MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD’S LOVE BY ROBERTO FUENTES IN MEXICO CITY
Smitten By faith Issue Number # 00051 19th November 2022
My guest today is ROBERTO FUENTES from Mexico City – a passionate Catholic, author, chemical engineer, successful businessman, loving husband and proud father and grandfather. Earlier this year, Roberto Fuentes wrote and published a precious little book which he entitled, ‘Manifestations of God’s Love’. When his son Juan Carlos asked Roberto why he was writing this book, the father’s reply was, “ ….to bear witness to the existence of God”. Roberto also likes to quote the acclaimed lecturer, award winning producer and author, Bobette Buster and her book, ‘How to Tell Your Story so the World Listens’. Roberto quotes from her, “The very act of telling your story possesses power. It is through the act of telling and hearing stories that we become inspired. We can envisage a better life for ourselves. The end result is in fact that we become courageous. Then a curious thing happens. Our actions - our individual acts of courage - are what lead to ‘healing in the land’, that is , the transformation of our world”
Left : The cover of Roberto’s book : Manifestations of God’s Love
Right : Roberto Fuentes - tranquil, happy and blessed by God
Before hearing directly from Roberto below, here’s a little about Roberto. Both Roberto and Becky his wife of 43 years come from devout Catholic families in Mexico City where they still live in the pleasant and green Colonia Roma in the Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City.
Left : The skyline of Mexico City, a city of 9 million people, with modern skyscrapers in the distance and historic Baroque churches in the foreground
Right : The tree-lined streets of Mexico City’s colourful Colonia Roma neighbourhood where Roberto and his family live
Roberto and Becky have a daughter, Anal Lilia and two sons – Juan Carlos who is married to Itzel and Luis Manuel who will marry his Veronica this December. Roberto and Becky are also grandparents of Sofia and Alexa. Roberto is a Chemical Engineer by training and after working with an American Company, Dupont for 26 years, he took early retirement and discovered a new dimension in his life - running a business. Roberto discovered the joy of being a salesman and together with his wife Becky, he formed a company marketing natural products. Roberto says that fortunately for them, the company was very successful and this enabled him to create several more. Today, Becky and their children are all part of the flourishing family business conglomerate. Aside from ‘Manifestations of Love’ – extracts from which Roberto has permitted me to reproduce here in ‘Smitten By Faith’, Roberto has also written his autobiography –“ Unified Fields for Business Success” in Spanish and soon this will be translated into English as well.
When Roberto ( with whom I share a friend and priest in Rome, Father Thomas Montanaro LC ), sent me his book ‘Manifestations of Love’ I was not only touched by the unashamed sincerity of his personal story and his deep faith, I was thrilled with his title. After all, it was just a year ago, in Issue # 13 of Smitten By Faith on 13th October 2021 that I wrote an article which was entitled, ‘Walking By Faith; Betting on God’. For sure, my readers know that faith is a subject which am wildly enthusiastic about. In that article, I wrote about one of my favourite theologians, the 4th century St. Augustine of Hippo who never gave up hope in the human being’s unique cognitive capacity. To be in a relationship with God, St. Augustine believed that a Christian person’s life is like a journey which we must walk BY faith. St. Augustine said, “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”
This is exactly what Roberto Fuentes writes about in his book. So, today’s article is by ROBERTO FUENTES, a man who absolutely loves God who relates his story of faith and how God manifests his love for him and those around him. Thank you Roberto for sharing this with our readers. As our friend and priest, Father Thomas Montanaro LC would say - you have truly lit the lamp and put it on the stand.
So, let's hear from Roberto Fuentes as he shares with us his enthusiasm living a life of faith.
MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD’S LOVE
BY ROBERTO FUENTES IN MEXICO CITY
( Editor’s Note : I have reproduced here random excerpts from Roberto Fuentes’ book, ‘Manifestations of God’s Love’. For those who wish to read the entire book, please contact us and we will put you in direct contact with Roberto )
INTRODUCTION
Being close to God, since my birth, has been a priceless gift to me
Above : Roberto’s beautiful close-knit family
What I have learned from my parents, my wife Becky, and our memberships in the Catholic Movements of the ‘Teams of Our Lady’ (Notre Dame for 23 years) and Regnum Christi (Legionaries of Christ for 19 years), have helped Becky and me to educate our children, to pass on their teachings to others through our actions and to enrich our faith in God.
Throughout my life I have been fortunate to have manifested God’s action several times.
I believe that it is present from moments of our daily lives to the most complex, dangerous, painful events; also, when one least expects it.
The manifestations of God’s action are meant for us to see and feel his invisible presence so we can know that He loves us and that He is always aware of us.
I think they are the result of and response to the dialogue I have with him on a daily basis.
It is important to mention that, on one occasion, I told my son Juan Carlos about my intention to write about this subject, and he said to me: “Dad, but why are you writing this little book? What is the objective?”
Regarding this question, I think that the main objective is to bear witness to the existence of God.
………
PREFACE
….I believe that being able to demonstrate or assure the veracity of God’s manifestations by having witnessed them can help people who do not believe in him or strengthen the faith of those who already do.
I also think that I wrote this little book to encourage people to be able to live this kind of experience by being close to God and that this will help them to be better by having more confidence, peace, tranquility - knowing that God exists and is always close to us.
Birth
Being born on December 24 has always made me feel that I have a mission entrusted to me by God, that I have been blessed by him and that He has always given me virtues: to always be unassuming, humble and helpful.
The Movement of 1968, Mexico City
….I have always thought that I was very lucky or that something divine took care of me and prevented me from being in the square at the time of the military aggression.
The 1985 Earthquake in Mexico
Above : The terrible earthquake in Mexico City in 1985. So many lives were lost; so many injured.
….I was fortunate not to feel the earthquake and also not to be in or near an affected area. I think my Guardian Angel helped me with this.
IMPACT
….I believe that, as a Catholic and a human being, one somehow lives a process in the knowledge of God and history, and in the main values of the Church. This always makes us better people of great faith, to believe in him and to live a more productive and happier life.
A part of this process can be to be able to see, live, be, feel………. God’s presence where it has been visible to people
Left : Cova da Iria, Fatima, Portugal
Right : The Holy Land
Above : Two views of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Guadalupe, Mexico
I have had the opportunity, for example, to be in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City; in Cova da Iria in the parish of Fatima in Portugal; in holy places in Israel, and to experience some manifestations of God which I now dare to present in this book.
In my case, I think that visiting holy places and being alert and aware of the manifestations of God’s action in my person has helped a lot to strengthen my faith.
PAUSE
My dream is for this book, ‘Manifestations of God’s Love’, to always be in force, for it to become the first volume, and for it to be enriched by others through time.
My recommendation is:
People can reflect to remember God’s actions in their lives and to take note of them so that they can also bear testament.
Let us always be alert to the God’s manifestations and bear witness to them.
My wish is for each one of us to put one more part through our testimony, so that the number of committed Catholic members increases and so that we can make our Church grow and endure through the ages.
I thank God, Christ and the Holy Spirit, and I ask them to help me so that I can always continue my dialogue with them and to continue to illuminate me with their light, showing me their love and care for my family and for myself.
_________________________________________________________________________
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