Putting the last stone

THIS should be a habit, better still, an instinct that we

should develop in ourselves. It means that whatever good thing we have

started, we should end, complete and perfect as much as possible. We

should avoid leaving things hanging, or starting well but ending

badly. We have to put the last stone in any undertaking we have.

            This attitude reflects the very attitude of God toward us.

As St. Paul would put it, “He who began a good work in you will carry

it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil 1,6) Of

course, only God can truly start and end things well and perfectly.

But being image and likeness of God, we are supposed to approximate

that attitude as best that we can.

            To be able to finish our undertakings, we obviously need

to plan things well, seeing to it that we have the resources and means

needed, or at least that we have the calculated certainty that we can

finish things, given the fact that we may not have all the means we

need at the start of an endeavor or project

            Let’s remember one relevant teaching of Christ when he

said: “Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down

and count the cost to see if he has the resource to complete it?

Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the work,

everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This person began to

build and was not able to finish.’” (Lk 14,28-30)

            This healthy and Christian attitude is most relevant in

our daily spiritual struggles. We cannot deny that every day we have

challenges to face, trials to tackle, problems to solve, and we may

manage to resolve most if not all of them during the day. We just have

to be most wary that at the end of the day, we don’t let down our

guard and let our weaknesses and temptations to overcome us.

            That possibility is very likely to happen. We know that in

our daily struggles, we make a lot of sacrifices, even forcing

ourselves to forego certain things, like our comfort and convenience,

if only to stay the course of our struggles. We can do and perform

well during the day.

            But at the end of the day, strong temptations can come,

rousing our weaknesses and bombarding us with the thought that it is

time to let loose the inclinations of the body and give a break to our

weaknesses that want to reclaim their “lost rights.”

            This is when we should be most guarded, intensifying our

prayer and spirit of recollection, and putting ourselves completely in

the hands of God in whom we can have our proper rest and with whom we

can properly end the day.

            This will require a tremendous act of self-denial which is

always worthwhile, for what it gives in return is way above what we

seem to lose in our self-denial. In this, it is good to remember that

divinely guaranteed promise of Christ:

            “No one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother

or father or children or fields for my sake and for the gospel will

fail to receive a hundredfold in the present age—houses and brothers

and sisters and mothers and children and fields, along with

persecutions—and to receive eternal life in the age to come.” (Mk

10,29-30)

            Of course, there is always the possibility that in spite

of our effort to persevere doing and being good all way to the end, we

would still fail. We can succumb to our weaknesses and to the

temptations. This is something we should not be surprised about.

            In this case, all we have to do is to go to God

immediately, asking for pardon. That should be the last stone of the

day, for God’s mercy has the last word!