WE have to see to it that we are
moving toward developing
a universal mind and heart. That’s how our mind and heart are supposed
to be. They are meant to cover all and everything and everyone.
We have to understand that to have a universal mind and
heart is not only a matter of generics. It also is, just as much,
concerned with the particulars and the individuals. Let’s never think
that having a universal mind and heart hinders our personalized
attitude to people and things. On the contrary, it fosters such
attitude.
This is the mind and heart of Christ after whom we are
supposed to be patterned. While he preached to a crowd, he always
managed to address to everyone. While a big crowd followed him seeking
some cure for their maladies, he healed them by touching them one by
one or at least keeping each one in mind.
His love and concern for all humanity did not diminish one
bit his attention and care for each individual person in the
concreteness of his situation. In a sense, he takes care both of the
whole and of the parts, the entire thing and the details.
To be sure, our human nature is wired for this. Both our
mind and heart, the seat of our spiritual powers of intelligence and
will, are oriented toward the infinite. And given our material
dimension, we cannot help but attend to the individual cases and
specific situations.
And so, we can say that while we are meant to have an
outlook that is global and universal, we also have to learn how to act
in the local and personal, individualized levels. In sociological
terms, we have to learn how to blend the principles of the common
good, solidarity and subsidiarity, making them one organic and
functioning principle of life.
God’s grace extends this human potential of ours to be
able to acquire a supernatural character, capable of adopting the very
mind and heart of God as taught by Christ and effected by the Holy
Spirit. In this, we can cite what St. Paul once said: “We have the
mind of Christ.” (1 Cor 2,16)
But obviously, given our weakened and wounded condition,
we can have some disorder in this need of ours. We can think that to
have a universal mind and heart means treating people and situations
in a generic way. The personalized approach is deemed unfeasible. Or
we can hide in anonymity in our actuations.
Or, vice-versa, we can think that it is impossible to have
a universal mind and heart, and that we are only meant to have an
individualized and particularized understanding of things and attitude
toward people. We need to correct this error.
The key to developing a universal mind and heart is
clearly to have a living identity with Christ who, for his part, has
given himself completely to us so we can be “alter Christus, ipse
Christus” (another Christ, Christ himself).
Such identification enables us to echo St. Paul’ words: “I
live, now not I, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2,20) Such
identification enables us to share Christ’s power and wisdom that can
resolve all things in their ultimate terms. That’s when we can expect
to have the universal mind and heart of Christ.
That’s because Christ’s words and ways are not simply
economic or social or political or historical.in character. They
obviously give due attention to these considerations, but they go far
beyond these limitations. His words and ways are always creative and
innovative, even if they are also rooted on tradition.
There’s no human problem or world issue and predicament
that cannot be handled by Christ. He is the real and ultimate solver
of problems. We have to disabuse ourselves from the tendency to limit
Christ to certain concerns of ours, or from relying solely on our
human powers and sciences.
So, we need to develop the proper attitude and skills of
being with Christ in a vital way so we can learn how to be adaptive to
all kinds of situations without getting lost. We have to learn to be
open-minded and tolerant of things even as we strengthen our hold of
the truths already known and clearly articulated.
In facing difficult situations, not to mention, difficult
people, we have to learn the art of continuing dialogue, always
maintaining a humble attitude and following the law of gradualness
that’s meant to lead to conversion and transformation, for us and for
everybody else.
With this attitude, we can expect to have the universal
mind and heart of Christ.
a universal mind and heart. That’s how our mind and heart are supposed
to be. They are meant to cover all and everything and everyone.
We have to understand that to have a universal mind and
heart is not only a matter of generics. It also is, just as much,
concerned with the particulars and the individuals. Let’s never think
that having a universal mind and heart hinders our personalized
attitude to people and things. On the contrary, it fosters such
attitude.
This is the mind and heart of Christ after whom we are
supposed to be patterned. While he preached to a crowd, he always
managed to address to everyone. While a big crowd followed him seeking
some cure for their maladies, he healed them by touching them one by
one or at least keeping each one in mind.
His love and concern for all humanity did not diminish one
bit his attention and care for each individual person in the
concreteness of his situation. In a sense, he takes care both of the
whole and of the parts, the entire thing and the details.
To be sure, our human nature is wired for this. Both our
mind and heart, the seat of our spiritual powers of intelligence and
will, are oriented toward the infinite. And given our material
dimension, we cannot help but attend to the individual cases and
specific situations.
And so, we can say that while we are meant to have an
outlook that is global and universal, we also have to learn how to act
in the local and personal, individualized levels. In sociological
terms, we have to learn how to blend the principles of the common
good, solidarity and subsidiarity, making them one organic and
functioning principle of life.
God’s grace extends this human potential of ours to be
able to acquire a supernatural character, capable of adopting the very
mind and heart of God as taught by Christ and effected by the Holy
Spirit. In this, we can cite what St. Paul once said: “We have the
mind of Christ.” (1 Cor 2,16)
But obviously, given our weakened and wounded condition,
we can have some disorder in this need of ours. We can think that to
have a universal mind and heart means treating people and situations
in a generic way. The personalized approach is deemed unfeasible. Or
we can hide in anonymity in our actuations.
Or, vice-versa, we can think that it is impossible to have
a universal mind and heart, and that we are only meant to have an
individualized and particularized understanding of things and attitude
toward people. We need to correct this error.
The key to developing a universal mind and heart is
clearly to have a living identity with Christ who, for his part, has
given himself completely to us so we can be “alter Christus, ipse
Christus” (another Christ, Christ himself).
Such identification enables us to echo St. Paul’ words: “I
live, now not I, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2,20) Such
identification enables us to share Christ’s power and wisdom that can
resolve all things in their ultimate terms. That’s when we can expect
to have the universal mind and heart of Christ.
That’s because Christ’s words and ways are not simply
economic or social or political or historical.in character. They
obviously give due attention to these considerations, but they go far
beyond these limitations. His words and ways are always creative and
innovative, even if they are also rooted on tradition.
There’s no human problem or world issue and predicament
that cannot be handled by Christ. He is the real and ultimate solver
of problems. We have to disabuse ourselves from the tendency to limit
Christ to certain concerns of ours, or from relying solely on our
human powers and sciences.
So, we need to develop the proper attitude and skills of
being with Christ in a vital way so we can learn how to be adaptive to
all kinds of situations without getting lost. We have to learn to be
open-minded and tolerant of things even as we strengthen our hold of
the truths already known and clearly articulated.
In facing difficult situations, not to mention, difficult
people, we have to learn the art of continuing dialogue, always
maintaining a humble attitude and following the law of gradualness
that’s meant to lead to conversion and transformation, for us and for
everybody else.
With this attitude, we can expect to have the universal
mind and heart of Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment