J.M.J. Marist Brothers Name: Christine G. Cagas Strand & Section: STEM-11 ST.

CLEMENT
NDMU-IBED SHS Subject: Fundamentals of Faith 1A Date of Submission: Nov. 21, 2020
Koronadal City Teacher: Mr. John Wayne Lopez
Br. Adian P. Mana-ay, FMS

Lesson 9: Sources of Faith – Human Experience

Learning Competencies:

 Draw one’s experience of God’s revelation

Reference:

 Sammon, S. (2007). Water from the Rock: Marist Spirituality: Flowing in the Tradition of
Marcellin Champagnat. General House, Rome: Institute of the Marist Brothers.

Lesson Notes:
Life is a mystery that is revealed as it unfolds. Even after many years, much still remains
hidden to us. This continual unravelling of our inner depths is dynamic provoking and
challenging an ongoing invitation to keep on searching (Sammon, 2007, p. 40).
As we pass through the different phases of life, we experience beauty and ugliness,
certainty and doubt. There are times when we feel uplifted, and times when we feel depressed.
All of this both attracts and frightens us at the same time (Sammon, 2007, p. 40).
Our hearts long to find happiness, to believe that we can find love and share in the
blessings of life. But we also fear hurt and betrayal and so are tentative in our relationships and
involvements (Sammon, 2007, p. 40).
We live in a time of fast and far-reaching cultural and social change. Boundaries are
shifting and changing, old values are questioned, and practices of the past no longer seem to
work (Sammon, 2007, p. 40).
We may find ourselves questioning the purpose of our existence: Who am I? What is my
life for? How can I make a difference with my life? To whom do I belong? For whom am I
responsible? Questions like these can fill our minds and hearts. As we grow in awareness of the
life in and around us this sense of unease, of anxiety is felt more acutely (Sammon, 2007, p.
41).
Yearning for something that will make sense of our lives, we search for an idea, a
person, an activity that will integrate the different dimensions of living feelings and desires,
relationships and actions, sexuality and loves, rights and responsibilities, hopes and dreams
(Sammon, 2007, p. 41).
In such human situations, we discover God as the one for whom our hearts really yearn.
We realize that this longing is not of our making but primarily the work of God's Spirit within the
depths of our being. With trust, we can open ourselves and come to an experience of God
through our human experience (Sammon, 2007, p. 41).
J.M.J. Marist Brothers Name: Christine G. Cagas Strand & Section: STEM-11 ST. CLEMENT
NDMU-IBED SHS Subject: Fundamentals of Faith 1A Date of Submission: Nov. 21, 2020
Koronadal City Teacher: Mr. John Wayne Lopez
Br. Adian P. Mana-ay, FMS

Nature/Characteristics of God
1. Omnipotent – God is all-powerful
2. Omnipresent- God is present or everywhere present at the same time.
3. Omniscient – God is all-knowing

Instruction: Reflect on the guide questions.

1. What instance/s in your life where you experienced God’s presence?
2. How did it fulfill the deep yearning/longing of your heart?
3. In what way has your personal experience becomes the source of your faith in God?

Answers:
1. I have known God ever since my parents trained me to go to church every Sunday. However,
even I know the songs and hymns that our church sang, I am still in doubt and sometimes
confused how God is working in our lives. During the days before I turn Grade 10, I was invited
from the church to attend the encounter, which simply means recollection. There we reflected and
repented all the wrong things we have been doing ever since. They also taught us how to have a
personal day-to-day relationship with God and to really rely on God’s word where we read in the
Bible. After that encounter, God’s presence is always around me. Well God’s presence has
always been with me, but during that time I learned to appreciate God’s presence and mighty
moving in my life. God has been guiding me through everything even in my life decisions. Also.
through the things where I might be in danger God always guide me. God’s holy spirit is
omnipresent that it led me to also share God’s gospel to others. I cannot count how many times I
have experienced God’s presence, from my personal encounter, to our needs and to the people
that surround me, and the people I meet.

2. Before, I have been questioning God’s purpose for my life. There has always been a place in
my heart where I cannot be satisfied. My family is always there. My friends are there to cheer me
on and I have hobbies which entertains me, but in my disappointment, I am still not satisfied.
There are nights I spend crying and, the anxiety and overthinking creeps in. Through God’s glory,
through his presence, the hole in my heart has become whole again. God taught me to surrender
everything in him. I have been searching for satisfaction in the world, but I did not know that the
one I keep on rejecting is the same God who will complete me, regardless how impure I am and
dirty.
J.M.J. Marist Brothers Name: Christine G. Cagas Strand & Section: STEM-11 ST. CLEMENT
NDMU-IBED SHS Subject: Fundamentals of Faith 1A Date of Submission: Nov. 21, 2020
Koronadal City Teacher: Mr. John Wayne Lopez
Br. Adian P. Mana-ay, FMS

3. My personal experiences have changed my perspective in faith in so many ways. I have learned
that through God, everything is in his authority. No matter what we push if it is not in his will, then
we shall abide in it for it is God’s redirection. It reminded me that I am nothing without God, and
through God I can do all things. This is also why experiences in my life also shaped my faith to
God, resulting to a life with God in the center. If in the breaking experiences and process will only
be the way that I will be closer than God, then thy will be done.