THAT'S our human condition here on earth. We are always in
transit
because we actually do not have a permanent dwelling here in this
world. “For here we do not have an enduring city,” the Letter to the
Hebrews says, “but we are looking for the city that is to come.”
(13,14)
Yes, here in this earthly life of ours, we are in some kind of
journey. In fact, in spiritual language, we are said to be in a
pilgrimage to our sacred destination, that is, to be in heaven, our
true home from where we actually came, because we all came from God,
and to where we ought to go.
We should always keep this truth in mind so we don't get deluded into
thinking that we can stay here in this world indefinitely or that
after our death, there actually is nothing to hope for. At best, what
we can have in this world is just a sojourn, a temporary stay. But
nonetheless, it is a crucial stay, because how we fare in our earthly
sojourn determines how we will fare in our eternal destination.
So, the important thing to do is to be discerning as to what is truly
essential in our life here on earth so as not to be unduly entangled
with the incidentals. In the gospel, we are somehow given a clue as to
what is truly essential.
It's in that episode of Christ's visit to the sisters Martha and Mary
with their brother Lazarus. There Christ clarified to Martha who was
busy doing the many minute details of hospitality, that there only is
one thing necessary, and that was what Mary was doing, and it would
not be taken away from her.
And that “one thing necessary” is to be as close to Christ as much as
possible, that is, through prayer, which was what Mary was doing. All
other things are to be subordinated to this “one thing necessary.”
Christ did not say that one should not work and that one should
simply pray. No. What he means is that everything we do should somehow
be an act of prayer, of worshipping and thanking God, and of expiating
for our sin and of asking favors. There should be no dichotomy between
prayer and everything else in our life. Everything somehow has to be
turned into prayer.
Even when we find ourselves in error and in sin, we should be quick
to turn that situation into an occasion of prayer precisely by asking
God for forgiveness. God will always forgive us. There is actually
nothing in our life that cannot be forgiven by God and that cannot be
turned into an occasion to pray.
We have to be wary when we get so attached or distracted by our
worldly affairs, especially when we happen to enjoy certain successes,
that we fail to relate ourselves to God through prayer. Christ himself
said: “What does it a profit a man if he gains the whole world, but
loses his own soul?” (Mk 8,36)
Our earthly sojourn should always be marked by vigilance and by
readiness to move forward. And that's simply because our human
condition here is marked by dangers and also by a need to move toward
a certain destination.
This is what loving is all about, the loving that is a reflection and
participation of the love of God, the source, pattern, end and energy
of true love. It's because of this love that we somehow are always in
transit, because we would be constantly asked to go out of own selves
in order to reach out to others and also to look for new frontiers in
our own spiritual and apostolic life.
We should be wary of the tendency to get stuck with our own selves
and with our own world. We are meant to think always of God and of
others. This is the proper formula for our own development. To the
extent that we are always thinking of God and of others, finding ways
to love and serve them, we achieve our own fulfillment. That’s when we
would be on our way to our human and Christian maturity and
perfection.
To be persons for God and for others is written in our nature. The
structure and features of our life, especially our intelligence and
will, all demand that we actually need to get out of our own selves,
otherwise we get short-circuited. This is what a person is. He is
always mindful and thoughtful of God and of others.
because we actually do not have a permanent dwelling here in this
world. “For here we do not have an enduring city,” the Letter to the
Hebrews says, “but we are looking for the city that is to come.”
(13,14)
Yes, here in this earthly life of ours, we are in some kind of
journey. In fact, in spiritual language, we are said to be in a
pilgrimage to our sacred destination, that is, to be in heaven, our
true home from where we actually came, because we all came from God,
and to where we ought to go.
We should always keep this truth in mind so we don't get deluded into
thinking that we can stay here in this world indefinitely or that
after our death, there actually is nothing to hope for. At best, what
we can have in this world is just a sojourn, a temporary stay. But
nonetheless, it is a crucial stay, because how we fare in our earthly
sojourn determines how we will fare in our eternal destination.
So, the important thing to do is to be discerning as to what is truly
essential in our life here on earth so as not to be unduly entangled
with the incidentals. In the gospel, we are somehow given a clue as to
what is truly essential.
It's in that episode of Christ's visit to the sisters Martha and Mary
with their brother Lazarus. There Christ clarified to Martha who was
busy doing the many minute details of hospitality, that there only is
one thing necessary, and that was what Mary was doing, and it would
not be taken away from her.
And that “one thing necessary” is to be as close to Christ as much as
possible, that is, through prayer, which was what Mary was doing. All
other things are to be subordinated to this “one thing necessary.”
Christ did not say that one should not work and that one should
simply pray. No. What he means is that everything we do should somehow
be an act of prayer, of worshipping and thanking God, and of expiating
for our sin and of asking favors. There should be no dichotomy between
prayer and everything else in our life. Everything somehow has to be
turned into prayer.
Even when we find ourselves in error and in sin, we should be quick
to turn that situation into an occasion of prayer precisely by asking
God for forgiveness. God will always forgive us. There is actually
nothing in our life that cannot be forgiven by God and that cannot be
turned into an occasion to pray.
We have to be wary when we get so attached or distracted by our
worldly affairs, especially when we happen to enjoy certain successes,
that we fail to relate ourselves to God through prayer. Christ himself
said: “What does it a profit a man if he gains the whole world, but
loses his own soul?” (Mk 8,36)
Our earthly sojourn should always be marked by vigilance and by
readiness to move forward. And that's simply because our human
condition here is marked by dangers and also by a need to move toward
a certain destination.
This is what loving is all about, the loving that is a reflection and
participation of the love of God, the source, pattern, end and energy
of true love. It's because of this love that we somehow are always in
transit, because we would be constantly asked to go out of own selves
in order to reach out to others and also to look for new frontiers in
our own spiritual and apostolic life.
We should be wary of the tendency to get stuck with our own selves
and with our own world. We are meant to think always of God and of
others. This is the proper formula for our own development. To the
extent that we are always thinking of God and of others, finding ways
to love and serve them, we achieve our own fulfillment. That’s when we
would be on our way to our human and Christian maturity and
perfection.
To be persons for God and for others is written in our nature. The
structure and features of our life, especially our intelligence and
will, all demand that we actually need to get out of our own selves,
otherwise we get short-circuited. This is what a person is. He is
always mindful and thoughtful of God and of others.
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