We need to be with Christ always

CHRIST himself said it so clearly. “Whoever is not with me

is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Lk

11,23) “I am the vine, you are the branches.” (Jn 15,5)

            There is no way we can have a life that is proper to us

other than to be with Christ and to work with him. After all, Christ

is actually the pattern of our humanity and the redeemer of our

damaged humanity. We cannot be what we ought to be outside of Christ.

            Without Christ, everything will be vanity. “Vanity of

vanities,” as the Book of Ecclesiastes says. Without Christ, we would

simply be falling into self-indulgence which can be mesmerizing for a

while, even a long while. But in the end it would lead us nowhere.

            This is a truth of faith that has to filter down to the

ends of the world. We may have to do it slowly and with great effort,

but also steadily, never stopping because of certain difficulties and

resistance. To be sure, this is a truth of our nature, let alone, a

truth of faith. Our nature is not just biological, social, etc. It is

first of all spiritual that relates to the supernatural world in a

knowing and loving way.

            Yes, we have to respect the freedom of men, but we also

have to make everyone realize that we need to respect freedom itself.

And that can only mean that we have to conform ourselves to Christ

because he is the very author and personification of freedom. This is

a natural truth that should lead us to the spiritual and supernatural

world.

            Remember Christ saying, “I am the way, the truth and the

life. No one goes to the Father except through me.” Well, if Christ is

the truth, then he is also freedom, since it is the truth that will

set us free. (cfr. Jn 8,32)

            In other words, we cannot be in the truth and be free if

we are not with Christ. Let’s remember that truth and freedom are not

self-generated things. They are not our inventions. They come from our

Creator.

            We have to strive all our life that we be with him. That

is why, in the Mass, we always are reminded, “The Lord be with you.

And with your spirit.” It is to make us realize that we cannot be

without God.

            For his part, he already reassured us that he will always

be with us. “Behold, I am with you everyday, even unto the end of

time,” he said. (Mt 28,20) And we can be sure that his omnipresence in

us is never passive. It is a presence that is full of love, of

solicitude.

            The challenge and the task are enormous, indeed.

Convincing people about this truth, especially those who are not

inclined toward things like religion and faith, can seem impossible.

But it simply has to be done.

            We may have to start from very basic things without

mentioning anything yet about faith, God and the spiritual and

supernatural realities. The so-called classes on apologetics really

have to be carried out without let-up. Let’s hope that the task of

catechesis and evangelization never stops.

            There has to be a gradual process of introducing the

indispensable role of faith, of God and of spiritual and supernatural

realities to the people, making them understand that these are

essential elements in our life.

            We need to demonstrate the validity and necessity of faith

and the spiritual and supernatural realities. Obviously, a lot of

prayer and sacrifice should be done before, during and after every

effort we make for this purpose.

            But we cannot deny that talking about faith and the

spiritual and supernatural realities will always involve some

mysteries that can overwhelm what our senses can discern and what our

intelligence can understand. We need to help everybody develop a sense

of mystery in life.