IN our
spiritual life, we need to always go forward, to
advance, to cover more area. In other words, we have to
always go on
the offensive. We cannot be all the time defensive,
though that is
also necessary, but as a complement to our efforts to
reach our
ultimate goal.
For our
spiritual life to be truly alive and healthy, we
should not just wait for things to happen. We have to
make things
happen. We cannot afford to be cold. We have to try our
best to be as
hot as possible and for always.
This is not
going to be an easy task, of course. But we
have been assured of God’s grace, and if we correspond to
that grace
as much as we can, somehow some progress can be made.
More virtues can
be acquired and developed. We can reach out to more and
more people.
We can do a lot of good.
Let us remember
that in our spiritual life, that is, in
our relation with God and with everybody else which is
marked always
by love, there is no such thing as a fixed position.
Either we move
forward or we slide backward. Let us not be deceived by
the idea that
we can be in some stable and fixed condition. The
spiritual life is
supposed to be always in a dynamic state.
So, everyday we
should make some strategy that is
realistic and doable. That way we would have a clear idea
of how our
day would go. Hardly anything would be worse if we do not
know what we
are supposed to accomplish for the day, putting ourselves
completely
at the mercy of the external factors.
use, the circumstances to contend with, etc. In this, we
should try to
be experts, hopefully moving from the amateur level to
that of a
professional.
Truth is
everyday we are always confronted with
challenges. If we just care to take note of them, they
will always be
around. For example, we need to fight daily against
laziness,
sensuality, improper attachments to things. We need to
improve our
skill at praying and offering sacrifices. We need to do
some tweaking
and polishing of the virtues we already have.
Yes, our life
here on earth is always in a state of war.
Our heart is the battleground between the forces of good
and evil. The
Book of Job says it: “The life of man upon earth is a
warfare...”
(7,1) And Christ himself said: “From the days of John the
Baptist
until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to
violence, and
violent people have been raiding it.” (Mt 11,12)
To be sure,
this spiritual warfare is always done in
charity. It is waged without bitterness, hatred, but
rather in peace
and joy. For it, the primary armaments are the spiritual
and
supernatural means of prayer, sacrifice, the sacraments
and the
constant effort at ascetical struggle.
Going on the
offensive in our spiritual life will make us
always on the move, always trying our best to be in the
best condition
for the fighting, sharpening our combat skills and our
‘intelligence’
work, so to speak, etc.
Let’s remember
that we are ranged against formidable
enemies, first of whom would be our own selves who have
been weakened
by sin, and the world with its many deceptive
allurements, and the
devil himself who is so astute.
May it be that
as early as possible, we are aware of this
need and start to train ourselves for this purpose. Yes,
the families
should be the first training ground, and they should be
helped by the
schools, the parishes, and other entities.
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