How They Know That There is God (Part 6)
Last of four parts
This concludes the special Lenten feature in this section these past six years, normally published altogether in one issue (in Conversations with Ricky Lo), but due to this uncertain time, the respondents’ answers have been put in a series. May Funfare readers get spiritual nourishment from what the respondents have to say. (Note: You may view the first three installments in philstar.com.)
• Lance Raymundo
“To me, God’s existence is something I have always acknowledged growing up, thanks to my loving family, and there have been instances in my life that greatly reaffirm it.
“For example, when I had my gym accident in 2014, most people regarded my speedy full recovery as a big miracle. But to me, the even bigger miracle was how I was able to find it in my heart to completely forgive the person who accidentally dropped the barbell on my head which at that time put me in a situation where I might actually have ended up living the rest of my life disfigured, half blind and unable to walk.
“People can argue that physical healing can be attributed to science, but it was my spiritual healing that truly saved me.
“After granting the person full forgiveness, my body healed at a pace that not even science can explain. God is love, forgiveness is an act of love, and being able to find that kind of love even in the middle of life’s harshest and darkest situations is proof that God is indeed alive.”
• Fr. Larry Faraon
“If you know how to make a wish, if you hope something good will turn out well, if you look at things from a positive point of view, if you aspire for greater heights, probably you must be convinced that Somebody is listening and will make things happen as you wish they would. Then there must be a God somewhere who listens.
“When I pray, I know that there is a God because I’ve got many prayers answered in my life.
“I was on a flight to Hong Kong when the plane was battered by strong storm winds. Everyone was hysterical. I took out my rosary beads and silently prayed. The Chinese woman seated beside me, who was earlier panicking, too, suddenly calmed down. In a few minutes, the plane started cruising smoothly. The storm suddenly left us in peace.
“Then I turned to her and said, ‘You suddenly became so calm, madam.’ She replied, ‘Well, because somebody was praying. Now I know that there is a God. I am an atheist.’”
• Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, broadcast journalist, filmmaker, cancer patient advocate
“They say family is where you first learn love. That’s why perhaps Jesus chose to enter our world through a family. He chose a birthplace that was humble, but He had more than what he needed to feel the love of Mother Mary and St. Joseph who felt overjoyed and grateful for having been chosen as parents to Someone who would save the world.
“I never questioned that there was a God. I grew up knowing that there was one. I guess it was an easy thing to do as I was and am always surrounded by love. My Dad and my Mom were best friends and lived each day as if it were the time of their lives. They were my jumping point at imagining what God was like...Dad and Mom rolled into one and infinitely more.
“They created a life of faith and charity. Their parents were like that, too. They had a strong sense of family and of service to others. Thankfully, I found a husband raised the same way. Our families always saw the good in the bad so they were always in a gratitude mode that they wanted to share. So they created and nurtured mini families. That’s tantamount to saying they were always creating love wherever they went.
“A life of love is a life of faith. There was never reason for me to doubt it.”
• Direk Romy Suzara (who, for 30 years, has also been directing the ABS-CBN Healing Mass)
“The love and kind souls of people remind me of God’s presence.
“I see God’s grace in the helping hand of people I may not even know well.
“But above all, God is willing to give us a fresh start in every new day. We just need to see God’s hand in our everyday lives and realize that He never stops showing His mercy and compassion.”
(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)
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