The document describes the author's journey of rediscovering faith and spirituality through participating in a local church youth group called Youth for Christ (YFC). As a formerly skeptical Catholic, joining YFC helped the author understand God's nature and find purpose through serving the community. The author now sees faith as both an act and lifelong process of discerning God's presence. Participating in a religious community helps connect people to God outside themselves and uphold scripture and tradition. The quest to understand one's essence in life continues to evolve through nurturing faith and acknowledging God's role in one's life.
The document describes the author's journey of rediscovering faith and spirituality through participating in a local church youth group called Youth for Christ (YFC). As a formerly skeptical Catholic, joining YFC helped the author understand God's nature and find purpose through serving the community. The author now sees faith as both an act and lifelong process of discerning God's presence. Participating in a religious community helps connect people to God outside themselves and uphold scripture and tradition. The quest to understand one's essence in life continues to evolve through nurturing faith and acknowledging God's role in one's life.
The document describes the author's journey of rediscovering faith and spirituality through participating in a local church youth group called Youth for Christ (YFC). As a formerly skeptical Catholic, joining YFC helped the author understand God's nature and find purpose through serving the community. The author now sees faith as both an act and lifelong process of discerning God's presence. Participating in a religious community helps connect people to God outside themselves and uphold scripture and tradition. The quest to understand one's essence in life continues to evolve through nurturing faith and acknowledging God's role in one's life.
The document describes the author's journey of rediscovering faith and spirituality through participating in a local church youth group called Youth for Christ (YFC). As a formerly skeptical Catholic, joining YFC helped the author understand God's nature and find purpose through serving the community. The author now sees faith as both an act and lifelong process of discerning God's presence. Participating in a religious community helps connect people to God outside themselves and uphold scripture and tradition. The quest to understand one's essence in life continues to evolve through nurturing faith and acknowledging God's role in one's life.
Rediscovering God: A Transcendental Experience of Faith and Spirituality
Ever since I was young, I have always envisioned myself uncovering the veracious essence of my existence here on Earth. I led myself to believe that over the course of one’s journey, every human individual will soon come to realize the cherished answers of his or her life’s intrinsic value. Just like how the incessant beat of every musical composition gives depth to its rhythmic pattern, life, as time goes by, was something I thought to be a mere interplay of deep realizations and sentience. Needless to say, I have always questioned this state of consciousness and reality that seemed to transcend beyond this mundane experience of life. Even though it seemed like a futile goal in life as a child, it always felt that my satiation for self-fulfillment would be satisfied as soon I get hold of such answers.
Growing up back then, I did have a lot of skeptical thoughts towards my own religion as a Roman Catholic. However, everything changed when I started to join a local church community within our area in which I was one of the invitees for their annual camp event. The moment I was able to devote myself as a servant of God in the Youth for Christ sector, a lot of factors began to change my perspective on how I viewed the Catholic Faith that was instilled in me both as an individual and as a community member. Even though I started to join as someone who struggled on understanding the nature of God’s transcendence and immanence, I was soon able to realize that the insatiable feeling I had within me was due to the profound incomprehensibility of God. Indeed, it was undoubtedly true that the human mind has no means of classifying through mere words and earthly analogies the ineffable mystery that lies in his omnipotence.1
At those moments, Youth for Christ was a remarkable turning point in my life as a Christian adolescent. It taught me the significance of having faith in God as our creator and practicing such faith in a way that we are able to apply the teachings and scriptures of the Church around us. It was during those times as well that I was able to serve and
1 Elizabeth Johnson, “Ancient Story, New Chapter,” In Quest for the Living God, Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God, New York: Continuum, 2007, 17. care for others in the different outreach events that I have participated. By living out faith through selfless love, I was able to perceive a greater purpose in life which is to continue upholding the tradition of our community. With such instances in the past, being grounded in a religious community can truly subject a person towards a deliberate process of learning how to develop faith as a means of becoming more mature in their undying commitment to God.2
Even up to this point, I could still remember the voice of our elderly guardian echoing inside my head saying, “Treasure YFC since it will be your own life-long process towards God.” As a child, I only thought that such simple words were only a typical advice that I would casually hear during homilies. However, it still highlights one of the primary reasons as to why I am still a part of the community. My commitment towards God in this manifestation is both an act and a prevailing process of discerning God’s presence in one’s life. Joining YFC is only an act of choosing to serve God and His community but staying in YFC is a lifelong commitment to living my life in His divine presence. Thus, faith is truly a deed, yet a beginning as well of one’s journey towards eternal life.3
Revisiting all those significant occurrences in my life, the opportunity to engage in
such experience allowed me to correct myself from thinking that it is truly acceptable to be spiritual but not religious. Even though the act of immersing oneself in God’s revelation can be overwhelming at times, it is necessary to connect to God and a community of people outside of one’s selfish perspective.4 By partaking in such prospects, we are able to uphold objectivity by taking sacred scriptures and traditions in account.5 Contextualizing such in our present situation allows us to grasp reality with a more profound understanding on how God coexists in our lives.
2 Terrence Tilley, “Defining Faith,” In Faith: What it is and What it isn’t, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2013, 27-29. 3 Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, “Our Response: We Believe,” In Catechism for Filipino Catholics, Manila: ECCCE/Word and Life, 1997, 44 (par. 148). 4 Brian Holdsworth, “On Being Spiritual but not Religious,” June 17, 2017, YouTube video, 2:30-3:30, https://youtu.be/qiXOVX70ykE 5 Roger Haight, “Religion and Spirituality,” In Spiritual and Religious: Explorations for Seekers, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2016, 9-11. Considering everything that has transpired in my life, I cannot truly deny that the quest for the living God will continue to evolve in these changing times. Inadvertently, nurturing one’s faith and spirituality in the divine presence of the Lord allows us to grasp and acknowledge a purpose far greater than the materialistic aspects of this world. It is also through recognizing and thanking Him for the glorious works He has done in our everyday lives that we reciprocate a part of ourselves to His revelation as a response of acceptance.6 Through such ideals and realizations, I hope that this journey of faith would allow me to elucidate the ambiguity that I had as a child regarding my own essence in life.
REFERENCES:
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. “Our Response: We Believe.” In
Catechism for Filipino Catholics. Manila: ECCCE/Word and Life, 1997, 35-49 (par. 114-169).
Haight, Roger. “Religion and Spirituality.” In Spiritual and Religious: Explorations for Seekers. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2016, 1-15.
Holdsworth, Brian. “On Being Spiritual but not Religious.” June 17, 2017. YouTube video, 4:04. https://youtu.be/qiXOVX70ykE
Johnson, Elizabeth. “Ancient Story, New Chapter.” In Quest for the Living God, Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God. New York: Continuum, 2007, 7-24.
Schmitz, Mike. “How to See God in Everything, Everyday (and How to Respond).” Ascension Presents, June 24, 2021. YouTube video, 8:40. https://youtu.be/b5D7eW97BZ8
Tilley, Terrence. “Defining Faith” In Faith: What it is and What it isn’t. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2013, 26-38
6 Mike Schmitz, “How to See God in Everything, Everyday (and How to Respond),” Ascension Presents, June 24, 2021, YouTube video, 7:10-8:05, https://youtu.be/b5D7eW97BZ8
