Advent asks us to begin well again

WITH the season of Advent which marks the beginning of

another liturgical year, we are reminded of our duty to begin well

again in our spiritual and moral life, in our life that is meant for

loving God and everybody else.

  

            We have to remember that our life here on earth is like a

divine project that has a beginning and an end, and a very concrete

purpose. But it’s a project that we also take active part, since as an

intelligent and free creature of God capable of knowing and loving God

and others, we are meant to knowingly and lovingly correspond to God’s

plans for us individually and collectively. We are not passive

materials in this project.

  

            And this divine project takes the form of a yearly cycle,

what we call as the liturgical year, where the working of the whole

economy of salvation that God has for us, takes place. God’s

interventions in our life are actually constant and abiding.

   

            This yearly cycle of the divine project is meant to

prepare us for our ultimate eternal destination. It would be good if

we make ourselves most aware of this truth of our faith, so that we

know what we ought to do in this earthly life of ours.

  

            For this, a prayer that can be helpful is the Glory Be,

where we find the words, “As it was in the beginning, is now, and will

be forever.” Let’s put our mind and heart into these words if only to

remind ourselves strongly that we need to have a good sense of

continuity and consistency between our beginning and end, between the

past, present and future, and between time and eternity.

  

            Let us foster the awareness of this basic truth about

ourselves and about our life here on earth. We need to encourage

everyone to have a clear and strong sense of purpose, and to know how

to pursue it given our human condition and all the means that God has

given us.

  

            We cannot deny that many of us are ignorant of this truth.

And if not, many are doubtful and skeptical. There are even those who

are openly hostile to this truth, swayed as they are by some

ideologies not based on faith but rather on some human estimation

alone.

  

            The youth especially are quite vulnerable. Often hooked to

the many isms of the times, they give little regard to the truths of

our faith. Even among those who profess the Christian faith, we can

still find many who are inconsistent. As our bishops once observed,

many of us are quite sacramentalized, but not evangelized.

  

            In this Year of the Youth, let’s hope that we can do

something to make the young people more mindful and competent in

developing and living out their authentic Christian identity and

dignity. They need to be pastorally accompanied, for sure, and very

closely at that.

  

            They have to be reassured of the truths of our Christian

faith. A lot of explanations have to be done in this regard. But more

than that, they have to be shown proofs and means of how to

effectively live out these truths of our Christian faith. For sure,

they will need models to look up to, and we just have to pray that we

won’t be lacking in this department.

  

            The youth, in general, look for authenticity in the things

that we tell or teach them. They at first may have a rather shallow

and fleeting appreciation of things, but once they get convinced, they

are capable of a deep and lifelong sense of commitment.

  

            Let us underwrite this task with a lot of prayers and

spirit of sacrifice!

Everything can be an occasion to love

TO be more precise, everything, regardless of what and how

it is, can and should be an occasion, an instrument, a material for

loving God and for everybody else. Whether it is good or bad,

according to our human standards, or a success or failure, a win or a

loss, as long as it is referred to Christ and united to his love for

us, it can spawn and develop the love that is proper to us.

            The secret is to refer everything to Christ who has

identified himself with us in all our possible human events,

conditions and situations and has converted everything into a means

for authentic loving.

            Let’s remember that when Christ is ignored or when things

are not referred to him, whatever good we may have in this life would

only spoil us. And whatever misfortune we suffer would only destroy

us.

            With Christ, everything acquires meaning and reason. If

things are good, Christ would teach us how to keep on loving by

continually praising and thanking God and by continually serving the

others in every which way. We would remain service-oriented, never

bossy or complacent.

            When things are bad, Christ would teach us how to bear it,

how to find meaning in it by showing that it can be a means for our

purification and instrument for the salvation of all mankind. Even the

worst scenario in our life would have a positive and constructive

value. We would never feel oppressed by whatever misfortune we may

suffer.

            We should never forget this truth of our faith. We are

meant for loving. God created us for love. We ought to be in love

always—in good times and bad, or as the marriage vows would put it:

“for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in

health, until death do us part.”

            We should not allow ourselves to be trapped by the

technicalities of the drama or the ups and downs of our earthly life.

While it’s true that we have to attend to the technicalities of our

life, we should not forget that the ultimate anchor that would give

stability to our life is when we manage to love the way God loves us

as shown to us by Christ.

            We should always check ourselves if this love is working

in our life all the time. As much as possible, this love should be

felt by us. It should be the one that drives us, that gives impulses

to our thoughts, desires, words and actions.

            If we still do not have that love, if we do not feel it

yet, then it is time for us to work on it, asking and begging Christ

for it, and developing the appropriate attitude, virtues and skills.

            We should try our best that we are not guided mainly by

our own human estimations of things, like our feelings and emotions,

or even our intellectual insights, or some social or political

consensus. These cannot capture the global picture of things.

            We have to be guided by our faith that would go together

always with hope and charity. It is this divine gift that gives us the

global picture of things and the basis for hoping and loving.

            It is this living faith that would enable us to convert

everything in our life into an occasion, a means, an instrument and a

material for loving God and everybody else. In other words, there is

nothing in our life that cannot be made use of to live out the love we

are supposed to have.

            Whatever the condition, circumstance, situation, we can

manage to love! We would never have a dull moment, even in our periods

of tiredness, weakness, etc.

Gratuitousness

THIS should be the attitude in our self-giving. It has to

be done without counting the cost, without expecting any reward. We

should not worry about anything, because God knows everything and

gives us everything that we need. And he cannot be outdone in

generosity. The more we give of ourselves, the more he will reward us.

            We just have to do our self-giving very freely. As Christ

himself told his apostles, “Freely you have received, freely give.”

(Mt 10,8) And the first one to live by this principle is Christ

himself. He gave himself freely to us, including his own life. He did

not mind the sacrifices, the insults and mistreatment he underwent.

            This is what true love is. It is a total self-giving. But

the mysterious part of it is that it actually generates more love and

self-giving in others. It inspires others to give themselves in the

way of true love. That is why true love has its own reward. It has the

dynamic of being repaid also with love.

            We should always be encouraged to give ourselves to others

gratuitously without strings attached, without conditions. Even if

instead of being reciprocated properly and requited, our love is

misunderstood and rejected, we just have to go on loving. The only

reason for loving is because that is what true love is. It is this

love that is the real essence of God, of whom we are his image and

likeness.

            Loving in this way can only mean giving all the glory to

God. We have to be careful because we always have the tendency to give

glory to ourselves, if not totally then at least partially. Our motto

should be “Deo omnis gloria,” all the glory to God.

            We should not worry about our own glorification because

God will take care of it. This is what St. Paul said in this regard:

“For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the

image of his Son…And those he predestined he also called. Those he

called he also justified. Those he justified he also glorified…If God

is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8,29-31)

            What a consoling thought, these words of St. Paul are!

This way of loving, of giving ourselves to others without counting the

cost and without expecting any return, is what would identify us with

God, with Christ. This is how Christ behaved.

            We have to learn to give ourselves to others and to do

good without attracting attention. We have to learn the art of passing

unnoticed. Whenever Christ performed his miracles, he would always

tell the beneficiaries not to announce to the public what he did to

them. Of course, the beneficiaries could not help but spread the word

around. But we should follow the example of Christ.

            He even taught it explicitly. “When you give to the needy,

do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the

synagogues and on the streets, to be praised by men. Truly I tell you,

they already have their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not

let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your

giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in

secret, will reward you.” (Mt 6,2-4)

            We have to do everything to fight against our tendency to

show off our goodness and generosity. We can even do that in a very

subtle way, which is really very devious and corrupting to our own

selves. We really have to discipline ourselves to pass unnoticed while

doing a lot of good.

            There is always need for continually rectifying our

intentions and finding practical ways so that our good deeds are

solely motivated by love of God which is the proper way to love our

neighbor. Otherwise, it would just be fake love!

Looking back and looking forward

THE week between the Solemnity of Christ the King

(November 25) and the first Sunday of Advent (Dec 2), which marks the

end and the beginning, respectively, of the Church’s liturgical year,

is a good occasion to make a review of the year that passed and a plan

for the year to come.

            I believe this is a good practice that should be promoted

widely because our spiritual and apostolic life, as much as possible,

should march together with the liturgical rhythm of the year, so to

speak.

            We have to be aware of the different parts and seasons of

the liturgical year. There’s the season of Advent, then Christmas,

then a part of what is called as Ordinary Time, then Lent that

culminates with the Easter Triduum, then Easter itself, then back to

Ordinary Time that ends with the Solemnity of Christ the King. Within

the Ordinary Time are different solemnities and feasts related to

special events in Christ’s life and the memorials of saints.

            We have to understand that the liturgical year presents to

us the whole life of Christ and the economy of salvation, from our

creation to our glorification with Christ in heaven.

            In fact, if we understand the true character of the

liturgy, we would know that the liturgy does not only present the life

of Christ. That life and redemptive work of Christ, together with

their fruits, are made present and actual in a sacramental way. We

therefore become actors and participants, agents and beneficiaries of

Christ’s redemptive work.

            That is why we have to take the Church’s liturgy for the

whole year seriously. And as such, we have to be properly trained,

developing the appropriate attitude, and aware of the duties and

responsibilities as well as the blessings and privileges that the

liturgy affords us.

            If in the past liturgical year, we have been deficient in

our understanding and attitude toward the liturgy, then now is the

time to make a new beginning, with desires to make an improvement and

growth in our spiritual and apostolic life.

            The way things are in the world today, we cannot afford

anymore to be casual in this duty. We have to identify as specifically

as possible areas in our spiritual and apostolic life which needs

improvement. It could be in the aspects of prayer, sacrifice, or in

our faith, etc. As much as possible we have to identify the roots of

the defects and sins we often commit. We should try our best to know

ourselves well—our strengths and weaknesses, etc.

            And based on our ‘performance’ of the past year, let us

try to make the appropriate strategy for the next year. What practices

of piety should we develop or improve? What virtues do we still have

to cultivate with greater effort? What means of formation should we

avail of? We have to set clear goals.

            The way things are now in the world, we really need to be

properly equipped and armed to face the many challenges of the times.

In this regard, let us not underestimate the need to have a good

spiritual director who can help us navigate the tricky waters of

today’s world.

            There will be new things and new developments that require

from us new skills and the appropriate attitudes. We have to know how

to flow with the times without getting confused and lost. We have to

know what changes we can make in ourselves that would not compromise

what is essential in life. Remember what Christ once said: “Pour new

wine into new wineskin, and both are preserved.” (Mt 9,17)

            Yes, let’s make use of this week to look back and to look forward!

Temperance today

MORE than ever, we need to be keenly aware today of the

need for the virtue of temperance. Why? We cannot deny that we are

constantly bombarded with many material things, all offering all kinds

of advantages and conveniences, that if we are not careful can remove

us from our proper path to God, to heaven, to the world of the

spiritual and the supernatural.

            It’s as simple as that. We now have to deliberately

exercise restraint and moderation in the use of material things,

otherwise we will be swallowed up by the dynamics of worldly forces

that would plunge us to the big, wide and smooth road to

self-indulgence, and ultimately to our perdition.

            More than practising restraint and moderation, we need to

have a clear, firm and functioning idea of what the purpose of all

these material amenities we are enjoying in the world today, is. Our

proper focus should not be lost.

            All these material developments and progress we have today

are meant to give glory to God and to contribute to the common good.

They are meant to develop in us the real essence and the fullness of

our humanity, which is love—love for God and love for neighbour, and

not self-love.

            That is why it becomes increasingly imperative that we be

properly grounded on our faith and our life of piety, consisting of

the usual things—time for prayer and meditation, offering of

sacrifices, recourse to the sacraments, availing of a continuing plan

of formation, development of virtues, forming our consciences, waging

an abiding ascetical struggle, etc.

            These are things that we today should become more experts

in as we immerse ourselves in the material and temporal developments

of our world here. These are things that keep and reinforce our true

dignity as persons and children of God. They also are what would

recover that dignity if we happen to lose it, which is what often

happens.

            Christ has told it to us very clearly. “If anyone would

come after me,” he said, “let him deny himself and take up his cross

and follow me.” (Mt 16,24) There is always a need for self-denial and

sacrifice for us because of the disorder between our body and soul,

between our reason and faith, due to our sins.

            Our catechism describes the virtue of temperance in this

way: “Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of

pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures

the will’s mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits

of what is honourable.

            “The temperate person directs the sensitive appetites

toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion: ‘Do not follow

your inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of

your heart. Temperance is often praised in the Old Testament: ‘Do not

follow your base desires but restrain your appetites. In the New

Testament, it is called ‘moderation’ or ‘sobriety.’” (CCC 1809)

            We need to translate these lofty words about temperance

into concrete guidelines adapted to our unique personal circumstances.

How should we live temperance when using the internet, the modern

gadgets? How should we live temperance when indulging in our business

and getting involved in politics?

            We have to have specific ways of living temperance in our

thoughts, desires, imagination, memory, and in our speech and deeds.

Temperance also in food, drinks and sex and recreation. Yes, in all

aspects of our life, including our spiritual life that can also have

its excesses and abuses.

            To be sure, this is not punishment. Rather it is to uphold

and enhance our dignity. We need to educate ourselves more effectively

about this need for temperance. The youth these days should be given

special attention, because they are often unprepared to properly

handle the new developments and allurements of the world today.

State of the art

PEOPLE nowadays are fascinated, and even obsessed, with

getting the latest version of their gadgets. They look forward to

having the so-called state of the art. To a certain extent, it’s a

fascination that is legitimate as long as it does not deteriorate into

an obsession which is already an anomaly and also as long as their

intention is pure.

            That might be a quixotic condition, given the way many

people are nowadays. While reasons for greater convenience and

practicality are okay in having the state of the art, such reasons

many times get diluted with traces of pride, vanity, envy and the

like. And that is not okay.

            Besides, while this state of the art offers many more

conveniences and advantages, it also brings with it new dangers. That

is why we have to understand that the state of the art in our

technologies should also be matched with the state of the art in our

spirituality and morality. We should not have the former without the

latter.

            Remember Christ saying that new wine should be poured into

new wineskin and not the old one. (cfr. Mt 9,14-17) We have to update

the state of our spirituality and morality to flow with the new

developments of the state of the art.

            To exaggerate a little, we can say that we cannot apply

the medieval ways of spirituality and morality to the way things are

nowadays. While there are permanent and essential things in our

spiritual and moral lives that should not change, we should not forget

that there are also many other elements that can and should change.

            We have to remember that God, whose life we share and

reflect in ours, is both eternally old and new. With God, nothing is

new under the sun. (cfr. Ecclesiastes 1,9)  But with him, everything

is also made new. (cfr. Rev 21,5)

            We need to see to it that the new state of the art in the

technologies should enhance, not undermine, our prayer, our spirit of

sacrifice, our apostolic concern, our defenses against our weaknesses,

temptations and sin, etc.

            The new state of the art should make us get closer to God,

enable us to give greater glory to him. It should help us get a more

intimate knowledge of God’s will and ways in a more abiding way. It

should make our heart stand still at the greatness of God and his

overflowing love for us.

            It should make us more fruitful and productive in our

pursuit for holiness and apostolate. It should not just give us some

material and temporal advantages, but rather more spiritual,

supernatural and apostolic fruits. It should trigger further

development of the virtues.

            Also, it should sharpen our skills in waging the

indispensable spiritual warfare in our life. Our ability to detect

potential moral dangers should improve. Nowadays, with our much

improved capacity to access things, we have to be wary of the subtle

tricks of the devil whose business is none other than to lead us to

sin.

            Today, for example, it’s a given that a great majority of

the people, especially the young ones, are addicted to pornography and

many other vices. The new state of the art in our technologies should

help us avoid these things by installing the appropriate warning,

filtering and purifying apps and devices.

            There should be some features in whatever state of the art

is developed that would help us maintain presence of God while

immersed in our temporal and earthly affairs. Some appropriate

reminders in this regard should be made. They should help us maintain

our spiritual and supernatural bearing.

            A state of the art that ignores the presence of God is,

simply said, never a sign of progress but rather of retrogression.

Building God’s kingdom

WITH the celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King

which marks the end of the liturgical year, we are reminded of our

duty to start building God’s kingdom here on earth. Yes, the

definitive state of God’s kingdom will be in heaven, but we have to

start building it here.

            His kingdom is actually already with us. That’s why at one

time, Christ said: “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Lk

17,21) At the same time, it is still to be perfected in some other

time, place or, better said, state of life. Thus, he also said: “My

kingship is not of this world.” (Jn 18,36)

            The celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King

reminds us that Christ will again come a second time to reclaim and

present us as God’s children and people. We should develop a strong

sense of expectation for Christ’s second coming, adopting St. Paul’s

words, “Maranatha, Lord, come!” (1 Cor 16,22)

            Or we can repeat some pertinent words of a psalm, “Vultum

tuum, Domine, requiram.” That’s Latin for “I long to see your face,

Lord,” (27,8) that express the strongest desire we should have in our

life.

            And this duty of building God’s kingdom starts with each

one of us, making Christ our king, allowing him to reign in our mind

and heart, and in every part of our body and in every aspect of our

life. We need to submit ourselves completely to him who is the pattern

of our humanity, the redeemer of our damaged humanity, the way, the

truth and the life for us.

            We can do this, first of all, by making little conquests

in our spiritual life everyday. We need to understand that our life

will always involve some struggle. In fact, it is and should be a

daily affair. Failing in that struggle does not only mean getting

stuck at a certain point. It certainly means we have retrogressed. In

this business of struggle, if we don’t advance, we regress.

            We should therefore be reminded of our duty to hone up our

skills in spiritual warfare. Christ already hinted this much when he

said: “from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of

heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away.” (Mt 11,12)

            We have to understand though that to be violent in this

sense does not mean to be destructive but rather to be constructive,

driven by love and the desire to be united with God and with the

others in a way proper to us as children of God and brothers and

sisters among ourselves.

            We also have to learn to relate everything in our life to

God through Christ in the Holy Spirit, no matter how mundane and

temporal they are. The things of this world are actually the materials

we need to use to relate ourselves to God and to show our belief and

love for him.

            And from each one of us, let us make God’s kingdom radiate

into our families, communities and societies, our nation and

ultimately the whole world. Thus, we have to sharpen our apostolic

zeal.

            It corresponds to Christ’s clear command, given first to

the apostles but also meant for all of us, to go out into the whole

world, preaching the gospel and baptizing them “in the name of the

Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

            Thus, we need to reach out to everyone. We have to develop

our social skills and make as many friends as possible, so that the

work of apostolate and evangelization can be facilitated. We have to

base this apostolic work on solid prayer and sacrifice.

            Of course, we have to study the doctrine of our faith

well, so that the task of evangelization can be carried out

effectively.

At the receiving end

THAT’S what we have to be prepared for. If we are to

follow Christ seriously, if we are to be consistent in our pursuit for

holiness, then let’s be prepared to be at the receiving end of all

forms of evil in this world.

            Christ himself practically said it. When he articulated

the beatitudes, we are given the idea that to be blessed, we should be

ready to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be insulted, persecuted and

accused of all kinds of evil falsehoods, etc. (cfr. Mt 5,3-11)

            In spite of these evils, we should not waver in living

charity with those who may offend us. Christ explicitly said that we

have to love our enemies, to do good to them that hate us and pray for

those who persecute and calumniate us. This is how we are going to be

identified as children of God who makes his sun to rise upon the good

and bad, the rain on the just and the unjust.

            We then have to learn how to hold our horses, avoiding

those reflex reactions that are only driven by raw instincts and that

fail to capture a more global, faith-enlightened significance of any

event. Even more, we have to avoid falling into hatred. And we have to

be careful with our anger, because even if it can be regarded as

righteous, our anger usually deteriorates into hatred.

            While Christ assured us that a great reward awaits us in

heaven if we live the beatitudes, there are actually many other

practical advantages we can enjoy if we get to be at the receiving end

of all worldly evils.

            For one, we can think and react better if we remain calm

and stick to the ways of patience and charity. To be misunderstood,

insulted, persecuted, etc., is a given in this life. We should not

make a big fuss about it anymore.

            Our focus should just be how to proclaim the truth in

charity, and vice-versa, how to live charity in the truth. And this

would require a lot of calm thinking. It’s not that we should be

stoic, killing off our feelings, emotions and passions. But these

latter elements should function at the instance of right thinking that

in its turn should be enlightened by our faith and warmed by charity.

            There should be no bitterness in our thoughts, judgments

and reactions. This is not easy to do, of course. But we can always

try, and ask for God’s grace to help us in this department.

            Besides, when we manage to stay calm and charitable, we

create a better atmosphere that would be more conducive to have a more

constructive dialogue and relationship among ourselves amid our

differences and conflicts. Charity always conquers evil. The

forcefulness of goodness always prevails over the vehemence of evil.

            Of course, to be at the receiving end always is no joke.

It definitely will be painful physically, mentally, emotionally, etc.

But if united with the suffering of Christ, that condition will be

meaningful and even gratifying.

            It would strengthen our spiritual life which is what

really matters in this life. Our perspective and outlook in life

broadens and deepens. We would well be on the road to that “mature

manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,”

that St. Paul talked about. (Eph 4,13)

            Again, we have to learn to hold our horses. We should just

allow ourselves to be misunderstood and mistreated. If we have the

chance, we can always clarify things, but always in the ways of

charity in the truth.

            The desire for revenge and to get even should be shunned!

With groanings too deep for words

I ALWAYS feel consoled everytime I read these words of St.

Paul in his Letter to the Romans. “The Spirit helps us in our

weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the

Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

(8,26)

            And two verses later, we read an even more consoling and

reassuring passage. “We know that all things work together for good to

those who love God, to those who have been called according to his

purpose.” (8,28)

            We know that all of us exist for a purpose designed by

God, our Creator and Father. No one exists by accident, even if by

human standards one may be considered born out of an accident, as in a

consequence of rape, for example. Therefore all of us are guided by

God’s providence where even our weaknesses, mistakes, sins, etc., can

somehow be taken advantage of to lead us to him.

            Of course, we have to do our part. We have to try our best

to know, love and serve God. But given our weakness, many times we do

not know how to relate ourselves to God. We may not know what to say

in our prayer, or worse, we may not even know how to pray at all.

            But God, in the Holy Spirit, will always come to the

rescue. As St. Paul said, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we

do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself

intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

            The working of the Holy Spirit in us is truly mysterious.

We can never fully capture the intricacies of his interventions in our

life. Even in those special, privileged instances when one goes

through extraordinary experiences like ecstasies and private

revelations, as experienced by some saints, no words, no human ways of

demonstration can fully describe them.

            But the Holy Spirit makes up for what we are unable even

to understand so that in the end we get to believe in something

revealed to us but which we could not fully understand, and we would

be led to where we should be.

            For this, we have to be born again, this time in the

Spirit and not just in the flesh. As Christ himself told Nicodemus,

“The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not

know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone

born of the Spirit.” (Jn 3,8)

            So it is possible that we may not even be aware that the

Spirit is shaping our life and directing our every step and act. As

long as we are born again in the Spirit and do not make any formal

rejection of the Spirit in our life, we may commit many mistakes in

our thinking and acting, but still the Spirit will guide us to where

we should be.

            That, I suppose, is what St. Paul meant when he said, “all

things work together for good to those who love God…” (Rom 8,28) God’s

providence works beyond our human understanding, even as he expects us

to know him well and understand his will and ways as much as we can.

            This realization, I believe, should calm down our

over-anxiousness about whether everyone is doing things right. Yes, we

have to follow certain laws, rules, policies, culture, lifestyles,

etc., all meant to guide us, but let’s remember that God’s inscrutable

ways often transcend them. They do not necessarily negate them, but

they simply go beyond them.

            Again, let’s just be game in this life. When we see errors

and sins in us and in others, we of course should try to correct them

when we realize them, but let’s never forget that in God’s providence,

they also serve a purpose! So, we should not worry too much.