7 July 2010
by Philippe Dulawan
There are several points I wanted to address that I have felt over the last month.
The first is this, the church right around the world is truly one entity. Over the last week I have had 3 American families staying at my house who were my father’s friends back when he studied in the seminary. What was really interesting and hammered this first point home was that when we went to church, these foreigners didn't skip a beat. They knew exactly how to respond, when to kneel, get up and exactly what was required. I guess this shows how the Church is truly one body, one family that we are not only living our Christian faith in the Blacktown parish, but there are those in the greater areas of Sydney, Australia, Americas and the rest of the world.
The second point is that of the gift of education. I have recently completed my exams and although these are often what seems like dire times with deadlines, tests and what is seemingly the end of the world happening, education is actually really a gift that God is giving us. It is something that we in Australia are privileged to have and possess as a basic right. Although at this examination times it appears the largest burden in the world but in actual fact this education allows us to grow and fulfil our talents that God has provided. Through continued education in both knowledge, faith (reading of the bible) and learning from our past mistakes we can continue to grow and pass the greater tests of life and fulfil all that is before us.
My third and final point is a notion of limited time. I have recently started reading again on public transport which has allowed me to feel like I have used my time wisely. Reading some inspirational books. One such book was that entitled ‘How to win at business and not lose out on life’. The main message of this book was that for those people in business who strove to achieve that promotion, that bigger pay cheque to try in future to provide for their kids, often would miss out on the time with their kids. That is to say their answer to their children’s requests to watch them play soccer, was ‘later’, or ‘next time, I’m trying to do well at work so I can help you’. What these people don’t realise is that time is running out and the time they crave is slipping out before them. The same is true for our spiritual life, these short 100 years are but a glimmer of what can be had in eternity. We often say ‘I'll pray later’ or ‘I'll do that later’ but time is running out and we should live every single moment in the spirit in which God intended. Use our time wisely, take stock in what we find contentment, and focus our limited time to those who can provide this.
Phil