THIS is a delicate topic. Each term is loaded with a lot of mysteries. Putting them together plunges us to even deeper mysteries.
And yet, any effort to seriously study the relation between the mind and the soul is most welcome, as it can give precious insights into these intangible realities that have great relevance on our lives today.
One such initiative is in the University of California Irvine (UCI) where a young psychiatrist, Dr. Aaron Kheriaty (akheriat@uci.edu), put up the Psychiatry and Spirituality Forum just over a year ago.
It is interesting to note that the forum has grown from 20 to 130 members, among them Buddhist monks, Catholic priests, rabbis, psychiatrists, scientists, physicians and social workers, indicating its rising following.
It is boldly entering into a largely unmapped territory that needs to be explored and understood better. It’s an initiative that has to be widely supported. The fine workings in the world of the mind and soul cannot be ignored anymore.
It cannot be denied that the issue of mental health is lately grabbing attention these past years. The WHO has attributed a third of all disability worldwide to psychiatric conditions and there are 800,000 reported cases of suicide yearly in the world.
This is not to mention that in many countries, no adequate medical programs are available for patients of this kind of illness. Thus, in China , for example, there are reports of the mentally ill chained and caged by their own parents at home.
It’s time that we tackle this issue as thoroughly as possible, burying myths that have stigmatized this human condition, and coming up with more pro-active attitudes and practices to help our brothers and sisters concerned.
My personal observation is that even locally, I see a dramatic rise of psychological cases who need not only medical attention but also spiritual guidance and nourishment.
We have to learn ways to cope with this situation. I just hope and pray that more people get into this field as experts and professional counselors, since a lot of things need to be done.
In an interview with MercatorNet, Dr. Kheriaty talks about many interesting details about the connection between mental health and spiritual convictions. To cite a few:
- There seems to be a relationship between the rise of mental illness and the decline of religious observances.
- Despite material and technological advances, cases of suicide, depression, substance abuse and other behavioral disorders are increasing. Social stigma keep these cases mostly hidden and unattended.
- The attention given is mainly medical, leaving behind the psychological, social and spiritual factors. This situation has to be corrected.
- Many psychiatrists now believe that religious belief and practice often reduce the incidence of suicide, substance abuse, impulsivity and violence. Religion often protects against despair and demoralization amid suffering, because it fosters hope and sense of one’s personal vocation.
- Some mental illnesses are diseases in the strict sense, since they result from disordered biological or genetic factors that lie outside one’s control. These can be schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, which cannot be prevented or cured through belief or will power alone.
- Other illnesses may be due to such traits as low intelligence and other low personality traits that can be a product of genetic and environmental influences, trauma, terrifying life experiences, injuries to the brain.
Just the same it should be noted that in spite of biological, genetic and social causes, some amount of counseling on the psychological and spiritual levels is most welcome and helpful. This wholistic approach should be developed.
Strengthening the spiritual life of people in general contributes well to mental health. It gives a sense of stability, since it gives meaning, purpose and perspective to all elements in life, especially the problems and difficulties. It enhances serenity and joy, crucial for our mind to work well.
A culture of caring for one another has to be developed to include a certain sensitivity to building up mental health of everyone. We need to clarify the doctrine, values and practices we have, and rectify those that tend to weaken it.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Self-promotion or service?
EVERY year, the Pope gives a message to the world of media. Even as a routine, this annual address can only show the continuing interest and effort on the part of Holy Father to evangelize this very crucial field of our life.
Other areas are also given similar messages. Thus, there are specific papal messages for the yearly world day of peace, of the sick, the youth, the family, vocations, etc. That they come from the Pope is reason enough to receive them in faith and obedience.
But further scrutiny reveals a greater reason for their importance. They are attempts, precious, well-studied and orchestrated, to monitor and read the signs of the times as we go along. As such they are worthy of being taken seriously.
For this year, for example, Pope Benedict’s message for the World Communications Day, set for May 4, has the theme: “The media: at the crossroads between self-promotion and service. Searching for the truth in order to share it with others.”
That, to me, captures the crux of the problem now besetting the media industry in its relation to society. It’s not for us to point fingers on personalities and outfits. But the signs of this problem are all over.
More than the message, the agents are highlighted. More than a dispassionate search for truth and justice, self-interest is pursued. The cover to hide the driving force of greed and lust for power is thinning out.
As a kid, I was told that we are like envelopes that contain letters. Once these letters are sent, received and read, the envelopes often are just thrown away, but the letters kept.
Nowadays, it would seem the envelopes are more important than the letters. The worse part of it is that no one seems to notice, since hardly any complaint is heard.
To achieve this funny state of affairs, all sorts of media tricks, gimmicks and games are used. Engaging war among media outfits is no problem if that is what it takes to establish one’s domination over others.
Thus, gossips are played out, personalities not issues are spotlit, looks not substance are brought into focus. Political opinions are rendered in dogmatic tones while basic truths are ignored, sex and violence are used to rivet audience’s attention.
Talents are inhumanly used at the dictate of the market, hiring and discarding them depending on the ratings. The successful ones are packaged like objects. Creativity and imagination are hijacked to cater to lower human tastes and desires.
In the heat of the excitement and the passions involved, the voice of conscience gets muted, the objective ethical assessment of the moves is sidelined and shelved. We are being hollowed of our true dignity as children of God. We are scaled down to mere consumers.
Everyone speaking this language is slowly made smaller and is lulled to degenerate. We are left with a society reduced in dignity yet overflowing with self-confidence and arrogance. A most painful predicament indeed!
The papal message is meant to invite everyone in media to do some soul-searching to see the real score of how he is performing in his task. This is in fact a continuing need for all of us. It suggests developing a kind of “info-ethics.”
Fine distinctions have to be made, since the ideal and practical demands, the spiritual and material requirements of the profession have to be met in their proper order.
Obviously, the material and temporal aspects of this field have to be respected. But they should be thoroughly infused and directed by higher spiritual values proper to us as persons and as children of God.
The problem we often have is that we easily miss these distinctions. We get distracted, living out that Gospel reproach of straining out the gnat while swallowing the camel. We prefer to be pragmatic only.
There’s a crying need to correct this handicap. It’s good that we first recognize that we have such handicap, and from there proceed to taking the appropriate measures.
We have to at least refashion our template so we can have the relevant education and proper supervision of everyone concerned.
Other areas are also given similar messages. Thus, there are specific papal messages for the yearly world day of peace, of the sick, the youth, the family, vocations, etc. That they come from the Pope is reason enough to receive them in faith and obedience.
But further scrutiny reveals a greater reason for their importance. They are attempts, precious, well-studied and orchestrated, to monitor and read the signs of the times as we go along. As such they are worthy of being taken seriously.
For this year, for example, Pope Benedict’s message for the World Communications Day, set for May 4, has the theme: “The media: at the crossroads between self-promotion and service. Searching for the truth in order to share it with others.”
That, to me, captures the crux of the problem now besetting the media industry in its relation to society. It’s not for us to point fingers on personalities and outfits. But the signs of this problem are all over.
More than the message, the agents are highlighted. More than a dispassionate search for truth and justice, self-interest is pursued. The cover to hide the driving force of greed and lust for power is thinning out.
As a kid, I was told that we are like envelopes that contain letters. Once these letters are sent, received and read, the envelopes often are just thrown away, but the letters kept.
Nowadays, it would seem the envelopes are more important than the letters. The worse part of it is that no one seems to notice, since hardly any complaint is heard.
To achieve this funny state of affairs, all sorts of media tricks, gimmicks and games are used. Engaging war among media outfits is no problem if that is what it takes to establish one’s domination over others.
Thus, gossips are played out, personalities not issues are spotlit, looks not substance are brought into focus. Political opinions are rendered in dogmatic tones while basic truths are ignored, sex and violence are used to rivet audience’s attention.
Talents are inhumanly used at the dictate of the market, hiring and discarding them depending on the ratings. The successful ones are packaged like objects. Creativity and imagination are hijacked to cater to lower human tastes and desires.
In the heat of the excitement and the passions involved, the voice of conscience gets muted, the objective ethical assessment of the moves is sidelined and shelved. We are being hollowed of our true dignity as children of God. We are scaled down to mere consumers.
Everyone speaking this language is slowly made smaller and is lulled to degenerate. We are left with a society reduced in dignity yet overflowing with self-confidence and arrogance. A most painful predicament indeed!
The papal message is meant to invite everyone in media to do some soul-searching to see the real score of how he is performing in his task. This is in fact a continuing need for all of us. It suggests developing a kind of “info-ethics.”
Fine distinctions have to be made, since the ideal and practical demands, the spiritual and material requirements of the profession have to be met in their proper order.
Obviously, the material and temporal aspects of this field have to be respected. But they should be thoroughly infused and directed by higher spiritual values proper to us as persons and as children of God.
The problem we often have is that we easily miss these distinctions. We get distracted, living out that Gospel reproach of straining out the gnat while swallowing the camel. We prefer to be pragmatic only.
There’s a crying need to correct this handicap. It’s good that we first recognize that we have such handicap, and from there proceed to taking the appropriate measures.
We have to at least refashion our template so we can have the relevant education and proper supervision of everyone concerned.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Church communication
I WAS happy to learn that there are annual conferences for Church communication personnel organized by a pontifical university in Rome . My immediate wish is for this kind of conferences to be replicated in our dioceses.
Aside from the massive regular information that has to be given, the increasing number of hot issues the Church has to grapple with now make the task of Church communication personnel very challenging.
This year’s theme, for example, already evokes an intriguing character: “Church communication and the culture of controversy.” Yes, the Church officials simply have to know how to navigate in our complicated environment today.
With her stature and historical standing, it’s pitiable to see the Church in the different levels of her structure fumbling miserably in this aspect of communication. She’s like an aging mother needing precious help from her children.
Already the technical requirements are daunting. Besides matters of language and style, officials, to be effective, have to do continuing research and updating, enrich their sense of perspective and timing, master the fast-developing technologies.
They have to be quick in identifying and resolving issues. Thus, they should always be in the lookout, energetic in gathering relevant data, open to everyone and all parties involved in a given question.
I’m impressed, for example, at how some American newspapers do their stuff. There’s thoroughness in their data, balance and good manners in the treatment of issues. Straight news is clearly distinguished from editorial and opinion items.
Professionalism is all over. A wide network of competent writers gives their readers great depth and scope of the issues. Though they have a specific perspective, there’s also openness and serious but polite discussion of conflicting views.
These qualities and ideals are difficult to build. They don’t come overnight and they require tremendous resources. But they just have to be pursued day in and day out, using whatever means we have.
To top it all, it has to be clear that Church communication assumes the spiritual and supernatural character proper to the Church. It just cannot be a bureaucratic process of making and transmitting statements.
It cannot be treated as business-and-politics reporting. It is an integral part of the Church’s ministry of evangelization. It has to be nothing less than the living water spoken of in the Gospel that nourishes souls and peoples, with traces of divine inspiration marking it.
The skill to combine the divine and the human elements, the sacred and the mundane, the absolute and the relative, the eternal and the temporal, should be developed. It may not be a sacrament, but it has to reflect the Church’s true nature and serve her authentic goal.
Therefore, it has to be a product of prayer, a manifestation of one’s sincere effort at sanctifying his work, himself and others. This obviously is no guarantee that there’d be no imperfections and errors, but it will leave one’s work exuding a certain aura perceptible to the soul’s finer faculties.
Besides, those involved in Church communication should have a good feel of what the Church is, what she needs at the moment, what she desires to achieve, etc. They should strive to be able to read the signs of the times.
It is this “sentire cum Ecclesia” (to feel with the Church) that can spawn a continuous flow of ideas and initiatives. It can also determine the timing and the manner in which issues are presented and discussed.
For this, it is necessary that those involved, while individually responsible and competent, should be adept in the ways of collegiality and teamwork, dialogue and consultation, to somehow guarantee a balanced writing worthy of being a Church communication.
There has to be a vital link with the bishop and ultimately with the Pope, so that the character of communion proper to the Church can be lived. With our advances in information technology, this vital linking could be better facilitated.
With these dispositions, it is hoped that what come out truly irrigate people’s minds and hearts, clarifying, encouraging, removing us from spiritual dead ends, and stimulating us to pursue the genuine purpose of our life.
Self-promotion or service?
By Fr. Roy Cimagala
Chaplain
Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)
Talamban, Cebu City
Email: roycimagala@hotmail.com
EVERY year, the Pope gives a message to the world of media. Even as a routine, this annual address can only show the continuing interest and effort on the part of Holy Father to evangelize this very crucial field of our life.
Other areas are also given similar messages. Thus, there are specific papal messages for the yearly world day of peace, of the sick, the youth, the family, vocations, etc. That they come from the Pope is reason enough to receive them in faith and obedience.
But further scrutiny reveals a greater reason for their importance. They are attempts, precious, well-studied and orchestrated, to monitor and read the signs of the times as we go along. As such they are worthy of being taken seriously.
For this year, for example, Pope Benedict’s message for the World Communications Day, set for May 4, has the theme: “The media: at the crossroads between self-promotion and service. Searching for the truth in order to share it with others.”
That, to me, captures the crux of the problem now besetting the media industry in its relation to society. It’s not for us to point fingers on personalities and outfits. But the signs of this problem are all over.
More than the message, the agents are highlighted. More than a dispassionate search for truth and justice, self-interest is pursued. The cover to hide the driving force of greed and lust for power is thinning out.
As a kid, I was told that we are like envelopes that contain letters. Once these letters are sent, received and read, the envelopes often are just thrown away, but the letters kept.
Nowadays, it would seem the envelopes are more important than the letters. The worse part of it is that no one seems to notice, since hardly any complaint is heard.
To achieve this funny state of affairs, all sorts of media tricks, gimmicks and games are used. Engaging war among media outfits is no problem if that is what it takes to establish one’s domination over others.
Thus, gossips are played out, personalities not issues are spotlit, looks not substance are brought into focus. Political opinions are rendered in dogmatic tones while basic truths are ignored, sex and violence are used to rivet audience’s attention.
Talents are inhumanly used at the dictate of the market, hiring and discarding them depending on the ratings. The successful ones are packaged like objects. Creativity and imagination are hijacked to cater to lower human tastes and desires.
In the heat of the excitement and the passions involved, the voice of conscience gets muted, the objective ethical assessment of the moves is sidelined and shelved. We are being hollowed of our true dignity as children of God. We are scaled down to mere consumers.
Everyone speaking this language is slowly made smaller and is lulled to degenerate. We are left with a society reduced in dignity yet overflowing with self-confidence and arrogance. A most painful predicament indeed!
The papal message is meant to invite everyone in media to do some soul-searching to see the real score of how he is performing in his task. This is in fact a continuing need for all of us. It suggests developing a kind of “info-ethics.”
Fine distinctions have to be made, since the ideal and practical demands, the spiritual and material requirements of the profession have to be met in their proper order.
Obviously, the material and temporal aspects of this field have to be respected. But they should be thoroughly infused and directed by higher spiritual values proper to us as persons and as children of God.
The problem we often have is that we easily miss these distinctions. We get distracted, living out that Gospel reproach of straining out the gnat while swallowing the camel. We prefer to be pragmatic only.
There’s a crying need to correct this handicap. It’s good that we first recognize that we have such handicap, and from there proceed to taking the appropriate measures.
We have to at least refashion our template so we can have the relevant education and proper supervision of everyone concerned.
Mental health and spirituality
By Fr. Roy Cimagala
THIS is a delicate topic. Each term is loaded with a lot of mysteries. Putting them together plunges us to even deeper mysteries.
And yet, any effort to seriously study the relation between the mind and the soul is most welcome, as it can give precious insights into these intangible realities that have great relevance on our lives today.
One such initiative is in the University of California Irvine (UCI) where a young psychiatrist, Dr. Aaron Kheriaty (akheriat@uci.edu), put up the Psychiatry and Spirituality Forum just over a year ago.
It is interesting to note that the forum has grown from 20 to 130 members, among them Buddhist monks, Catholic priests, rabbis, psychiatrists, scientists, physicians and social workers, indicating its rising following.
It is boldly entering into a largely unmapped territory that needs to be explored and understood better. It’s an initiative that has to be widely supported. The fine workings in the world of the mind and soul cannot be ignored anymore.
It cannot be denied that the issue of mental health is lately grabbing attention these past years. The WHO has attributed a third of all disability worldwide to psychiatric conditions and there are 800,000 reported cases of suicide yearly in the world.
This is not to mention that in many countries, no adequate medical programs are available for patients of this kind of illness. Thus, in China , for example, there are reports of the mentally ill chained and caged by their own parents at home.
It’s time that we tackle this issue as thoroughly as possible, burying myths that have stigmatized this human condition, and coming up with more pro-active attitudes and practices to help our brothers and sisters concerned.
My personal observation is that even locally, I see a dramatic rise of psychological cases who need not only medical attention but also spiritual guidance and nourishment.
We have to learn ways to cope with this situation. I just hope and pray that more people get into this field as experts and professional counselors, since a lot of things need to be done.
In an interview with MercatorNet, Dr. Kheriaty talks about many interesting details about the connection between mental health and spiritual convictions. To cite a few:
- There seems to be a relationship between the rise of mental illness and the decline of religious observances.
- Despite material and technological advances, cases of suicide, depression, substance abuse and other behavioral disorders are increasing. Social stigma keep these cases mostly hidden and unattended.
- The attention given is mainly medical, leaving behind the psychological, social and spiritual factors. This situation has to be corrected.
- Many psychiatrists now believe that religious belief and practice often reduce the incidence of suicide, substance abuse, impulsivity and violence. Religion often protects against despair and demoralization amid suffering, because it fosters hope and sense of one’s personal vocation.
- Some mental illnesses are diseases in the strict sense, since they result from disordered biological or genetic factors that lie outside one’s control. These can be schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, which cannot be prevented or cured through belief or will power alone.
- Other illnesses may be due to such traits as low intelligence and other low personality traits that can be a product of genetic and environmental influences, trauma, terrifying life experiences, injuries to the brain.
Just the same it should be noted that in spite of biological, genetic and social causes, some amount of counseling on the psychological and spiritual levels is most welcome and helpful. This wholistic approach should be developed.
Strengthening the spiritual life of people in general contributes well to mental health. It gives a sense of stability, since it gives meaning, purpose and perspective to all elements in life, especially the problems and difficulties. It enhances serenity and joy, crucial for our mind to work well.
A culture of caring for one another has to be developed to include a certain sensitivity to building up mental health of everyone. We need to clarify the doctrine, values and practices we have, and rectify those that tend to weaken it.
Aside from the massive regular information that has to be given, the increasing number of hot issues the Church has to grapple with now make the task of Church communication personnel very challenging.
This year’s theme, for example, already evokes an intriguing character: “Church communication and the culture of controversy.” Yes, the Church officials simply have to know how to navigate in our complicated environment today.
With her stature and historical standing, it’s pitiable to see the Church in the different levels of her structure fumbling miserably in this aspect of communication. She’s like an aging mother needing precious help from her children.
Already the technical requirements are daunting. Besides matters of language and style, officials, to be effective, have to do continuing research and updating, enrich their sense of perspective and timing, master the fast-developing technologies.
They have to be quick in identifying and resolving issues. Thus, they should always be in the lookout, energetic in gathering relevant data, open to everyone and all parties involved in a given question.
I’m impressed, for example, at how some American newspapers do their stuff. There’s thoroughness in their data, balance and good manners in the treatment of issues. Straight news is clearly distinguished from editorial and opinion items.
Professionalism is all over. A wide network of competent writers gives their readers great depth and scope of the issues. Though they have a specific perspective, there’s also openness and serious but polite discussion of conflicting views.
These qualities and ideals are difficult to build. They don’t come overnight and they require tremendous resources. But they just have to be pursued day in and day out, using whatever means we have.
To top it all, it has to be clear that Church communication assumes the spiritual and supernatural character proper to the Church. It just cannot be a bureaucratic process of making and transmitting statements.
It cannot be treated as business-and-politics reporting. It is an integral part of the Church’s ministry of evangelization. It has to be nothing less than the living water spoken of in the Gospel that nourishes souls and peoples, with traces of divine inspiration marking it.
The skill to combine the divine and the human elements, the sacred and the mundane, the absolute and the relative, the eternal and the temporal, should be developed. It may not be a sacrament, but it has to reflect the Church’s true nature and serve her authentic goal.
Therefore, it has to be a product of prayer, a manifestation of one’s sincere effort at sanctifying his work, himself and others. This obviously is no guarantee that there’d be no imperfections and errors, but it will leave one’s work exuding a certain aura perceptible to the soul’s finer faculties.
Besides, those involved in Church communication should have a good feel of what the Church is, what she needs at the moment, what she desires to achieve, etc. They should strive to be able to read the signs of the times.
It is this “sentire cum Ecclesia” (to feel with the Church) that can spawn a continuous flow of ideas and initiatives. It can also determine the timing and the manner in which issues are presented and discussed.
For this, it is necessary that those involved, while individually responsible and competent, should be adept in the ways of collegiality and teamwork, dialogue and consultation, to somehow guarantee a balanced writing worthy of being a Church communication.
There has to be a vital link with the bishop and ultimately with the Pope, so that the character of communion proper to the Church can be lived. With our advances in information technology, this vital linking could be better facilitated.
With these dispositions, it is hoped that what come out truly irrigate people’s minds and hearts, clarifying, encouraging, removing us from spiritual dead ends, and stimulating us to pursue the genuine purpose of our life.
Self-promotion or service?
By Fr. Roy Cimagala
Chaplain
Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)
Talamban, Cebu City
Email: roycimagala@hotmail.com
EVERY year, the Pope gives a message to the world of media. Even as a routine, this annual address can only show the continuing interest and effort on the part of Holy Father to evangelize this very crucial field of our life.
Other areas are also given similar messages. Thus, there are specific papal messages for the yearly world day of peace, of the sick, the youth, the family, vocations, etc. That they come from the Pope is reason enough to receive them in faith and obedience.
But further scrutiny reveals a greater reason for their importance. They are attempts, precious, well-studied and orchestrated, to monitor and read the signs of the times as we go along. As such they are worthy of being taken seriously.
For this year, for example, Pope Benedict’s message for the World Communications Day, set for May 4, has the theme: “The media: at the crossroads between self-promotion and service. Searching for the truth in order to share it with others.”
That, to me, captures the crux of the problem now besetting the media industry in its relation to society. It’s not for us to point fingers on personalities and outfits. But the signs of this problem are all over.
More than the message, the agents are highlighted. More than a dispassionate search for truth and justice, self-interest is pursued. The cover to hide the driving force of greed and lust for power is thinning out.
As a kid, I was told that we are like envelopes that contain letters. Once these letters are sent, received and read, the envelopes often are just thrown away, but the letters kept.
Nowadays, it would seem the envelopes are more important than the letters. The worse part of it is that no one seems to notice, since hardly any complaint is heard.
To achieve this funny state of affairs, all sorts of media tricks, gimmicks and games are used. Engaging war among media outfits is no problem if that is what it takes to establish one’s domination over others.
Thus, gossips are played out, personalities not issues are spotlit, looks not substance are brought into focus. Political opinions are rendered in dogmatic tones while basic truths are ignored, sex and violence are used to rivet audience’s attention.
Talents are inhumanly used at the dictate of the market, hiring and discarding them depending on the ratings. The successful ones are packaged like objects. Creativity and imagination are hijacked to cater to lower human tastes and desires.
In the heat of the excitement and the passions involved, the voice of conscience gets muted, the objective ethical assessment of the moves is sidelined and shelved. We are being hollowed of our true dignity as children of God. We are scaled down to mere consumers.
Everyone speaking this language is slowly made smaller and is lulled to degenerate. We are left with a society reduced in dignity yet overflowing with self-confidence and arrogance. A most painful predicament indeed!
The papal message is meant to invite everyone in media to do some soul-searching to see the real score of how he is performing in his task. This is in fact a continuing need for all of us. It suggests developing a kind of “info-ethics.”
Fine distinctions have to be made, since the ideal and practical demands, the spiritual and material requirements of the profession have to be met in their proper order.
Obviously, the material and temporal aspects of this field have to be respected. But they should be thoroughly infused and directed by higher spiritual values proper to us as persons and as children of God.
The problem we often have is that we easily miss these distinctions. We get distracted, living out that Gospel reproach of straining out the gnat while swallowing the camel. We prefer to be pragmatic only.
There’s a crying need to correct this handicap. It’s good that we first recognize that we have such handicap, and from there proceed to taking the appropriate measures.
We have to at least refashion our template so we can have the relevant education and proper supervision of everyone concerned.
Mental health and spirituality
By Fr. Roy Cimagala
THIS is a delicate topic. Each term is loaded with a lot of mysteries. Putting them together plunges us to even deeper mysteries.
And yet, any effort to seriously study the relation between the mind and the soul is most welcome, as it can give precious insights into these intangible realities that have great relevance on our lives today.
One such initiative is in the University of California Irvine (UCI) where a young psychiatrist, Dr. Aaron Kheriaty (akheriat@uci.edu), put up the Psychiatry and Spirituality Forum just over a year ago.
It is interesting to note that the forum has grown from 20 to 130 members, among them Buddhist monks, Catholic priests, rabbis, psychiatrists, scientists, physicians and social workers, indicating its rising following.
It is boldly entering into a largely unmapped territory that needs to be explored and understood better. It’s an initiative that has to be widely supported. The fine workings in the world of the mind and soul cannot be ignored anymore.
It cannot be denied that the issue of mental health is lately grabbing attention these past years. The WHO has attributed a third of all disability worldwide to psychiatric conditions and there are 800,000 reported cases of suicide yearly in the world.
This is not to mention that in many countries, no adequate medical programs are available for patients of this kind of illness. Thus, in China , for example, there are reports of the mentally ill chained and caged by their own parents at home.
It’s time that we tackle this issue as thoroughly as possible, burying myths that have stigmatized this human condition, and coming up with more pro-active attitudes and practices to help our brothers and sisters concerned.
My personal observation is that even locally, I see a dramatic rise of psychological cases who need not only medical attention but also spiritual guidance and nourishment.
We have to learn ways to cope with this situation. I just hope and pray that more people get into this field as experts and professional counselors, since a lot of things need to be done.
In an interview with MercatorNet, Dr. Kheriaty talks about many interesting details about the connection between mental health and spiritual convictions. To cite a few:
- There seems to be a relationship between the rise of mental illness and the decline of religious observances.
- Despite material and technological advances, cases of suicide, depression, substance abuse and other behavioral disorders are increasing. Social stigma keep these cases mostly hidden and unattended.
- The attention given is mainly medical, leaving behind the psychological, social and spiritual factors. This situation has to be corrected.
- Many psychiatrists now believe that religious belief and practice often reduce the incidence of suicide, substance abuse, impulsivity and violence. Religion often protects against despair and demoralization amid suffering, because it fosters hope and sense of one’s personal vocation.
- Some mental illnesses are diseases in the strict sense, since they result from disordered biological or genetic factors that lie outside one’s control. These can be schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, which cannot be prevented or cured through belief or will power alone.
- Other illnesses may be due to such traits as low intelligence and other low personality traits that can be a product of genetic and environmental influences, trauma, terrifying life experiences, injuries to the brain.
Just the same it should be noted that in spite of biological, genetic and social causes, some amount of counseling on the psychological and spiritual levels is most welcome and helpful. This wholistic approach should be developed.
Strengthening the spiritual life of people in general contributes well to mental health. It gives a sense of stability, since it gives meaning, purpose and perspective to all elements in life, especially the problems and difficulties. It enhances serenity and joy, crucial for our mind to work well.
A culture of caring for one another has to be developed to include a certain sensitivity to building up mental health of everyone. We need to clarify the doctrine, values and practices we have, and rectify those that tend to weaken it.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Clouds over global warming
SORRY but this hullabaloo over climate change and global warming is getting my goat.
I admit that I’m no science guy, and much less a techie. But precisely because of this, the dummies, short for the rest of humanity and me, expect our scientists and intellectuals to get their act together and stop confusing us. Doom-watching is not a favorite pastime for many.
What is it really? Are we supposed to be alarmed by an impending calamity? Why this all-of-a-sudden, hysterical blame on man as cause of this coming catastrophe? It’s like our emitting carbon is now a sin!
Or are you, the brighties, supposed to study more, gathering more data, sifting through them, analyzing, comparing, discussing among your clever selves to come out with more educated and realistic consensus?
It’s not good that the scientific debate be selective and tilted to favor the alarmists. We have had enough doomsday seers through the years, and hardly any of them turned out to be prophetic.
I still remember the population explosion scare. The only thing that exploded was their wild extrapolations. In fact, in many places, especially in the developed countries, what we have is depopulation.
To date, the global warming doomsayers have made a number of false and inconsistent claims.
Some forecasters said that the year 2007 would be the hottest so far. It turned out not to be so. The lowering and rising of ice levels in the Arctic and Antarctica are at best inconclusive. We should not fuss about them.
I read somewhere that before Al Gore got his Nobel Peace Prize, the English high court ruled that his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, could not be shown in schools without teachers providing additional materials to correct nine “significant errors.”
Among the errors: that Pacific atolls are being evacuated because of rising sea levels and that polar bears are drowning because they have to swim up to 60 miles to find ice. The court found no evidence to support these claims.
So far, most findings are largely speculative, derived from computer-simulated models that hardly match with facts.
It would also be interesting to look into the business aspects of this issue. Those peddling doom are generating lots of moolah due to the scare, and are now into heavy venture capital investing.
There’s reason to suspect that many scientists are colluding with big business. Also, that this scare is to prime and herd us to some kind of global government.
Making things worse are the inflationary factors infused into the issue by some sectors of the media and a few Church figures. They give their two-cents worth without having a good grasp of the matter.
It seems that some people get riveted to this issue because they would have another battle cry against their favorite culprits—the rich, the powerful, the government, the Establishment, Western world, etc.
In our case, for example, since we are still skirmishing about the population issue, rendering the global warming issue in terrorizing tones would favor those who are for population control.
It would relieve the tired ploys of population controllers of such guises as reproductive health, freedom of choice, women’s rights, etc. It would certainly expose the evil of bearing carbon-producing babies.
Also, I would not be surprised if some people end up blaming the President for global warming! That would not be first time. The issue, given a spin, can be another opportunistic swipe at the President.
For my part, I think we all need to remind ourselves to pray. We’ll do everything to get to the bottom of this question, using whatever human means we have, but we should never forget to pray.
If there’s any grain of truth to the gloomy prognosis, then by all means let’s do everything to prepare. But with prayer, we transcend earthly and temporal conditions. We go beyond human fears. With prayer, hope, not disaster, is the ground zero.
But let’s really see whether there’s rational and scientific basis for the tempest this issue has spawned. Let’s avoid “scientific” stretches used to fuel a world terror.
I admit that I’m no science guy, and much less a techie. But precisely because of this, the dummies, short for the rest of humanity and me, expect our scientists and intellectuals to get their act together and stop confusing us. Doom-watching is not a favorite pastime for many.
What is it really? Are we supposed to be alarmed by an impending calamity? Why this all-of-a-sudden, hysterical blame on man as cause of this coming catastrophe? It’s like our emitting carbon is now a sin!
Or are you, the brighties, supposed to study more, gathering more data, sifting through them, analyzing, comparing, discussing among your clever selves to come out with more educated and realistic consensus?
It’s not good that the scientific debate be selective and tilted to favor the alarmists. We have had enough doomsday seers through the years, and hardly any of them turned out to be prophetic.
I still remember the population explosion scare. The only thing that exploded was their wild extrapolations. In fact, in many places, especially in the developed countries, what we have is depopulation.
To date, the global warming doomsayers have made a number of false and inconsistent claims.
Some forecasters said that the year 2007 would be the hottest so far. It turned out not to be so. The lowering and rising of ice levels in the Arctic and Antarctica are at best inconclusive. We should not fuss about them.
I read somewhere that before Al Gore got his Nobel Peace Prize, the English high court ruled that his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, could not be shown in schools without teachers providing additional materials to correct nine “significant errors.”
Among the errors: that Pacific atolls are being evacuated because of rising sea levels and that polar bears are drowning because they have to swim up to 60 miles to find ice. The court found no evidence to support these claims.
So far, most findings are largely speculative, derived from computer-simulated models that hardly match with facts.
It would also be interesting to look into the business aspects of this issue. Those peddling doom are generating lots of moolah due to the scare, and are now into heavy venture capital investing.
There’s reason to suspect that many scientists are colluding with big business. Also, that this scare is to prime and herd us to some kind of global government.
Making things worse are the inflationary factors infused into the issue by some sectors of the media and a few Church figures. They give their two-cents worth without having a good grasp of the matter.
It seems that some people get riveted to this issue because they would have another battle cry against their favorite culprits—the rich, the powerful, the government, the Establishment, Western world, etc.
In our case, for example, since we are still skirmishing about the population issue, rendering the global warming issue in terrorizing tones would favor those who are for population control.
It would relieve the tired ploys of population controllers of such guises as reproductive health, freedom of choice, women’s rights, etc. It would certainly expose the evil of bearing carbon-producing babies.
Also, I would not be surprised if some people end up blaming the President for global warming! That would not be first time. The issue, given a spin, can be another opportunistic swipe at the President.
For my part, I think we all need to remind ourselves to pray. We’ll do everything to get to the bottom of this question, using whatever human means we have, but we should never forget to pray.
If there’s any grain of truth to the gloomy prognosis, then by all means let’s do everything to prepare. But with prayer, we transcend earthly and temporal conditions. We go beyond human fears. With prayer, hope, not disaster, is the ground zero.
But let’s really see whether there’s rational and scientific basis for the tempest this issue has spawned. Let’s avoid “scientific” stretches used to fuel a world terror.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Pit Señor
MY dear Señor Sto. Niño. These days in January we are again celebrating your feast. How fitting to celebrate your feast in this first month of the year, since as a child, you invite us to grow and mature with you through the year!
You seem to highlight the importance of your 30 years of hidden life here on earth before you embarked on your public life of preaching, performing miracles and ultimately dying on the cross.
We know from our Catechism that this hidden life of yours is seamlessly united to your public life. It is as significant and as redemptive as your public life. You have given the little, ordinary and hidden things in our life their eternal value.
This is because you are God, able to convert your whole life, in spite of its many parts, into one flawless unity. There will always be perfect consistency in your life. There are no disruptions, no fragmentation, since your whole earthly life, while human, was thoroughly divine also.
With your hidden life, you show us the eternal and supernatural potentials the ordinary things you had to grapple with, possess. May we also know how to discern the rich spiritual and supernatural value in our daily work, household chores, social relations, etc.
Teach us to deepen our belief in this continuity between the material and the spiritual, the temporal and the eternal, the human and the divine. Teach us the ways and skills to attain that seamless integration of these two dimensions of our life.
May we learn to see you in the little things of the day. May we realize more deeply that our love for you is shown more in our attention and care we give to the little things than in waiting for big, extraordinary events to prove it.
Putting love in the performance of our ordinary daily duties is actually the way you are giving us to love you constantly. May we never forget this truth of faith. We can actually love you always, since with the little ordinary things of our life, you give us all the chances to love you.
You ask us to take care only of the sand and gravel, and you will take care of the finished castle. You only ask us to provide a few loaves and fish, and you will multiply them in abundance.
Here in Cebu , popular piety toward you approaches both deep solemnity and fever pitch as everyone from all walks of life is lavish in showing his faith and love for you. You’d understand if our prayers sometimes break into songs and dances. We can’t help it. But we promise not to abuse it.
It’s a blessed sight to behold, this devotional tradition of calling you Pit Señor which is our affectionate way of communicating with you. We simply believe you and love you, O Señor Sto. Niño. Thank you for it. It is completely your gift, of your own making, before it is ours.
You’ve been with us all these years, guiding us and comforting us. Thank you so much. We may have failed you sometimes in our behavior, but somehow, we manage to go back to you. We always ask for your mercy.
See the images we carry on your feast, waving them at you in an electric dance of mysterious communion. See your images we lovingly place in our homes, offices, and even in our jeepneys. We always want to be close to you!
The gospels have no reference of you as a child dressed as king. It’s our faith and love for you, developed and tested over the centuries, that lead us to doll you up. You will forgive us for this, right?
On our part, we promise to take good care of you. This actually means that we follow you closely, not only sentimentally nor culturally, but especially morally, vitally. We know our love for you should be translated into deeds, not just sweet words nor nice feelings and desires.
Help us as we try to learn the ways of living in your presence, of loving you by following your will with complete freedom. Help us to understand more practically that our life is supposed not only to be just human, but also supernatural, since it should only be lived with and in you. Amen.
You seem to highlight the importance of your 30 years of hidden life here on earth before you embarked on your public life of preaching, performing miracles and ultimately dying on the cross.
We know from our Catechism that this hidden life of yours is seamlessly united to your public life. It is as significant and as redemptive as your public life. You have given the little, ordinary and hidden things in our life their eternal value.
This is because you are God, able to convert your whole life, in spite of its many parts, into one flawless unity. There will always be perfect consistency in your life. There are no disruptions, no fragmentation, since your whole earthly life, while human, was thoroughly divine also.
With your hidden life, you show us the eternal and supernatural potentials the ordinary things you had to grapple with, possess. May we also know how to discern the rich spiritual and supernatural value in our daily work, household chores, social relations, etc.
Teach us to deepen our belief in this continuity between the material and the spiritual, the temporal and the eternal, the human and the divine. Teach us the ways and skills to attain that seamless integration of these two dimensions of our life.
May we learn to see you in the little things of the day. May we realize more deeply that our love for you is shown more in our attention and care we give to the little things than in waiting for big, extraordinary events to prove it.
Putting love in the performance of our ordinary daily duties is actually the way you are giving us to love you constantly. May we never forget this truth of faith. We can actually love you always, since with the little ordinary things of our life, you give us all the chances to love you.
You ask us to take care only of the sand and gravel, and you will take care of the finished castle. You only ask us to provide a few loaves and fish, and you will multiply them in abundance.
Here in Cebu , popular piety toward you approaches both deep solemnity and fever pitch as everyone from all walks of life is lavish in showing his faith and love for you. You’d understand if our prayers sometimes break into songs and dances. We can’t help it. But we promise not to abuse it.
It’s a blessed sight to behold, this devotional tradition of calling you Pit Señor which is our affectionate way of communicating with you. We simply believe you and love you, O Señor Sto. Niño. Thank you for it. It is completely your gift, of your own making, before it is ours.
You’ve been with us all these years, guiding us and comforting us. Thank you so much. We may have failed you sometimes in our behavior, but somehow, we manage to go back to you. We always ask for your mercy.
See the images we carry on your feast, waving them at you in an electric dance of mysterious communion. See your images we lovingly place in our homes, offices, and even in our jeepneys. We always want to be close to you!
The gospels have no reference of you as a child dressed as king. It’s our faith and love for you, developed and tested over the centuries, that lead us to doll you up. You will forgive us for this, right?
On our part, we promise to take good care of you. This actually means that we follow you closely, not only sentimentally nor culturally, but especially morally, vitally. We know our love for you should be translated into deeds, not just sweet words nor nice feelings and desires.
Help us as we try to learn the ways of living in your presence, of loving you by following your will with complete freedom. Help us to understand more practically that our life is supposed not only to be just human, but also supernatural, since it should only be lived with and in you. Amen.
Monday, January 14, 2008
A matter of perspective
A SENSE of perspective is what we all need. We should try to develop one, cultivating and enriching it as we go along.
Especially at these times when life’s pace is getting much faster and is exposing us to more and more things, we need not only to be properly grounded but also to be adequately guided.
The sense of perspective starts with a worldview of things, enabling us to relate events, experiences, insights, observations, to an over-all picture of our life and its purpose.
It enables us to relate parts among themselves to form a certain whole. It provides us with a sense of confidence and serenity, a sense of dominion and responsibility, and therefore of freedom, over our life.
It’s what build’s a person’s character, since it springs from a body of core beliefs and convictions, from where we put our faith on, generating a corresponding hierarchy of values to guide our thoughts and actions.
It gives us a sense of right and wrong, of good and evil in all aspects of our life. It endows us with a moral and ethical vision of our life.
Thus, there is such a thing as a Christian perspective, based, of course, on the Christian faith. There are also ideological perspectives, whether leftist, rightist or centrist.
There’s the liberal perspective where freedom dominates over responsibility. There’s also the secularist perspective where things are assessed without any consideration for anything spiritual and supernatural.
Whatever it is, what is important is that we have a clear idea of the perspective we are assuming. We have to continually assess and develop it, because it is a living thing that has contend with the vital flow of new elements and factors.
Much of our problem these days stems from the fact that many people do not realize this. Though there is a natural albeit hidden yearning for this sense of perspective, the reality is that many people are not aware of it and do not know how to develop it properly.
As a result, there is a lot of shallowness and narrowness in the grasping of reality, leading one to simply be reactive rather than pro-active, if not to behave in on-the-spot improvisations, prone to knee-jerk responses.
There’s hardly any long-term vision and sense of direction. The sense of priority is shifty and at best not clear, very vulnerable to passing fads and fancies, to prevailing pressures and to one’s moods and other subjective elements.
When this sense of perspective is not properly developed, we tend not to have a clear idea of what should be held of absolute value that should be upheld no matter what, and what can be considered with relative value only.
We have to be wary of a certain thinking, quite prevalent these days, that says that there’s really no need to develop this sense of perspective. One just judges and reasons as one sees fit in a given moment.
For those occupying positions of leadership and influence in society, developing a good sense of perspective is most necessary. Without this sense of perspective, they can become a source of danger and can cause much harm.
This is especially true to the media who daily feed us with information, views and opinions. The quality of their work and their contribution to society are determined to a large extent by the kind of perspective they have.
It’s what gives depth and scope to their work, and what can truly lead and influence people in a specific way, whether Christian, ideological, secularist, atheistic or agnostic, materialistic or naturalistic.
The Christian perspective, for one, can be described in these words of St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians, that show the balance between flexibility and stability:
“We have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God, that we may know the things that are given us from God.
“These things also we speak, not in the learned words of human wisdom, but in the doctrine of the Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
“But the sensual man perceives not these things that are of the Spirit of God, for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand, because it is spiritually examined.” (2,12-14)
Especially at these times when life’s pace is getting much faster and is exposing us to more and more things, we need not only to be properly grounded but also to be adequately guided.
The sense of perspective starts with a worldview of things, enabling us to relate events, experiences, insights, observations, to an over-all picture of our life and its purpose.
It enables us to relate parts among themselves to form a certain whole. It provides us with a sense of confidence and serenity, a sense of dominion and responsibility, and therefore of freedom, over our life.
It’s what build’s a person’s character, since it springs from a body of core beliefs and convictions, from where we put our faith on, generating a corresponding hierarchy of values to guide our thoughts and actions.
It gives us a sense of right and wrong, of good and evil in all aspects of our life. It endows us with a moral and ethical vision of our life.
Thus, there is such a thing as a Christian perspective, based, of course, on the Christian faith. There are also ideological perspectives, whether leftist, rightist or centrist.
There’s the liberal perspective where freedom dominates over responsibility. There’s also the secularist perspective where things are assessed without any consideration for anything spiritual and supernatural.
Whatever it is, what is important is that we have a clear idea of the perspective we are assuming. We have to continually assess and develop it, because it is a living thing that has contend with the vital flow of new elements and factors.
Much of our problem these days stems from the fact that many people do not realize this. Though there is a natural albeit hidden yearning for this sense of perspective, the reality is that many people are not aware of it and do not know how to develop it properly.
As a result, there is a lot of shallowness and narrowness in the grasping of reality, leading one to simply be reactive rather than pro-active, if not to behave in on-the-spot improvisations, prone to knee-jerk responses.
There’s hardly any long-term vision and sense of direction. The sense of priority is shifty and at best not clear, very vulnerable to passing fads and fancies, to prevailing pressures and to one’s moods and other subjective elements.
When this sense of perspective is not properly developed, we tend not to have a clear idea of what should be held of absolute value that should be upheld no matter what, and what can be considered with relative value only.
We have to be wary of a certain thinking, quite prevalent these days, that says that there’s really no need to develop this sense of perspective. One just judges and reasons as one sees fit in a given moment.
For those occupying positions of leadership and influence in society, developing a good sense of perspective is most necessary. Without this sense of perspective, they can become a source of danger and can cause much harm.
This is especially true to the media who daily feed us with information, views and opinions. The quality of their work and their contribution to society are determined to a large extent by the kind of perspective they have.
It’s what gives depth and scope to their work, and what can truly lead and influence people in a specific way, whether Christian, ideological, secularist, atheistic or agnostic, materialistic or naturalistic.
The Christian perspective, for one, can be described in these words of St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians, that show the balance between flexibility and stability:
“We have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God, that we may know the things that are given us from God.
“These things also we speak, not in the learned words of human wisdom, but in the doctrine of the Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
“But the sensual man perceives not these things that are of the Spirit of God, for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand, because it is spiritually examined.” (2,12-14)
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Friends always
AN American think tank claimed recently that many of Latin America ’s socially active clergy are cooling off in their liking for the so-called Liberation Theology after experiencing its ugly effects in parts of the region nowadays.
Thanks to the likes of Venezuela ’s Hugo Chavez and other militant groups in the region, many clerics are waking up to the reality that following the tenets of Liberation Theology does not necessarily lead to freedom and justice.
Liberation Theology is a very attractive and forceful social thought that tries to marry Christ’s Gospel and the socialist ideology. It has many beautiful and valid points, but also a number of dangerous features.
Since its inception in the 60s and 70s, the Vatican has been issuing documents that seek to clarify its real nature, distinguishing what’s good and what’s wrong with it in its many versions. Some warnings had been made.
Its popularity arose as a reaction to the grave situation of social injustice in Latin America , a region that’s supposed to be Christian but wracked by severe poverty and a litany of social problems.
Contributing to its phenomenon is the perception that Church leaders had been collaborating with right-wing monarchies in the region. And so it tends to have an anti-hierarchy character.
Liberation theology tries to express Christian faith in political terms. This is where its problem begins. It tries to capture and reduce the spiritual and supernatural nature of Christianity into a purely temporal political way of life.
It seems to thrive in places where conditions of intellectual confusion and high emotional intensity over issues are present. It promises instant action and relief to problems, but that has been seen largely to be false.
This issue always resonates with me, since it reminds me of my turbulent college days in Manila . It was pre-Martial Law years. Student unrest was the fever that was spreading like wildfire. Rallies and demonstrations were almost a daily occurrence.
Many of my classmates—we were taking AB-Eco and Accounting in a boys’ school—were directly involved. I remember how I admired them for their idealism and generous energy that led them to make selfless initiatives.
Some of them eventually dropped out of school and reportedly went to the mountains. Many of them came back and returned to normal life, thank God, but a few are still missing up to now.
They will always be my friends no matter what and whether they are at the left, right or center of the socio-political spectrum. These distinctions don’t work when friendship is at the center. I can’t judge their motives.
At the beginning I was with them doing my share. Who could resist joining anything that’s supposed to fight against poverty and injustice? When you’re young, the usual idealism tends to look for thrill and adventure.
But this involvement was short-lived. When I noticed that there was hardly any prayer being done, that everything seemed to be seen and summarized by some slogans, that there appeared to me like a lot of rash and sweeping judgments, I backed off and decided to take a different path.
There was also the tendency to be rigid, uniform and monolithic in the actions taken in a field which I considered to be by nature open to many possibilities.
It tended also to be too idealistic and simplistic, failing to give due recognition to personal, historical and cultural weaknesses of the people. It looked to me that it believed more on the transformation of structure than of the heart to effect real good change.
It was only later that I discovered that much of what drove my friends to their activities was Liberation Theology. Some group introduced and promoted it. But I was mortified when it misused the Gospel, the doctrine and the sacraments to fit them for purely political purposes.
It’s now many years since I had my first strong feelings and my first occasions to make fundamental decisions. And now, events in the past few years seem to vindicate my choices.
I continue to pray for my friends. I know God has his ways. We can play any game we want, but ultimately God our Father is in control of everything.
Thanks to the likes of Venezuela ’s Hugo Chavez and other militant groups in the region, many clerics are waking up to the reality that following the tenets of Liberation Theology does not necessarily lead to freedom and justice.
Liberation Theology is a very attractive and forceful social thought that tries to marry Christ’s Gospel and the socialist ideology. It has many beautiful and valid points, but also a number of dangerous features.
Since its inception in the 60s and 70s, the Vatican has been issuing documents that seek to clarify its real nature, distinguishing what’s good and what’s wrong with it in its many versions. Some warnings had been made.
Its popularity arose as a reaction to the grave situation of social injustice in Latin America , a region that’s supposed to be Christian but wracked by severe poverty and a litany of social problems.
Contributing to its phenomenon is the perception that Church leaders had been collaborating with right-wing monarchies in the region. And so it tends to have an anti-hierarchy character.
Liberation theology tries to express Christian faith in political terms. This is where its problem begins. It tries to capture and reduce the spiritual and supernatural nature of Christianity into a purely temporal political way of life.
It seems to thrive in places where conditions of intellectual confusion and high emotional intensity over issues are present. It promises instant action and relief to problems, but that has been seen largely to be false.
This issue always resonates with me, since it reminds me of my turbulent college days in Manila . It was pre-Martial Law years. Student unrest was the fever that was spreading like wildfire. Rallies and demonstrations were almost a daily occurrence.
Many of my classmates—we were taking AB-Eco and Accounting in a boys’ school—were directly involved. I remember how I admired them for their idealism and generous energy that led them to make selfless initiatives.
Some of them eventually dropped out of school and reportedly went to the mountains. Many of them came back and returned to normal life, thank God, but a few are still missing up to now.
They will always be my friends no matter what and whether they are at the left, right or center of the socio-political spectrum. These distinctions don’t work when friendship is at the center. I can’t judge their motives.
At the beginning I was with them doing my share. Who could resist joining anything that’s supposed to fight against poverty and injustice? When you’re young, the usual idealism tends to look for thrill and adventure.
But this involvement was short-lived. When I noticed that there was hardly any prayer being done, that everything seemed to be seen and summarized by some slogans, that there appeared to me like a lot of rash and sweeping judgments, I backed off and decided to take a different path.
There was also the tendency to be rigid, uniform and monolithic in the actions taken in a field which I considered to be by nature open to many possibilities.
It tended also to be too idealistic and simplistic, failing to give due recognition to personal, historical and cultural weaknesses of the people. It looked to me that it believed more on the transformation of structure than of the heart to effect real good change.
It was only later that I discovered that much of what drove my friends to their activities was Liberation Theology. Some group introduced and promoted it. But I was mortified when it misused the Gospel, the doctrine and the sacraments to fit them for purely political purposes.
It’s now many years since I had my first strong feelings and my first occasions to make fundamental decisions. And now, events in the past few years seem to vindicate my choices.
I continue to pray for my friends. I know God has his ways. We can play any game we want, but ultimately God our Father is in control of everything.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Rural poor
JUST learned that the second national rural congress will be convened by our bishops sometime this year. The first one was held, hold your breath, 41 years ago!
When the announcement came in a priestly gathering recently, I could not help but detect traces of a defense mechanism trying to cover and make up for the apparent neglect.
Could it be that our Church had been indifferent to the plight of our rural poor?
I have my doubts. Even if we have been committing all sorts of mistakes and our inadequacies are too obvious to belabor, to think that we have been indifferent to the rural poor would not be quite right.
We have been with everyone. We may have our deficiencies and excesses, still the fact is that we have been enjoying and suffering life with everyone.
We have been in all this together. Let’s never forget we are all members of the same body, the same family. This should be the given from where to start this second national rural congress.
We should just tackle the proposed agenda with sobriety and thoroughness. As it is, it’s already a tall order: “to facilitate the opportunity for the rural poor to voice out their concerns and their experiences of rural poverty and be heard by the Church.”
We have to be wary of the temptation to turn the occasion into a binge of blaming the usual suspects: the rich, the government, the powerful, etc. This way of resolving problems should be a thing of the past. It’s largely useless, making more enemies than friends.
We have to guard against the tricks of ideologues and the media who will try to make capital out of this event. We have to be ready to pacify the waves of hype, flimflam and gamesmanship that will likely accompany this conference.
Most relevant in this kind of collective exercise is the virtue of prudence, one that always goes with sobriety, that seeks to know everything needed to be known, and that blends the demands of charity and justice well.
It is the prudence that goes with restraint, patience, discretion and good manners. It requires studying, consulting and dialoguing about possible options and scenarios, focusing more on what unite rather than on what divide, on what build rather than on what destroy.
Never to be forgotten is the distinctive contribution of the Church, which is to relate whatever social issues and problems we have to our ultimate supernatural calling. This can never be considered irrelevant.
It is to echo what St. Paul said: “I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and how to abound. In any circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” (Phil 4,11-13)
All of us have our own personal experiences of rural life. In my case, I consider it as an unforgettable part of my growing-up years. Summers were spent in a fishing village, my father’s birth place.
We used to hike some distance to reach it from where the bus would drop us off. It was then a place with no running water, no electricity. I had to help fetch water from the well, gather firewood, do laundry in a nearby spring, tend the chickens and pigs.
My friends were all sorts, the normal and the not-so-normal, since many had handicaps, if not physical then mental. I had friends who were hunchbacked, hare-lipped, cross-eyed, retarded, etc.
But we were all happy. Hardly anyone felt like an offender because hardly anyone felt offended. Our conflicts and mistakes were settled spontaneously.
Poverty was all around, and yet everyone worked hard and was always hopeful. Occasional heartbreaks occurred as I lost some friends just because of common illnesses like diarrhea, flu, chicken-pox.
The folks treated my father like a demigod expected to solve their problems. I heard and saw them cry. And yet when I would ask what was wrong, they would just smile and spare me the details.
“There’s God and an afterlife,” they would say, giving me a glimpse of their faith. It is this faith that has to be protected at all costs, whatever the social condition.
When the announcement came in a priestly gathering recently, I could not help but detect traces of a defense mechanism trying to cover and make up for the apparent neglect.
Could it be that our Church had been indifferent to the plight of our rural poor?
I have my doubts. Even if we have been committing all sorts of mistakes and our inadequacies are too obvious to belabor, to think that we have been indifferent to the rural poor would not be quite right.
We have been with everyone. We may have our deficiencies and excesses, still the fact is that we have been enjoying and suffering life with everyone.
We have been in all this together. Let’s never forget we are all members of the same body, the same family. This should be the given from where to start this second national rural congress.
We should just tackle the proposed agenda with sobriety and thoroughness. As it is, it’s already a tall order: “to facilitate the opportunity for the rural poor to voice out their concerns and their experiences of rural poverty and be heard by the Church.”
We have to be wary of the temptation to turn the occasion into a binge of blaming the usual suspects: the rich, the government, the powerful, etc. This way of resolving problems should be a thing of the past. It’s largely useless, making more enemies than friends.
We have to guard against the tricks of ideologues and the media who will try to make capital out of this event. We have to be ready to pacify the waves of hype, flimflam and gamesmanship that will likely accompany this conference.
Most relevant in this kind of collective exercise is the virtue of prudence, one that always goes with sobriety, that seeks to know everything needed to be known, and that blends the demands of charity and justice well.
It is the prudence that goes with restraint, patience, discretion and good manners. It requires studying, consulting and dialoguing about possible options and scenarios, focusing more on what unite rather than on what divide, on what build rather than on what destroy.
Never to be forgotten is the distinctive contribution of the Church, which is to relate whatever social issues and problems we have to our ultimate supernatural calling. This can never be considered irrelevant.
It is to echo what St. Paul said: “I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and how to abound. In any circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” (Phil 4,11-13)
All of us have our own personal experiences of rural life. In my case, I consider it as an unforgettable part of my growing-up years. Summers were spent in a fishing village, my father’s birth place.
We used to hike some distance to reach it from where the bus would drop us off. It was then a place with no running water, no electricity. I had to help fetch water from the well, gather firewood, do laundry in a nearby spring, tend the chickens and pigs.
My friends were all sorts, the normal and the not-so-normal, since many had handicaps, if not physical then mental. I had friends who were hunchbacked, hare-lipped, cross-eyed, retarded, etc.
But we were all happy. Hardly anyone felt like an offender because hardly anyone felt offended. Our conflicts and mistakes were settled spontaneously.
Poverty was all around, and yet everyone worked hard and was always hopeful. Occasional heartbreaks occurred as I lost some friends just because of common illnesses like diarrhea, flu, chicken-pox.
The folks treated my father like a demigod expected to solve their problems. I heard and saw them cry. And yet when I would ask what was wrong, they would just smile and spare me the details.
“There’s God and an afterlife,” they would say, giving me a glimpse of their faith. It is this faith that has to be protected at all costs, whatever the social condition.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Church review and outlook
IT’S expected that every New Year, people in different fields make year-end reviews and projections of how the new year would likely be as far as their interest is concerned.
The media is fond of this. But so far, this exercise seems to be confined only to the political and business sections. At the moment, we are fed heavily with all sorts of reports and forecasts in this regard. They serve a purpose.
Of course, the lifestyle and entertainment section cannot be outdone. In this area, gossips are made to spill like rampaging lava from an exploding volcano.
The big difference is that instead of running away from it, many people like to be buried by this molten flow of red-hot rumors and juicy blind items. As of now, I’m afraid there is no cure yet for this lunacy.
I believe that this annual practice should also be done—and even with more reason—in the area of faith and religion as far as these would be assessable in their human and temporal expressions.
I know that life is largely a mystery. Even if we are talking of ordinary, well-known daily events, that mystery is hardly diminished. Well, our faith and Church life are even more of a mystery!
But this does not excuse us from doing what is humanly possible to gain some kind of control and sense of direction in our spiritual and Church life. Yes, everything depends on God, but things also depend on us. Let’s do our part.
If everyone is prodded to do an examination of conscience not only at the end of the year, but in fact, at every day’s end, then some kind of review and forecast should also be done in the bigger and higher levels of Church life.
Like, how did a particular parish perform last year? And what are its prospects for this year? Any religious organization, diocese, and even the bishops’ conference can ask similar questions if only to infuse a sense of professionalism to their pastoral work.
From there, more people could be better aware of what happened in the past
and of what are planned for the future. There’d be more sense of solidarity in our collective effort to be more consistent to our faith.
We have to overcome whatever awkwardness and amateurism we may still have with respect to our Church life. With the pace of development we now have, this attitude is really and laughably out of place.
It’s true that the Church is hierarchical and its main thrust is on the spiritual and the supernatural life nourished by God’s word, dogmas and doctrine, the sacraments, etc.
But it also has temporal and human concerns that require active participation as much as possible by everyone. It’s more in this area that some public assessment of things can be made to generate wider participation.
And the media can be a big help. As long as it realizes its need for continuing formation, it can carry out this delicate function properly. This is a challenge for media to assume greater responsibility in Church life.
Obviously there are differences of opinions, and even mistakes can be committed. But it would be wrong if the media just focuses on stoking controversies and denouncing mistakes and scandals.
It has to do a more constructive and cooperative effort by making a kind of running account of developments in the Church and going deep into the task of making Church life more appreciated by everyone.
It can do better than just announcing town fiestas or reporting the external aspects of whatever events, good or bad, may take place in the parish or the diocese.
It can, for example, make suggestions based on studies or wide consultations on how the continuing task of evangelization can be made or improved.
It can make their views known on how a certain aspect of the faith has affected or will likely affect a particular group of people. Is there growth in the people’s spiritual life? Is there a greater sense of Church among them?
The media can do many things to deepen and strengthen our spiritual and Church life. If need be, they can hire experts or consultants in Church affairs. An awful lot can be done!
The media is fond of this. But so far, this exercise seems to be confined only to the political and business sections. At the moment, we are fed heavily with all sorts of reports and forecasts in this regard. They serve a purpose.
Of course, the lifestyle and entertainment section cannot be outdone. In this area, gossips are made to spill like rampaging lava from an exploding volcano.
The big difference is that instead of running away from it, many people like to be buried by this molten flow of red-hot rumors and juicy blind items. As of now, I’m afraid there is no cure yet for this lunacy.
I believe that this annual practice should also be done—and even with more reason—in the area of faith and religion as far as these would be assessable in their human and temporal expressions.
I know that life is largely a mystery. Even if we are talking of ordinary, well-known daily events, that mystery is hardly diminished. Well, our faith and Church life are even more of a mystery!
But this does not excuse us from doing what is humanly possible to gain some kind of control and sense of direction in our spiritual and Church life. Yes, everything depends on God, but things also depend on us. Let’s do our part.
If everyone is prodded to do an examination of conscience not only at the end of the year, but in fact, at every day’s end, then some kind of review and forecast should also be done in the bigger and higher levels of Church life.
Like, how did a particular parish perform last year? And what are its prospects for this year? Any religious organization, diocese, and even the bishops’ conference can ask similar questions if only to infuse a sense of professionalism to their pastoral work.
From there, more people could be better aware of what happened in the past
and of what are planned for the future. There’d be more sense of solidarity in our collective effort to be more consistent to our faith.
We have to overcome whatever awkwardness and amateurism we may still have with respect to our Church life. With the pace of development we now have, this attitude is really and laughably out of place.
It’s true that the Church is hierarchical and its main thrust is on the spiritual and the supernatural life nourished by God’s word, dogmas and doctrine, the sacraments, etc.
But it also has temporal and human concerns that require active participation as much as possible by everyone. It’s more in this area that some public assessment of things can be made to generate wider participation.
And the media can be a big help. As long as it realizes its need for continuing formation, it can carry out this delicate function properly. This is a challenge for media to assume greater responsibility in Church life.
Obviously there are differences of opinions, and even mistakes can be committed. But it would be wrong if the media just focuses on stoking controversies and denouncing mistakes and scandals.
It has to do a more constructive and cooperative effort by making a kind of running account of developments in the Church and going deep into the task of making Church life more appreciated by everyone.
It can do better than just announcing town fiestas or reporting the external aspects of whatever events, good or bad, may take place in the parish or the diocese.
It can, for example, make suggestions based on studies or wide consultations on how the continuing task of evangelization can be made or improved.
It can make their views known on how a certain aspect of the faith has affected or will likely affect a particular group of people. Is there growth in the people’s spiritual life? Is there a greater sense of Church among them?
The media can do many things to deepen and strengthen our spiritual and Church life. If need be, they can hire experts or consultants in Church affairs. An awful lot can be done!
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Church review and outlook
IT’S expected that every new year, people in different fields make year-end reviews and projections of how the new year would likely be as far as their interest is concerned.
The media is fond of this. But so far, this exercise seems to be confined only to the political and business sections. At the moment, we are fed heavily with all sorts of reports and forecasts in this regard. They serve a purpose.
Of course, the lifestyle and entertainment section cannot be outdone. In this area, gossips are made to spill like rampaging lava from an exploding volcano.
The big difference is that instead of running away from it, many people like to be buried by this molten flow of red-hot rumors and juicy blind items. As of now, I’m afraid there is no cure yet for this lunacy.
I believe that this annual practice should also be done—and even with more
reason—in the area of faith and religion as far as these would be assessable in their human and temporal expressions.
I know that life is largely a mystery. Even if we are talking of ordinary, well-known daily events, that mystery is hardly diminished. Well, our faith and Church life are even more of a mystery!
But this does not excuse us from doing what is humanly possible to gain some kind of control and sense of direction in our spiritual and Church life. Yes, everything depends on God, but things also depend on us. Let’s do our part.
If everyone is prodded to do an examination of conscience not only at the
end of the year, but in fact, at every day’s end, then some kind of review and forecast should also be done in the bigger and higher levels of Church life.
Like, how did a particular parish perform last year? And what are its prospects for this year? Any religious organization, diocese, and even the bishops’ conference can ask similar questions if only to infuse a sense of professionalism to their pastoral work.
From there, more people could be better aware of what happened in the past
and of what are planned for the future. There’d be more sense of solidarity in our collective effort to be more consistent to our faith.
We have to overcome whatever awkwardness and amateurism we may still have with respect to our Church life. With the pace of development we now have,
this attitude is really and laughably out of place.
It’s true that the Church is hierarchical and its main thrust is on the spiritual and the supernatural life nourished by God’s word, dogmas and doctrine, the sacraments, etc.
But it also has temporal and human concerns that require active participation as much as possible by everyone. It’s more in this area that some public assessment of things can be made to generate wider participation.
And the media can be a big help. As long as it realizes its need for continuing formation, it can carry out this delicate function properly. This is a challenge for media to assume greater responsibility in Church life.
Obviously there are differences of opinions, and even mistakes can be committed. But it would be wrong if the media just focuses on stoking controversies and denouncing mistakes and scandals.
It has to do a more constructive and cooperative effort by making a kind of
running account of developments in the Church and going deep into the task of making Church life more appreciated by everyone.
It can do better than just announcing town fiestas or reporting the external aspects of whatever events, good or bad, may take place in the parish or the diocese.
It can, for example, make suggestions based on studies or wide consultations on how the continuing task of evangelization can be made or improved.
It can make their views known on how a certain aspect of the faith has
affected or will likely affect a particular group of people. Is their growth in the people’s spiritual life, is there a greater sense of Church among them, etc.?
The media can do many things to deepen and strengthen our spiritual and
Church life. If need be, they can hire experts or consultants in Church affairs. An awful lot can be done!
The media is fond of this. But so far, this exercise seems to be confined only to the political and business sections. At the moment, we are fed heavily with all sorts of reports and forecasts in this regard. They serve a purpose.
Of course, the lifestyle and entertainment section cannot be outdone. In this area, gossips are made to spill like rampaging lava from an exploding volcano.
The big difference is that instead of running away from it, many people like to be buried by this molten flow of red-hot rumors and juicy blind items. As of now, I’m afraid there is no cure yet for this lunacy.
I believe that this annual practice should also be done—and even with more
reason—in the area of faith and religion as far as these would be assessable in their human and temporal expressions.
I know that life is largely a mystery. Even if we are talking of ordinary, well-known daily events, that mystery is hardly diminished. Well, our faith and Church life are even more of a mystery!
But this does not excuse us from doing what is humanly possible to gain some kind of control and sense of direction in our spiritual and Church life. Yes, everything depends on God, but things also depend on us. Let’s do our part.
If everyone is prodded to do an examination of conscience not only at the
end of the year, but in fact, at every day’s end, then some kind of review and forecast should also be done in the bigger and higher levels of Church life.
Like, how did a particular parish perform last year? And what are its prospects for this year? Any religious organization, diocese, and even the bishops’ conference can ask similar questions if only to infuse a sense of professionalism to their pastoral work.
From there, more people could be better aware of what happened in the past
and of what are planned for the future. There’d be more sense of solidarity in our collective effort to be more consistent to our faith.
We have to overcome whatever awkwardness and amateurism we may still have with respect to our Church life. With the pace of development we now have,
this attitude is really and laughably out of place.
It’s true that the Church is hierarchical and its main thrust is on the spiritual and the supernatural life nourished by God’s word, dogmas and doctrine, the sacraments, etc.
But it also has temporal and human concerns that require active participation as much as possible by everyone. It’s more in this area that some public assessment of things can be made to generate wider participation.
And the media can be a big help. As long as it realizes its need for continuing formation, it can carry out this delicate function properly. This is a challenge for media to assume greater responsibility in Church life.
Obviously there are differences of opinions, and even mistakes can be committed. But it would be wrong if the media just focuses on stoking controversies and denouncing mistakes and scandals.
It has to do a more constructive and cooperative effort by making a kind of
running account of developments in the Church and going deep into the task of making Church life more appreciated by everyone.
It can do better than just announcing town fiestas or reporting the external aspects of whatever events, good or bad, may take place in the parish or the diocese.
It can, for example, make suggestions based on studies or wide consultations on how the continuing task of evangelization can be made or improved.
It can make their views known on how a certain aspect of the faith has
affected or will likely affect a particular group of people. Is their growth in the people’s spiritual life, is there a greater sense of Church among them, etc.?
The media can do many things to deepen and strengthen our spiritual and
Church life. If need be, they can hire experts or consultants in Church affairs. An awful lot can be done!
Friday, January 4, 2008
Tackling tiredness
LIKE shadows that stick with us and lengthen at sunset, tiredness and exhaustion, stress, toxicity, fatigue, lethargy and plain weariness are increasingly our unavoidable companions everyday.
The present pace of life and the kind of challenges and pressures we face these days make sure they are a mainstream reality. And here, we are not talking only of physical tiredness. That’s the lowest form and the least dangerous kind.
We worry more of the more complex types: emotional exhaustion, mental or psychological stress, spiritual and even moral fatigue.
It’s good that we be more aware of these variations, since most often when
we complain about tiredness, we think only of physical tiredness when in fact what is happening is far worse than that.
Thus, with a wrong diagnosis, we make a wrong prescription. Emotional exhaustion is when you cease to feel, or when your feelings go wild and haywire. This is when you are vulnerable to mood swings, become easily irritable and can go to completely irrational and even violent behavior.
Mental or psychological tiredness is when you don’t like to think anymore.
Thinking is what distinguishes us from other animals. Imagine if what’s supposed to lead the way for us is incapacitated!
Stress is when you seem continuously moving. Unable to rest, you always
feel stretched and burned out.
Spiritual lethargy is when you lack the energy to pray and you don’t understand why you have to make sacrifices. You start doubting about God’s existence and goodness. It’s tiredness at a scarier level.
Moral fatigue is when you start saying you are tired of doing good and you
like to do evil instead. That is, when committing sin appears attractive, when you lose the sense of shame in pursuing it.
For sure, a variety of means can offer relief to these kinds of tiredness. You can take a nap, sleep, travel, go to excursion, exercise and do sports, read books, watch TV, hear music or sing, visit friends, do gardening or hobbies, etc.
But we have to remember that in all these ways of relieving tiredness, God
has to be present. It would be wrong to seek rest without God, since true rest can only come from God and with God.
Let’s never forget: “Come to me, all you that labor and are burdened, and I
will refresh you. Take up my yoke upon you and learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls.” (Mt 11,28-29)
Resting in whatever form, and praying, going to Mass and confession should always go together. Otherwise, we’d just be deceiving ourselves, creating a
false sense of wellness drawing subtler evils to enter our heart.
Tiredness can be a sign of strength and a golden opportunity to get very close to our Lord. St. Paul said so: “For when I am weak, then am I strong.” (2 Cor 12,10)
It can also be our Calvary with which our day should end, mirroring the way Christ culminated his mission on earth. Thus, it’s good to meditate often on
Christ’s passion and death to savor the spiritual richness of tiredness.
We should not be afraid of tiredness or any form of weakness. We should
rather welcome it, and make it an occasion to feel God’s saving presence in us.
This is no pious fantasy. Saints have left us with moving testimonials of this amazing truth. All forms of tiredness and weakness were for them a getting closer to Christ, who resurrected after suffering the most painful humiliations and the most inglorious death.
With God’s grace and our quiet efforts to accept what befalls us, always hoping and praying, we can manage to be above our physical tiredness, emotional exhaustion, our mental or psychological weariness, even our spiritual and moral fatigue.
When we allow God to take over us, the old become new, the wounds get healed, our tiredness gives way to renewed vigor, even death leads to life. God has mysterious ways far beyond what we can do to restore us.
On the human level, we just have to learn to take it easy, to be game, to just be calm and keep steady focus on our Lord on the Cross. Let’s learn the art of suffering quietly.
The present pace of life and the kind of challenges and pressures we face these days make sure they are a mainstream reality. And here, we are not talking only of physical tiredness. That’s the lowest form and the least dangerous kind.
We worry more of the more complex types: emotional exhaustion, mental or psychological stress, spiritual and even moral fatigue.
It’s good that we be more aware of these variations, since most often when
we complain about tiredness, we think only of physical tiredness when in fact what is happening is far worse than that.
Thus, with a wrong diagnosis, we make a wrong prescription. Emotional exhaustion is when you cease to feel, or when your feelings go wild and haywire. This is when you are vulnerable to mood swings, become easily irritable and can go to completely irrational and even violent behavior.
Mental or psychological tiredness is when you don’t like to think anymore.
Thinking is what distinguishes us from other animals. Imagine if what’s supposed to lead the way for us is incapacitated!
Stress is when you seem continuously moving. Unable to rest, you always
feel stretched and burned out.
Spiritual lethargy is when you lack the energy to pray and you don’t understand why you have to make sacrifices. You start doubting about God’s existence and goodness. It’s tiredness at a scarier level.
Moral fatigue is when you start saying you are tired of doing good and you
like to do evil instead. That is, when committing sin appears attractive, when you lose the sense of shame in pursuing it.
For sure, a variety of means can offer relief to these kinds of tiredness. You can take a nap, sleep, travel, go to excursion, exercise and do sports, read books, watch TV, hear music or sing, visit friends, do gardening or hobbies, etc.
But we have to remember that in all these ways of relieving tiredness, God
has to be present. It would be wrong to seek rest without God, since true rest can only come from God and with God.
Let’s never forget: “Come to me, all you that labor and are burdened, and I
will refresh you. Take up my yoke upon you and learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls.” (Mt 11,28-29)
Resting in whatever form, and praying, going to Mass and confession should always go together. Otherwise, we’d just be deceiving ourselves, creating a
false sense of wellness drawing subtler evils to enter our heart.
Tiredness can be a sign of strength and a golden opportunity to get very close to our Lord. St. Paul said so: “For when I am weak, then am I strong.” (2 Cor 12,10)
It can also be our Calvary with which our day should end, mirroring the way Christ culminated his mission on earth. Thus, it’s good to meditate often on
Christ’s passion and death to savor the spiritual richness of tiredness.
We should not be afraid of tiredness or any form of weakness. We should
rather welcome it, and make it an occasion to feel God’s saving presence in us.
This is no pious fantasy. Saints have left us with moving testimonials of this amazing truth. All forms of tiredness and weakness were for them a getting closer to Christ, who resurrected after suffering the most painful humiliations and the most inglorious death.
With God’s grace and our quiet efforts to accept what befalls us, always hoping and praying, we can manage to be above our physical tiredness, emotional exhaustion, our mental or psychological weariness, even our spiritual and moral fatigue.
When we allow God to take over us, the old become new, the wounds get healed, our tiredness gives way to renewed vigor, even death leads to life. God has mysterious ways far beyond what we can do to restore us.
On the human level, we just have to learn to take it easy, to be game, to just be calm and keep steady focus on our Lord on the Cross. Let’s learn the art of suffering quietly.
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