The Soldier and the Saint (as featured in CBCP News)

Dear Readers, 

I am reposting an article I wrote for the CBCP News during the 2015 Papal Visit for posterity's sake.

See the original CBCP posting here.

God bless you!

Love,

Jacq

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The soldier and the saint

by  Jacqui Acop – Paraguya

“As I calmly lined up together with the other members of the Presidential Security Group to meet the Pope in person, I was humbled and joyous at the realization that I was  going to personally meet Christ’s representative on earth.”

Colonel Dennis Acop (Retired) was a former soldier in the Philippine Army. He studied at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) and later went to the United States Military Academy (USMA), more popularly known as West Point. He served the Philippine government for close to 30 years before retiring and entering the private sector. He is a lector at the Parish of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Quezon City, together with his wife, Joji.

Col. Dennis Acop (ret.) was part of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) during the presidency of Fidel V. Ramos. He had prior encounters with PopeSt. John Paul II because of his trips to the Vatican for ocular inspections prior to the visits of FVR to Italy and the Vatican.

When Pope St. John Paul II came to the Philippines for World Youth Day in January 1995, Col. Dennis was automatically involved in the pope’s protection. At the time, he was the commander of the Presidential Security Group-Special Reaction Unit (PSG-SRU).

As he was both the leader of the Catholic faith and head of state, Pope St. John Paul II was accorded the highest level of protection possible both from local and international security and intelligence groups.

Just before the good Pope’s departure from the country, everyone involved in securing his trip lined up at the Manila Archbishop’s residence to bid the Pope farewell and to receive a personal blessing from him. Col. Dennis described that rare privilege of experiencing a blessing that deepened his faith on the Catholic church.

A Pope of Peace 

According to Col. Dennis, protecting the pope was simply part of protocol for him and his team. The methods they used were the same across all VIPs they had protected. However, there was something unique about the Pope that set him apart from other VIPs. Being allowed to have close encounters with the Pope, he observed that there was a different aura surrounding him.

He narrated:“There was something about being around a holy man of God. St. John Paul II was that kind of a person. He was not like the usual VIPs we were used to protecting. In the midst of this materialistic world, being around Saint John Paul II suddenly yanked me out of that world. His world of holiness was laid out before me. It was a simplistic but very real holiness.”

Once when they were at Malacañang with the Pope, a colleague in the military who was dying begged the PSG personnel to let him be blessed by the Pope. After he was visited and blessed by the Pope, the soldier said he was ready to face death. One thing Col. Dennis will always remember and treasure about the Pope was his gentleness and peacefulness, which comforted his suffering colleague.

Graces of the Encounter

Ever since he was a neophyte in military school, Col. Dennis dreamt of becoming a successful five-star general. However, his encounters with the face of Christ throughout his life pushed him toward a different direction.

In his encounter with St. John Paul II, Col. Dennis was deeply inspired by the pope’s humility. St. John Paul II has always been known to be the pope who visited and forgave enemies–even the person who attempted to assassinate him. He is also known to humbly reach out to the leaders of other religions, calling them to peace and unity with the Christians.

Witnessing the humility of the leader of the Catholic faith, Col. Dennis decided to leave his military career, which guaranteed worldly success but also of temptations leading to corruption. He retired from military service at the early age of 46.

One of his favorite quotes from the late Fr. James Reuter, SJ, which summarizes his journey sparked by that encounter with St. John Paul II, is:“Man is noblest not when he is riding on horseback but when he is kneeling before his God.” His decision to leave his military career in humility to follow the example of St. John Paul II during the crossroads of his life was not an easy feat. He had his doubts and storms, but he kept praying for guidance and he was never led back by God to his previous life.

At present, Col. Dennis is working for the private sector but has involved himself actively in the service of his parish as a lector.

Col. Dennis is my dad, and I’ve witnessed God’s power through him and my family as I was growing up. I breathed a word of praise and thanksgiving as he affirmed me:“If you want to be truly happy in life, you have to go for the truth and surrender to Christ everything, even your ambitions, in all humility.”

3 Things that Cause UNthankfulness

This is just a quick post as I don't want to forget these little things I learned from the Homily of Father Jojo Monis of Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish. The topic he discussed was about the top 3 things that cause us to be "UNthankful." 

1. Taking Things for Granted

Father Jojo said that this is one of the main reasons why we become unthankful - when we forget how blessed we already are. 

Sometimes when huge or even little challenges come into my life, I dwell on them until I feel like I've solved them. Though I pray to God to help me surrender these worries, I must admit that I sometimes have a hard time doing a "full surrender" to His will. 

The homily reminded me that despite my problems, I am still blessed with a loving family and a brand new day to make better decisions and become a better person. All of us are blessed. We just have to make an everyday effort to acknowledge these truths.

2. Envy and Selective Blindness

One day I had a meet-up with my girl friends and we were updating each other on what's going on with our lives. One of my friends said, "Oh have you seen the Facebook account of (some girl's name)? I can't believe she is now a (insert awesome career here). I hope I can do the same thing. She used to be not good in school. I can't believe she's a (once again, insert the career here)."

That conversation got me baffled. I am actually very happy for people who were once struggling adolescents but have now become better individuals. Likewise, I am also happy for myself and my journey through life. Sometimes, I just hope that we don't get too engrossed in this "it's-greener-on-the-other-side" mentality and simply be happy where we are now. Let's all be happy for each others' successes because we all have something unique to celebrate about our lives. Let's choose to see the good things instead of what we feel are wrong in our lives.  

3. The Feeling of Self-Entitlement

"I achieved things without the help of God."

Some of us may tend to think that we are self-entitled of our achievements. Like everything that happened in our lives were solely from our own efforts. No one helped you get to where you are. No one blessed you with your talents, gifts, and opportunities. It's all just you.

Father Jojo reminded us that although this arrogance can well up in our hearts, we should be reminded that there is someone out there bigger than us and taking care of us despite our ingratitude.

I have a friend who seemed to have it all. He's very proud of his achievements because he was top of his class while in university and recently, has passed all tests for a much awaited career promotion. When the time for promotion came, he apparently, was not chosen. He was so used to his success that when he did not get what he wanted, he became resentful of his work and secluded himself from his workmates. 

The call for us in our times of pride and arrogance is to regain the virtue of humility in our hearts. Sometimes there will be things that we will not get in life but this should not stop us from appreciating the rest of what's great about our lives.

Live Life to the Fullest! God bless you! :)

Jacq

About Humility

I have been reading Pope Francis' book entitled The Way of Humility and so far I have learned a lot from this very wise man. 

Let me share some of his quotes as I also narrate personal struggles in my life.

"Negative criticism leads us to focus on the faults and failings of other people; as a result, we can feel superior."

Lately, I experienced a huge setback in my life. Someone stole a huge amount from my bank savings. I confided it to my closest friends and family. Sadly, some of my family members I sought refuge from and look up to were the first ones to criticize me and what happened to me. 

After I read the book, I realized that it is easy for people to criticize than to really listen and to empathize. It is easier to hurt others than to comfort. All my ailing heart needed was comfort.

I realized that maybe my condition was not really the issue at hand when they decided to criticize me. Maybe they also had an ailing heart or were going through some tough times of their own. I can only try my best to understand them. But I thank God for all my friends who supported me through it all. Even if they weren't blood relatives, they proved to me how they are true sisters and brothers in Christ.

"Those who have fallen into the habit of being suspicious about everything little by little lose the peace of mind that comes from trusting confidence in God."

After I have learned of this huge setback, I also fell into anxiety even to the point of not being able to sleep. After months of agony, I realized that worrying is causing me to become faithless and prideful because I am not able to surrender these feelings to God. Thankfully, God touched my heart and now I'm back to doing my regular prayer time, Gospel reading, and have grown to constantly rely on praying the rosary to help me. It is true that in the worst case scenarios of life, when I have no one to turn to, it is God who is left available to turn to. It is saddening to realize that I sometimes tend to try to resolve things on my own before considering the power of Christ to save me. But today I am humbled. I need and accept His saving grace and I surrender.

"But if we carefully seek out the root cause of our disquiet, we always find the same: the fact that we do not practice self-accusation. This is why we feel crushed and never at peace. It is not surprising that all the saints say there is no other road than this."

I was very disquieted. Inside I had bombs exploding in my chest asking the Lord, "why me?!" But then Pope Francis reminded me, "why not you?" As Christ, my Lord, died on the cross, so too must I carry my cross. And this is the cross He allowed me to carry. And by His grace I can carry it. As the Lord is crushing my prideful heart, He is replacing it with a more humble one. A new heart that is stronger than the one I once had. A heart capable of truly sharing in His pain now and later on, His glory. 

"Look at a beast of burden. If it is sturdy, it cheerfully carries the heavy burden that is loaded onto it; if it loses its balance it gets up straightaway and suffers no harm. If it is weak, however, any load is too much for it; and if it falls, it needs a lot of help to get back on its feet. The same is true with the soul."

"Christ knows better than I whether I should obtain satisfaction, and he himself will take care of this thing or this food." 

On the day I learned I lost most of my life savings, I realized that maybe God is telling me I really do not need those things. I do not need to be secure in myself. I only needed to be secure in Him and to trust Him that He will take care of me. I should have 100% faith.

"But in his wisdom the prophet knew well that nothing attracts God's mercy upon the soul as much as trials, especially those that come in the time of misfortune and persecution."

And I trust in these words. I put them in my heart. I feel God telling me to relax. He will take care of me no matter how hard and no matter how impossible circumstances seem to be. 

And as I end this entry, I would like to leave you with a final quote I love:

"Everything happens by God's providence, according to what is best for each person."

God bless you! 

 

 

 

October Month of the Holy Rosary: How can we Pray for You?

October has begun and it signals the beginning of the month of the Holy Rosary! 

My husband and I decided to pray the Rosary everyday for the next 30 days to celebrate the Rosary month. Call it the #RosaryMonthChallenge.

When we prayed the Rosary on Day 1, we lifted to God our intentions as a couple and the intentions of our friends that we know of.

The next day, I decided to post a Rosary on my instagram and asked friends to send me their prayer intentions if they want us to pray for them. Thankfully, 2 of my friends contacted me so we were able to pray for their intentions on Day 2. Yay!

I believe that prayer is a very powerful ally. I also believe that having more people to pray with you about your intentions is even more powerful. And utilizing the Rosary in praying and seeking the assistance of the Blessed Mother is an even nuclear prayer! 

Let us not be shy in proclaiming our faith nor in asking our Christian peers to pray for us. 

We are very willing to pray for you!

If you have specific petitions that we could help you pray for, please send me a comment or an e-mail at thecatholicchic@gmail.com and I assure you that WE WILL BE PRAYING FOR YOU and will keep your intentions confidential too for your own privacy. God bless you!

Let us also encourage each other as we take on this challenge of praying to Mama Mary this October. 

Lots of love,

The Catholic Chic

Three Qualities of a Missionary

"He said to them, 

'Take nothing for the journey, 

neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, 

and let no one take a second tunic.'" 

- Luke 9: 3

Last Wednesday, Fr. Ruper Solis, SVD celebrated the Holy Eucharist at the Couples For Christ Global Mission Center. I memorized the homily he said because it was something very useful to us missionaries. The homily was in line with the Gospel which was taken from Luke 9:1-6.

Being a missionary priest in Argentina for the last 7 years, Fr. Ruper has so much to share about how to really be a missionary.

Fr. Ruper Solis

"Do not take anything with you"

In the homily, he shared with us the Three Qualities of a Missionary.

Number 1: You are a messenger.

Fr. Ruper reminded us that as missionaries, we do not send ourselves but it is the Lord who sends us. Sometimes, when we go to a place, we tend to be arrogant and think "I will save these people." But not really.

He reminded us to remember that it is Christ who sent us. We are merely bearers of the message and servants ready to do His will. We are there not to do what we want but to open ourselves to do exactly what God wants for the people through our presence.

We are but instruments.

Number 2: You should Live Simply.

Before Fr. Ruper went to Argentina, he carried with him 2 large suitcases of personal belongings enough for the 7-year trip. When he got back to the Philippines after 7 years, he also brought back 2 large suitcases with him. That was all he had.

He found it funny that his entire possessions fit in only 2 large suitcases. But that story reminded me of how we are but nomads in this life. Earth is not our final destination but Heaven.

We came here on earth with nothing and we will leave with nothing.

As missionaries, we are to live simply and be ready to surrender much material wealth for the call of the Lord.

Number 3: You must be a Positive thinker.

Being a positive thinker is one of the most necessary 'skills' of a missionary. According to Fr. Ruper, being a missionary is not a walk in the park. There are times when you will face rejection, persecution, disillusionment, and hopelessness in your journey. It is best to think positive and focus on God despite the many oppressions that come your way.

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Those are my notes from his homily and I hope these will inspire you in your journey as a missionary for Christ.

God bless you!!! 

Love, 

The Catholic Chic

God's Providence: Birthday Edition

For my 29th birthday dinner, I decided to make it intimate and celebrate with my immediate family. I planned to have a simple dinner, just an assorted range of pizzas.

29!!!

I was a little bit anxious because I knew I had little money to spare on my birthday. I only bought something fit for 7 people though I feel like there will be more people visiting me that night. Aside from that, I also did not have a 'Pizza card' which entitles the bearer to a 'Buy 1 Take 1' pizza promo. 

The pizza delivery guy came and handed me 3 family size pizzas. While carrying it to the table, I was staring at it thinking "This is not gonna satisfy 7 hungry people..." It made me a little bit down that I can't afford more but I kept silent about it and focused on the joy of eating with my family.

After a few minutes of enjoying pizza, my mom bit on something hard in her slice. We were shocked to find that it was a screw!!! I immediately reported the incident to the restaurant to prevent accidents in their kitchen. For all I know, there might be a broken oven which may cause a fire in their kitchen. I hung up the call after I filed the report.

A few seconds later, their representative called me up and told me that they would be replacing all the pizzas we ordered with new batches of freshly-baked pizza. We almost emptied all the boxes out but they will be replacing everything!!! Praise God!

Aside from this, my mom made me fruit salad while my husband bought me chocolate cake for dessert!  

Talk about providence! 

Cake surprise!

My cake box. <3

A few minutes later, more of my family members came to celebrate with me and I'm glad we had more to feast on than what I expected. We were satisfied to the brim. We even had a lot of leftovers! All thanks to the Lord's providence.

After this experience, I reflected on how God truly provides for me. When there are times when I feel like there is no hope, He suddenly does a little something to allow me to feel His presence. 

May we always remember God's providence and allow ourselves to surrender and be cared for by the King.

For that may God be praised!

Note: I did not sue the Pizza company as my peers suggested. No one in my family got sick or injured in the event and I just felt like imparting God's mercy and compassion on my birthday. <3

Lots of Love,

The Catholic Chic  

Pre-birthday Road Trip Musings

Last Saturday was the eve of my birthday. My husband initiated we go on a road trip together because he knew I love road trips!

Going up north.

While in the car, I was reminiscing how my husband wasn't with me on my birthday last year. Until today it still brings me much sadness remembering that year.

This year, he came home and chose to stay with me. I praise God that he is here. And as I look at him while he is driving, I think to myself, 'How blessed am I'.

In my country, you will often meet families wherein either the husband or wife would be working abroad to financially support the family. Due to the lack of jobs here, many opt to earn elsewhere. 

It brings me great pain that the Filipino people have to go abroad to earn. Citizens of 'first world' countries don't have to do that. I hope someday our country is run better so we don't have to send husbands, wives, fathers, or mothers, abroad as this situation brings much challenge to marriage, and later on, the family. 

For now, I will just praise and thank God for giving me this moment to appreciate the existence of my husband. It was hard not having him around. I'm glad that year is done. He's back. <3

My First Guest Blogging experience!

Every time I need a break from the hullabaloo of the outside world, I withdraw myself and visit various Catholic bloggers groups I am a member of. I find it very relaxing and refreshing to read their entries in the peace of my own room. 

Last month, one of the authors from the Catholic Women's blogs I follow proposed we try Guest Blogging on each other's blog.

I definitely said a huge 'YES!' 

Our topic of exchange would be about our personal experiences living out our faith in our respective countries. Rachel is from the US while I am from the Philippines. I personally want to see where living our faith differed and where it is the same. Also, it interests me to know how supportive the society is to us practicing our faith as Catholics. I have posted earlier her experience being Catholic in the US. If you haven't seen it yet, you can click here. 

Now, I am posting a link of what I shared with her. Here is my personal experience living out the Catholic faith in the Philippines as featured in 'Living a Catholic Life'. Enjoy!

http://livingacatholiclife1.com/2014/09/20/guest-blogger-what-its-like-to-be-a-catholic-in-the-phillippines/

Love at 30,000 Feet by Madonna Escolano

This article was created by my dear friend and sister, Madonna Escolano. I came across this while reading the CBCP monitor Vol. 18 No. 19, September 15-28, 2014 edition and thought of posting it on my blog to remind me of the presence of God in chance encounters. Happy reading!

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LOVE AT 30,000 FEET 

“Dreaming of love while cruising at high altitude… Closer to heaven we’re thirty thousand feet up in the sky…” 

So goes some lines from the song composed by Mr. Jose Mari Chan, which has been close to my heart being an early-retired airline employee and previous choral member of the Philippine flag-carrier’s company. 

On a recent 18-hour flight, I found myself answering to the call to be “ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” (1Peter 3:15) It was also an opportunity to share God’s love. 

An Englishman, who said he’s an atheist, was seated next to me. Like most Caucasian men I’ve met, he was quite good in the art of small talk. It was a long-haul flight, and sleep wasn’t being good to me. What started as a polite conversation about trivial, uncontroversial matters turned into a profound discussion about travel, life and faith. He told me that his work as an engineer for a submarine communications cable company allows him to travel and marvel at the world. He was proud to tell me that being part of a team that makes it possible for fiber optic technology solutions to carry digital data across oceans gives him satisfaction. It’s indeed a blessing to be doing what you’re passionate about and being paid for it! 

He said he served the army during World War II and was totally changed by it. No more nightmares, fortunately for him. The war, he narrated, taught him many things and made him thankful and appreciative of his very existence and of everyone around him. 

He talked about Faith; about how he was brought up as a Catholic, went to Catholic schools, served as an altar boy, and used to attend Sunday Mass religiously. He said he lost his faith not because of anger towards God, nor disagreeing about dogma he could not totally comprehend, but because he simply did not have time for it. He explained that being a Christian involves hard work: It is not enough to accept Jesus as one’s personal savior. He added that everyone around him should see through his actions that he is a follower of Christ and worthy of the name Christian. 

And then came the all-too-familiar questions: Why does God allow pain and evil in the world? Why do evil men prosper, while the just suffer and remain poor? What do Christians do about this? 

I am not an expert in Sacred Theology, so I shared with him a little bit of my Faith journey, and how God has been faithful to His promises to me in spite of my own wretchedness and sinfulness. (Unbeknownst to him, I whispered a prayer to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance!) I wanted to reassure him that God loves him dearly, that there is always a reason to hold on to hope, and that faith makes wonders. 

I retold the Creation story; that man was created in God’s image and likeness, and was given the gifts of knowledge, integrity and free will. We were created in Love, and God saw it fit to allow us to love freely as He does. But then came the fall of Adam and Eve; God allowed them to be tempted, trusting that they knew what to do. That was the essence of our free will after all: to choose what is good. We know how that story ended, and how evil and death came into the world. “God did not make death. God takes no delight in the ruin of anything that lives. God created humans to live forever. Death entered the universe only through the devil’s envy.” (Wisdom 1:13; 2:23-24) Pain then is a consequence of our sins. We suffer when we choose evil over good. And every little sin we make not only hurts us, but also everyone around us. 

I told him about those unsung heroes who have chosen to live lives serving the least, the last and the lost. I shared with him how blessed I am to know people who have gone through what seemed insurmountable trials, yet courageously overcame and are the same ones who help alleviate the affliction of others and remain selfless in making the world a better place to live. I briefly shared with him the lives of missionaries I am honored to call my friends who have left their comfort zones and have answered the call to share the joy of the Gospel and be fishers of men. I told him of the faith of saints whose sufferings sanctified them. And I reminded him that God loves him and all of us so much that He had to send Jesus Christ to die on the cross that we may all live. 

At that point in our conversation, he told me that his Filipina wife was diagnosed with stage four cancer several years ago. He said that the faith of his wife and the prayers of her family and friends helped her go through pain and treatment. Ten years after, her wife is still very much alive and full of life. He said her wife attributes the miracle of her healing to the power of God. 

Before our final descent towards Manila, he said he would love for his wife to meet me one day, and looks forward to inviting me to their house warming and “blessing” once the renovation of their home is completed. The best part about our entire conversation was when he expressed his interest in revisiting his faith, and hopes one day to join her wife to attend Mass again. 

I was thankful, certain that it was the Living Flame of Love~ the Holy Spirit, at work. I told him that God shall patiently wait for his return; and the angels and saints will celebrate in heaven when that day comes. He smiled and, to my surprise, said Amen! 

Pope Francis said that “Although the life of a person is in a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God.” 

I said goodbye to him, assured that God’s infinite and unfathomable love rekindled in his heart will bring him back into the Lord’s merciful arms, all in His perfect time.

Going Technical: My first CSMS experience!!!

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,

the conviction of things not seen."

-Hebrews 11:1

Last weekend, I participated in the 3rd Catholic Social Media Summit held at Lingayen, Pangasinan, Philippines.

Conference selfie with Kuya Shok and Ate Ilsa.

Thankfully, many people from Ablaze communications and Singles for Christ volunteered to join the Program Team and invited me to be a part of them. 

Volunteers from CFC, SFC, PYM of Antipolo, and CBCP.

In all honesty, I have never joined the Program Team of any event, so my confidence level for this was near zero. The nearest I came to showing presentations was clicking powerpoint slides way back in college.

He doesn't call the equipped but equips the called.

I have heard this quote being said over and over in Catholic conferences, specifically in Singles for Christ and Youth for Christ conferences. I believe this as true and I felt it 100% during my service in Lingayen.

My husband the VO.

Like I said, I don't know the workings in the technical booth but I said 'Yes' to serve God and He placed me there. 

The great thing about my emptiness and inexperience is God was the one who filled and equipped me to serve.

Faith! He will take care of you.

When I arrived earlier in Day 1, I was already having problems because I did not have a laptop that was compatible to the projector. Then come Alvin and Dea who had the perfect laptop and the perfect adaptors!

The Tech booth.

When speaker 1, Michael Lobrin, came in. I was also having difficulties starting up his presentation. Thankfully his personal assistant came in to help me. I wasn't able to get her name but I praise God she came in to aid us.

At lunch time, I remember Tricia and Jeff teaching me shortcuts for easier managing of the videos and presentations. We didn't have a "switcher" so we were organizing all presentations in one laptop and the transitions weren't presented as clean as we wanted. Nevertheless, they taught me techniques to make the presentations transition as smoothly as possible.

Top L-R: Shane, Shok, Dana, Jacq, Eric, Dea, Alvin, Jeff
Bottom L-R: Chrixy, Sky, Tricia

In timing presentations, calming me when I'm panicking, and being my sub during breaks, Dana and Dea, our Director and Assistant Director respectively, aided me through all that. They were also my support system during the technically tedious presentation of Bernard Canaberal.

Praise God for these people!

All in all I praise God for the opportunity of serving Him in the CSMS and for allowing me to encounter His angels, the program team, as my guide. This experience was a baptism of fire for me but He nevertheless equipped me to fulfill my duties. I just had to jump in and say 'Yes' even if I was anxious.

Sneak: Program team "After Day 1" Party Dance. We praise and thank You for the joy of service! 

Post by Dea Ubaldo.

And for that, may God be praised!

Love,

The Catholic Chic

Being Christian in America (A Guest Blogger's Story)

God's morning readers!

This day calls for a celebration as I have my first guest blogger, Rachel, write about her personal experience on how it is to be a Christian, specifically a Catholic, in the United States. I hope this post gives you a sneak peak on the life of a Catholic in the US and I hope you could also share your personal insights or experiences on how it is to be a Catholic in your country.

God bless you!

The Catholic Chic

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Being Christian in America

by Rachel 

I was born and raised in the Midwest, in the middle of nowhere in the Midwest to be more exact.  I was also born and raised Christian, Catholic to be more specific.  I went to Catholic school from preschool through high school.  Then I went to a public community college for two years and then a Nazarene University for one year.  I am now going to a Catholic University in less than a month to study film.  So that's a little bit of my background.  Now, let’s go into being Christian in America.

We all know that modern society is godless, especially America.  From Hollywood to politics, no one wants to mention religion or Christianity in public.  There have been several people suing because a restaurant gave people a discount for praying before their meal.  People wanted the cross at the 9/11 memorial taken down.  Thank God that it wasn’t.  Then there is Obamacare forcing Christian companies to go against their religion and pay for abortions.

What does this mean to me?  Not a lot right now.  I am currently in college and have been in a Christian school, besides my community college for two years, for most of my life.  I have been surrounded by an environment which encouraged talking about religion. 

I have, however, been met with anti-Catholicism.  Both in my blog and in the Nazarene University.  Not saying anything against Nazarenes, the school itself is great. 

We aren’t persecuted like people overseas are.  We aren’t killed for being Christian.  But people have lost their jobs for believing in the Christian viewpoints on gay marriage and abortion.  Namely, the two brothers on HGTV and the CEO of Firefox.  This, paired with the Obamacare has isolated Christians in America.  Making them feel like they are being persecuted for believing in Christianity.

This is what it is like to be Christian in America.  It’s a taboo subject that you don’t usually talk about.  People expect you to go to Church on Sundays but forget about what you have learned there.  And God forbid you act on your Christian principles.

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About the Author:  

Rachel was born and raised in the Midwest. Currently, she is a college junior pursuing film studies. She hopes to one day produce, write, and maybe act in sitcoms and movies. Follow her twitter account at twitter.com/fashionfaith2.