God’s greatest commandment

WE should very well know, by now, what God’s greatest commandment is for us. We have to be clear about what God wants us to be and to do in this life, and this is none other than to love God with everything we have and to love our neighbor as ourselves. 

 Later, we are told about how this love should be, what standard we have to use, what exemplar we have to follow. And that is to love everyone as Christ himself has loved us. It’s clear then that we really need to know how Christ has loved us, what his motives are, what range and scope his love covers, etc. 

 Yes, we are meant for loving. That’s what would bring us to the fullness of our humanity. That’s what would make us God’s image and likeness as he wants us to be. That’s why loving God and everybody else in the way God loves everyone, is the greatest and the second greatest commandments God has for us. 

 We need to be prepared to do serious and constant battle against our tendency to get self-centered and self-absorbed. This, of course, is a very likely possibility, easily and quickly verifiable around. That’s because we actually contend with a great number of hostile or negative elements. 

 We can sometimes wonder if we can truly know and love God who is so supernatural and mysterious as to make us doubt whether we can have that possibility. We should wonder no more, because no matter how hard and apparently impossible that endeavor may be, all we have to do is to know and love our neighbor. 

 Let’s always have recourse to what St. John said in his first letter: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And we have this commandment from him: whoever loves God must love his brother as well…” (4,20-21) 

 Said in another way, if we want God to love us, all we have to do is to love our neighbor. In this we have these words of Christ himself: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven…For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” (Lk 6,36-38) 

We also have to realize that true love involves a certain forcefulness, a sense of being driven. Where there is true love, we can only echo what Christ himself said: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” (Lk 12,49) 

 Where there is love, we would be clear about what the real and ultimate purpose of our life is, we would have a good sense of direction even if we are presented with many alternative options, we would not mind the many difficulties and challenges we can encounter as we go along. In fact, we would find great meaning in them. 

 This is the ideal condition for all of us. Even if we are endowed only with the most phlegmatic and melancholic temperaments, something must be burning inside our heart that cannot help but burst into a flame, a flame of love, of self-giving, of serving without expecting any return. If it is not yet there, then let’s enkindle it.

Dealing with our doubts about Christ

WE cannot deny that all of us can have some doubts about who Christ is and what he is to us. These days in the world in general, we can see strong evidence of a culture of skepticism, agnosticism, religious indifferentism, if not, outright atheism. 

 This should come as no surprise to us because even during the time of Christ, many of the supposedly religious leaders were skeptical of him and were often suspicious of him, always trying to find fault in him. 

 The quick reason for that phenomenon is that the person of Christ is largely shrouded by mysteries that are difficult if not impossible for us to understand. That he is both God and man, that he was brought to earth through a virgin birth, are just some of the mysteries many people do not even bother to consider. 

 There are, of course, many other reasons. Many people are lazy and do not bother to know Christ, let alone, study the gospels. And even the Bible is considered by many people as a mere collection of myths and legends. And we can go on and on with reasons for the lack of interest in Christ. 

 But what we can do is first of all really to pray, to humble ourselves, realizing that the question about Christ is a matter of faith which is a supernatural gift that can only be appreciated by us if we are humble enough to accept and correspond to that gift. Of course, Christ can strike a most powerful grace to convert a person instantly into a man of faith, much like what happened to St. Paul. 

 But there definitely is also a need to evangelize, to give faithful and consistent witness to our belief in Christ, making ourselves effectively “another Christ” as we ought to be, since that is the only human way we can convince people of the reality of Christ. 

 What is clear that we have to be guided and live by faith always. More, we have to incarnate that faith. It should not just be a theoretical or intellectual affair. 

 We need to keep our faith alive and burning. We should never allow it to cool down. That’s why we should strive to develop a vibrant life of piety that is supported by a concrete plan for which we should not be sparing in our efforts and sacrifices. It cannot be denied that a plan to support our life of faith and piety will always involve a lot of effort and sacrifice. 

 Things should come to the point when we somehow can see Christ in all the situations of our life, and discern his will for us at any moment. In other words, that we practically make ourselves contemplative souls even in the midst of the world. 

 This is not falling into fantasies. This is, in fact, making ourselves most realistic, because in spite of our limitations, we cannot deny that Christ is in everything and is actually intervening in our life always. This is because being God, Christ is the very foundation of all reality. He is everywhere. 

 Let us hope that we can have a vivid awareness of the presence of Christ all throughout the day, 24/7, and that we can be drawn always to correspond to his loving and merciful will. We should feel as much as possible God’s continuous love for us, and we should try to repay that love with our love. Let’s never set him aside.

Are we truly prayerful persons?

“Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.” (Lk 6,12) 

 What a tremendous fact in the life of Christ for us to consider! We should be edified by that example. Christ is God and therefore has no need to pray. Yet he is also man and as such is in need of prayer as a way to be always in touch with God, as any man should be. 

 What we can adduce from this fact is that, like Christ who is the pattern of our humanity, we are supposed to be men and women of prayer. We need to do everything for us to make this ideal a reality in our lives. 

 We have to realize that prayer should always have priority over all other activities we have during the day. Better said, we have to learn how to convert everything into prayer so that we can say that our whole life is a prayer itself, as it should be. 

 And that is always possible because all we have to do is to fulfil our duties and responsibilities out of love for God and neighbor, doing them in the best way we can, for such is the way of love. And the duties and responsibilities we have are the usual tasks we do everyday. 

 It’s when we pray that we manage to relate who we are, what we have, what we do, etc. to our ultimate end which, to be sure, is not something only natural but is also supernatural. Nothing therefore can rival the importance of prayer. In other words, prayer is irreplaceable, unsubstitutable, indispensable. It’s never optional, though it has to be done freely if we want our prayer to be real prayer. 

 Of course, we also have to understand that prayer can lend itself to many different ways. There’s vocal prayer, mental prayer, contemplative prayer, liturgical prayer, ejaculatory prayer, etc. It can adapt itself to different situations and conditions. 

 The absolutely important thing that makes prayer real prayer is when we manage to give all our mind and heart to God in whatever thing we do or in whatever situation we may find ourselves in. 

 We have to be reminded that the quality of our prayer determines in the end the quality of our life. How our prayer is will somehow shape how our life will be. And that’s simply because our prayer is the basic way of connecting with God who is the source and keeper of our life, and in fact, in whose image and likeness we have been created, and whose life we are supposed to participate. 

 In other words, the ideal life we ought to have is when our life enters into the very life of God. And that ideal is basically pursued in our earthly sojourn through our prayer which is how we first and last relate ourselves with God. 

 If we do not have a life of prayer, the best thing that can happen to us is to simply lead an animal life. It might be a rational life too, but it would only be up to there at its best state, which is not yet what is ideal for us. And certainly, that rationality would be erratic. 

 We should do everything to cultivate a life, if not, a culture of prayer. Let’s take the challenge. We should not just acknowledge this need. We have to attend to it with an appropriate action plan.

A warning on presumption

CHRIST said it very clearly. We have to enter by the narrow gate if we want to survive the trials and challenges of our earthly life and arrive at our proper eternal home. (cfr. Lk 13,22-30) We cannot deny that we are prone to fall into presumption. Of course, we can also fall into the other extreme of despair which is not good for us. 

 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. 

 We know that the anomaly of presumption leads us to think that since God is always merciful, compassionate and understanding, then we can do just about anything. We would immediately rationalize that God will always understand and forgive us of our sins that we could have avoided. 

 In fact, we would think that we have some kind of license to sin, since God is always merciful. A presumptuous person is usually a reckless, over-confident person. He is deaf and blind to the possibility of divine retribution. He most likely has a lax conscience. 

 Entering by the narrow gate means that we have to wage to lifelong interior or ascetical struggle, since in this life we have to contend with all sorts of enemies of God and of our soul. 

 As long as we struggle interiorly, there is spiritual life, the very wellspring that produces the living water for our river of life. As long as we struggle interiorly, we can be assured of our fidelity to whatever commitment we have entered into. Interior struggle is essential and indispensable in our life. 

 Our life is very dynamic, with all sorts of challenges to face, problems to solve, issues to be clarified. We need to see to it that our interior life, our spiritual life, our thoughts, desires and intentions are firmly rooted on God, their proper foundation. 

 We need not only to purify our thoughts and intentions from any stain of pride, vanity, lust, envy, sloth, gluttony, anger, etc. We also need to fill them and rev them up with true love and wisdom. These are the reasons why we have to engage in a lifelong interior or spiritual struggle. 

 The ideal situation should be that we are always in awe at the presence of God in our life, making him the principle and objective of all our thoughts, words and deeds. We have to be spiritually fit before we can be fit anywhere else—family-wise, professionally, socially, politically, etc.

Never belittle the little things

IN the gospel, the Kingdom of God is often compared to the little things. Christ said that the Kingdom is like “a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush…” Again, he said that the Kingdom is like “yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.” (cfr. Lk 13,18-21) 

 These words have no other purpose than to tell us that the magnificence of heaven can be reached through the little ordinary things of our day as long as we handle or do them with faith, hope and charity. 

 We need to reconcile ourselves with this happy truth of our faith that we do not have to wait for extraordinary circumstances for us to reach heaven and even to have a taste of it even while still here on earth. With the little, ordinary things in our life, we have all the means and chances to have heaven within our reach. 

 Sanctity, our ticket to heaven, certainly requires heroism, even to the point of martyrdom. But we can be sure that by being consistently loving in doing the little things of life, especially when they are hidden and unappreciated humanly, we would already be very heroic indeed, even approaching the level of martyrdom. 

 What we have to do is to learn to find Christ in the little things which comprise most of our day, if not of our whole life. Another way of saying it is to learn to refer everything to Christ, no matter how little or insignificant it is. 

 We should always be with Christ at every moment of our day, offering things to him, asking him questions like, “Lord, how should I deal with this particular situation, be it an exciting work, a boring and tiring moment, etc.?” 

 We should never dare to do things simply on our own. Especially when we find ourselves in difficulties, in a quandary, in moments of temptation, etc., we have to go to Christ as quickly as possible and cling to him as tightly as possible. 

 And we should never forget to thank him all the time, for such gesture connects us with him in an abiding way. When we are with Christ especially in the little things of our day, how can we doubt about having heaven in us while still here on earth? 

 We therefore have to learn to find Christ in everything, doing so not in some generic, theoretical way, but in a specific, practical way, one that is abiding and active. This, of course, is a great challenge to all of us, but if we believe in this truth and we try to conform ourselves to it and to persevere in it, for sure we can achieve a certain degree of success. 

 It should be something normal to all of us to feel Christ’s presence in all things, especially in our little ordinary events of the day, and to correspond to that presence as actively as possible. This ideal is not only for some people who we usually regard as mystics and very special people. 

 We can always find Christ anytime, for what it takes is only an act of faith that we try to pursue as far as we can. If we persevere in this effort, for sure, sooner or later we can find Christ even in the most ordinary and even the ugly things of our life.

Our laws should lead us to God

WHEN Christ cured on a Sabbath a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit for eighteen years, he was corrected by the synagogue leader for violating the law on the Sabbath. (cfr. Lk 13,10-17) That was when Christ made the following clarification: 

 “Does not each one of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it out for watering? This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?” 

 I imagine that a simple exercise of common sense could easily see the point of Christ. But many times, we fall into the same predicament when we would just blindly follow the letter of the law without discerning the true spirit behind it. 

 Ideally, both the letter and the spirit of our laws should be in perfect harmony. But that is hardly the case in real life. The problem, of course, is that the articulation of our laws is conditioned and limited by our human powers that cannot fully capture the richness of human life, considering its spiritual and supernatural character that will always involve the intangibles and mysteries and the like. 

 That is the reason why we can go beyond, but not against, a particular law, when such law cannot fully express the concrete conditions of a particular case. This is when we can apply the principle of “epikeia.” 

 But first, we have to understand that our human laws are meant to lead us to our ultimate goal which is none other than to be with God, to be holy as God is holy, etc. Irrespective of their immediate temporal purpose, our laws should lead us little by little to become God’s image and likeness as we are meant to be. They in the end should serve the fundamental religious purpose of our life. That should always be the constant purpose of our laws. 

 All the other objectives of our laws, let alone their technical requirements, serve only as an occasion, a reason or motive for this ultimate purpose. Setting aside this ultimate purpose would empty our laws of their real legitimacy, making them rife for all kinds of manipulations and maneuverings by some shrewd men who may enjoy some power at a given moment. 

 We have to realize that it is Christ who ultimately gives the real meaning and purpose of our laws. We have to disabuse ourselves from the thought that our laws can be based only on our common sense, or on our own estimation of what is good and evil according to the values of practicality, convenience, etc., or on our traditions and culture, etc. 

 While these things have their legitimate role to play in our legal and judicial systems, we have to understand that they cannot be the primary and ultimate bases. It should be God, his laws and ways that should animate the way we make laws as well as the way we apply and live them. After all, being the Creator of all things, he is the one who establishes what is truly good and evil. 

 With the way today’s legal and juridical systems worldwide are drifting toward extreme positivism that simply bases itself on our perceptual experiences and people’s consensus and systematically shutting out any input from faith and divine revelation, we need to remind ourselves that God’s law is in fact the foundation, the inspiration and the perfection of our human laws.

Our blindness and our faith

THAT gospel character Bartimaeus, the blind man, gives us a precious lesson with respect to a certain blindness that we all have. Like him, we have to acknowledge our blindness and humbly beg Christ for a cure by repeating Bartimaeus’ words, “Master, I want to see” (ut videam). (Mk 10,51) 

 Though we may enjoy good vision at the moment, we have to realize that to be able to see things properly and completely, we simply do not rely on our eyes nor any of our senses. 

 Our eyes and senses can only capture a little part of the whole reality that governs us. They can only perceive what are called the sensible realities, still light-years away from the intelligible, not to mention the spiritual and supernatural aspects of reality. 

 Still what they get and gather are very useful and in fact are indispensable, since the data they give are like the raw materials that will be processed by our more powerful faculties of intelligence and will. In this sense we can already consider ourselves as suffering from some kind of blindness. 

 We need to be more aware that nowadays there is a strong tendency to base our knowledge of things mainly on the material and sensible realities alone. That’s why we have these disturbing phenomena of materialism and commercialism comprising our mainstream world of knowledge and understanding. 

 We have to correct this tendency because that simply is not the whole of reality. Our senses can only have a limited view of things. And what is worse, that limited condition is aggravated by the effects and consequences of our sins that not only limit but also distort reality. 

 We should imitate Bartimaeus in that when he realized it was Christ passing by, he immediately screamed, “Son of David, have pity on me!” We have to acknowledge that we are blind and that we are in great need of help that can only come from God who is our Creator, Father and Provider for everything that we need. 

 Being the Creator, God is the one who has designed everything in the world. He is the one who knows its ins and outs, what is real and not real, good and bad, etc. It is from him and with his light that we can see things clearly and completely. 

 We should not simply depend on our senses, nor on our intelligence and will and the other faculties we have, like our memory, imagination and other talents, no matter how excellent they are. At best, they are meant to be mere instruments. 

 We have to acknowledge our blindness, ask Christ for a cure with a lot of faith, so that we can actually see and know things as they really are. We need to humble ourselves so that our pursuit for knowledge will always be inspired and accompanied by the desire for a growth of faith, for an insistent faith like that of the blind man in the gospel, so that that knowledge will lead us to have greater charity. 

 We should be wary of our usual problem which we should resolve by always deepening our humility. If we notice that the growth of our knowledge of things does not lead us to a greater love for God and for others, then it is bogus knowledge no matter how scientific that knowledge may appear to be.

Cruising in these tricky times

IN the Gospel, there is a part where Christ laments about people seemingly knowing a lot of things and yet failing to read the signs of the times and, thus, failing to make proper judgments and unprepared to meet our Creator. (cfr. Lk 12,54-59) “You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” he asked. 

 With this lamentation, Christ is actually asking us to learn how to properly read the signs of the times or how things are going in general, so that we can become men and women of good judgment and direct ourselves to our proper end, which is none other than to be with God in heaven for all eternity, as he wants us to be. 

 Obviously, to be able to properly read the signs of the times is no easy task, especially these days. Given the multiplying forces and influences that go into our current culture, reading the signs of the times has become a formidable task that approaches the level of a nightmare. 

 And precisely because of our complex, intricate and puzzling world, this task has become more necessary. We need to stay away from the grip of ignorance, confusion, error, the ingredients of perdition. 

 Still, not everything is lost and beyond hope. The amount of information, given our ever-developing technologies, is not only massive and profound but is also much easier to access now. 

 Besides, we are never lacking of people with great potentials to effectively undertake this delicate task. We just need to discover them and seek their help. 

 What we need at present is the discipline to have an abiding concern to read the signs of the times. This is no simple thing, since it’s not just a matter of attitude, habits and skills, though they figure prominently in this task. 

 Yes, we need to learn how to collect data, compare notes, dialogue with different parties, consult experts, study, reflect, make conclusions and plan, etc., but all these are not enough. 

 Rather, this discipline in the end depends on our living contact and relationship with what we consider as our God, what we regard as our ultimate source of light and understanding. 

 Only then can we truly become men and women of sound judgment. There is obviously a theoretical and practical side to this affair. For one, we need to study the moral principles and the doctrine of our faith as thoroughly as possible. We should aim at nothing less than becoming masters and experts in this field, since these principles and doctrine are indispensable. We should not have second thoughts on this. 

 We have to realize that this study should be an ongoing and continuing concern, ever deepening and refining our understanding of these principles and doctrine, such that we can distinguish the nuances and fine points, and that they become part of our mentality. 

 Together with study and meditation, we need to grow in the virtues and to avail of the sacraments that keep us in the state of grace. We should not be theoretical and intentional only. We have to incarnate and express outwardly the things that we have learned in our ongoing formation. 

 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.

The forcefulness of love

IT’S true! Where there is love, there is also some kind of forcefulness, an abiding state of being driven despite the variations of our bodily and other earthly conditions. 

Where there is love, we can only echo what Christ himself said: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” (Lk 12,49) Where there is love, we would be clear about what the real and ultimate purpose of our life is, we would have a good sense of direction even if we are presented with many alternative options, we would not mind the many difficulties and challenges we can encounter as we go along. In fact, we would find great meaning in them. 

 This is the ideal condition for all of us. Even if we are endowed only with the most phlegmatic and melancholic temperaments, something must be burning inside our heart that cannot help but burst into a flame, a flame of love, of self-giving, of serving without expecting any return, without counting the cost. If it is not yet there, then let’s enkindle it. 

 The secret is always that vital identification with Christ. Of course, this condition, this requirement is quite tough to meet, but if we would just try and try again as often as necessary, certainly the ideal effect would just come about. On the part of Christ, we cannot doubt that he is all there for us, all there for the taking. 

 What can always help is that we avoid getting imprisoned in our own world and allow ourselves to simply be at the mercy of the state of our physical, emotional and mental condition. With our spiritual faculties of intelligence and will, plus of course God’s grace that will always be made abundantly available, we can transcend beyond these constraining elements. 

 So we just have to use everything within our power to attain that ideal state of being always on the go, dynamic, eager to serve and to do things for everyone. We may have our limitations, and we can commit mistakes, yet we cannot deny that everything is already given for us to be how we should be in our earthly life. And that is to be like Christ, whose only desire is to love all of us. 

 We actually cannot avoid using some forcefulness. Even with our own selves, we have to use it, because if not then we would be totally dominated by our laziness, softness, fears, doubts. Right at the start of the day, when we have to get up, we have to use force, and that little daily task can require heroic efforts, both mental and physical.

 It´s true that as we age, our physical strength can wane, but not the power of the mind nor of the will. In these latter two faculties, which are our spiritual powers, there´s no such thing as aging, unless we entirely submit them to the law of our physical life. Especially with the grace of God, they can go on gaining strength, scope and depth. 

 So in theory, because of our spiritual nature, we can go on living and loving. This is the natural basis for our immortality, that capacity to continue living even after our death. But since we are a unity of body and soul, of something material and spiritual, we always experience a certain tension within ourselves which we try to bear by using some forcefulness. 

 But when we have true love, we can handle that predicament well. Love has its inherent forcefulness.

Our accountability of our stewardship

WE should be profoundly aware of our accountability of our stewardship of the many things God has given us. We have to do everything to keep that awareness active and functional, supported by the appropriate means that first of all are spiritual in nature before they are material. 

 We are reminded of this duty when in the gospel Christ said, “Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” (Lk 12,39-40) 

 Since God has made us stewards of our own life, we need to learn how to manage the many resources entrusted to us so that we can be fruitful and productive in this life. Let’s remember that God will always ask us to account for what he has given us. 

 We have to be really good in managing our life, being clear about the proper motives, priorities and standards, especially in the use of our time. The motives should be none other than love of God and others. The priorities should always be God first, then others, then ourselves. 

 And the standards should be such that at the end of the day we can ‘harvest’ a good crop that at bottom is a matter of growth in sanctity and apostolic zeal. We should be clever enough that we do not get too entangled with the technicalities involved in the pursuit of our earthly and temporal concerns, though they have their objective value. 

 In this regard, I suppose having daily plans and strategies would greatly help us. We always need some structure to guide us and facilitate things. This way we minimize getting distracted along the way. 

 For this, we have to sharpen our sense of accountability. Yes, we should all have an abiding concern for accounting everything that we are and that we have. We just cannot go on with our life as if we are not answerable to anybody, especially to God, from whom we all come and to whom we all belong. 

 This is an indispensable part of our life, an unrelinquishable duty to perform. Our problem is that many still are ignorant of this duty, and of those who already know about this, the tendency is to take it for granted or to do it badly or to avoid it if given the chance. 

 We need to find a way of instilling this duty in everyone, starting with oneself and then encouraging others to do the same, in the context of the families, schools, parishes, offices, etc. 

 We always have to remember that what we are and what we have are not self-generated but are always given to us one way or another, if not by someone or by some other institution and authority, then by God ultimately. 

 Yes, we are always answerable to some people in varying ways and degrees. These people can be our parents, teachers, friends, neighbors, public officials, etc. In the end, we are all answerable to God who has given us everything, starting with our life and all the endowments that go with our life. 

 We need to smash the thought that what we are and what we have are just our own. That is a thinking that is completely false, that stands on no objective foundation. It needs to be corrected drastically and urgently.

Always ready to meet Christ

“BE like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.” (Lk 12,36) 

 With these words, it is quite clear that we need to be always ready for our meeting with our Creator who can actually call us anytime. We came from him and we are supposed to go back to him who wants us to be his image and likeness and sharers of his divine life. 

 We should never be distracted, much less, forget the real and ultimate purpose of our life. We are here on earth still being created and redeemed by God, and we have to do our part in that divine project. We are here on earth to be trained to be what God wants us to be, as well as to be tested whether what he wants us to be is also what we would want to be. 

 Thus, we need to be vigilant always, both in good times and in bad times, and most especially in ordinary times which we still would not know whether it is good or bad. We should never let our guard down. 

 This is simply because we have enemies to contend with all the time. First of all, it is our own selves, our own weakened flesh that will always lure us to do things against God’s will and against what is truly good for us. 

 Then we have the world with all its sinful attractions and temptations. And, of course, the devil himself. Never discount him. He’s always around, prowling like a lion looking for someone to devour. (cfr 1 Pt 5,8) 

 In what may seem to be good times, when things are more or less ok, let us thank God and do our best to make use of all the blessings and good opportunities made available for us. 

 But let’s not forget that the good things can also occasion dangers for us if we are not careful. We should know where those dangers lie in the good things that we may enjoy at the moment. In that way, we avoid falling into complacency that will practically spoil us, and take away the goodness of the blessings we are enjoying. 

 And in what may seem to be bad times, let us never forget to look for the one good thing in those situations. There will always be one or two or even more good things on these occasions and turn them into the vehicles for redemption. 

 This can happen if we turn to God in the first place. He will always forgive us and He knows what to do with whatever mess we make. In that way, we avoid falling into sadness and bitterness, and can remain calm and hopeful in spite of the suffering and pain we may be undergoing at the moment. 

 We really need to upgrade our vigilance skills especially these days when we are living in an increasingly complex world. We should not take this need for granted. Remember Christ telling his disciples: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life…Be vigilant at all times.” (Lk 21,34.36) 

 Let us strengthen our hope that is firmly anchored on our faith and trust in the ever-wise and omnipotent providence of God. We should remember that it was God who started everything and it will also be he who will end, complete and perfect everything. Ours is simply to go along with him.

From abandonment to apostolic zeal

IT’S intriguing to note that when Christ sent out his disciples in pairs to prepare his coming to the different towns, he commanded them to “carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals, and to greet no one along the way.” (cfr. Lk 10,1-9) He is actually telling them not to worry so much about these items because in the end he will take care of them. 

 Such words of Christ can only remind us that we should always be trusting of the ever powerful and merciful providence of God who governs all of his creation with absolute effectiveness no matter how much we mess up things. 

 Yes, we may experience some privations, some losses, etc., in our life, 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. 

 It’s only when we are properly detached from the things of this world and trust in the powerful providence of God that we can develop the ideal apostolic zeal. To develop our zealous apostolic concern surely entails sacrifice. We should not be surprised if in pursuing it we are challenged, faced with difficulties and asked to do self-denials and other forms of sacrifice. 

 We just have to hold firm on our Christian conviction, together with the continuing petition for God’s grace and the generous discharge of our human effort, that to do apostolate is the will of God. He is bent in accomplishing it. It’s his first concern to contend with the difficulties. Ours is simply to cooperate. 

 We have to continually ask ourselves if our thoughts and desires bear an eminently apostolic character. If not, let’s immediately do the necessary adjustments and corrections. 

 We have to embark also on a life-long effort to acquire apostolic skills—how to make friends and deepen that friendship, how to pursue full blast the supernatural apostolic goal of our life while respecting our natural conditions, etc.

What our intention should be

WE have to be most careful with our intentions because they play a crucial role in our moral life. Our intentions can determine the state of our life in relation to God and to the others. Together with the matter or object, and the circumstances surrounding our acts, our intention can referee whether our human acts are good or bad. 

 That gospel episode about the brothers James and John wanting to be seated at the sides of God in his kingdom (cfr. Mk 10,35-45) reminds us that while it’s good to desire what is best for us, we have to make sure that we are ready to do what it takes to achieve such intention, desire or ambition. 

 Again, while it’s nice to hear from the brothers that they were willing to “drink the cup” that Christ would drink, and to be “baptized with the baptism” with which Christ would be baptized, that is to say, that they were willing to suffer with Christ with their bold response of “We can,” Christ somehow corrected or purified their intention by telling them they should rather have the intention of serving and not to be served. That way, they can share in the glory of Christ himself. 

 Reinforcing this point, Christ told them clearly that “whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 

 I believe that these words are most relevant to us today, since we need to be reminded of a basic attitude we ought to have if we want to be truly human and Christian, with love supposedly the driving principle of our life. 

 To serve is the language and the action of love. It authenticates any affirmation of love we do, converting it from intention to tangible reality. 

 This is the attitude meant for us, with Christ himself as the exemplar. Imagine, Christ served us by dying on the cross. Before that, he shocked his apostles when he insisted that he be allowed to wash their feet. That was to give example to them, and us, so that what he did we would also do. 

 The angels too, superior to us in nature, are made to serve us, following a divine law articulated by Christ himself when he said: “Let him who is greatest among you become as the youngest, and him who is the chief as the servant.” (Lk 22,26) 

 We need to be more keenly aware of this law. This is truly what is good for us, providing us with the basic source of strength and consistency we need as we grapple with life’s endless challenges. 

 Before we worry about the big and destructive enemies of our soul, we have to realize that our most insidious foe is right within us, when this attitude of serving others is not firmly established in our mind and heart. 

 This eagerness to serve really has to be worked out, because with our fallen and wounded nature, every pore of our being tends to go against the law of love expressed in service that God meant for us. We need to come out with some strategies for this attitude of wanting to serve to be incorporated into our lifestyle.

The need for transparency and sincerity

“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.” (Lk 12,2) With these words, Christ is clearly telling us that there is no point hiding things from God since he knows everything. Neither should we be hiding things from others, unless due to proper discretion we may have to withhold certain things. 

 To be sure, our life would be much lighter and happier that way. We would unload ourselves from unnecessary burdens. What is more, we would keep our good relations with God and with others. Our life would be much simpler and properly focused on its true ultimate purpose. 

 We should really work on our need for transparency and sincerity. We cannot deny that many are the elements nowadays that can undermine that need. Signs and even structures of hypocrisy, deceit, corruption and the like are all around us. Sad to say, they seem to be the mainstream culture today. 

 Consider again what benefits a good sense of transparency can give us. It will help us develop and sustain our integrity in life. It means that everything that we do is good, that is, morally good. Of course, this sense of transparency can only take root when it is based on our faith in God who sets all the laws in our life, and therefore, all that is good for us. 

 We have to realize more deeply that before God, nothing can be hidden. We therefore have to adapt a lifestyle that would make us do everything in his presence. In fact, we are not simply meant to do things in his presence. It is more to do everything for God’s glory. Thus, when we do things without God in mind, let us be warned that we are already doing things wrongly. 

 We should not base our sense of transparency on human, natural and worldly criteria alone. These latter standards do not capture all the good that is proper to us. At best, they may just be silent about the finer nuances and consequences of what is generally good for us. We have to remember that many mysteries shroud our understanding of things. 

 But what is bad nowadays is that our human laws and worldly standards have started to go against God’s will. This, of course, can be due to our limitations in truly understanding God’s law. But it can also be due to our sinfulness and malice. Nowadays, I believe it is the latter that has led us to make laws that are openly against God’s law. We need to do something drastic about this predicament. 

 And we can start by being sincere in our confessions and spiritual direction. It is indeed necessary that we be brutally sincere when we go to confession and to spiritual direction. We have to learn to lay all our cards on the table so that the human instruments used by God to help us in our spiritual life, can truly help us. 

 We should not be afraid or ashamed to do so, because in these occasions, it is indeed God who is acting through the human instrumentalities. We have to approach confession and spiritual direction with a strong supernatural outlook, because it is only then that we can deal with our misplaced sense of fear and shame. To be truly sincere is not only to say facts and data. It is to probe into the motives of all our actions, especially our sins and misdeeds.

Fighting self-righteousness

THOSE gospel episodes where Christ bewailed the self-righteousness of the leading Jews of his time remind us that we really need to be aware of this common anomaly, called self-righteousness, and do everything to fight it. 

 Self-righteousness is a common disease, since all of us have our share of pride and arrogance. We may not acknowledge it—a more insidious situation to be in, since pride has a tremendous blinding power—but we can fall into it from time to time, especially when we make rash judgments, easily jump to conclusions, stereotype people, making a habit of finding fault at others, etc. 

 What is worse is when it is not only quiet and secretive, but rather open and loud, and can even get physical, or when it defines the very character of a person. It is shown in the way he carries himself, how he looks at others, how he speaks and reacts to things. He oozes with over-self-confidence, with a tone of voice that cannot be other than bossy and strident. 

 The source of their problem are the gifts given to us, when we would not know how to handle them properly. Instead of being humbled by them and always aware that the gifts are meant for God’s glory and the good of others, we make these endowments a source of our pride. We become highly opinionated. We like to dominate any discussion. We would want always to have the last word. 

 We have to be most careful of this spiritual virus. The moment we see the slightest signs of its onset in us, we have to react immediately and strongly, deepening our humility and strengthening our desire to always glorify God and to be at the service of others. 

 We should reflect the attitude of Christ who said that “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mt 20,28) We have to learn how to pass unnoticed even as we are determined in carrying out our tasks and duties in life. 

 The awareness of our gifts or special charisms should also intensify the awareness of the great responsibility we have to fulfill because of them. Because of this, we should always feel the need to go to God, convinced that it can only be with him that we can do things properly. We should never think we can simply rely on our own powers. 

 And then let’s start to figure out how to reach out to others and serve them the way God wants them served through those God-given gifts. When we see a self-righteous bully, let’s pray for him and offer sacrifices for him, and do everything to help him discover his proper place and use his gifts rightly. 

 We should never think that our talents, gifts, blessings and other privileges and advantages we can have in life are a right to lord it over others, or to be proud and vain, or to expect more privileges. They are never meant to make us feel superior to others, turning us into conceited persons. 

 If ever, these things should only make us more aware of the greater responsibility we have to contribute to the common good. That consideration, which we should try to be with us always, should sober us and stop us from making fantastic, baseless ideas of ourselves.

Beware of legalism, formalism and political correctness

WE have to be wary of this common tendency of ours. We are always prone to show externally what we actually are not internally. We easily fall into some kind of political or social correctness without the proper spirit animating it. 

 We easily fall into forms of legalism and formalism. Often, we just want to see things around out of idle curiosity and be seen and appreciated by others out of vanity. We fail to connect the material to the spirit, the little things with the big, essential things, etc. 

 All these were somehow bewailed by Christ. “Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others. Woe to you Pharisees! You love the seat of honor in synagogues and greetings in marketplaces. Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.” (Lk 11,42-44) 

 We should always be on guard against all these forms of inconsistency, always rectifying our intentions and also regularly editing our life, much like what writers do with their work before they are submitted for publication. That way, we can monitor how things are going and can have the chance to make appropriate corrections, improvements, revisions, etc. 

 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. 

 We should be most careful nowadays because it is now easy to stray from God’s commandments and feel convinced that we are still ok. With our man-made laws that are supposed to reflect the spirit of God’s will and ways but often fail, at least partially if not completely, it is now easy for us to hide and justify such anomalies as greed, pride, vanity, envy, corruption, etc. 

 We have to learn how to do a lot of good while passing unnoticed. Also, while it’s true that we have to take care of the little things in our life, we should not forget that we are not meant to get detained there. We should always relate the little ordinary things in our life to the big and ultimate purpose of our life. 

 Christ himself somehow referred to this point when he said, “Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” (Lk 16,10) 

 With those words, Christ somehow was relating and connecting the little with the big things in life. That is what we should always do. We should avoid getting entangled and lost in the little things and forgetting the big and more important things in our life.

Developing unity and consistency in our life

WHILE Christ was always patient, compassionate, merciful and the like with everyone, we cannot deny that there were occasions that he showed anger and expressed some lamentations. He even did this with his disciples, and especially with those self-righteous leading Jews of his time and those who converted the temple into a market place. 

 In one occasion, while being invited for dinner by a Pharisee, he was criticized, at least interiorly by those around, for not observing the prescribed washing before the meal. That’s when he told the host, “Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?” (cfr. Lk 11,37-41) 

 This gospel episode somehow warns us that we are always prone to fall into all kinds of formalism and legalism without the proper spirit and motive behind our actions, laws, culture, etc. It reminds us that we have to be truly consistent and to develop a certain unity of life that can only be achieved if we are with Christ, who is the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity. 

 Developing this consistency and unity of life should be an abiding concern for all of us. Even if we have to contend with many aspects and dimensions of our life, it is only one life that each of us has, not two or three. And thus, to build and keep our unity of life is a daily task of ours. We can neglect it only to our own serious risk and damage. 

 Our life is not only biological that relies simply on our biological functions. Neither is it just purely physical or material that requires merely material nourishment. 

 Our life has many more important aspects and dimensions that need to be integrated into one whole consistent thing. There’s the manual and intellectual, the active and contemplative, personal and social, the material and spiritual, the temporal and eternal, etc. 

 And precisely because of our spiritual nature, we open ourselves to a supernatural level. That’s just how the cookie crumbles. Thus, we should also be aware of what is natural and supernatural in our life, the mundane and the sacred. 

 We can manage to have this consistency and unity of life if we identify ourselves with Christ. Let’s remember what Christ said so clearly. He is the vine, we are the branches. We can only have life, let alone, consistency and fruitfulness in our life, if we are united to him. Outside of him, we can only expect death, inconsistency and sterility. 

 Yes, only in and with Christ can we have the real principle of unity and fruitfulness in our life. We would be fooling ourselves if we fail to recognize this basic truth about ourselves. 

 This, of course, is a truth of faith, not so much of science. And that’s where the problem lies. There is a crisis of faith in the world, especially involving those who rely more on their human abilities than on belief in Christ. 

 We have to correct that predicament by realizing more deeply that our life is supposed to be a life with God since not only are we one of his creatures, but a creature that is meant to be his image and likeness. We are meant to be like God through Christ in the Holy Spirit. That’s how we can have consistency and unity of life.

“Fortes in fide”

THAT’S “strong in the faith” in English. The expression comes from the First Letter of St. Peter (5,9) and is made also in the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians (16,13) Both passages are made in the context of our need to be always on guard against the enemies of our soul and to be trusting of God’s will and ways. 

 We need to make our faith strong and operative because that is how we can start and maintain our life to be a life with God as it should be. With faith, we start to share God’s knowledge of things and his power, and that is how our life should be since we are God’s image and likeness, meant to share in the very life of God. 

 At one point, Christ lamented the common phenomenon of our lack of faith. “This generation is an evil generation,” he said. “It seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” (cfr. Lk 11,29-32) 

 If there is no faith, we will never see the things of God and the rich reality of the truly spiritual and supernatural world, no matter how much we spin our human powers to capture this reality. Not even our powerful sciences and technologies can enter into the spiritual and supernatural reality of our life. 

 We have to realize that our faith should not remain only in the theoretical, intellectual level. It has to be a functioning one, giving shape and direction in our thoughts and intentions, our words and deeds. In fact, it should shape our whole life. 

 The ideal condition is for us to feel our faith immediately. Indeed, it should be like an instinct such that whatever we think, say or do, or whenever we have to react to something, it is our faith that should guide us. 

 We have to understand that it is our faith that gives us the global picture of things, since it is God’s gift to us, a gratuitous sharing of what God knows about himself and about the whole of creation. It is meant for our own good, for us to live out our true dignity as children of God. 

 It is a kind of knowledge that will lead us to our eternal life. It will make us relate everything in our earthly life, both the good and the bad, to this ultimate goal in life which is to be in heaven with God, a state that is supernatural. But it is a divine gift that we need to take care of. It is like a seed that has to grow until it becomes a big tree and bears fruit. 

 For this, we really need to have a living contact with Christ who is the fullness of God’s revelation to us. He is the substance, the content and the spirit of our faith. So, the first thing that we have to do is to look for him always in whatever thing we are thinking, saying or doing. 

 We need to check our attitudes and dispositions. Do we really look for him, in the manner spelled out by Christ himself, that is, with constancy and determination? Christ said: “Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (Mt 7,7) 

 Of course, we have to understand that a functioning faith is also the result of being actively guided by the Church which has been given full powers by Christ to keep and teach the faith with his very own authority.

Christian poverty and the things of this world

WHILE it’s true that Christ told the rich young man, and us, to “sell everything and give to the poor…and come, follow me,” (Mk 10,21), we need to understand that the Christian spirit of poverty and detachment does not prevent us from having the things of this world, like money. 

 But, yes, we need to be careful that our having the things of this world does not undermine our love for God. If ever, the things of this world should be pursued and used for the sole purpose of loving God and everybody else. We are not angels. We are not pure spirits. We need things to live and survive, and to give glory to God and to help everybody else. 

 Many times, we are given the impression that money and the Christian spirit of poverty are incompatible. To a certain extent, there is some truth to that view. 

 Even St. Paul went to the extent of saying that, “the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Tim 6,10) We do not have to look far to verify the undeniable truth of these words. 

 But we need to remind ourselves also that money in itself is not an inherent evil. It is when we fall into an improper attachment to it that it becomes an evil or, better said, a tool for evil. But in itself, if handled properly, it can in fact be a tool for doing a lot of good and of glorifying God. 

 We just have to make sure that our attitude toward money is inspired by our love for God and for others, and the way we deal with it faithfully reflects the will of God which definitely is for our own salvation and the salvation of everyone. 

 Only then can we apply the use of money in accordance to Christ’s words: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mt 6,21) Only then can we say that money will show how much we love God, rather than how depraved we have fallen. 

 But, yes, we always need to check ourselves to see if we are truly detached from the things of this world so as to give our whole selves to God and to others. In this, we cannot afford to be casual. The worldly things are now so attractive, so tempting and so riveting that if we are not careful, there’s no way but be swept away by its rampaging worldly laws and impulses. 

 In fact, at one time, Christ compares the great difficulty involved in resisting the allure of worldly things in a very graphic way: “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Mk 10,25) 

 Christian poverty has the primary purpose of emptying our mind and heart of anything that can compete or, worse, replace the love for God and for others which is proper to all of us. 

 It’s not about running away from worldly things, much less, of hating the goods of the earth and our temporal affairs, but of knowing how to handle them, so as not to compromise the fundamental law of love that should rule us. And that is for us to be God’s image and likeness and as God’s children, as shown to us by Christ.

When driven by unbelief and hatred

YES, when one is driven by unbelief and hatred, he is likely to fall into self-contradictions. This was illustrated in that gospel episode where some of the crowd reacted to Christ’s driving away a demon from a possessed person in this way: “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” (Lk 11,15) 

 Of course, Christ immediately corrected them by saying, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out?” 

 Clearly, when one is driven by unbelief and hatred, his reasoning can go off the rails, even the simplest of logic is thrown out. We need to do everything to always strengthen our belief in God, the very cause, origin and pattern of unity amid the vast and increasing diversity and variety of elements we can have in this world. 

 Nowadays, we are seeing the intriguing phenomena of asserting what is right and moral as wrong and immoral, and vice-versa. What is clearly an expression of true freedom is now called slavery, and vice-versa. What should clearly be considered as taboo is now regarded as a human right. The forms of self-contradictions go on and on. 

 To correct this situation or, at least, to deal properly with it, we need to take care and strengthen our belief and our charity. We cannot take this duty for granted, especially now when the world is sinking in confusion and error as it distances itself farther from God. 

 In many places in the world today, people are now legalizing and inculturating outright immoralities and perversions, rationalizing them as part of their human rights, their freedom, or as a gesture of tolerance on a multiplicity of preferences, etc. 

 This is a big challenge for all Christian believers who want to be all-the-way consistent with their faith and with humanity itself, for the issues at hand are not just a matter of a particular religion but rather that of our common humanity. 

 And the Christian faith is not meant only for a few. It is for all, though it obviously is not meant to be imposed on everyone. It has to be accepted knowingly, freely, lovingly, that is, with charity. 

 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.

The difficult and the impossible

WE have to learn how to deal with the difficult and the impossible things in our life. Let’s remember that as long as we are here on earth, we have to contend with all sorts of difficulties, trials and temptations. 

 And as if these are not enough, we also have to contend with the truth of our faith that tells us that we are meant to pursue a supernatural goal that definitely cannot be achieved simply with our own human powers, no matter how excellent they are. 

 The secret is always to go and to be with God who can make the impossible possible. In all our affairs and situations in life, we should always go to God to ask for his help and guidance, and to trust his ways and his providence, even if the outcome of our prayers and petitions appears unanswered, if not, contradicted. 

 This should be the attitude to have. It’s an attitude that can only indicate our unconditional faith and love for God who is always in control of things, and at the same time can also leave us in peace and joy even at the worst of the possibilities. 

 Remember the Book of Ecclesiastes where it says that for everything there is a season, “a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal…” But everything is under God’s control, and even if we are capable of eternity, we just the same “cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” (3,1ff) We just have to trust him. 

 We have to follow the example of the many characters in the gospel who, feeling helpless in the many predicaments they were in, earnestly rushed to Christ for some succor. They went to him unafraid and unashamed and they got what they wanted. 

 There is no denying that life always has more to offer to us than what we can understand, let alone, cope. And they can come in all shapes and sizes, good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant, likeable and hateful. There are surprises and moments when we seem to rot in expectation and still things we long for don’t come. 

 In the face of all this, I believe the attitude to have and the reaction to make is to be calm, pray hard, and while we do all we can, we have to learn to live a certain sense of abandonment in the hands of God. 

 In those situations, I believe we just have to allow ourselves to play in God’s game plan, in his abiding providence whose designs are beyond reckoning, or are way beyond our comprehension and appreciation. 

 In this life, we need to develop a sportsman’s attitude, since life is like a game. Yes, life is like a game, because we set out to pursue a goal, we have to follow certain rules, we are given some means, tools and instruments, we train and are primed to win and do our best, but defeats can always come, and yet, we just have to move on. 

 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.

Prayer keeps our love burning

IF we understand that prayer is what keeps us always in contact with God who is the very essence of love, then we should realize that we indeed need to pray all the time. Prayer should not be understood merely as some spiritual exercise that we do only at certain moments of the day. 

 It has to be our very life itself. Everything in our life should be an act of prayer, including our sleeping. Our very consciousness, our breathing and heartbeat should be converted into prayer. 

 Obviously, we need some training for this. But it should be a training that would enable us precisely to convert everything into prayer. Even when we work, whether of the white-collar or blue-collar type of work, whether intellectual or manual, etc., we should be praying. That is to say, we should maintain our contact with God and channel what he has, his will and his ways, in all our daily affairs. 

 In that way we can reflect God’s love in all the situations, circumstances, predicaments, challenges in our life, etc. This love, of course, is concretely shown to us by Christ whose life and teaching we should truly learn and assimilate. Not only is Christ showing or teaching it to us. He is giving it to us by giving his own self, especially in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, if we also understand well the significance of the sacrament. 

 When we pray, we are actually assuming the very mind and heart of Christ who is the personification of prayer himself. His life was fully offered to the Father, spending it entirely in obeying the will of the Father who wants us to return to him, since we are his image and likeness that was damaged by our sin. 

 In other words, we can say that we are truly praying when we would have the same sentiments of Christ. His desires, his mission, his ways of doing things, especially in loving everyone, including the enemies, his willingness to bear all our sins through his suffering and death, should also be ours. 

 So, if we want to be truly in love and to keep that love burning, we need to be authentic persons of prayer. We need to be like Christ, to be “alter Christus” (another Christ) if not “ipse Christus” (Christ himself). And that is not a fantastic, baseless assertion, because that is what is truly meant for us. There is no other formula for love. 

 We need to understand very well the intimate relation between praying and loving, and between our loving and becoming Christ-like. That is where true love can be found, and no other. We may have to do a bit of explaining for this, but I think it is all worthwhile to do so, especially these days when many people, especially the young ones, have a very deficient understanding of love. 

 We have to reassure everyone that when we actually learn to truly pray, we will enjoy the ideal condition of our life, and such condition will remain so whatever the situation and circumstances of our life would be or wherever our life would lead us. 

 Prayer keeps us in contact with God who will empower us to love truly. It would help us keep a right focus and sense of direction and purpose of our life.

Updating the story of Martha and Mary

THERE’S a great need to update the story of Martha and Mary (cfr. Lk 10,38-42) if only to relish once again the important lesson it imparts to us, especially nowadays when we can do a lot of good things and pursue high worldly ideals, and yet miss what is truly and ultimately important and necessary for us. 

 Yes, like Martha, we can be doing a lot of good things and pursuing high temporal ideals, like efficiency, effectiveness, profitability, etc., and yet miss the one thing necessary that Christ told Martha. 

 The precious lesson the story of the two sisters offers us is that of seeing to it that everything that we do is always for the glory of God. That motive should the first, last and constant intention of all our thoughts, words and deeds. It should be not dislodged by any other motive, no matter how legitimate in human terms it is, and how urgent it is. 

 Our thoughts, words and deeds would lose their real value when they are not inspired by our love for God which should drive us to do everything for God’s glory. Let’s remember what St. Paul said in this regard: “Whether you eat or drink, or if you do anything, you shall do everything for the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10,31) 

 The story of the two sisters reminds us that we have to give priority to prayer in the sense that everything that we do, no matter how mundane it is as long as it is honest, should be converted into some form of prayer, that is, into a way of engaging with God, giving him all the glory that is due him. 

 The immediate basis for this truth is what Christ himself said: “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Mt 16,26) That’s because prayer is like the breathing and the heartbeat of our spiritual organism, of our soul. Just as we continue to breathe and just as our heart continues to beat even while we are unconscious in our sleep, so should our prayer be. 

 To be sure, this is possible and doable, because praying does not even need a bodily organ for it to be done. It is a spiritual operation that can transcend the use of our bodily faculties. It’s a matter of attitude, of belief, which we can always have even if it is not expressly articulated. 

 As such, it can be done in any situation—while we are working, playing, resting, etc. But it would be good that we spend some time doing nothing other than praying, directly engaging God in a loving conversation, because that would help us to be prayerful in all our other activities and situations in life. 

 We cannot deny that the world nowadays is getting deeply immersed in worldly and temporal affairs, but often at the expense of forgetting God. This is a terrible deal that we are having. All our affairs and concerns should lead us to God or at least engage us with him, not separate us from him. 

 Let us always remember that it is God who will give us everything, but we have to have the proper priorities. Let’s never forget what he said: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” (Mt 6,33)