The Field Marshal

What have I done for GOD Lately? This question was posed by the my parish priest while sharing the sermon with us during this morning's mass. Yes, I have once again kick-started my 'habit' of going to church again. The last mass I attended was sometime last year. Don't ask me what dragged me out of my bed this morning to catch the bus to church, I just know that going to the church was the right thing to do. Without fail, I feel more peaceful and of light-spirit when I leave the church premises after mass. Perhaps, I have 'deposited' all my anger, sins, problems, and all things that weigh down on the spirit in the church. I doubt the church, in its physical self, is capable of such an action. God must be there listening to me pouring out all my past week's sin and failings, and out of love, took it all from me. God must be such a loving and patient being that he can stand the type of nonsense that comes from me week in, week out. Anyway, it was with a little embarrassment(?) when the priest shared the sermon on how we can all play a role in the church. Today's Gospel and other readings focused on the ministry work of the Apostles as well as the role that each member of the church play - be it being an evangelist, priest, religious etc. Basically, all of us have a role to play. Most interestingly, the priest shared his thoughts on what's happening in some of the ministries in the parish. While he did not give actual names or events, he took to task those who are in-charge of certain ministries for not doing the 'right' thing. From what I can gather from the sermon, the main issue is the play of politics in church. It's hard to believe that office politics is so rife in such sacred a place. Guess that's the sinful nature in us coming forth. That aside, what struck me most was the question 'What have I done for the church (God) recently?' My only answer is 'nothing'. Being the lazy person that I am, I struggle even to stay awake while praying to God every night. But I still do make it a point to stay totally awake while praying, as I believe it is disrespectful to talk to God if our minds are wandering in and out of sleep. Anyway, having ascertained that I have done nothing much for my spiritual life, be it going to church or praying more often, I told myself that this have to change. While I don't think I am 'on' enough to sign up for activities at the church, I will start something small first. Something which I can handle. Something like this blog here. While I do not have a masterplan on what I intend to do here, I will let God guide me. Hmmm, perhaps I should have prayed before doing anything, guess I will have to do that tonight then. If you have noticed, I have inserted a little section title "My Faith" in the sidebar. Currently, I have links to the Holy See (Vatican) and my parish - Our Lady Star of the Sea (OLSS). What I hope to achieve is to introduce the my faith to my friends who reads this blog. I have no other agenda then to share with you my spiritual journey. This list should grow over time. This is a small thing that I can do for now. But everthing starts with a first step. Afterall, one can only finish a marathon by taking that first step. So, the marathon has just begun for me.