Honing our concern for the poor

THAT parable of the rich man and the poor man, Lazarus, (cfr. Lk 16,19-31) which is the subject of the gospel of the Mass for Thursday of the 2nd Week of Lent, strongly reminds us of our duty to always take care of those who are in need of anything, not only material necessities but also and especially, moral and spiritual ones. 

 Said in another way, it reminds us of the danger, so common among ourselves, to be so trapped in our own affairs, in our own status or in our own world, that we become insensitive to the needs of others. 

 While it’s true that we have to take care of our own selves, it’s never an excuse for not attending to the needs of others. In fact, we need to realize that our true self-care can only take place when we take care of our duties, first to God, and then to others. Thus, if we truly want to take care of ourselves, we have to take care of our duties to God first, and then our duties to the others. 

 Indeed, we need to make some special effort to assume this kind of mindset since it cannot be denied that given our human condition, weakened and wounded as it is by all kinds of limitations, temptations and sins, the usual thing to happen is for us to be self-centered and self-indulgent. 

 We should see to it that our thoughts and intentions always revolve around God and the others. The moment we notice that they are revolving around ourselves, we should try our best to correct ourselves. We need to convince ourselves that by so doing, we are actually gaining in our human dignity, rather than undermining or losing it. 

 Thus, constant practice in this direction is a must, given the fact that everything around us sort of pressure us to be self-centered. This indeed will require of us a life-long struggle. 

 Definitely, some sacrifice in one form or another would be unavoidable. And we should not be surprised by that. On the contrary, we have to understand that for us to be truly human and a child of God as we should be, we need to do some sacrifice. Again, given our wounded human condition in this world, we cannot help but have to make sacrifices to pursue and keep our proper human and Christian dignity. 

 So, everyday we should be aware that we are making some sacrifices which is always possible, because even in our worst condition, as when we are sick or isolated for one reason or another, we can always make the sacrifice of thinking and offering prayers for the others instead of just thinking of ourselves. Our sacrifice can start in our thoughts and intentions. 

 We also need to realize that while we should try our best to help others in their needs, we have to give priority to those whose needs are truly grave, and that is always in the area of their spiritual and moral life. They may be rich economically, but if they are truly wanting of spiritual and moral health, they deserve our utmost attention and care. 

 This would indeed require of us a certain toughness that would enable us not to be scandalized by whatever sinful things they commit and to be somehow dirtied due to our accompaniment with them. But we should just persist until we manage to lead them back to God and recover their proper human and Christian dignity.

Let’s learn to stand up to suffering

SINCE suffering in one form or another is inevitable in our life here on earth, we should know how to handle it such that we can and should even derive something good from it. The secret, of course, is to go through any suffering with Christ. 

 Only then can our suffering acquire a positive value, since it can only strengthen us, purify us and win us our own redemption. Indeed, suffering, if experienced with Christ, can teach us many precious things that we often take for granted. 

 We are reminded of this truth of our Christian faith in the readings of the Mass on Wednesday of the 2nd Week of Lent. The first reading, from the Book of Jeremiah, (18,18-20) talks about how some evil men plotted against Jeremiah out of disbelief about what the prophet was telling the people. 

 These men, with their own idea of righteousness, just could not believe what Jeremiah was saying, a phenomenon that continues to take place even up to now. There are just some who are so fixated with their own estimation of things that they automatically dismiss whatever may even seem to contradict their estimation. 

 The gospel (cfr. Mt 20,17-28) talks about Christ warning his disciples of the impending suffering he was going to have. And the rather amusing twist in this gospel is that in spite of the serious tone of that impending suffering of Christ, we, in the person of the mother of James and John, tend to think only of our own glorification without the cross. 

 We have to understand that suffering will always be around in our life. And we should learn how to lose the fear of it. That’s because if we believe in Christ and follow what he has taught and shown us , we will realize that there actually is nothing to be afraid of suffering and even of death. 

 He bore them himself and converted them into our way for our own salvation. Yes, even death which is the ultimate evil that can befall us, an evil that is humanly insoluble. With Christ’s death, the curse of death has been removed. “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Cor 15,54-55) 

 So, we just have to be sport and cool about the whole reality of suffering and death. What we need to do is to follow Christ in his attitude toward them. For Christ, embracing suffering and ultimately death, is the expression of his greatest love for us. We have to enter into the dynamic of this divine logic and wisdom so we can lose that fear of suffering and death. 

 Yes, we need to discover and appreciate the link between suffering and loving. The two need not go against each other. In fact, they have to go together if we want our suffering to be meaningful and fruitful. And we have a way to do that. 

 By uniting our suffering with the passion and death of Christ on the cross, the vital link between suffering and loving is established. The sting of suffering and death is removed, and the guarantee of our resurrection and our victory over death, sin and all forms of evil that cause us suffering is made. 

 We just have to learn to be sport about our unavoidable condition of suffering in this life and adapt the proper attitude and reactions that should be inspired by our Christian faith. We have to educate our senses, feelings and emotions according to the indications of our faith and the recourse to the sacraments. By developing a life of authentic piety, we can hack it!

The crucial role of humility in our life

“THE greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Mt 23,11-12) 

 Words of Christ, addressed to his disciples and now to us, that clearly tell us about the crucial role of humility in our life. It’s the virtue that would truly make us great, since it would liken us to Christ who made himself a servant of all of us, and whose humility, expressed all the way to the cross, led to the victory of his resurrection, opening the door of our salvation. 

 We need to do everything to keep ourselves humble, especially in these rapidly changing times when all sorts of complexities and complications keep growing. Humility enables us to be flexible and adaptable to the varying environments and circumstances of our life, while anchoring us in the foundation of our Christian faith. 

 Indeed, humility fosters our capacity to be more keenly discerning in a world that is becoming less and less black and white, and more and more grey and multi-colored, with all sorts of shades and nuances to contend with. 

 With humility, we would be willing, like Christ, to be misunderstood, to suffer, etc., if only to keep ourselves in the hold of charity and mercy that in the end are what truly matter in our life. 

 In other words, humility assures us to have the righteousness proper to us, the righteousness that channels the very righteousness of God, and not the righteousness akin to that of the scribes and Pharisees of old. 

 It’s a humility that enables us to be slow to judge as well as to anger, but quick to forgive and even willing to bear the consequences of whatever mistakes, injustices and all sorts of evil that others may inflict on us. It’s even willing to repair whatever damage is caused by the mistakes of others. It’s what makes us generous and magnanimous in our relation with others, irrespective of how they are to us. 

 It helps us to be constant and persevering in pursuing our real goals in life despite some adverse or unfavorable situations and circumstances, knowing what and how to give up certain things that may need to be given up, but never sacrificing what is truly essential in life which, in the end, is to be charitable with everyone. 

 Yes, humility helps preserve whatever goodness we have, whatever we have received from God. And if we happen to lose that goodness, it is also what helps us to recover it, since it facilitates our asking for forgiveness and our trust in God’s ever-available mercy. It keeps us always hopeful and confident, despite our limitations and our errors. 

 We need to understand that humility involves giving our will to the will of God. It is a giving away that actually is not a loss at all but an immense gain for us. That’s because that is how we have been created, how we have been designed. Without God, like a branch cut off from the vine, we just die and are capable only of doing evil. 

 And precisely because Christ did only what his Father commanded him to do, he managed to recover us from the state of sin and restore us to the state of grace. How truly important it is to be humble! It is what would enable us to obey God’s will, and to do so irrespective of the great cost in terms of suffering it may involve.

Be always merciful and not judgmental

THAT’S what Christ told his disciples. (cfr. Lk 6,36-38) “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven.” 

 This does not mean that we are not meant to make some judgements and some condemnation. We are actually designed by God himself to judge things because that is how we begin to know. Together with those judgements is the possibility of some condemnation, since we really need to reject what we know is truly wrong and evil. 

 We just have to realize that our judgments and condemnations can never be final, since only God can do that. And that’s because only God knows everything thoroughly, while our knowledge of things, the basis for our judgements and possible condemnations, can only go so far. 

 In other words, while we try to be as clear as black and white in our worldview, we should never forget that there are many grey areas also that we need to handle with utmost care, delicacy and discernment. And because of that, we have to withhold our final judgements. 

 This is indeed a most tricky thing to carry out, because while we have to make judgements, we have to know also up to where our judgements can go. And we are told by Christ himself that given this condition of ours we should just have to be merciful the way God in Christ showed mercy to all of us. 

 And how was Christ merciful to all of us? First of all, being the son of God, he emptied himself to become man. That way, he already adapted himself to our wounded, sinful condition. He identified himself with us so that we would have a way to identify ourselves with him. He preached the truth about God and about ourselves. 

 He gave preferential attention to the sick, that is, the sinners. He was always ready to forgive, his mercy and compassion having no limits—“not only seven times, but seventy times seven times,” he said. (Mt 18,22) He taught about loving the enemy and lived it. He did not mind all the insults and mockeries that were poured on him just to accomplish his mission of saving us. 

 And in the end, he assumed all our sins without committing sin by dying on the cross. In that way, he dealt death to all our sins, and with his resurrection he offered us a way for our own salvation and reconciliation with our Father God. He was thoroughly magnanimous. 

 This is the ideal we should try our best, with God’s grace, to aim at. This, of course, will be a lifelong, let alone overwhelming, effort and process. But it can be done. And it would be good if we can start it as soon as we can. God waits for us to learn this virtue. And to be sure, he provides us with all that is needed in this regard. 

 On our part, we have to exert the effort to widen our heart so as to resemble it with the merciful heart of Christ. Everyday, we have to practice to detach our heart from the clutches of our own likes and dislikes, the very earth-and-flesh-bound condition of our physical, emotional and intellectual dynamics, so that it can conform itself to the universal heart of Christ, full of mercy and compassion. 

 We have to be wary of the danger of being pharisaical in our judgements.

Becoming more and more like Christ

THE gospel episode about the Transfiguration of the Lord (cfr. Mk 9,2-10) reminds us that like Christ we are meant to be transfigured in our definitive state of life in heaven for all eternity. 

 This is, of course, a very incredible truth of faith about ourselves. It definitely requires tremendous faith from us. That’s why, in the first reading of the Mass of the 2nd Sunday of Lent, (cfr. Gen 22,1-2.9a.10-13.15-18) we are told about the great faith of Abraham who believed what was told him no matter how incredible the messages God gave him were. 

 We also are given a reassurance of why this faith is all worthwhile in spite of its incredible character in the 2nd reading (cfr. Rom 8,31-34) where St. Paul tells us, “If God be for us, who is against us? He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how has he not also with him given us all things.” 

 In the face of such a tremendous truth of our faith about ourselves, we should just say, Amen, so be it, Lord. If that is what you want us to be, who are we to question? Let’s also remember that faith of Mary when she was told she was going to be the mother of the Son of God. Even if she did not fully understand how it was going to be, she just said, “Be it done to me, according to your word.” 

 Let’s not waste time analyzing too much this supernatural truth about ourselves that will always be a mystery to us. Let us just do our best in pursuing the goal of our earthly life to become more and more like Christ. Thus, at the end of each day, as we make some kind of accounting as to how our day went, we should ask ourselves, “Is there some progress or growth in my pursuit to become more and more like Christ today?” 

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

 And this truth of faith has been vividly shown to us since it is acted out in the whole history and economy of salvation that culminated in Christ offering his life and his very own self as the Bread of Life so we can have the eternal life with him, and so that he and us can be one. 

 We have to arrive at that point where we can make St. Paul’s words as our own too: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me.” (Gal 2,20) 

 We just have to learn to set aside whatever difficulty or awkwardness we may have in dealing with this basic truth of faith about ourselves. We have to try our best to know Christ and to adapt his very own mind and will, his own ways, behavior and reactions to whatever situation we may find ourselves in.

The danger of becoming holier-than-thou

WE have to be most careful with this danger which can easily afflict especially those who desire to be good, holy and a firm believer of God. The devil, who can appear to be an angel of light, can with a most subtle deception trip us in our pursuit for holiness. 

 Thus, in the gospel of Friday of the 1st Week of Lent, (cfr. Mt 5,20-26) we hear Christ saying, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees (who were the leading religious people of that time), you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.” 

 Christ even spelled it our further: “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment…” 

 To be holier-than-thou is to be like those scribes and Pharisees whom Christ reprimanded with some strong words. (cfr. Mt 23) They were quick to judge others and make final, condemnatory judgments of others who did not agree with them. They were hypocrites who were good at preaching but were not practicing what they preached. 

 They paid exaggerated attention to little, not-so-significant details while ignoring the most essential part of an issue—what Christ referred to as straining a gnat while swallowing a camel. They regarded themselves as having the exclusive possession of what was right and true. They were rigid in their ways and so literal in their interpretation of laws that they miss the proper spirit behind those laws. 

 They thought of themselves as living already in a perfect world, already in heaven, and anything that disturbed that world aroused their final condemnatory judgments. Everything was black and white with them. Tolerance, offering of understanding, compassion and mercy were not known. The gradual struggle to uphold and defend what was right and true was hardly known. 

 What Christ rather taught was to love everyone, including the enemies. He never taught us to hate anyone, because hatred only belongs to the devil. The moment we hate, we start playing the game of the devil who can easily take advantage of it to lead us to worse conditions. When we reject the temptations of the devil, it should not be an act of hatred but of prudence. 

 Remember Christ telling his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well…”(Mt 5,38-40) 

 It’s definitely a hard teaching to follow, but that is what Christ is telling us. We just have to learn how to be generous and magnanimous in our consideration of the others, no matter how wrong they may be. Christ is showing us what true love is. Love becomes more authentic the more tested it is, the more unlovable the object of our love is! 

 Christ showed it himself when he bore all the sins of men by going through his passion and death on the cross and conquering all those sins with his resurrection. It’s in the very essence of love to give oneself without measure, without calculation, without expecting any return. 

 It just gives and gives, even if along the way it encounters difficulties, rejection, suffering. It embraces them, not flee from them. By its nature, it is given gratuitously.

The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter

FEBRUARY 22 is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter which obviously would bring our attention to the role of the Holy Father in our life. He is the Vicar of Christ on earth. No matter how undeserving we may think of him for that position, as long as he is properly chosen, he speaks and leads with the authority of Christ himself. 

 This is, of course, a truth of faith. There is no way we can accept this view if we only rely on our human estimation of things, no matter how brilliant we regard that human estimation to be. We should just rely on Christ’s words when he chose St. Peter to be the first Pope of the Church: 

 “I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Mt 16,18-19) 

 We need to strengthen our faith in these words, because times are changing, and the Popes can be teaching us things according to how things are changing. We believe that the Holy Spirit will always guide him. We will be passing through periods that may surprise and confound us. But the invincibility of God’s protection over the Church should not be doubted. 

 In that controversy of the Fiducia supplicans, we are made to consider how to deal with people who are into same-sex relation. Is it ok to bless them or not? 

 I would say that if they ask for a blessing, it should not be denied, since that is already some kind of sign of at least some faith in the blessing of God. It was clarified that that blessing does not mean approval of their condition. It’s a simple blessing of goodwill that can invite them to take things more seriously that would hopefully lead to their repentance and conversion. 

 In spite of what we may not like in some of the moves and decisions of the Pope, we have the duty to love him, support and help him in any way we can. 

 We have to realize that the Pope, whoever he may be, whether Germanic or Latino, is always the Vicar of Christ, or as St. Catherine of Siena would put it, the sweet Christ on earth. He deserves to be loved and followed, his teaching listened to and obeyed. 

 And that’s mainly because he is vested with the same power that was first given to St. Peter to be the main Shepherd of the Church of God here on earth. Christ has entrusted St. Peter and his successors with the government of his Church to continue Christ’s mission on earth. 

 Through him we can hear the voice of Christ. In him, in some mysterious way, we have Christ himself, the head of the Church. He is given divine protection. 

 He obviously, like any human being, also has his own share of weaknesses and everything else that can arise from these weaknesses. We should not be surprised by this, much less, make a big issue out of it. 

 We just have to look at St. Peter who was quite impulsive and who denied Christ three times. But then he repented, and by divine order was made the rock on which the Church of Christ is built, with the assurance that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Mt 16,18)

May we heed the call to repentance

THE readings of the Mass of Wednesday of the 1st Week of Lent, which this year falls on February 21, invites us to heed the call to repentance and conversion. This need for repentance and conversion is actually a constant need of ours. But given the temper of the times, this call has become very urgent and most necessary, because it looks like it is largely ignored. 

 In the first reading from the Book of Jonah (3,1-10), we are told about how Jonah was asked by the Lord to warn the great city of Nineveh of an impending destruction that would be wrought on it for some serious reason by the Lord. And the city, from the king down, went through a serious process of repentance and conversion. 

 And in the responsorial psalm, we are assured that “a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.” (Ps 51,17) This assurance should encourage us to go through the process of repentance and conversion as soon as possible, no matter how tedious and challenging, considering it as all worthwhile. 

 The gospel of the day (cfr. Lk 11,29-32) talks about Christ complaining about “this generation is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” He must have been referring to the hard-headedness of the people of that time with respect to the need for repentance and conversion. 

 And we can say that the same hard-headedness can be observed also these days when many of us are so trapped in our earthly and temporal affairs that not only do we ignore the need to refer everything to God, but also deny the need for it. 

 Many of us would readily say, “What’s wrong with what I’m doing? I’m doing nothing wrong since I’m just looking to earn money, trying to develop my career. My all-time interest in the new technologies is for pursuing what is good for myself and my family, etc.” There can be many other rationalizations. 

 What’s obvious is that many of us fail to realize that everything we do here should be for the glory of God, and not just for our own interest. We fail to realize that we are falling to pure self-indulgence. 

 We should never say that we are already good enough. As long as we are still in this world, there is no level in our spiritual life that can be considered as good enough. It’s time we remind ourselves of that old saying, ‘the good is the enemy of the best.’ 

 We need to move on always, to continue conquering new frontiers in our spiritual life which is a matter of growing in our love for God and for others. Let’s avoid falling into self-indulgence, complacency and lukewarmness. These will put a stop, or at least to divert us, in our continuing journey toward our eternal home and they do it with lulling and most tricky appeal. 

 With love, there is actually no limit. It will continue to make new demands on us, because life itself will also make new challenges and trials on us. Let’s never forget that our life will always be some kind of warfare. We have to contend with many enemies of our soul. 

 With every conversion we make, we get closer to God, we grow in his divine wisdom and goodness. No doubt, we get to gain a lot more than what we seem to lose every time we make a conversion. 

 We should always feel the need for repentance and conversion, and especially during this Lenten Season.

The power of God’s word

WHAT reassuring description we have about God’s word! From the Book of Isaiah in the first reading of the Mass for Tuesday of the 1st Week of Lent, we read: “As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and return no more thither, but soak the earth, and water it, and make it to spring, ang give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my words be…” (55,10-11) 

 What should then be our attitude toward the word of God? I would say that basically it should be the same attitude that we have toward God himself. And the reason is this—since God is absolute simplicity with no division, parts or distinction in his being, his word must be his being also, his whole divine substance himself. 

 We, on our part, make some distinction between God in his being and in his word because that is how we understand things in general. We need to distinguish and analyze things, breaking them into parts, before we can arrive at the whole, integral picture. 

 In fact, in the Trinitarian nature of God, the Second Person whom we refer as the Son, is described also as the very Word of God, the Divine Word, who is God himself insofar as he perfectly and fully knows himself and all his creation. So, God’s word is God himself! 

 The word of God which now comes to us with some human and natural instrumentalities through the Gospel or the Sacred Scripture together with Tradition and the Church Magisterium, should be regarded in that light. 

 Its primary purpose is to bring us back to God. And so more than just giving us some helpful earthly knowledge, it gives us the ultimate spiritual knowledge we need to return to God. This character of God’s word is described in the following words in the Letter to the Hebrews: 

 “For the word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two-edged sword, and reaching unto the division of the soul and the spirit, of the joints also and the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (4,12) 

 Its purely eternal, spiritual, sacred and transcendent nature is now subjected to the conditions of time, culture, history, etc., in view of how we are. But we should not forget that it is primarily purely eternal, spiritual, sacred and transcendent, which with our spiritual powers plus God’s grace we can manage to abstract from its temporal, material, mundane and prosaic condition. 

 Let’s remember that God became man. With his incarnation, the divine word assumes the nature of a human word. And just as God became man to bring man back to God, his divine word becomes human word to bring and reconcile the latter with the former where it comes from and where it belongs to. 

 Since God’s word is God himself and God is everything to us, we have to understand that it contains everything for our needs, especially our ultimate need to be with God. All things true, good and beautiful are contained in the word of God. 

 Thus, insofar as our sciences, arts and technologies contain truths, goodness and beauty, no matter how technical they are, we have to conclude that they also come from God’s word and belong there also. 

 Anyone who does not acknowledge this truth about our sciences, arts and technologies can be considered ungrateful and presumptuous. We need to overcome the dichotomy that detaches our sciences, arts and technologies from God’s word.

The pursuit for holiness

THIS business of seeking holiness is something that is commanded of us by God. That is what we can clearly see in first reading of the Mass of Monday of the 1st Week of Lent from the Book of Leviticus. “Be ye holy, because I the Lord your God am holy.” (19,2) 

 That is why God proceeded to spell out the commandments that we have to follow so we can be on the way toward holiness. And the responsorial psalm reinforces that call for holiness by telling us where to find the true life of holiness. “Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.” (Jn 6,63) We should have no doubt as to where we can find that true Spirit and life that is meant for us. 

 The gospel of the day (cfr. Mt 25,31-46) points to us where we can find Christ who offers “the way, the truth and the life” proper to us. It’s not so much in doing big things. Rather it is in taking care of the small ordinary things of the day and in giving attention and care to the poor and needy of our society. “As long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.” 

 To be holy is actually a matter of becoming a living, functioning part of the body of Christ. That would mean that we become identified with Christ, infused with his spirit of love and conformed to his will and ways. 

 To be holy is to be with Christ, although in different ways, just like the different parts that form and serve one body. And we should not worry if, continuing the same imagery of the body and its parts, we happen to be that part that we consider of least honor. 

 St. Paul has this to say about that: “The parts of the body which seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those parts which we think less honorable we invest with the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require.” (22-24) 

 The important thing to remember is that each part of the body, however it is considered in our human standards, has to serve the whole body. In other words, whatever our condition, position or status in life, we should always aim at sanctity, the end-all and be-all of our life. 

 We should refrain from getting entangled with petty comparisons with others, generating unnecessary envies, jealousies, conflicts, etc. We should learn to be contented with what we have as long as we use them for the attainment of our ultimate goal of holiness. 

 But we obviously have to attend to opportunities to a better condition, position or status when they prove to be coming from God’s will, and not just from our own desires that can be driven by pride, vanity, greed, and the like. 

 Let’s see to it that our work, for example, should have as its main purpose the achievement of holiness, and not just the fulfillment of some technical requirements and the attainment of some worldly goals, no matter how legitimate they are. Remember Christ saying, “What does it a profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul.” (Mk 8,36) 

 We should see to it that the Christ-and-Church provided instrumentalities lead us to have a living encounter with Christ, something that can happen only when we activate our faith, hope and charity through a functioning life of piety.

Sharpening our sense of sin and repentance

“THIS is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mk 1,15) These words are from the gospel of the Mass on the First Sunday of Lent that remind us of the need for repentance and conversion especially as we enter the season of Lent. 

 They remind us first of all to recover and sharpen our sense of sin, especially these days when that sense of sin is continually and aggressively eroded by all sorts of elements that tend to desensitize us of our tendency to sin. Not only that. There is a strong movement to justify all sorts of evils and sins, even regarding them as part of our human rights. 

 Besides, with all this talk and general thrust of the Church today on mercy and compassion, a very commendable campaign, I must say, we just have to make sure that we do not lose our sense of sin as a consequence or unintended side-effect. 

 We always have to be wary of the possible bad effects that our good plans and initiatives can have. The world is not perfect. Loopholes, hidden traps, mistakes, etc., can always spoil what otherwise is thought of as a very good strategy. 

 We might get too easy and presumptuous about God’s omnipotent and gratuitous mercy that we may not be able anymore to acknowledge sins, ours and those of others, that need to be forgiven. 

 In other words, we might get too intoxicated with divine mercy that initially would lead us to think it would just be ok to commit sin since it will be forgiven anyway. But later on as in a slippery slope, as we get used to committing sin that can get forgiven anyway, we would find ourselves not anymore considering anything as sin. 

 Our conscience would be distorted and would become lax. Little by little, we lose our capacity to hear God’s voice in our conscience. In its place, we would just hear our own corrupted voice. 

 This can happen because our capacity to identify what is good and evil depends on our relationship with God. If that relationship is not good, or is not healthy and working, then obviously we would have a bad or wrong notion of sin, or even lose the very sense of sin. 

 It is for this reason that we all have the need to base ourselves on the very foundation of reality, the very source of what is moral and immoral. This is none other than God, the author and creator of the universe. 

 Grounding our capacity to distinguish between right and wrong on another basis would set us on the offside. Sadly, this is what is happening these days. There seems to be a systematic distancing from God and a growing dependence on our own ideas, ideologies, philosophies, and other methods that practically ignore or are even hostile to God. 

 We need to remind ourselves strongly these days that we need God for us to know and judge properly. We just cannot depend entirely on our legal and technological systems, for example, no matter how sophisticated they have been developed. 

 For this to happen, we need faith to give substance and direction to our reason. Reason cannot stand on its own. It is incomplete without faith. In practical terms, this means we need to overcome our tendency to make ourselves the standard, the ultimate lawgiver.

The real purpose of fasting

THE Lenten Season being a time for intense spirit of penance and mortification in preparation for the ultimate act of love by Christ as he offered his life on the cross and finally conquered our sin and death through his resurrection, we should try to understand appreciate the necessity for such penitential acts like fasting and abstinence. 

 In the readings of the Mass on Friday after Ash Wednesday, we are given some ideas of what true fasting is. For example, in the first reading, from the Book of Isaiah, we are clearly told about true fasting is. “Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen?” it says “Loose the bands of wickedness, undo the bundles that oppress, let them are broken go free, and break asunder every burden.” (58,6) 

 Fasting is not just a matter of refraining from our usual intake of food. We have to make sure that such act would have the effects mentioned above. When we fast we should keep in mind the effects we intend to produce and come up with the appropriate plan to achieve them. 

 The gospel for the day (cfr. Mt 9,14-15) is even more specific as to what fasting is for. It is to see to it that we foster our longing for Christ, our burning desire to identify ourselves with him. 

 In so many words, this is expressed thus, “The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.’” 

 Indeed, we have to see to it that our fasting and abstinence would truly fuel our desire and hunger for Christ, identifying ourselves with him to the extent of even offering our life for the sins of men, just like what Christ did for all of us. Let’s remember that only when we truly identify ourselves with Christ can we also share in his powers and everything that he has. 

Let’s remember that he is not sparing in this regard, but is making himself fully available for us. 

 Toward this end, we have to realize the need for fasting. That’s because our body needs to be disciplined, because with our earthly condition that is wounded by sin, it usually finds its pleasure in earthly things rather than in God. And fasting is one such effective form of self-denial and carrying the cross of Christ. 

 With fasting we align our body according to the dynamics of God’s love that will always be motivated by the salvation of mankind and will involve sacrifice. We don’t fast simply because of some health reasons, be it physical health or mental or emotional. Our fasting should be motivated by love. 

 And fasting nowadays may involve more than food. It can involve the use of our modern gadgets and technologies that if resorted indiscriminately can truly spoil and enslave us. 

 We really need to practice restraint and moderation in the use of these new things so that we would not compromise our spiritual and supernatural bearing. We need to purify our intentions and set clear limits when using them. In fact, we have to come out with a concrete plan to translate this ideal into reality.

God first, everything else follows

AS we enter the Lenten Season, let us remind ourselves of the need to have the proper priorities in our life. Nowadays, with so many things we have to deal with, it’s important that we are clear regarding this duty. Truth to tell, this need to have the proper priorities has become an urgent need. We cannot and should not take it for granted. 

 God should be first, last and always in our life. Everything else should just be an occasion, a means, an instrument and reason to fulfill that need of ours. Let’s consider these words from the Book of Deuteronomy which is from the first reading of the Mass of Thursday after Ash Wednesday: 

 “Love the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways, and keep his commandments and ceremonies and judgments, and you may live, and he may multiply you, and bless you in the land, which you shall go in to possess.” (30,16) 

 And it continues to tell us what would happen if we fail in fulfilling this duty: “But if your heart be turned away, so that you will not hear, and being deceived with error you adore strange god, and serve them: I foretell this day you shall perish…” (30,17) 

 Let’s never forget that we are meant to be always with God. Our life, given the way we have been created, cannot but be a sharing in God’s life and nature. To stay away from him would be a fundamental anomaly that would have bad consequences for everything else in our life. 

 We should therefore give priority to our spiritual needs of prayer, recourse to the sacraments, development of virtues, the habit of having presence of God always, doing everything with God and for God, etc. 

 We need be most guarded in pursuing this duty, since we cannot deny that these days there are just so many things that would easily grab our attention, taking it away from God and trapping it in the whirl of sheer self-indulgence. We can even offer a lot of justifications for this self-indulgence, offering reasons like practicality, profitability, the pursuit for greater knowledge, wealth, fame, etc. 

 Let’s remember that gospel episode about the sisters, Martha and Mary. (cfr. Lk 10,38-42) Martha was also doing a lot of household chores related to hospitality. But when she complained to Christ about her sister, Mary, who apparently was doing nothing other than sitting before Christ, listening to him, Martha was roundly corrected. 

 “Martha, Martha,” Christ said, “you are worried and upset about many things. But few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. (Lk 10,41-42) 

 Let’s see to it that every time we wake up in the morning, the first thing we have to do is to greet our Lord, offer the day with all our concerns to him, and resolve to keep ourselves in his presence all the time. 

 We need to avail of a certain plan of life consisting of certain practices and norms of piety that would effectively help us to be with God all day. We can mention a few of these practices, like some period of mental prayer, spiritual reading, Holy Mass, the Holy Rosary, praying of the Angelus at noon time. Besides, we should have a number of pit stops during the day to recover and strengthen our presence of God, sense of divine filiation, etc.

Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday

IT happens once in a blue moon. I’m referring to the fact that this year, both the Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday fall on the same day of February 14. We might find it both intriguing and ironic since both events do not seem to share the same character. In fact, many of us would tend to think that Valentine’s Day would undermine Ash Wednesday, and Ash Wednesday would spoil Valentine’s Day. 

 But that should not be the case. If we are guided by our Christian faith, we actually would be excited to realize that these two celebrations actually help each other mutually. Valentine’s Day would humanize Ash Wednesday, filling it with human affections. And Ash Wednesday would divinize Valentine’s Day, making it pursue its spiritual and supernatural goal. 

 It’s a question of seeing these two celebrations under the light of the real love that comes from God and is a sharing and channeling of God’s love. It’s a love that is both sweet and bitter, always triumphant in the end even as it has to go through apparent defeats and losses here in this life. 

 It’s a love that demands self-emptying so as to be filled with the spirit of God. It is a love that requires sacrifices, and ultimately death, so we can acquire the eternal life of bliss with God in heaven, where our definitive home and state of life is. 

 It’s a love that requires us to be continually converted, as we are reminded in the first reading of the day’s Mass from the Book of Joel. “Be converted to me with all your heart, in fasting, and in weeping, and in mourning,” we are told. (2,12) That’s because despite our efforts to do good as we should, we cannot help but err and sin. We are prodded to be always reconciled with God. (cfr. 2 Cor 5,20) 

 And knowing how erratic we are in carrying out this duty of conversion, we are exhorted in the gospel of the day to be sincere and to have rectitude of intention in our dealings with God through our prayers and sacrifices. (cfr. Mt 6,1-6.16-18) 

 “Take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them: otherwise, you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven,” Christ tells us. “Take heed that you do not do your justice before men, to be seen by them: otherwise, you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven.” 

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

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

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

 As we start the Lenten Season, let us grow in generosity in our love for God and for others, making that love both human and divine, eager to go to the limits of our humanity to enter into the supernatural life and nature of God.

God offers us the best deal when temptations come

WE get this happy assurance from the Letter of St. James. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been proved, he shall receive a crown of life, which God hath promised to them that love him.” (1,12) 

 Besides, we are also told that God does not tempt us. “Let no man, when he is tempted, say that he is tempted by God. For God is not a tempter of evils, and he tempteth no man.” (1,13) 

 We should just be guarded against the danger of thinking that God is tempting us, especially when we are hounded by a persistent and seemingly irresistible temptation. Temptations can only come from three sources: from our weakened flesh, the allurements of the world, and the evil one. 

 From the world, temptations can arise due to our improper relation with it. That’s when the world, where God has placed us to test us if we follow his will rather than ours, can stir the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. (cfr. 1 Jn 2,16) 

 Just the same, God can allow temptations to come to us. But when that happens, it’s because it can occasion a greater good for us, as long as we make use of our temptations to go to God rather than to run away from him. 

 St. Paul assures us that God is always in control of things. This is what he said: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.” These words somehow reassure us that there is nothing new about temptations. We should not over-react when we are tempted. 

 And St. Paul continues, “God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Cor 10,13) What better deal can we have when we have to deal with unavoidable temptations! We should just stick to God, to his ways. We should just enliven our faith, and not allow ourselves to be dominated by our own estimation of things. 

 It’s intriguing to note that Christ allowed himself to be tempted by the devil. (cfr. Lk 4,1-13) Although we can presume that the devil would have no chance to succeed in his effort, Christ must have allowed this event to happen to teach us how to deal with temptations which are unavoidable in our life. 

 Given our human condition, and especially when we enjoy some privileges and other special endowments, we have to realize that we would be a favorite target of the schemes of the devil. We need to be prepared for this lifelong condition of ours. 

 Whatever good thing we have in life has to be handled most delicately, with great humility. In other words, it always has to be related to God from whom all power and authority on earth comes. (cfr. Rom 13,1) It should be exercised always with God in mind and in heart. Otherwise, there is no way for it to go other than to be abused. Let’s remember that the only thing we are capable of doing without God is to sin. 

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

Never over-react when evil comes

THE simple reason is that by over-reacting, evil can get worse and can have a greater chance to have a stronger hold on us. We should stay calm and focus our attention on who can best handle any form of evil. And that can only be God. 

 We are somehow reminded of this very practical indication in that Letter of St. James where he says: “Count it all joy, when you shall fall into diverse temptations, knowing that the trying of your faith worketh patience. And patience hath a perfect work; that you may be perfect and entire, failing in nothing.” (1,2-4) 

 What wisdom this piece of advice has! It is truly divinely inspired and should be made a principle to follow in our life where we are going to encounter all sorts of evil and to contend with our own limitations and the supernatural goal we are meant to pursue. 

 We should always remember that evil cannot exist by itself. It has to refer itself to something that is good which it denies, distorts, corrupts, etc. And if we are smart enough, we should not worry too much about all the evils we can encounter in our life. As long as we know how to refer them to the good and the truth that they stand on, we would know how to deal with these evils properly. 

 As to the many limitations we always have, given the challenges of our life, we have to be ready for them and know not only how to deal with them but also how to derive something good from them. In these instances of the hard predicaments, for example, when we seem to be at a loss as to what to do, we should just see at what God does, after we have done all things possible to solve our problems. 

 We need to trust in God’s providence and mercy. We have to learn to live a spirit of abandonment in the hands of God. Yes, if we have faith in God, in his wisdom and mercy, in his unfailing love for us, we know that everything will always work out for the good. If we are with God, we can always dominate whatever suffering can come our way in the same manner that Christ absorbed all his passion and death on the cross. 

 Let’s always remember that God, in his ineffable ways, can also talk to us through these crosses. In fact, he can convey precious messages and lessons through them. It would be good that we have a theological attitude toward them, and be wary of our tendency to react to them in a purely human way, based only on our senses and feelings and on worldly trends. 

 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. 

 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.

Develop the instinct to quickly go to Christ

WHEN we find ourselves in some trouble, let’s be quick to cut the drama and with faith-filled dispatch, let’s just go to Christ asking for his help which he will always give, though in ways that may not be in accordance to our expectations. 

 This is the lesson we can learn from the readings of the Mass of the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B. The first reading from the Book of Leviticus (13,1-2.44-46) tells us that we are like lepers when we fall into sin. We should be isolated. 

 But the responsorial psalm already offers us how we should respond to this predicament. “I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you will fill me with the joy of salvation.” These words should be indelibly etched in our mind and heart and made to shape our reaction whenever we find ourselves in trouble. 

 The second reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians (10,31-11,1) reinforces the same truth of our faith that whatever we do or whatever happens to us, we should refer ourselves to God, and that like God we should be helpful to everyone, regardless of how one is to us. 

 “Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God,” St. Paul said. “Be without offence to the Jews, and to the Gentiles, and the church of God.” With these words, we are made to understand that when we do everything for the glory of God, we can manage to channel in ourselves the universal love God has for everyone, both friend and foe. 

 The gospel (Mk 1,40-45) clearly tells us that God always has compassion to all sinners as personified by the leper in that episode. 

 From all these, what we can gather is that we should develop the instinct to immediately go to Christ whenever we find ourselves in any type of trouble, physical, economic, etc., and especially moral or spiritual. Let’s never hesitate to go to God due to fear or shame. 

 We have to remember that as dramatized in the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son, (cfr. Lk 15) the common conclusion and the lesson to learn is that there would be greater joy in heaven over one sinner who returns to God than over many others who have no need for repentance. 

 And as reiterated in the gospel of St. John, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (3,17) We should never have any doubt about the mercy of God, even if we may appear to be already abusing the goodness of God. Obviously, we have to make an effort to correspond as fairly as possible to God’s gratuitous offer of mercy to us. 

 Our main concern should be that whenever we are in trouble, let’s go to God as quickly as possible, asking for mercy and then for grace so we can start healing what is sick in us, or strengthening what is weak in us. 

 And just as God is merciful to everyone, we should also be merciful and compassionate with everyone, irrespective of how they are to us. We should remember these words of Christ: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you.” (Lk 6,36-38)

Overcome our indifference to God

WE have to accept this fact of life. In spite of how we are endowed by God to live our life with him, we always tend to be indifferent to him. We play deaf, dumb and blind to his will and ways that are actually proper for us also. 

 We cannot deny that there’s vast religious indifference and even hostility against religion today. That may be intriguing to say, since on the other hand, thanks be to God, we can also notice a surge of religious fervor in some sectors. 

 This contrast actually has been around since time immemorial, an indication that human history is always an interplay between good and evil, between God’s providence and man’s freedom. 

 A complex structure of rationalizations now supports religious indifference and hostility to religion. It seems that the threads of naturalism, skepticism, agnosticism, atheism, relativism, etc., have become more sophisticated, snuffing whatever religious ember that may still remain in a person or in society. 

 So, many times in the Bible, God begs us to pay him utmost attention, let alone to give ourselves completely to him who is the perfection of our humanity since we are God’s image and likeness. 

 “My son, give me your heart,” says God in the Book of Proverbs. (23,26) And in the Book of Psalms, it is often repeated, “I am the Lord, your God, hear my voice.” (cfr. Ps 81) In the Letter to the Hebrews, we can read, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as they did when they provoked me.” (3,15) To top it all, Christ himself said many times, “Follow me.” (Mt 4,19) 

 The secret to overcome our blindness, deafness and dumbness to the things of God is to earnestly go to Christ. This was dramatized in that gospel episode where some people brought a deaf man to Christ, imploring him to cure the man. (cfr. Mk 7,31-37) 

 We need to truly enliven our faith to overcome our indifference to God. For this, we need to undertake a serious plan of human and Christian formation and acts of piety so that we can acquire an abiding and intimate connection with Christ. 

 We have to give priority to this concern over all the other human concerns we have. This priority was dramatized in that gospel episode of the sisters, Martha and Mary. (cfr. Lk 10,38-42) Martha was busy doing the practical chores of hospitality, while Mary simply stayed close to Christ. When Martha complained about Mary’s apparent idleness, Christ corrected her, telling her, “Only one thing is necessary, and Mary has chosen it.” 

 Nowadays, when we are bombarded with many seemingly irresistible worldly allurements that offer us promises of convenience, growth of knowledge, etc., we truly need to exert some extraordinary effort to keep this priority of the sacred over the mundane, the spiritual over the material, the supernatural over the natural. 

 Religious indifference and hostility to religion have to be tackled by persistent effort to identify oneself with Christ through prayer and sacrifice. In other words, we have to be ready to be crucified, which is the best form of prayer and sacrifice. 

 There’s no other way. Unless we are willing to imitate Christ all the way to his crucifixion, we cannot expect to melt away the thick and sticky layer of religious indifference and hostility to religion among us.

There’s always hope despite whatever

THAT Biblical story about King Solomon who surprisingly in his old age started to worship strange gods (cfr. 1 Kings 11,4-13) reminds us that what happened to him can also happen to us. Many reasons can come to mind. For one, we may not be serious and consistent in living out our faith and piety. And so, in our more vulnerable stage of our life, we can lose hold of our fidelity. 

 Still many other reasons can come to mind. Let’s never forget that there’s always a rebellious streak in each one of us. No matter how dormant this weakness may be, it can come out at any moment. We also may have loosened our vigilance skills, especially these days when there are just so many irresistible novelties and allurements to contend with. And there are still a lot more. 

 Yet, despite all these, there is still hope. That gospel episode of a Gentile woman whose daughter was possessed by an evil spirit (cfr. Mk 7,24-30) can tell us that as long as we would just go back to God and persist in begging for his help despite what would appear as his initial rejection, there is always hope. 

 Christ at first rejected her request because she was a Gentile. The language used was quite harsh. “Suffer first the children to be filled,” he said to the woman, “for it is not good to take the bread of the children, and cast it to the dogs.” But the woman did not mind it and instead gave out an argument that “felled” Christ who finally gave in to her request: “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” 

 Yes, even if we feel we already are a hopeless case because we have been abusing the goodness and mercy of God countless times, we should never lose hope. God is always ready to forgive and forgive, ready to help us in any way we need. We should banish the fear that there can come a time when God would finally say, “That’s enough!” It’s rather us who tend to say, enough, because of our lack of faith and hope. 

 The mercy and compassion of God is endless. He may be mad at us for a while, and give us some punishment, but we can be sure that if are to abide by our Christian faith, we know that his anger will only be for a moment, while his mercy is forever. 

 And any temporal punishment he gives us will always be for our own good, our own purification and strengthening. It may help us to do some restitution, but it’s never a pure act of revenge. 

 There is always hope because God is always a father who cares for all his children, both the good ones and the not so good ones. In fact, he gives some preferential attention to those in some difficulty, whether materially or spiritually and morally. 

 We need to avoid being swallowed up by the horror of our predicaments, difficulties and sins. We should not stop at lamenting and complaining. We have to remember what St. Paul once said: “Where sin abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly.” (Rom 5,20) And more, from the Book of Ezekiel: “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord God. Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live?” (18,23) 

 Yes, there’s always hope despite whatever.

Fill the heart with wisdom and love

THAT story in the Bible about the Queen of Sheba being very impressed with the wisdom of Solomon (cfr. 1 Kings 10,1-10) and that gospel episode about Christ telling the people that what defiles a man is what comes out from the heart rather than what goes into the mouth (cfr. Mk 7,14-23) somehow remind us that we should really take care of our heart. 

 Our heart is where we can find our true self. It is where we integrate all aspects of our life—the natural and the supernatural, the material and the spiritual, the temporal and the eternal, etc. Knowing that, it should behoove all of us to really take care of it such that it enjoys its proper condition. 

 And the proper condition is when it is properly anchored on Christ who is the pattern of our humanity, the provider of “the way, the truth and the life” that are meant for us. That’s when we can truly say that we would be filling our heart with wisdom and love, a participation of the very wisdom and love of God in Christ through the Holy Spirit. 

 As the practical consequence of this truth of our faith about our heart, we need to realize that we should spend time knowing Christ so we can start identifying ourselves with him. In other words, we should develop a vibrant, healthy and working life of piety. 

 We should realize that we need to spend time reading, studying and meditating on the life, teaching and example of Christ. We should develop the appropriate virtues that we can learn from Christ, like humility, obedience, fortitude, patience, charity, mercy, etc. 

 Yes, we have to go through a certain plan, a certain regimen to make our relation with Christ vivid, operative and fruitful. Especially these days when we are easily drawn and swallowed up by worldly things due to the seemingly irresistible allurements brought about by powerful technologies, this need for this regimen and training program should be deeply felt and pursued. 

 Truth is Christ is always alive, is always solicitous of our needs, and is ever willing to share what he has with us. It just depends on us on whether we would correspond to this reality or not. 

 We are actually meant to assume the identity of Christ. And that is not a gratuitous, baseless assertion, much less, a fiction or a fantasy. It is founded on a fundamental truth of our faith that we have been created by God in his own image and likeness. 

 We have to arrive at that point where we can make St. Paul’s words as our own too: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me.” (Gal 2,20) 

 We just have to learn to set aside whatever difficulty or awkwardness we may have in dealing with this basic truth of faith about ourselves. We have to try our best to know Christ and to adapt his very own mind and will, his own ways, behavior and reactions to whatever situation we may find ourselves in. This is how we can fill our hearts with the very wisdom and love of Christ as he commands us. 

 The ideal condition to have is first to know and love God in Christ so that we may know and love ourselves and others properly.

Everything should lead us to God

IN that gospel episode where Christ complains about the inconsistency and hypocrisy of the leading Jews at that time (cfr. Mk 7,1-13), we are reminded of the danger of being trapped in our earthly affairs and in our human ways while neglecting what is truly important for us. 

 “This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition,” lamented Christ. (Mk 7,6-8) 

 We have to be most wary of this danger because especially these days we have to contend with powerful forces that can easily absorb us while desensitizing us from the most fundamental duty of ours to do everything with God and refer everything to God. Sad to say, many people these days do not anymore know what the real purpose of our life here on earth is. They are hooked in their self-indulgence. 

 How many people these days, especially the young ones, are addicted with their cellphones to such an extent that they lose sleep and proper rest and get exposed to many dangerous, unhealthy stuff like pornography? Getting distracted from their real duties seems to be the game of their life. 

 Seen from another angle, many of us seem to be simply playing the dynamics of materialism, consumerism, hedonism, etc. in our earthly and temporal affairs. God seems to have nothing to do with our life. The spiritual dimension as well as the supernatural goal of our life are practically thrown out of the window. 

 We have to recover the consciousness, sharpening it as much as possible, of the real and abiding purpose of our life. God wants us to be like him since he has created us to be his image and likeness. Our life here on earth is still God’s continuing creation of us. And he is testing us to see if what he wants us to be is also what we want ourselves to be. 

 Thus, we should see to it that everything we do, everything that happens to us should be seen, understood and reacted to in accordance to what God wants us to be. We have to follow what St. Paul once said, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10,31) 

 Let’s always remember that we always have a choice of whether we want to follow God or to follow ourselves in everything that happens in our life. We should see to it that we are always conscious of how this choice should be made so we would be guided properly. 

 In a sense, we are meant to be always in contact with God, since in the first place our life is meant to be a sharing in the life of God, if not in his very own divine nature itself. That’s how our life ought to be. 

 Our natural life, and everything in it, is geared toward the supernatural life of God. Everything in our life and in this world is meant to lead us toward this end. We have to develop a taste and even an appetite for the supernatural life with God and of things supernatural in general. 

 In this we have to help one another, because in the end, this is our common ultimate end in life—how to live our life with God, how we can be immersed in God even as we are immersed also in the things of the world.

The proper attitude toward the Blessed Sacrament

THIS is something that we all have to learn as early as possible and as best that we can. 

 If we only realize what the Blessed Sacrament is, the only thing that we can do is indeed to adore it, because the Blessed Sacrament is nothing less than the real presence of Christ who makes himself completely available for all our needs, material, moral, spiritual, temporal and eternal. 

 Christ in the Blessed Sacrament should be the center and focus of our whole life! We should all be drawn to him just like those people who went to Christ asking for the cure of their various illnesses. 

 We are reminded of this duty in the readings of the Mass of Monday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time (for this year 2024 it falls on February 5) that talks about how the Ark of the Covenant was revered by the people then (cfr. 1 Kings 8,1-7.9-13) and about Christ drawing many sick people to himself. (cfr. Mk 6,53-56) 

 I remember that as a kid I often wondered why my mother would make the sign of the cross every time we would pass by a church. I became even more deeply puzzled when inside the church my mother looked transformed, telling me to keep still. 

 One day, after a high school drill in the then PMT (Preparatory Military Training), I decided just out of curiosity to drop by the cathedral before going home. I was amazed to see many matrons moving towards the altar on their knees. Then I got a shock of my life when I saw my own mother among them. I immediately felt embarrassed of my own self because I knew I was missing something that my mother and the other women had. 

 In school, we were taught about the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, but that to me was more of an idea rather than a reality. I, of course, would just go through the motions of adoration whenever we were made to make a visit to the chapel. But the conviction of the real presence of Christ that should affect my whole self was not there. 

 That’s when I tried to drill into my mind and heart that Christ was indeed present in the Blessed Sacrament. It’s was a most challenging test of faith for me, a test that required a deep sense of humility because many disturbing and heckling thoughts would also hound me. I found myself having to make a choice of either believing my own thoughts or following the example of my mother and the doctrine taught in class, etc. 

 It was not an easy thing at all. It took me a lot of time, because I was also surrounded by people and things in general that somehow had little regard or even contrary consideration of the Blessed Sacrament. 

 Indeed, some force had to be used. And that’s when I somehow understood why Christ said that if we would follow him, we should deny ourselves and carry the cross. (cfr. Mt 16,24) That’s when I also understood that I have to continually nourish my life of faith by submitting myself to a program of pious practices, like mental prayer, spiritual reading, going to Mass and regular confession, praying of the holy rosary, etc. 

 I understood then that my life should not just be temporal, material, natural, but also spiritual, supernatural and eternal. I understood that this is the only way the Blessed Sacrament can strongly and abidingly attract me in deep adoration.

Toughness needed to face life’s challenges

THAT’S what the readings of the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, reminds us of. From the Book of Job, we are already warned that our life here on earth is some kind of a warfare. (cfr. 7,1) And St. Paul in the Second Reading also tells us that we have to learn to be “all things to all men to save all.” (1 Cor 9,22) That’s definitely a tall order, given the way we are. 

 And Christ himself showed us how our life—with all its challenges, difficulties and dangers—can and should be. In spite of the many good things he already was doing, many more people with great needs came to him asking for help. (cfr. Mk 1,29-39) That he had a very complicated life is indeed an understatement. 

 All of us, but especially priests and others in similar position, should be tough and strong. We need to be tough because aside from bearing our own personal burdens, from contending with our own personal demons, we also have to bear the burdens of the others. It is no joke to serve like the receptacle of the problems of the others and to find ways to help them. 

 Since we priests, for example, usually hear confessions and give counseling and spiritual direction to others, we cannot help but be affected somehow by what we hear. And the problems of some people can be so heavy and heart-wrenching that we end up exhausted, practically emptied of any strength and energy. 

 The worst part is what to say as advice and how to say it. It indeed is a big challenge to be able to present the mercy and love of God when the people’s problems seem to have no human solution or when their miseries and weaknesses seem to be persistent and insurmountable despite their efforts. 

 In these cases, the challenge is how to present God’s love in such a way that his love and mercy is seen as soothing, acceptable and meaningful. The challenge is how to present God’s love such that even if pain and suffering are unavoidable, people can see that God’s love takes care of everything. They would realize that what they cannot solve, God will always solve it for them in his own mysterious ways. 

 There is no doubt that a lot of spiritual and supernatural means are needed here. We have to pray that the people’s faith gets stirred and enlivened, that their hope gets reaffirmed and strengthened, that their love for God gets enkindled. 

 Aside from prayer, a lot of sacrifices are also needed. Prayer and sacrifices vitally unite and identify us with Christ who is the one to give us all the strength and light we need. Let’s remember what St. Paul said in this regard: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil 4,13) 

 Yes, it’s only with Christ and in him that we priests can truly be tough and strong as we should be as we carry out our ministry of helping people in their spiritual and moral life that can be filled with all sorts of problems and challenges. 

 Our toughness should be the toughness of Christ who was and continues to be willing to bear all the problems of men, and goes all the way to offer his life for the salvation of men.