The new techs as friendly fire

WE need to be amply warned by this danger. Those powerful

new technologies that we have now, that can give us a lot of benefits,

can also become a big threat to our spiritual, moral and even physical

life. They can indeed become a treacherous ally that can turn us in,

or worse, a friendly fire that can kill us spiritually, morally and,

yes, even physically, if not handled properly.

            How many cases are we witnessing of people getting spoiled

and corrupted by the improper use of these technologies? It is truly

heartbreaking to see them dominated and enslaved by these

technologies, falling into all kinds of anomalies, like a certain

addiction, proneness to laziness, idleness, useless and dangerous

curiosities and distractions, and all forms of ego-tripping.

            There are now notorious cases of people wasting time and

energy because of these new technologies. Worse, there are instances

when the new technologies become powerful tools at the instance of

evil and malice. People can easily fall into pornography, for example,

then trapped in it, and proceed to commit all sorts of perversions.

Pieces of evidence for this are aplenty.

            When no clear guiding criteria are used, when we use them

with hardly any sense of discipline and a certain detachment, there

can be no way but for us to succumb to our weaknesses and the many

temptations around.

            And the evil things spawned are not just in the area of

sex, but also in the area of decency, delicacy, good taste and, most

important, charity. How many times have we witnessed and even made to

participate in useless arguments and feuds especially in the social

media? And so, instead of leading us to God and to serve others, we

are led to sin. In the worst scenario, these technologies can generate

vicious cycles.

            But for all that, we cannot deny the objective usefulness

of these new technologies. We should neither ban nor demonize them

just because of some bad potentials they have. What is needed is to

learn how to use them properly.

            I believe there are already initiatives in this regard. We

should take advantage of them and develop and fine-tune them further.

But a very fundamental element in any effort to have dominion over

these new technologies is to infuse them with the spirit of Christ who

taught us to love the cross as a way to deal with our weaknesses,

temptations and sin itself.

            Christ’s cross is the ultimate antidote to all the evils

that we have to contend with in this life. We should try to figure out

how we can be guided by the cross while using the new technologies.

The cross means discipline, detachment, abandonment in God’s

providence rather than relying mainly on what we like, etc.

            We need to concretize these different aspects of the

cross, like: we can give ourselves a time limit in the use of the

Internet, for example, or we should have a clear purpose in using

these new technologies and not just allow ourselves to surf to

wherever.

            Especially, when we are alone, and even more, when we are

already in bed, these gadgets should be a no-no. We have to respect

our need for rest and sleep. There can be a lot more specific

guidelines that can help us.

Thinking big

 WHILE we have to take care of the little and ordinary

things of the day, we should neither forget that we also have to be

concerned about the big things that can involve us. We have to be wary

of unwittingly being held hostage by our duty towards little things

that can blind us of our duty to aim also at the big and extraordinary

things in life. We should be ready for this call.

  

            Christ himself is the epitome of this attitude. While he

took care of the little details in his dealings with the people, he

saw to it that he never confined himself to these details. Yes, he

cured many people of their illnesses, but made sure that he attended

first to the most important thing—the forgiveness of their sins.

  

            He also did not allow himself to get stuck in a certain

place, but went to other places to preach. In the end, he sent his

apostles to go to the whole world to preach.

  

            Of course, we should not forget that even the very

ordinary and common little things of the day can assume extraordinary

significance if done with great love for God and for others. In this

regard, we should be contented and happy doing the little things even

if they do not give some earthly reward or recognition. That would

indicate the rectitude of intention with which we do them.

  

            Just the same, we should also be ready to tackle the big

and extraordinary duties in our life. Actually, it is when we are

faithful in the little things that we can be prepared to face the big

challenges of life. The little, simple and ordinary things can serve

as training to handle the big, complicated and extraordinary things.

  

            The big, complicated and extraordinary things can be in

the area of managing people, motivating them, charting the course of

one’s career, expanding the network of apostolic work, influencing the

temper of our business and politics, generating employment for many

people, establishing linkages to different sectors, breaking new

grounds in business, etc.

   

            With all the developments taking place at the moment, we

can imagine a lot of opportunities opening up in the near future, and

we should be ready to seize and take advantage of them. We need to

sharpen our skills in observation and perception, creativity and

innovation, flexibility and toughness.

  

            For all this, we have to be willing to make a lot of

prayers and sacrifices, always discerning what the Holy Spirit is

prompting us. We should also be unstinting in our efforts at studying,

researching and experimenting. We have to be sport since definitely we

will encounter not only difficulties but also failures that should not

prevent us from moving on, reinventing ourselves if necessary.

  

            This attitude of toughness and cleverness should not

undermine the simplicity that is also necessary for us. We have to

learn how to be patient and to abandon ourselves in the hands of God

whose providence is ever wise and powerful.

             In thinking big, we should never abandon God at all. On

the contrary, we should always abandon ourselves to him, so that we

don’t get spoiled when we happen to be successful or get depressed

when we fail. We just have to go on, doing a lot of good!

Hopefully heading toward the Good News

LET’S hope that all this discussion about what is real

news as differentiated from fake news would lead us to the conclusion

that the Good News of Christ’s gospel is the real news meant for all

men for all time and for all situations.

  

            It is what should always be proclaimed and upheld as we go

through the different events and issues of our life. It is what

contains the answers to all our questions, the solutions to all our

problems including the humanly insoluble ones. It is what gives

meaning and purpose to everything in our life. It is what relates

everything to God, our Creator and Father, our source and end.

   

            No amount of academic and intelligent discussion about

this issue can really help us to distinguish fake news from real news

if God, the gospel and everything the gospel teaches, like charity,

sincerity, justice, mercy, compassion, etc., are marginalized. Without

God, we would be left with a very limited and even subjective view of

reality.

  

            We need to overcome the bias that in our temporal and

mundane affairs any appeal to God and to religion is out of place.

Quite the contrary is true. With God at the center, we would know how

to discover, pursue, affirm and defend the truth in charity. Without

God, we would just be left to our own devices, our own

rationalizations.

   

            Let’s remember that God is the source of all truth. That’s

why Christ said, “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My

voice.” (Jn 18,37) And that’s because Christ is the Son of God who

became man to redeem us. As such, he is the fullness of the revelation

of God, of the Truth, to all of us!

  

            And what would happen if we put God aside in the pursuit

of truth and enlightenment in our earthly discussions? Let’s quote

some words of St. Paul to give us an idea of would like take place.

  

            “Whoever teaches something different and does not agree

with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the religious

teaching,” he said, “is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a

morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes.

  

            “From these come envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions,

and mutual friction among people with corrupted minds, who are

deprived of the truth, supposing religion to be a means of gain.”

(1Tim 6,3-4)

              I consider these Pauline words as spot-on in describing

the toxic environment we have at the moment in the fields of politics

especially, and also of the media.

             We need to remember that if not inspired by the Good News

of Christ’s gospel, any piece of news cannot be part of the Good News.

It can only be a fake news, driven by worldly and suspicious motives.

If not inspired by the charity of God, then any fact, data or opinion,

no matter how objective and fair-sounding, cannot achieve the status

of the truth, since truth and charity are inseparable.

             Again let’s hope that the futility of our discussion of

issues without God at the center can lead us to the realization that

only with God can we be in the truth. It’s only with God can we have

real news and fair opinions.

Everything can be an occasion

FOR anything, that is. Since we are intelligent and free

beings, we can turn everything in our life into an occasion for good

or evil. But if we have the proper understanding of the purpose of our

life here on earth, we should realize that everything can be and

should be an occasion to know, love and serve God, or to pursue

holiness.

              Thus, whether in the twists and turns of our life we can

be considered as heroes or villains, winners or losers, successful or

failing, we have to always remember that we are all called to become

saints.

  

            And the nice thing about this is that all the events and

conditions in our life, in all their vast variety, can precisely be

turned into occasions to attain a degree of sanctity. Everything is

relatable to God. It’s a matter of how to react to them—whether we

react with faith and trust in God or we simply react in a purely human

way, reliant only on our human powers.

  

            We need to understand that all our human conditions,

whether good or bad, big or small, extraordinary or ordinary, etc.,

have already been covered by Christ’s redemptive life and do have the

potential to lead us to him. Even our mistakes and failures can lead

us to God.

  

            If our status is considered as humanly good, then let’s be

thankful to God, remain humble and focus on sharing as widely as

possible whatever good we have. If our status is otherwise, then let’s

turn to God just the same, perhaps asking for mercy, for more

blessing, and just try to be patient in going through unavoidable

inconveniences of the condition.

  

            We have to learn to see the hand of God behind every event

and circumstance of our life. We have to learn to discern his will and

the directions he is showing us through them. There’s always a reason

for everything in our life. And God knows how to make use of it.

  

            We should not be distracted from doing what is truly

essential in life, irrespective of the circumstances. This is the only

thing necessary in our life. All the others are the peripherals, the

instruments and the occasions to achieve this one thing necessary.

  

            Let’s remember that God is always around, his providence

is abiding, his interventions in our life are actually constant. We

just have to be more aware of this truth of our faith and correspond

to it as fully as possible.

  

            God can always derive something good even from our

mistakes. What is impossible to us is always possible to him. He can

write straight with crooked lines.

  

            Thus, St. Paul tells us: “Whether you eat or drink or

whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10,31) This

is what we have to learn to do always. Especially now when our world

is getting increasingly complicated, generating a lot of problems,

differences and conflicts among ourselves, this frame of mind is

getting more and more relevant.

  

            The good thing about all this is that we can remain calm

and more focused on what we are supposed to be doing. We will always

find meaning in everything, whether we are up or down in our earthly

condition.

Inspiring and motivating

THESE, I believe, are what are involved in educating and

forming the youth. Of course, we have to use all the necessary human

means, like giving classes and conducting exams, giving them talks,

suggestions and even corrections.

             But we should not forget that what truly matters is to

inspire and to motivate them. That’s because these go directly to the

soul of the individuals where the radical transformation and

development of a person takes place. It’s in the spiritual sphere

where the real action takes place.

  

            This can mean many things. For one, we should be available

to them as long and as often as necessary. We need to spend time with

them and cultivate real friendship and bonding. Given the way the

young people usually behave, we should be willing to ‘waste’ time with

them and to adapt ourselves to their language and ways. I am sure it

will be all worthwhile. It’s good investment.

  

            We have to give them good example in a consistent manner

all the time. Giving example is the best teacher. Just the same, we

should be ready and clear to tell or show them something to edify

them. There’s definitely a need for continuing catechesis so that true

values proper to our human and Christian dignity can slowly and

steadily sink in.

  

            We need to enter into their mind and heart, imparting with

gift of tongue the truths of our faith with respect to life in

general. This would include forming the proper attitude toward

religion, toward family and work, use of time, human sexuality,

virtues like hard work, order, prudence, humility, etc.

   

            The right strategies have to be employed, considering how

each person is—his temperament and character, his intellectual and

emotional capacity, his social and economic status, etc.

  

            We need to be quick to identify the problem areas in their

life. Many of these young people bear many doubts in their mind. They

lack self-esteem and often are unsure of their judgments and

decisions. There can be a lot of inconsistency in the many aspects of

life. Definitely, the unity of life is not yet there. It still has to

be developed.

   

            We have to teach them how to deal with their problems,

difficulties, challenges, temptations, failures and sins. Of course,

it goes without saying also that they need to be taught how to handle

their victories and successes. The young people usually over-react to

these events in their lives.

  

            We should also be quick to discern the potentials they

have. Each one, for sure, is born with some innate qualities that need

to be developed and actualized to the full. With respect to this, it

is important that we help them discover the concrete vocation each of

them has. This matter is very crucial because it is fundamental in

life, one that affects all the aspects of one’s life.

  

            This will definitely require a lot of effort and patience,

something whose source can ultimately come from God. Thus, we should

be generous in our prayers and sacrifices, study of the doctrine,

growing in the virtues and active in our own ascetical struggles,

recourse to the sacraments, etc. This is because we cannot give what

we do not have.

   

            Let’s hope that one day all of us who have young people

under our care be good and competent inspirers and motivators!

An encounter with Christ

THAT’S what Christian life is all about. It’s actually

meeting him and following him as best as we can. It’s not just a

matter of acting on an idea or a theory, no matter how good and

‘holy-sounding’ an idea and a theory are. It’s engaging with Christ in

vivo, dealing with him live.

  

            That we can meet Christ live is no gratuitous, baseless

presumption. Whether we like it or not, believe in it or not, the fact

is that Christ told his apostles that “I am with you always, to the

very end of the age.” (Mt 28,20)

  

            He is actually everywhere, because he is not only man but

also God in the first place. As God he is omnipresent, not only in a

passive way, but in a most active way. We just have to learn to adapt

ourselves to this assertion of Christ by exercising our faith.

   

            It may also be pointed out that we would find ourselves

most of the time awkward and unprepared to always be with Christ. Some

of us may even say that having Christ with us always would undermine

our identity and our privacy, etc.

  

            We should not worry so much about these apprehensions

because Christ, for his part, will always understand us no matter how

we are and is all too willing to adapt himself to us.

  

            Let’s not forget that he gives special attention to the

weak, the sick and the lost. He is very compassionate with them. For

our sake, he made himself like sin without committing sin. He has

borne all our sins by dying on the cross. He came not to condemn but

to save us.

  

            We can say that he is most lenient with us. But at the

same time, he is also most strict, because he himself said that if we

want to follow him, we have to deny ourselves, carry the cross and

then follow him.

  

            We just have to do our best to make these two seemingly

contrary attitudes of Christ toward us compatible with each other.

These contrasts are due to the tension between our nature and the

supernatural goal we are asked to aim at. They are made sharper by the

consequences of our sin that produces a tension between the unnatural

and the supernatural.

   

            If we just try to be as simple and humble as the apostles

and the other disciples of Christ, we can manage to live with this

tension without much worry. Christ will always understand us and will

take the initiative to make things attainable by us.

  

            The important thing is to have a living encounter with

Christ. This can be done if we exercise our faith to the fullest,

taking care of its fundamental requirements like studying the doctrine

of our faith, getting to know the details of Christ’s life and

redemptive work by habitually reading the gospel, availing of a

certain plan that would keep our piety alive in all situations.

  

            The important thing is to exert the effort and to try our

best, even if our best can always be better and even if we can

continue to make mistakes along the way. As long as we continue to

move on, learning how to begin and begin again, as often as necessary,

then Christ can be alive in us and we can manage to follow him.

  

            In the end, we can hope that where he is, we can also be,

as he himself promised and assured us.

The go-bag of charity

WE are now living in very exciting times. On the one hand,

we have many developments taking place, offering us with increasing

challenges and opportunities. If we are ready for them, we can

actually take advantage of them.

            On the other hand, we are experiencing a growing number of

disasters and calamities—storms of unusually elevated categories,

earthquakes, fire, terrorism, etc. We should also be ready for them,

and always have by our side what is known as a go-bag, that contains

the bare necessities for survival during emergency situations.

            But I would say that we should always have a more

important kind of go-bag, one that is kept in our heart and soul and

is filled not with material, perishable things, but with love, which

is the only important thing in our life, the only imperishable item

that can bring us to our ultimate and definitive home.

            Make no mistake about it! This is the indispensable bag

that we should carry wherever we are, including when we are on our bed

sleeping. This should not be a problem, because this bag hardly weighs

anything. It is as light as light itself, because in fact it is not

something that we carry, but rather something that we truly are, that

is, that it marks our ultimate identity.

            Everyday, we have to see to it that this bag is not left

behind, but rather becomes more and more united, if not identified

with us. And that’s because it is not just a bag that carries

something, but rather a bag that is each one of us, created and meant

for charity, for loving God and everybody else the way Christ loves

us. We are meant to be a bag of charity, and not just a bag of bones

or of some material things.

            In our daily affairs, let’s see to it that the things we

handle, the concerns, challenges, issues and opportunities we face

would not diminish, but rather would enhance our love for God and for

others.

            This is not something impossible to do. It is very doable,

first of all because God will always give us the grace for it. And if

we correspond to that grace, we will see that our worldly and temporal

affairs, including our problems and failures, are the means and

occasions for loving. Everything, as we are told by St. Paul in his

Letter to the Romans, will always work for the good as long as we are

with God always.

            Every so often, let us examine ourselves if that go-bag

filled with charity is truly what we have and who we are. In that way,

we would not be afraid of anything, not even of death. And we can be

in a better condition to do many more good things, which is really

what matters in life. The goodness of our life is not measured by

wealth, health, power, fame and the like. It is measured by love,

period!

            It is love that brings us to heaven. It is what goes

beyond the limits of space and time and leads us to the eternal life

with God. Again, we have to examine ourselves regularly if that go-bag

is truly with us!

Playing offense and defense

THIS is about the virtue of fortitude, one of the cardinal

virtues from which spring many other virtues. It’s a virtue that we

all should cultivate since it is necessary as we plod through the

tricky waters of this world.

            It involves both aggression and protection. We have to

learn how to pursue some arduous good without fear and let-up but

avoiding rashness, as well as how to bear the unavoidable difficulties

and evils along the way without giving up. Thus, it involves both

action and patience, offense and defense.

            We should not forget that in this life, whether we like it

or not, aware of it or not, we are involved in some kind of lifelong

warfare. Our heart is always an arena for the battle of good and evil.

            That is why we always have to make some kind of strategy

to see if we are keeping the right combination of offense and defense

in our spiritual life. Everyday, we have to go through some kind of

accounting to monitor how we are living and continually developing

this virtue as we have to cope with the changing challenges and

opportunities in life.

            We should not take this concern for granted, simply

abandoning ourselves to fate or to a blind adherence to God’s

providence without us making due effort to be truly responsible in

shaping our life. This would be what is called as fatalism, an

improper and exaggerated understanding of the spirit of abandonment.

            This unconcern, as we all know, is quite common. We have

to overcome it, helping one another to develop the proper attitude and

skills in playing offense and defense in our spiritual life which is a

matter of growing in love for God and others through the events of our

daily life.

            A good means to do this is to make a habit of making a

regular examination of conscience everyday. In this way, we practice

accountability of what God has given us and of what he expects from

us. We are in this life for a clear God-given purpose. We should not

get distracted, much less, diverted from this objective of our life.

            With regular examination of conscience, we would somehow

know if we are gaining or losing ground in our spiritual life, or if

we are winning or losing in our ascetical struggles to develop virtues

and to avoid sin, if there is growth and progress or stagnation and

regression in the long and short-runs of our specific spiritual

battles.

            With regular examination of conscience, we would have a

sense of continuity and direction in our spiritual life. We would be

encouraged to put some goals to reach, some standards to measure our

performance, some deadlines to meet. In other words, we would have a

guide to help us, some structure and road map to show us the way.

            It’s about time that the means we seriously use to be

effective in our mundane activities be also used in our spiritual and

moral affairs. We cannot afford to be casual and dismissive in the

development of our spiritual life.

            With regular examination of conscience, we can make the

necessary adjustments to adapt to the changing situations and

circumstances. It gives us a sense of confidence that is so necessary

if we want to be effective in reaching our ultimate goal, which is

nothing less than our own sanctification.

            With regular examination of conscience, we develop a

culture that is responsive to the fundamental needs and purpose of our

life.