Up for grabs

PRECISELY because of our freedom, everything is up for grabs. We can choose to be a hero or a heel, a saint or a demon, to go north or go south. It’s really up to us. Our freedom is such that we can be whatever we like to be.

                Of course, we also have to remember that that freedom comes from God. It’s not something that we generate or create ourselves. As such it has laws, external to us but adapted to us that as much as possible, if we are not fools, we should follow.

                This freedom can only be properly exercised therefore if used to follow the law inherent to it. It’s the freedom to go to God freely, or better said, lovingly, since loving is our ultimate expression of freedom.

                The freedom to do evil, to go against God, while an aspect of freedom, would not be true freedom. It’s what is called licentiousness, an abuse of freedom that harms us and leads us to our perdition.

                Having said that, what we can also affirm is that heroism and sanctity are really up to us to pursue. Insofar as God is concerned, we are already told, as St. Paul once expressed it, that “this is the will of God, your sanctification.” (1 Thes 4,3)

                Insofar as God is concerned, everything will be done for us to achieve that end, always respecting our freedom. This is something that we have to meditate on more deeply, so we can savor more vividly the practical consequences of such truth.

                God is everywhere. He always bestows on us his love that is ever extended to the infinity of his mercy. He is at every moment and juncture of our life, waiting for us to correspond to his love.

                We need to realize then that heroism and holiness do not depend on certain extraordinary occasions and circumstances, since God is also and always waiting for us in all and every ordinary affair of our daily life.

                To be a hero and a saint can be achieved right where we are, whether we are engaged in big things or small, whether we are in public or in the privacy of our rooms. It’s all a matter of the heart, whether it corresponds to the faith and charity that God shares with us.

                It’s this truth that forms the basis of our belief that everyone can and should be a saint. Holiness is not meant only for a few, but for all, and it can be pursued and attained in the myriad of ways that the different circumstances of our life can trace for us.

                We need to be aware of this truth more deeply and live by it. Yes, it can be true that we may not be recognized as heroic and saintly by others or in the public square. We may not end up with our images standing on some pedestals in churches. But as long as we truly sanctify ourselves before God in our ordinary duties, that would be it.

                It’s God’s judgment, not so much the people’s judgment, nor even a formal declaration of sanctity by the Church, that matters. We have to work and live with that mentality securely in place in our lifestyle. Let’s avoid falling into some kind of obsession to be publicly recognized as good, as a hero or saint.

                Sanctity can be achieved at home where one may just be tending the baby or doing the household chores, but giving his or her all to that duty out of love for God and for others. It can also be achieved in the office, in the farm, the factory, the mountain trails, as long as one’s heart is burning with love for God and for others, something that depends on us.

                Thus, we need to sort out our feelings and thinking properly in order to accommodate the demands of faith, hope and charity that we should try to correspond with all the vigor that we can muster.

                It’s this kind of sanctity that would unavoidably exude a certain aura that nobody can ignore. The fragrance of sanctity, while not showy, is always attractive. It can manage to resolve the usual differences and conflicts we may have regarding some issues, and to heal whatever defects, weakness, mistakes, failures we may commit or see around.

                It’s all for grabs. God, while he is the most mysterious and the farthest being we can imagine, is also the most real and the nearest being to be with us. Let’s go for him.