IF we can only give to our spiritual
powers just a
fraction of the attention we usually give to our physical faculties, I
think we would be much better off. Our problem is that most of the
time we ignore the needs of our spiritual soul while we pamper and
spoil our body.
Just look at the time, effort and money spent on things of
the flesh—wellness craze, looks, sports and fashion, body cult,
etc.—and compare these with the ones spent for our spiritual
needs—prayer, sacraments, interior struggle, etc. You´ll notice there
can hardly be any worse inequality.
That´s why, in the long history of ascetical literature
written and lived by saints through the centuries, there has been that
consistent insistence to curb the tendencies of the flesh to give way
to the more important aspirations of the spirit.
These two constituent elements of our human nature have
become fierce competitors, not so much on the part of the spirit as it
is on the part of the body. The trouble is that our body wants to
dominate the spirit, reversing the order proper to our nature.
This tension was vividly expressed by Christ himself when
he warned his sleepy disciples—Peter, James and John—to watch and
pray, because ¨the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.¨
To remedy this predicament, Christ taught that we enter by
the narrow gate—putting ourselves to some inconveniences and
discomfort, etc.—because ¨wide is the gate, and broad is the way that
leads to perdition.¨
In fact, in the end, he indicated that to follow him, we
have to deny ourselves and carry the cross. And so the cross or the
sense of penance, sacrifice and mortification has been made an
integral part of Christian life and even of human life in general. We
would go crazy without it.
Why is this so? Simply because the body needs to be
properly animated by the spirit. For us to be truly human and fit
according to our dignity as person and God´s child, our body has to be
animated by the spirit that in turn should be animated by the Holy
Spirit.
The body on its own is nothing without the soul. Christ
said: “It is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing.”
(Jn 6,63) The quality of our life does not depend solely on our
material needs, but relies more on the nourishment we receive from the
spirit.
On its own, the body has appetites that are purely
material. Alone, it cannot enter the intellectual and spiritual world,
not to mention the supernatural goal that our faith tells us is our
original and ultimate end.
Our body has to submit to the order proper to us, that is,
it has to be directed by our spiritual faculties. Thus, St. Augustine
said in this regard: ¨Where the flesh commands and the spirit serves,
the house is turned the wrong way...Man is rightly ordered where the
spirit commands and the flesh serves.¨
We need to be more wary of our duty to take care of our
spiritual powers. Sad to say, many people do not even know what these
spiritual powers of ours are.
This to me is a real disaster, since many people are
well-versed with the material and technical world—think of the skills
people have in gadgets—while confessing to be ignoramuses and pygmies
with respect to spiritual and supernatural realities.
Our spiritual powers are mainly our intelligence and will,
our thinking, judging, reasoning and loving. These need to be managed
and supervised well, seeing to it that they are engaged with their
proper objects and not simply allowed to drift and flow wherever they
are blown by our bodily and worldly conditionings.
St. Paul talks about the distinction between the carnal
man and the spiritual man, and we should make the right choice and
develop it to its maturity. St. Augustine warns us not to allow our
soul, our spiritual powers, to become carnal by consenting to the
affections of the flesh.
Unfortunately, this is what we are seeing aplenty these
days—people are not only consenting but also are glorying in the
affections of the flesh. We need to reverse this trend. It may be a
painful process requiring nothing less than heroic effort and
dedication of nothing less than a martyr, but it would be all worth
it.
Caring for our spiritual powers means exerting realistic
effort to always find reasons, motivations and ways to relate all our
thinking and loving to God and all souls.
fraction of the attention we usually give to our physical faculties, I
think we would be much better off. Our problem is that most of the
time we ignore the needs of our spiritual soul while we pamper and
spoil our body.
Just look at the time, effort and money spent on things of
the flesh—wellness craze, looks, sports and fashion, body cult,
etc.—and compare these with the ones spent for our spiritual
needs—prayer, sacraments, interior struggle, etc. You´ll notice there
can hardly be any worse inequality.
That´s why, in the long history of ascetical literature
written and lived by saints through the centuries, there has been that
consistent insistence to curb the tendencies of the flesh to give way
to the more important aspirations of the spirit.
These two constituent elements of our human nature have
become fierce competitors, not so much on the part of the spirit as it
is on the part of the body. The trouble is that our body wants to
dominate the spirit, reversing the order proper to our nature.
This tension was vividly expressed by Christ himself when
he warned his sleepy disciples—Peter, James and John—to watch and
pray, because ¨the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.¨
To remedy this predicament, Christ taught that we enter by
the narrow gate—putting ourselves to some inconveniences and
discomfort, etc.—because ¨wide is the gate, and broad is the way that
leads to perdition.¨
In fact, in the end, he indicated that to follow him, we
have to deny ourselves and carry the cross. And so the cross or the
sense of penance, sacrifice and mortification has been made an
integral part of Christian life and even of human life in general. We
would go crazy without it.
Why is this so? Simply because the body needs to be
properly animated by the spirit. For us to be truly human and fit
according to our dignity as person and God´s child, our body has to be
animated by the spirit that in turn should be animated by the Holy
Spirit.
The body on its own is nothing without the soul. Christ
said: “It is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing.”
(Jn 6,63) The quality of our life does not depend solely on our
material needs, but relies more on the nourishment we receive from the
spirit.
On its own, the body has appetites that are purely
material. Alone, it cannot enter the intellectual and spiritual world,
not to mention the supernatural goal that our faith tells us is our
original and ultimate end.
Our body has to submit to the order proper to us, that is,
it has to be directed by our spiritual faculties. Thus, St. Augustine
said in this regard: ¨Where the flesh commands and the spirit serves,
the house is turned the wrong way...Man is rightly ordered where the
spirit commands and the flesh serves.¨
We need to be more wary of our duty to take care of our
spiritual powers. Sad to say, many people do not even know what these
spiritual powers of ours are.
This to me is a real disaster, since many people are
well-versed with the material and technical world—think of the skills
people have in gadgets—while confessing to be ignoramuses and pygmies
with respect to spiritual and supernatural realities.
Our spiritual powers are mainly our intelligence and will,
our thinking, judging, reasoning and loving. These need to be managed
and supervised well, seeing to it that they are engaged with their
proper objects and not simply allowed to drift and flow wherever they
are blown by our bodily and worldly conditionings.
St. Paul talks about the distinction between the carnal
man and the spiritual man, and we should make the right choice and
develop it to its maturity. St. Augustine warns us not to allow our
soul, our spiritual powers, to become carnal by consenting to the
affections of the flesh.
Unfortunately, this is what we are seeing aplenty these
days—people are not only consenting but also are glorying in the
affections of the flesh. We need to reverse this trend. It may be a
painful process requiring nothing less than heroic effort and
dedication of nothing less than a martyr, but it would be all worth
it.
Caring for our spiritual powers means exerting realistic
effort to always find reasons, motivations and ways to relate all our
thinking and loving to God and all souls.
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