RUNNING FOR FAITH by RONALD MALIG Coming from a 12-year old son, I was amazed to receive an unexpected question from Haji one Sunday after the mass as we walked back to the house. He asked, “ Daddy, what is the difference between a Catholic and a Christian? and why are they different?” I smiled and thought about the best way to inform him of what he needed to know and i felt naughty that day so i came up with a story at random and answered him, “ Anak, when all of a sudden a car was hit at the back and the driver said, “ God forbids, I hope no one got hurt among us and the driver of the other car, that is a Christian…b ut if the driver says, “WTF!!!!.. Who the heck is that?”, that is a Catholic.” Then he laughed so I said, “No anak, that was a joke, truth is, people have different beliefs in life depending on their upbringing and the environment around them which significantly influence them. By theory, Christians treat Mama Mary as an ordinary woman, while we, catholics treat her as the Mother of all mothers, and there are a lot more differences that you will encounter as you grow.Then he said, “ Why are you still Catholics and not Christians?” “ Anak ku naman, why do you want me to be Christian, eh being Catholic nga, i have not mastered, lumipat naku namang aliwa?” He was looking at me like he was saying “ makes sense, Dad.” We were already in the house and he approached the calendar and showed me symbols of Muslim, Jewish, Greek Orthodox and Christian but there was nothing for Catholics so he asked me again, “ Look, Daddy, there is Passover and Purim for Jewish, and Orthodox Christmas and Ramadan for Muslim, but why don’t we have anything fior Catholics?” I laughed again and said, “ Anak, those religions have limited space in the Calendar, they only have specific days to further express their religious beliefs, and the reason why Catholic is not showing there? Because all the days that are not labeled by Jewish, or Muslim, or Christian, are all for Catholics. You see, we have a lot of days to pick on to express our faith so don’t worry, anak, you will have enough time every year to speak to God…and you will feel Him waiting anytime….
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 02:46:06 +0000
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