When losing is winning

WE need to be familiar with this phenomenon and eager to

welcome it. This is how God treats us given our wounded condition

which is prone to undue attachments to earthly things and other

anomalies.

            Divine logic many times baffles us because God’s ways are

different from our ways. St. Paul articulates this predicament when he

said, “O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable his judgments, and untraceable his ways. Who has

known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” (Rom

11,33-34)

            He wants us to lose in human terms so that we can win in

the end in divine terms which is what really matters. This is made

clear, for example, when Christ articulated the beatitudes that would

somehow put us in the losing end in order to have the victory of being

truly blessed. (cfr. Mt 5,3-12)

            This is reiterated when he talked about the willingness to

lose an eye, an arm, a foot, if these would cause us to sin. Better to

lose them and enter heaven rather than to have them and get to hell.

(cfr. Mt 5,29-31)

            In another instance Christ clearly told us that for us to

be his disciples, we should be willing to ‘hate’ our father and

mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even our own

life. We should be willing to carry our cross. (cfr. Lk 14,26-27)

            Of course, he means that nothing and no one should compete

in our love for God. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his

righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Mt

6,33) He does not mean that we hate anyone, for he himself told us to

love even our enemies.

            St. Paul was willing to be regarded as scum and refuse of

the world just to be with Christ. (cfr. 1 Cor 4,13) The ultimate

example of all this is Christ himself when he offered his life for our

salvation.

            To be able to live by this divine logic, we of course

would need first of all the grace of God. We have to ask for it with

humility. And then we need to do our part, exerting the due effort to

acquire the appropriate attitude and corresponding virtues.

            We should have the attitude of willingly giving up

everything else just to be with God. “Vale la pena,” it is all

worthwhile, should somehow be like a slogan for us. In the gospel, the

same spirit is expressed when Christ said, “The kingdom of heaven is

like a merchant seeking pearls, who when he had found one pearl of

great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Mt

13,45-46)

            We know that even in our daily affairs, we often have to

give up certain things if only to get a greater good. Thus, we are

willing, for example, to skip some moments of relaxation if only to

attend to an emergency, etc.

            Everyday, we have to see to it that there is always

something that we give up not only for some personal goal or interest,

but also and mainly for the love of God and others. Let’s hope that

the little self-denials we do everyday will prepare us for the

ultimate self-detachment we have to make to enter into our definitive

union with God.

            Yes, the virtue of total detachment from oneself should be

developed with gusto everyday. Every time we suffer inconveniences,

discomfort, misunderstanding, and all kinds of pain, we should somehow

be happy in the sense that we are actually going through what is

necessary in our life—detachment from self so we could have the

attachment with God and others.

            We should not be afraid to lose in order to win!

We really should learn to pray

IF there’s a skill which is fundamentally indispensable in

life, it is the art of praying. When we really manage to pray, we

would truly be in touch and in union with God.

            And in that state, even while we are still here on earth,

we would already have a foretaste of our definitive state of life.

That is when, as described in the Book of the Apocalypse, “He (God)

will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more

death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed

away.” (21,4)

            Praying is our way of uniting ourselves with God, our

Creator and Father, with whom we are supposed to be always with, since

our life, as an image and likeness of God, is meant to be a shared

life with God.

            Praying is to our spiritual life what breathing and the

beating of the heart are to our biological life. That is why St. Paul

clearly said, “Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances;

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thes 5,17-18)

            When we manage to truly pray, we can also manage to

protect ourselves from all kinds of evil, and to heal whatever wounds

and weaknesses we may have because of our sins. A sense of holy

invulnerability can come to us. We can find peace and joy in spite of

the drama of our life.

            That’s because when we pray, we unite ourselves with

Christ, and with him no evil can affect us badly. We may not be spared

from suffering, but we would know how to convert that suffering into a

means of our purification and eventual salvation. With him, everything

will work out for the good. (cfr. Rom 8,28)

            It is when we manage to truly pray that we comply with

what St. Paul said about putting on the armor of God. It might be good

to remit here his very words: “Put on the full armor of God, so that

you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle

is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the

authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the

spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms....” (Eph 6,11-12)

            We really have to learn how to pray, and I mean, real

prayer, not just an appearance of prayer, which happens to be common

these days. Perhaps the reason why our prayer does not seem to have

the response we want is because our prayer is not really prayer.

            When we truly pray, we would really get in touch with God.

We would know how to deal with him. We would know what he is showing

us and how he is intervening in our life. Our life would go in synch

with God’s providence, with his will and his ways.

            It’s always worthwhile to spend time and effort to learn

how to truly pray. Especially these days when we are dragged by a

strong current of activism and secularization, we need to really force

ourselves to learn this indispensable skill.

            We just cannot resort to prayer during special occasions

when we are faced with some difficulty. Prayer is not meant to be the

remedy of last resort. It is what we have to do always, both in good

times and bad.

            At the beginning of the learning process, things might be

a bit difficult. We might feel awkward. That is to be expected, but we

just have to go on, sometimes forcing ourselves a little, making many

acts of faith, hope and charity, until we can overcome that learning

curve and start to fly like a professional in our prayer.

            To be truly human and Christian, we need to pray.

Otherwise, we may just look like a human being but in reality are not.

Humanity and Christianity are not a matter of biology. They are a

matter of being intimately united with God!

Ending the day well

JUST as we like to begin the day well, we should also like

to end the day well. That is always the ideal we want to pursue,

though many, if not most times, we fail to do so. And the problem is

actually because we do not know what ending the day well is.

            For many of us, ending the day well usually means that

there should be no problem that would weigh heavily on our mind and

heart as we go to bed. This, of course, is not realistic, since

especially nowadays life is full of challenges, issues, difficulties,

etc. We simply cannot cope with all of those.

            If our criterion for ending the day well is that there

should be no problem at day’s end, then we will never end our day

well. We need to be more realistic about this and consider the fact

that usually at day’s end, there will always be unfinished businesses,

let alone, problems unsolved, challenges not yet tackled.

            Ending the day well, for sure, should mean that we can

manage to feel good as we go to bed. There should be peace and joy,

the sensation that despite the drama of life, things are resolved

somehow. We should feel the sensation that we have arrived home

somehow, a sense of reaching our final goal.

            This can only happen if ending the day well is associated

with reconciling ourselves with God regardless of how things in our

life are at the end of the day. With God, everything is taken care of.

            Remember Christ saying, “Come to me, all you who are weary

and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and

learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find

rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mt

11,28-30)

            It would be good if we meditate closely on these words so

that we strengthen our faith which is what should guide us in

understanding how we can end the day well, rather than our own human

estimation of things.

            Aside from telling us where we can find our proper rest,

these words somehow tell us also that whatever we do during the day

should be considered as a burden that is not only ours, but also

Christ’s. Our problem is that we consider our earthly affairs simply

as ours. We have to overcome and correct this wrong attitude.

            Of course, the underlying problem here is that many of us

do not know how to deal with God, how to refer everything to him. We

often think that our earthly affairs and concerns are simply ours. If

we ever go to God, it is only when we have some difficult or

unsolvable problems.

            Many of us have forgotten that our life, whether we are

aware of it or not, is actually a shared life with God. The ideal, of

course, is that we should always be constantly aware of that basic

truth, so that whatever happens, even in our worst scenario, we still

can feel secure that everything will just turn out right.

            There would be no real reason to feel disturbed or to fall

into sadness, anxiety and even depression. Even in our worst

situation, like when we really have committed a big, stupid blunder,

things can still be made right, because we can always say, Sorry, and

God will always understand and forgive us.

            Remember the parable of the prodigal son. (cfr. Lk

15,11-32) The spoiled brat in the end decided to go back to his

father. And the father was very happy to have him back.

            Let’s strengthen our faith in the all-powerful providence

of God who is always in control of whatever happens in our life. As

the Book of Ecclesiastes would put it, “To every thing there is a

season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven...” (3,1-8)

Prepare for the worst scenario

IF we are truly smart and clever, which is what Christ

himself told us when he said, “Be wise as serpents and innocent as

doves,” (Mt 10,16) we would be preparing for the worst scenario every

time we plan or launch a project, a business, an enterprise.

            This is simply because despite our best efforts to plan

these projects well, there is always the possibility that the exact

opposite of what we expect would happen. There are factors and

elements that are beyond our control. While it’s true that our

prospect for success is always infinite, the same is also true with

the possibility of failure.

            We should just be ready and game when the opposite of what

we desire happens, learning how to let go and move on, instead of

getting entangled in the web of sadness, self-pity, anxiety,

depression and the like. These latter conditions would only worsen

things further.

            By preparing for the worst scenario, we would be imitating

Christ himself who, in redeeming us, prepared himself for the worst.

In fact, he already knew about his death and how it was going to be.

“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him,”

he told his disciples, “and three days after his death the Son of Man

will rise.” (Mk 9,31)

            Preparing for the worst scenario may mean that we come out

with various alternative plans so that we can move on. This is always

recommendable. But we have to remember that the most important way to

prepare for the worst is just to be with God. It is always possible

that even our alternative plans may fail. Yet what cannot fail is when

we stick with God no matter what.

            This point was highlighted in that episode of the sisters,

Martha and Mary, welcoming Christ in their house. (cfr. Lk 10,38-42)

Martha was busy doing the chores of hospitality, while Mary simply sat

at the foot of Christ, listening to him.

            When Martha complained to Christ that her sister was not

helping her, Christ reminded her that while what she was doing were

good, there was only one thing that was necessary, and Mary, her

sister, chose it, and it will not be taken away from her.

            We have to be clear about this point. Yes, we will try our

best, stretching ourselves to the limit, to make all our projects and

endeavors succeed. Still things can turn out the opposite. Due to this

possibility we make some alternative plans to move on. But still,

these may fail. The last resort, and in fact, what should always be

with us, should be the conviction that we be with God whatever be the

outcome of our efforts.

            St. Paul in his letter to the Romans assures us that as

long as we are with God, everything will work out for the good. “We

know that in all things,” he said, “God works for the good of those

who love him…” (8,28)

            We just have to make sure that our love of God is always

vibrant. We have to make it grow day by day. We have to feel that love

so intensely such that it is actually what would energize us in any

endeavor we have.

            We have to see to it that we do not take this love for

granted. This is the best and ultimate weapon we have to prepare for

the worst scenario of any project we have. With this love, we would be

willing to go through what Christ himself went through—suffering all

the indignities of the world and ultimately dying on the cross.

            But then, after death, there is the resurrection, the

final victory that is meant for all of us, irrespective of how we fare

in this life.

Freedom is not ‘free’

MY father wrote the valedictory address I delivered during

my high school graduation more than 50 years ago. I still remember the

opening lines, a play of words that continue to intrigue me even up to

now. “Freedom is not free,” I said, trying to sound dramatic. “You

have to pay for it or it buys you out.”

            I indeed agreed to that affirmation at that time, but I

did not quite capture the richness of its content until I went through

many experiences these past 50 years that simply validated it.

            Yes, we have to pay for our freedom to be true freedom. In

fact, the price is quite high, because it involves nothing less than

giving away all we have to gain it. We have to give away many

‘freedoms’ to gain the real one.

            It is indeed a paradoxical thing. To be truly free, we

need to be lose our own ideas of freedom that simply are expressions

of what our body wants, what the external conditionings would lead us

to, etc. True freedom can only come when we manage to unite our mind

and will with God’s.

            That is when freedom will truly serve the cause of truth,

charity, mercy, justice and all the good things proper to us as

creatures of God made in his image and likeness and, with his grace,

are adopted children of his, meant to share the very life of God.

            It is this freedom that would clearly put us on the right

track toward our final destination which is heaven. It does not get

entangled with the things of this world, though it would know how to

use them. It is one that can prefer to enter by the narrow gate if

only to reach its ultimate goal, rather than by the wide gate the

opens up to the by the many allurements of this world, but eventually

would lead to our perdition. (cfr. Mt 7,13-14)

            It is a freedom that needs to be constantly guarded and

guided to make sure it comes from the right source and goes to the

right destination. It has to be properly inspired and motivated, as

well as properly oriented. Otherwise, as we have been warned in the

gospel, it can simply give an opening to self-indulgence, thus

imprisoning us into our own world. (cfr. Gal 5,13)

            It is a freedom that requires real and total detachment of

self and of the things of this world so that we can have the one that

gives everything. Christ articulated this point when he said: “Seek

first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things

will be added unto you.” (Mt 6,33)

            We have to be wary of being deluded by the charms of the

many forms of false freedom we have in this world. To be able to do

this, we have to be ready to follow Christ’s indication to deny

ourselves, carry the cross and simply follow him. (cfr. Lk 9,23)

            Yes, genuine freedom will always involve sacrifice. A

freedom in this world that does not involve sacrifice is simply not

true freedom. It would be a freedom that would set us up for inhuman

slavery even as it dishes out a lot of perks and privileges for a

while. We have to be most discerning of the tricks of false freedom.

            What is more, we can somehow distinguish between genuine

and fake freedom, since the former is usually done gratuitously,

without any strings attached, without any condition, without counting

the cost nor expecting any reward. As they say, it is done freely

despite the steep cost. It is what identifies us with Christ.

            Fake freedom usually has ulterior motives. The intentions

are not pure. It usually likes to flaunt itself. It will sooner or

later corrupt our soul.

The animal in us

WE are supposed to be rational animals, rationality being

the quality that distinguishes us from the other animals. But let’s

never forget that we are and will always be an animal also that is

governed by natural, physical, biological, chemical, social, economic

laws, etc.

            And these latter laws have impulses that often go against

the dictates of rationality. That’s why, especially in our vulnerable

moments, when we are tired, sleepy, intoxicated by drinks, or when we

are not yet in our full senses, etc., we are usually assailed by these

impulses. And so, we really have to be most careful. We have to be

properly guarded and protected from these eventualities.

            What we have to do is to undertake a lifelong process of

integrating all these aspects together with rationality as the guiding

and directing principle. It is rationality that indicates that we too

are spiritual beings meant to have a supernatural goal that we can

achieve through God’s grace and our all-out effort. Yes, it’s our

rational nature that tells us that we are meant beyond, but not

against, the physical and natural aspects of our life.

            The challenge therefore is how to carry out this very

tricky and demanding task of integrating all these aspects. And for

this, we should first of all rely on the grace of God, always asking

for it even if it is readily given to us. That’s because we often take

God’s grace for granted, and thus make ourselves the improper ground

unable to take advantage of the grace that is sown on it.

            Yes, we should never forget our animality no matter how

high a level we think we have achieved in terms of our rationality and

spirituality. We will always be hounded by the erratic impulses of our

animality.

            Remember St. Paul lamenting about this lifelong

predicament of ours. “I see another law at work in my body,” he said,

“warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law

of sin that dwells within me.” (Rom 7,23)

            We need to discipline and purify the animality of our

humanity. That’s why Christ, the pattern of our humanity and savior of

our damaged humanity, told us clearly that we need to deny ourselves,

carry the cross and follow him. (cfr. Lk 9,23) We should be careful

with pampering our body too much. It’s is not a matter of repressing

our bodily impulses. It is rather a matter of directing them properly.

            So, with respect to our passions, those strong emotions

that often overpower the indications of reason and faith, we need to

mortify them so as to purify them of their tendencies toward evil.

            St. Paul said: “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have

crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Gal 5,24) We can

never over-emphasize the need to ‘crucify’ our passions and desires

the way Christ was crucified and by so doing rendered death to all

kinds of evil in man and in the world.

            The ideal to pursue is that our passions and desires would

be those of Christ. We have to convert our passions and desires into

those of love, a love that is not afraid of anything, a love that can

conquer anything. It is a love that, while involving struggle and some

kind of warfare, will give us peace and joy that the world cannot

give. (cfr. Jn 14,27)

            In other words, we have to strive to be a spiritual man

instead of a carnal man as described by St. Paul: “The person without

the Spirit (carnal man) does not accept the things that come from the

Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand

them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.

            “The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all

things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,

for ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we

have the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor 2,14-16)

Disagree, yes, disagreeable, no

IN our political exchanges, especially in these days of

electoral campaigning, we should see to it that while it is

unavoidable to disagree on some issues, we should try to avoid being

disagreeable with one another.

            We should keep our political exchanges at the level of

charity. That way, we would maintain our humanity, let alone, our

Christianity, intact. Otherwise, we would revert to our status of

animality, with the distinctive quality of rationality badly abused.

            When we talk about issues and offer our views, preferences

and, yes, biases, let’s see to it that we are always clear, showing

the reasons behind them. But let’s also be open-minded about views and

opinions that differ from ours. Everyone offers opinions from where he

is coming from, and we definitely have different backgrounds. We

should respect these differences.

            Let’s try to avoid getting too personal, because even if

we have what we may consider as evidence for our accusations against a

particular person or candidate, the fact is we would not know

everything about the matter involved, let alone, the conscience of the

person involved.

            Yes, we may present some facts, but let’s not do it to

bash or question the integrity of the person. We have to avoid

nitpicking and fault-finding and other techniques that are filled with

all kinds of negativities and venom. Even innuendos, sarcasm and

ironies should be avoided. Same with name-calling and character

assassination. Shooting from the hips should be a no-no.

            We have to be clear about this. This kind of tactics is

not part of the freedom of speech. It is an abuse of such freedom. It

serves only to muddle things, not to clarify. It spreads poison around

and would really pollute the environment, let alone, the spiritual and

moral lives of the people in general. It generates a lot of garbage,

not useful items.

            Our electoral campaigns should be an edifying moment, not

a downgrading one. They should be constructive, not destructive. They

should foster unity and understanding of one another, not division,

anger and hatred. They should be an exercise of pursuing what is truly

good for all or at least for most of the people without disadvantaging

too much the minority. It should not be an act of attacking opponents.

            We have to change the temper and tone of our electoral

campaigns. We have to make it more human, more Christian. In this some

continuing formation has to be done by everyone—the candidates

themselves, the political leaders, media and the people in general.

            We have to find ways of how we can exchange opinions

without compromising the respect due to everyone. We have to learn to

agree and win in an issue without lording it over others, just as we

too have to learn to disagree without being disagreeable.

            We have to realize more deeply that to achieve this kind

of political exchanges will always involve, first of all, a vibrant

and intimate relationship with God. Without this, there is no way we

can keep our discussions in charity.

            Unfortunately, there are already a lot of people who find

this conditio-sine-qua-non irrelevant and useless. They believe that

in politics, God should not be involved. The voice of the Church

should not be heard, otherwise it would be accused of meddling.

            It’s clear that the doctrine of separation of Church and

state is gravely misunderstood. This is a challenge that has to be

tackled squarely, but always in charity and with tons of patience. We

have to pray first of all for a massive and thorough conversion of

everyone.

            Perhaps, this current election campaign period is a good

moment to undertake a program of educating everyone about how our

political exchanges should be. I believe everyone can contribute in

his own way, even if it is just a few enlightening words posted on the

social media.

We’re still being created

WE need to be clear about this fundamental truth about

ourselves. We are still being created by God. Our creation is still

ongoing. Our creation is still in the making. This time though, our

creation involves our cooperation.

            If we review the story of the creation of the world (cfr.

Gen 1,1-2,1), we will notice that God created everything before man in

a generic way—the heaven and the earth, light, darkness, land, sea,

animals, birds, etc. But when it came to the creation of man, God

became personal and entered into relation with man by giving them

instructions.

            With man, God had to make the garden of Eden for man to

cultivate it. Since it was not good for man to be alone, God created

woman to be his helper who is equal to him. They were told that they

can eat the fruits of all the trees in the garden except the ones of

the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

            This only shows that the creation of man is not yet

finished since man, being created in God’s image and likeness and

therefore has the capacity to know and to love, has to do his part of

cooperating with God’s creation of him.

            That stint in the garden of Eden was for man, i.e., Adam

and Eve, to do his part of his own creation. And we know what

happened. Our first parents failed, and so God who at first was angry

and punished them, started to undertake the re-creation through a very

complicated plan of redemption.

            That plan that involved patriarchs, prophets, a chosen

people, many holy men and women, finally had its culmination when the

very Son of God became man. The God-man, Jesus Christ, bore all our

sins and had to show us the way to redeem ourselves by following him

in his teachings and ultimately by suffering, dying and resurrecting

with him.

            Christ also founded the Church and instituted the

sacraments so that his presence and redemptive work can effectively

continue with us till the end of time, which is the end of our

creation.

            At our death and at the end of time, our creation is

supposed to be finished with each one of us receiving a new name that

only each of us would know. It’s a name that is distinctive and unique

to each one of us. This will be our definitive name for all eternity,

indicating the very personal relationship between God and us, the

Creator and the co-creator.

            This new and definitive name is referred to in the Book of

the Apocalypse where it says, “To him who conquers I will give some of

the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name

written on the stone which no one knows except him who receives it.”

(2,17)

            It would be good if we are keenly aware of this truth of

our faith because this will give us the proper perspective, meaning

and direction of our life here on earth. At the moment, I am afraid a

great majority of the people, even among educated Catholics, are not

quite aware of this truth and are therefore not doing what they are

supposed to do to conform to this truth. Many are actually confused

and lost.

            It would be good if a catechesis be made on this

fundamental truth about ourselves and our earthly life. We are still

being created, and our creation by God involves our cooperation, given

the way we are as designed by God. We are God’s co-creator of our own

selves.

            We need to do our part, making use of everything we have

in this life to further this lifelong process of our creation. We have

to be responsible for the practical consequences and implications

contained in this fundamental truth about ourselves.

‘Et erat subditus illis’

THE Latin expression means “he was subject to them,” or

“he was obedient to them.” This is lifted from the gospel of St. Luke

(2,51) in that episode where the child Jesus was lost and then found

in the temple.

  

            In the concluding part of that episode, Mary, the mother,

asked the child, “Why did you do this to us?” To which the child Jesus

replied, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” And

yet in spite of that reply, Mary took no offense and the child went

back home and was “subject to them,” referring to Christ subjecting

himself to Mary and Joseph.

  

            These passages of the gospel somehow show us how we can

integrate our dual duty of obeying first the will of God and that of

obeying our earthly authorities and subjecting ourselves to the many

temporal and human conditionings in our life.

  

            While Christ did nothing other than to do the will of his

Father in heaven (cfr. Jn 5,30; Jn 6,38), he also willed that he

subjected himself to human authorities and to the different

conditionings of any person at any given time and place. Thus, he also

paid his taxes (cfr. Mt 17,24-27), attended the synagogue (cfr. Lk

4,16), worked as a carpenter (cfr. Mk 6,3), etc.

  

            In theory, Christ, being God, should have been exempted

from all these, but as man, he has to live like any other man who is

always subject to some human authorities and to the conditionings in

the world.

             And when finally asked what to do when God’s authority and

the human authority appear to clash, Christ replied: “Render to Caesar

the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God.” (Mt 22,21)

  

            The lesson we can derive from this consideration is most

helpful especially to those who enter into some commitments—whether to

marriage or to a particular vocation and spirituality. A commitment

usually restricts or conditions a person to behave in a particular way

even if there are other legitimate ways of behaving in a given

situation.

  

            Thus, in the way of living the virtue of poverty, for

example, a Franciscan has to live it the Franciscan way, even if the

Dominican way of living it is also good but different from the

Franciscan way. Same with a person who is married as compared to an

unmarried one, and also with a lay person as compared to a consecrated

one. It is the same virtue but lived and expressed in different ways.

  

            Same with the practice of prayer. The ordinary person in

the middle of the world would have a different way of doing it

compared to how a contemplative nun would do it.

  

            There should be no comparing actually, and much less,

envying. A commitment is not so much a restriction or a conditioning

as an expression of a more fervent love and fidelity for God and for

everyone else. A commitment would only show how fervent one’s love is

that he chooses to confine himself to a particular way when many other

ways can also be availed of.

  

            This clarification is relevant these days because many

people are falling into some kind of wistful thinking, like “if I were

not married,” or “if I did not enter the priesthood,” or “if I did not

have this vocation or spirituality, I would have been more free,” etc.

              We need to follow Christ in living out our commitments

that would involve doing God’s will and our unavoidable subjection to

some earthly authorities and conditionings or concrete ways of doing

things. Let’s always remember that Christ “erat subditus illis,” he

subjected himself to his earthly parents and to the human

conditionings even if could be exempted from them.