Catholic: My Simple Spiritual Journey

By Ysaac J. Chabo

The purpose of this book is to share with whomever wants to read it, my simple spiritual journey from childhood through today. This is a journey with numerous peaks and valleys, but with no burning bushes, awesome spiritual experiences, or extraordinary miracles.

I am a convinced and passionate Catholic who profoundly respects people who have chosen other Christian denominations, non-Christian religions, or no religion at all. They may be close members of my family, relatives or friends. I unconditionally love them and will never destroy a bridge, build a wall or close a gate that unite us; and I expect to be treated the same way.

I am no better or worse than anyone else, and my spiritual journey is no different from other peoples journey who were in similar circumstances, such as living in a country where an aggressive, official atheism was an integral part of the political structure and later becoming immigrant in another country, learning a new language, adapting to a new way of life and continuing this earthly pilgrimage. In this journey, I havenow as beforethe support and companionship of my loving, compassionate and spiritually correct wife.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452087023

Ysaac J. Chabo

Ysaac Chabo was born in Cuba and has lived in United States for the last 42 yeats. Since his early childhood, his mother encouraged him to parfticipate in Mass and other activities appropriate for his age at San Antonio de Padua Catholic Church where he became an acolyte who learned enough Latin to correctly respond to the Priest when Mass was said in that language. At age 22, he was a doctorate candidate at the Faculty of Law of the University of Havana, but discontinued his studies as atheism and marxism-leninism became dominant in the University and he was not willing to abandon his principles and convictions, and deny his Faith. At work, he was promoted to Assistant Economic Chief (Assistant Controller) but refused further promotions because they required membership in the communist party. He and his wife, Angélica, worked very hard in and for the Catholic Church even after he was fired from his job for planning to legally leave Cuba and had to work, as a laborer, in farm construction for one year. After almost five months in Spain with his pregnant wife and a three old son, they arrived at Newport News, Virginia, where they made their home. He has an extraordinary ability to establish relationships with people of different Christian denominations, non Christians, agnostics and atheists, thus living his motto and his stament of faith which are quoted several times in this book.

Book preview

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 01

Chapter 02

Chapter 3

Chapter 04

Chapter 05

Chapter 06

Chapter 07

Chapter 08

Chapter 09

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Final Note

Bibliography

Introduction

My first book, As I Recall, should be read shortly before or after this book to obtain a complete understanding of my simple though sometimes difficult and risky spiritual journey.

====================================

Life is a puzzle that can only be completed in God’s Mansion; however, we must add the pieces we have, for our mission is not to complete the puzzle but to constantly work on it.

I intend to show in this book how God’s infinite Love, Mercy and Power are with us through other people—sometimes those who we don’t expect to be vessels of His Grace—therefore, in human relations we need to stop being judgmental and forgive and be forgiven to build bridges, tear down walls and open gates; words that have become my life’s motto.

I am not a theologian or Scriptural scholar, but an ordinary person, a sinner like everybody else, who many years ago joined the Catholic Church in Her pilgrimage to the Promised Land. When I was a child and thought like a child, I wanted to speak face to face with God and hear His voice; and couldn’t think of an encounter with Him without having seen all His Majesty, Power and Glory; but when I grew to be a man and thought as a man, I realized that God’s ways were not man’s ways and His thoughts were not my thoughts. I learned that He sometimes puts some people in our lives to protect us; sometimes to help us find Him, or return to Him and realized that He did much more for us. The Second Person of the Holy Trinity became a man like us in everything, including temptation, but without sin. He was, is and always will be Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior, the Son of God, God Himself. I also learned that we encounter God without having seen His Majesty, in a humble manger and nailed to the wood.

Hate sin but love the sinner a nun told us. She was our catechism teacher when I was a child, and those words were engraved in my mind and soul forever. I do my best to practice and teach that message, which is not easy for anyone including myself; however, whenever I failed, I asked God for forgiveness. It’s a cycle of sin, sincere repentance and forgiveness that repeats itself in a spiral that should end in Heaven. I also learned that to err is human, but to forgive is divine.

I know that God was always with me, my family and friends and we felt His presence especially when we were ignored, harassed and called worms because we upheld our beliefs, principles and values, and not accepting the atheist ideology imposed on our country, or at least pretending to play the political game as some people did for various reasons not to be discussed in this book. These difficult circumstances were daily occurrences that did not diminish our standing for our faith and our beloved Catholic Church, and even gave me the inspiration to write my statement of faith: With God we can cross raging waters walking on bridges of rotten wood.

Now you are ready to start reading this book, and the introduction you just read will make it easier to see God’s presence in most situations and His Mercy flowing like a river through many people. Don’t rush through the book. Please, read it slowly, pondering each word and the context.

God is with you. Enjoy!

Chapter 01

God in my childhood

God was a spiritual judge somewhere in Heaven, a paradise above the sky, watching us to punish our misdeeds and reward our good deeds; and I was only a child.

====================================

I was baptized and given the name Ysaac Jesús at age three when my parents finally decided on who my godparents would be: my godmother, from my mother’s side, was my aunt Irene (also known as Carmen or Merí), while my godfather, from my father’s side, was my cousin Ramón (also known as Sacuma). The uneducated belief was then that one was Jew until he or she was baptized.

Four years passed. Then in the early afternoon of a day that escapes my memory, most probably a Saturday, in the year nineteen forty-six, I heard what I thought was the ringing of a small bell while playing on the front porch of my parents’ house. The sound was coming from the square at the center of my hometown—San Antonio de Río Blanco—in the Province of Havana, Cuba. I reacted with the curiosity that any child of that age should have. I stopped playing and looked at the street in the direction where I heard the bell ringing. A few minutes later, an old priest, followed by a few lay people, turned the corner of the square onto the main street and walked towards where I was. He was ringing the bell. As he approached my parents’ house, I noticed that someone walking next to him was carrying a basket of candy. The priest, in loud voice, was inviting all children under age seven to follow him to San Antonio de Padua Catholic Church where, after a brief catechism class, candy would be distributed. At that time, my mother came to the front door of the house and I asked for her permission to follow the priest to the Church. She told me, without hesitation, to go. I joined the group and tried to walk as close to the candy as possible, thinking that one or two may fall from the basket.

missing image file

San Antonio de Padua Catholic Church

After walking most of the streets of the small town, we entered through the big double doors of the main entrance to the church. Once inside, we were told to have a seat in the pews at the front making sure that every pew was completely, but comfortably occupied. A lay person distributed the catechisms. The priest welcomed us, and said that, with our parents’ approval and support, we would meet every Saturday at the same time and place, and repeated that candy would be distributed at the end of each class. He said that classes would start next Saturday; then he distributed candy and told us to go home.

I told my mother what the priest had said, and she not only gave me permission to attend the catechism classes, but encouraged me to do so. The following Saturday, I went to Church at the established time thinking about what kind of candy and how many I would get. The priest was not there, but the basket full of candy was. I couldn’t take my eyes away from the treats. A nun rang a bell and said, Let’s start with a prayer. My eyes began to move from the nun to the basket of candy and vice versa. Then, she asked us to open page one of the catechism book and asked the first question on that page: Who is God? We didn’t answer. She repeated the question, but got no response. Then, she said, "God is the