The narrative of faith

THE word, ‘narrative,’ today has acquired a bad

connotation because it now is made to refer to attempts to conform our

views according to a preconceived storyline that would already suggest

bias and prejudice. It’s like things are scripted and controlled, and

as a consequence objectivity is compromised.

            This is especially so in the area of public opinion where

different ideological and political groups defend their views

according to their ideological and political principles and doctrines.

            Those concerned simply have to stick to the narrative of

their ideology and politics. Thus, you can have the liberals and the

conservatives defending their views according to the narrative of

their ideological and political position.

            Of course, this is a very understandable phenomenon. One

sees and understands things according to how he is, conditioned as he

is by so many factors and elements. A gospel passage somehow says as

much. “The heart speaks out of the abundance of the heart.” (Mt 12,34)

            Unfortunately, the word, ‘narrative,’ with its negative

connotation is also applied by many people today to the Christian

faith. They say that because of some people’s faith, they cannot be

objective, and thus, cannot see the wisdom behind the things like

abortion, divorce, same-sex marriage, etc.

            This is, of course, a blatant misconception of faith,

regarding it as one more man-made ideology and political platform. To

be sure, all man-made ideologies and political platforms have many

things that can do good to all of us. But they cannot capture

everything that is proper to us. To be sure also, they cannot by

themselves bring us to our spiritual and supernatural goal.

            Yes, it can be said that the word, ‘narrative,’ can also

be applied to our Christian faith. But it is a narrative that should

not be understood the way we understand it with respect to our

ideologies and politics, etc.

            The narrative of faith does not control and script things

the way the narrative of the ideologies and politics does. It is not

something that is limited the way the latter are limited. It has

infinite ways of adapting itself to any situation we can find

ourselves in, so that it can help us to attain our ultimate end which

is not only natural but also supernatural.

            And what is the nature and purpose of our Christian faith?

As the Catechism teaches us, our faith is meant to bring us back to

where we came from, that is, to be with God for all eternity.

            “It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom,” says the

Catechism, “to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his

will. His will was that men should have access to the Father, through

Christ, the Word made flesh, in the Holy Spirit, and thus become

sharers in the divine nature.” (51)

            The Christian faith is revealed and taught to us in full

by Christ. It has been entrusted to the Church for its integral

transmission to the different generations until the end of time. Its

light is constant and always relevant

            But we have to understand the Christian faith is not so

much pure doctrine alone as a vital union with Christ. The doctrine

serves as a path to be with Christ, but it does not replace Christ. It

is not one more ideology whose light is not constant and not always

relevant.

            The narrative of faith is a living thing that knows how to

adjust and adapt to the different situations we can find ourselves in.

Being divine and redemptive in nature and purpose, it has infinite

possibilities of adapting to all our possible situations and

conditions and of giving us the means to attain our ultimate goal in

life.

            It does not get lost along the way, no matter how messy we

make our life here on earth. In good times and bad, it shows us the

way to attain our ultimate goal.

The good ground

ONE of the very popular parables in the gospel is that of

the sower and the seed. (cfr. Mt 13,1-23; Mk 4,1-20; Lk 8,1-15) There

we are told about the four kinds of soil on which the seeds of the

sower fell. There were seeds that fell on the pathway, on a rocky

ground, on thorns and finally on a good ground.

            Applied to us, the soil that we should try to be is the

last one, the good ground, where the seeds that fell on it took root

and bore fruit. We should try to avoid being a pathway where the seed

that fell on it could not take root and were quickly picked up by

birds.

            Neither should we be like the rocky ground where the seeds

cannot live long since they cannot sink their roots deep enough. Nor

should we be like the thorns where some seeds also fell. These thorns

are like weeds that would eventually choke the seeds.

            For us to be a good ground, we have to see to it that our

mind and heart are always receptive to the things of God. In a manner

of speaking, we need to prepare our mind and heart, tilling them every

so often, enriching them with some fertilizers, allowing them to rest

and fallow after harvest time, so that the things of God can easily

take root and produce fruit.

            This means that we should spend some time praying,

studying the sacred doctrine of our faith, availing of the sacraments,

especially those of confession and the Holy Eucharist, developing the

virtues, making sacrifices, doing apostolate and works of mercy, etc.

            In that way, our mind and heart would be properly attuned

to the things of God which actually are what are good and proper to

us. We should realize more deeply that we need to do these things to

keep our mind and heart in their proper condition, since it is very

easy for us to take them for granted.

            In that way, we become more sensitive to God’s will and

ways and more able to cooperate in them. We would avoid becoming what

Christ said about those with hardened minds and hearts: “Do you still

not see or understand? Do you have such hard hearts? Having eyes, do

you not see? And having ears, do you not hear?” (Mk 8,7-8)

            We have to feel the need to encourage everyone to make

themselves a good ground for the things of God by doing their part of

preparing their minds and hearts properly.

            Yes, we need to pray, which is actually more of listening

and discerning what God is telling and showing us, than of us talking

to him. For this we ought to have the proper dispositions by

enlivening our faith, having recourse to the sacraments, studying the

doctrine of our faith, etc., so we can be more perceptive of what God

is showing us.

            Given the temper of the times when we are pressured to be

very active at the expense of our need to be contemplative, we have to

make some sustained effort to accompany, catechize, motivate and lead

others to the realization that we have to learn to be real

contemplatives even in the middle of the world, so that we can be a

good ground for God’s will and ways.

            The world today needs genuine men and women of God who

cooperate actively in God’s continuing work of human redemption. We

should start with our own selves, and with apostolic zeal let us help

others to be also men and women of God.

            Now that the world is flooded with many absorbing

developments that can hijack us from our proper relationship with God

and with others, we have to be more determined to make ourselves the

good ground so that we can be true men and women of God!

God and the digital age

THE final report of the Synod of Bishops on young people,

faith and vocational discernment that concluded last October has an

interesting observation regarding the digital culture that is now

pervasive in the world. It talks about the great benefits and the

dangers that the digital world is giving us.

  

            It is intriguing to note that the good and bad things in

this world are becoming more and more blended. They do not come to us

anymore in some clear-cut ways, but rather in a united way, so subtle

that we now hardly can distinguish which is which.

   

            Our new technologies are like Trojan horses that can

appear to us as a great gift to humanity, but actually they contain a

lot of concealed dangers. They are very treacherous. Whatever benefit

and sense of success and accomplishment they bring are akin to a

Pyrrhic victory when the good things are somehow nullified by the bad

things they also cause.

  

            The new technologies and the digital culture have

significantly changed the way people understand things in general and

as a consequence, their behavior also. They create an “approach to

reality that privileges images over listening and over reading that

influences the way people learn and the development of their critical

faculty.” It’s like we are having a new ball game.

  

            It’s true that these new technologies give a lot of

benefits. They provide “an extraordinary opportunity for dialogue,

encounter and exchange between persons, as well as access to

information and knowledge.” It can “facilitate the circulation of

independent information that can provide effective protection for the

most vulnerable, etc.”

  

            As to its dark side, the report says that the “digital

environment is also one of loneliness, manipulation, exploitation and

violence…Digital media can expose people to the risk of dependency,

isolation and gradual loss of contact with concrete reality, blocking

the development of authentic interpersonal relationships.”

  

            Besides, the report noted that “there are huge economic

interests operating in the digital world, capable of exercising forms

of control as subtle as they are invasive, creating mechanisms of

manipulation of consciences and of the democratic process.

  

            “The way many platforms work often ends up favoring

encounter between person who think alike, shielding them from debate.

These closed circuits facilitate the spread of fake news and false

information, fomenting prejudice and hate…”

  

            We don’t have to look far to validate these very serious

observations and they definitely have to be addressed accordingly. And

I believe that the only way to handle this predicament is to teach

everyone to actively look for God everytime they get into the digital

world.

   

            There is no other way. Either one is strongly with God to

be with the right footing in that very treacherous world or he is

simply lost and carried away from the strong and irresistible forms of

self-seeking that can only lead us nowhere.

  

            I would say that the real challenge of the digital age is

not so much on how to handle these technologies with technical

competence and some norms of prudence to keep us safe and maintain a

semblance of sanity and fairness. It is a serious call for everyone to

be more authentic in their need and relation with God. It is for

everyone to be truly holy and apostolic.

  

            It is a call to know more about God who in fact is the

very foundation of reality, of what is truly good, beautiful and fair

in this world. Our main problem is that God is not properly known,

much less, loved by many, and so he is somehow regarded as irrelevant

in dealing with this challenge of the digital age.

   

            We need to wake up from our spiritual and religious stupor

to properly handle this tremendous challenge of the digital age.

Never condescending, much less, condemning

WHEN dealing with people, that is, with all kinds of

people with all the differences and conflicts that we can have among

ourselves, we have to see to it that we treat each other as equals,

whom we have to love regardless of whatever.

  

            We are equals because we are all human beings, creatures

of God who made us in his image and likeness. We have the same origin

and end. We have the same calling to holiness and apostolate, since we

have to help one another, especially in attaining what is most

important to us—our salvation.

  

            This sense of equality should be abiding in all

situations, especially when we have to tackle our unavoidable

differences and conflicts. If ever, these differences and conflicts

should only reinforce our sense of equality by going through the

process of love and charity, patience and compassion that Christ

himself as lived, shown us and enabled us to live also.

  

            Christ died for all. He offered and continues to offer

mercy to everyone. He bore all our sins and made himself like sin

himself even if he did not commit any sin. In the end, this is the

attitude we ought to have as we pursue our quest for equality amid all

the differences and conflicts that we can have. We cannot be truly

Christian unless we have this attitude of Christ.

  

            Thus, we have to learn how to feel equal with everyone

despite differences. When we, for example, feel that someone is

superior to us in some human terms, like IQ, EQ, social and economic

standing, etc., we can and should acknowledge that superiority, of

course, but we should never feel inferior to them as a human person.

  

            We should not be afraid or ashamed to approach them and

help them in any way we can. We have to remember that no one is so

superior as to have no need of help even from an inferior person.

Everyone is a work in progress, and we are meant to help one another.

  

            The same is true when we deal with someone who is inferior

to us in some human terms. We should never be condescending toward

them and, much less, assume the attitude of lording it over them,

oozing with arrogance and conceit.

            If we have to believe the advice of St. Paul, we would

even regard them as superior to us. “Do nothing out of selfish

ambition or vain conceit,” St. Paul said in his Letter to the

Philippians. “Rather, be humble, thinking others as better than

yourselves.” (2,3)

  

            I suppose that advice is meant to prod us to help and

serve others in any way we can. This is the constant attitude we ought

to have when dealing with others. It reflects what Christ himself also

had. “I came not to be served, but to serve.” He even went to the

extent of offering his life for us.

  

            This duty to feel equal with everybody else because of our

common origin, common end and common dignity, becomes even more

relevant when we deal with persons who clearly are in the wrong or who

have done some offense, crime and sin of any kind.

  

            In this case, we should be not only not condescending to

them but also not condemning. The final judgment of condemnation

belongs to God alone. We too can make judgments, but only on those

areas where we are competent. But we are never competent to make the

final judgment of condemnation to any person. Only God can do it.

  

            So we have to be most careful with our thoughts and

judgments which we usually keep to ourselves only. But with that, we

would already be doing that is not right and proper to us. Like

Christ, we have to help that person in his conversion, readily

offering mercy and compassion.

Avoid scandalizing and being scandalized

SCANDAL, of course, is a sin. We need to be reminded of

this since nowadays it seems that scandals are so common that many

people think it is just okay to cause it or to be scandalized.

  

            When one scandalizes somebody else, he leads or tempts

that other person to sin. And when one is scandalized, he actually is

not only tempted but has fallen into sin, at least by having some bad

thoughts.

  

            We have to be most mindful of our words and deeds, because

no matter how insignificant they may seem, we can already cause a

scandal in others. And we have to strengthen our defenses against

scandals, so that instead of thinking badly, for example, of someone

due to what we have seen or heard, we are ready to understand and

help.

  

            And scandal need not be in the sexual department only

which is already a grave sin. It can only be a matter of gossip of any

kind, as long as we cause another person to sin by thinking badly of

someone or by leading him to have some critical thoughts, mental

reservations, rash judgments, etc.

  

            Of course, we have to distinguish between the temptation

of scandal and the sin of scandal itself. Temptation is only

temptation and is not yet a sin because we have not yet consented to

it, though we may already be attracted to it. The sin of scandal is

when we consent to the temptation and, worse, when we enjoy it.

  

            We have to be most careful about the danger of scandal,

both in its active and passive aspects, since this danger is now

rampant. In fact, we can say that the danger has become part of the

world culture, promoted not only by individuals, but also by big and

powerful institutions like the media, and in the fields of politics,

business, entertainment, sports, etc.

  

            It might be good to review the points of the Catechism

about scandal, if only to help us develop a certain sensitivity toward

its danger. They are in points 2284 to 2287 of the Catechism of the

Catholic Church.

   

            “2284. Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads

another to do evil. The person who gives scandal becomes his

neighbor’s tempter. He damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw

his brother into spiritual death. Scandal is a grave offense if by

deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense.

  

            “2285. Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reason of

the authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are

scandalized. It prompted our Lord to utter this curse: ‘Whoever causes

one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better

for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be

drowned in the depth of the sea.’

  

            “Scandal is grave when given by those who by nature or

office are obliged to teach and educate others. Jesus reproaches the

scribes and Pharisees on this account: he likens them to wolves in

sheep’s clothing.

   

            “2286. Scandal can be provoked by laws or institutions, by

fashion or opinion. Therefore, they are guilty of scandal who

establish laws or social structures leading to the decline of morals

and the corruption of religious practice, or to ‘social conditions

that, intentionally or not, make Christian conduct and obedience to

the Commandments difficult and practically impossible. This is also

true of business leaders who make rules encouraging fraud, teachers

who provoke their children to anger, or manipulators of public opinion

who turn it away from moral values.

  

            “2287. Anyone who uses the power at his disposal in such a

way that it leads others to do wrong becomes guilty of scandal and

responsible for the evil that he has directly or indirectly

encouraged. ‘Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by

whom they come!’”

When failures bite us

WE have to be ready for this possibility. Failures can

come to us anytime and in all forms in spite of our good intentions

and best efforts. Some of them can already be suspected. But there are

others that can come as a complete surprise.

   

            In any event, we should try our best not to over-react to

them, such that we fall into anger and bitterness, on the one hand, or

into self-pity, sadness and depression, on the other.

  

            Failures can be and should be treated as a blessing. That

is, if we consider them from the point of Christ, if we suffer them

with Christ, who also ‘failed’ big time by dying on the cross. Let’s

remember that Christ has redeemed all our possible failures with his

resurrection. There is no failure that cannot be taken advantage of

for our sanctification and redemption as long as we suffer it with

Christ.

  

            The other day, I felt a deep sense of failure when all of

sudden I heard that a student in our school died. He was a working

student, an orphan who had to take care of two younger siblings. He

worked hard. He never complained about anything. He was just quiet

doing all sorts of things, cleaning the toilets, the windows, etc.

  

            I knew that he led a very heroic life. He had to wake up

very early to prepare things for his brothers and then come to school.

He had to walk a lot to reach school. And he arrived very late at home

every night because he had to do his jobs in school.

   

            Later on, I learned that he was suffering from some pains

in the head and the body. A neighbor who knew more about him at home

told us that. I found it amazing because everytime I saw him, he

always looked good—at least, he gave no sign he was suffering from

something.

  

            This is where I felt I failed miserably. I felt I did not

pay enough attention to him. I felt like I treated him simply as a

working student, and not as a person in his concrete condition as

orphan and all that. In fact, I felt that I have exploited him, since

he was so docile and simple, very easy to ask to run errands for me.

  

            Anyway, I already made my contrition and apologies for

this failure. But, yes, this incident taught me a lesson to be more

caring and more discerning of people’s conditions. I should not just

be contented with how they look. I need to go beyond their looks.

  

            This incident reminds me of my late mother who, contrary

to what I tend to be, was always caring with people in some miserable

conditions. In fact, our house became a favorite destination for

beggars. And at that time, I was not happy with that condition. But my

mother welcomed them and spent time with them.

  

            My mother gave them whatever she had, which was not really

much. But she gave it with such tenderness that beggars loved her so

much. In fact, in her funeral, the beggars were also there and they

were the ones who cried the loudest.

  

            I believe it is not too late to learn how to be more

caring and discerning of people, especially those in some difficult

situation. This means that we should try to get to know more and more

about the persons who are just around us. They may just be janitors

and laundrywomen, but I believe we have to know the concrete situation

of their personal, family and social lives.

  

            Little things like knowing their birthdays and

anniversaries, and greeting them on those days special to them, can go

a long way in knowing them well. They also need a lot of affection,

and to be talked to and be listened to, even about trivial matters.

They have to be treated as equals.

All united in Christ

AS we culminate the Christian Unity Octave on January 25

with the celebration of the feast of the conversion of St. Paul, let

us give some thought to our duty to work out this intention at the

very heart of the Church, the unity of all Christians, because this

was also the most fervent intention of Christ himself.

  

            Before his passion, death and resurrection, Christ made a

most ardent prayer expressing that all of us be one with him, for that

was his purpose for becoming man. The redemption undertaken by Christ

was meant to make us one with him, since he is the pattern of our

humanity, the savior of our damaged humanity, “the way, the truth and

the life” for us. We cannot be as we ought to be unless we are one

with Christ.

  

            To be sure, the unity that Christ speaks of is not merely

some natural kind of unity, achieved through social, cultural or

political forces and laws, but a unity of spirit, of mind and heart,

much like the unity that exists between God the Father and the Son and

the Holy Spirit.

  

            The unity spoken of here is not uniformity. It is not

about building up a monolithic, rigid uniformity. It can tolerate,

even encourage, a great variety of views and opinions, for these can

only enrich and strengthen the unity Christ wants for us. We just have

to learn how to handle this phenomenon that is somehow expressed in

that American nation’s motto, ‘E pluribus unum,’ (one out of the

many).

  

            It is a unity that should come as a result of our

completely identifying ourselves with him, assuming his mind and

heart, his will and ways. It is a unity of our total identification

with Christ to such an extent that we can echo St. Paul’s words: “It

is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2,20)

  

            And so like Christ, we have to have that driving eagerness

of reaching out to everyone, whatever their condition is as well as

their attitude toward us, whether friendly or not. Toward this end, we

should not be afraid of the effort and the many sacrifices that will

be involved.

  

            We may have our own tastes and preferences, our own

temperaments and personalities, our own views and opinions, our own

charism and vocation, or whatever status we have, but we have the duty

to reach out to everyone, especially those who are different from us

or even are opposed to us. They can even be opposed to God.

  

            In this way, we would be imitating Christ who was willing

to bear all our sins, as St. Paul said, to save all men. (cfr 1 Tim

2,4) This is the only purpose that can bring about the development of

a universal heart. Short of this motive, the ideal of a universal

heart and of achieving that Christian unity that is proper to us is

compromised.

  

            Toward this end, we have to learn how to be patient, how

to rise above our personal things and learn how to give our heart to

God and to everybody else. This obviously will require of us a certain

sportsmanship, a certain insensitivity that is of the kind that can

welcome and accommodate the charity of God in our heart. We have to

learn to listen and not just hear others, to look and not just to see

them.

   

            We have to learn how to suffer with the others, how to be

compassionate, how to make as our own the conditions of the others out

of the love of God and souls. God himself did all these.

  

            He made himself man in Christ to save us. And Christ,

according to St. Paul, made himself like sin without committing sin

(cfr 2 Cor 5,21), just to be with us and lead us back to God, from

whom we came and to whom we belong.

Let’s play with the Sto. Niňo

THAT’S right! Let’s play with the Child Jesus. In fact, we can dance

with and for him, just like what we do when we are with a little

child. We can make faces and do many other cutesy things so that he

and us will smile and have a good time. This usually just comes out

naturally and spontaneously.

This is important because, like in any relation we have with a child,

we seal a very basic attachment to Christ who is our redeemer, the

re-maker of our damaged humanity. A natural bonding, complete with its

emotional and sentimental aspects, is established.

In that way too, as the child grows we can continue to be with him at

all times, both good and bad. If we have this strong bonding with

Christ, we would be more ready to accept the more demanding aspects of

Christian life. We cannot leave him just because of the sacrifices

that will be involved. And sacrifices there will always be!

We have to remember that Christian life, which is eminently spiritual

and supernatural, does not suppress the natural and human level of our

life. Not only that. Christian life cannot prosper, it cannot go far,

when the natural and human level of our life is denied or is not

respected.

In fact, Christian life needs a healthy natural and human level of our

life, even as it enriches that level. The natural and the human serve

as the foundation of the spiritual and the supernatural in our life.

And so we are quite lucky in our country, because our piety in general

usually starts with this natural and human level. It is not purely

intellectual and spiritual, unsupported by a natural and human

foundation. If the natural and human foundation is weak, we cannot go

far, especially when we get to grapple with the mysterious aspects of

Christian life that are marked by suffering and sacrifices.

Our brand of popular piety is something that we can show and teach the

whole world. At the moment, we can observe something like a spiritual

drought in many parts of the world, especially the so-called developed

countries where churches are empty if not closed down, and hardly any

expression of popular piety can be observed. We cannot deny that there

is a serious problem of secularization around the world, where God is

systematically ignored, if not opposed.

We can do something about this worldwide predicament. We, Filipinos,

can show the way of how to ‘jump-start,’ so to speak, the Christian

life in the other parts of the world. The Popes have been talking and

pushing what is called the New Evangelization. This aspect of the

Christian evangelization, via our popular piety, can be our

distinctive contribution.

Since there are already a good number of Filipinos working abroad,

let’s encourage them to enliven even more their expressions of popular

piety, so they can attract or invite the others in their localities to

join them.

We, Filipinos, can show the whole world how we love the Child Jesus

not only in the intellectual and spiritual way, but also in a natural

and human way. Let us show them how important it is that we develop a

natural and human affection so that our spiritual and supernatural

life can rest on a basic and realistic foundation, given our human

condition.

This has to be expressed in many ways. Aside from the devotion to the

Child Jesus, we can promote the practices of novenas, pilgrimages,

family rosary, putting some religious symbols at homes and even in

public places.

Let us involve them in church or parochial activities and concerns.

More importantly, let us show them how they can consistently live

their Christian life in their family, in their professional work and

in the fields of business, politics, sports and entertainment, etc.

The sense of solidarity

WE need to develop a good sense of solidarity. It is that

awareness of our duty that we are meant to be with everybody else, and

to be concerned for them and to care for them. We should not think

only of our own selves, of our own interest, but rather always of the

common good.

            It’s when we have this good sense of solidarity that we

would have our authentic fulfillment and not the fake one that we

often feel when we think only of our own selves. We have to be quick

to react when we are beguiled by the false charms of self-centeredness

and self-indulgence.

            This good sense of solidarity certainly behooves us to

share whatever we have with others, and vice-versa, we partake of

whatever others have. And not only in our joys, but also in our

suffering. As much as possible we have to be together in good times

and bad, helping each other in any way we can so we can attain our

common good. We would know how to work as a team when we have a good

sense of solidarity.

            We need to widen and deepen our consciousness such that we

are always aware of our duties toward others, and especially toward

God, who is the ‘first Other,’ the principle and goal of our sense of

solidarity.

            We have to be wary of our tendency to be carried away and

completely dominated and absorbed by the technicalities of the things

that we do in our life. These technicalities are, of course, important

and indispensable, but they should not be allowed to distract us from

our sense of solidarity.

            Everything that we do, no matter how technically

absorbing, should be oriented first of all to God as an act of

adoration, of giving glory and thanksgiving, and then to all others

whom we have to love and serve.

            Without this orientation, the technicalities of our work,

no matter how brilliant, can only lead us to serve our own interests.

They tend to blunt our sense of solidarity. We therefore have to find

effective ways of how we can be conscious of God and others always

while being immersed in the technicalities of our earthly affairs.

            This good sense of solidarity is based on our nature

itself and of our dignity as image and likeness of God, children of

his. As a human person, endowed with the spiritual powers of

intelligence and will, we are meant to know and love everyone as best

as we can, and thus enter into communion with them.

            As a child of God, created in God’s image and likeness, we

are meant to enter into the very life of God, and to reflect the

perpetual inter-Trinitarian relation among the three persons in the

one God. In that Trinitarian life, there is constant knowing and

loving, and that is the dynamic that should also occur in our life.

            We are meant to endlessly know and love God and others

more and better. We should never say enough nor set limits in this

duty. There is always something new, something more and different in

our duty to know and love others.

            This is how a good sense of solidarity works. We would

always be motivated and find ways to know and love God more and

better. Yes, it might look like a very daunting duty, but if we allow

ourselves to go along with God’s grace, things would be easy. What may

be humanly hard or even impossible for us, would somehow be made easy

and practicable with God’s grace.

            We just have to learn how to be game in living out our

sense of solidarity. We know, because of Christ’s assurance, that what

may seem to be a loss for us due to this duty, would actually redound

to our own gain many times over.