FAITH TESTED BY FIRE

“FAITH TESTED BY FIRE” This scriptural phrase flashed in my mind as I reflected on a Prayer for Eucharistic Adoration by the SERRA Club of Singapore which reads: “Jesus, my God, I adore You, here Present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar, where You wait day and night to be our comfort while we await Your unveiled Presence in Heaven.”

The Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is, indeed, a great Mystery which requires a strong Faith to enable one to really adore Him and visit Him at the Adoration Chapel where He in Blessed Sacrament is exposed.

I have made a Commitment to visit Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament everyday for at least one hour. In general, faithfulness to this commitment poses no difficulty. There are times, however, when this commitment becomes hard to comply due to some circumstances, such as when the weather is not fair or when one feels weak and exhausted. It is then that one’s Faith is tested.

When I am faced with this difficulty, this prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola helps me to be faithful to my commitment: “Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous, teach me to serve You as You deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to seek reward, except that of knowing that I do Your will. Amen.”

Faith, indeed, is like Gold that is tested by fire. Like Gold that remains solid despite the heat caused by fire, so too is True Faith that remains steadfast regardless of all the trials or difficulties that have to be overcome.

This, I believe, is the kind of Faith that our Lord Jesus Christ wants when He said: “Anyone who wants to be My disciple must deny himself, take up his cross daily and come follow Me”.(Lk.9:23).

by: Salvador "Buddy" Cagurangan
October 31, 2010