Faith needed for miracles to happen

WE have to be clear about this point. For miracles to happen, especially the most important one which is our own salvation that involves the forgiveness of our sins, faith is needed. This was dramatized in that gospel episode where Christ was presented with a paralytic lying on a stretcher. (cfr. Mt 9,1-8) 

 “When Jesus saw their faith,” the gospel narrates, “he said to the paralytic, ‘Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.’” Christ said this before he went to cure the man of his paralysis. He cured the man to prove to the unbelieving Jews that he was truly the Redeemer, and as such can do extraordinary cures. And he cured the man precisely because of their faith, that is, their belief that Christ was truly the expected Redeemer. 

 Nowadays, many people claim that miracles do not happen anymore. They say miracles only took place in the distant past, the time of the gospel when Christ went around in the land of Judea and Galilee. But now, miracles are considered obsolete, if not an anomaly. 

 This is like saying that Christ, the son of God who became man, has ceased intervening in our lives, that he was purely a historical man, subject to time and space, and that after death, he is simply no more, completely wrapped in the spiritual world, if ever that exists, and that he has no immediate and tangible impact on our lives. 

 The problem we have is that we lack faith. It is this deficiency that disables us to see a deeper and richer reality that is beyond what we simply see, touch and understand. It is this deficiency that prevents us from asking for some miracles in some difficult situations we can find ourselves in, and from experiencing them. 

 Remember that time when Christ was pursued by two blind men (cfr Mt 9,27-31). They shouted, “Lord, have pity on us.” But Christ asked them if they have faith. “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they immediately replied. Then Christ told them, “Let it be done to you according to your faith.” And they were cured. 

 In all the other miraculous cures narrated in the gospel, faith plays a very crucial role. The woman who was cured of her hemorrhage was also commended by Christ because of her faith. “Be of good heart, daughter, your faith has made you whole…” (Mt 9,22) 

 The same with the blind man, Bartimaeus, and the father of the possessed boy who in his great distress told our Lord earnestly, “I believe, but help my unbelief.” 

 Besides the lack of faith, many of us have come to associate miracles with big, extraordinary things. Unless a blind man sees again, or a lame starts to walk, or a dead rises to life again, people nowadays say there can be no miracles taking place. 

 It is faith that lets us enter into the spiritual and supernatural world and see many miracles around. It brings us to share in God’s wisdom and power. Remember those stirring words of Christ: “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove from there, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible to you.” ((Mt 17,20) 

 Without faith, in spite of our keenest intelligence, we will miss much of the more important aspects of our life as we would only be restricted to the here and now, the material and the temporal.

Devils exist

“What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?” 

 These are words of two demoniacs who approached Christ when he went to a certain place. We all know what Christ did with them. (cfr. Mt 8,28-34) The episode is a clear reminder to all of us that devils exist and all they do is to tempt us, if not possess us. But just the same, we should not be afraid because as long as we go to God, they can do no harm on us though we may have some suffering for a while. 

 We should never take the devil for granted. They are always around, ever scheming and plotting against us in many, many ways, and often in a manner that is so subtle that we may not even notice him. As St. Peter would put in his first letter: “Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” (5,8) 

 We should never consider the devil as a myth, or as some kind of literary device only to highlight a point in the drama of our life. He is as real as you and me. Our problem is that we think lightly or, worse, falsely of him. And so we become completely unprepared to deal with his antics. 

 But in spite of that unfortunate fact of life, we should remember that the devil cannot do anything against us unless allowed by God. And if allowed, it is because God in his mysterious providence can always draw a greater good from any evil the devil may cause in us. 

 When tempted by the devil we should avoid getting sad, because sadness makes the devil happy. 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 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. 

 We should never forget that only with God can we properly deal with our own weaknesses, and the many temptations and sins around. Only with him can we manage to resist the devil himself. Without him, we are easy prey, a sitting duck. Our earnest desire should be how we can be with God always, our union with him as strong and vibrant as ever. 

 Only with God can we be keenly aware of the many dangers that lurk within us and around us. Only with him can we resist the temptations and be unaffected by our weaknesses and the sins around.

Do we really know Christ?

WE really need to know who Christ is. That’s question that Christ asked his disciples and should be rightly answered by us, the way Peter answered it. “Who do people say that I am?” This is very important for the simple reason that we are supposed to be “another Christ,” if not “Christ himself.” We are meant for nothing less than that. 

 As we all know, most of his disciples only had some general and vague idea of who Christ really is. “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” It was Peter who hit it bull’s eye. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 

 We have to be clear about this point. We are meant to assume the identity of Christ. And that is not a gratuitous, baseless assertion, much less, a fiction or a fantasy. It is founded on a fundamental truth of our faith that we have been created by God in his own image and likeness. We are meant to be conformed to Christ who as the Son of God is the perfect image God has of his own self. 

 Since we have been made in the image and likeness of God, we have to understand that we have been patterned after Christ, the Son of God who became man to recover us from our state of alienation from God due to our sin. 

 So we have been patterned after Christ, and if Christ is truly alive and is actively intervening in our life lives, we should ask ourselves if we manage to see him and deal with him today and always. We know all too well that very often we are good in words only, but not in deeds, in theory but not in practice. We need to close the gap. 

 Let’s remember that Christ himself said: “I am always with you until the end of time.” (Mt 28,20) If we have faith, these words should never be considered as mere bluff. They are true and operative. We have to learn to conform ourselves to that reality and to behave accordingly. 

 Christ should not just be a Christ of faith or a Christ of history, as some theologians have described him. The Christ of faith and the Christ of history is one and the same person, and he continues not only to be with us but also to work with us, showing us the way how to live, how to work, how to decide, how to choose, etc. 

 We need to be clear about who we really are. Before we identify ourselves by the name we bear, or by the many other data that describe our identity, like our gender, our nationality and legal status, our place and date of birth, our residence, etc., we have to know that we are first of all creatures of God, raised to be his image and likeness, children of his, and in spite of our defects and mistakes, redeemed and continually loved by him. 

 This is our core identity on which all the other specifications of our person are based and through which they are all animated. When we identify ourselves or distinguish ourselves from everybody else, we should not forget that we are first of all creatures and children of God. 

 Our proper relation with God can only take place when we assume the very identity of Christ!

Christian discipleship

TO be truly a Christian, we have to aim at nothing less than becoming “another Christ.” But before that fullness of Christian life can be achieved, we need to have an encounter with Christ and learn to follow him, that is, to be his disciple. 

 Encountering Christ should not be a problem, since Christ is always with us. It’s rather us who have to learn to acknowledge his presence and to start dealing with him. We should have the same interest in Christ that those who first met Christ had. 

 From the gospel of St. Matthew (8,18-22), we have this interesting episode of a scribe who approached Christ and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” He must have felt such a serious admiration for Christ that he had to say this intention and his willingness to follow Christ wherever he would go. 

 To which, Christ responded by telling him what to expect by following Christ. “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” In other words, to be Christ’s disciple is no joke. It will entail extreme difficulties and inconveniences. 

 We can get an idea of the kind of difficulties we can expect as a disciple of Christ when someone told him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But Christ answered him saying, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.” This can only mean that we have to be willing to leave everything behind, even those who are dear to us, just to follow Christ. 

 To be a disciple of Christ, we have to be ready for wherever divine providence would take us. We have to be open to it all the time. Even as we make our plans and pursue them truly as our own, we should not forget that nothing in our life is actually outside the providence of God who can adapt himself to us, even in our worst situations and predicaments, and still lead us to himself. 

 The only thing to remember is that God is always around and is actually intervening and directing our life to him. That is part of his omnipotence which he exercises both from all eternity and in time since our creation and all the way to the end of time. 

 There will be things in our life that will be beyond our human notice, and much less, our human control. We have to trust God’s providence even if things look terrible, impossible, or inhuman when judged simply by human standards. 

 Let us remember the story of Abraham who was asked to offer his only son, Isaac, as sacrifice to God. That trust Abraham had in God’s will won him the privilege of being the father of all nations. God always has a purpose for everything that happens in our life, or can derive good from whatever evil we commit. 

 There are actually many mysteries in our life that can surpass our capacity to comprehend and, much less, to cope with, including extreme evil. But let’s always remember that where sin or evil has abounded, the grace of God has abounded even more. 

 Our Catechism teaches us why God allows evil to happen and how such evil can occasion a lot of good. “He permits evil to take place because he respects the freedom of his creatures and, mysteriously, knows how to derive good from it.” (CCC 311) 

 We should not be afraid to be Christ’s disciples!

Some benchmarks for our spiritual growth

OUR spiritual life, which is a matter of growing in holiness, in our identification with Christ who is the pattern of our humanity, is obviously a work of God, first of all. It requires grace that enables us to share in the supernatural and divine life of God that is meant for us since we are God’s image and likeness, children of his. 

 But it’s also our responsibility, precisely because as God’s image and likeness, we have to learn how to cooperate with God’s work of continuing creation and redemption in our earthly sojourn. In fact, for this we have to give our all, as can be adduced from what Christ said as the greatest commandment of God for us. 

 In a sense, it’s like a 100%-100% proposition for us. Everything depends on God, and at the same time, everything also depends on us, channeling God’s love for us in our love for him and for others. 

 That’s why Christ said that “as the Father loves me, so do I love you,” (Jn 15,9) and “as the Father sent me, so do I send you.” (Jn 20,21) We have to treat ourselves the way God through Christ in the Holy Spirit treats himself. We ought to have the same love, the same desire, the same mission. 

 It is for this reason that insofar as things depend on us, we need to have some benchmarks to see if we are doing things right insofar as attaining the ultimate goal of our life is concerned. 

 We have to see to it that our understanding of the purpose of our life here on earth conforms to this basic truth of our faith. Are we in constant awareness of the presence and interventions of God in our life? Are we able and quick to properly correspond to such divine interventions? 

 What practices of piety can we use to carry out these duties and responsibilities? Do we have an effective plan, program or strategy to keep us on track as we go through the different circumstances and situations of our life? 

 Obviously, there is a need to learn to pray, to really talk with God. There is a need to relate everything to God, especially our work and all the events of our life, making them a material and an occasion to glorify God as we should. 

 We have to develop a life of penance and sacrifice, of self-denial and mortification, considering that our usual tendency, due to our wounded condition, is to fall into self-indulgence instead of giving ourselves to God and others. 

 We have to avail of a certain plan of continuing formation so that we would always be reminded that we have to grow in our relationship with God. There has to be some kind of sensation that as we go along with our life, we are becoming more and more like Christ as we should. 

 Definitely, we also need to avail of the sacraments, especially Confession and the Holy Eucharist, since they are a supernatural means that help us attain and maintain our supernatural relation with God. 

 In all of these, we have to realize that we need to develop the virtues that will liken us more and more with Christ. We have to learn how to be humble, strong, compassionate, prudent, etc., so that in the end our life of faith, hope and charity is always vibrant.

Don’t play around with our intentions

WE should be very careful with our intentions. Since they are hidden, we can easily play around with them. We can appear good outside but bad inside. Our deeds may be considered as acts of generosity and compassion, but the intentions may be those of envy, conceit and the like. 

 In determining the morality of our human acts, the intention plays a very crucial role. Together with the matter or object, and the circumstances surrounding our acts, our intention can referee whether they are good or bad. 

 With our intention, we can direct our acts to God, following what was once indicated by St. Paul, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10,31) That’s how our acts become good, or moral. Otherwise, they are bad, or at least dangerous. 

 This is so, since God, being the Creator, is the standard for everything. And more than the standard, he is, in fact, the very substance of what is good, true and beautiful, what is fair and just, what is perfection itself. 

 Nothing is good, true and beautiful, nothing is fair and just, nothing is perfect if it is not done with God and for God. In short, we need to refer all our acts to God. We have to make this affirmation very clear in our mind and do everything to make that ideal a reality. 

 We have to be most careful in handling our intentions. They play a strategic role in our life, for how and where we direct them would determine whether we want to be with God and simply with our own selves. 

 Our intentions express who and where in the end we want to be. Do we choose God, or do we simply choose ourselves, or the world in general? It’s actually a choice between good and evil. 

 Even if we are not aware, or refuse to be aware, of this choice, which is usually the case, the choice between God and us, between good and evil is always made with every human act we do. 

 We need to realize then that we have to take utmost care of our intention, making it as explicit as possible, and honing it to get engaged with its proper and ultimate object who is God. 

 We should try our best to shun being simply casual or cavalier about this responsibility. We can easily play around with it, since intentions are almost invariably hidden from public knowledge. We are urged to be most sincere in directing our intentions properly. 

 In anything that we do, let’s see to it that our intentions are pure. That is to say, that we have to be motivated always by love for God and neighbor. And by love, we mean that we follow God’s commandments as clearly articulated by Christ himself: “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (Jn 14,15) 

 And the epitome of this obedience to God’s commandments is Christ himself, who said: “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of him who sent me.” (Jn 6,38) The secret therefore of love, which is obeying God’s will, is to have the mind and heart of Christ. That is to say, to be ‘another Christ’ which we can always attain because Christ himself has given us all the means.

Appreciating St. John the Baptist better

IF we want to be truly Christian, we need to appreciate more deeply the role of St. John the Baptist in the whole economy of salvation. He was the one who prepared the people for the coming of Christ, the one who pointed Christ, the lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world, to the people. Somehow, we have a duty to follow the example of this saint in preparing people for the coming of Christ. 

 We know all too well that like St. John the Baptist whose call for repentance as preparation for the coming of the Redeemer was a lonely cry in the desert, we too can be like the voice of God today as well as that of the Church or of any spiritual and moral Christian teaching that has become a voice of one crying in the wilderness. 

 Present circumstances in the world point to a growing deafness and insensibility to truths of faith and morals. The prologue of St. John’s gospel already captures this phenomenon: “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” (1,11) 

 The Psalms have many references to the same predicament. For example, Ps 76 says: “How often they rebelled in the wilderness! / How often they grieved him in the desert! / Again and again they put God to the test / and provoked the Holy One of Israel. / They forgot his strength, they forgot the time / when he saved them from the oppressor’s power.” 

 I don´t refer so much to those who openly declare themselves as atheists or agnostics as to Christians themselves, some of whom flaunting their Christianity, who fail to be consistent to their beliefs. The former needs a lot of understanding and patience. The latter, some ¨spanking.¨ 

 We have to have the same attitude of St. John the Baptist. Like him, we too should help in preparing everyone to be fit for the coming of the Lord. This definitely will be going to be a very challenging task, given the conditions we are having today. 

 We cannot deny that there is a lot of ignorance, confusion and indifference to the things of God these days. The life of piety seems to be waning in many parts of our country, let alone, the whole world. Many people are hardly praying, and the practice of devotion seems to be facing extinction. 

 Just the same, we should not forget that regardless of what may appear to be a deep-seated culture of irreligion these days, every man continues in the deepest part of his heart to yearn for God. What the Catechism says about this is always relevant: 

 “The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for.” (CCC 27) 

 Yes, God himself will always draw us to himself in ways that can be very mysterious. And we, on our part, should try our best to discern the directing ways of God. This is where everyone has to do his part in preparing himself to see and follow God’s ways. 

 What should be foremost in our mind is that we are preparing people fit for the Lord, starting with our own selves and then reaching out to others. For this, let’s continue to use both the human and the supernatural means.

Beware of false prophets

THAT’S what Christ told his disciples. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves.” (Mt 7,15) 

 We have to be wary of these characters because the world is now awash with false prophets and demagogues. It even looks like we have an infestation. Whether we look at the fields of politics, business, the sciences, sports and entertainment, and yes, even in religion, we can readily find dishonest and corrupt leaders, false prophets and lying teachers. 

 It actually should be no surprise. Since time immemorial, and even during the time of Christ, demagogues proliferated. Our human condition, if not grounded on God, is vulnerable to it. We can´t help it. Our world can easily produce the pertinent elements and factors that give rise to them. And we can never run out of potential materials. 

 In this, we have received enough warnings from Sacred Scripture. “Beloved,” St. John, for example, in his first letter tells us, “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (4,1) 

 There are many kinds of spirits roaming around the world, and we have to learn how to discern them. There is the spirit of God, the spirit of Christ as opposed to the antichrist. There is also the evil spirit, and the spirit of the world that is dominated by the evil one. There is also the spirit of the flesh. 

 St. John was explicit as to which spirit is proper to us. “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of antichrist, of which you heard that it was coming, and now it is in the world already.” (1 Jn 4,2-3) 

 And among the most dangerous false prophets we can have today are those clerics who get into partisan politics. They clearly would not be following the teaching and example of Christ who, even if he knew the shenanigans in the political world of his time, did not make any definitive stand on a specific political issue. 

 That’s because, I suppose, Christ knew he would be adding unnecessary division among the people if he would get into partisan politics. Politics is such a complicated area where things can never be black and white, totally right or totally wrong. It’s always grey, since the issues involved are matters of opinion and preferences that can give rise to a variety of different and even conflicting positions of the people. 

 The mixture of good and evil in politics, benefits and dangers are so intertwined that to separate one from the other would practically be impossible and most likely be more harmful than helpful. 

 Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why Christ talked about the parable of the wheat and the weeds. (cfr. Mt 13,24-30) It would not be wise and prudent, according to the lesson of that parable, to uproot the weeds at the moment since the wheat may also be uprooted. We just have to wait for the harvest, the final reckoning, when the due separation can be made. 

 In the meantime, we just have to be patient, even as we also should try to purify and clarify things, but done always in a Christian spirit, that is, with charity and cordiality, with willingness to suffer the consequences of evil, without bitterness, anger and the impulse for revenge.

Utmost care for the sacred things

“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.” (Mt 7,6) 

 With these words, Christ is clearly telling us to take utmost care of the sacred things in our life. We have to be most careful with the possibility of trivializing the sacred things that, sad to say, is becoming a common occurrence. We have to distinguish between the sacred and the mundane, and even if both categories come from God, there however are distinctive qualities of each one that should be respected and never confused. 

 The sacred are those things that are related directly to God—his words, his sacraments, his Church. We cannot treat them as if we are simply handling ordinary, worldly things like our work, our business, our politics, etc. 

 With the sacred, all we have to do is utmost reverence, putting all our faith in them, knowing that through natural and human elements, we are touching the supernatural dimension of our life, we are touching the very life of God. 

 This reality should never be lost in our consciousness. Whenever we get involved in the sacred, as when we attend Mass or go to confession, or read the gospel, etc., we need to make many acts of faith, hope and charity to be able to capture the wonderful reality of being intimate with God. 

 We have to develop as early as possible a sense of the sacred in our life. We can develop this sense of the sacred when we remember that in any liturgical act, for example, no matter how handicapped by our human limitations and mistakes, we are actually doing and participating in the act of Christ, the act of the Church with all the saints and angels and the Christian faithful. 

 It is our most social act, because it is a concrete articulation of the communion of saints that we are meant to live as Christian believers even while here on earth. We anticipate heaven on earth with the liturgy. 

 It is communion of life and love, and not just something external, something social or political. It goes deep into our heart where we become one in Christ in spite of our human differences and conflicts. 

 We have to be more aware of the danger of familiarity with the sacred things and install the necessary defenses against it. More than that, we have to aggressively cultivate the art of always being amazed at God and at all his works. That should be the proper state for us to be in. 

 We have to understand, though, that this abiding state of amazement that we should try to develop is not a matter simply of sensations. Of course, it would be good if we can always feel amazed and in awe. But given the limitations of our bodily organism, we cannot expect that to happen all the time. 

 The ideal abiding state of amazement is more a matter of conviction, of something spiritual, moral and supernatural. It should be the result of grace that is corresponded to generously and heroically by us. 

 It is a state of amazement that sooner or later, of course, will have some external manifestations like an aura of serenity and confidence even in the midst of great trials and suffering. It will most likely show itself in the lilt in one’s voice, optimism in his reactions to events, a smile, a warm word of praise and encouragement to others, etc.

Charity always in our judgments

“Judge not that you may not be judged.” (Mt 7,1) We have to understand these words of Christ well. It does not mean that we should not judge at all. In fact, in the succeeding verse of the gospel passage, Christ said: “For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged. And with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again.” 

 In fact, in the gospel of St. John, we hear Christ saying: “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge just judgment.” (7,24) It’s clear that we have to be most careful in our judgments. We cannot be reckless about them, judging persons and things on the basis of instincts or feelings alone, or on some opinions, personal preferences, social trends, and even sophisticated theories and ideologies. 

 What is clear is that whatever judgment we make, which is an unavoidable act we do all the time actually, it should be done properly, that is to say, to judge the way Christ himself would judge persons and things. We should shun making rash judgments. Judging is an unavoidable and indispensable operation of our intellect that is meant to know people and things in general. 

 So, we just have to learn to judge fairly, because that Christian injunction not to judge people refers more to when we judge people rashly or unfairly. It does not mean that we should not judge at all, because that would be impossible and would directly go against our God-given nature. 

 To judge people fairly, we need to see to it that charity always prevails. And this can begin by always thinking well of everyone. The reason for this is simply the fact that we are all children of God. We are all object of his divine love that goes all the way to saving us from our sin by God becoming man and that God-man, Jesus Christ, accomplishing our redemption by bearing all our sins on the cross. 

 Christ, who is the pattern of our humanity and the restorer of our damaged humanity, was always judging. He could even read minds of the people. That is why he many times was moved to compassion and mercy when he saw people in some state of misery, and at other times, to anger also when he saw people bristling with self-righteousness. All these reactions of Christ are a result of judgment. 

 We all should strive to be persons of sound judgment. It’s an ideal whose importance, relevance and urgency are increasing these days, given the complicating conditions we are getting into. 

 Let’s realize that we can only see, judge and know persons, events and things properly when we have a vibrant interior or spiritual life, a vital link not only with theories and principles, but with God himself. 

 This is how wisdom is acquired, nourished and kept. This is how we can counsel others properly, seconding the will and ways of God in everything that happens in our life. 

 Let’s never dare to emit judgments that are mere products of our own making. We have to make them always in the presence of God and motivated by nothing other than love for God and for everybody else. We have to continually check on the rectitude of our intention, and the correctness and timeliness of our words and deeds.

God’s providence and our sense of abandonment

“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” (Mt 6,26) 

 With these words, Christ clearly tells us to be trusting of God’s ever wise and merciful Providence. He will provide everything that we need, especially the one that matters most to us. We may experience some privations, some losses, etc., but if we stick with God, we know that everything will always work out for the good. (cfr. Rom 8,28) 

 With all the things that we have to contend with in this life, we certainly need to have a healthy sense of trust in God’s loving and wise providence, abandoning ourselves in his will and ways that often are mysterious to us and can appear to be contrary to what we would like to have. 

 A healthy spirit of abandonment in God’s hands is necessary even as we exhaust all possible human means to achieve our goals or simply to tackle all the challenges, trials and predicaments of our life. We should never forget this truth of our faith. 

 In this life, we need to acquire a good, healthy sporting spirit, because life is actually like a game. Yes, life is like a game. We set out to pursue a goal, we have to follow certain rules, we are given some means, tools and instruments, we are primed to win and we do our best, but losses can come, and yet, we just have to move on. 

 Woe to us when we get stuck with our defeats and failures, developing a loser’s mentality. That would be the epic fail that puts a period and a finis in a hanging narrative, when a comma, a colon or semi-colon would have sufficed. 

 We need a sporting spirit because life’s true failure can come only when we choose not to have hope. That happens when our vision and understanding of things is narrow and limited, confined only to the here and now and ignorant of the transcendent reality of the spiritual and supernatural world. 

 An indispensable ingredient of this healthy sporting spirit is the sense of acceptance and abandonment that we need to deliberately cultivate. This does not come automatically, as if it’s part of our genes. We have to develop them. 

 We have to learn to accept things the way they are or the way they can be. Yes, it’s true that we can shape things and events in our life. We can even shape, to a certain extent, persons. 

 Amid the mysteries and uncertainties in our life we just have to trust God’s providence and be ready for wherever divine providence would take us. We have to be open to it all the time, developing an adventurous outlook. 

 Even as we make our plans and pursue them truly as our own, we should not forget that nothing in our life is actually outside the providence of God who can adapt himself to us, even in our worst situations and predicaments, and still lead us to himself. 

 The only thing to remember is that God is always around and is actually intervening and directing our life to him. That is part of his omnipotence which he exercises both from all eternity and in time since our creation and all the way to the end of time.

Where our real treasure should be

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” (Mt 6,19-21) 

 These are words of Christ that clearly tell us where our real treasure should be. We need to see to it that even as we immerse ourselves as deeply as possible in our earthly affairs, we do not lose our sense of heaven and eternity. In fact, the ideal is that as we go deeper in our temporal affairs, our sense of heaven and eternity should also become sharper. 

 This is always possible and doable as long as we are guided first of all by our faith rather than by our feelings and by our merely human estimation of things. Let’s always remember that it is our faith, our Christian faith, that gives the whole picture of our life—where we come from, where we are supposed to go, the purpose of our life here on earth, the true value of our mundane concerns, etc. 

 Let’s be theological in our thinking and reaction to the things of this world. For that, we of course would need some training. It should consist of always referring things to God, whatever they may be—good or bad, a success or a failure, a victory or a defeat, etc. We need to feel the urge to do so. 

 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 have to train our mind and heart as well as our feelings and senses to conform themselves to this truth of our faith. In our personal prayers and meditations, let us consider from time to time the reality of heaven and reinforce that primitive yearning we have in our heart for a life without end, for a happiness that has no limits, which can only take place in heaven.

“Come to me, all you who are weary…”

WHAT wonderful and consoling words of Christ! We have to keep these words always in mind especially when we encounter overwhelming problems and difficulties that would leave us with the sensation that we sinking and drowning. Christ reassures us he will take care of everything. 

 “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,” (Mt 11,28) Christ said, fulfilling what was prefigured in Psalm 55,22: “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you.” The same idea is echoed by St. Peter when he said: “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” (1 Pt 5,7) 

 We cannot deny that everyday we can be burdened with so many things. We first of all have our own share of weaknesses and miseries, and some of them can be of the permanent type for which no human solutions seem not to be found anymore. We cannot help but feel depressed and wilted. 

 Then we can be shared with the problems and difficulties of the others. If we happen to be parents, friends, or especially priests who hear the confidences of people, we should be ready to be dumped with all sorts of problems that can truly weigh us down. 

 There are times when we encounter surprises, and our conscience would tell us to play the role of a Good Samaritan. But we find it hard and feel helpless about it. We can also be subjected to all kinds of pressures. That’s when we should just go to God and show the real state of our soul in distress. 

 It would be nice to be reminded of the reassuring words of Christ. We should be quick to have recourse to these words rather than to let ourselves to be led simply by our emotions and our other human powers and resources. We have to activate our faith that is clearly expressed by these words of Christ. 

 Christ takes care of everything. But we also have to learn to suffer which is unavoidable in our life, no matter how much we try to avoid it. We have to learn how to unite our pain and suffering, our annoyance, irritation and distress with the passion and death of Christ. That way, they become meaningful and more bearable, since we know it would be Christ more than us who would bear them. 

 We have to be wary of the subtle grip of pride when these difficulties and problems assault us. When we lose peace, when we feel at a total loss as to what to do, these can be signs that our pride is preventing us from going to Christ, from believing that Christ takes care of everything. 

 If we are humble enough to allow our faith to animate our reactions to our problems and difficulties in life, we would have no problem in finding consolation in these reassuring words of Christ: “Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest.” 

 Humility also enables us to be tough so as to know how to suffer with Christ. It would leave us in peace and even with joy when we suffer. We need to bring these reassuring words of Christ in our prayer so that they become deeply embedded in our consciousness and serve to animate our reactions when we find difficulties in life.

Let’s be open to the new things

ESPECIALLY to those of my generation, we have to realize more deeply that we need to be open to the new things that are coming our way at an accelerating rate. In fact, we should be open to anything if we want ourselves to be truly a friend of everyone and of everything, to be like Christ who made himself, as St. Paul would put it, “all things to all men.” (1 Cor 9,22) He even made himself like sin without committing sin if only to identify himself with us more completely and thus finish his redemptive mission here on earth. (cfr. 2 Cor 5,21) 

 For this, we should develop in ourselves an active, vibrant spirit of initiative to learn more things, to undertake more tasks, to broaden and lengthen our sense of mission. For this we need to have a sporting spirit that is based on our strong and deep faith in God who takes care of everything. 

 Yes, it’s true that we have our limitations, we have our own niche in the world, but that fact should not deter us from continually looking for possibilities to do more and to be better. We should never say “enough.” Let’s remember that we are asked to participate in God’s continuing creative and redemptive work on us. 

 Of course, this can only happen if we are truly with Christ, if we really have the spirit of God who never stops loving us with deeds and not just with sweet words and good intentions. 

If we have the spirit of God, we know that with his grace, we can manage to do things that we usually consider as impossible to do. If we have the spirit of God, we know that despite formidable obstacles and difficulties, we can still do a lot of things. We can be like water that can manage to pass through the mountains to find its way to the sea. We just have to try and try. 

 Obviously, we need to have a sporting spirit for this. Let’s not throw in the towel before we start a new ball game. These days when we have not only some kind of digital revolution but also the age of artificial intelligence, we should not be afraid to enter into these new fields, thinking that these things are not anymore for us and that these are only for the young people today. 

 We should be open to anything, to wherever life leads and takes us. We know that with Christ, we can handle anything—of course, in ways that usually defy human standards and criteria. Let’s remember that if we have faith, miracles happen. Let’s just put ourselves at God’s dispositions. He knows much better than we do. 

 Thus, we can afford to be cheerful and confident about everything, though we cannot deny that we will have suffering. But again, if we are truly with Christ, we would know how to bear all that suffering with peace and joy. 

 Let’s hope that everytime we pray, we would always be moved to come up with some initiatives. That should be the usual effect of a real prayer. God will always ask us to flow with the times, working with him in his continuing creative and redemptive work on us. May we not be afraid of this responsibility!

Drowning evil with good, hatred with love

THAT’S how things should be. Instead of responding to evil with evil, hatred with hatred, we should rather respond to evil with good, hatred with love. That way we turn things around, rather than plunge into the spiral of evil and hatred. 

 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 reactions. 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?” 

 With God’s grace and our effort, let us learn to live with unavoidable evil in this world. “Let them grow together until harvest.” That was the answer of the master in one of the parables about the kingdom of heaven. (cfr Mt 13,24-43) He was telling the servants to let the weeds sown by his enemy to grow together with the wheat. Pulling the weed out now would just endanger the wheat, he reasoned out. 

 This parable is an image of how our life now, with all its good and bad elements, is already the beginning of the kingdom of heaven. We have to learn how to live in this condition, where evil is unavoidable, without getting confused and lost. 

 The parable can tell us many things. For one, it seems to tell us that we should be patient and tolerant of everybody, especially of those who are clearly in error and are causing us some trouble. In spite of how they are, they are still our brothers and sisters, all children of God who have strayed from the right path and are in need of help actually. 

 Remember the story of Joseph, the son of Jacob, who was cruelly sold by his own brothers but ended up becoming a leading man in Egypt. (Gen 37 ff). When that dramatic moment came when he revealed himself to his brothers, with magnanimity he forgave them and promised to support them. 

 “You meant evil against me,” he told his brothers, “but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.” (Gen 50,20) 

 By being God-like, we can turn evil things into something that is good for all. We should try our best not to be dominated and scandalized by evil. In another parable, Christ mentioned that the kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened. (Mt 13,33) 

 With this parable he tells very clearly that a little act of goodness can have a tremendous leavening power to turn something flat into something filled with goodness. We should just focus on doing good, even if the circumstances around are unfavorable or even hostile.

Designing our life’s game plan

WE need to realize that each one of us has to make some kind of game plan for his life. And the simple reason is that our life has a purpose to achieve, a goal to attain, and all these can be in different levels and aspects of our life that need to be integrated into one organic whole that is oriented toward our ultimate goal which is to be with God in heaven. 

 For this, we have to be very clear about the ultimate goal of our life, the real purpose of our life here on earth. We should not just be relying on some philosophy or ideology that can only give us some intellectual or political sense of destiny, and much less on some human sciences and arts that only give us some temporal goals. 

 Our Christian faith tells us that our life here is only like a pilgrimage, or a temporary sojourn, where we are both being trained and tested by God to see if what God wants us to be is also what we want ourselves to be. Our Christian faith tells us that we mainly have a spiritual goal and ultimately a supernatural destiny. We are meant to live in eternity, and not just in time. 

 As the Letter to the Hebrews would put it very clearly, “Here we do not have a permanent city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.” (13,14) This is a truth of our faith that should always be with us, so that we would know what to do with our life here on earth in order to reach our ultimate and supernatural, eternal home with God in heaven. 

 We have to be wary of our strong tendency to be easily swallowed up and trapped in our temporal and earthly conditions. This is where we have to be most guarded against, because we tend to merely follow our natural laws which, if not guided by our Christian faith, has nowhere to go but fall to the level of the irrational animals that are guided only by blind instincts, blinding emotions and passions, and unstable, shifting moods. 

 We may be rational animals, but if our rationality is not inspired by the spirit of God, it will just be spinning around in any which way, giving us some moments of excitement and adventure, of endless discoveries, that eventually would not find its proper home. 

 Let’s remember that our rationality that is activated by our intelligence and will just did not come about spontaneously. It is a creation of God and is made a participation of God’s intelligence and will. Our rationality has to be properly inspired by God’s will. 

 That is why Christ has always been telling us that we have to be united to him as he is united to the Father, that we have to follow God’s commandments. We have to reflect this condition in our daily activities and, in fact, in our whole lifestyle. 

 We should have some kind of a game plan in life that would keep us always with God, referring everything to him and doing everything with him. We should avoid doing things merely on our own, depending solely on our human powers. 

 Might be good to ask someone trustworthy as to how to make such a game plan for our life.

Christian war and peace

WE have to be clear about this point. Our Christian life here on earth will always involve some war, some struggle and effort, some combat. But all of this would be done in peace and for peace. The combination may sound incredible, but that is what Christ is showing and telling us. 

 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace,” he told his disciples. “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16,33) If by faith and effort, we do our best to stick with Christ, we know that victory is always assured for us. 

 If we notice that we do not have peace while doing our warfare, we have reason to believe that we are not with Christ yet. We have to work on it. Perhaps a helpful prayer we can say can come from the Book of the Prophet Zephaniah: 

 “Be glad and exult with all your heart…The Lord has removed the judgment against you, he has turned away your enemies, he has turned away your enemies; the King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear.” (3,15ff) 

 We already have been warned about our earthly predicament in the Book of Job. “The life of man upon earth is a warfare,” we are told. (7,1) True enough, we are told that our enemies are own flesh, the world itself and, of course, the evil spirit. 

 We actually have a formidable set of enemies. We have the “lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.” And as St. Paul warned us, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph 6,12) 

 Aside from dealing with the enemies of our soul, we also have to struggle and exert great effort to be able to correspond properly to the supernatural destination meant for us. This will always involve some tension. But then again, as long we stick with Christ, we know that he is the one who will finish, complete and perfect everything for us and with us. (cfr. Phil 1,6) 

 We need to understand that Christian life is not just a matter of fighting against the enemies of our soul. It is first of all a matter of pursuing a supernatural goal, for which we have to be conscious all the time, coming up with the appropriate plans and strategies so that we can properly act on this truth about ourselves. 

 That is why aside from prayer and making all kinds of sacrifices, we need to study the life, words and deeds of Christ who is “the way, the truth and the life” for us, as well as avail ourselves of the supernatural means, especially the sacraments, so we can attain that supernatural ideal even while we are still in this world. 

 We have to be wary of our tendency to be ruled only by our natural laws. We need to avail and correspond to the supernatural grace that God actually gives us in abundance. To be sure, doing so would help us deal properly with the enemies of our soul also. It will be Christ who will be fighting for us and with us!

Chastity and piety

THE close, almost cause-and-effect relationship between chastity and piety should be known, appreciated and pursued as early as possible. It can be as early as at the childhood stage, since as we are told in a Wadsworth poem, “the child is the father of the man”—how a man is in his adult stage depends on how he was brought up as a child. In a sense, it is the child that begets the man that the child becomes. 

 We cannot deny that nowadays there is a huge, almost formidable crisis in this area of chastity all over the world. Cases of sexual addiction, infidelities, promiscuity, pre-marital and extra-marital sex, self-abuse and all sorts of sexual perversions are exploding like anything. 

 A number of factors can account for this sad development. Among others, we can point to the fact that there is now very easy accessibility to pornography via the Internet as well as a diminishing number of elements of deterrence to commit these disorders, since these sexual anomalies are fast being considered as normal. In fact, to talk about chastity is becoming a taboo these days. 

 Even the effort to launch sex education programs does not go deep enough as to get to the wellspring of chastity. Instead, people are simply taught some techniques on how to regulate the sexual urges, but without inculcating the proper spirit. With that state of affairs, these programs can only go so far in terms of effectiveness. And worse, they tend to arouse the opposite effect since they tend to elicit more immoral curiosities. 

 We need to remind ourselves that chastity, just like any other virtue, needs to be grounded on a life of authentic piety, of spirituality, of an intimate and abiding relationship with God from whom all good things come. Absent this grounding, chastity can only be at best a shell, a matter of appearance only, of some form of social or political correctness devoid of real substance. Such condition only leads to cases of hypocrisy. 

 Let’s never forget that man is both body and soul. And because of the spirituality of our soul, we are meant to unite ourselves to God, our creator who made us to be in his image and likeness. It is God who gives us the grace so that our natural disposition toward what is good that ultimately is God, is actualized. In other words, we are meant to live not just a natural life, but a supernatural life with God. 

 To be blunt about it, any virtue that we ought to have to develop our humanity to its fullness should have God as its cause and effect. It just cannot be the result of our human efforts alone. We need to ask and to correspond to God’s grace. 

 And the way to correspond to God’s grace has been shown to us and even given to us by Christ, the son of God who became man to redeem us, giving us “the way, the truth, and the life” that is proper to us. 

 A quick look at the life of Christ can tell us that we have to learn to pray, to offer sacrifices, to deny ourselves and carry the cross, to live a certain detachment from the things of the world, etc. 

 Of course, it is a formidable task to truly follow Christ’s example, and so we just have to do it as early as possible with the appropriate means and timing, considering the different conditions we all have.

A lifelong training in prayer

WE have to realize more deeply that it is a basic need of ours to pray. If we understand our life to be a life always with God, as our Christian faith tells us, then we need to pray always, because prayer is like the very breathing of our life with God. We actually cannot afford to skip it even for a few seconds. Skipping it would easily compromise the life we are supposed to have with God. 

 Prayer is actually more important and necessary than the air we breathe, the food we eat or the water we drink. We should do everything to learn to pray always. On this, St. Paul clearly said, “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thes 5,17) 

 In fact, in that Pauline passage, what went before and after it are very interesting. St. Paul says that we have to rejoice always and be thankful in all circumstances because that is the will of God for us. (cfr 1 Thes 5,16.18) 

 We have to find ways of how to conform ourselves to this clear indication of St. Paul. We have to learn how to pray always, converting everything in our life, including those that we consider as negative or bad elements, into an occasion, a means, a reason for praying. 

 We need to go beyond that common understanding of prayer that pegs it only to the recitation of some vocal prayers or to spending time in some special places to do meditation or contemplation. While these forms of prayer are important and, in fact, are indispensable, they do not have the exclusive ownership, so to speak, of the ways of praying. 

 Prayer can lend itself to all kinds of forms. It can and should be done while we are working or playing or resting. It can be done not only in our good times but also, and especially so, in our bad times. 

 The essential thing in prayer is to relate ourselves in mind and heart to God. It may not be expressed in words. But at least in our thoughts and intentions, in our consciousness, we know that we are with God whatever the situation may be. 

 We have to train ourselves in this area. It’s actually easy to do because being a spiritual operation, prayer can always transcend whatever limitation we can have in time and space. It can even transcend whatever conditions we are subject to—physical, emotional, psychological, temperamental as well as social, political, economic, etc. It can be done anytime, anywhere. If we would just have the mind to do it, it can be done always. 

 This training in prayer should be started as early as possible, right at the toddler stage. Obviously, things have to be explained little by little until the fellow can arrive at that level that he can more or less motivate his own self to go on praying, whatever the circumstances and situations of his life. 

 This is a very important goal to attain for everyone. Especially these days when with so many engaging developments around, people tend to forget or take God for granted, this concern about training ourselves in prayer for life is urgent. 

 If we don’t want to get lost in our way in this world, we really need to know how to convert everything into prayer, into an intimate relation with our Father God.

Sanctification should be our main business

THERE should be no doubt about this. No ifs or buts. Sanctification is and should be our main business in this life, our constant concern all throughout. And that’s simply because at the end of the day, at the end of our life, that is what truly matters. Everything else is meant only as a means, an occasion or a reason for pursuing this ultimate goal of ours. 

 St. Paul said it clearly: “This is the will of God, your sanctification.” (1 Thes 4,3) St. Peter echoed the same sentiment: “Just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written, ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’” (1 Pt 1,15-16) 

 Christ, of course, repeatedly told us about this. “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5,48) And this ideal can be attained, not only after our death, but even now, as we cruise through this vale of tears of ours, because Christ does it with us and for us. 

 Christ has given us all the means. In fact, he has given us his very own self, because we can only be truly holy when we become entirely “alter Christus” (another Christ), if not “ipse Christus” (Christ himself). 

 We have to realize that all the situations of our life here on earth, including those that involve our miseries, failures and sin, can be and should be a means and occasion for sanctification if they are referred to Christ. And that’s because Christ precisely would show us how to convert everything into a means of our sanctification. 

 We need to make this truth of our faith sink deep in our consciousness, so that however our life turns, we still would be on track toward our ultimate goal, and avoid getting unduly entangled and stranded in the drama of our life here on earth. 

 Right at the start of the day, we should already be clear about what our main business and concern is. And from there, let’s start to make the appropriate plans and strategies, so that all the events of the day, the ups and downs, would work for this purpose. 

 To be sure, this kind of understanding of the purpose of our life would not take us away from our earthly responsibilities. On the contrary, it would sharpen and purify our interest in them, knowing that these duties and responsibilities are precisely the fulfillment of our duty to attain our ultimate goal. 

 Especially these days when we see a drifting away from this main concern of our life in the world of business and politics and in practically all the other aspects of temporal affairs, we need to strongly and abidingly inculcate this understanding of the real business of our life in everyone. Let’s hope that we can count on a good number of persons who can spearhead this delicate task and be effective endorsers of this cause. 

 Let’s remember that it was the original mandate God gave to our first parents to “subdue or dominate the world.” (cfr. Gen 1,28) And that means that we have to sanctify the world, and in so doing, we also sanctify ourselves and others. We should not be afraid of the world. Rather we need to conquer the world for God! 

 Let’s hope that at the end of each day, we can truly say that we have been doing nothing other than sanctifying ourselves by sanctifying the things of the world.

Boldly facing life’s decline

WE may be at the moment enjoying life because we are still young, healthy, vibrant and, yes, beautiful and handsome. But never forget that there will come a time when all these qualities start to ebb away, and we start losing things—our memory, our hair and teeth, our hearing, our sense of direction, etc. We can have cognitive decline, and then we lose our life itself! 

 We have to be ready for this eventuality which should not be a cause of great concern. In fact, instead of worrying and fearing, we can manage, if we have the proper attitude, to be happy about it. We would even be most welcoming of it, just like looking forward to a beautiful sunset that can move us to wax poetic and even romantic. 

 The darkness of the night that the sunset precedes will never strike as a terror to us. Again, if we have the proper attitude, such darkness can only mean some kind of liberation, of attaining a deserved rest in the definitive home meant for us after going through the drama of the day. We would have the happy sensation that we have finally settled down. 

 And the secret can only be one, which actually can be accessible to everyone. It’s a matter of being guided by our faith that tells us that our life’s decline, especially if marked by a lot of suffering, can and should channel the most expressive form of love that Christ showed us and continues to show us by offering his life on the cross for all our sins. 

 It is this kind of love that turns everything beautiful and meaningful, even if they are considered ugly in human terms. It is this kind of love that can defy the usual aging process all of us are subject to. We unavoidably will get old, but that state would only affect us physically and temporally. Spiritually, we can manage to stay young, serene, cheerful and hopeful. We can remain young for all eternity. 

 This love is given to us freely and abundantly. If Christ commands it of us, it is because he, in the first place, enables us to have and to live that kind of love. In fact, he will do it with us and for us. That’s the only way we can love the way he loves us, as he commanded us to do. (cfr. Jn 13,34) 

 Make no mistake about it. This love can only be done in and with Christ, since while it is a human love, it is also, first of all, a divine, supernatural love. We cannot love that way simply relying on our own powers. We need the power of Christ to do so. 

 With this love, we can boldly face our life’s decline. We would just be sport about it, knowing how to suffer the unavoidable weakening and losses that we are going to experience. We would know how to let go of our earthly life so we can enter into our definitive life with God in heaven. And Christ not only teaches us how to do this letting go thing. He does it with us. We won’t be doing it by our lonesome, to be sure. 

 We need to understand this truth of our faith very well and help in spreading it around, to free many of us from unnecessary fears and worries about getting old, about facing life’s decline!

The narrow road to a small gate

THIS is what Christ recommends if we truly want to follow him. “Enter through the narrow gate,” he said. “For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Mt 7,13-14) 

 To be sure, Christ is not trying to be a killjoy here. He always wants us to be happy and to be at peace, if not always then at least most of the time. But he is just being realistic, given our wounded condition that is prone to be easily spoiled by any good thing we can have in this life. 

 In fact, in another instance he spells out what is needed if we want to follow him. And that is that we deny ourselves and carry the cross. (cfr. Mt 16,24) Of course, as the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity, he knows perfectly well what works for us and what does not, what is truly good for us and what is not. 

 We have to see to it that we are always aware of this necessity and requirement in our life if we want to be truly human and Christian. There is no other way we can attain the perfection and fullness of our humanity. 

 If Christ himself had to live by this standard, and if all the saints, especially Our Lady and St. Joseph, had to live in that way too, who are we to question the wisdom of this Christ-given indication? 

 Even our common sense can readily recognize how necessary this standard is for us. We know very well that we can easily get spoiled by any good thing we can enjoy in life—be it in matters of health, intelligence, talents, power, privileges, praises people give us, etc. We do not need any prodding or special temptation to fall into this predicament. Thus, we truly need to be strongly guarded against these conditions. 

 Everyday, right at the beginning of the day, we should already devise some plans and strategies to be able to live by this indication. We have to be keenly aware of the good things that usually spoil us, so that we can then take the necessary precautions. We have to specify the means we need to use to be able to deny ourselves in some things and to carry the cross. 

 We may develop the habit of passing unnoticed, especially when we are doing something that we know can amaze others. We may also cultivate the habit of choosing the worst part or condition when we are given a variety of legitimate options in a given issue or situation. 

 We should be very generous in terms of fasting and abstinence, not only in food and drinks, but also in the use of the Internet, aircon and other perks and privileges that usually come with our position in the family, work place and society in general. We have to be especially watchful of our tongue and of our reactions especially when confronted with issues that can easily lead us to gossiping, bashing and the like. 

 We have to actively look for the cross everyday, making it as some kind of motto that there should be no day without the cross.

Having an encounter with Christ

CHRISTIAN life can be described in many and even endless ways. It is so rich and so mysterious that we can never capture its essence just with one description. Among the many descriptions of Christian life is that it is matter of having an encounter with Christ. 

 Many people, however, ask whether that encounter is ever possible. To which, my immediate reply is that it is not only possible but is also highly practicable, because more than us trying to look for Christ, it is Christ himself who takes the initiative to look for us. He loves us first before we love him. And he is most solicitous of those who are in some problematic situation. 

 If we would just let ourselves be guided by our Christian faith and supported by some relevant acts of piety as we normally do with anyone with whom we would like to have some special relation, we know that encountering Christ is actually very easy to do. 

 In the first place because Christ is already with us, he being the very pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity. He cannot be absent from us if we are to retain our humanity. Just by looking at ourselves, and guided by our faith, we can already have an encounter with Christ. 

 And not only is he in us, but he is also all around us. All of creation is infused with the presence of Christ through whom God created all things. He is in all men, irrespective of who and how they are. He is in all creatures. 

 If we can just have a working contemplative spirit, encountering Christ should be a constant and abiding phenomenon. But, alas, precisely having that contemplative spirit is the big question to answer, for the simple reason that many of us fail to realize the spiritual and supernatural dimension of our life. Many of us appear to be trapped in the material and purely mundane aspects of our life. 

 Especially in our case, Christian life is not just a matter of having an encounter with Christ. It is to be “another Christ,” to assume the very identity of Christ. This is not, of course, a gratuitous and baseless assertion, and a simple declaration of a truth of Christian faith. 

 While it’s true that each one of us has his own unique personal identity, our Christian faith tells us that all of us are meant to be one with Christ. St. Paul this pointed this out clearly when he said: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3,28) 

 Further, he said that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2,20) Of course, that statement was prefaced and conditioned by the need to be crucified with Christ also. “I am crucified with Christ,” St. Paul said. 

 We have to understand then that to be an authentic Christian is not just a matter of having an encounter with Christ, nor just following his will and ways, which obviously are already a tremendous challenge. It is to live the very life of Christ, to have his identity in an existential way, and not just in some theoretical or intentional way. 

 But, yes, Christian life starts with an encounter with Christ!

Sharpening our sense of communion

WE need to be more aware of our need and duty to develop and, in fact, sharpen our sense of communion among ourselves. It is not a communion that is based on some natural basis alone—biological, affinal, political, social, etc. Rather, it is a communion that is based on the most fundamental truth about ourselves that we are all creatures and children of God, meant to form one family with God. 

 It’s a communion that has eminently spiritual and supernatural dimensions, lived out and developed more in our thoughts and desires that definitely should be expressed in words and deeds, and made perfect through the grace that God gives us. 

 This is the sense of communion that we should always try to sharpen, given the fact that we always tend to take it for granted. As a result, we fail to give due attention to the others, we easily fall into all forms of isolation and self-indulgence, we make ourselves prone to all kinds of temptations. 

 When our sense of communion is not sharp, we can have a wrong orientation in life as we get more interested in the things of the world than in persons as we should. We easily become worldly, playing worldly games, rather than living out the most essential purpose of our life which is charity, which is channeling the love of God for us with everybody else. 

 We should not forget the new commandment, the culmination of all the commandments of God that Christ gave us. We should love one another he has loved us. (cfr. Jn 13,34) And let’s also remember that this love with which Christ loves us is the same love that the Father has for Christ. “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you,” Christ said. (Jn 15,9) 

 Imagine how tremendous that love is! It’s a love that goes all the way to offering one’s life if only to save a person. It’s a love that has a universal scope that would include our enemies. 

 We should not be afraid to sharpen this sense of communion because even if it entails a lot of effort and sacrifice, it is something that is truly good for us. It actually gives us true joy and peace even amid the unavoidable differences and conflicts among ourselves. 

 It’s when we have this faith-inspired sense of communion that we can manage to be one in the spiritual and supernatural level with God and with everybody else. It’s when we truly put ourselves in the dynamics of real love where we will have joy and peace. It’s when we can already have a foretaste of heaven. 

 We have to develop the appropriate attitude and skills for this. Do we always go to God to be empowered to have this sense of communion? Are we inspired by the example of Christ and of all the saints who heroically followed Christ’s example in order to have this sense of communion? Are we always mindful and thoughtful of the others? Do we always bring them in our prayers? Are we willing to make sacrifices for them? 

 Do we continue to ask grace for this purpose, having recourse especially to the sacraments? Do we develop the appropriate virtues? Do we know how to go beyond our usual differences and conflicts? Do we realize that whatever I do, no matter how little, if done with love, can give good effect on others?