Always in the context of victory

I MEAN the victory of Christ’s redemptive mission that takes care of everything in our life, no matter how things turn out to be. All our affairs, whether they are considered a success or a failure, done in the proper way or in the wrong way, etc., should be referred to the victory of Christ. 

 In that way, all our affairs can take part in the victory of Christ over sin and death that in the end is what truly matters in our life. Thus, we would have every reason to be happy and hopeful and to remain calm despite whatever. This is actually the ideal condition of our life, and we should try our best to attain it. 

 In that way also, we can be in a better position to see God’s will better, and to follow it properly. As we all know, we work or perform better when we feel light and animated by love, without as much as possible bearing the drag of a guilt feeling or anything negative. 

 Of course, we have to understand that Christ’s victory was gained through the cross, through his loving obedience to the will of his Father who wants him to assume all the sins of men, rendering death to all our sins by dying on the cross and then by resurrecting. 

 It’s important that we learn to assume the mind of Christ in everything that we do. Especially when we commit mistakes or even commit grave sins, if we have the mind of Christ, we would know how to repent and how to rid ourselves of bad feelings to regain the peace and joy that are proper to us as children of God. 

 And when we succeed in something, we also would know how to react properly if we assume the mind of Christ. We would be most thankful, and our joy would never make us proud and vain. In fact, what would happen is that we would be more motivated to do more good things, breaking new frontiers in the area of loving God and loving others. 

 To be able to refer everything in our life to the victory of Christ would definitely require some effort on our part. First, we would really ask for God’s grace which we can do if our faith is strong and healthy. Then, we have to go through the human process of learning. 

 It’s a step-by-step process, slow and kind of arduous especially at the beginning. But if we persist, things would just pick up, and voila!, referring things to Christ’s victory becomes an instinct. 

 This skill is most needed these days when many people are sinking in sadness and depression because they do not know how to cope with the many challenges and difficulties of our times. 

 Let’s hope that we can have many people who can inspire and impart this skill on others. To be sure, this is not merely a psychological trick or device. It’s what our faith is telling us. Christ himself said so. “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.” (Mt 11,28-29) 

 But for all that, let’s learn to carry the cross with Christ, because only then can we share in his victory.

Blessing different items

AS priest, I, of course, receive frequent requests to bless different items—tokens of devotion like rosary beads, stampitas, or bikes and cars, and of course, houses. I always welcome these occasions because they can only show that people still have some traces of piety despite the growing secularization of our environment. It’s something to be fostered strongly, especially these days. 

 In these blessings, I always tell those concerned to be most thankful to God, since in the end, he is really the one who provided them with those items to be blessed. Even if they were the ones who made them, or spent for them, etc., in the end it is God who gave them those items. And the gratitude toward God should be expressed in deeds more than just in intentions and some nice words. 

 The idea behind the encouragement to be thankful is for those concerned to continue growing in their relationship with God. I always remind them that the blessing is not just some kind of social custom for them to be socially correct. It has a deep religious meaning that they should always keep in mind when using those items. It is meant to relate them and the things being blessed to God always. 

 If it’s some token of devotion to be blessed, I usually tell them to see God or whatever saint is involved in those tokens. They should feel invited to be with God or the saint whenever the token is used. 

 That is also why, given the common tendency to take religion for granted, I tell them to put many tokens of devotion around, so that the presence of God would not be lost to them and to the others with them. Those tokens should remind them that their life is and should always be a life with God, and not by themselves alone. 

 If it’s a bike or a car to be blessed, I remind them that those vehicles should strongly remind them that our life here on earth is like a journey toward a definitive destination, which is heaven with God. 

 I tell them that everytime they use those vehicles, they should be reminded of the underlying religious meaning and purpose of their use. They should not just get stuck with the technicalities and the worldly and temporal purposes of their use, like affording them mobility, convenience, comfort, etc. 

 In fact, they should devise a way where everytime they use those vehicles, they should not just get to some place, but should get the sensation that they are getting closer to heaven. To be sure, having this religious meaning in mind would not distract them from their driving. Rather, it would make them most careful. 

 And if it’s a house to be blessed, I tell them that their house should channel and reflect the definitive home we are supposed to have in eternity. I encourage them that aside from making their houses as beautiful as possible, they should make their houses a home where love in all its manifestations is nurtured. 

 There should be constant concern for one another, eagerness to help and to understand each other. The house should be turned into a home and a school where the basic education and formation of the those in it is carried out. In fact, the home should be made like a domestic Church where faith, hope and charity should be fostered.

Always be at peace

WE have to remember that this is our ideal condition to be in. We may have to do some battling, we may feel angered and agitated for a number of reasons, we may be hounded by fears, doubts and worries, but let’s see to it that, at least, at the end of the day, we should be at peace with everyone, with God first and with everybody else also. 

 And if we master the art of peace-making well, we somehow would know how to have peace in our mind and heart even if we have to go through the unavoidable battles and episodes of anger and agitation, of fears, worries and the like in our life. 

 The secret, of course, is to be with God, to identify ourselves with Christ, following his teachings and example. With Christ, we would know how to deal with all the elements of our life that are contrary to our dignity as children of God, and yet not eaten up by bitter zeal, anger, hatred and the like. In fact, we would know how to always live charity whose manifestation will always include peace of mind and heart. 

 It’s important that we have peace in our mind and heart because that is the requirement for us to see things clearly and objectively, to make judgments fairly and to do things well. With peace, we can manage to be hopeful and happy even while cruising still in this vale of tears of ours. 

 Without peace, we can only manage the opposite. Our biases will dominate the way we perceive things, make judgments and do things in general. And our suffering continues and can worsen. 

 While peace is an effect of charity, it is also what keeps charity going and growing. There is always an intimate mutual relationship between charity and peace. The more love for God and others we have, the more peace we will also enjoy. And vice-versa—the more peace we have, our love for God and others would also grow. 

 We can always have peace because even in the worst scenario when problems, issues and difficulties are left unresolved, we can always go to God, asking for grace or mercy or whatever help we need. And God always takes care of everything. He is always there for us, ever solicitous of our needs and eager to forgive. All we need to do is to go to him. 

 We just have to learn also how to live abandonment in the ever powerful and wise providence of God. And this can mean that we also have to learn to be patient and hopeful, willing to suffer together with Christ who bore all our sins and everything that our sins would cause, and who conquered all of them by his resurrection. 

 We also have to learn how to be accepting of persons and things as they are even as we slowly find ways of how we can help each other to be how we ought to be according to God’s designs for us. We should avoid getting stuck in our differences and conflicts. We can always find common ground among ourselves. The fact that we are all humans, that we are all creatures of God, children of his, and loved by him are some of the basic inalienable commonalities we have, which we can use to build up peace among ourselves.

Fostering mental health

RECENT reports have it that cases of mental health issues are increasing. That should not be a surprise, given the current situation we are in. I can imagine that there must be quite a number of people sinking in states of frustration, disappointment, sadness, depression, self-pity and the like. This is a challenge to tackle these days. 

 Even during former and normal times, this mental health issue was already a big concern. Some studies show that people, especially the young ones, are very vulnerable to negative and destructive thoughts as they are provoked to have strong albeit hidden reactions of envy, insecurity, pride, conceit, vanity and the like, to things they see around, especially in the social media. 

 These reactions are actually dehumanizing. And what is worse is that these reactions are mainly internal and therefore difficult to acknowledge, much less, to correct. Those involved hardly talk and share their predicament with someone. Instead, they tend to rue and brood. 

 In that condition, those affected would be vulnerable to fall into hidden compensatory behavior, like drinking and having recourse to drugs, pornography and falling into self-abuse, etc. It would just be a matter of time before graver perversions would be committed. 

 While there can be medical and psychological remedies for these conditions, we should not forget that at bottom what would really give the lasting cure is taking care of people’s spiritual health. Everything starts there. 

 When the spiritual life is healthy, we would know how to react and behave in any situation. We would know how to properly handle the problems and difficulties that can crop up or when we are made to suffer for one reason or another. The reactions to these situations would always be marked by confidence and hope, even by peace, joy and thanksgiving. 

 A healthy spiritual life, of course, is when one assimilates the spirit of Christ who, being “the way, the truth and the life” for us, shows us how to handle any situation in our life, whether it be considered humanly good or bad. Not only does Christ show it to us. He lives it with us. We just have to know how to go to Christ and to identify ourselves with him in a very vital way. 

 This is always possible because Christ, in the first place, is always around. He is, in fact, always solicitous of our needs, constantly intervening in our lives. If our faith is strong and our piety is alive, we can easily capture this wonderful reality of our life. 

 We would be filled with an invincible sense of joy and peace, of hope and confidence, because we know we are never alone and that there is always someone who will take care of everything, including those that we cannot anymore take care of. 

 We need to realize that to foster mental health especially in these trying times, we have to take care of this fundamental need of ours to keep our spiritual life as healthy as possible. Let us help one another to achieve this. 

 Let’s give one another an abiding sense of Christian accompaniment so that the presence of Christ and his continuing interventions can be felt and appreciated especially by those having problems in mental health. 

 Let’s hope that we can see more happy and productive people these days!

Modules and online classes

AS we all know by now, this is how most classes are conducted these days. Students are given modules and they are expected to study them mainly on their own. And whatever classes the teachers have to give, they are done online. 

 This, of course, requires a lot of adjustments by both students and teachers. In the first place, a lot of self-discipline is required from both. Teachers have to see to it that they still are in control of the class, able to deliver their lessons as effectively as possible and to closely monitor the learning process of the students. Indeed, a tall order! 

 Students, on their part, have to be strongly motivated to study mainly on their own and to closely follow whatever online classes they have to attend. Obviously, they need to be closely supervised. 

 It is indeed in this kind of scenario that while all helpful and relevant technical skills have to be resorted to, a great revitalization of everyone’s spiritual life is needed. There is simply no way things can be done and handled properly if the spiritual life of both teachers and students would not be up to it. 

 Obviously, this adjustment period will have its learning curve. But I would say that among the first things to be done is precisely to instill in everyone the idea that a lot of sacrifice would be needed here and that to make such sacrifice is actually a vivid expression of love. 

 Unless this basic principle is understood and lived well, we can only expect failure in the learning process. The teachers, for example, should try their best to prepare their lessons really well, considering that they have to make up for the lack of physical contact which is the usual way to conduct classes. They have to be more aware of how each student is taking the lessons imparted. 

 As teachers, they are expected to exert more effort to understand and to adjust to the students than the students to their teachers. While the students also have to do their part, the greater responsibility in the learning process would fall on the teachers. 

 Thus, teachers have to be extra kind and charitable to their students without, of course, undermining their authority. As much as possible they have to very friendly, with a very approachable presence in the online classes, so that a certain closeness between them and the students that is conducive to learning can be achieved. 

 So, teachers should do away with the old style of projecting a strict and demanding image toward their students. This is especially so since in a class there can be a wide variety of the capabilities of students. We can expect that the classes would not be as homogeneous as they used to be in former times. The fast learners can be mixed with the slow learners. 

 Teachers should find ways of how to motivate each of the students. This definitely would require more than technical skills. A lot of prayer and sacrifice would be needed here. We have to ask for God’s grace since we would be dealing with many unknown and mysterious elements in this process. 

 It is important that even by their presence alone, teachers can inspire and generate interest on the part of the students who should see in them their genuine dedication to the students’ welfare.

The nearness of God

INSPIRED by an old love song, The Nearness of You, this essay seeks to encourage all of us to develop a strong, deep sense of the nearness of God in our life. Like in that love song, it should not just be the “pale moon” that should excite us, nor some “sweet conversation” with a special someone that would give us a loving sensation. It should rather be the nearness of God that should elicit all those effects in us. 

 It’s important that our relation with God should be the strongest, the deepest and the most abiding and enduring among all the relationships we can have in this life. Short of that, let’s be convinced that we are not living our life as we should. We would be missing the most essential part of our life in spite of having many good and meaningful relationships we can have with others. 

 Our relationship with God should be such that it goes all the way to our feelings. It should not just be something spiritual or intellectual or theoretical. It has to be felt. In fact, it should arouse the most intense feelings in us. 

 Our relationship with God should involve our whole being—of course, in the proper order of the different aspects of our life, with the spiritual and supernatural given priority over the material and natural. 

 We should, however, understand that the priority we give to the spiritual and supernatural should never downplay the important role of the material and natural, since the spiritual and the supernatural cannot develop if the material and natural is compromised. 

 To develop this kind of relationship with God, we certainly need to continually ask for God’s grace accompanied always with the appropriate effort on our part. We need to pray, we need to know more and more about Christ who is the model, “the way, the truth and the life” for us in this regard. We need to develop the appropriate virtues and practices of piety. 

 It’s clear that to develop this kind of relationship with God is like an acquired taste. It’s not an innate taste, given the discrepancy between our nature and the supernatural life we are meant to share with God if we truly love him. This is not to mention that aside from the objective discrepancy, we have to contend with the effects of our sinfulness that make things even worse. 

 But it’s always possible to have that acquired taste for an abidingly loving relationship with God. The saints have proven that beyond doubt. And our Christian faith reassures us that we already are given all the appropriate means for us, all of us, to develop that acquired taste. 

 We have Christ himself who makes himself totally available to us through the different means: the Church herself with all her instrumentalities, especially the sacraments. We should just activate and enliven our faith, nourishing it with the many practices of piety that are all there for the picking. 

 Thus, we should continually ask ourselves if we are giving due attention to this need to develop a vibrant life of piety to such an extent that we would truly feel the nearness of God in everything that we get involved in. 

 It’s that nearness of God that should fill us with the most intense feeling of love where we would be willing to do anything, including offering our life, out of love!

Sadness makes the devil happy

THIS should be made clear to all of us. We are meant to be happy, not only from time to time, but all time. Impossible? Of course, it will be impossible if we rely mainly if not solely on our own powers. But that’s not supposed to be. We are meant to be with God and to rely mainly on his powers. That way, we can always manage to be at peace and happy, which is what is ideal for all of us. 

 Sadness is the ally of our enemy. It makes the devil happy. It’s when we are sad, beset with worries and fears, when we become most vulnerable to our own personal weaknesses and to the wiles of the devil. We have to learn to overcome our sadness by learning how to be tough when the life becomes tough. 

 And toughness can mean that we just abandon ourselves in the hands of God when we seem to be helpless in a given situation or predicament. We may call it a holy kind of indifference or insensitivity that is necessary for all of us to have. 

 Yes, we are supposed to be responsible for our life, able to take charge of everything. We should do our best to solve all our problems, But we should not forget that our powers can only go so far. 

 Others may do more than us, can manage things better than us, can be more successful in handling things than us, but everyone has his limits. We should not belabor the obvious fact that we cannot handle everything, nor solve all our problems, nor resolve all our issues. 

 Rather, if we live by our Christian faith, we know that we precisely can make use of our difficulties as a strong reason to get closer to God who can do what is impossible for us to do. We would have no problem doing that, since we know that God is our Father who takes care of everything for us. With such attitude, we can manage to have peace, and even joy. 

 It’s important that no matter how our day would go, we should end it without anything weighing heavily in our mind and heart. This attitude is not some kind of self-deceiving trick we play on ourselves. It has basis on our Christian faith as articulated, for example, by St. Paul when he said, “For when I am weak that I am strong.” (2 Cor 12,10) 

 Allowing ourselves to keep worries and fears would simply be a manifestation of our lack of faith in God, in his abiding providence. It can also mean that we are so dominated by pride that we cannot realize anymore that we are not expected to solve everything in our life, and that it is only God who can do that, as articulated again by St. Paul who said: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” (Phil 1,6) 

 Definitely, to be able to live by our Christian faith when we are assailed with problems and difficulties, will require effort and training. And so we should just have our daily practice, since, anyway, each day brings with it its own load of challenges and difficulties. Let’s consider them as opportunities to learn how to be peaceful and happy even in the midst of the negative things in our life.

The art of productive hibernation

WE are not, of course, mere plants and animals whose periods of hibernation are periods of sheer inactivity. But with our current situation where we are made to restrict our movements and are asked to stay home, we should somehow learn the art of a kind of hibernation that is proper to us as humans. 

 Hibernation, of course, is a kind of rest. It’s not actually pure inactivity since that would be tantamount to being dead. The plants and animals that hibernate may be inactive externally, but internally, there is some action taking place. To a certain extent, we too should know how to limit our external activity, but we have to make sure that internally we are active. 

 I remember a saint who with his followers was forced to stay indoors for quite a while because of a war that was going on. He was always reminding his followers to be active studying and praying, instead of just doing nothing or worrying. He told them that their restricted movements were meant for them to grow in the inside. 

 True enough, after the war they came out learning new things, like learning new languages which became helpful as they had to go other countries for their apostolic mission. They also acquired new skills. 

 We need to realize that all these protocols about quarantine, staying at home, social distancing, wearing of face masks and face shields should not affect us so adversely as to undermine our sanity, our human growth and development, and especially our spiritual life. There’s always of way of how we can take advantage of them, of how we can leverage them. 

 We need to activate our faith in God, our trust in his loving and ever-wise providence. We need to keep a good sporting attitude toward this current predicament of ours. Let’s be creative and inventive, and maintain a good sense of humor. There is no point in worrying at all. It would just make things worse. 

 There is actually a lot to learn and to do while in a restricted lifestyle. With all the developments around, we all have a need to catch up with the many new things that are coming out. We can do a lot of reading. And it’s also good that we get to do some basic things that we usually delegate to others during normal times, like cooking, laundering, gardening, etc. 

 And this kind of hibernation should not in any way isolate us from others. If at all, it can even enhance our communion with them. We can always pray for them. And yes, we should try our best to help them. There are those who are suffering materially, in terms of lack of food, money and other basic necessities. Let’s do what we can to extend help to them. 

 But more than helping others in their material needs, we have to be ready and most generous in helping them in their emotional, mental and, most specially, their spiritual needs. We are never lacking in ways of extending this kind of help to others. 

 Again, our forced hibernation can be very productive if we want it that way. God’s grace is never lacking, and corresponding to it will certainly give us a lot of ideas and initiatives whatever the conditions are. 

 It’s all a matter of faith that should animate our attitudes, outlook and reactions to whatever may occur in our life.

Developing the appetite for the supernatural life

AS Christians, I suppose we would readily realize that our life should not just be our own life, but rather always a life with God. And since God is supernatural, then our life also ought to be supernatural without, of course, compromising what is natural to us. Thus, there is a need for us to develop a desire, a liking, an appetite for the supernatural life, i.e., a life with God. 

 We need to make this point clear because I have the strong feeling that we as Christians in general do not realize this. And if we do, we do not know how to go about it. At best, what we usually do is simply to avail ourselves of some Christian practices, more out of compliance, without realizing how those practices should have their effect in us. In other words, we can generally call ourselves as Christians by name only, but not the authentic ones. 

 Developing the supernatural life is simply a matter of identifying ourselves vitally or existentially with Christ who is God who became man to save us. His humanity is united to his divinity so that we can, through his humanity, find “the way, the truth and the life” of God. In other words, that we can have the supernatural life of and with God as we are meant to have. 

 This means that we should have the very mind of God, as St. Paul said of himself. (cfr. 1 Cor 2,16) That is why he said, “Be imitators of me as I am an imitator of Christ.” (1 Cor 11,1) It is in having the mind of Christ that we share in the spirit of Christ, and thus become like Christ. Yes, we are meant to be “another Christ, if not Christ himself” (alter Christus, ipse Christus) who is actually the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity. 

 And this mind or spirit of Christ has been revealed to us quite clearly through his teachings and example, or through everything that he has given us and is now kept, taught with divine authority and guarantee, in spite of the weaknesses of men, in the Church. 

 That is why to develop this supernatural life we need to be made a living part of the mystical body of Christ which is now the Church where all the elements and means, visible and invisible, hierarchical and charismatic, needed for us to develop this supernatural life are made available. 

 But we have to see to it that our recourse to these means is done with the mind of Christ, and not just out of compliance by simply going through the motions of availing ourselves of them. 

 If our recourse to these means is animated by that spirit of Christ, we cannot help but channel Christ’s very own life in all its richness in our life. How Christ was and continues to be would also be how we would be. There is pure love manifested in all the virtues like humility, patience, compassion, charity, goodness, mercy, etc., etc. 

 So you can imagine what all this would involve. We need to study and assimilate all the teachings of Christ. We need to pray, avail of the sacraments, develop the virtues, wage a continuing struggle against our weaknesses, temptations and sin itself. 

 We would be willing to suffer just like Christ suffered for all of us. We would have an apostolic purpose in life, and so on and so forth.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

THAT’S one of the last words of Christ (cfr. Mt 27,46)

before he gave up his spirit on the cross. It’s an intriguing

statement, considering that Christ is God who can absorb and suffer

anything as if in a breeze. Nothing could actually bother or disturb

him.

          But let’s remember that Christ is also a man. He is God the

Son who assumed our human nature precisely to save us. And in saving

us, he had to pay for our sins. He bore all our sins and the

consequences that go with our sins. He had to do this because he is

the very pattern of our humanity. He is also the savior of our

humanity that has been damaged by our sin.

          And so, his suffering and death are real. They are not just

theatrics, something simply staged and contrived. Since Christ is one

person with two natures, his suffering and death are not just in his

human side. The whole Christ, the whole person of Christ in his

divinity and humanity, suffered and died.

          If we cannot fully understand that, just leave it at that.

It’s a mystery, just as how one person can have two natures is also a

mystery. We are not expected to understand this mystery fully. This is

where we have to bow down to what our faith tells and accept what it

teaches us.

          Truth is, that Christ had to voice out that ‘complaint’ to

the Father simply points to one clear fact—that all our sins that he

bore are no mean or petty thing. They are truly horrible things that

would make even the God-made-man express such pain.

          And we cannot deny the most serious gravity of our

sinfulness. Even the most saintly among us fall into sin, not only

from time to time but all the time. And it’s not just small and simple

sins, but rather deadly sins.

          Our sinfulness has also become habitual. Many are already

obsessed and addicted to sin. Besides, our sinfulness is not anymore

simply personal. It has become systemic, structural, inculturated. The

situation can be so bad that we can even say that the sense of sin is

disappearing. No wonder then that Christ who had to bear all our sins

could not help but make that filial ‘complaint’ to his Father. “Why

have you forsaken me,” he said.

          But we should neither forget that after that ‘complaint,’ he

simply proceeded to do what was expected of him. He went all the way

such that he also said, “It is finished.” (Jn 19,30) He said this when

after saying, “I thirst,” he was offered in a most malicious way a

sponge of sour wine.

          The consideration of these complaining words of Christ

should motivate us to be more active in resisting sin and to be more

willing and generous in our suffering. We should assume the mind of

Christ toward suffering whenever we are made to suffer because of our

sin and the sin of the others. That way, we would know that our

suffering would have a redemptive value.

          It should motivate us also to try our best to clean up our

environment and our culture of anything that are already sinful or

that can be an occasion of sin.

“Rejoice with those who rejoice”

THAT’S a piece of advice of St. Paul in his Letter to the Romans. (cfr. 12,15) It’s a call for us to share the conditions and predicaments of the others. It is to feel for them. The complete text is as follows”.

 “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.” (15-16) 

 It’s a good reminder of how true Christian charity is. It behooves us to enter into the lives of the others, share and give whatever we can to help them. It warns us of the danger of pride and conceit that detaches and isolates us from the others. In other words, that we should never be indifferent to the others. How they feel, how they are going through a certain situation should somehow be felt also by us. 

 But this particular part of the advice, “Rejoice with those who rejoice,” though it can lend itself to different interpretations, can mean that we should never be envious when we see others enjoying over something. We should also share in their joy, not saddened. 

 That’s what envy is all about. It’s that uneasy feeling that others are better than us in some respects, and are enjoying that status. Or it can come as a result of some personal frustrations, defeats and losses while others appear to only have successes and victories. 

 Envy is usually accompanied by sadness and sometimes by hatred, anger, bad thoughts and impulses of revenge, fault-finding and bitter zeal. It comes as a result of comparing oneself with others without God in the middle. The standards used are highly subjective and restrictive. 

 What makes it worse is that it is something internal, usually suffered in private, quite hidden, and therefore hard to be corrected by oneself or by others. To cover it up some more, especially when one suspects that others are already detecting it, one usually uses all kinds of pretension and the ways of hypocrisy. 

 A nasty sense of insecurity bogs him. There’s usually a see-sawing attitude of liking and disliking, or the liking is somehow accompanied by a trace of dislike, a pinch of discomfort. One is not totally at peace when envy assails him. 

 Yes, envy is a very unfortunate thing to happen to anyone because it is a pure waste of time and energy. And because of it, many good opportunities that one can have are often missed. Of course, the worst effect is that one’s soul gets corrupted and can get completely wrapped up in his own miserable self-made world. He suffers alone. 

 We have to slay envy everytime it makes us its port of call. We have to let it know immediately that it is unwelcome. And the way to do it is to go to Christ immediately, praying, sacrificing, and reminding ourselves of Christ’s example and teaching. 

 We need to remember that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, however we are placed and situated in life. Not everyone can be bright, talented, successful, etc. Some have to do the menial job, take care of the little things, be at the background. We just have to learn to accept things as they are and be happy with everyone else. Only when we are with Christ can we achieve this!

Developing a worldview

WE should, each one of us, develop a worldview as early as possible. This will help us to have a good and deep understanding about ourselves and the world in general, and about the most basic and ultimate dimensions of our life. It gives us a global picture of the meaning and purpose of our life. 

 Some people see it as some guiding philosophy or ideology they have toward their whole life. A dictionary describes it as “collection of attitudes, values, stories and expectations about the world around us, which inform our every thought and action. It is expressed in ethics, religion, philosophy, scientific beliefs and so on. It is how a culture works out in individual practice.” 

 Nowadays when many people, especially the youth, are practically just drifting according to the varying conditions in the world, with hardly any consistency in their actuations, or sense of direction and purpose, developing a worldview has become an urgent need. Many do not have a long-term and unified vision about their life, caught and confused as they are in their fragmented understanding of things in general. 

 A worldview should give us a good and guiding understanding of who we really are, where we came from and where we are supposed to go in our life. It is supposed to show us how we can coordinate and integrate the many aspects of our life. It should give us a clear idea of what ought to be considered of absolute value in life and what only have a relative value. 

 In other words, when one has a worldview, he can act with clarity of purpose. He can act with great confidence. He would know what to do in any situation, condition or circumstance of his life. He can connect everything into one whole meaningful pursuit in his life. 

 When one has a worldview, the different aspects and dimensions of his life—the material and spiritual, the temporal and eternal, the short-term and the long-term, etc.—are properly coordinated and integrated. He avoids what St. Paul once said as being like infants, “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.” (Eph 4,14) 

 We should encourage everyone to develop a clear worldview. Especially these days, when there can be so many confusing elements that are all so irresistibly attractive, this need to develop a worldview should be given top priority. 

 And where and how should we base and develop this worldview? There are actually many sources and methods for this. There are many philosophies, ideologies and spiritualities around. Some have already been historically tested and are found to be helpful, at least in some areas. 

 But we have to realize that our Christian faith, if lived integrally, can already give us a very good worldview. Of course, living our Christian faith integrally would be a never-ending affair. 

 And aside from doing all sorts of things to understand and assimilate it better, our Christian faith would always require us to ask for God’s grace. And it will also involve a lot of mysteries for which we should be ready to be trusting in God’s providence as well as being game and sport in the twists and turns of our life. Yes, a lot of sacrifices would be involved.

Order a huge challenge today

THIS virtue of order is now posing to us as a huge, most tricky and nasty challenge. With all the growing number of things to consider, each with its own growing complexity also, we truly are most vulnerable to fall into disorder and chaos. 

 Even if we manage to a certain degree to cope with them, it is still not clear whether we are living this virtue or not. And that’s because our idea of coping may simply be a matter of putting material order to the things we handle. But at that level, we can never consider ourselves as living this virtue. At best, it is a kind of superficial order that we would be having. 

 Indeed, taking care of material order alone today is already a very tall order. There are just so many things to handle that we end up at a loss as to which one has priority over the other. We even would not know which one is essential to us and which one a distraction. That distinction is getting blurred. Often, what we produce is sheer clutter. We would seem to be doing a lot of things but going nowhere. 

 We have to remember that this virtue of order refers first of all to our need and duty to do God’s will for us at every moment and to offer what we are doing to him. That’s the first, last and constant criterion to follow. Everything else follows from there. 

 Just considering, for example, the order of the ten commandments that already articulate to us God’s basic will for us, we can already see that we have to consider our duties towards God first before we consider our duties toward others. 

 The latter duties depend on the former, even if the whole Decalogue is considered as one organic whole. Following or failing to follow in any of those commandments would affect the whole Decalogue. As an organic whole, the Decalogue makes our duties towards God and those towards others mutually affect each other. 

 But priority has to be given to our duties toward God, since it is from him that everything true, good and beautiful begins. This point can be verified when Christ said, when asked what the first and the greatest commandment was, that we have to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind. (cfr. Mt 22,37) 

 We should try our best to live by this kind of order where we give God priority over everything else. It is in this kind of order where we would know the proper hierarchy of priorities, where we can truly distinguish between what is essential and what is not, which to keep and which to discard, etc. 

 It would always pay to keep the proper spiritual and supernatural bearing so we would not get confused and lost in the many things that we have to handle. For this, a certain detachment is necessary so that we can properly supervise our feelings, emotions and passions that will always have the tendency to preempt what our reason, and more, our faith, hope and charity would indicate. 

 At the moment, we have to be most wary of the many alluring and intoxicating distractions provided by the many novelties we have today. Without living the virtue of order, we can become victims of sweet poison and friendly fire.

Depopularizing something popular at the moment

SOMEONE suggested this idea to me recently. He was reacting to a growing number of deaths involving young people, as young as in their twenties, who died of diabetes, stroke and some heart ailments. 

 He said taking sweets like sugar-filled soft drinks and energy drinks and other saccharine items like cakes and candies has become so popular that everyone seems not to mind taking them in excess. And this is abetted by a strong and sustained campaign of commercialism of the items involved. 

 “They only talk about the benefits of these items without any warning about the danger of taking them in excess,” he said. “They usually cover up the true amount of sugar and the real character of the sweetener involved in these items,” he continued. We need to expose the dangers of these items, depopularizing them while popularizing the healthy food, like veggies, instead.” 

 “Their commercials should include the warning, like those of the cigarette ads, that too much sugar is bad for one’s health,” he said. And everyone should be educated about the proper amount of sugar to be taken by each individual given his concrete conditions. 

 I immediately gave some general agreement to the idea, though at the back of my mind, I also thought what if we only take veggies without taking anything sweet, would it not also result in something excessive that would give us another kind of illness? 

 Since my knowledge of medicine and physical or biological health is very limited, I restrained myself from pursuing that thought further. I hope and pray that in time, I and everybody else can be more enlightened about this particular question. 

 Just the same, while there indeed is a need to depopularize something popular at the moment but is harmful to us, I believe there is also a need to popularize something that is unpopular at the moment but is truly helpful to us in general. 

 And in this regard, there should be no question asked about the need to popularize a healthy spiritual life that at the moment is still generally unpopular. Many people find it hard to have it. They feel extremely awkward even talking about it, let alone, finding ways of effectively and correctly developing it. 

 Of course, there is such thing as fanaticism which is an anomaly in the world of spirituality. But that’s because there is some erroneous understanding of what and how a spiritual life should be. 

 But it cannot be denied that if properly understood, there can be no limit, no excess in developing one’s spiritual life. This is where a more vigorous, effective and sustained campaign of popularizing should be made. We can never have enough of it, as long as it is properly done. 

 We have to talk more about this, which should not be limited only to some church environment. It has to be talked more vigorously in the families, in the media, in the offices and other work places. 

 Even in business and politics which are greatly in need of spiritual guidance, this matter should be given due importance and attention. This is, of course, a delicate matter, given the character of business and politics, but if understood properly, it can also be done there. In fact, it should be done there. 

 Yes, we need to popularize the still unpopular topic of spirituality!

The relevance of St. Joseph today

AS we celebrate another Solemnity of St. Joseph on March 19, let us revisit the crucial role the foster father of Christ played in the whole economy of salvation if only to instill in us more deeply that the devotion to him is ever relevant, especially these days when we are into very uncertain times. 

 Yes, we can say that St. Joseph is the saint of uncertain times for the simple reason that he carried out his role as spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and foster father of Christ, taking care of the most important persons in mankind’s history, no less than our savior and his mother, with a great sense of fidelity and creativity amid many trials and difficulties. 

 Let us recall some of the difficult decisions and tasks he had to carry out in obedience to God’s will: how he decided to marry Our Lady when at first he already thought of not pushing through with the marriage, how he immediately took Mary and the child Jesus in the middle of the night to flee to Egypt and escape the planned killing of innocent children by King Herod, etc. 

 Of course, the most important task was how to bring up the child Jesus, who though a divine person was also a man who needed to be taken care of, especially during his childhood, and to grow and learn many things. It must have been a very challenging duty of his as well as very rewarding. 

 St. Joseph may strike us as only a very ordinary character, a carpenter with hardly any notable accomplishment to his name. But he was chosen by God to be entrusted with the most delicate responsibility, precisely that of being the head of the Holy Family on earth. 

 His life and his vocation should gladden and edify us who for the most part may only be occupying humble positions in life, doing very ordinary tasks, mostly hidden with hardly any great social impact. But if we follow the example of St. Joseph, we would be convinced that whatever our status in life, if we do things with faith, hope and love the way St. Joseph did his, then whatever we do may not have some social impact, but they would have a great spiritual and supernatural effect. 

 That is why it is highly encouraged that we develop this devotion to him. He is a good teacher in the art of prayer, in having an intimate relation with Christ and Mary which is so crucial if we want our spiritual life to really grow, mature and be fruitful. 

 Let us approximate the sense of proximity and intimacy that St. Joseph enjoyed in his life with Jesus and Mary. Such sense of proximity and intimacy would truly help us to live presence of God all throughout the day, and to maintain a spiritual and supernatural bearing while being immersed in our daily temporal affairs. It would turn us into real contemplative souls in the middle of the world. 

 It would make everything in our life, including the many trials, difficulties and the many uncertainties, most meaningful. It would make us realize that everything in our life, whether good or bad according to human standards, is and should be an occasion to be sanctified by offering it to God, and to be sanctified by it as well. 

 St. Joseph’s life and example would help us never to forget what is truly essential in our life.

Overcome evil with good

THIS is a very intriguing part of our Christian faith. Not only should we love our enemies, as Christ taught us, but we also need to drown evil with an abundance of good. This was specifically articulated by St. Paul in his Letter to the Romans where he said: 

 “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” (Rom 12,17-20) 

 We have to try our best to erase whatever disbelief, doubt or skepticism we can have as we consider this teaching, since most likely, our first and spontaneous reaction to it would precisely be those conditions. We can ask, even if done only interiorly, “Is Christ really serious about this? Can this thing that Christ and St. Paul are telling us, possible, doable?” 

 When these reactions come to us, it is time to remind ourselves that we just have to follow our faith that definitely contains a lot of mysteries and things supernatural that we are not expected to understand fully. Like Our Lady and all the saints, we should just believe and do what we are told because it is Christ who said so, and because it is the Church that teaches us so. 

 That’s what faith is all about. By believing first, then we can start to understand things that are hard to explain or articulate in human terms. As they say, that’s how the ball bounces. We should not waste time trying to understand everything at once or at the beginning. Let’s be game enough to go through some kind of adventure that, no matter how the outcome would be, we know that God is in control of everything. 

 In the meantime, guided by our faith, let’s begin to develop the appropriate attitudes, practices, habits and virtues. We have to learn the intricacies of charity, like being patient, magnanimous, compassionate and understanding, merciful, always friendly with everyone even if not everyone is friendly with us. We should be willing to suffer for the others and to bear their burdens. 

 We have to see to it that our thoughts, desires and intentions, our words and deeds are always animated by charity. There should no negative elements in them, even if we notice the defects, mistakes and sins of the others, and even if they have wronged us. 

 We have to have a good grip on our emotions, able to dominate and properly orient our biases, preferences and other idiosyncracies that constitute our differences and even conflicts with others. We have to learn to focus more on what we have in common rather than what divides us. We have to learn how to dialogue with everyone. 

 We can always do all these things because of our spiritual nature and also because of God’s grace, in the first place. By living by this Christian teaching when faced with evil and wrongdoings others may do on us, we become more and more like Christ. And that in the end is what truly matters in our life!

A reminder on charity

THE hullabaloo surrounding the recent Oprah Winfrey interview of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has given me a sharp reminder on charity. And that’s simply because I realize that while my initial reaction was a strong dismissal of the whole affair, considering it as a waste of time, among many other bitingly negative thoughts that entered my mind, I realize that I have to be charitable. 

 And to be charitable means that even if I regard the whole affair as nonsensical, tone-deaf to the many other more important issues of the day, I just have to give the main objects of my disgust the benefit of the doubt. Yes, they deserve to be heard and given due attention just the same, even if my initial impression was very negative. 

 I remember that my immediate reaction to the interview was to think that what this couple was complaining about or was bitching about was nothing compared to what I hear almost daily about the plight of many poor people who come to me for advice or at least for some words of comfort, if not for some material help. I considered their problem as petty. 

 That was already the first mistake. It was to compare the problem of the prince and his wife with the problems of the others. In that way, I already lost sight of the objective merits of the issue at hand. The ensuing considerations would already be colored by that bias. 

 It took me time before I realize that I had to restrain my reactions, for the simple reason that in the first place I don’t really know all the facts involved. And even if I knew a good deal of them such that I can already form some judgments, it does not mean that I can just be dismissive of them. 

 Charity demands that I try to understand them just as I have to do the same to all the other parties involved, including the many commentators who obviously made off-the-cuff and shooting-from-the-hip comments. I should just look for solutions rather than spend most of the time lamenting. 

 Most of the time, charity would require that we should just keep quiet, and while trying to sort out things and find solutions, we should just pray and offer sacrifices since these are the basic and indispensable things to be done when problems arise. As much as possible, we do not take sides. 

 Which does not mean that we are simply acting like bystanders, indifferent to the problems around, and afraid to take sides. It has to be made clear that we are actually taking a strong side which is the side of charity. Charity transcends partisanship. Charity has to deal with everyone without antagonizing anyone. Even those who are in error should be treated kindly. Charity is for both the winners and the losers. 

 This was the example of Christ who made it the new and ultimate commandment that he gave us before he went up to heaven. We have to learn to live charity especially when we engage ourselves in some contentious issues, or sort out our unavoidable differences and conflicts especially in the area of politics. 

 We have to be wary of what seems to be the mainstream world culture today that limits charity to some works of mercy alone while setting it aside when we do politics or when we discuss hot button issues.

Not to condemn, but to save

THAT’S what is said of Christ. “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (cfr. Jn 3,17) If we have to be “another Christ” as we should, then we ought to have this attitude also. 

 In all our dealings with others, no matter how contentious, difficult and unfair to us, we should avoid condemning anyone. Ours should simply be the desire to save, for which we should be willing to suffer, as Christ did. 

 Would this not be tantamount to being inhuman to us? Well, not exactly. Such attitude is not against our human nature. But, yes, it transcends our nature, since for us to have and to live it would require some supernatural grace, a real and vital identification with Christ. There is no way we can have this attitude if we would just rely on our human powers. 

 But let’s always remember that our human powers are open and are enabled to be enriched and elevated to the supernatural order of God, since they are not merely physical or material powers. They are spiritual powers, these intelligence and will of ours, and as such, they have what is called in philosophy as obediential potency or capability to be enriched and elevated to the supernatural order. 

 That is why as our Christian faith tells us, of all the creatures of God, we are the ones together with the angels who are created in God’s image and likeness, meant to share in the very life of God. 

 While all creatures come and belong to God, we as human persons with spiritual faculties, are meant to participate in the very intimate life of God. This can take place because God himself gives us his grace. It’s this grace that actualizes what we are capable of achieving because of our spiritual faculties. 

 That is why we also need to train our spiritual faculties, our intelligence and will, to develop that attitude of Christ of not wanting to condemn anyone. Rather, like Christ and with Christ, we should try our best to do everything to save a person who may be wrong in something or who may have some problems and difficulties. We have to have the same attitude even when it is us who would be the victim of the wrongdoing of another. 

 For this, we have to train ourselves to have the same charity that Christ had for all of us. In fact, it is the charity that Christ commanded us to live. “A new command I give you,” he said. “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (Jn 13,34-35) 

 We really need to expand and purify our heart so that it can channel this kind of love Christ commands us to do. While we can legitimately have our biases and preferences, our personal opinions and taste, we should also see to it that we are not trapped by them. 

 We have to learn how to transcend these restricting conditions so we can have a universal heart, a heart like that of Christ. And that is always possible because of our spiritual nature plus God’s grace that is given to us in abundance.

Be proactive and not just reactive

WE have to be both, of course, but between the two, it’s being proactive that is more important, since that would clearly show that we are truly driven with love, that there is growth and development in our life, that we are exercising our creativity and sense of initiative. 

 Being reactive is, of course, important too, otherwise we would be regarded as dead or, at least, insensitive. But being reactive comes more of an instinctive action. We cannot help but react and respond in some way to any stimulus that would come our way, be it small or big. In fact, we have to react if we, at least, want to be aware of what is happening around us. 

 It’s in being proactive that we have to pay more attention and where we have to train ourselves more. We are notorious for our tendency to fall into routine, and from there into complacency and passivity. We should not allow ourselves to be trapped by routine. 

 Not that routine is unimportant. It is important and it plays a crucial role in our life! It serves as some kind of a stable structure and foundation of our day, giving us a clear path of how our day should go. Without it, our day would most likely become messy, confusing and chaotic. 

 But it should be made a living structure, not a dead one. It should give us many openings to allow us to discover new things in life, new possibilities for branching out and going to the next level in our life, especially in the spiritual and moral aspects. 

 When we are properly proactive, that is, with a proactiveness that is truly animated by love for God and for others, we will notice a certain drive and bursting energy in ourselves. We would be looking for new possibilities, never contented with what we already have, even if in our human estimation, we may be regarded as having accomplished much already. 

 This proactiveness will never do away with routine. In fact, it may appear to be doing the same thing day in and day out, and yet the love and the quality with which we would be doing the routine things always grows and improves. It never says enough. It never stops at a certain level. 

 To be sure, this proactiveness can only be a consequence of our identification with God who is the very proactiveness himself. God never stops in his creativity, in his love, in finding ways to save us even if we actively go against him. We have to channel in our life God’s proactiveness. 

 A proactiveness that is simply a product of human effort can never go far. It would have no defenses against our own natural limitations, not to mention, the infranatural weaknesses we have that are brought about by our sin. Such proactiveness will certainly be short-lived only. 

 Also to be properly proactive is not only meant for a few people who we may consider as having the appropriate temperament and are enjoying some lucky breaks in life. It is for all, since everyone is supposed to identify himself with God in whose image and likeness we have been created. 

 So, to train ourselves to be properly proactive basically involves fulfilling our duty to relate ourselves with God as best that we could. There is no other formula we can use to achieve this goal of being properly proactive.

When we have to go beyond our means

IT’S, of course, commonsensical that if we want to avoid trouble in our life, we should learn to live within our means. We need to do careful budgeting of our resources, to see that not only would we survive but, more importantly, that we can manage to duly attend to all our needs. We should avoid being extravagant, wasteful, spendthrift, because living beyond our means can only lead us to disaster, sooner or later. 

 But there are times when we need to go beyond our means. This is when out of love and in situations of extreme necessity or urgent and emergency needs, we just have to do whatever we can, regardless of whether we have the means for them or not. We should just plunge into the challenge. 

 In these cases, we can still count on some means that are actually always with us, and they never run out. Sad to say, these means are often disregarded or are considered of little or no value at all. That’s unfortunate because these means are actually the most powerful and dependable of all the means we can have. 

 I am referring to our spiritual and supernatural means, namely, the grace of God who never spares in giving it to us as long as we live by faith, hope and charity that are supported by a working life of piety. More than just means, they are actually our greatest treasure that we can never run out of. Neither can they be spoiled, stolen or lost. 

 That is why Christ said: “Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Mt 6,19-20) 

 It’s important that we realize that more than storing the necessary material goods to help us in our material needs, we should store up more of these spiritual means by constantly strengthening and deepening our faith, hope and, most of all, our charity. The spiritual means have priority over the material means, since the former have limitless effectiveness while the latter can only go so far. 

 We should be always asking for the grace of God, even if we know that God will always give it to us unsparingly. That is how God is, since he is full of love and mercy. And let’s accompany that petition with the appropriate virtues of fortitude, generosity, magnanimity, patience, etc. 

 When we have such faith, hope and charity that are ably supported by virtues and the appropriate lifestyle, we can always manage to stay confident and optimistic all throughout our life, in both the good times and the bad times, the ups and downs, the twists and turns of our life. Nothing can disturb us actually. And we can manage to stay focused on doing what is most essential in our life. 

 We need to spread this Good News about these abundant spiritual and supernatural means that we can always avail of. People nowadays, especially in our current condition where many find themselves in dire need, have to know about the power of these means that are all there for the taking. They are all for free, gratis. It is just faith in God that holds the key.

The beatitudes as antidote

MANY people have asked me why the beatitudes would consider blessed those who, according to our human standards, are not fortunate in life, who suffer in one thing or another, who live a rather restricted kind of life, etc. Why should these persons be regarded as blessed, they ask. 

 To top it all, as taught in the Catechism, the beatitudes are considered as depicting “the countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his charity. They express the vocation of the faithful associated with the glory his Passion and Resurrection, they shed light on the actions and the attitudes characteristic of the Christian life,” it says. 

 And it adds, “They are the paradoxical promises that sustain hope in the midst of tribulations, they proclaim the blessings and rewards already secured, however dimly, for Christ’s disciples, they have begun in the lives of the Virgin Mary and all the saints.” (1717) 

 Does not this description of the beatitudes go against what in our heart of hearts would like to have and enjoy? Everyone wants to be rich. Everyone does not want to suffer anything. Everyone wants to give in to all his wants and desires that mainly are of the worldly and bodily type. Why should Christ not give all these human wants instead? 

 The answer to these questions may take time and effort to be understood and appreciated. The beatitudes are so articulated by Christ in order to serve as a profound and most effective antidote to our strong, almost invincibly strong tendency to self-love, to self-indulgence. 

 They are meant to extricate us from our own prison, our own world which is the antithesis of what true love is. They are meant to expand our heart to save it from being trapped by our own worldly and bodily desires. They are meant to teach us how to give ourselves to God and to everybody else, irrespective of how they are, which is what true love is. 

 Love is always a matter of total self-giving, be it in good times or bad times, in favorable conditions or not. Love has a universal scope. It is supposed to be given without measure, without counting the cost nor expecting any reward. It can be very discriminating without ever being discriminatory. 

 In short, the beatitudes detach us from our own selves so that we can truly identify ourselves with Christ who is the very pattern of our humanity and the savior of our sin-damaged humanity. They are actually a way to our liberation from our own self-inflicted bondage to merely earthly and bodily urges. They purify us from any stain caused by our worldly attachments. 

 They have to be understood from the point of view of our faith and never just from our own estimations of things, no matter how impressive these estimations may be due to our philosophies, ideologies, cultures, etc. 

 They obviously will require tremendous effort from us, and a strong spirit of sacrifice, self-denial and love for the cross, for only then can this truth of our faith sink in and become an operative principle of our life. 

 Most of all, they require us to always ask for the grace from God, for no mere human effort, no matter how big and extraordinary, can make us live by this truth of our faith. 

 It would be good that everyday we be guided by the beatitudes as we go through the drama of our life.

Truth only in charity

THAT’S right! Truth can only be found where charity is. We should bury the myth that we can only be truthful when we manage to cite as foolproof evidence some cold facts and data alone, and use logic, etc. 

 These latter, without the animation of charity, can never be the truth. At best, they can only distort the truth. They may give some traces and elements of truth, but without charity, they cannot give the whole truth. And when truth is not whole, it is not truth at all. 

 A lie is precisely that—it contains some elements of truth but without charity. Instead what it has are the motives of deception, of pursuing self-interest at the expense of the common good, etc. 

 That is why St. Paul said that we have to speak the truth in charity (cfr. Eph 4,15) and always highlighted the priority of charity over any other value, as expressed when he said: 

 “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift or prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” (1 Cor 13,1-3) 

 Here, St. Paul is not simply talking about citing some facts and data, but rather of much more important things. If there is no charity, all these things would amount to nothing and can even be very dangerous to us. 

 We have to understand that we can only be truthful when we manage to be charitable, with the charity that is a living participation or reflection of the charity shown to us by Christ who commanded us to live it. It’s a charity that is willing to love everyone, including our enemies. 

It’s a charity that is willing to suffer for others and to bear their burdens, willing to consider others better than us. It’s a charity that is quick to understand and forgive others. 

 As St. Paul would put it, charity is “patient, is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Charity does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Cor 13,4-7) 

 In short, this description of charity expresses the proper criteria that should guide us in our pursuit for truth or in our desire to be truthful. It’s not simply in citing some facts and data, no matter how scientifically verified they may be. 

 And that’s because truth is not simply, as our philosophies would put it, a matter of mere agreement between our mind and the object of knowledge. That definition of truth is very restrictive and opens us to a world of subjectivism. Truth is when we are with God, the creator of everything and who knows everything.                

And since God is love, “Deus caritas est,” a love shown to us by Christ, then we should realize that we can only be in the truth when we have the very love that Christ showed, taught and commanded us to have.