TELL that to the Marines! Unless we
do something concrete
and drastic, such aspiration would just remain as empty words, a gust
of hot air, a joke, a sheer piece of nonsense.
For the new year to be truly a new life for us, we need to
identify an area in our spiritual life where we can do some spiritual
warfare. 0nly then can we expect some improvement, some progress,
development and newness in our life.
Only then can we be brought closer to our human and
Christian fulfillment, maturity and perfection as defined by St; Paul
in his Letter to the Ephesians: “mature manhood, to the measure of the
stature of the fullness of Christ.” (4,13)
A mature person knows himself objectively. He knows how to
distinguish between what is possible and what is doable, what he wants
and what is truly good for him. He knows how to act serenely and react
to events properly.
We should realize the indispensability of this spiritual
struggle. Nothing grows and develops, nothing is improved and renewed,
unless this spiritual struggle is undertaken. We have to see to it
that we understand this truth well and get to conform ourselves to it.
We cannot underestimate the enemies of our soul. We all
have our weaknesses, our personal miseries, our feet of clay. We all
have our mistakes, falls, sins and their consequences. We should not
ignore them, though we should remain hopeful and optimistic. God is
always around. His providence never fails unless we want it to fail.
To top it all, St. Paul told us that we are actually
ranged against formidable spiritual nemeses that have to be tackled
with spiritual and supernatural means, like prayer, sacrifices, hard
work, recourse to the sacraments, skills with dealing with weaknesses,
temptations and the consequences of our sins..
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,” St.
Paul says, “but against the rulers, against the powers, against the
world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of
wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6,12)
But in all of this, we have to remain calm and confident,
because as long as we have faith, we know that God will always be with
us. He will never abandon us, and he will do everything so we can
properly deal with any predicament we can be in. “In this world you
will have trouble,” Christ says, “but take heart! I have overcome the
world.” (Jn 16,33) Very reassuring words, indeed!
Besides, we can always count on the powerful help of our
guardian angels and saints, and especially of our Mother Mary who one
time reassured the doubting Juan Diego of the Lady of Guadalupe
episode: “Are you not in the folds of my mantle? Is there anything
else that you need?”
Mary will always be a mother to us. She will move heaven
and earth to help us. There’s no need to be overly worried and
fearful. In fact, we should have a kind of a winner’s attitude,
because victory is assured as long as we stick with Christ. We should
be able to echo St. Paul’s words: “I have fought the good fight, I
have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (1 Tim 4,7)
It’s important that in this concern of our life, we
maintain a supernatural outlook, otherwise there will be no other way
but to be dominated by fear, sadness, pessimism. The challenges and
the many bad experiences that we will be going through in this life
would be tremendous and overwhelming.
Faith and the supernatural outlook would give us the
assurance that everything will always work out for the good. Even our
mistakes and difficulties can be made use of to advance our spiritual
life. The temptations, sins and falls can be great occasions to be
more intimate with God. They can be stronger magnets for God’s grace
to come to us. They can occasion deeper conversions, strengthening of
virtues, etc.
But we also have to do our part. Let’s make realistic
plans and strategies. Let’s monitor the growth and the different
developments of our spiritual life and come out with realistic ways to
tackle them.
“What king, when he sets out to meet another king in
battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong with
ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty
thousand?,” Christ asks.
We have to realize that we are already given everything
for us to win the war and every battle. Only when we wage this warfare
can we expect the new year to give us new life!
and drastic, such aspiration would just remain as empty words, a gust
of hot air, a joke, a sheer piece of nonsense.
For the new year to be truly a new life for us, we need to
identify an area in our spiritual life where we can do some spiritual
warfare. 0nly then can we expect some improvement, some progress,
development and newness in our life.
Only then can we be brought closer to our human and
Christian fulfillment, maturity and perfection as defined by St; Paul
in his Letter to the Ephesians: “mature manhood, to the measure of the
stature of the fullness of Christ.” (4,13)
A mature person knows himself objectively. He knows how to
distinguish between what is possible and what is doable, what he wants
and what is truly good for him. He knows how to act serenely and react
to events properly.
We should realize the indispensability of this spiritual
struggle. Nothing grows and develops, nothing is improved and renewed,
unless this spiritual struggle is undertaken. We have to see to it
that we understand this truth well and get to conform ourselves to it.
We cannot underestimate the enemies of our soul. We all
have our weaknesses, our personal miseries, our feet of clay. We all
have our mistakes, falls, sins and their consequences. We should not
ignore them, though we should remain hopeful and optimistic. God is
always around. His providence never fails unless we want it to fail.
To top it all, St. Paul told us that we are actually
ranged against formidable spiritual nemeses that have to be tackled
with spiritual and supernatural means, like prayer, sacrifices, hard
work, recourse to the sacraments, skills with dealing with weaknesses,
temptations and the consequences of our sins..
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,” St.
Paul says, “but against the rulers, against the powers, against the
world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of
wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6,12)
But in all of this, we have to remain calm and confident,
because as long as we have faith, we know that God will always be with
us. He will never abandon us, and he will do everything so we can
properly deal with any predicament we can be in. “In this world you
will have trouble,” Christ says, “but take heart! I have overcome the
world.” (Jn 16,33) Very reassuring words, indeed!
Besides, we can always count on the powerful help of our
guardian angels and saints, and especially of our Mother Mary who one
time reassured the doubting Juan Diego of the Lady of Guadalupe
episode: “Are you not in the folds of my mantle? Is there anything
else that you need?”
Mary will always be a mother to us. She will move heaven
and earth to help us. There’s no need to be overly worried and
fearful. In fact, we should have a kind of a winner’s attitude,
because victory is assured as long as we stick with Christ. We should
be able to echo St. Paul’s words: “I have fought the good fight, I
have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (1 Tim 4,7)
It’s important that in this concern of our life, we
maintain a supernatural outlook, otherwise there will be no other way
but to be dominated by fear, sadness, pessimism. The challenges and
the many bad experiences that we will be going through in this life
would be tremendous and overwhelming.
Faith and the supernatural outlook would give us the
assurance that everything will always work out for the good. Even our
mistakes and difficulties can be made use of to advance our spiritual
life. The temptations, sins and falls can be great occasions to be
more intimate with God. They can be stronger magnets for God’s grace
to come to us. They can occasion deeper conversions, strengthening of
virtues, etc.
But we also have to do our part. Let’s make realistic
plans and strategies. Let’s monitor the growth and the different
developments of our spiritual life and come out with realistic ways to
tackle them.
“What king, when he sets out to meet another king in
battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong with
ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty
thousand?,” Christ asks.
We have to realize that we are already given everything
for us to win the war and every battle. Only when we wage this warfare
can we expect the new year to give us new life!
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