WE should not be surprised that life
and all the
challenges and trials we are going to face in it will always demand
from us things beyond our powers and resources. And that’s simply
because we are meant to go to God for all our needs, without
neglecting any effort we can give along the way.
With God, we have everything. As St. Teresa de Avila would
put it, “Solo Dios basta!” What we lack in our humanity, we can always
make up by relying always and completely on God.
But, alas, this can happen only when we have faith, for
faith is our best resource. As St. John puts it in his first letter,
“This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith.” (5,4)
Without faith, we are left with a big problem right from the start.
Thus, before all this exciting drama and adventure of
life, our attitude should be that of being sporty and game, based on
our faith in God and trust in his all-powerful and merciful
providence. This attitude is actually what is presumed every time we
enter into some form of commitment, whether to a vocation or marriage
or work, etc.
It’s clear that we are not in control of everything. But instead of
being fearful and frozen into inaction, we should launch out into the
deep, warmed in the heart that if we are doing what we know is God’s
will for us, then we have every reason to believe it will always be
good, even if by human criteria it might be considered as a failure.
Let’s remember that “duc-in-altum” episode of the apostles with
Christ. At first, they hesitated to follow Christ’s command to go into
the deep for a catch, because they said they went fishing the previous
night and caught nothing.
But they chose to obey Christ just the same and, lo and behold, they
made such a big catch that it was hard for them to bring it to the
shore, leaving Peter covered with shame for his initial disbelief.
When we enter into a commitment of any kind, let’s make sure that it
is done before God and in accord to his will. A commitment not done
this way, or done simply relying on our own powers and resources, or
on some blind fate, is doomed from the beginning.
When properly done, that commitment should be the guarantee of our
success, if not here then hereafter, if not materially then
spiritually, if not humanly then supernaturally. That’s because, with
God, nothing is impossible. He actually does not lose battles, even if
in our own estimations, he might appear to have lost.
This truth about commitment should fill us with a deep sense of
confidence. More than that, it should prod us to be very generous and
magnanimous, sparing no effort or resource at our disposal, and always
enterprising in our pursuits, thinking big without neglecting the
little details.
Obviously, we have to balance all this with prudence and a growing
sense of humility also. Remember that Christ told us to be “wise as
serpents and simple as doves.” We have to avoid being totally like a
serpent without being like a dove, and vice-versa.
The health and vitality of our sense of commitment depends on the
health and vitality of our faith in God that in turn should lead us to
a vibrant life of hope and charity. Without discarding the due
function of our reason and senses, we have to be guided mainly by
faith.
That is why we need to discipline our thinking and emotions, because
they tend to go on their own and leave faith behind. We have to see to
it that the way we think and feel should always be infused by faith,
otherwise we expose ourselves to unnecessary dangers that would lead
us to fear, doubts, gloominess, etc.
challenges and trials we are going to face in it will always demand
from us things beyond our powers and resources. And that’s simply
because we are meant to go to God for all our needs, without
neglecting any effort we can give along the way.
With God, we have everything. As St. Teresa de Avila would
put it, “Solo Dios basta!” What we lack in our humanity, we can always
make up by relying always and completely on God.
But, alas, this can happen only when we have faith, for
faith is our best resource. As St. John puts it in his first letter,
“This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith.” (5,4)
Without faith, we are left with a big problem right from the start.
Thus, before all this exciting drama and adventure of
life, our attitude should be that of being sporty and game, based on
our faith in God and trust in his all-powerful and merciful
providence. This attitude is actually what is presumed every time we
enter into some form of commitment, whether to a vocation or marriage
or work, etc.
It’s clear that we are not in control of everything. But instead of
being fearful and frozen into inaction, we should launch out into the
deep, warmed in the heart that if we are doing what we know is God’s
will for us, then we have every reason to believe it will always be
good, even if by human criteria it might be considered as a failure.
Let’s remember that “duc-in-altum” episode of the apostles with
Christ. At first, they hesitated to follow Christ’s command to go into
the deep for a catch, because they said they went fishing the previous
night and caught nothing.
But they chose to obey Christ just the same and, lo and behold, they
made such a big catch that it was hard for them to bring it to the
shore, leaving Peter covered with shame for his initial disbelief.
When we enter into a commitment of any kind, let’s make sure that it
is done before God and in accord to his will. A commitment not done
this way, or done simply relying on our own powers and resources, or
on some blind fate, is doomed from the beginning.
When properly done, that commitment should be the guarantee of our
success, if not here then hereafter, if not materially then
spiritually, if not humanly then supernaturally. That’s because, with
God, nothing is impossible. He actually does not lose battles, even if
in our own estimations, he might appear to have lost.
This truth about commitment should fill us with a deep sense of
confidence. More than that, it should prod us to be very generous and
magnanimous, sparing no effort or resource at our disposal, and always
enterprising in our pursuits, thinking big without neglecting the
little details.
Obviously, we have to balance all this with prudence and a growing
sense of humility also. Remember that Christ told us to be “wise as
serpents and simple as doves.” We have to avoid being totally like a
serpent without being like a dove, and vice-versa.
The health and vitality of our sense of commitment depends on the
health and vitality of our faith in God that in turn should lead us to
a vibrant life of hope and charity. Without discarding the due
function of our reason and senses, we have to be guided mainly by
faith.
That is why we need to discipline our thinking and emotions, because
they tend to go on their own and leave faith behind. We have to see to
it that the way we think and feel should always be infused by faith,
otherwise we expose ourselves to unnecessary dangers that would lead
us to fear, doubts, gloominess, etc.
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