Look for Christ always

THIS is a basic duty of ours, a grave responsibility in

fact. Without Christ, we would just be on our own, relying simply on

our own lights and powers that, no matter how excellent, can never

accomplish our real ultimate need—our own salvation, our own

completion and perfection as a person, as a child of God.

            We have to learn to look for Christ. He is the pattern of

our humanity, the redeemer of our damaged humanity. In fact, the goal

that we should try to pursue with God’s grace, of course, but also

with our own effort is for us to be ‘another Christ,’ a clearly

supernatural phenomenon that will require us to be at least open to it

and to merit it.

            This looking for Christ should be like an instinct, a

constant behavior of ours. We have to look for him, so we can find

him, and in finding him, we can start to love and serve him which is

what we are expected to do to be ‘another Christ.’

            This has basis on what Christ himself said: “Ask and it

will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will

be opened to you…” (Mt 7,7) We need to do our part in a relationship

that is actually initiated by Christ himself. He loves us first before

we can love him in return. (cfr. 1 Jn 4,19)

            If we don’t yet have this habit of looking for Christ,

then it’s time that we start cultivating it and making it a guiding,

directing principle of our daily life. We have to exercise our faith,

overcome the usual initial awkwardness that we experience, and

continue finding ways and means to look for Christ at every moment of

the day, especially in our work, and even in our rest.

            “Come to me,” “Follow me,” are some of the open

invitations Christ is giving us. He continues to issue such

invitations. We should not be afraid to go to him and follow him. We

have to discover the most wonderful reality that only in Christ can we

have our true joy, our genuine peace, our ultimate solution to

whatever problem we have.

            As far as Christ is concerned, he is always around. In

fact, he is already within us. And his presence in us, to be sure, is

not simply passive. Toward us, Christ is full of solicitude and

concern. He is eager to help. He is never sparing in his mercy for us,

knowing that despite our good intentions and best efforts, we often

find ourselves at odds with him.

            We have to find ways of how to correspond more punctually

to Christ’s presence and love for us. Let’s see to it, for example,

that even as we wake up in the morning, the first thing we do is to

put ourselves in his presence and start to consciously offer the whole

day that is just beginning to him.

            And in every activity that we do, we should make the

effort, at least in our intentions, to offer it to him, and to begin

and end the activity with him. For this we have to conquer some of the

usual spoilers that would make us think that we are getting too

serious, too unmanly, or even getting inhuman. You can be sure that

those thoughts are not true and must come most probably from our human

weaknesses if not from the devil himself.

            It would also help that we have a systematic way of

getting to know Christ more and more. Let’s remember that we can never

him know enough, no matter how much we have studied his life and

words. Christ is never just a historical figure nor a literary

character nor social or cultural icon. He is God made man to save us.