Sacrifice, sacrifice

THIS is practically the essence of our life. If it has to have meaning, if it has to reach its perfection, if it has to keep on going strong, our life has to be driven with the motive that it is a sacrifice, an offering, an act of self-giving.

Our life needs to be related to God and to others. It should avoid getting stuck with its own self. That situation would be toxic to our life, even if that would be sweet, as it often is at least for a while. Our life needs God and others to fill it up. It just cannot feed on itself.

For this, we need to cultivate the necessary attitudes, skills and virtues. Are we always praying, relating ourselves to God and to others? Do we see God and souls in the things that we handle, in the varying situations that we find ourselves in?

This is the big challenge we have today. How do we manage to be with God in the middle of our concerns and activities? The answer may well be in developing the lifestyle and mentality of sacrifice.

A lifestyle of sacrifice is what Christ, who is the way, the life and the truth for us, has shown and taught us. It is what is proper to us. From the beginning of time, starting with Adam and Eve, this idea of sacrifice was already inculcated

Our problem is that often our lifestyle and culture are patterned after the tenets of self-indulgence. We may not even be aware of it. We can think that because we have to continually react to our needs and those of the family, we are already making some sacrifice. But the truth is, the moment these needs are somehow satisfied, we readily forget about making sacrifice and self-indulgence takes over.

This self-indulgence can easily come to us because of our weakened, wounded nature that leads us to think that by simply caring for ourselves we would be happy. Our flesh follows this law that has gone astray and been detached from its true foundation. The flesh simply wants pleasure, comfort, convenience, etc. It is blind to the spirit and to the supernatural realities.

That is why we see many people gripped in the vise of hedonism, materialism, commercialism, etc. Sex, food and drinks are where many meet their waterloo. Some have gone to worse things as in drugs and all kinds of addiction. The more clever ones may manage for a while to hide their shenanigans, but truth will out sooner or later.

Many of the youth today are easily held captive by the seemingly irresistible allurements of modern technologies and what they produce—video music, games, etc.—that lead them to neglect many duties, even their basic needs of eating and resting.

We have to do everything to put in place this culture of sacrifice, reassuring everyone that this is actually not only respectful of our nature but rather what enhances our nature, what enriches it and disposes it to enter into the spiritual and supernatural realities to which we are actually called.

In this, we have to do a lot of clarification, because many myths, superstitions and hardened bad habits are preventing many people to understand the true significance of sacrifice in our life. Obviously, this lifestyle of sacrifice has to be developed with naturalness, and even with elegance.

A sacrificial attitude does not necessarily mean having a face contorted in anguish. It can have a cheerful and calm visage. In fact, it should have, as exemplified by Christ himself who went through the sacrifice of his own life in sober and dignified manner.

This attitude should permeate all aspects of life, including our fun, sports and entertainment. A professional singer, a rocker, once told me that whenever he makes an effort to offer this performance to God, trying to be aware of God’s presence, he manages to attain a certain serenity and dominion such that his stage fright disappears and his delivery becomes excellent.

This sacrificial attitude actually gives us a lot of human benefits, let alone, the spiritual ones. It clears our minds, calms our souls, increases our inner strength, cultivates self-dominion. It, of course, identifies us more with Christ on the cross, and thus prepares us for our resurrection, since if we die with him, we will also rise with him.

May every table we happen to use be like an altar where we do our offering of our work and of our own selves to God and to others!