When dealing with the impossible

THAT gospel episode where Christ multiplied a five loaves

of bread and two fish to feed at least five thousand men (cfr. Mt

13,14-21) eloquently shows us how God really takes care of our needs,

even the impossible-to-meet ones. We have no reason to worry at all.

            All we have to do is to go to him, ask for help, do

whatever we can, and abandon ourselves in his powerful providence. He

knows what to do at any moment and it will always be for the best. He

usually may ask us to do something about the situation, but that

something is really nothing compared to what he would do.

            And so, we have no reason to worry really. Let us not

allow ourselves to be overtaken by fears and doubts. Rather, let’s

just be sport and game about it, and like a line from an old song, we

can say to ourselves: “The difficult I’ll do right now. The impossible

will take a little while…”

            Of course, this faith-inspired attitude would not exempt

us altogether from suffering and even from defeats and failures. We

will have some of them, just like in any sport. But with God, all

these suffering and failures will somehow work out for our own good.

We may not know how that would work. We are not expected to know all

the mechanisms involved, so to speak. We should just trust.

  

            Neither should we underestimate the part that belongs to

us to play out. That God will take care of everything does not mean

that we have nothing or little to do in solving our problems. We

should not ask God for miracles when we ourselves with our natural

powers can handle the situation.

            Rather, the proper attitude to have is that we resolve all

our challenges as if everything depends on us, knowing that in the end

everything also depends on God in the first place.

            It’s like a 100%-100% proposition in the sense that

everything depends on God, but also everything depends on us. It’s not

an 80-20 affair, nor 90-10. It’s 100-100!

            This is, of course, a proposition that goes beyond

mathematical laws, since we are not dealing here with merely

quantifiable elements as much as with spiritual realities, ruled

mainly by faith, hope and charity. In this latter system, the law that

is followed is the all-or-nothing rule.

  

            This means that the 100% we are supposed to give is not a

100% exclusive of God’s 100%. Rather, it is a 100% that reflects and

channels God’s 100%. It’s a 100% that is homogeneous, not

heterogeneous, to the 100% of God.

            In short, this 100%-!00% proposition we are talking about

expresses in some way our total identification with God through Christ

in the Holy Spirit.

            Said from another angle, we can say that every time we try

to do all we can to resolve our temporal affairs, we are approximating

our total identification with Christ who also went all the way to

redeem us by offering his life on the cross.

            What we can gather here is that everything we find

ourselves in some impossible situations, we are actually given a

golden occasion to identify ourselves with Christ in a more complete

way. That is how we have to look at this kind of situations. We are

given a privilege, not a burden.

  

            And like Christ who, despite performing wonderful

miracles, suffered death on the cross in the end, we should also

expect that some passion and death will also take place in our life.

But it will be a participation of Christ’s passion and death, a

passion and death that can only have a salvific meaning and effect.

            It’s important that we get a good overview of our relation

with God when we have to deal with the impossible, so we won’t be

thrown into unnecessary confusion, fears and doubts, and God forbid,

loss of faith!

What stirs our passions the most?

ACTUALLY, more than what stirs our passions the most, the

question to ask should be who makes us most passionate? If we are just

passionate about things, certainly we are still very far from the

ideal. And even if we are very passionate about some persons, we would

still be missing the mark.

            Who should make us most passionate is none other than God

himself, who is truth, goodness and beauty himself. He is the proper,

ultimate and constant object that should stir our feelings, emotions

and passions. If we are not yet there, then let’s do something about

it. We should extricate ourselves from a condition that is not quite

proper for us.

            Let’s remember that our passions play an important role in

our life and in our relation with others, especially with God. As our

Catechism defines them, our emotions and passions are “movements of

the sensitive appetite that incline us to act or not to act in regard

to something felt or imagine to be good or evil.” (1763)

            As such, we can say that our emotions and passions play an

important and crucial role in our life, since they somehow determine

our actions and behavior that show and develop who we are. Are we just

a natural being, like the animals and plants, or are we rational

persons with spiritual faculties and meant to have a supernatural

goal?

            We need to see to it that our emotions and passions should

reinforce our identity and dignity as persons, made in the image and

likeness of God, made children of his through his grace, and meant to

participate in the very life of God.

            Our emotions and passions which are an integral part of

our humanity are not excluded from our over-all goal to be God-like.

We would be God-like in our definitive state of life in heaven with

our emotions and passions still intact and used to the hilt.

            Our emotions and passions serve as a link between our body

and soul that are the constituent components of our humanity. We are

not spiritual souls only. Our spiritual soul always goes with its

corresponding body with its emotions and passions. In heaven and in

eternity as it is here on earth and in time, we would still be having

emotions and passions.

            Thus, we need to educate our emotions and passions in such

a way that they work for what is clearly our ultimate end. They should

not be allowed to just develop at the instance of our hormones and

instincts, nor by the many other blind or short-sighted impulses and

trends in our social, cultural, economic, or political environment.

They need to be reined in, to be guided and given proper direction.

            Obviously, the guiding principles for the education of our

emotions and passions should be our faith, hope and charity which

truly define us as a person and a child of God. They indicate to us

our true dignity that should be affirmed also by our emotions and

passions.

            This is what we should be doing all the time. We have to

be wary of our tendency to give them away to whatever stimulus comes

our way. We also have to be wary of falling victim to the false

reasoning that by educating our emotions and passions at the instance

of our faith, hope and charity, would make us less human, less manly,

and ideas of that sort.

            What is most certain is that our faith, hope and charity,

our intimate relationship with God developed in our spiritual and

supernatural dimensions of our life, would only make our humanity

purer and perfected, and elevated gratuitously to the supernatural

level which is what God wants for us.

            Let’s remember that if our emotions and passions are not

stirred by our attraction to God as they are by the earthly things,

they would not be used in the proper way. God should be who should

make us passionate the most!

Distancing, yes. Indifference, no

BECAUSE of our abnormal times, we are asked to submit

ourselves to certain protocols that we usually do not have during

normal times. Right now, we are asked, and we should obey, those

strict indications about social or physical distancing, wearing of

masks, washing of hands, etc.

            In fact, as much as possible, we should just stay at home,

avoiding having to go out unless truly necessary, if only to steer

clear of the possibility of infecting or being infected by others.

Truth is we would not know what would hit us if we go out. Our common

enemy is invisible. The person beside us could be the Trojan horse,

the traitor. We can easily be a victim of a friendly fire, so to

speak.

            But this does not mean that while we follow these

protocols as strictly as possible, we have to be indifferent to

others, or worse, to regard them as an enemy, considering them as

suspects and all of this leading us to a terrible state of paranoia.

If anything at all, our relation with others should become more

intimate, more caring and compassionate. This ideal can always be

pursued together with due prudence.

            This can always be done if we first of all exercise our

faith, hope and charity, which are foremost an operation of the heart

and mind where no viruses can enter, unless we let them. We just have

to see to it that the state of our mind and heart is healthy, that is,

deeply rooted on our trust in God’s loving, wise and merciful

providence.

            With that condition in place, we would know what to do

even if we are forced to some lockdowns in our respective homes and

communities. The mind and heart are always creative and inventive.

They have resources to resist inactivity and negativity. They will

always find things to do instead of just rotting away in idleness

which is a very dangerous situation to be in.

            And that’s because our mind and heart have the capacity to

bring us to God who takes care of everything. Even in our worst

scenario, when things can be unsolvable already, we know what to do to

derive what is good for us.

            So, we can say that the condition we are having right now

is a good opportunity to develop and strengthen our spiritual and

supernatural life through the proper exercise in our mind and heart of

the divine gifts of faith, hope and charity.

            Let us seize this moment to attend to this basic need of

ours that we actually have been ignoring for quite some time now. If

there is one thing very good and worthwhile that we can derive from

this crisis we are having today, it could be this one.

            We should realize that we have a golden opportunity to

make ourselves stronger in that aspect of our life which is the most

important since that is what brings us to our eternal and definitive

life. We have a golden opportunity to know the true value of our

earthly things and conditions—that they only have a relative value.

What is of absolute value is our eternal life that can be reached

through faith, hope and charity.

            So, what we seem to lose because of our social or physical

distancing, mask wearing, hand washing and the other protocols, we can

more than make up with our prayers and sacrifices through the exercise

of our faith, hope and charity.

            With the spiritual and supernatural exercises, we can gain

greater intimacy with the others, more effective compassion with them,

the kind that is not afraid to get dirty with the others as long as

the truly essential is not compromised.

            This is where we can validate what St. Paul said, that

when we are truly with God, everything will work out for the good.

(cfr. Rom 8,28) With God, we can derive good from evil!

Our senses and our faith

COMMON “complaint” God makes of us, if we may call it

that way, is that we do not use our senses—our sense of sight,

hearing, smell, touch, etc.—to perceive what is really most important

for us to perceive.

            This “complaint” is expressed, for example, in the Book of

Jeremiah where our Lord said, “Declare this in the house of Jacob and

proclaim it in Judah: Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who

have eyes but do no see, who have ears but do not hear.” (5,21)

            The same “complaint” is echoed in the gospel of St. Mark

as well as in the other gospels: “Having eyes, do you not see? And

having ears, do you not hear?” Christ asks the people. (Mk 8,18; cfr.

Mt 13,13; Jn 12,40)

            The problem, of course, is that the senses are not united

or inspired by faith. They are just left on their own, ruled mainly by

instincts and other biological factors. Or at best they may be guided

only by an intelligence that is not yet enlightened by faith.

            And things can become so bad that these senses can get

quite hostile to anything related to faith that definitely involves

spiritual and supernatural realities. That is why Christ said at one

time: “In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever

hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing, but never

perceiving. For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly

hear with their ears, and they have close their eyes.” (Mt 13,14-15)

            We need to realize that the first, last and constant

object that our senses should perceive is God since he is the origin

of everything, the maintainer of the existence of all things. He is

everywhere.

            As St. Augustine once said: “To find where God is may be

difficult, but to find where he is not, that is even more difficult.”

And to be sure, God’s presence in everything is not something cold and

indifferent. It is full of love and solicitude.

            We need to train our senses to be guided by our Christian

faith, hope and charity, so we can capture this very consoling

reality. They should not just be left on their own, guided and ruled

only by factors other than our faith, hope and charity. That state of

affairs would lead us nowhere other than trouble.

            That is why there are so many problems around—conflicts,

wars, controversies, jealousies, hatred, etc. It’s because God is

ignored in our life and in our dealings. We practically avoid the

grace he is willing to give us abundantly. We ignore his teachings and

ways of how to handle the different situations in our life, including

the difficulties and the problems that we encounter unavoidably in

life.

            In other words, we resist his constant help. We prefer to

be on our own, relying simply on our own devices. We really need to

wake up from this self-inflicted predicament and have a general

over-haul of our beliefs, attitudes and skills.

            We have to activate our faith to such an extent that

whatever we see or hear or smell or feel, we always perceive God and

his will and ways. We have to learn the discipline of contemplation,

of recollection even while we immerse ourselves in the rough and

tumble of our daily human affairs.

            Obviously, this discipline will have a number of

requirements. We have to be very familiar with the teachings and the

example of Christ who is the fullness of God’s revelation to us. We

have to see to it that these teachings and example of Christ become

the main impulse-giver of our senses.

            To be able to perceive God always even from the level of

our senses is never an undermining of our humanity. It in fact

purifies our humanity and puts it in its ideal state!

Let’s meditate on heaven often

THIS may sound like a fantastic and overwhelming exercise,

but I believe it is something necessary for us to do if we want to

have the proper priorities in life, and thus to be properly guided.

Especially these days when we are bombarded with so many fascinating

things that can confuse us and lead us astray, we should consider this

exercise as indispensable.

            Heaven is where our eternal definitive home is. It is

where we see God face to face and share in his very divine life that

is meant for us. As St. John would put it in his first letter, “We

know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see

Him as He is.” (3,2) Heaven is our ultimate goal, to which all our

other goals in life have to be oriented and subordinated.

            Meditating on heaven might sound like an impossible

exercise, since we have been warned by St. Paul himself that “eye has

not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the

things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Cor 2,9)

            But this warning should not stop or discourage us from

meditating on heaven. If at all, the unfathomable mystery that heaven

is, should only prod us to be ever so curious about it. It is not

meant to be a wet blanket, but rather a rouser.

            We know that everytime we make an act of love in any of

its forms and ways as shown by Christ himself, we would already be

approximating heaven. We may not be there yet, but definitely we would

be approaching it.

            We should be keenly conscious of this truth. There has to

be an awareness that there is some progress in our earthly journey

toward heaven through the acts of love we should be doing everyday.

            We should not stop at any point of that journey, much

less, get stranded and trapped. We have to go on, with a growing sense

of loving, much like what a pop song of yesteryears expressed: “I love

you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow.”

            The mystery of heaven should only make us think after we

make an act of love, “what would heaven be if this act of love that I

am doing now and because of which I am already enjoying its goodness,

is nothing compared to it?” With that frame of mind, we would be more

motivated to keep on doing good.

            The big danger we have nowadays is precisely to get

trapped in the many wonders that we are enjoying these days, in spite

of the pandemic. We have tremendous technologies, and the amount of

knowledge and skills derived from our sciences, though with their

limitations and imperfections, is huge and intoxicating. We always

have the tendency that these things can be considered our be-all and

end-all.

            That is why we cannot overemphasize the need to meditate

on heaven often. It’s never a futile exercise. Heaven should so elicit

in us the strongest desire and passion that we would be willing to

sacrifice everything else, including our honor and life itself.

            That is precisely the lesson behind the parables of the

treasure buried in a field and the merchant who found a pearl of great

price. (cfr. Mt 13,44-46) Those who found them were willing to sell

everything else they had just to get the field with the treasure and

the pearl of great price.

            To be sure, to meditate on heaven often does not take away

our sense of realism and objectivity. The contrary would be the case

if it is done properly. We would know the relative value of everything

good and lovable in this world.

            And if our loving would involve suffering, as it usually

does, our meditation on heaven would convince us that such suffering

is worthwhile!

Fervor and fanaticism

IT’S always good to be on fire, burning with religious

fervor, driven, active, fully inspired, etc. But let’s see to it that

we do not fall into fanaticism and bitter zeal. We have to learn to

distinguish between the two that, in these times, can be confusing

since the line between them is often blurred.

            Christ expressed such fervor when he said: “I have come to

ignite a fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I

have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is

accomplished!...” (Lk 12,49-50)

            If we are to be true followers of Christ, we should also

have such fervor and zeal. It’s a fervor and zeal that comes from

authentic love, the love that comes from God and not just our own

brand of love, or a love that is a product of worldly ideologies

alone.

            Because of the love-inspired fervor and zeal, we would be

willing to make sacrifices, even great, extraordinary ones, just to

carry out the dictates of that love. A person in love is always hot,

zealous, on the move. He is never just cool, though he also knows how

to be calm.

            Consider some pertinent words of St. Paul who said: “Do

you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the

prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in

the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that

will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

            “Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly. I

do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my

body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I

myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Cor 9,24-27)

            Yes, we are meant to be zealous and fervent in our life,

to be driven in anything that we do. Things have to be done with

gusto, with the abiding mentality to “carpe diem.” Away with

passivity, with complacency, with just mindlessly flowing with the

tide. But we have to make sure that our zeal is righteous, not bitter,

with a clear sense of purpose, not just aimless.

            Righteous zeal is always respectful of legal, juridical

and most importantly of moral standards, especially that of charity

and mercy. Bitter zeal wants instant results while ignoring legal and

moral requirements. It may pursue a valid cause, working for truth and

justice, but without taking care of the appropriate means.

            Fanaticism and biitter zeal make a person hasty and

reckless in his assessment of things. It makes him fail to consider

all angles, to listen to both sides, so to speak. He is prone to

imprudence.

            Inflammatory, incendiary words are his main weapons. Being

belligerent is his style. He relishes in rousing controversies and

sowing intrigues. He’s actually not as interested in looking for the

objective truth and justice as carrying out his own personal cause.

            We have to avoid bitter zeal, since it does not come from

charity and mercy, but mainly from pride and a sense of

self-righteousness. It may be a zeal that can produce some fake forms

of success and victory, but it actually produces more harm than good

on everyone. It is a zeal that has no proper resources to handle

unavoidable defeats, setbacks and disappoints in life. It wants to win

always, to gain points.

            The love-inspired fervor and zeal knows how to deal with

all the negative elements in our life. It knows how to suffer and to

live abandonment in the ever-wise providence of God. It knows when to

move fast and when to move slow. It manages to work under all sorts of

weather and seasons. Fanaticism and bitter zeal miserably fail in this

department.

No time to waste

WITH the somehow foreseeable new landscape of the

post-Covid world, we can tell that we have no time to waste as we face

new and, most likely, formidable challenges. It’s very likely that we

have to do some innovations, reinventions and upskilling, if we want

not only to survive but rather to prosper and contribute greatly to

the quest of the common good.

            We have to spend a lot of time studying, researching,

observing, testing and going through the different exercises and

stages of the processes involved. More importantly, we need to

discipline ourselves so as not to be dominated simply by moods and

personal preferences, biases and other weaknesses that can undermine

the objectivity of our needs.

            Of course, it goes without saying that we should maintain

a positive, go-getter outlook before the new challenges we are going

to have. We should never give a chance to any trace of pessimism and

discouragement to enter our mind. We need to be a good sportsman who,

in spite of his acknowledged limitations, would still go on fighting

and trying.

            We really cannot afford to be distracted. We have to be

well-focused, though it does not mean that we have to be rigid. In

this kind of game, we have to learn how to blend focus with

resilience, consistency with adaptability. We have to know how to be

judicious in using old and new things.

            This is a big challenge we have today, considering the

tremendous amount of distractions we have, both the legitimate and the

illegitimate ones, the latter far outnumbering the former.

            Yes, we, of course, need some distractions as a way of

rest and relaxation. But in this human need, we should not lose our

proper focus. Rather, we have to learn how to stay properly focused

while having those legitimate distractions. We have to be most wary of

our tendency to be so carried away by them that we compromise that

focus.

            Thus, it is important that we have a clear idea of what to

do for the day, at least, before we get the skill of knowing what to

do for the week and the month. It may be helpful to have a fixed

schedule and a to-do list, so at least we could have some guide.

            As much as possible we should avoid beginning the day

without a plan and a strategy in mind, and just relying on some chancy

inspiration. We should also avoid delaying things. As much as

possible, what is written in the schedule should be done on time,

“hodie et nunc,” today, now.

            What is also helpful is that we be transparent, simple and

humble, so that in that way we would find it easy to acknowledge our

failures and to ask for help or to make consultations. And when we

succeed, things would not go to our head that would usually stop us

from pursuing more and better possibilities. These virtues would make

us feel light and agile whenever we encounter some surprises along the

way.

            What should motivate us to do all this is the desire to do

God’s will, to give him glory and to do apostolate, that is, helping

others find and love God in whatever they do. This is the motivation

that is capable of surmounting whatever difficulty we may have.

            It would also assure us that whatever happens, we know

that we are all in God’s hands. He will take care of everything. He

has the last word. Ours is simply to go along with his will and ways

as best that we can.

            So, we should not waste time, giving in to some fears,

sadness, anxiety. We should just move on. And feel the thrill and

suspense of facing a somewhat different world and tackling new

challenges. Let’s consider the whole thing a wonderful

divinely-scripted-and-guided adventure!

Self-esteem and self-importance

WHILE it is good to have a high self-esteem, it is not

when we get fat in self-importance. A high self-esteem is the

objective awareness of who we really are. An obese self-importance is

an exaggerated sense of our value and importance.

            It is not good to have a low self-esteem that misses our

real dignity as persons and as children of God, meant to be God’s

image and likeness and to share in his divine life. We should try our

best to build up and keep a high self-esteem that is always compatible

with humility.

            When we have a high self-esteem, our capacity to work, to

help and serve others, and most importantly, to thank God and to be

always with him, increases. We would be willing to do anything, even

to play the role of being the servant of all servants. That would be

no problem to us. In fact, it would reinforce our self-esteem.

            Definitely, to have a high self-esteem would involve a

constant reference to God. It would make one strive to always have

presence of God, to know his will and ways and to do his best to

follow them. It would make us feel that we are always accompanied, and

that whatever situation we may find ourselves in, whether good or bad,

we would still feel safe and secure.

            Having a high self-esteem will lead others to see, feel

and love God through us, while we hide and disappear. It does not

steal the limelight from God. If we truly have a high self-esteem, we

would feel good that we be ignored while doing a lot of good for

others out of love for God.

            When we have a high self-esteem, we would know how to

distinguish between making full use of all our talents and powers for

the good of all, and simply strutting our stuff, eager to show off,

hungry for people’s admiration. Of course, we would do the former

while avoiding the latter.

            But we should try our best also to avoid any trace of

self-importance because we would just be deceiving and fooling

ourselves. A fat self-importance is always awash with pride, vanity,

an exaggerated self-awareness and overvaluing of our own assets,

talents, resources, etc. All these blind us or, at least, distort the

objective reality of who we are. It is an over-estimation that

actually degrades us.

            A bloated self-importance stems from one’s very subjective

assessment of his own self, deprived of any reference to God. It is

simply built up on one’s own consideration of his human and natural

powers and fortunes. It stands on no solid ground, but rather on

shifting sands. It’s actually not stable, and is highly prone to

mental disorders like the bipolar cases that, sad to say, are rising

these days.

            When we have an intense sense of self-importance, we

always want to be acknowledged, thanked, appreciated, admired, spoken

highly by others. We would suffer when we are ignored, and more so

when we are insulted and humiliated. We would always want to show off,

if not to dominate others.

            When we have this anomaly, we many times end up uneasy and

tense, obsessed with perfectionism and the urge to control and to be

on top of others. We always want to succeed and to win in any game.

And when we lose, we usually become a sore loser, feeling quite

devastated.

            Another sign of this perverse sense of self-importance is

to have an extreme feeling of entitlement. We would want to have as

many privileges and benefits to such an extent that we would feel

deprived if we would not have any of them. We also would become

over-sensitive.

            We should learn to clearly distinguish between a healthy

high self-esteem and a bloated sense of self-importance. We should

know where the basis of this distinction lies.