Catholic Singles

TRUE HAPPINESS
By Irish Mae Pekitpekit
"How happy are those who
hear the word of God and obey
it!" (Luke 11:28).
I and the rest of the Holy
Spirit of Freedom Community
members here in Cebu felt so
blessed with the visit of Peter
Merrifield and the constant hospitality
of our brothers in Christ,
Pio and James, who are always there for us in good times and in
bad.
As I was thinking and discerning
about something to share, it
became clear to me that I had
been struggling a lot with someone
special to me. I had come to
a point where I had given up
hope because of the pain that I
was carrying - it was tearing me
apart. However, God then
opened my eyes and healed my
heart and let me realize that
there is always a purpose for
everything that happens in life.
Despite my problems, I must
come to a point of surrendering
everything to Jesus. After
watching the movie, "THE
P A S S I O N O F
CHRIST", last Holy Thursday,
with others from the Community,
my heart was torn apart as
I became aware of the suffering
that Jesus went through. It made
me realize that the suffering that
I was having was just a pinch of
Jesus’ suffering; our Savior
who, because of His unconditional
love for us, gave up His
life so that we could be saved.
God is good, all the time. Despite
my problems He is still
giving me the strength to serve
others, especially our brothers
and sisters who wander the
street and others that are close to
our hearts. When we are able to
extend Jesus’ unconditional love
and service to these children and
their families in the street I tend
to forget myself and focus on
their needs.
It is such a blessing from God
and the Holy Spirit to extend
our love and relate to our
brother and sister in the
street despite our own personal
problems.
Problems are blessings from
God. Because of the suffering I
am experiencing I am able to
better relate to the suffering of
others and am able to help them
by praying for their guidance
and for provision for all their
needs.
When I spend time on the
streets with our brothers and
sisters I feel true happiness, especially
the times when they
share their personal problems.
During these times we come to
know them more personally and
begin to build relationships, it is also the time when we can see
their sweet smiling faces.
I Praise and Thank God for all
of these!
Only in God's embrace can we
experience true happiness.

Love and peace in Christ.