THESE are the most important aspects
or dimensions in our
life, and we should try our best that we become adept in handling
them. They are the ones that give life and meaning to all the other
aspects in our life—personal, family, social, professional, etc.
They are the ones that give the whole, full picture of our
life, and thus, integrate all the other aspects, putting them in one
organic whole. They are the ones that connect us with God our Creator
and with everybody and everything else.
In other words, they are the ones that enable us to get in
touch with truth in all its objectivity and in its proper relation
with charity, mercy, justice, etc. They are the ones that let us love
properly.
Neglecting the care for the spiritual and supernatural
aspects of our life exposes us to a lot of dangers. It would give us a
reductive view of life. And this can be aggravated because such view
can give us immediate advantages, thus, blinding us to the need to
focus more on our spiritual and supernatural life and health.
With how things are in the world today, with so many
things that can ambush us in our pursuit for the true, ultimate things
in life, this care for the spiritual and supernatural aspects of our
life is not only necessary and relevant always, but also urgent.
We need to do everything to make everyone be aware of the
fundamental, indispensable importance of our spiritual and
supernatural life, explaining what it is, how it works, what we can do
to care and nourish it, etc.
What is most important also these days is how to counter
the massive wall of misconceptions, biases and ideological hostility
regarding the importance and strategic role that the spiritual and
supernatural play in our life.
We cannot deny that there are strong ideological forces
that undermine the importance of the spiritual and supernatural. Among
them, of course, would be atheism and agnosticism, and those whose
belief is in materialism and hedonism.
But even among those who nominally consider themselves as
believers, there are some who are held captive by purely worldly
values, like pragmatism, socialism, liberalism, etc., that while
having good features, also undermine the role of the spiritual and the
supernatural in our life.
Among the major misunderstanding of the importance of the
spiritual and supernatural is the claim that that this thing is
optional, that it is reserved only to a few and not meant for all, and
that it is not practicable in all instances.
The spiritual and supernatural aspects of our life affect
all of us. That’s mainly because our soul is spiritual. If we believe
in that—and that is easily verifiable because of our spiritual
operations of knowing and loving—then we can easily deduce that our
soul needs to be in touch always with its source, its creator and
lawgiver, who is God, who is supernatural.
That’s why we are also meant to be supernatural. This
means we are always in need of the grace of God who gives it to us
abundantly. All that is needed is to dispose ourselves to it, being
humble always, asking for it, availing of the means by which grace is
given to us, etc.
The care of our spiritual and supernatural dimension of
our life revolves more on how our thoughts, desires, intentions are
developed and pursued. It is a matter of how our knowing and loving is
done. We have to make sure that they all begin and end with God, and
not just by ourselves.
As to the claim that to be spiritual and supernatural is
not practicable in all instances, or that it is incompatible with many
of our human affairs, our common experiences can easily debunk it.
The other day, taking advantage of a no-activity fifth
Sunday, I decided to take to the road for an excursion on a bike with
a friend. I wanted something different for a change.
Right at the beginning of the excursion, many stray,
impertinent thoughts and observations came. When I saw a man with
tattoos on his body, I also thought, what if I also could have those
tattoos. Of course, I dismissed the thought immediately.
Biking, of course, requires a lot of care for safety,
since one is more exposed to risks. The possibility for accidents to
happen is quite high. All these things led me to pray more while
maneuvering the more than 300-km distance.
Even in such mundane activity, to be spiritual and
supernatural is possible and doable.
life, and we should try our best that we become adept in handling
them. They are the ones that give life and meaning to all the other
aspects in our life—personal, family, social, professional, etc.
They are the ones that give the whole, full picture of our
life, and thus, integrate all the other aspects, putting them in one
organic whole. They are the ones that connect us with God our Creator
and with everybody and everything else.
In other words, they are the ones that enable us to get in
touch with truth in all its objectivity and in its proper relation
with charity, mercy, justice, etc. They are the ones that let us love
properly.
Neglecting the care for the spiritual and supernatural
aspects of our life exposes us to a lot of dangers. It would give us a
reductive view of life. And this can be aggravated because such view
can give us immediate advantages, thus, blinding us to the need to
focus more on our spiritual and supernatural life and health.
With how things are in the world today, with so many
things that can ambush us in our pursuit for the true, ultimate things
in life, this care for the spiritual and supernatural aspects of our
life is not only necessary and relevant always, but also urgent.
We need to do everything to make everyone be aware of the
fundamental, indispensable importance of our spiritual and
supernatural life, explaining what it is, how it works, what we can do
to care and nourish it, etc.
What is most important also these days is how to counter
the massive wall of misconceptions, biases and ideological hostility
regarding the importance and strategic role that the spiritual and
supernatural play in our life.
We cannot deny that there are strong ideological forces
that undermine the importance of the spiritual and supernatural. Among
them, of course, would be atheism and agnosticism, and those whose
belief is in materialism and hedonism.
But even among those who nominally consider themselves as
believers, there are some who are held captive by purely worldly
values, like pragmatism, socialism, liberalism, etc., that while
having good features, also undermine the role of the spiritual and the
supernatural in our life.
Among the major misunderstanding of the importance of the
spiritual and supernatural is the claim that that this thing is
optional, that it is reserved only to a few and not meant for all, and
that it is not practicable in all instances.
The spiritual and supernatural aspects of our life affect
all of us. That’s mainly because our soul is spiritual. If we believe
in that—and that is easily verifiable because of our spiritual
operations of knowing and loving—then we can easily deduce that our
soul needs to be in touch always with its source, its creator and
lawgiver, who is God, who is supernatural.
That’s why we are also meant to be supernatural. This
means we are always in need of the grace of God who gives it to us
abundantly. All that is needed is to dispose ourselves to it, being
humble always, asking for it, availing of the means by which grace is
given to us, etc.
The care of our spiritual and supernatural dimension of
our life revolves more on how our thoughts, desires, intentions are
developed and pursued. It is a matter of how our knowing and loving is
done. We have to make sure that they all begin and end with God, and
not just by ourselves.
As to the claim that to be spiritual and supernatural is
not practicable in all instances, or that it is incompatible with many
of our human affairs, our common experiences can easily debunk it.
The other day, taking advantage of a no-activity fifth
Sunday, I decided to take to the road for an excursion on a bike with
a friend. I wanted something different for a change.
Right at the beginning of the excursion, many stray,
impertinent thoughts and observations came. When I saw a man with
tattoos on his body, I also thought, what if I also could have those
tattoos. Of course, I dismissed the thought immediately.
Biking, of course, requires a lot of care for safety,
since one is more exposed to risks. The possibility for accidents to
happen is quite high. All these things led me to pray more while
maneuvering the more than 300-km distance.
Even in such mundane activity, to be spiritual and
supernatural is possible and doable.
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