Note from the Editor

Dear Reader,

Welcome to this month's edition, dedicated to the theme of "Faith"! According to Hebrews 11:1, faith is a deep trust in a personal and divine God, it is the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things yet unseen. In our Catholic tradition, our faith is much more than belief or just head knowledge; it is a trusting of our hearts and our entire beings to Jesus Christ, who guides us in a living way through life's complexities.

When the disciples feared for their lives on the stormy boat, they immediately cried out to Jesus, rebuking Him for sleeping in the midst of their greatest fears. They questioned if He really did care for them? We know what was the outcome of that encounter - Jesus arises and quells the storms of the seas. God doesn't turn away from our deepest cries for help. Every moment of doubt or questioning can be an opportunity for a deeper connection with Christ. He encourages us to grow our faith amidst such uncertainties in life.

In faith,

- Dr. Esther Tan
Editor, Catholic Reflexions Magazine

Interview with A Catholic: Nicole Hunt

Each month, we have an intimate chat with a practicing Catholic. We discuss why they believe what they believe, the difference Christ has made in their lives, and any lessons learned from their faith journey. For this month, we feature NICOLE HUNT, the Secretary and Treasurer of the UN Catholic Club, as well as Senior Statistics Assistant in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

Can you share a bit about your upbringing and how your Catholic faith has played a role in your life? I was born into a Roman Catholic family in the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The Caribbean is a region where people of many races, creeds, religions and cultures live in relative peace, side by side. Religion is a big deal for us! My mother was a woman of deep and enduring faith, and she led by example. As little girls, my mother took my sisters and me to Mass every weekend, and taught us the importance of seeing Mass not just as a Holy Obligation, but as a key element to build and deepen our relationship with Christ. We partook of all special observances in the Church, sat many an hour before the Blessed Sacrament, and benefitted from the Sacraments of Holy Communion, Confirmation and Reconciliation. We were also active in the Legion of Mary. I can honestly say that this type of spiritual foundation has been and will always be the most important element of my life. During difficult times when I feel like I can't pray, or like my spirit is under attack, I hold fast to my mother's words: "Just whisper the name of Jesus in your heart."

Are there any particular saints, prayers, or devotions that inspire you or that you feel a strong connection to? I have a long and endearing love for Saint Mother Theresa. As a teenager, her words and the way she lived her life touched me deeply, and I sought to be like her in many ways. I'm also drawn towards devotion to Our Lady Undoer of Knots. She's a powerful intercessor! Recently I've been feeling called to explore a deeper union with the Holy Spirit to discern God's will for this stage of my life.

Have there been challenges or obstacles along your faith journey, and how have you overcome them? Definitely! As with anything else, being a Christian requires hard work if you want to be good at it! For me, my Catholic foundation is the only sure footing I have to overcome challenges...to do my best to pick up my crosses every day and follow Christ. Sitting in God's presence during Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is special for me. I don't need to have the "right" words or the "perfect" prayers. Just sitting silently with Jesus is all He desires of me, and He takes care of the rest.

In what ways do you participate in the Catholic community outside of work, such as through church activities or volunteer work? I serve as a Eucharistic Minister and Lector at Mass, and I welcome opportunities to contribute to programmes aimed at feeding the hungry, giving gifts to needy children at Christmas, etc. I try to be as active as possible both here in New York and back home in Trinidad.

Can you tell us more about the role of Faith in your life? How do you continue to trust in God when you can’t always see clearly? I'm grateful that my parents made the choice for me to receive the Sacrament of Baptism as an infant instead of "letting me decide for myself what Faith to follow when I was old enough" because, as a sickly child, I had sufficient awareness of the importance of trusting in God for healing, for strength, for success at school, etc. I learned from a very early age the significance of having faith. More importantly, this early faith formation developed in me a strong sense of empathy and desire to help others in whatever small way I could. Throughout my life, during challenging and painful times when I feel like I'm drifting away from God, this foundation keeps me holding on to Him. In His loving mercy and kindness, He gives me what I need to be still, surrender to Him, and keep moving along in faith and in hope. 

Faith and Seeing Rightly

Each month, we invite a respected Catholic author to contribute an original article to our magazine.

by Dr. Anthony Lilles

Faith is a risk and risk is inherent to a meaningful life. There are many risks that one might take – introducing oneself to an attractive stranger, starting a new career, even crossing a busy street. If one sees a good enough reason, he will chance rejection, failure or even possible peril. While the goods in this example are tangible realities, another whole range of intangible goods evoke the willingness to take an even greater risk.  These spiritual goods hold out the answer to the deepest needs of all. Against the loneliness, the guilt, and inevitability of death, one needs a reason for hope if he is to find the courage to live. Faith helps the soul see rightly what is at stake in these challenges so that a person might dare the spiritual and religious call of humanity. A serious religion promises meaning, integrity and purpose but only at the price of faith expressed in great sacrifice, hardship, and difficult trials.

Is what the Christian faith promises worth the risk? How does a person dare all the hardships and trials that this spiritual and religious call of humanity demands? It is not enough to intellectually assent to a religious ideal as somehow good for the individual as well as for the whole of society. One needs to see that the gamble is worth taking.  If faith is a risk, it is also an opening the eyes of the heart, a spiritual beholding of mysteries that unaided reason cannot grasp, a seeing as believable and benevolent both the promise and the Promiser, and even the loving contemplation of the Promiser Himself.  More succinctly, one sees rightly only when he sees the truth in love. Faith is about opening the heart to just such sight. And on this point, St. Augustine observed the whole aim of the Christian life in this world is the healing of the eyes of the heart, to learn to open them until we truly see Christ.  

In the Catholic tradition, faith sees what saves. To believe in the Risen Lord is to believe that He has made possible a kind of worship that is right and just in the eyes of God, and that belief in Him implicates one in this worship. Faith sees that this great mystery as taking on an intimate and personal relationship with Him, on the one hand, and, on the other, as entering into a new way of being in communion with others who also share this relationship and join together in this worship. A whole new kind of social reality is established by faith in the Word became Flesh.  Because He dwelt among us, He brings together this new communion of hearts to stand firm even in the face of all that betrays and threatens humanity.

This is the Church. It is a new kind of human communion in which personal alienation is surmounted by a faith in a love so great that it overcomes death. Mortal life is too small to contain such love. Even in the face of death, faith sees a new love that comes from and draws into eternity. In such ecclesial faith He transforms my own subjectivity. I am no longer alone. He is with me, in me, and I in Him.  Death is no longer the definitive end of my existence, the last word about my life.  Something else defines me: a love stronger than death. Only this love addresses the disharmony I experience in the world and in my heart.  He comes into the most broken places of my psyche, into the most difficult needs, thoughts and memories. He brings the love of the Father and shows me the tender goodness of God at work in the world. In this ecclesial faith, His whole mystery is alive in me, connecting me to everyone else who has dared to see, to say “yes” to this saving mystery. This “yes” of faith even implicates me deeper into the very plight of humanity until I too am caught up in His work of atonement, His work of overcoming hostility and estrangement toward God with love.  

The presence of God in the world is indispensable for human affairs. Even ancient pagans understood that a profane existence was not enough.  Though they had a sense of trembling before the demands that the sacred made on life, they dared to enter the sacred because, even if imperfectly, they knew human life became meaningless without God. In a constantly changing world, pit against uncontrollable forces of nature, the sacred offered an unchanging element in human affairs. These pious people understood that without a faith that expressed itself in religious sacrifice, a people, a culture, a society, a family and a heart loses its sense of identity and purpose.

The Church raises this truth to a whole new level when it declares that the human body is a temple of the Holy Spirit through his death and resurrection of Christ. To believe this is to invite this divine indwelling to be the animating force of one’s life no matter the circumstances of a changing world.  So, in this age of grace in which we now live, we believe in God in order to possess this priceless gift that makes life worth living – a gift so great that even if we suffer death, eternal life is ours. In our Catholic faith, we behold the Eucharistic Christ, and even in beholding Him, this inestimable gift is given us, a memory of his passion, a pledge of future glory, food for the heart.

Believers live in a time of atheistic commercialism – a weird combination of fascism and communism often called technocracy. Technocracy and religious faith are not harmonious but pitted against each other. These are competing visions of life: one of heart and soul, and the other of soul-less materiality.  To choose to believe in God means now, more than ever, to enter into a great cultural struggle for the soul.  

As does our Catholic faith, technocracy too promises salvation but in the form of idolatry. The idols of technocracy are machines and anonymous commercially driven technicians the priests. For all the power and convenience they promise, they do not open the eyes of the heart.  Technocracy instead replaces a vision of the truly sacred with faith in the merely material. It nudges consumers to accept the myth that the merely material is meaningful enough to sustain the great effort of human life. It eliminates risk at the price of freedom.

There are consequences. Whereas religious faith opens the eyes of the heart to the spiritual, technocracy keeps the physical gaze locked on a screen. Whereas religious faith protects freedom, technocracy demands a surrender of one’s own agency for the sake of more efficient cultural conformity and more efficient consumption or production of material goods. Whereas our Catholic faith implicates us in a great work of love of God and each other even to the overcoming of death, technocracy prompts consumers to empty themselves in diversions unto extinction. While faith in technocracy might yield a disincarnate sense of spirituality without religion, the Catholic faith requires all technological achievements be submitted to standards much higher than the merely material. Whereas a sense of the future, a new hope is given by true religious faith, technocracy breeds only anxiety and resentment about the past and the future. When eyes see the goodness of God in creation, they have reason for courage in the face of evil. When the only good they see is the merely material, however, it is not enough for life. In its very power of connection, technocracy manipulates consumers into visceral competing but alienated camps for power, prestige and pleasure. In its very powerlessness, religious faith reconciles and connects with unbreakable bonds of friendship. While some technologies might perceive dangerous threats to human existence, only religious faith offers a sense of divine benevolence holding them back and making space for human thriving.

What is at stake in this ongoing kulturekampf? Thinkers like Mircea Eliade and Josef Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) observe that it is the very future of human society. These experts observe that completely godless societies historically last no more than a few decades.  With this in mind, it is no small wonder that a certain nihilism has gripped contemporary society in terms of its gravitation to war, weapons of mass destruction, euthanasia, abortion, hedonism or even the mutilation of children’s bodies for the sake of technocratic ideologies regarding gender and sexual orientation. Under technocracy, people are disconnected from their own bodies and afraid to have real face to face connections, to marry, to have children, to build up society, and to accept the gift and task that human life presents. Technocracy’s illusions of endless choice hide this lack of freedom. Against technocracy, to have religious faith means to choose to live the most important moments of life unfiltered by technologies of social engineering. Such faith stands firm in the midst of the frustrations, disappointments and sorrows with confidence that God has a plan that we can know through Jesus Christ in the Church. Such faith knows this plan as holding out something wonderful, a bright future, not only for oneself, but for the whole world.  

Our Christian faith knows a savior who is fully man and fully God, the humble son of a carpenter who is the Lord of life, of love, of everything sacred about humanity, even its future. He came that humanity might live and live abundantly.  This faith opens our eyes to the hope that  our future generations will not succumb to the nihilism of the present time, the sightless horizons of technocracy.  We believe, we strain to open the eyes of our hearts, also for the sake of our children and their children. What we see by faith compels us to witness so that all of these might have a reason to turn to back to God to build a better culture, a more meaningful society. Helping them take this risk of faith is about sharing what we see, training our vision together with them on the goodness of God revealed by Christ, so that together we might live by the truth that sets free, a truth that safeguards the risk of life itself. 

Speaker Notes: Catholicism: A Great Adventure and Love Affair 

Each month, we summarize a talk previously presented to our club members.

On March 4, 2021, Father Roger Landry gave a talk addressing the notion of Catholicism as a great adventure and a love affair, recognizing that many Catholics do not perceive their faith in this way. He noted that if more people viewed Catholicism through this lens, churches would be overflowing, even during a pandemic. Unfortunately, many see their faith as boring or merely a duty, rather than an exciting and passionate journey.

He began by exploring the idea of faith as an adventure, noting that adventure inherently involves discovering new and challenging things. Derived from the Latin word "advent," which means a future coming or expected arrival, adventure carries an element of surprise and uncertainty. This sense of anticipation and hope is essential for viewing faith as an adventure. Father Landry pointed out that the Bible is full of adventures, citing examples like Abraham, Moses, the Magi, and the Apostles, all of whom embarked on journeys led by God, filled with trust and enthusiasm.

Father Landry argued that many Christians do not experience their faith as an adventure because they are not surrounded by people who do. Adventure requires movement and action, something static faith lacks. Jesus used action verbs, calling his followers to "come," "go," and "follow me." Missionaries exemplify this adventurous spirit, leaving their homes to live their faith dynamically in challenging environments. In established communities, this sense of adventure can be rekindled by listening to missionary stories or engaging in active faith practices.

Transitioning to the idea of faith as a love affair, Father Landry emphasized that this begins with God's love for us. God's passionate love is evident in creation and redemption, as beautifully articulated by Pope Benedict in his encyclical "Deus Caritas Est" (God is Love). This divine love is something we must first receive and then reciprocate. However, many people struggle to feel God's love, often because they do not see themselves as lovable or because they perceive love as soft and emotional rather than sacrificial and strong.

Father Landry highlighted the importance of encountering people who live as if they are passionately loved by God. Meeting such individuals can transform one's understanding of faith. He shared personal experiences of realizing God's love through interactions with others, which shifted his faith from a dutiful practice to a passionate adventure of love. He also underscored the role of priests, religious vocations, and martyrs in demonstrating this deep love for God. He explained that the Catechism of the Catholic Church's four pillars—creed, liturgy, moral life, and prayer—can each be viewed as expressions of a love affair with God. Catholics are called to love the truth, the beauty of liturgy, the goodness of moral life, and God himself through prayer. He emphasized the importance of spending time with God, as love is often expressed through time and attention.

Father Landry urged Catholics to deepen their adventure of love with God. Lent is an opportunity to strip away distractions, delve into prayer, embrace fasting, and engage in acts of mercy. By embracing these practices, Catholics can renew their sense of faith as an exciting and loving journey, ultimately preparing for the greatest adventure of eternal life with God.

In conclusion, Father Landry called for a renewal of faith as a great adventure and a love affair. By embracing this perspective, Catholics can invigorate their spiritual lives, making faith dynamic and passionate, and effectively evangelize to others, drawing them into the same vibrant experience of God's love.

Workplace Tips: How To Live Our Vocation As Workers?

Each month, we offer advice and tips for being effective in our workplaces. Drawing from global best practices and personal experiences, we share insights for your use.

by Pope St John Paul II

Pope St. John Paul II’s exposition of the lay vocation, Christifideles Laici teaches us how to work morally in an amoral setting and how Catholics ought to live their vocation as workers. Excerpts below:

43. “The lay faithful must accomplish their work with professional competence, with human honesty, and with a Christian spirit, and especially as a way of their own sanctification.” 

59. In discovering and living their proper vocation and mission, the lay faithful must be formed according to the union which exists from their being members of the Church and citizens of human society.

There cannot be two parallel lives in their existence: on the one hand, the so-called "spiritual" life, with its values and demands; and on the other, the so-called "secular" life, that is, life in a family, at work, in social relationships, in the responsibilities of public life and in culture. The branch, engrafted to the vine which is Christ, bears its fruit in every sphere of existence and activity. In fact, every area of the lay faithful's lives, as different as they are, enters into the plan of God, who desires that these very areas be the "places in time" where the love of Christ is revealed and realized for both the glory of the Father and service of others. Every activity, every situation, every precise responsibility-as, for example, skill and solidarity in work, love and dedication in the family and the education of children, service to society and public life and the promotion of truth in the area of culture-are the occasions ordained by Providence for a "continuous exercise of faith, hope and charity".

The Second Vatican Council has invited all the lay faithful to this unity of life by forcefully decrying the grave consequences in separating faith from life, and the gospel from culture: "The Council exhorts Christians, as citizens of one city and the other, to strive to perform their earthly duties faithfully in response to the spirit of the Gospel. They are mistaken who, knowing that we have here no abiding city but seek one which is to come, think that they may therefore shirk their earthly responsibilities; for they are forgetting that by faith itself they are more than ever obliged to measure up to these duties, each according to one's vocation... This split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age".

Therefore, I have maintained that a faith that does not affect a person's culture is a faith "not fully embraced, not entirely thought out, not faithfully lived”.

Spiritual Life Tips: The “Heroic Minute”

Each month, we offer practical advice and tips related to our Catholic faith and spirituality.

by Dr. Esther Tan

I was first introduced to the “heroic minute” when reading Fr. Roger Landry’s book “Plan of Life: Habit To Help You Grow Closer to God”. This concept is a simple and yet powerful practice that helps us begin each day with a decisive and energetic start. It is not just about getting up in the morning, it’s about saying yes to God whenever we are called. It is our chance to offer a small but significant sacrifice to God and symbolizes the victory of willpower over comfort. If you can do it the first minute of the day, for example, immediately rising from bed without hesitation upon hearing the alarm in the morning, it will surely set a positive tone for the rest of the day, and affirm your commitment to live a life of purpose and dedication.

Other than your morning ritual, how about applying this concept to your daily life, moment to moment? Each moment, every second, can be a fresh start in God. A time to renew ourselves, offer ourselves in sacrifice to the God, who did so much for us. When the Holy Spirit speaks to you, when you receive ideas in prayer, take time to write it down and implement these ideas. More important, whenever you get an inspiration from the Holy Spirit, do you write it down in your heart? Embracing this practice can lead to transformative changes, one decisive minute at a time.

For inquiries, or potential contributions to the magazine, please contact unitednationscatholicclub@outlook.com