Enlightened

By: Melina De Bona

Faith

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Did God created humans beings? Or did human beings create God? The one question no breathing person has ever been able to answer. Then how can we validate the reasonability of our actions- venerating, worshiping, and even loving something that might not be there? The answer is faith.

We will never know the truth about God, so faith is all humans can do. Believing is the closest we come to this hypothetical truth.

But, how do we reach faith? While many believe that faith is the product of religious practices, it is the contrary; faith is not something the books can teach, nor pastors impose. Faith is simply a personal enlightenment.

Let me give you my own experience: I was born in Argentina, a predominately Catholic nation. There, I attended Inmaculada, a prestigious private Catholic school. Inmaculada heavily emphasized religious teachings. Every morning, we formed a row from the shortest girl (me) to the tallest and recited our prayers. We attended a thirty-minute mass where we played guitar, sang, and confessed. We had catechism class everyday since kindergarten, so by the time we reached first grade, we knew the stories of the Bible to the most intricate detail.

It seemed as if religion was programmed in my life. For me, praying was a mandatory action, something that I preformed perfunctorily. Even after many years, I did not understand what my teachers meant by “faith”.

Yet when I was six years of age, my entire life changed. My parents, who I had always seen in harmony, unexpectedly decided to divorce, and my father left. In a matter of weeks, my perfect little family had been shattered, and I felt completely alone. I could not talk to my friends, for they would not understand, so for the first time I turned to Him. I talked to Him, and He listened. How did I know he did? I don’t know, I simply believed.

Ever since then, I have seen things in a different light. I had a new feeling of trust and peculiar inner tranquility. As the world passed by me, with all its worries and preoccupations, I could seek His unlimited patience, understanding and silence. I realized that I had reached beyond the books and institutions of catechism, and had finally found what they call “faith”.

Tags: catholic, enlightened, Faith, god