Stevie Rojas

Ramblings, Ruminations, and Reflections.

[stevierojas]

On Halloween and Catholicism:

Halloween, often associated with costumes, candies, and spooky decorations, holds a deeper meaning within the Catholic tradition. Originating as All Hallows' Eve, the night before All Saints' Day, Halloween invites Catholics to reflect on the spiritual significance of this traditional holiday.

Halloween is a prelude to All Saints' Day, a holy day dedicated to honoring all the saints and martyrs who have achieved eternal salvation. By celebrating Halloween as Catholics, we acknowledge the lives of these holy individuals who inspire us to seek holiness and deepen our connection to God. This observance reminds us of the communion of saints, allowing us to reflect on their virtues so that we can strive to imitate them in our own lives.

Halloween also invites us to address the spiritual battle between good and evil. The costumes and symbols associated with this holiday encourage us to confront our fears and acknowledge the existence of evil in the world. As Catholics, we are called to resist darkness and bear witness to the light of Christ. We are reminded to have faith in God's victory over evil and to stay vigilant in our spiritual journey.

Beyond its spiritual significance, Halloween also provides an opportunity to remember and honor our departed loved ones. Through prayers and visits to cemeteries, Catholics pay tribute to those who have preceded us in death. This serves as a reminder of the hope we have in the resurrection and the everlasting life promised by Jesus Christ. Halloween allows us to maintain a deep connection with our deceased loved ones, fostering a sense of eternity after death and the belief in the Communion of Saints.

While Halloween embodies joyous celebrations like costume parties and trick-or-treating, Catholics can infuse these festivities with their faith. Encouraged its rich symbolism, families can incorporate elements such as dressing up as saints, organizing prayer gatherings, or hosting events that emphasize the spiritual foundation of the holiday. These activities strengthen the bonds of families and the community, which ensures that the true meaning of Halloween is not lost amidst the secular aspects of the celebration.

Halloween is deeply rooted in Catholic traditions, and holds immense importance for Catholics across the world. As we commemorate All Saints' Day, confront the spiritual battle, and honor our departed loved ones, Halloween becomes a time of reflection, celebration, and spiritual growth. By embracing the deeper meaning behind the costumes and festivities, Catholics can use Halloween as an opportunity to deepen their devotion, inspire holiness, and witness their faith in the face of darkness. We should celebrate this joyous occasion, keeping in mind the rich spiritual significance and fostering a strong connection with our Catholic heritage.

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A personal commentary on John 1:1

John 1:1 is a powerful and profound verse that holds significant theological implications.

In this verse, the "Word" refers to Jesus Christ, who is the eternal Son of God and the second person of the Holy Trinity.

Orthodox interpretation of this verse affirms the divinity of Jesus, emphasizing that He is both fully God and eternally existent. By asserting that the Word was with God and the Word was God, John establishes the eternal relationship between the Father and the Son.

Jesus, as the Word, shares in the divine nature of God, while also maintaining a distinct personal relationship with the Father.

This verse also speaks to the concept of the Incarnation, a central belief in Catholic theology.

The Word, Jesus Christ, who is God Himself, took on human flesh and entered into the world. Thus, John 1:1 foreshadows the coming of Jesus in human form to dwell among humanity, revealing God's love and leading us to salvation.

Overall, this verse highlights the divine nature and eternal existence of Jesus Christ, affirming His identity as God incarnate. It invites us to contemplate the mystery of the Trinitarian God and the profound significance of the Word becoming flesh for our salvation.

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Been a long while since I posted here, but there’s something I want to share that deserves a blog post than my usual tweets or instagram posts:

I may be called into being a catechist.

Our parish posted an announcement about needing volunteers, and so I inquired about it, and I’m glad I did! I felt a calling to teach religion before, but lacked the confidence to do so in a formal school setting. Aside from the confidence, maybe I also lacked the training and experience, but by being a catechist, not only will I be trained, but formally sent out by a Bishop of the Church.

Now I think it’s one thing to be a catechist, and another to being a simple religion teacher. There’s something about the former that feels a little more “important.” (not sure if I’m using the right word.) Being commissioned and sent by a Bishop for the purposes of educating those in need of faith-education might be a more fulfilling spiritual role for me, and I thank God for opening this door for me.

Not only do I pray for being able to spread the faith, but to learn it and most importantly LIVE IT as well.

[stevierojas]

Mornings with my King and my God. (at St. Jerome Emiliani) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck_9pCdPIKH/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[stevierojas]

“Spiritualists” of today like New Agers, Yoginis, Neo-Gnostics, Wiccans and the wretched sort like to deduce Jesus Christ into another “great teacher.” Some of them even believe that His biggest sacrifice was becoming man. Not His death on the cross!

To reduce the crucifiction into nothing but “a simple tragedy in another man’s life.”

By doing this, they try to strip Christianity of the a truth it possessess that others do not - God coming down to man and willingly dying for man!

Every other religion prescribes man to reach up to the heavens in the hopes of gaining favor themselves. But it’s only in Christianity that you see “Jesus in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man. He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross.” - Philippians 2:7-8

Pray that these Pagans come to the fullness of Truth in the Catholic Church.

[stevierojas]

A reflection on today’s gospel:

One of the reasons why I am convinced that the Catholic Church contains the fullness of Truth is because of her many fruits.

Aside from the spiritual fruits that she gives us, there are material fruits that we can thank her for as well. The modern hospital and university systems are one of them. Her many contributions to science — as many do not know and choose to ignore — is another one. The fact that she is the most charitable institution in the world is another one of her biggest fruits that many do not know of.

In todays gospel, Jesus tells us that “there is no good tree that bringeth forth evil fruit: nor an evil tree that bringeth forth good fruit. For every tree is known by its fruit.”

Are we fruitful like the Church? Do our lives bring fruit that others may see and benefit from?

Do we profess our faith as Christians, but is our speech disordered and filled with garbage? Do we dress modestly? Do we put others first before ourselves? Do we let ourselves decrease so that Jesus may increase?

For us to be fruitful, we should be truly rooted in good soil, like Christ also tells us to be. By being truly rooted in Him, we can grow into strong, healthy, and fruitful Christians that we are supposed to be, and this is only possible by His grace.

Let us pray for the grace to be rooted in Him so that we may bear fruit for others to see and enjoy. But most importantly, for the glory of Jesus Christ.

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“Nothing is more dangerous for beginners in the spiritual life, than to wish to play the master, and to guide and convert others.”

- St. Philip Neri

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The other day, I deactivated my social media accounts for the sole purpose of focusing on what really matters to me — God, Family, and Community.

Without these noisy distractions, I am able to dedicate more of my attention to my prayers and spiritual reading, the needs of my family, and conversations with my friends.

There’s something about social media that acts as a black hole for my attention, which makes me want to hold my phone 24/7 while wanting to constsntly scroll and offer my unsolicited input on matters that realistically do not affect me at all.

I struggle with tempering my desires, so I thought of cutting it out of my life completely. However! This specific desire of mine to write and log my thoughts is very natural to me, which is why I am hopeful that my blog will thrive in this time of silence. After all, writing is more than just a way for me to express myself — it’s also a way for me to organize and analyze my thoughts.

So I hope to be able to write here some more as this place is all I have now for my frustration in writing.

[stevierojas]

Creation proclaims God’s glory.

His whisper is heard in rustling leaves, in the song of birds, and in lapping waters.

In the silence of nature the voice of God can be heard.

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I now know why God lets temptations befall us — because alongside the chance of falling into sin, there is also a chance of overcoming the temptation and learning.

I have been dealing with the temptation to revert to my Taoist past. Taoism often gives me this chance to let go of everything in my mind — my thoughts, concepts, beliefs, everything bogging me down. It offers me this chance to sort of go back into neutral and gather myself into a default or fresh mental state. I thought I was already sure of apostasizing, but that’s when God smacked me with the realization that what I was doing was praying and aligning myself to Him.

Because of my overly active mind, I often conjure up or subscribe to ideas that are not necessarily Catholic, but aligns with them - conservatism, traditionalism, pro-life activism, integralism, distributism, all the “isms” that are all well and good in the lens of Catholicism. But since I’ve been paying more attention to them than my spirituality, my soul began to hunger and thirst for Christ.

My soul’s natural way of telling me to find Christ was making me disdain discussions of the faith that were trivial compared to discussions of Christ Himself, like wether or not you should approach the pew in crossed arms when not receiving communion, or how early or late you should put up your Christmas tree, or wether or not this or that aligns with a certain rubric or rule book etc. etc.

We need to constantly remind ourselves that Christ Himself is what matters, and all other things are trivial and useless compared to Him. This is why I’ve decided and felt the call to spend less time on the internet, specifically Catholic Twitter and Facebook groups which are flooded with unessential discussions and bickering about the faith, and spend more time in retreat and discussion with Him who created all things.

I thank you my God for the temptation you allowed me to struggle with. Though I have fallen, You have given me the strength to get up with divine wisdome that only You can give.

[stevierojas]

On God Becoming Man

During the Christmas season, I am always reminded of how God came down to Earth and became man like us, and for us.

This truth is scandalous to some religions, but a beautiful and powerful one to us Christians. A being, not just any being, but the infinite one, creator of heaven and earth, God Himself, lovingly and willingly made himself known to us by making himself small and fragile - a baby, just like how all of us once were.

Read more here.

[stevierojas]

I’ve been staying away from Twitter these days and I noticed some benefits to it which I would like to share.

The first benefit is having a relaxed mind, and this is because I no longer have to deal with what the latest outrage is! My twitter timeline may often be filled with gripes, opinions, and statements by people who pretend to sound smart and it’s very mentally draining. I won’t lie about not contributing to the filth and toxicity though, so in a way, I am also doing other people a favor by taking a break.

The second benefit is having an increased desire to write, and to do so with substance. Twitter’s limited characters and having to thread tweets together just makes me lazy. Instead of thinking of a substantial topic, I’ll just blurt out whatever’s on my mind and tweet it! If it won’t fit one tweet, I’ll just reply to that tweet with additional ramblings!

The third and most important benefit is having more time for other productive hobbies and my family. I’ve been self-learning Spanish much more effectively, and I am able to focus on my wife and kids without the distraction of my phone.

This break from Twitter is making me contemplate the way I use it. I’ll definitely be back on it but I won’t be using it the same way I used to. I’ll most definitely just be using it as a tool for improving my writing, as I initially planned it to be. Not some place to just mindlessly blabber about for the purposes of vanity.

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Went for a ride on my bike today.

But this time I had no phone, no earphones, no music, no podcasts. It was just me, my bike, the road, the breeze, my thoughts, my surroundings, and the Lord.

This hour-long activity gave my mind a much needed rest and reset - a reset that has made me realize my unhealthy attachment to current modern technologies, and how I miss the early 2000's.

The early 2000's had the perfect technological advancement to social and mental sanity ratio. The technology in those days were enough to be convenient without causing any negative effects. A desktop PC, an MP3 player, a "dumb"phone, and a television set were enough.

This nostalgic thought inspired me to attempt to change my habits that closely resembled mine in those years. I've removed all social media, news, and gaming apps on my phone while maintaining only the basics, excluding Spotify. I've also kept my laptop in one spot for it to resemble a desktop computer, and for me to remember how to wait before I needed to access my e-mail or internet browser.

With this new practice of mine, I hope to be free from the chains of current technology, and to restore a much more balanced mind.

I should ride my bike in silence more often!

[stevierojas]

Today's Gospel reading really spoke to me, and it comes at a very timely moment in my spiritual life.

I was going through an intense period of dryness, fueled by a panic that my spiritual practices were no longer working. My spiritual reading, praying the rosary, the liturgy of the hours, and spending moments of silence seemed as if they weren’t enriching my spiritual life anymore.

But I read today’s Gospel reading and thought: "What does it mean to be a child of God?"

To be a child of God is to be totally dependent on Him. Why? Because children are helpless and weak.

I had to make peace with the fact that I am helpless and weak, and God was showing me that I needed Him, and not my efforts alone. Because alone, I am indeed handicapped by my human frailties. But with God, anything is possible. "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

I was too fixated on doing and performing, while I was forgetting that I needed to take His hand for Him to show me the way. I wasn't supposed to let go and run along my own path, believing I knew where to go. I was running ahead, and I left God behind. But if I had gone at the pace God wanted to go, I would have stayed closer.

Today, I learned that it's okay to be simple and small like a child - totally depended on the Father. Because that would mean I would be His child, and the Kingdom of Heaven will belong to such as these.

[stevierojas]

Should I just be content to be a fool for Christ?

Just an ordinary layman, a nobody, with nothing of note to offer Christ but my life, love, and faith.

My mind cannot seem to grasp higher theological concepts, but I believe them to be true. I see others like clergy and lay theologians who seem to talk about these things effortlessly - it is their profession after all. As for me, I’m just here to mostly listen for the voice of Christ through His shepherds.

I have nothing but my life to offer God. I’m uninteresting. I’m a husband and dad of two kids. I own and operate a simple taxi company and my work is very mundane as it mostly comprises of waiting. Opus Dei tells me to do these ordinary things extraordinarily for God.

Sometimes, I don’t know if I try to convince myself to take a Master’s course in Theology just so I could have something I find extraordinary. But I’m starting to have doubts about whether I’m doing it for the right reasons or not. If I should sacrifice time and money at the expense of my family and business.

I’m starting to think that maybe I should be content with what I have and what God has placed before me. I shouldn’t be forcing things to happen the way I want them to be. His will be done, not mine.

God has blessed me with ordinary things that currently sustain me. I guess I should be content, and feel blessed to be Christ’s Extraordinary Fool.

[stevierojas]

A contemplation on Tao - And why Jesus’ Father is better.

“The Tao that can be told is not the enduring and unchanging Tao.

The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.”

This is how the Tao Te Ching starts. It starts by telling us that the Tao is incomprehensible.

It cannot be understood.

It cannot be grasped.

It cannot be seen.

It cannot be named.

Sound familiar?

It very much sounds like our very own Father. Except the difference is that our Father made His name known to us. And more importantly, He made a way for Him to be known, and that’s through His very own Son and self, Jesus Christ. The Father is a God who wishes to be known and have a relationship with us.

Unlike the Tao which is indifferent to us, and seems to have no mind, personality, or initiative, our Father knows us and cares for us. He develops a relationship with us and makes an effort to be known to us, though we aren’t worthy. Instead of “just being,” he also does.

I thank God for letting Himself be known and named.

I thank God for His son Jesus Christ.

[stevierojas]

Catholic Arena asked me if I wanted to write my reconversion story for them to share on their website. I said yes, and I am proud and honored to do so!

This is my story of how I was brought up Catholic, had my doubts and went exploring, only to come back to Holy Mother Church with a flaming passion.

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I am what’s called a revert: someone who was already a Catholic and left the faith in the middle of their life, but returned later on by the grace of God. Before I made my way back to the Church, God permitted me to wander through the desert of my own fallible will. I made choices for myself in terms of my outlook in life and in spiritual matters which caused me a great deal of stress and pain. But if God hadn’t let me go on my own to wander, I never would have seen how He was slowly and gently orchestrating events in my life in order for me to get to know Him,  His purpose for me, and lead me back to the Truth, which was right in front of me all along.

Continue reading here.

Former Occultist Discusses Conversion to Catholicism — Catholic Arena

A Former Occultist, Stevie Rojas, discusses his journey to Catholicism.