The Feast of the Holy Family

THIS feast definitely reminds us about the very crucial role the family plays in the development of a person and of society in general. In fact, it plays a truly important role in the development of the Church. 

 Because of this, we need to realize that there’s a certain urgency to make the family today an effective center of formation. With all the growing developments and complicated challenges of our times, we cannot afford to sit pretty and just allow blind fate to take its course. We have to take the bull by the horns. 

 We cannot deny the fact that many people have inadequate, if not erroneous understanding of what the family and its closely related institution of marriage are. In the US today, for example, they are now legalizing and are openly promoting the so-called same-sex marriage and open marriages. 

 It’s no wonder that we have many broken marriages and dysfunctional families nowadays with matching complicated consequences. Of course, the recourse to divorce does not solve the problem. It can even make things worse. 

 Everything has to be done to address this fundamental problem. And all the subsidiary institutions and offices—the Church, government, schools, NGOs, etc.—should lend a hand. 

 Continuing formation and evangelization about marriage and family has to be pursued without letup. Of course, the Church can take the lead in this, but this can be done also by many other people in the secular field. In this regard, the laity should also take a lot of initiative, since this matter concerns them more than the clergy, and they have the experience and the competence to talk about this matter. 

 For one, couples planning to marry should be made to realize clearly that their marriage brings with it the duty to make their family the basic center of formation for their children. They should be prepared and equipped to carry out this delicate duty. 

 As the basic center for formation, the family that is led by the parents should know how to lay the foundations of the human virtues and the life of faith and piety of the children. It should be well-versed with the doctrine of faith and the traditions of piety so that as early as possible the children would have the right attitudes and outlook in life. 

 Parents, for example, should know how to distinguish the different characters and temperaments of their children as well as how to motivate each one of them as he or she is. For this, parents may need some basic training themselves which can be offered by the parishes and schools, and even public and private offices. 

 Parents should be ready by acquiring the necessary competence to face the modern challenges of raising children, especially the teen-agers, today. They must know how to run a home, how to be good administrators of money and the things of the house, how to understand the character of the children, how to get the children improve in their individual behaviours, etc. 

 Parents should know how to inspire their children to pray and work, to develop virtues and the skills in dealing with pressures and temptations around. A clear plan of formation should be articulated with due diligence such that in time a certain healthy family life and culture are established. 

 Parents should realize that their own formation is also something they should take care of. They have to update themselves regarding marriage and family life through an ongoing plan of formation. In this, they can also take initiatives, with the help of other parents and other experts, to organize classes, talks and chats for this purpose. 

 The important thing to remember is that the family is made an effective basic center of formation for the children.

Never feeling entitled

THE gospel reading of the Mass on December 29, the 5th day of the Christmas Octave, brings to our consideration the example of Mary and Joseph who complied with the legal custom at that time of presenting the Child Jesus in the temple. (cfr. Lk 2,22-35) 

 Given who the child was and who they were, they should have known that they were completely exempted from complying with such law. But they did go just to the same, never feeling entitled because of the highest privilege and honor they enjoyed as being chosen as the parents of the very Son of God. What an example they give us! 

 In the process, that gesture of theirs also played out a providential event because a man, Simeon by name, who was promised not to see his death until he could meet the promised Redeemer, had that promise fulfilled. 

 In that momentous meeting, Simeon pronounced a prophecy about the child and Mary—that the child would be a sign of contradiction, and that a sword would pierce Mary’s heart so that the thoughts of many would be revealed. 

 All these should make us realize that we too, if we are to be consistent in our Christian life, should expect to be some sign of contradiction also, and that some sword would also pierce our own heart. 

 We should not be afraid to encounter these scenarios in our life, and should just be prepared. In fact, we should expect these things to happen in our life, what with all the differences and conflicts we are already having these days, not only in matters of opinion, but also in matters of belief and morals. 

 But we really have no reason to fear nor to worry. If our faith is strong, deep and abiding, we know that God is always around. How many times did Christ tell his apostles not to be afraid! We should therefore always assume the attitude of confidence that everything would just work out for the good. (cfr. Rom 8,28) Even our limitations, mistakes, sins, as long as referred to Christ, would somehow work out for the good! 

 While it’s true that in this life, we have to contend with all kinds of challenges, trials, difficulties and all other possible negative things, we can always count on the help of the Divine who will never abandon us. 

 Yes, we have our own share of weaknesses, and we are always hounded by temptations coming from the world around and especially from evil spirits who are more powerful than us (cfr. Eph 6,12), but let’s also remember that we can count on the powerful help of angels and saints. 

 Our Christian faith tells us that no matter how powerful the evil spirits are, the good ones will always prevail. It would really just depend on us as to whom we choose to side. 

 But again, we cannot deny that in this life, we cannot help but share with Christ in being a sign of contradiction, and with Mary in that a sword should pierce our heart also. We should learn how to suffer with Christ, with Mary and all the angels and saints. It would be suffering that would be meaningful to us, one that would do us a lot of good. 

 That is why we should just imitate Mary and Joseph in complying with the indications given to us by the Church, without feeling entitled.

The Holy Innocents and us

WHAT can the Feast of the Holy Innocents, celebrated on December 28, tell us? Offhand, we can immediately say that like them we can live and end our life here on earth in a most tragic way. And that, for reasons that can be considered as most flimsy and most stupid, just like why those little kids were martyred. (cfr. Mt 2,13-18) 

 We should just be prepared properly for this possibility, avoiding falling into reactions of anger and hatred, or even of exaggerated fear. If we are guided by our Christian faith, we know that whatever tragedy we may experience in this life can be converted into a golden opportunity to attain our sanctification and eventual salvation. 

 So, let’s just be cool about the whole thing, and keep ourselves always in the charity mode, which is how truth and justice would eventually emerge. 

 These days we cannot avoid some forms of tragedy in a daily manner. Cases of misunderstanding, rash judgments, harassments, etc. are increasing. Even among what may be considered as very educated and religious people, these cases are rampant. 

 In fact, they are most prone to act like the Pharisees and Sadducees of old, quick to judge others and to wage a subtle campaign of persecution against those who do not agree with them. 

 The figure of Pope Francis, for one, has become a source of contention among different parties, especially on the issues of the Pachamama, synodality, the Fiducia supplicans, and many others. Instead of trying to understand things better, listening well to the views of each party involved, there’s a strong tendency by some know-it-all guys to be unbending on their own biases and prejudices. 

 It’s as if it would be the end of the world if some people do not agree with them. Claims are made quite openly that the anti-Christ has arrived, and so every move this presumed anti-Christ makes is always put under suspicion. They present themselves has having the exclusive possession of all the truth about things. 

 And so, since this condition is unavoidable and is, in fact, more pronounced these days, we should just learn how to suffer some form of martyrdom everyday. It may be worthwhile to go through some verses in the first letter of St. Peter that describe to us how the Christian attitude should be toward suffering, especially a suffering that would appear to us as unjust. 

 These verses from St. Peter’s first letter spell out for us how to be so. They are in the second chapter, and they go as follows (19-25): 

 “For one is approved if, mindful of God, he endures pain while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it, if when you do wrong and are beaten for it you take it patiently? But if when you do right and suffer for it you take it patiently, you have God’s approval. 

 “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin. No guile was found on his lips. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but he trusted him who judges justly. 

 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”

St. John, patron for the youth

DECEMBER 27 is the Feast of St. John, the youngest apostle as well as one of the evangelists. The story of his life is a moving example of how a young man can give himself completely to God. Indeed, he is a very good model for our youth to follow. 

 Among the apostles, he can be considered as the closest to Jesus as can be shown by the fact during the Last Supper it is widely believed that it was he who was referred to as the one Jesus loved dearly and who was leaning on Jesus’s bosom. (cfr. Jn 13,23) Because of that closeness to Jesus, St. Peter, in fact, had to ask him to ask Christ who it was among the apostles who would betray him. 

 As an evangelist, he was most faithful in recording the teachings of Christ and spreading it as widely as possible. This is how he described himself regarding this matter: 

 “He who was from the beginning, whom we have heard, whom we have seen with our eyes, upon whom we have gazed, and whom our hands have certainly touched: He is the Word of Life. And that Life has been made manifest. And we have seen, and we testify, and we announce to you: the Eternal Life, who was with the Father, and who appeared to us. 

 “He whom we have seen and heard, we announce to you, so that you, too, may have fellowship with us, and so that our fellowship may be with the Father and with his Jesus Christ. And this we write to you, so that you may rejoice, and so that your joy may be full.” (1 Jn 1,1-4) 

 St. John was definitely a very privileged man, and he corresponded to that honor and privilege with utmost fidelity, never abusing it or using it for some entitlements. This can be shown by the fact that when Mary Magdalene told Peter and him that the body of Jesus could not be found anymore in the tomb, he waited for Peter to enter the tomb first even if he arrived there first, being the younger one and the faster one to run. (cfr. Jn 20,1-8) 

 The example of St. John should inspire all of us, but especially the young ones who still have to learn and master the things of God as taught by Jesus. Especially nowadays when many of the young ones are exposed to teachings, ideologies and lifestyles that are rather questionable, St. John should be strongly promoted as a model to follow. 

 We need to find ways of how to attract the youth to St. John. Definitely, this will need a lot of study and effort. There has to be friendship with the youth so that the setting of accompaniment and spiritual direction or guidance would be put in place. 

 The youth should be helped to find great meaning, joy and sense of fulfillment when, like St. John, they develop a certain closeness and intimacy with Christ, and familiarity with Christ’s teaching. Only then would they realize the meaning of their life here on earth and would be filled with desire, nay, zeal, to do apostolate all around. 

 It’s in this way that they can achieve not only their human maturity but also, and more importantly, their Christian maturity. We have to actively promote a strong and deep devotion to St. John who can be rightly considered as the patron of the youth!

Christmas and martyrdom

IT’S amazing that right after Christmas Day, the second day of the Christmas Octave (December 26), we celebrate the memorial of St. Stephen who bears the title of being the protomartyr or the first Christian martyr. He was stoned to death for giving a vivid witness of the glory of the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God in heaven. (cfr. Acts 6,55) The people then could not stand what he was telling them. 

 Is this meant to be a wet blanket to all that joyous celebration of the birth of Christ? I don’t believe so. If at all, it is meant to give us a most realistic understanding of the spirit of Christmas, the birth of our Redeemer who being God became man to bear and conquer all our sins through his very passion, death and resurrection. To bear witness to this truth of our faith in the way St. Stephen did, actually gives full meaning to Christmas. 

 Thus, in the gospel of the day (cfr. Mt 10,17-22) we are told to expect all sorts of challenges and trials, even at the hands of the most unlikely persons such as our own parents and friends. But we should never worry, since God will always be with us, and as the gospel declared, “you will be hated by all for the sake of my name, but whoever will have persevered, even to the end, the same shall be saved.” (v.22) 

 We really have no reason to fear, nor to wallow in worries, anxieties and sadness. Let’s remember that these unfortunate states are fertile ground for the enemies of our soul, especially the devil, to take advantage of us. 

 About the only reason to fear, worry and be sad is when we lose our faith, when we lose touch with God. We have to pray and pray so that our doubts and fears would not undermine our faith. 

 What also helps is to develop a sporting attitude in life, because, to be realistic about it, we will always have frustrations, disappointments, mistakes, failures, sins and defeats in our life. But we just have to learn how to move on, just like a good sportsman. 

 We should always be cheerful in life, and strive to show it even externally with smiles and happy, warm and encouraging dispositions. Even in our grief and mourning, we should manage to learn how to be serene, knowing that suffering and death have already been redeemed by Christ and are now endowed with redemptive power. 

 Let’s not waste time and energy by falling into the grips of fears, worries and sadness. When we notice that we are having some languid moments, it can be a sign that our faith is not working, and that we are succumbing to the laws of the flesh and the world, if not, to the tricks of the devil. 

 We have to extricate ourselves as quickly as possible from that predicament. The ideal to have is to be always cheerful and eager to do things, no matter what the cost involved. 

 We should be doing a lot of good, constructive work, rather than stuck in the mode of ruing and brooding, sinking in self-pity, etc. We should never forget that God is always around. 

 It might be a good idea to rally the power of our faith that tells us that God takes care of everything. There is really nothing to worry even if we are made to suffer, since that suffering, if united to that of Christ, becomes something purifying and redemptive not only to oneself but also to everybody else.

“A holy day has dawned upon us”

FINALLY, it’s Christmas! A child is born for us! Thus, in the Alleluia verse of the day’s Mass, we are made to say: “A holy day has dawned upon us. Come, you nations and adore the Lord. For today a great light has come upon the earth.” 

 It’s indeed a day of great, undescribable joy! In the Opening Prayer of the Mass for the day, a beautiful sentiment is expressed: “Lord God, we praise you for creating man, and still more, restoring him in Christ. Your Son shared our weakness: may we share his glory…” 

 Once again, our Christian faith tells us who we really are. Despite our natural awkwardness in believing this truth of our faith, the truth is that we have been created to be like God, to share in his very life and nature. And no amount of our sins and foolishness can detract from that truth. God will do everything to recover us. All we have to do is to go along with God’s will and ways as far as we can. 

 We need to process this truth of our faith about ourselves very slowly, because it will obviously astound us to think that we are supposed to be one with Christ. Who, me, one with Christ? We most likely would be tempted to say, tell it to the Marines! 

 But that’s just the naked truth about us, whether we like it or not. We cannot be any other if we just bother also to know why it is so. An expression that is relevant to this matter is ‘alter Christus,’ another Christ. And it’s worthwhile to know what it is all about. 

 We are supposed to be ‘alter Christus,’ the goal and ideal that is meant for us, though we need also to do our part, free beings as are, to achieve that status. God, our Creator and Father, wants us to be that way, though he does not impose it on us without our consent that should also be shown with deeds and not just with intentions and words. 

 We are supposed to be ‘alter Christus’ simply because, if we have been created in the image and likeness of God, and Christ is the Son of God who is the perfect image and likeness that God has of himself, then we can only conclude that we have to be like Christ. 

 In other words, Christ as the Son of God is the pattern of our humanity. If we want to know who we really are, how we ought to be, all we have to do is to look at Christ and try our best, with God’s grace, to identify ourselves with him. 

 More than that, because of our sin that defaced the original state in which we, in Adam and Eve, were created, Christ is the Son of God who became man to save us. The immediate conclusion we can derive from this truth of our faith is that for us to know how to handle our sinfulness, again all we have to do is to look at Christ and try our best, with God’s grace, to identify ourselves with him. 

 So, let’s welcome Christ to our life. At his birth on Christmas Day, we should also remind ourselves that Christ actually wants to be born in each of us, so we can truly be “alter Christus” (another Christ), if not, “ipse Christus” (Christ himself). 

 Have a Merry and Blessed Christmas, everyone!

Prepare the best place for Jesus

THE first reading of the 4th Sunday of Advent, which this year falls on December 24, tells us of King David feeling a little disturbed because while he was living in a house of cedar, the ark of God dwells in a tent. (cfr. 2 Samuel 7,2) 

 And so, the prophet Nathan told him: “Go, do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.” But the Lord somehow corrected Nathan by somehow telling him to tell David not to worry so much about the house for the ark of God as for being with God always. 

 “Go, tell my servant David,” God told Nathan, “‘Thus says the Lord: should you build me a house to dwell in?’ It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be a commander of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you went, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth…” (2 Sam 7,5-9) 

 This Christmas, while we try our best to celebrate the joy of Christ’s birth, let’s make sure that we prepare the best place for him to stay with us always. Let’s make sure Christ is always with us. And the best way we can do that is when we give him nothing less than our heart where he should stay. Thus, we need to conquer our heart for Christ, since our heart tends to be by itself rather than to be with Christ. 

 We all know that our heart is where our true treasure is. (cfr. Mt 6,21). That’s because the heart is not only a physical or biological organ that in itself is already indispensable in our life. 

 It is actually the very seat of our thoughts, desires and conscience. It’s that part that contains our whole being, and therefore the most precious part we have. Our whole identity, both in its stable and dynamic states, is found in the heart. 

 It’s the source of what our mouth would say. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Mt 12,4). It is what gives the motives for our thoughts, desires, words and deeds. 

 It’s also where we hear the voice of God as well as that of the devil, where we discern the spirit of God and that of the evil one. 

It’s where we make our decisions, promises and commitments. It’s where the dynamics of our faith, hope and charity is played out. But it can also be where merely worldly values, passing and relative, can dominate. Thus, it is where our interior struggle is done, where our choice of either God or ourselves is made. 

 And if we want to be assured of the authenticity or sincerity of one’s thoughts, words and deeds, we normally ask if they really spring from one’s heart. 

 How important therefore that we learn to engage the heart with the right treasure, the ultimately genuine one, the one that lasts forever, and not the many pseudo-treasures that the world offers. 

 Thus, we should often echo those words in Scriptures in our ears: “My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.” (Prov 23,26) Or, Christ’s words: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…” (Lk 10,27) Here God both begs and even commands for our heart. 

 Let’s resolve more strongly to give our heart to Christ, especially during this Christmas! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Giving back and paying back

THE Mass readings of December 22 somehow reminds us of our duty to give back and pay back what God has given us. We should do our best to at least be more aware of this duty and try to fulfill it in any way we can, although we know that we really cannot fully give back and pay back what God has given us. 

 In the first reading, from the First Book of Samuel (1,24-28), we are told of how Samuel’s mother was so grateful to God for granting her request to have a baby. “I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request,” she said. “Now I, in turn, give him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the Lord.” 

 May it be that we are always aware of this duty and faithful in carrying it out. We need to make deliberate effort to develop this awareness since, given the temper of the times, the likely thing to happen is not only to ignore it but also to frontally go against it. 

 I am sure that with a little meditation of the truths of our faith about our real relationship with God, we would be filled with true joy when we realize who we really are. We can echo what the responsorial psalm of the day presents to us: “My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.” 

 Not only that, we can also echo what Mary, the Mother of Christ and our Mother, said in her “Magnificat.” “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed…” (Lk 1,46-48) 

 As we can see, if we are truly guided and inspired by our Christian faith, there’s no way but for us to feel truly happy and blessed. No amount of difficulty, challenges, trials and all the negative things that we can encounter in our life here on earth can take away that joy and feeling of blessedness. 

 And this joy and blessedness is sustained and nourished to the extent that we continue to give ourselves to God and to everyone. We would always feel the need to give back and to pay back. We would not even need to be reminded by Christ that he expects much from those to whom he has entrusted with much. (cfr. Lk 12,48) 

 Let’s see to it that this Christian dynamic truly plays out in our life. When we notice that we are just indulging on ourselves—something that can happen in many very subtle ways these days—let’s try to be quick to correct it. We should fully dedicate ourselves to God and to everyone else. 

 This Christmas, let us resolve to train ourselves in this direction. It may take time and a lot of effort, especially at the beginning, but let’s not forget to undertake this training and to encourage others as well to do the same. 

 Let’s assure everyone that this is the way to be truly happy and united with God and with everybody else, despite our unavoidable differences and conflicts. To be sure, this is a very clear way of defusing the growing tension of misunderstanding, anger, hatred and even of war that we see around these days. 

 This would be the best gift we can present to Christ who gives himself totally to us this Christmas!

Hurry up to do God's work

THE readings of the Mass of December 21 ably evoke the sentiment of joy as we look forward to the coming birth of Christ our Redeemer, and the need for dispatch in cooperating in Christ’s continuing work of redemption. 

 In the Book of the Songs of Songs (2,8-14) we are told about how we are supposed to be happy since the “Beloved arrives leaping along the mountains, jumping across the hills…like a doe and like a young stag.” The Beloved exhorts us to “rise up quickly…and advance.” 

 In the Gospel of St. Luke, (cfr. Lk 1,39-45) we are told about how Our Lady, already with the child Jesus in her womb, immediately went to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was already 6 months in the family way with John the Baptist in her womb, to be of help. 

 Our Lady clearly shows us here how ready she was ready to reach out, never feeling entitled despite the greatest privilege she enjoyed as being chosen as the Mother of the Son of God. 

 All these readings should somehow remind us that while we obviously are very happy and excited over the coming birth of Christ, we should realize more deeply that Christ came here to redeem us and that we ought to cooperate in that work of redemption. 

 We should find time to figure out how we, as Christian believers, can do our part in this continuing work of redemption. Is this concern very much in our mind and heart? And how can we pursue this concern in all the events and circumstances of our life? 

 In other words, we should get real as we celebrate another Christmas which is a wonderful way of having to begin again in carrying out our Christian duties. Let’s make our joy at the birth of Christ an impetus to be more faithful and generous in our Christian duties and commitments. 

 The fact is there is still a whole lot of work to be done in terms of redeeming mankind and of restoring the true face of the earth as created and designed by God. And everyone actually has a crucial part to carry out this work. The state of humanity and of the world today definitely has strayed from the path proper to it. 

 As to how this can be done, it should not be a big problem. It does not require some kind rocket science for us to carry out our Christian duties. If we are properly guided by our Christian faith, we know that every event and circumstance in our life, no matter how small and ordinary, can be and should be an occasion to encounter Christ and to cooperate with him in his continuing work of redemption. 

 We just have to do some tweaking in the way we understand things in order to align it to what our faith is telling us, a faith that is actually ever alive and active because the Holy Spirit is continually prompting us. We should just sharpen our ability to perceive what he is telling us every moment. 

 And we should not worry that by faithfully and generously carrying out our Christian duties, we would be heavily burdened all our life. Yes, while it’s true that we are meant to deny ourselves and carry the cross if we want to follow Christ, we are also told that Christ gives us rest and that his yoke is easy and his burden light. (cfr. Mt 11,28-30) 

 The joy of Christmas can always be with us as long as unite ourselves to Christ as tightly as possible!

The virgin birth

“THE Lord himself will grant to you a sign. Behold, a virgin will conceive, and she will give birth to a son, and his name will be called Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.” (Is 7,14) 

 Thus, the prophecy about Christ’s birth was announced and was fulfilled in Mary. When she asked the Archangel Gabriel how she can conceive a son since, according her, she had “no relations with a man,” the angel told her about the Holy Spirit who will overshadow her and with that she will conceive a son in her womb. (cfr. Lk 1,26-38) And with her faith-filled “Be it done,” the virginal conception took place. 

 That a virgin can give birth without human intervention clearly tells us that the birth involves a divine intervention that shows that the one to be born is not only man but is also, first of all, God. He is both God and man, perfect God and perfect man! 

 What can we derive from this truth of our faith? What we can only conclude is that, indeed, God and man share the same life and nature, without of course blurring the distinction between God who is the Creator, and man as a creature made in God’s image and likeness. 

 This is, of course, a truth of faith that is really incredible! Given the way we are, we can only say, “No way.” But again, whether we believe it or not, the truth still remains that we share the same life and nature of God. It’s just really up to us, if we rev up our faith, to accept the truth about ourselves. 

 In this regard, the way to go is to follow the example of Mary whose faith in God is so complete and perfect that she, being a creature, could become the daughter of God the Father, mother of God the Son, and spouse of God the Holy Spirit. 

 All these came to be because of her response, “Fiat” (Be it done) to God’s messenger. Her openness to God’s will, her obedience to the divine designs for man somehow started the healing of the disobedience of our first parents that plunged all of us into a life and a world of sin. 

 That “Fiat” is the best example of obedience that man as a creature can have in relation to the will of God, our Creator and Father. It perfectly echoes in a mysteriously anticipative way also Christ’s obedience to the will of his Father—“If it is your will, let this cup pass by me, but not my will but yours be done.” 

 Mary’s “Fiat” is the perfect model of how our will ought to be conformed to God’s will. We have to be reminded that by the very nature of our will, the very seat of our freedom, our will is supposed to be in synch with the will of its Creator. It just cannot be by itself, turning and moving purely on its own. 

 It is meant to be engaged with the will of God, its creator and lawgiver. It is the very power we have been given by God that enables us to unite ourselves with God in the most intimate way. All the other aspects of our life—physical, biological, chemical, etc.—are also governed by God-given laws but, by themselves, they cannot bring us into intimate union with God. 

 It is with this faith that the impossible to us becomes not only possible but would be actualized. The virgin birth is proof to this truth of faith!

Sports as preparation for Christmas

CHRISTMAS being the birth of Christ our Redeemer, we should be properly prepared for it in both body and soul. The spiritual preparation, of course, takes precedence over the bodily preparation, but the latter also needs to be given due attention, otherwise our spiritual readiness to receive Christ on Christmas Day would be undermined. 

 One good way to make ourselves bodily prepared for Christmas is through sports. If its true purpose is understood and lived well, sports can give us a tremendous help in properly welcoming Christ into our lives. 

 We have to understand that sports should not just be a matter of winning in a game or in a race. While that is the immediate intention of anyone who plays, we should go beyond that level and capture the more important purpose of sports. 

 Sports should train our body and all its faculties—the senses, emotions, passions, imagination, memory, etc.—to be properly aligned to the true dignity of man which is that of being the image and likeness of God, children of his, sharers of his divine life and nature. 

 In short, sports should make us like Christ, the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity. How? By seeing to it that we regard our life here on earth like a sport too, where we have to train ourselves, submitting ourselves to a certain discipline, etc. 

 We should echo what St. Paul once said: “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like someone running aimlessly. I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.” (1 Cor 9,25-27) 

 This discipline required in sports and in our life is somehow indicated in the readings of the Mass of December 19 where we are told about Samson whose hair should not be cut (cfr. Judges 13,2-7.24-25), and about John the Baptist who would not take strong drinks. (cfr. Lk 1,15) 

 The real victory that our sports should give us is not so much a matter of winning a particular game, or of making a lot of points, etc., as in making us more a child of God, filled with love for God and for everybody else, whether we win or lose in a game. 

 Aside from a strong sense of self-discipline and submitting ourselves in a continuing training program, 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 be sport and adventurous in facing the different conditions of our life. And it would greatly help if we too can have an abiding sense of humor. Otherwise, we would just fall into states of sadness, pessimism and despair which actually are unnecessary and are avoidable. 

 This we can do if first of all we have a strong and deep faith in God, our Creator and Father. If we have that faith, we know that God holds everything in order through his providence. He takes care of everything, irrespective of how things go. Ours is simply to relate everything to him and to go back to him everytime we go astray especially at the end of the day.

Christian confidence amid mysteries

WE are now days before Christmas. Our longing for the birth of Christ is heightened, thanks to our tradition of the Simbang Gabi that up to now enjoys vast popularity especially among the simple people who are gifted with a lot of faith. Let’s hope that this tradition continues “sine fine” or “in aeternum.” 

 In the readings of December 18, we are told about a branch of David that will be raised up, a king who is wise and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. (cfr. Jer 23,5-8) This is, of course, referring to Christ himself. We should feel the excitement of his coming. 

 Thus, in the responsorial psalm, we are made to declare with joy, “Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.” (Ps 72,7) Obviously, that’s what Christ would accomplish, although his kind of justice and peace may not coincide with our own ideas of them. 

 The gospel of the day talks about Joseph who thought at first to divorce from Mary when he found her with child in her womb even before they lived together. But a special divine intervention was made to clarify the matter to him. And he immediately changed his mind and followed what God had wanted him to do and to be. (cfr. Mt 1,18-25) 

 All these readings somehow tell us that we have every reason to be confident and happy even amid some mysteries and unpleasant circumstances, as long as we stick to God in his will and in his ways. This trust in God should always be nourished by us. 

 We need to realize that our life always has more to offer to us than what we can understand, let alone, cope. 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 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. 

 It would be unsportsmanlike if we allow ourselves to 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 an ongoing narrative, when a comma, a colon or a 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. 

 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. 

 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.

True Christian joy an effect of repentance

THE 3rd Sunday of Advent is usually dubbed as Gaudete Sunday (Rejoice Sunday) because the Entrance Antiphon of the Mass for that day starts with the joyful greeting, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.” (Phil 4,4-5) 

 We are clearly encouraged to be happy as the birth of Christ is now fast approaching. But we have to know what this true Christian joy is. It simply is not a cheap and shallow one, the effect of feasting and bright and colorful decors with music and caroling all around. Rather, it should be the effect of a clean heart that gives the most appropriate welcome to Christ. 

 Thus, in the gospel of the Mass, we are somehow reminded of the need for repentance, an act of general spiritual and moral cleaning, so Christ would be most happy to enter into our lives. 

 The gospel is about John the Baptist, the precursor of Christ, who when asked by the Jews who he was, clearly said, “I am, as Isaiah prophesied, a voice that cries in the wilderness: Make a straight way for the Lord.” (Jn 1,23) That, though not in so many words, means that John the Baptist is appealing for repentance from everyone, an appeal that given the temper of the times, can be described as a “cry in the wilderness.” 

 Repentance should not be difficult thing to do. All we need to do is just to say as sincerely as possible that we are sorry for our sins. Better yet, we go to confession, the sacrament that clearly gives us the divine absolution for our sins. 

 And even if at the back of our mind we somehow know that we would still fall into sin sooner or later, we should not be hindered in expressing repentance as often as necessary, since God always forgives. He always understands and is compassionate and merciful. Of course, on our part, we should try our best not abuse the goodness of God. 

 In this regard, we also should train ourselves not to stay long in keeping some negative feelings of heaviness of heart, of guilt and shame because of our sin. As long as we have asked for forgiveness properly, we have every reason to feel light and happy, focused on doing a lot of good. 

 Thus, it is important that we also keep our emotions and passions in check, because they have the notorious tendency to dominate us in their erratic ways. We should learn to show our joy that radiates from a clean heart, a heart reconciled with God. 

 We have to understand that only when we are truly happy can we do a lot of good things. That’s when we can truly capture the mind and heart of Christ who, despite the passion and death that he had to go through, would lead us to the happy victory of his resurrection. 

 As we commemorate the birth of Christ our Redeemer this Christmas, let us resolve to always live a happy life, knowing perfectly well where that happiness should spring and what it involves. 

 Let us also spread this Good News of the true Christian joy as widely as possible so we can lead many to the true source of happiness, taking them away from the paths of fake and bogus forms of joy.

Look for Christ first and always

WE are now in the Season of Advent, a time to develop the sense of yearning for Christ in our life. And the readings of the Mass on Friday of the 2nd Week of Advent encourage us to do just that. 

 In the first reading, from the Book of Isaiah, we are assured of the tremendous benefits we can get from God through Christ in the Holy Spirit. “I am the Lord thy God that teach thee profitable things, that govern thee in the way that thou walkest,” it says. (48,17) 

 And it continues: “O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments: thy peace had been as a river, and thy justice as the waves of the sea, and thy seed had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof.” (48,18-19) The responsorial psalm reiterates the same idea, the same truth: “Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.” (Jn 8,12) 

 It’s worthwhile to not only be familiar with these words but also to repeat them in our mind and heart if only to always give us the impulse to look for Christ in everything that we do in our life. 

 Let’s reassure ourselves that only in this way can we manage to have joy and peace no matter what happens in our life which will always be marked by challenges, trials and such things. 

 Let’s hope that we can escape the complaint of Christ as expressed in the gospel of the day’s Mass. “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn,” he said. (Mt 11,16-17) 

 Indeed, there is a lot of religious indifference today. And even those who may be regarded as religiously inclined are not yet that consistent in their relation with Christ. It’s more theory than practice, more of intention than of deeds. 

 If we believe that Christ is the pattern of our humanity, the savior of our damaged humanity who offers us the way, the truth and the life, then it should come as something natural that he should be the center and constant focus of our life. 

 We need to develop the practice of looking for Christ first and always in everything that we do in this life. We have to reassure ourselves that that is the best thing that can happen to us. With Christ, we would know how to properly think, speak, react and behave in any situation of our life. Yes, we are reassured of joy and peace. And most of all, we would be achieving the final goal of our life—our salvation, our sanctity. 

 We really need to develop an abiding and burning desire to fulfill the real purpose of our life which is precisely for us to be “another Christ.” We should be clear about this ultimate purpose of ours so we can have the proper sense of direction and focus in our life, and the corresponding urge to fulfill it. 

 To be sure, Christ is everywhere. Not only that, he constantly intervenes in our life. He is never passive. He is full of love, concern and solicitude for us. We really have to learn how to correspond to this tremendous madness of love Christ has for us!

Never worry, God takes care of everything

THIS should be the attitude to have. If we still don’t have it, then let’s start training ourselves to acquire such outlook in life. The secret is again to strengthen our faith in God who takes care of everything, even if his ways escape our understanding and expectations. 

 With a strong faith in God, we can learn how to be tough and sporty in the game of our life that can get rough. We would know how to deal with the challenges, trials, problems and all the possible negative things in our life without falling into unnecessary worries. Yes, we would know how to ride out the storms of our life. 

 Obviously, our initial and spontaneous reaction to life’s difficulties may be that of worrying, but we should not stay long there. We know that once we recover our Christian senses, we have no reason to worry. 

 Yes, we should try to find the solutions to our problems and to fathom the many mysteries of our life, but knowing that humanly speaking we can only go so far, let’s just be quick to go to God, asking for his grace, enlightenment and strength, and then just move on. 

 To be tough in life, we need to learn how to be accepting of things that can come to us and live a certain sense of abandonment, without compromising our duty to be responsible for our life also. We should know how to keep our feelings and emotions in check, since they have the notorious tendency to dominate us and to go against right reason and even our common sense. 

 This need for toughness was somehow referred to by Christ when he said: “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force.” (Mt 11,12) 

 Let’s always remember that our life has a lot more to offer and to challenge us than we can cope. Aside from having to contend with our human weaknesses, temptations and sin, we also have to deal with the supernatural goal of our life that we oftentimes do not believe in. We should not be surprised by this fact of life, and just try our best to rev up our faith in God. 

 Let’s be like Mary, the Mother of Christ and our Mother, who when told that she was going to be the Mother of the Son of God, just said “Be it done to me according to your word,” even if she did not fully understand how she can conceive the very Son of God in her womb. 

 Many times, we have to repeat Mary’s words of acceptance to the mysterious will and ways of God, so we do not let ourselves be carried away by doubts, fears, worries that often lead us to some mental health issues, or worse, to compromise our spiritual life. These days, cases of this sort are increasing. Some even have given way to suicide over something that can be considered as a light problem. 

 We should look for Christ always and be with him especially when we find ourselves in difficulties. A healthy spirit of abandonment in God’s hands is necessary even as we exhaust all possible human means to achieve our goals or to tackle all the challenges, trials and predicaments of our life. We should never forget this truth of our faith. 

 We always have to go to God through Christ in the Holy Spirit. This is not an exercise of surrender and futility, but rather of conquest and victory. With God, everything always works for the good. (cfr. Rom 8,28)

What’s your greatest desire?

IT should be to look for Christ, to be with Christ, to follow Christ. That’s where we can find what is good for us in any situation we can find ourselves in. If that is not yet our greatest desire, then it’s about time that we train ourselves to acquire such desire. 

 Why is that? The simple answer is because Christ himself said that he is “the way, the truth, and the life” proper to us. In the Book of Isaiah, we are told that “they that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength: they shall take wings as eagles; they shall run and not weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (40,31) 

 Besides, in the Gospel of St. Matthew, Christ clearly tells us: “Come to me, all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you.” (11,28) And he reassures us that he will be the one to give us rest. He also tells us that his yoke is sweet and his burden light. 

 Thus, if we find looking for Christ and living with him not sweet and light, we can be sure that we are not truly with him yet. Let’s do something about it immediately. To be with Christ should give us the sensation of lightness, peace, joy and confidence, irrespective of the situation we may be in. It should fill us with energy to do a lot of good. 

 Even in our difficulties and suffering, such condition of lightness, peace, etc., should be felt. After all, it would be Christ who would be bearing them more than us. We simply share a little of the weight. And when we share it with him, we would know that such difficulties and suffering have some positive value. 

 We should be wary when we are complacent in this duty of looking for Christ in everything that we do. We have to look for him, so we can find him and be with him, and share what he has with us. 

 We have to be wary when we would just allow ourselves to be dominated or ruled by our earthly condition—our moods, bodily health, the temper of the times, etc. We should be guided always by our faith which, by the way, is a gift God gives us always in abundance. The gift of faith is no problem. It’s never in short supply. 

 Right at the start of the day, let’s take the decision to be ruled by our faith, and not simply by our earthly condition, and to start looking for Christ. With him, we are assured of a happy life despite whatever. Our outlook in life would always be marked by optimism and confidence. Yes, Christian life is always a happy life. 

 Let’s help one another develop this greatest desire to look for Christ. That way, we can help many people deal properly with problems, challenges and trials. Just looking around, we can see many cases of people in states of sadness, discontent and depression. Mental illness is becoming a kind of epidemic these days. Sad to say, some people, especially the young ones, choose to commit suicide. 

 This business of looking for Christ in order to have a happy and meaningful life, should be made a culture in our place. It should be an ordinary and commonplace thing around. It’s not meant only for a few chosen ones. It’s meant for all!

The significance of Our Lady of Guadalupe

DECEMBER 12 is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe whose image was miraculously imprinted on a simple cloak of a Mexican of Aztec descent, now saint, Juan Diego, back in 1591. The image has become so famous that it now is a national symbol of Mexico. It also reminds us of so many interesting things about Our Lady and us. 

 For one, it reminds us that Our Lady is always a mother who constantly cares for us, acting as our most reliable intercessor before God. She does not hesitate to make some extraordinary interventions in our life, as when she makes apparitions, if only to remit to us some important messages, if not warnings, over matters that may have gone quite serious. 

 In the readings of the feast’s liturgical celebration, we are reminded of the basic truth of our faith that tells us about the dignity that we have. And that is that we enjoy the highest connaturality with God, since God created us to be his image and likeness. (cfr. Gen 1,27) 

 Although that image has been damaged because of our sin, there is one person who managed to keep herself immaculate. And that is Our Lady. She can be considered as the perfect specimen of how a human person should be. 

 Thus, in the responsorial psalm, this passage from the Book of Judith is applied to her: “You are the highest honor of our race.” (15,9) It’s good that we be familiar with these words because even if it is incredible to apply them to us, the truth is that at the end of the day, we, too, like Mary share in that connaturality with God. 

 We should just try our best to imitate our Lady in living out that dignity as faithfully as possible. And the secret is simply to have the same faith, the same openness to God’s will, her obedience to the divine designs for man that undid the disobedience of our first parents and that of ours. 

 Her “Fiat” (Be it done unto me) is the best example of the obedience of faith that a human person as a creature can have in relation to the will of God. It perfectly echoes in a mysteriously anticipative way Christ’s obedience to the will of his Father—“If it is your will, let this cup pass by me, but not my will but yours be done.” (Mt 26,39) 

 Mary’s “Fiat” is the perfect model of how our will ought to be conformed to God’s will. We have to be reminded that by the very nature of our will, the very seat of our freedom, our will is supposed to be in synch with the will of its Creator. It just cannot be by itself, turning and moving purely on its own. 

 It is meant to be engaged with the will of God, its creator and lawgiver. It is the very power we have been given by God that enables us to unite ourselves with God in the most intimate way. All the other aspects of our life—physical, biological, chemical, etc.—are also governed by God-given laws but, by themselves, they cannot bring us into intimate union with God. 

 We cannot expropriate our will to be simply our own. We are meant only to be stewards of it, not its owner nor its designer, creator and lawgiver. It has to submit itself to the will of God, otherwise it would be working without proper foundation and purpose.

“Our God will come to save us!”

THOSE are words that come from the Book of Isaiah. (35,4) Those words are most worthwhile to be repeated as often as possible to reassure us that whatever happens in our life, with all the heavy drama that it brings, God, our Father, will surely come to save us. 

 We should not waste time fretting and worrying over whatever negative things can take place in our life. We should rather be quick to enliven our faith where we always find hope and resume living in charity, which is the best condition our life is meant to be in. 

 If we are truly living an authentic Christian life, based on our Christian faith, we would have every reason to live in total confidence and joy. Despite the crosses and suffering that are unavoidable in our life, we would know that victory over them is assured as long as we go through them with Christ, our Savior, who offers us “the way, the truth, and the life” that is proper to us. 

 It’s really just a matter of faith, a matter of choice of whom to believe and to rely on—God who is omnipotent and merciful, or ourselves only. We should do everything to rev up our faith, especially in those moments when we find ourselves in some severe challenges and trials. With a strong faith, miracles can happen, the impossible becomes possible. 

 Yes, faith is 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. Lk 5,17-26) 

 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. 

 We have to be clear about this point. Christ is always around and is actively intervening in our lives, directing and leading us to our proper end, in spite of our very erratic ways. He can never be indifferent to us, and is willing to suffer and die for us just to save us. Precisely he came as an expiation for our sins. He is the one who pays for our sins. All we have to do is just to try to go along with him in the best way we can. 

 So, we have to be clear about the truth that miracles are meant more to forgive our sins and for our salvation rather than just curing an ailment, and that we have to be wary of our tendency to be disbelieving. 

 To address this tendency of ours to be disbelieving, we have to be humble to be able to receive what is told to us by faith. We have to realize that our life, being a life with God and therefore is supernatural, needs to be lived by faith more than just by our reason alone.

God should be the primary object of our faculties

THAT’S right. All our human faculties, both spiritual and corporal, should have God as the primary object. As of now, it is clear that this truth of our Christian faith is still unknown or, at best, some breaking news yet, for which many of us still have to make the appropriate training. 

 We are reminded of this truth in the readings of the 2nd Sunday of Advent which talk about the need for preparation for the coming of the Redeemer. (cfr. Is 40,1-5.9-11; 2 Pt 3,8-14; Mk 1,1-8) 

 We need to develop and nurture this need for preparation since we all know that especially nowadays we are practically swallowed up by our earthly concerns. Thoughts of God and everything that concerns our duties toward him are hardly given any serious attention. 

 Our intelligence and will, our emotions, passions, memory and imagination, our senses should be trained to look for God first and be anchored with him. Otherwise, there’s no way but for us to get lost and confused, even if we think we are having a good time by just attending to our earthly concerns. 

 Let’s remember what Christ said when asked what the greatest commandment was. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” he said. (Mt 22,37) It’s quite clear what priorities we have to observe with respect to our loving. 

 To those who ask if God can be found in the things we handle daily and in the issues, challenges and trials we have to tackle everyday, the answer cannot be any clearer. God is everywhere. Being the creator of all things, he is in everything that exists since he is the one who gives and keeps the existence of things. Without him, nothing exists or reverts to nothing. 

 Thus, a psalm describes this truth beautifully when it says, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” (139,8-10) 

 With our modern world of very developed sciences and technologies, we should not forget that God is right there in the middle of everything. We should just train our faculties, inspired by faith and powered by God’s grace and our effort, to discern God’s presence, his will and his ways, if we want to be on the right track in our life. 

 This, of course, is another way of saying that we need to develop a truly contemplative life where even in our most mundane conditions, we are still with God and everything that he gives us, including a taste of heaven. 

 Thus, we need to develop a certain yearning for Christ, a longing, an urge, a passionate desire, since this is a basic necessity for us, given the fact that Christ is everything to us. He is our savior. He is the pattern of our humanity. We achieve the fullness of our humanity when we fully identify ourselves with him, which is something that can take place only with God’s grace, but also with our all-out effort. 

 Let’s be wary when we let our faculties get trapped in our earthly concerns.

Our lifelong struggle against sin

THE celebration of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on December 8 reminds us that like our heavenly Mother, we are meant to be sinless in our definitive state of life in heaven. Our Father God wants it that way since we are his image and likeness. 

 As the Eucharistic Preface of the Mass of the Solemnity puts it, Mary is the sign of favor God gave to the Church, which includes all of us, believers of Christ, at its beginning, and the promise of its perfection as the bride of Christ. We are supposed to be like Mary as she was and is completely identified with Christ. 

 But given our wounded condition here on earth, we also have to realize that we have the grave duty to continue waging war against sin, because temptations and sins will always hound us all throughout our life here on earth. 

 That may be an impossible pursuit, since we all know that we are all sinners, but it should not prevent us from doing our best to struggle to be as sinless as possible. In this regard, we should never forget to develop and strengthen our personal skills in handling temptations. This concern never goes passé, and it touches a basic, indispensable aspect of our life in all levels. 

 These days, temptations can come to us in the subtlest and trickiest of ways. This can be due, at least in part, to the increased level of sophistication both in people’s thinking and in world developments, especially in the area of technology and ideology. 

 With these developments, temptations can easily come undetected, and sin can be committed in a most hidden way and can even be easily rationalized. How important therefore it is for us to always grow in humility and simplicity, aggressively finding practical ways to achieve them! If not, we would just be lost. 

 As can be easily noted these days, the healthy fear of God is disappearing. In its place, a most heinous sense of self-importance is dominating. The criteria to determine what is good and bad have become blurred. They have gone almost completely relativistic and subjective, declaring total independence from any absolute and objective rule or law that comes from God. 

 Truth is, we always need God in our battle against temptations. We should disabuse ourselves from the thought that with our good intentions and our best efforts alone, we can manage to tame the urges of temptations. 

 Also, we should help others in their struggle against temptations and sins. In this regard, we have to learn how to fraternize with everybody, especially those in some bad spiritual and moral conditions. Like Christ, we should learn how to fraternize with sinners to help them. 

 We have to be wary of a certain tendency to fraternize only with the good people and not the bad ones. Let’s remember what Christ said in this regard: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” 

 That is why we need to be tough ourselves spiritually, morally and even physically. We should be willing to complicate our lives for this purpose. In fact, as one saint said it, we should be willing to go all the way to the gates of hell, but not beyond, to save a soul!

Always strengthen our belief in Christ

WE should always feel this need of strengthening our belief in Christ who is the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity. We cannot deny that even if we are baptized Catholics, and have gone through the usual practices of Christian life, our belief in Christ may still be weak or more in theory and intention and not in actual practice. 

 This inconsistency in our Christian life can get exposed when we encounter some difficulties and challenges that are a bit extraordinary. That’s when the real color of our Christianity is shown. We need to correct this anomaly. 

 And the way to do it is to always renew and put more vigor in our belief in Christ, refreshing our belief that Christ is always intervening in our life. He is never away from us nor indifferent to our needs. He is always around and is ever solicitous of our earthly condition. 

 The secret is to conform our will to God’s will as expressed and shown to us by Christ. We should not allow our will to simply be on its own. Our will needs an anchor, and that anchor can only be God. 

 We are reminded of this basic truth of our Christian faith in that gospel episode where Christ told his disciples, “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. But he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 7,21) 

 Apropos of this truth of our Christian faith, St. Paul also said, “Not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” (Rom 2,13) St. James says something similar: “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (1,22) 

 Christ himself lived by this principle, even at the expense of his own life. “I do nothing of myself, but as the Father has taught me...” (Jn 8,28) And in the agony in the garden, he expressed that most eloquent submission to his Father’s will, “Not my will but yours be done.” (Lk 22,42) 

 We need to understand that our whole life is a matter of conforming ourselves to God’s will, the very seat of our ultimate identity as persons and children of God. This would involve the stages of knowing that will, believing it, then professing it and putting it into action. In short, receiving our faith, then turning it into life itself. 

 All saints and the parade of holy men and women all through the ages have done nothing other than this. They had their ups and downs, their wins and losses, but they always stood up after each fall or loss, they repented, and went back to action again. 

 Of course, the epitome among the saints is Our Lady, who was praised by Christ himself to high heavens. When someone in the crowd told him his mother was around, he said: “Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Mt 12, 29-50) 

 We should see to it that we are good not only in words and in intentions, but also and most especially in deeds. Our usual problem, given our human nature and the current condition of our woundedness, is that we tend precisely to be very good in words and in intentions but really poor in performance and consistency. 

 This is how we can strengthen our belief in Christ!

The mountain of the Lord

WE have to be familiar with this particular aspect of Christian life. There is such thing as the mountain of the Lord where we can expect some special moments with the Lord. A number of times this mountain is mentioned in the Bible, like in the Book of Isaiah. (cfr. Is 25) 

 “On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, of food rich and juicy…On this mountain he will remove the mourning veil covering all people,…” he says. 

 Interestingly enough, it’s also on a mountain that Christ attracted a big crowd that included those with all kinds of illnesses looking for some cure from him. It was also there where he multiplied a handful of bread and fish to feed the people. (cfr. Mt 15,29-37) 

 A number of times, it is also mentioned that Christ would go to a mountain or to hill to pray and to have some intimate moments with the Father. (cfr. Mk 6,46; Lk 6,12; etc.) It was also on a mountain that Christ had his transfiguration. (cfr. Lk 9,28-43) 

 We have to know the implications that these references to a mountain have in our Christian life. From what we can gather from these references, the mountain is a favorite place of Christ to pray, to have some special and intimate moments with the Father. 

 It is also a place where we can expect to find joy and healing of whatever illnesses we can have, physical, moral, spiritual. It’s like a home to which Christ would go to rest and pray, and to be with us as well. No wonder a psalm expresses the desire we should have for this house of God. “In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell forever and ever.” (Ps 23,6) 

 We should keep that desire burning as we go through our daily affairs. We should try to see to it that at the end of each day, we have that sensation of wanting to go to our home with God which will involve a certain mountain. 

 Thus, we can understand the mountain of the Lord, which is his house and our home with him, as a state of mind, heart and spirit that would involve a certain detachment from our usual daily and temporal affairs. 

 We have to learn to leave behind our temporal concerns just to be with the one who is the most important person in our life and the fulfillment of our real dignity. This spirit of detachment was articulated by Christ himself when he said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Mt 16,24) 

 This leaving behind our temporal affairs was also taught to us in those parables about the kingdom of heaven compared to a treasure hidden in a field and to a pearl of great value, for which everything else was sold to buy that field and that pearl. (cfr. Mt 13,44-26) 

 Somehow, we are told that we should go to that mountain of the Lord at the end of each day. It should be a mountain where we truly should find our Lord, our joy, and have that feeling that we are at our definitive home. We need to develop the relevant practices that will actualize this aspect of our Christian life.

Where true justice and peace can be found

ONLY in Christ, of course, can we find true justice and peace. Outside of him, forget it. We can only have, at best, some appearance of justice and peace, but not the real ones. In time, the consequences of the counterfeit justice and peace will surely be exposed. 

 We are reminded of this truth of our Christian faith in the readings of the Mass of Tuesday of the First Week of Advent where we are told that “a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness.” (Is 11,1-2) 

 And in the responsorial psalm of that day, these beautiful words are said, which describe the effects of how the spirit of God will have on this rod out of the root of Jesse: “Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.” (Ps 72,7) 

 We should just try our best that we base our search for true justice and peace on Christ, the personification of the “rod out of the root of Jesse” that was foretold in the Book of Isaiah. We have to be wary of our strong tendency to rely mainly on our own estimation of things, on our ideologies and philosophies, in our search for justice and peace. 

 As we can see now, especially in the so-called developed countries that have all but abandoned God and religion in general, and are simply depending on their own ideologies, there is clearly a quagmire of acrimony and finger-pointing. 

 Even the commonest of common sense is contradicted as when some people claim that they have a right to abort, or kill, a baby at birth. Politics is not anymore a pursuit for the common good, with God as the ultimate common good, but rather a brazen conspiracy to acquire power and to keep it as long as possible. Of course, it would just be a matter of time before violence, and even war, would erupt. 

 We need to make a shout-out for the need to return to God if we want to have true justice and peace. With him, as taught and shown by Christ in the Holy Spirit, and as promoted consistently by the Church, we are sure to find justice and peace in spite of our unavoidable differences and conflicts. With him, we can still hold on to the power of love that knows how to keep the unity in the truth among ourselves despite our differences and conflicts. 

 Obviously, to be able to return to God, we need a lot of faith. We just cannot depend on our reasoning and estimation of things. Thus, in the gospel of the day, Christ told his disciples how lucky they were because they knew Christ. “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see,” he said. “For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” (Lk 10,23-24) 

 We should always make Christ as the beginning and end of all our efforts to find true justice and peace in this world!