My dearest friends,
Thank you so much for your prayers! I am truly grateful!
A few days ago, I met a Filipino Dominican priest, who lent me a book written by the late Fr. Henri Nouwen, called “Life of the Beloved”. It had made me realize so many things about the purpose of my sufferings.
I realize that ever since I was very young, I’ve felt the call to evangelize, but due to the atmosphere here, I was discouraged from doing so. What’s more unfortunate is, Islam and Christianity share many of the same words (e.g. God, Satan, Heaven, Hell, angels and prophets), and many of the angels/prophets also have similar names! I have known many good Muslims, who I admire and believe will go to Heaven one day. However, Islam lacks the concept of “Communion”–their God is not a god who communes with his people, or desires his people to commune with one another. He can be loving, he can forgive, give rewards and punishment, but he is not Love itself, the way our God is. So if we take away the concept of “Communion” from our faith, we’ll get a religion that looks more or less like Islam (which is not bad, but which cannot fulfill us as only God can).
I will be traveling to a neighboring country in the near future, mostly for the sake of my health and welfare.
Please continue to pray for me, especially for my health and sleep as I travel, and also for the Church in my country! May her light not be dimmed, but rather, may she shine forth with the light of Christ, always…for it is her Lord who desires to dwell in each human heart. It’d be such a shame if the Church is afraid to share her Lord with others, and He cannot enter into hearts, commune with them, live in them and through them…
Again, thank you for all your prayers and love! May the Lord always bless you, protect you, and repay your kindness many times over, in this life and the next.
In Christ,
Maria Therese