Cedric Pisegna - Almighty God

Welcome to «Live With Passion,» I’m Father Cedric Pisegna. Thank you so much for inviting me into your home, I pray that this program will inspire you to be your best. I want to talk about God Almighty. I’ll share with you from the very beginning of the Bible, this is Genesis chapter 1, verse 1, «In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, or void; darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light».

There’s a popular song in the Catholic Church, and it’s called, «Open My Eyes, Lord,» and the verse goes like this. «Open my eyes, Lord, I want to see your face. Open my eyes, Lord, help me to see. Open my ears, Lord, help me to hear your voice. Open my ears, Lord, help me to hear». He’s given us eyes and given us ears, but oftentimes we’re jaded to the truth and the beauty and the mystery all around us. I recently purchased a pair of binoculars. When I was studying astronomy, I was always struck by the stars and the universe out there, and I wanted to, even though I live in Houston, I wanted to just get those binoculars and take a look at what I could see. And sure enough, it helps. They’re not a telescope, but if you know anything about astronomy, what’s been happening is in the evening right after sunset, there’s this red planet up there, it looks like a red star; that’s Mars.

And I’ve noticed as I look around, you can see Jupiter, it looks like a bright star, and Saturn very close to it. And then the moon as it comes up, oftentimes when it’s full it’s amazing to look at. And I even saw an eclipse of the moon the other night, beautiful to see. I had to go out in the middle of the night but that’s okay, it helped my eyes to broaden and to see. And when I see things like that, my mouth drops open because it leads me to worship, I realize that it’s God who has created the universe, the stars. And we’re just, I’m just talking about our solar system here, the moon and Jupiter and Mars, Venus, Saturn, those are just our planets around in our solar system, we’re part of a larger galaxy called the Milky Way. Takes 100,000 light years to cross our galaxy, and we’re only one of a trillion galaxies in the universe.

Our universe is beyond comprehension, and when I begin to look and to listen and to see, I’m led to worship because God is the first cause of everything, God is the one who has created all things. I’m just talking about the external world out there, but if you know anything, there’s a whole molecular world that we can’t see. Your carpet, for example, has all these little creatures crawling around in there, that’s why be careful when you go barefoot on your carpet, and we can never see those things. The virus, the pandemic that hit in the year 2020, was caused by this little teeny virus that nobody can even see, yet thousands and thousands of people died from it.

This is the world we live in, it’s huge, it’s molecular, it’s vast, it’s massive, and it was all caused by God. The book of Wisdom tells us that creation gives us a corresponding idea about what God is like, and if we’re to look at creation, and we’re made in his image, if we’re to look at creation, what does it tell us about God? Sometimes, I go to Florida, and I stand by the Atlantic Ocean, and I see people surfing, I see people boating, I see people swimming, and it’s a place of recreation, there’s no doubt about it. I simply like to stand there and marvel at the beauty. It goes on seemingly endlessly. God is the one who created all this. Some people think, «Well there was just a Big Bang and everything kinda happened».

Well, if there was a Big Bang, and science seems to agree with that, then we know who the cause of the Big Bang was. That, of course, was God. And by the way, that Big Bang theory was posited by a Catholic priest, and it kind of grew from there. I believe that because of God’s power you can be strengthened in your inner person, empowered in your body to do whatever it is that you need to do. Almighty God has created all this, and God has passion and power, God is almighty, and he promises us strength and ability. Whatever you’re going through, if you feel tired or weary or worn out, I prophesy to you that God is pouring his strength into you.

Sometimes when I see the fact that there are 7.8 billion people on the face of the earth, and growing all the time, that’s a lot of people. And when I think about that, and everybody exists simultaneously, at the same time, when I think about that, I think, I feel so insignificant. Here I am praying, and does God really even hear my prayer? He’s got a lot to do, there’s 7.8 billion people on the face of the earth, that’s a lot of people, I feel insignificant. But then I came to understand that rather than feeling insignificant, I ought to feel very significant, because if God can do that, he can certainly hear my prayers, and he’s certainly attentive to my needs. Because we have to remember God is able, God is almighty, he created you and me, and 7.8 billion just in our generation, never mind whoever’s come before us and whoever will come after us.

This is the God that we worship, this is the God that we serve. As it says in the Nicene Creed, «I believe in God, the father almighty». This is the ancient creed that came from the year 325. God is almighty, and he shows us who he is in creation and in the population that he’s created. So we must learn to channel that power, that grace, that love that God has for us by faith. Faith is the opening door that brings that grace into us. As I said, the book of Wisdom tells us that, «From the greatness and the beauty of the world, a corresponding perception of our creator comes to us». Gerard Manley Hopkins, it was, who said, «The whole world is charged with the glory of God».

My parish missions, and I preach in different churches all around the country; takes me everywhere, North, South, East, West. I’ve been to the Northwest, I’ve been to the Southeast, the Northeast, the Southwest, everywhere, and I’ve seen all kinds of things. I love the forests of Oregon, the farms of Michigan, the mountains of Colorado, the rivers of Missouri and Louisiana, the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona, the oceans of California and Florida, and I marvel at what God has done. And I’ve noticed something, that there are lots of people, there are lots of variety of creation, I’ve noticed that God loves variety. God is not boring, the earth teems with all kinds of different life, I’ve already talked to you about the 7.8 billion people on the face of the earth. No two fingerprints are alike, no two irises are alike, everybody has different abilities, everybody is different. We are made in God’s image, his creative image.

And then I’ve noticed, and I did a little study on this, of all the animals on the face of the earth. For example, the earth is teeming with fish, the oceans and the lakes are teeming with fish. Do you know that there’s 28,000 different species of fish? And they’re all different shapes and sizes and colors, and it’s amazing. Can’t stop there, how about birds? Jesus was a birdwatcher, he talked about the birds of the air. 10,000 species of birds, and wherever you go, I went to a different source on the computer, wherever you go there probably will be even larger numbers. And the birds are beautiful, we have a cardinal that comes to our retreat center, not a cardinal in the Catholic Church, I’m talking about a bird, very red, beautiful chirp.

I met a man one time that had a conversion just by listening to a bird chirp, he heard God’s voice through that bird. And then how about animals? We all love cats and dogs and fish and all those different pets. There are 8.7 million species of animals. Pets are soft and gentle, they’re cuddly, they give unconditional love, that’s why we have them. What about, you horticulturists, plants? 400,000 species of plants, they’re all different; 20,000 different edible vegetables, 60,000 species of trees. These are staggering numbers that they leave us, our jaws just drop, it’s hard to comprehend all this. Can you imagine what heaven is gonna be like? In all the varieties and the beauty and the peace that will be there, finally.

If this is a futile world, that’s what Paul tells us in Romans, that our, «Creation has been subject to futility». That means frustration and problems and difficulties and all that. If this is the futile world, imagine what the perfect world that God’s gonna create is gonna be like. That’s why the Gospel is so important, because it’s the entree to everlasting life. That’s why what I do with a priest is so important, so serious, that people come to eternal life. Father Cedric Pisegna: Because of my partners, Father Cedric Ministries is reaching out to believers, to young people, to those in prison, and especially to those not going to church, we are reaching out with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Because of my donors, we are touching lives and saving souls. Thank you for watching my episodes. Right now, please pray about becoming a partner with my ministry, I promise to pray for my partners every day.

I wanted to tell you about Genesis chapter 15. Abram, before he became Abraham, he’s in a tent, and he’s complaining because he has no son, no heir to his family. And it’s interesting, God took him outside of the tent, and he said, «Abram, look up above, count the stars if you can». And, «So will your descendants be». Notice that God took him out of his tent. During the pandemic, people had quarantine fatigue, they were stuck inside, they were just looking at the same old, same old all the time, and they became jaded. I always tell people that travel is an education. I’ve had the opportunity to study in Israel and Egypt and Greece, Rome, different places. Just traveling to these places is an education, it gets me out of my tent.

When I preach missions and go to all these different churches all around the country, it’s an education, I meet people all over the place. And sometimes we have to get out of our tent and open our eyes and our ears to see. That’s exactly what happened to me. I went on a retreat in Big Sur, California, this was about 20 years ago. Big Sur is arguably one of the most beautiful places on earth if you like the ocean. They have a retreat center there, a religious group called the Camaldolese. And while I was on retreat, I was in a little hermitage right by the edge of the ocean, up about 1,300 feet looking down on the azul Pacific Ocean. At night, because there were no lights there, the stars glittered, and you could see the milk of the Milky Way. Amazing.

Well as I looked at the stars, and I went out of my little hermitage, and I went outside and I was looking up, all of a sudden I heard a voice, and it wasn’t the voice of Almighty God saying, «Cedric,» it was my conscience. But do you know that God oftentimes speaks to us through our conscience? It’s our own voice, but it’s the voice of God through your conscience. That’s what the Catholic Church teaches, that the voice of God echoes through our conscience, through our innermost heart if we’ll listen. Open our eyes, open our ears, open our heart, Lord, to hear your voice. And as I was looking up, and this is what I heard, I had had a dream, this is 20, 25 years ago, I had a dream to, as a Catholic priest, reach out to people everywhere with the Gospel.

And I was doing that, I was going to churches but I wanted to go outside the walls of the church, and the way you do that is through media, through broadcast media, television, radio. And I had this wonderful dream to do it, but there were so many walls; money is one of the walls, producing programs is one of the walls, having an outlet is one of the walls. And here’s little old me with a vow of poverty, and I’m looking up and this is when I hear the voice, and the voice that I heard was, «If you can do all this, you can open up a door for me, I believe». Abraham believed when he looked up at the stars, and he became the father of many nations. It says that he went from Abram to Abraham, which means the father of many. And I believed.

Creation evokes faith if you really look with new eyes, if you look at the ocean, if you look at the stars, if you look at the people, look. That’s why I began with that song, «Open my eyes, Lord, open my ears,» even the molecular world will teach you a lesson. And I believed in the power of Almighty God. Some of you have a dream right now, and it’s not being realized; get outside of your tent, look up and believe, and I pray that the power of Almighty God will flow into your life. Some of you are struggling with some challenges and some problems in your life right now; get outside of your house and take a walk and believe, and I believe that the power of Almighty God will help you. Remember what I said, «Even young people may faint and grow weary, but those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength like an eagle. You shall walk and not be weary, you shall run and not faint».

I want you to trust and to believe. I love what it says in Ephesians, it says that God is able. Paul knew who God was, God is able to do far more then we can ever dare to ask, think or imagine. The power of Almighty God is available to us, Jesus demonstrated that, and he kept telling us, «All things are possible to the one who believes». Now I want you to live by faith, that was one of my other episodes, faith in God, who opens doors, who enlarges territory, who gives power, who did all of this. We are part of this. And this universe is teaching us a lesson if we can only hear and see and receive, and the lesson is profound. God moved in Abraham’s life and kept his promise, and God will keep his promise in your life too.

I remember the first day I got on a national outlet, a national network. I was standing outside in the driveway, and it had just rained, and much to my surprise I looked up and there was a big colorful rainbow right there above the driveway, it was out a little bit, and immediately I knew what it meant. I’d just gotten on that national network, first day that the program was being broadcast, and there was the symbol of promise. God is a promise keeper. And you might be thinking, «Are you vain or egotistical to think that that rainbow was just for you»? Well it probably wasn’t just for me, it was probably for a lot of people. But, «Open my eyes, Lord, open my ears».

Sometimes I’ll see a shooting star and it seems like it’s just for me, God is telling me, «Cedric, I’m aware of you, I love you». And wherever you go, whatever you do, there are signs all around. Jesus was always telling us, «Read the signs of the times,» the signs are there. The power of God, the grace of God, God is omnipotent and able to do all things. He kept his promise to Abraham, he kept his promise to me, and he will keep his promises to you, he is able to do all things, everything, anytime. Do you have a problem in your life that you feel is insurmountable? It could be a money problem, you could be struggling with your health, maybe you’re dealing with an addiction, could be a relationship problem, emotional, financial, spiritual.

Instead of concentrating on that problem and magnifying that problem all the time, get outside of your tent, take a walk. Don’t just sit there and stew over it all the time and just be thinking about it all the time, get a wider perspective. We have a retreat center in Southern California, Sierra Madre, California, it’s up on the side of a hill, actually a mountain, Mount Wilson, overlooking the city of Los Angeles. And they have a slogan for the retreat center, «Life looks different from up here, get a new perspective». It’s like when you go flying in an airplane, you look out the window, everything looks different, looks insignificant in some ways, your problems seem small, even traffic down below looks insignificant. Get a new perspective and pray that prayer, «Open my eyes, Lord, open my ears, open my heart».

And I’m praying that the power that breathed the stars into existence, and I tried to display how many there are up there, trillions of galaxies, the power that sustained and gave life to 7.8 billion people simultaneously, and takes care of us to some degree, is at work in you and me. It can do far more than we can ever dare to ask, think or imagine. The point of this program is twofold. Number one, worship, adore God, thank God. When I see creation and people and the magnificence of the world, it leads me to adore God, I know my redeemer lives, I know who it was who created. Right from Genesis 1:1, the very beginning, «The Spirit of God moving,» «God created»; if there was a Big Bang, it was God.

And then I want to make sure that you know that his power is available for us. Jesus said to his disciples, to his apostles, «Behold, I give you power». That’s so wonderful, and there’s power to proclaim the Gospel, but there’s also power to face your challenges, to deal with your problems, and to be more than a conqueror through him who loves us. I’m a Catholic priest, as you know, and in the Scriptures we have priests of many-many forms, but I wanted to tell you about this one priest, and his name is Aaron.

Aaron was the brother of Moses, and Aaron supported Moses in many different ways. In some ways he was his mouthpiece, his spokesman before Pharaoh, because Moses had a stuttering problem. Aaron was a companion, and he was a way through which God transmitted blessing. And there’s a beautiful blessing, that comes from the book of Numbers, that comes through Aaron, and I want this blessing to be upon you. As you think about Almighty God and as you deal with your problems, get outside of your tent, magnify God, not your problems, and watch what happens. This is The Blessing of Aaron: «The Lord Bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and the Lord be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen». Don’t just live, live with passion.