A pro-active piety

THIS is what we should develop. In our relationship with God and with

everybody else, we need to be pro-active, aggressive, inventive and

creative. We cannot simply remain reactionary, stagnant, stuck in the

past, or too dependent on moods and the other natural conditionings.

    This pro-active piety is part of what God in the beginning told our

first parents to “be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth,

and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over

the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the

earth.” (Gen 1,28)

    The same idea is reiterated in one of the parables of Christ, the one

of the three servants, where each one was given an amount to do

business with. (cfr. Mt 25,14-30) And Christ himself had to sanctify

himself constantly so all of us may be sanctified in the truth. “For

their sakes I sanctify myself,” he said, “that they themselves also

may be sanctified in truth.” (Jn 17,19)

    Our piety should involve constant growth in love and in the virtues,

in our concern for the others, in our knowledge of the faith, in our

effort to be consistent in our Christian life, etc. It’s a piety that

never knows how to say enough, and is not afraid of any sacrifice that

may be involved.

    We need to remember that in our spiritual life, there is no such

thing a stable, fixed state. It’s either we progress or retrogress.

    And so everyday, we need to have a plan or some strategy to assure us

that we are always making some progress in some aspects of our

spiritual life. It could be in our life of prayer, or of sacrifice, or

in the apostolate, etc.

    Our common problem is that many of us do not even realize the need

for making such plans and strategies. In fact, we seldom think of the

future, not even of the following day. We just depend on what we see

and realize at a given moment. Worse, some of us are more alive in the

past than in the present.

    A good practice that can help us in this regard is what we may call

as the particular examination of conscience. It is the aggressive

aspect of such examination, not the defensive which belongs to the

general examination of conscience. It is the sword used to conquer,

not the shield used to protect ourselves. Of course, we need both

kinds.

    In this practice of the particular examination of conscience, we

identify the area or aspect in our spiritual life that we need to

improve or to develop. We have to look for new frontiers.

    And in our present world, with all the increasing developments and

challenges emerging, we are never lacking of things to develop or

improve in our spiritual life.

    What can also be helpful is to avail of the help of a good, competent

and holy spiritual director who can guide, motivate and open new

horizons for us. It will never be a dull life if we develop a

pro-active piety.