Latin phrases that amazed me in their meaning; Ex opere operato, which means the sacrament has the quality of effective Grace contained in its specific nature. 
The other was Ex opere operantis, which is the fullness of the expression of the sacrament united to the spiritual depth of the individual imparting the sacrament and to the spiritual depth (faith) of those receiving it. This really was a confirming fact for me because many times when I was ‘prayed up’, the sacrament was much more meaningful. 

In addition to the Scriptural explanation there was a discussion about how through a short span of ecclesiastical years the Bible gained widespread popular importance in the Roman Catholic Church. When we take the many years of the Church’s Life, the time span from Pope Leo XIII, to the present Pope Benedict XVI, is a relatively short period of time. The changes of Vatican I and Vatican II, really assisted in the furtherance of understanding the ‘Set of Books’ known as The Bible among the faithful. 
For many whot get confused in the many sets of Character changing values, and Life transforming statements, be comforted that in the Catholic Faith is found the stability of Tradition, as well as
the Truth of God’s Word.  Put these two Realities together and we have a Fortress that will not be overthrown because “the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it”.
I could continue with the many eye opening bits of knowledge that were gained during my night at the ‘Bible Study’ with St. Christopher’s gathering. To really get a ‘Bite Out of the Bible’ come out on Wednesday nights at St. Christopher’s Bible Study gathering .
                                                                                   Br. Phil Bara

WHO WILL GO?

Isaiah 6:8--- Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send ? Who will go for us ?”  I said, “ Here I am. Send me!”

New International Version (NIV)

The question that lingers, and has lingered for many ages is  “ Who will go?”  This question has presently awakened many, yet there are many who still wait on the sidelines for others to take the necessary actions.  We see that the areas of social growth are still based on the many moral half truths, recreational titillations, and the soothing of ‘itching ears’.

The Scripture Isaiah 6:8, was written over a thousand years ago. The Truth of the verse is still very much as effective today as then. When we prepare ourselves with the fullness of the Word of God, we amaze the listeners to a point that the facts are gathered like ripe grapes, and put to productive use.  The amazement is not always positive.  Some take the grapes and  tread angrily on them because the taste is too difficult to savor.

In my answer to the important question concerning going, I refer to the response that Isaiah gave above. The one’s who will go, are the few, who diligently study, discipline themselves to the point of limitation, and prepare their entire selves for the mission. Future society will only listen to the

teachers, guides, and ministers, who are prepared to convey the ‘Truth, Reality, and the Wisdom’ that has been experienced, and proven.  The cost of this evolution with ‘mankind’ still is paid for with the determination, sweat, tears, and blood, of the *True Students and Disciples* of today .

So in ending this I also ask “ Who will go ?”

Br. Phil Bara