SINCE becoming a priest, I have left
behind my former
profession of being an economist. I consider priesthood as demanding
total dedication to an exclusively spiritual, moral and supernatural
goal.
I understand that being a priest, one should not get
entangled with worldly partisan politics or with merely profit-seeking
businesses, etc. As Opus Dei founder St. Josemaria once said, “A
priest should be a priest through and through.” He should only speak
about God, and about spiritual, moral and supernatural realities.
Just the same, I also understand that the world of
economics, being a human activity, and a major one at that, also needs
to be sanctified. That’s why, I also pay attention to some economic
developments, both local and global, if only to see whether they are
in keeping with God’s designs or not, which is actually a matter of
fulfilling the temporal common good of men.
While there is no strict mathematical relation between our
temporal common good and our eternal common good, we can nonetheless
say that the former helps a lot in attaining the latter. What we do in
our earthly affairs somehow determines our eternal destination.
To be sure, God speaks to us also in the world of
economics. He is not absent there. In fact, we need to realize more
deeply to acknowledge his presence and his will in this part of our
life that we usually regard as a place where God has no role to play
at all, or that he simply has a little role, as in a cameo or an extra
part.
For all its mundanity, our economic affairs have God at
the center of it all. They are where God also speaks to us in a
special way, and directs his divine providence of guiding all of us
and the world toward him while always respecting our freedom and the
nature of things.
It’s where many of us are expected to work for our
sanctity and to participate actively in the continuing work of
redemption. We somehow need to view our economic and other temporal
affairs theologically. They just cannot be understood in purely
worldly laws.
Thus, I am happy to note that irrespective of the
competence or incompetence of our political and business leaders, we
have good reason to be happy and confident that life in general will
just move on rather smoothly for us.
Why? Because we have good economic base to drive our
economy. The contribution of our heroic OFWs is enormous, and it’s
still growing at 6%. And the income generated by our BPOs is also
catching up, growing every year at an estimated 20% growth rate.
That’s phenomenal!
Local tourism is also rising sharply. We, Filipinos, are
spending in our own tourism, suggesting that there is money around and
it is being circulated more widely. Thus, the over-all growth rate of
our country in the region, while not yet at the top, is not that bad
at all.
Imagine if we have leaders who know how to manage the
potentials of our economy! Let’s hope that we can choose leaders who
are competent and honest enough to face the challenge.
Most of all, we have to pray and choose leaders who are
God-fearing, and whose source of competence and honesty is precisely
their authentic faith in God and their patriotic love for the people.
Let’s hope that we can see in our lifetime corruption thrown into the
dustbin of history.
That may be quixotic as of now. But let’s really hope that
little by little we, as people, and led by our officials, go through a
radical change of attitude, understanding and skill in dealing with
money and other economic affairs.
Let’s pray that we grow in our awareness that our economic
activities are an occasion for sanctification and apostolate. They
just cannot be ruled by purely economic laws. They should make us holy
and should bring us closer to God and to one another in a communion of
love.
While we have to behave in a very natural way in our
transactions, we should neither forget that each transaction can and
should be a form of prayer, an expression of charity. Each of them
should make us a better person, spiritually and morally.
Let’s be wary of our tendency to let these business
activities feed only our material needs. They have a tremendous
capacity to give glory to God and to work for the common good of
everyone. Carpe diem! Let’s be quick to take advantage of their
sanctifying value, if only we know how to sanctify them also.
profession of being an economist. I consider priesthood as demanding
total dedication to an exclusively spiritual, moral and supernatural
goal.
I understand that being a priest, one should not get
entangled with worldly partisan politics or with merely profit-seeking
businesses, etc. As Opus Dei founder St. Josemaria once said, “A
priest should be a priest through and through.” He should only speak
about God, and about spiritual, moral and supernatural realities.
Just the same, I also understand that the world of
economics, being a human activity, and a major one at that, also needs
to be sanctified. That’s why, I also pay attention to some economic
developments, both local and global, if only to see whether they are
in keeping with God’s designs or not, which is actually a matter of
fulfilling the temporal common good of men.
While there is no strict mathematical relation between our
temporal common good and our eternal common good, we can nonetheless
say that the former helps a lot in attaining the latter. What we do in
our earthly affairs somehow determines our eternal destination.
To be sure, God speaks to us also in the world of
economics. He is not absent there. In fact, we need to realize more
deeply to acknowledge his presence and his will in this part of our
life that we usually regard as a place where God has no role to play
at all, or that he simply has a little role, as in a cameo or an extra
part.
For all its mundanity, our economic affairs have God at
the center of it all. They are where God also speaks to us in a
special way, and directs his divine providence of guiding all of us
and the world toward him while always respecting our freedom and the
nature of things.
It’s where many of us are expected to work for our
sanctity and to participate actively in the continuing work of
redemption. We somehow need to view our economic and other temporal
affairs theologically. They just cannot be understood in purely
worldly laws.
Thus, I am happy to note that irrespective of the
competence or incompetence of our political and business leaders, we
have good reason to be happy and confident that life in general will
just move on rather smoothly for us.
Why? Because we have good economic base to drive our
economy. The contribution of our heroic OFWs is enormous, and it’s
still growing at 6%. And the income generated by our BPOs is also
catching up, growing every year at an estimated 20% growth rate.
That’s phenomenal!
Local tourism is also rising sharply. We, Filipinos, are
spending in our own tourism, suggesting that there is money around and
it is being circulated more widely. Thus, the over-all growth rate of
our country in the region, while not yet at the top, is not that bad
at all.
Imagine if we have leaders who know how to manage the
potentials of our economy! Let’s hope that we can choose leaders who
are competent and honest enough to face the challenge.
Most of all, we have to pray and choose leaders who are
God-fearing, and whose source of competence and honesty is precisely
their authentic faith in God and their patriotic love for the people.
Let’s hope that we can see in our lifetime corruption thrown into the
dustbin of history.
That may be quixotic as of now. But let’s really hope that
little by little we, as people, and led by our officials, go through a
radical change of attitude, understanding and skill in dealing with
money and other economic affairs.
Let’s pray that we grow in our awareness that our economic
activities are an occasion for sanctification and apostolate. They
just cannot be ruled by purely economic laws. They should make us holy
and should bring us closer to God and to one another in a communion of
love.
While we have to behave in a very natural way in our
transactions, we should neither forget that each transaction can and
should be a form of prayer, an expression of charity. Each of them
should make us a better person, spiritually and morally.
Let’s be wary of our tendency to let these business
activities feed only our material needs. They have a tremendous
capacity to give glory to God and to work for the common good of
everyone. Carpe diem! Let’s be quick to take advantage of their
sanctifying value, if only we know how to sanctify them also.
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