A Confession of a Relation and a Destiny: Overcoming Temptation with Prayer, Good Works, and Hearts yearning for the Truth.

Synopsis: Lk. 4:1-13

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry.

The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, One does not live on bread alone.”

Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to him, “I shall give to you all this power and glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.”

Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and: With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says: You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”

When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.

Homily of the Celebrant: Fr. Antonio “Tony” Roxas

In the recent weeks, the priest observed, the Gospel readings were interrelated to each other. The Gospel last February 7, which was about the calling of Peter, and that of last February 14, this time about the beatitudes according to St. Luke, and of the Gospel today has one category: The ideal Christian life.

A follower of Christ, he pointed, must hold a fast not only because he wants to follow Him, but also for him to experience the world’s hunger for God’s mercy and wisdom. A follower of Christ must also weep for the world has not yet made justice, loyalty, and truth to prevail in the society. They should also be strong to face flak and humiliation from people. They will experience this, as Jesus had experienced it.

A would-be disciple of Christ must have a powerhouse that is essential; and that there is a powerhouse in each of us that we could manifest:

First is to give alms, not because you are being pressured to do so, but because you are helping somehow, and is coming from the heart (A vague point that would be discussed in the reaction). An example was when Jesus and His friends were in the Temple. He compared a Pharisee and a widow; The Pharisee came to the donation box and, before offering his tithes, showed it for all to see. On the other hand, the widow, only having her last dime to offer, offered it with all humility and with all her heart. The latter was Christ’s example: Poverty is not an obstacle for someone to help. And second is to fast, where it would be the source of strength, wisdom, and firmness to face life every day.

There is one thing to consider when we follow Christ: The devil is always there to tempt and to stray us from God. Why? We are working hard to be holy, because Jesus Himself poured out His Blood for us to be holy. In these temptations, we should cling to Jesus for strength and guidance, and He would motivate us to do His will.

Since Jesus is true God and true man, we may relate our temptations with His and overcome them, also through Him:

The first temptation was about turning stones to bread. Some of us get independent that we have forgotten that we have a God who should be in control. What happens here is that we do not have time for Him because we are in control of the situation; some of us can do their work on their own. Therefore, the bottom line is that some of us do not need God. And if God is out of the picture, everything would be in vain. Thus Jesus’ reply was true: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the Mouth of God….”

The second temptation, based on the chronology of the temptation account of St. Luke, was when the devil showed Jesus the earthly riches, where the former promised to give them all to the latter if the devil was worshipped. This was not to be for Christ rebutted the devil: “You shall worship the Lord, your God, and Him alone you shall serve.” One example is that “to have power makes a person great”—the quasi-political Filipino idiom kapit-tuko (sa pwesto). This should not be for this is a temptation brought about by the devil. Back to the desert scene, the devil persuades Jesus to abandon the mission His Father has given Him: To save mankind by His death.

The third temptation was when the devil ordered Jesus to fall down from the parapet of the Temple (I should say “ordered” here for the devil has put Him to the test), and this time, the devil used the Scriptures against Him. The trick here is that He would be honored instead of the Father who sent Him. But in a great voice, and true to His mission for He wants the Father to be honored, the Lord replied, “Be gone, Satan! You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test!” Two saints declared the same confession, which was cited among the many saints who also professed our faith that God should be the One glorified: Saint John the Baptist and Saint Ignatius of Loyola. The former was informed by his follower that his Cousin was baptizing more people than him, and with exuberance he said, “I must decrease; HE MUST INCREASE….” The latter, who was the founder of the Society of Jesus, made this as his banner statement, and therefore the motto of the Jesuits: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam—For the greater glory of God. (Additional examples would be presented at the reaction)

Like Jesus, we will also be triumphant against temptation and sin if we remember three things when we get into it:

First, we must exert an effort to name the evil;

After this, now that we know the evil, we should not enter the secret room; and

We must learn how to pray for it is the secret of all triumphs.

We must know that God is in our midst, that even if we cannot see and hear Him, He sees and hears us.

Reaction:

A Confession of a Relation and a Destiny: Overcoming Temptation with Prayer, Good Works, and Hearts yearning for the Truth.

“…Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil….”

This last line of the Lord’s Prayer was an inspiration for all of us, and also in effect of the Gospel this week. We must accept the fact that temptation is relevant and that we should avoid it. We must also believe that we will overcome all of them by prayer and subsequent actions of it.

I myself am honest that I have been tempted to do things against God, and so have no right of explaining this reaction. But because of free will, I can make points of information about the gospel and the homily.

Thus, these are my objectives:

1. To give an extension/reaction to the Homily; and

2. Substantiate how man could confess his faith in times of temptation by prayer and the eagerness for the truth, using the homilist’s three-step process of avoiding it.

I made a point when the priest at the Mass said about giving alms. I consider it vague because even if there are people who are asking for alms and were happy after being given, there are some who cross the line: Some only accept money instead of food, some remember the faces of those who give them loose change and the next day, assume that they would give them more, and some persuade passers-by to give them what they want by following them everywhere they go. In short, may mga pasaway na pulubi na hindi tinatantanan ang tao para lang magkaroon ng pera para sa mga bisyo nila.

To add the examples of the priest about the saints who confessed their faith in God are St. Dominic de Guzman, whose Order he founded has this motto: “Laudare, Benedicere, Praedicare”—“to praise, to bless, to preach,” wherein they trust and praise in God in their preaching of the Word. Another is our very own San Lorenzo Ruiz, who gave a thousand lives to God in martyrdom in exchange of great patronage from all Filipinos.

When we are being attacked by lies, deceit, and temptations, we respond in three ways: We agree to it, we reject it, and we do not react to it.

When we agree to the temptation, that’s it; you’re on your road to sin. When you reject it, well and good; but expect counter-rejections. But settling in the middle—where someone is doubtful of blatantly saying yes or no—is the more dangerous choice. Why? You would be deciding—which is good—but when you have already discerned your action, be prepared for the consequences. If you decided to give in, it’s the end of your innocence…. But if you decided to say no silently, God has understood that you said no for His sake; that He understands why you can’t say it to the tempter, though what he wants is evil.

We have just applied the first and second step of the homilist’s process of rejecting temptation. Now for the third and most essential step: Prayer.

If in the above-mentioned situation, the tempter is your friend, and that you have silently said no to his offer, it is true that your friend would get mad at you. But it is a lot better than God punishing you of a sin. So prayer is essential so that you have the courage to break the matter to your friend without guilt and resilience.

Therefore, temptation should be rejected and we must pray for the tempter to understand that what he potentially planned was morally wrong.

A Lenten Reminder

From dust you came, to dust you shall return...galing sa alabok, babalik sa alabok.... We must remember that we are nothing--VIRTUALLY NOTHING--compared to the glory of God. By this time, we are already aware of what should we sacrifice, not only for today, but for the whole season of Lent.

Challenges and Failures as Stepping Stones for God’s Glory and Man’s Spiritual Improvement: A Supplemental Rehash of Last Week’s Reaction

Synopsis: Lk. 6:17; 20-26

Jesus came down with the Twelve and stood on a stretch of level ground with a great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon.

And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

Homily of the Celebrant: Fr. Doroteo “Teody” Andres

Starting it by citing the words “Mapapalad tayong mga dukha,” the priest, in his very complicated homily so far, recapped and related the Gospel this week to that of last week, where Peter changed his life after the great catch he had by responding to Jesus’ instruction.

The bottom-line of the homily is simple: It is important to follow God and those who impose correct authority over us as the “poor in spirit,” not because out of fear but because by following Him, we would be properly guided and would be for our benefit.

What and who, then, are the poor in spirit? According to the homilist, it is the people who left everything just to follow Christ (referring to the Gospel last week)—those who denied their selves and carried their crosses. At times, we question our faith by whining how we would ever survive with this faith. But then, just as the story where Jesus’ followers, save the Twelve, abandoned Him. The reason why they remained was summarized in what Peter said: “To whom shall we go?”

In the end, the priest reminded that it is up to us how we would enliven the Good News.

Reaction:

Challenges and Failures as Stepping Stones for God’s Glory and Man’s Spiritual Improvement: A Supplemental Rehash of Last Week’s Reaction

Why are those who are in lowly state and the ones being depressed and lonely are called blessed? Who are they, anyway and why are they? These are the questions that may be reflected by the Gospel with the support of the other Readings (Jer. 17:5-8; 1 Cor. 15:12; 16-20).

Clearly, the Gospel is all about total dependence in the Lord without compromising action and prayer. And by being totally dependent, we must leave everything we do not need behind—somehow, a recall on last week’s Gospel. Thus, these are the objectives I would like to accomplish at the end of this reflection:

1. Relate the Gospel last week with that of this week (as I have mentioned earlier), and connect them with the Readings; and

2. Tackle the point of following God in the poverty of our spirit.

We notice that Jesus did not only became man; He raised the dignity of man that made him again feel that the Triuine God is pleased with him and is loving us no matter who or what we are. It was been elaborated in the Gospel last week that Peter and his fishing gang left their boats, their nets, even their miraculous catch, to follow Jesus Christ. What they saw was a concrete proof that the Messiah was in their midst. Reducing one’s self to nothing before God should be our most sharpened skill; because how would you be poor in spirit if you have not unloaded the things that are not necessary? On the First Reading, faithfulness in the Lord, as He told the prophet Jeremiah, is described like a plant, where the plant that sprouts in the desert stands for the weak faith of the person, who may die without even knowing it. This is not what we want to be, right? On the other hand, Paul emphasizes the immense love of the Father that even Christ, His Son, was given to the world to be the Savior of all. Being the Firstborn of the Dead, He defeated the power of death and limited it as the bridge between the life now and the life eternal. By dwelling in us, Christ stripped off His powers as God, and following His example, we must remove what is not needed and live poor in spirit in His love.

Leaving everything is painful, especially if it is for the sake of following what you believe in. Being poor in spirit, then, must require a contrite heart, a clear mind, and a cleansed spirit. I myself am not in this state as I write this, but I know that I should be poor in spirit so that I would understand things better. Right now, I am not inspired on continuing further, maybe just for this week, but following your Savior requires more than just leaving everything and making yourself worthy. The most essential factors that a poor in spirit must have are the belief that in material poverty comes spiritual richness, and the eagerness and determination to follow Christ no matter what.

Let me describe a cycle:

It takes a lifetime, maybe more than a lifetime, for an average marginalized man to get himself and his family out of the life they detested so much in disgust to the “noble” elite. But only a minority of them are radical that when they get rich, they would spend their luck money (because they do not get dramatically wealthy without winning a very big jackpot at the lottery) on the things they have not experienced before. And when they get into the state where they just look down to the people they left, a sudden downfall follows, making him at level with or even lower than the marginalized.

Now, how would this man get up again? Simple: Following a “slowly-but-surely” approach, he should, first and foremost, reconcile with his God and neighbor. Then, he should persuade his comrades that he wants to change himself. Here come the factors I mentioned: By reconciling with God in the state of metanoia, he has already earned spiritual wealth; by doing his very best to reconcile with his former friends, he is adding fuel to his eagerness to serve instead of being served upon.

Reader, Let me conclude that, as I said last week, metanoia only happens when a man has already done something which has haunted his conscience. With this as a support to my literature last week, I can say that turning back to God is not enough. He must also get closer and closer to Him if he wants to never go back to the sins of his past.

14 ng Pebrero (Hindi Ako Titikim ng Tikoy na Tsokolate)

Hindi ako titikim ng tikoy na tsokolate
dahil wala namang paninda nito, eh.
Mas mabuti pa kung tikman ko'y ube,
akma ang lasa niya sa gabi ng panglilibre.

Kung ako ang iyong tatanungin
tungkol sa pag-ibig,
hindi ko masasagot ang iyong inaakala;
dahil ang pagmamahal ay parang pag-uusig:
Isang mapanganib na sandata.

Launching of "Politics, Politics..."

Due to the nature of the title of my blog, "Media, Society, and God," May I now lay the foundations of a blog series that is timely for sure.

"Politics, Politics..." is an interrelation of the three aspects this blog is tackling--the media as a whole, social reactions and effects due to it, and the moral ideals of the Church.

The number of articles for this blog, and the date of its first issue, would be announced later.

For now, happy surfing!

I Am Not Worthy: The Calling of Isaiah, Paul, and Peter through the State of Metanoia

Synopsis: Lk. 5:1-11

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

Homily of the Celebrant: Fr. Emmanuel “Manny” Colmenar

Father Manny compared this Gospel with the one accounted by Saint Mark, where the former is the elaboration of the latter (and the latter being the older Gospel account). The perlocutionary force that is embedded with Jesus’ command to Peter, Andrew, James Zebedee (Jesus had two apostles named James; he is also called James the Greater), and John was “Come, follow Me.” “Halikayo, sumunod kayo sa Akin.”

The priest has elaborated some verses in the Gospel. First was where Jesus preached—on Simon Peter’s boat (let me use Simon with Peter for this part of the reflection for he was not yet named by Jesus). He (the homilist) mentioned that the call of Jesus is the call for all—the call to love one another that is ascribed to the level of God’s love for us.

After this, he asked what the process that the first apostles experienced was. The first point was that God always makes the first contact. Jesus asked Simon Peter to distance a bit from the shore and asked him to throw his nets. Frustrated, and because he is conversing on a Carpenter-turned-Rabbi who has no experience on catching fish, he did so.

Second point was that God appears to us when we are on our ordinary state, and sometimes, at the point of boredom and deterioration of eagerness. To relate, Simon Peter was at the lowest point of his life before following Christ; so he took the chance of having a catch; and a catch, an enormous catch, he had. At this point God surprised him, which made him call the Zebedee brothers (James and John) aboard another boat to help them carry the nets after seeing that they are failing due to the number of fish that were caught, that also made their boat heavy and almost sunk.

The priest also cited saints who experienced the same remorse feeling-cum-surprise miracle Simon Peter felt:

Saint Francis of Assisi was once a knight and fought against Perugia. Defeated, imprisoned, sick, and discouraged by God to fight, he left his wealth, and even his stubborn father to become a servant of the Lord, and eventually, became the founder of the Order of Friars Minor (Fransiscans), which was founded alongside the Order of Preachers of Saint Dominic de Guzman, having acquaintance with him.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), was wounded in the leg by a cannonball at the Battle of Pamplona, part of the Italian War of 1521-1526, as a knight. After recovery, though maintaining the militaristic organization of his order, he, now a priest, chose the first people who would be Jesuits.

Saint Augustine of Hippo was the classic of the three conversion examples, where by the prayers of her mother, Saint Monica, and the inspiration of Saint Ambrose of Milan, changed his life for good.

The last point is that when we cannot take the stress and the boredom anymore, God steps in to make you alive and happy again by giving Him the chance to work with one’s challenges. One example was the priest’s student at the seminary that was changed by one incident: Once a drug addict, he went to a rock concert and got high. At his wee point, he saw a vision of God flashing his life, where if he continues to be a dependent on drugs, he would die away from Him. Coming back to his senses, he became ashamed and shocked of what he saw in that nightmare and what he saw when he woke up; piles of non-locomotive bodies in the concert area. Presumed dead, he was the only survivor of a tragedy that happened when he got high. These made him decide to go to the seminary to renew his life and forget his past. At first, he was not accepted, but as he tried again and again, he was admitted, and eventually, ordained priest.

Among other examples, there was one point: When we give ourselves to God, He will never leave us. Going back to the Gospel, Simon Peter was astonished by this miracle that he knelt at the foot of Christ. As the Lord replied “Do not be afraid… I will make you a fisher of men,” this was the start of his conversion from a sinful fisherman to becoming the first Pope (More of this in the reaction).

“They left everything and followed Him.” After this miracle, as they go back ashore, they left their boats and nets to follow Him with nothing but first-hand proof and renewed faith. We are then, challenged to leave everything that is excess, and then we follow. God wants us to go back to Him by making our life better on earth by giving our lives to Him.

Reaction:

Do you ever felt that whenever we find someone or something boring, there came its significance? When we get fed up by him/her/it, we soon realize that there was some kind of worth?

All of us are called to serve, though some have greater responsibility than others. And even the gravest of sinners have the chance to be the greatest of saints provided that they turn back to God, through the state of METANOIA or change of heart; and to serve Him with everything we do.

The Gospel for this week would focus on:

1. My extension of the Homily;

2. The calling of Isaiah (First Reading: Is. 6:1-2a; 3-8);

3. Jesus’ appearances after the Resurrection with Paul’s personal apparition (Second Reading: 1 Cor. 15:1-11);

4. The connection of the three readings with its main connecting points;

5. What is metanoia and how it is felt;

6. How could we realize a change of heart that we would cope with Christ’s mission of fishing men to Him; and

7. A personal insight about metanoia.

The sons of Jonah (Peter and Andrew) and the sons of Zebedee (James and John) were the first to follow Christ as apprentices, which later became the cream of the Lord’s crop: Andrew, though the least recognized in the “First Four,” was the patron of the Orthodoxy, our closest brothers in the faith, and by far, the most reliant; James was martyred in Jerusalem and became the patron of Spain; his brother John was the last Apostle to die, and is due to old age, because of the fact that he was the “apostle whom Jesus loved” for he took care of Mary even during her Son’s passion; and Peter became the Prince of the Apostles due to his resilience and courage to face the challenges his Lord have predicted that was not seen in his brothers in faith; thus becoming the first Vicar of Christ. Leaving behind everything that they were, the four remained with Jesus until their last breath, where they are taken up to Heaven to be with Him as their Lord and Friend for eternity.

On to the second point: The First Reading tells about the calling of the prophet Isaiah, which was unworthy to be God’s servant until one of the Seraphs (the highest rank of angels; the Throne Guards) approached him and cleansed his mouth. By this he was ready to accept the Lord’s mission to him; very speculating, though, that only Isaiah was called in a different manner. All the other prophets are called and were left with no choice but to serve Him, which was their delight. God’s approach to Isaiah was different: Instead of an imperative, He interrogated His calling to Isaiah, and because of having purged from sin by the ember the Seraph have put on his mouth, he had more than enough courage to say “Here I am, Lord! Send me to Your people!” Relating to our experiences in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God forgives us through the priest, whom He assigned His loving forgiveness to them.

Paul, on the other hand, accepted that he was the “least of the Apostles”—maybe not even worthy of being called one. He knew his weaknesses and assets and prayed that these may turn into something productive. And Paul’s prayers were answered. Indeed, he has equaled the works of the first Apostles, if not surpassed them….

Humility, eagerness, and determination: three factors that was relevant with the three main characters of this week’s readings. One is humility. The fishermen were having a hard time catching fish, and that could be enough. And everything else would be self-explanatory. Another was about the initiative to rise up and move on from where he fell. Still another is the will to go beyond where he is supposed to stop, and started what is called service above and beyond self. Isaiah was called by God because it was his destiny; Paul sees himself as the Temple of the Holy Spirit that he was determined to serve the Lord out of his gratitude of enlightening him to life everlasting; and Peter’s first act for Jesus became the start of his apostleship.

Now, what is metanoia?

Etymologically, metanoia came from the Greek word metanoiein, which is further divided into the prefix meta-, meaning after or with (such with the word metaphysics—the study of things beyond physics), and noein, which is to think, which also came from the word nous—the mind. Based on etymology, metanoia means a change of mind, or a sudden 180 degree turn from something. Based on Theology and on Scriptures, metanoia is not only the change of mind, but also the change of heart. Anchoring from Aristotle’s belief and Saint Thomas Aquinas’ affirmation that nothing comes to the mind without passing through the senses, metanoia could only be felt when a person feels that everything is going to crash and burn, or has already crashed and burned. In this, he has run out of honor and dignity to himself that he is left with no one to turn to but God. Thus, resulting to a creation of a new mindset that even if how useless he was, there is still a God who would wait for him accept him home if he wants to, somehow akin to the parable of the Prodigal Son. The story of the seminarian in the homily, who survived a tragedy from a rock concert that altered his life forever, is one example among myriads of stories (personally, this was a shocker when I heard of it). Metanoia, then, is a self-realization of what someone has done, particularly a wrong deed, that comes automatically at any place and at any time. Why automatic? When we think of the wrong action we have done, moments after execution, and we would like to do it again, the Holy Spirit, due to His nature as the Fire that inspires the soul, without noticing Him, makes us think otherwise. Then comes a presentation of thoughts—negative and positive—of what would be the consequences of continuing the wrong and of thinking of the right, respectively.

Going back to the Gospel, after Peter was stunned of the feat Jesus made in his former profession, he did not only said “Leave me, Lord!” but also thought of following Him, though this thought is contradictory to what he has said. Why? It is the nature of man to befriend someone when he is convinced enough that he is a person he could accompany with; especially this situation: Peter was in the presence of the Lord who made miracles in his sight. In his amazement, he has said “Leave me, Lord! I am a sinner!” instead of “Allow me to follow You, Lord…” which was his initial thought. It is obvious that he was afraid of hearing things from prophets that would be against him and would lead his downfall; but not with Jesus. He forgot what Peter’s sins were because of the latter’s humility and self-shame, and even made him a follower and gave him a new profession—a fisher of men. No one knows what Peter was when he was still Simon; perhaps an abuser of the Law, a ranting boss-figure to his brother Andrew, an excessively proud man—all that we could do about Peter’s life before his calling is to speculate and assume. But that is not what is important. What is important, rather, is that how we could realize a change of heart and how we could be fishers of men. I myself need advice on this other than the Lord. It is right that we could not please everyone in what we do; but it is also not enough that we please God alone. What we could do is to gain the trust of people so that we may have a good partnership with them. And above all things, prayer and application of prayer are the fundamental and always the best solution.

At this point, I have analyzed, somehow, why metanoia is the message of the Gospel. I would like to emphasize that it is not only Peter, or any other saint, who experience it. There are a lot of good decisions I have made, and all of it would never happen if I have not thought twice about it. Changing the way we are is easy, if we permit it to be changed. But let me remind the reader that change does not come overnight; it is painstakingly processed inside of us and because of our human nature, we still have to seek God for true wisdom and happiness, and all that is essential for us.

God always makes the first contact, and we must respond to Him every time He calls us. He is everything. Just imagine a very caring Father giving us everything that we need. Just imagine a supportive Brother who boosts our morale every time we are down. And just imagine an unseen Guide who repairs our soul when it is broken. If the only thing that is permanent is change, then metanoia is permanent because it is the change of the soul; it is the 180 degree turn from everything evil to all that is attributed to God. Therefore, metanoia is change.