Moving fast and slow

GIVEN our personal needs and those of the others, as well

as the many conditions and varying circumstances in our life, and most

of all, our ultimate goal which is spiritual and supernatural, we have

to learn how to move both fast and slow in our daily life.

            The art of knowing when to move fast and when to move slow

is getting very relevant these days, what with all the developments

around. It should be learned as early as possible, even during the

toddler stage, and pursued steadily and progressively without let-up,

because we can never learn enough of it.

  

            It cannot be denied that there is now a widening area of

information, data, developments in practically all fields, etc., to be

covered, and so we just have to know how to cope with that reality,

moving fast as much as possible if only to catch up.

  

            But neither can we deny the need to also go slow, because

we need to study these pieces of information and data and the many

developments, digest them, so to speak, to be able to have a good

global picture of things, without getting confused and much less,

lost. They should lead us to our ultimate goal.

  

            In the life of Christ himself, we can see how busy he was,

going from one place to another preaching, and attending to all sorts

of people with all their needs and requests, such that, according to

the gospel, he and his apostles hardly had time even to eat.

  

            But in spite of all that, Christ managed also to go slow

to be able to pray and talk with great intimacy with the Father. He

always felt the need for this, even if we can say there was no need

for him to do that, since as the Son he is always one with the Father.

For that, he often had to wake up early in the morning and go to a

certain deserted place.

              Of course, that’s Christ who as God was in full control of

his time and everything else. But for us, we need to learn the art of

when to move fast and when to move slow little by little, if only to

reflect as much as possible the ways of Christ who is “the way, the

truth and the life” for us.

  

            In this regard, given the way we are, it would be good if

we can avail of some plan or structure of our day where we can have

some time when we can be moving slowly, so we can study, pray,

meditate and savor the finer points as well as the bigger things in

life, and some time also when we can move fast, busy doing all sorts

of things.

   

            We have to realize that without this plan or structure, we

would be fully at the mercy of changing conditions and circumstances.

We won’t have some stability and cannot be the master of our own life,

directing it to where it should go. We need to get a handle on our

whole life.

   

            The process of learning this art will always have to go

through an inclined plane. In the beginning, we may have to be told

exactly, like what is done with little children, when to move fast and

when to move slow. Later on, when we would already have some feel of

how to distinguish the two, we can do it with some supervision, until

we arrive at the point when we, on our own, can know exactly how to

distinguish between the two.

  

            Just the same, this is always going to be a dynamic

affair. Everyday, with all the varying conditions and circumstances,

we always have to make adjustments.

Be quick to show compassion

IF we really want to be “another Christ,” we should be

quick to show compassion to others who are in need of one thing or

another. Christ himself showed this in that moving episode narrated in

Mk 5,21-43.

  

            While he was preaching, a synagogue official approached

him begging for help for her very sick and dying daughter. And he went

with him. And while on the way, a woman afflicted with haemorrhages

for twelve years, moved by faith, touched his cloak hoping for a cure.

And she was cured. When he reached the official’s house, the daughter

already died. And he brought her back to life again.

  

            This is typical of Christ. Wherever he went, though he had

to convey difficult and hard-to-understand messages to the people,

since these messages were mainly spiritual and supernatural in

character, he never neglected their more immediate human needs.

  

            His heart always flowed with compassion, quick to notice

the needs of others and to respond to them. And all this in all

simplicity, telling the beneficiaries who were so bursting with

gratitude that they wanted to broadcast what they received to the

whole world, to keep quiet instead.

   

            It’s an example that we should all try to imitate. One

deep desire we should have is that of making as some kind of default

mode that attitude of thinking always of the others, wishing them well

all the time and doing whatever we can to help.

  

            It’s obviously not easy to do, but we can always try. With

God’s grace and with our persistent effort, we can little by little

and day by day hack it, such that it becomes second nature to us to

think and feel for the others. That’s what compassion is all about.

  

            Compassion starts in the heart, in our thoughts and

desires. In this level, there is no limit in what we can do.

Obviously, when we try to translate these prayers, thoughts and

desires into action and material things, we can be greatly limited.

But insofar as prayers and sacrifices are involved, the possibilities

are unlimited.

  

            We need to examine ourselves more deeply to see if indeed

we are always thinking, praying and wishing others well. We have to be

wary of our tendency to let our thoughts and desired be dictated only

by self-interest, usually done in a most subtle but effective way. For

this, we have to do regular examination of conscience.

  

            And while we have to be like Christ in showing ready

compassion to all, let’s not forget that we too need to go to him to

ask for some miracles, like those many helpless characters in the

gospel who approached him for a cure. In other words, we cannot rely

anymore on our human powers and resources to handle our many

predicaments. We too have to beg for miracles.

  

            And so let us go to Christ like the blind man Bartimaeus

(Mk 10,46-52), the woman with the flow of blood (Mk 5,25), the 10

lepers (Lk 17,11-19), the man born blind (Jn 9,1-12), the man

possessed by a legion of devils (Mk 5,1-10), and many others. Let’s go

to him without delay, without hesitation.

  

            We can also help others go to Christ if they themselves

cannot do it, like what the father of a possessed boy did (Mk

9,17-24), those who brought a paralytic to Christ (Mk 2,4), the

centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant (Lk 7,1-10), etc. We can

do a lot of good to others if we do this.

   

            What is important is that we approach Christ with deep

faith. Let us humble ourselves so that that faith can grow and show

itself in deeds, like intense prayers and sacrifice. Remember what

Christ told his disciples why they could not cure an epileptic boy. It

was because of their little faith. (Mt 17,20)

Where has magnanimity gone?

INDEED, where has this virtue gone? It has been missing

for quite a while. Let’s hope it has not become extinct yet. We

actually need it especially these days when we seem to be

deteriorating into a world of constant quarreling, bashing, slamming,

fault-finding, mudslinging, gossiping, backbiting, sowing intrigue and

discord everywhere…

  

            Mr. Webster defines magnanimity as “loftiness of spirit,

enabling one to bear trouble calmly, to disdain meanness and

pettiness, and to display a noble generosity.” What we are seeing

these days are precisely its opposite: a lot of meanness, pettiness,

instant irritation at the slightest sign of provocation.

  

            Because of its absence, the environment has become quite

toxic, the general atmosphere quite tense. There is a palpable bad

spirit of distrust and suspicion, of simmering anguish if not of open

hatred.

  

            The magnanimity as shown to us by Christ has to be

recovered. Remember St. Peter telling us of him: “He (Christ) did not

retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered.

He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.” (1 Pt

2,23) This is the essence of magnanimity.

  

            In another instance, the same St. Peter also said: “Do not

repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay

evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may

inherit a blessing.” (1 Pt 3,9) St. Paul reiterated the same point

when he said: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with

good.” (Rom 12,21)

  

            Christ himself, the epitome of magnanimity, taught us to

“love even your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those

who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (Lk 6,27-28)

  

            He continued by saying, “If someone slaps you on one

cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not

withhold your shirt from them…Do to others as you would have them do

to you.” (Lk 6,29-31)

   

            That is how magnanimity is. And we simply have to convince

ourselves, contrary to what our feelings, passions and our human

estimations would tell us, that this is the right way to live and to

react to any contradiction we can meet in our life.

  

            Instead of following the Law of Talion, we follow this

very special aspect of charity that is called magnanimity. For if we

follow the eye-for-and eye, and tooth-for-a-tooth rule, we corrupt

ourselves and play the game of the devil. We make ourselves no

different from the one who offends us.

  

            This is not defeatism and cowardice, much less, stupidity.

This is precisely what makes us truly human and Christian. This is

what would lead us to the fullness of our being. It’s time that we

earnestly make the effort to learn and acquire this virtue.

  

            This does not mean that we do not concern ourselves with

justice. We should, and in fact, pursue it to its fullest. But we have

to understand that justice can only be lived in the context of charity

and magnanimity, of patience and mercy. It is not justice when it is

done outside of that context. And perfect justice can only come from

God, not from us alone.

  

            This, of course, will require of us to be in constant

awareness of the example of Christ. More than that, we need to be truly “another Christ,”

reflecting in our life the life of him who is the very pattern of our

humanity and the redeemer of our damaged humanity.

  

            What would help is to develop the art of going through the

drama of our life with a sporting spirit and with a good sense of

humor. There are things that we should not take too seriously, because

the only one thing necessary is to love—to love God and everybody

else.

On anger

WITH all the toxic environment we are having these days,

especially in the area of politics, and most especially when some

political characters recklessly comment on religious topics, to get

angry is a very likely reaction we all can have.

            We just have to be wary of our anger because as St. James

already warned us in his letter, “man’s anger does not bring about the

righteousness of God.” (1,20) We always tend to go overboard, and our

anger can already go beyond the scope of charity and righteousness.

            Let’s never forget that we have a wounded condition here

in our earthly life. We may appear strong and clearly endowed with

powerful talents and resources, but all these good things can blind

and intoxicate us also and can plunge us into a very subtle form of

pride, vanity, arrogance and self-righteousness.

            We can feel that we have all the truth and fairness in our

side, but just the same all that can still be held outside of charity.

And let’s remember that charity is the fullness of knowledge, truth,

justice. Where there is no charity, the charity of God, all the other

virtues can at best be only apparent. They can look and feel like

virtues, but in reality are not.

            While we can try to reflect God’s anger on certain

occasions in our own brand of anger over some issues, we should be

most careful, because with our wounded condition, we can easily fall

into hatred and other forms of lack of charity.

            Yes, anger is one of our God-given emotions, locked into

our nature as persons. It has its legitimate use. But precisely

because of our precarious human condition here on earth, we have to be

wary of it. In fact, anger is also considered one of the capital sins,

along with pride, envy, greed, lust, gluttony, sloth, that can beget

many other sins.

            If ever we have to be angry, let’s try our best to be

angry in the spirit of Christ who showed anger over the self-righteous

Pharisees and scribes, and over those who turned the temple into a

market place. Christ’s anger is what is called righteous anger, one

that is done always in charity and in the truth, and not just due to

opinions and biases. It’s an anger that is meant to correct, purify,

heal.

            Besides, Christ’s anger is only momentary. It does not

last long. As a psalm would put it, “his anger lasts only a moment,

but his favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but

rejoicing comes in the morning.” (30,5) He is slow to anger, and quick

to forgive.

            Again, St. James tells us that “everyone should be quick

to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” (1,19) And a

proverb warns us that “a hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but a the

slow to anger calms a dispute.” (15,18)

            We really have to learn how to hold our horses, especially

when we feel provoked or incited. We have to lengthen our patience,

our capacity to suffer. We have to broaden our mind so we can we can

quickly and easily capture the more important things in a given issue

rather than react immediately to things that are only incidental to

that issue.

            It’s always good to have a pro-active attitude in this

regard, that is, that we always think well of everyone even if there

are differences among us. We should not wait for everyone to prove

that they deserve our good consideration. We give it at the start, and

keep it all the way, in spite of some conflicts.

            We have to turn those moments when we are tempted to get

angry to deepen our love for others out of our love for God.

Our radical identity and mission

WE really should know who we really are and what our real

purpose in life is. To be sure, we are not just our own name, with so

many distinguishing marks attached to it.

            We are not just someone who was born into such and such a

family, who come from this or that place, who has such specific status

legally, economically, socially, professionally, etc. Much less are we

just our physical attributes.

            Of course, our identity includes all these categories. But

our most basic and radical identity that should permeate all these

identifying categories is that we are all creatures of God made in his

image and likeness and meant to correspond to God’s design for us as

his image and likeness and ultimately as adopted children of his.

            In other words, before we say our name and the many other

characteristics to identify ourselves, we have to acknowledge first of

all that our true identity is that we are children of God. And from

there, we can already know what our basic and ultimate mission or

purpose in life is.

            It’s important that we realize that our most fundamental

identity as God’s creatures and adopted children is not a static

phenomenon. It is something dynamic, a work in progress.

            Its completion and perfection takes place at our death and

at the end of time, when we would hopefully fully correspond to God’s

design for us as his image and likeness and his adopted children

characterized mainly by love which is the very essence of God.

            That’s simply because as created in God’s image and

likeness, we have been endowed with intelligence and will which would

enable us to correspond or not to God’s designs for us. We are a

knowing and willing creature whose creation requires our own role of

corresponding to God’s will.

            Our creation is not a simple one-way God-to-creature

affair. It is a two-way affair. Because of how God wants us to be, God

just did not create us like he did with all the material creatures,

both animate and inanimate. He created us to be like him, capable of

corresponding to his designs for us.

            Since we spoiled with our sin our first creation in Adam

and Eve who enjoyed the so-called state of original justice, God sent

his Son, the perfect image God has of himself and thus the pattern of

our humanity that is meant to be in God’s image, to recover us and

complete our creation. Christ is the redeemer of our damaged humanity.

            Our true identity that we need to aim at is for us to

become like Christ—in fact, to be another Christ. And the radical and

ultimate mission we have in this world therefore is for us to

correspond to God’s designs for us to be another Christ.

            This ideal can be described in many ways—that we be holy,

that we know how to love God and one another as Christ himself has

shown us, that like God we have to be merciful and to strive to

reflect in our lives the perfections of God—his wisdom, power,

goodness, that like Christ we have to be willing to suffer, to bear

all the sins of men, to have the basic attitude of wanting to serve

and not to be served, etc.

            We need to reinforce this very fundamental truth about our

real identity, especially today when our worldly affairs tend to

remove us from it. That’s why Christ, before ascending to heaven,

first commissioned his apostles to “go out into the whole world,

preaching the gospel and baptizing them in the name of the Father, and

of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

            It’s actually a commissioning that is meant for all of us,

to be carried out according to our possibilities. Insofar as Christ is

concerned, everything has already been given for us to carry out that

mission effectively.

Love should inspire our death

WE need to examine how our attitude is towards death which

is unavoidable in our life here on earth. It’s, of course, a

worthwhile exercise because many of us today have a wrong

understanding of death that would lead us to unnecessary fears. Also,

the many riveting concerns we have at the moment often prevent us from

doing this important and crucial exercise.

            Death should be understood, first of all, as a consequence

of sin. In the beginning when our first parents were still in the

state of original justice, death was an unknown. They were not

supposed to die. Their and our immortality was supposed to cover not

only our spiritual life but also our bodily life.

            But death as a consequence of sin has been redeemed by

Christ already. Remember what St. Paul said about this: “Where, O

death, is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?” (1 Cor 15,55)

With the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, the curse of death

has been removed.

            And so we should not be afraid of death anymore. As long

as we have the same attitude that Christ had toward death, we will

consider death as a liberation, a transition to our eternal life of

bliss with God in heaven, a happy conclusion of our creation and

redemption by Christ.

            That is how we should look at death in any way or form it

can come to us. We can even have some kind of healthy and welcoming

attitude toward it. Some saints who already knew the character and

purpose of death would even call it “my sister death.”

            The secret is to have the mind and attitude of Christ

toward death. He looked at it as a supreme act of love. “Greater love

has no one than this,” he said, “to lay down one’s life for one’s

friends.” (Jn 15,13)

            Death should, therefore, not just be a consequence of

illness or old age or some accident. It has to be inspired by

love—love for God and love for others. It has to be freely done and

offered in the tenor of Christ’s words: “No one takes my life from me.

I give my life of my own free will. I have the authority to give my

life, and I have the authority to take my life back again. This is

what my Father ordered me to do.” (Jn 10,18)

            And so, we just have to make sure that whenever we

consider death, it should always be in the context of love, of

obedience to God’s will, of the redemption of mankind. We should not

get stuck on the medical or emotional aspects, etc., although they too

should be given due consideration.

            Let us try to always follow what St. Paul said in this

regard: “If we live, we live for the Lord. And if we die, we die for

the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (Rom

14,8)

            In other words, our dying is our way of identifying

ourselves more and more with Christ, as articulated and explained by

St. Paul in the following verses:

            “For we who live are constantly being delivered over to

death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be

manifested in our mortal flesh.” (2 Cor 4,11)

            “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I

who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the

flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.” (Gal 2,20)

            “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Phil 1,21)

            “If we died with Christ, we will also live with Christ.”

(2 Tim 2,11)

            We need to have a theological understanding and attitude

toward death.

Preparing people fit for the Lord

THIS was what was said of St. John the Baptist. (cfr. Lk

1,17) That was why he taught the gospel of repentance and subjected

himself to some rigorous discipline of praying and fasting while

staying in the desert. In the end, when Christ appeared in the place

where St. John was baptizing, he pointed to the people the very Lamb

of God who would take away the sins of the world. And some of his

disciples started to follow Christ.

            We have to have the same attitude as St. John the Baptist.

Like him, we too should help in preparing everyone to be fit for the

coming of the Lord. This definitely will be going to be a very

challenging task, given the conditions we are having today.

            We cannot deny that there is a lot of ignorance, confusion

and indifference to the things of God these days. The life of piety

seems to be waning in many parts of our country, let alone, the whole

world. Many people are hardly praying, and the practice of devotion

seems to be facing extinction.

            Just the same, we should not forget that regardless of

what may appear to be a deep-seated culture of irreligion these days,

every man continues in the deepest part of his heart to yearn for God.

What the Catechism says about this is always relevant:

            “The desire for God is written in the human heart, because

man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to

himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never

stops searching for.” (CCC 27)

            Yes, God himself will always draw us to himself in ways

that can be very mysterious. And we, on our part, should try our best

to discern the directing ways of God. This is where everyone has to do

his part in preparing himself to see and follow God’s ways.

            Given the current state of world culture that is now

driven by the marvels of the new technologies and a big appetite for

information, there definitely is a great need to make people see that

God is very much in the middle of these developments.

            We have to be wary of imposing specific norms of prudence

that may have worked in the previous generations and eras but which

are not effective anymore at this time. We have to learn to adapt

things to the way people are, judiciously blending the old and the

new, the traditional and the innovative. Let’s take initiatives and be

unafraid of making some experiments. This will require a true spirit

of discernment.

            We really have to study and assess things thoroughly

before we can come out with some guidelines to help today’s young ones

who certainly have different sensibilities and sense of priorities.

            It’s nobody’s fault that we have differences. They are

there more because God wants it that way and also because they can

occasion in us a deeper knowledge of things. Let us learn to handle

this condition in our life, perhaps by being simply sporty about it.

It cannot be denied that we have to make a lot of sacrifices in this

regard.

            What should be foremost in our mind is that we are

preparing people fit for the Lord, starting with our own selves and

then reaching out to others. For this, let’s continue to use both the

human and the supernatural means.

            We have to spend time with the people, getting to know

them in their concrete conditions and trying to establish deep

friendship. We have to remember that it is in true friendship that

important, albeit arduous, things can be talked about freely.

Concupiscence

WE have to be familiar with this phenomenon. There’s such

thing as concupiscence which is a certain attraction we have toward

evil. No matter how much we try to be good—we can even be very heroic

in this—we have within ourselves this attraction which we will carry

all throughout our life. We have to learn how to deal with it.

            Nowadays, this attraction toward evil is very obvious not

only in the personal level but also in the world level. Just look at

the talk shows and the other shows in the media, for one.

            All sorts of perversion are not anymore hidden. They are

now shamelessly shown, stoutly justified, promoted and spread all

over. What we see are the many forms of pride, greed, lust, envy,

gluttony, wrath and sloth. The worst cut is when people seem to lose

already the sense of sin. They have redefined what is good and evil.

            While it’s true that our Christian baptism has erased both

the original sin, and to those who happen to be baptized as an adult

having already committed a lot of sins, also the personal sins, the

scar of these sins still remain with us and can act up again anytime.

            We are already warned amply about this in the holy book.

“For all that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, and

the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride life, which is not of the

Father, but is of the world.” (1 Jn 2,16)

            I am sure our personal experiences can easily validate

this truth. That’s why St. John quite openly told us that we are all

sinners. “If we confess our sins, He (Christ) is faithful and just to

forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” St.

John said. “If we say we have not sinned, we make him out to be a

liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 Jn 1,9-10)

            We should not be surprised anymore at this disturbing

condition of ours. Ours is simply to learn and develop the art of

spiritual combat and warfare. We need to have the skills of ascetical

struggle, submitting ourselves to stricter discipline and greater

toughness.

            This does not mean that we have to harden ourselves to

such an extent that we become inhuman, losing our sensitivity and the

capacity to be tender, affectionate, understanding and merciful to

everyone. Neither should we be so tough and hardened that we fail to

ask for forgiveness if we ourselves commit some error, let alone, sin.

            But yes, we have to learn how to say no to temptations,

how to discipline our weaknesses, how to be clever as serpents, as we

are told in the gospel, in order to smell and discern the cunning ways

of the world and the devil. This is how we can handle the burden of

our built-in concupiscence.

            That is why we need to submit ourselves to a lifelong and

daily program of sacrifices and mortification. Christ himself told

this is to us very clearly. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny

himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mt 16,24)

            We should do whatever is necessary to be faithful to

Christ, no matter what it takes. “If your hand or your foot causes you

to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to

enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and

be thrown into eternal fire.” (Mt 18,8)

            We should realize that whatever we seem to give out and to

lose in the struggle is more than amply rewarded not only in the end,

but even at the moment of the struggle.

            Remember Christ telling us clearly, “Whoever wants to save

his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find

it.” (Mt 16,25)