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Personal Faith Statement
I believe that by the Holy Spirit the Virgin Mary gave birth to our Lord Jesus Christ – the only son of God.
I believe that God sent Jesus into the world so that we might be saved through him that we might have eternal life; we will only see the kingdom of God if we are born of water, Spirit, and by God’s grace.
I believe God sacrificed his only Son to honor His covenant with us [Hebrews 8:1-13]; as such, only those that eat his flesh and drink his blood will have everlasting life.
I believe that by the power of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirt we will be given the grace to resist temptation so that we can die to ourselves [the flesh] and live in the Spirit; God is Spirit and we must worship him in Spirit and truth.
I believe that the path is narrow and the fight will require a great humility and trust in our Lord [Eph 6:12]; we must persevere so that at the end of our days we might hear “well done, good and faithful servant” [2 Tim 4:7-8].
I hear God’s call to “follow him” but I struggle with “how?”. I do know that I must know the Word and that I have no power to help anyone, not even myself. By God’s grace I can do all things which is another question I must answer “what does he want me to do?”. St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avilla speak of a personal relationship with God that can be summarized by the “The Pilgrim’s Progress (2019)” an animated Movie where we “save ourselves”. A must-see movie that I watched as a result of a Fr Mark Goring’s short YouTube sermon.
I in contrast, feel more like Paul in Philippians 1:23 “that I shall remain and continue in the service of all of you for your progress and joy in the faith”. I used to be angry that God had not put someone in my life as a young father and husband, how things might have been different – he waited until my bloodline was removed from my life. I then thought (God spoke to me?) that perhaps God did put someone in my path, but they had free will and they did not answer the call. Would I make that same mistake? No, I will not.
Is the Diaconate His path for me? I believe it is as I can touch more lives. The Catholic Church is the only true Church. Being ordained a Deacon by the Catholic Church would make me His instrument to do His will through the prayers of the faithful, under the obedience of the Priest, Bishop, and Pope – a succession of Christ.