Dealing with our downtime

INSPITE of our desire to continue doing things, we cannot deny that there are times when for one reason or another we would just lose steam and somehow feeling trapped in a condition of inactivity. It’s a classic example of what Christ once said: “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” (Mt 26,41) 

 We should not be too surprised by this condition. In fact, we should expect it from time to time and avoid making things worse by worrying too much. What we should do is to take advantage of it to precisely get closer to God. That’s when we can put into life what St. Paul also once said: “It is when I am weak that I am strong.” (2 Cor 12,10) 

 And that is highly possible and doable as long as we have the proper spirit. Which means that we follow what our faith tells us, we enter into the spiritual and supernatural dimension of the reality that governs us. We can frankly tell God how we feel at the moment. We can even complain to him. But we should remain believing his constant providence full of love, care and mercy. 

 There’s always hope even in our worst scenario. And that’s because God never leaves us, but continues to love and care for us, in spite of all. He gives us everything we need to handle this situation. 

 We should be quick to realize this truth of our faith, and act accordingly. Let’s avoid aggravating the situation by avoiding falling into discouragement and depression, a fertile ground for the devil to tempt us into worse conditions. The devil obviously wants us to be alienated as much as possible from God. Rather, like the prodigal son, let’s return to God asking for mercy which he readily gives. 

 We should not doubt that we have our human and worldly limitations. And yet in spite of that, neither can we doubt that deep within us is, at least, the desire to go beyond our limitations. And there’s objective basis for that desire. 

 Given the fact that our human nature is not only totally material, but is also spiritual, we should not be surprised when we feel those seemingly contrasting sentiments. The truth is that we are a material being that is poised for eternity, for immortality. In the end, the truth is that we are meant to live a supernatural life, and not just a natural one, that is, a life with God. 

 This is where we have to entrust ourselves to the workings of the spiritual and supernatural realities that also govern our life. We have to remember that we are not ruled simply by biological laws or physical, chemical, social, political, economic laws. There is a higher law that governs us and that would enable us to transcend our human and earthly limitations. 

 This is the law of grace, a law that is spiritual and supernatural in nature. It is the law that enables us to go beyond our human limitations without, of course, compromising our humanity. It is the law that enables us to enter into the very life of God who created us to be his image and likeness. 

 We have to learn to feel at home with this particular condition of our earthly life. We have to acquire the relevant attitude and skills to be able to live with this condition. It is when we seem to reach our human and earthly limitations that we have to abandon ourselves to the more powerful and merciful dynamic of God’s providence over us.

From our earthly to our heavenly image

ONE liturgical prayer I met sometime ago went this way: “Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we, who have been renewed by paschal remedies, transcending the likeness of our earthly parentage, may be transformed in the image of our heavenly maker.” 

 I found that prayer very meaningful, for, indeed, it is our lifelong endeavor to transform ourselves from simply being our natural selves to becoming the ones God has meant for us—that is, to be like him, sharers of his life and nature. 

 Again, it’s a tall order, and if seen only with our natural powers, an impossible quest. But we just have to convince ourselves, by activating our faith, that in fact everything has been given to us so that we can be what God wants us to be. 

 It’s just a matter of how obedient and docile we are to everything that God, who is our Father more than just our Creator, has provided for us. Even in our worst condition, he has given us a way out, a remedy. He is willing to do everything to bring us back to him. He sent the Son, the 2nd person of the Blessed Trinity who is God himself, to become man to redeem us, offering us the “way, the truth, and the life” meant for us. 

 We just have to go on moving in pursuit of our ultimate goal. We for sure will encounter difficulties and experience mistakes, failures as well as commit sin along the way. But we should just get up and begin again without saying “that’s enough.” 

 God is ever forgiving, even if we may already feel that we are abusing his mercy. God understands that. All we have to do is again to humble ourselves, and ignore the distracting insinuations of our reason not guided by faith, or worse, the insinuations of the devil whose only intention is to block our way toward God. 

 This, of course, would involve a certain dying to oneself so that the beginnings of the divine life meant for us would start to take root again. In this, Christ was very clear. He once said, “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (Jn 12,24) 

 We have to learn how to make this “dying in order to live” a reality in our life. This can only mean that instead of simply guided by our own will and knowledge of things, we should let our will conform to the will of God as much as possible. That way, we can share his power over sin and death. 

 This is going to be a lifelong struggle, of course, since we all know that we have the strong tendency to just be guided by our own will. We think that by doing so, we are exercising our freedom, not realizing that true freedom can only be achieved if our will follows the will of God, the very author of truth and freedom himself. 

 It’s for this reason that Christ clearly said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (Jn 14,15) This should be the main principle we have to follow in our lives. We should convince ourselves that outside of that principle, we would be going nowhere. But with it, we can expect to arrive at our final goal: to be one with God through Christ in the Holy Spirit!

Logic alone cannot hack it

WHILE logic will always have an important role to play in our life, we should also realize that logic alone cannot cope with all the realities that we have to deal with in our life. Our logic can only work within the natural plane and our human level. It can hardly manage to take on realities that are spiritual and supernatural, let alone, divine wisdom which in the end should always guide us. 

 How can human logic, for example, understand such Christian teachings as to love our enemies, to die in order to live, to be the last in order to be the first, the master has to be first a servant, a virgin giving birth, etc.? That’s when our logic would just be kaput. 

 To be guided by human logic alone unavoidably would lead us to be judgmental and self-righteous. This was what happened to some of the leading Jews during Christ’s time. Lacking in humility, their faith was undermined and they ended up not only misjudging Christ but also crucifying him. 

 We have to be humble enough to acknowledge that our logic-certainties can never cope with the mysteries of life. No matter how objective and scientific these certainties are derived, no matter how deep and exhaustive our philosophies, theologies and ideologies are made, our certainties just cannot take all the mysteries in our life. 

 Even in the world of nature where in theory we have the capacity to know things conclusively, we often find ourselves in situations of tentativeness and even of outright error. That is why we are always in the process of discoveries and we would not know when we can end it, that is to say, when we can say that we have known everything to be known in the world of nature. 

 This does not mean that our certainties can never know the truth, even the absolute, and not just relative, truths. Yes, we can, but the best that we can do is to project ourselves to infinite possibilities, because even the absolute truths are not things that are frozen. They are always dynamic. 

 Our logical certainties can only tackle some aspects and levels of the reality that is proper to us. We need to realize more deeply that we have to contend not only with natural and even spiritual realities but also with supernatural realities that simply are above our nature to know, unless some revelation is made which should be corresponded to with our act of belief. 

 Indeed, we have to be truly humble to acknowledge this fact of life and behave accordingly. While we can know some aspects of the truth, we can never say that we know everything. Not even our mathematical precision and scientific accuracy can warrant us to claim that we know everything. 

 That is why we need to be most careful with our judgments. We have to judge fairly, that is, with love of God and neighbor as the main motive for judging. From the Book of Leviticus, we read: “You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment. Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your fellow men justly.” (19,15) 

 If we have love for God and neighbor as the main motive for judging, we would know what to say, how to say it, and when to say it. And somehow, we can manage to judge all things, just as St. Paul once said: “He that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.” (1 Cor 2,15)

The priesthood

AUGUST 4 being a Memorial of St. John Mary Vianney, patron saint of priests, is a good occasion to review who a priest is and how he should be. St. John Mary Vianney (1786-1859), also known as the Cure of Ars, can provide us with a good idea about this since he was well known for his heroic priestly and pastoral work in a parish in France that resulted in a radical spiritual transformation of the community and its surroundings. 

 To be a priest is actually a profound calling to serve Christ and the Church that necessarily involves a deep relationship with God, a commitment to holiness, and a dedication to lead others to Christ. It is a ministry of sacrifice, love and availability to the people entrusted to his care. 

 With the sacrament of Holy Orders, the priest shares in the priesthood of Christ himself, that is, Christ as Head of the Church and not just a member of it. This is another proof that God shares his power with us since, in the end, we are meant to be his image and likeness, sharers precisely of his life and nature. 

 The priest, so ordained, should realize more deeply that he should transform himself into Christ, and to love and suffer as Christ did for everybody, and to see the things of the world through the eyes of Christ. His lifestyle should be that of total self-giving, unafraid of the effort and costs it involves. This, of course, would require a special vocation. 

 As such, a priest is expected to be a model individual, a living example of faith, love and holiness that should effectively inspire others to follow Christ. He has to see to it that people see and hear Christ through him. He is not just a good orator, an amusing comedian, a creative artist. Of course, it would be good he could integrate all these good traits but seeing to it that it is Christ that is seen and heard by the people. 

 This is, of course, a very overwhelming ideal for a priest to pursue. Thus, a priest should be so deeply rooted in prayer and to spend time with God that he can fairly say he is acting “in persona Christi capitis” (in the person of Christ as head of the Church). He has to realize that his formation—human, doctrinal, spiritual, pastoral, etc.—is a continuing affair, a till-death pursuit. 

 A priest should have a very deep love for souls, always making himself available to the people, offering guidance, comfort and support. He should give priority to the celebration of the sacraments, especially Confession which is a means of grace and healing. Of course, the daily celebration of the Holy Mass holds the most important duty for him. 

 If every person is supposed to be “alter Christus” (another Christ) since we are all created in God’s image and likeness which is what Christ is, the priest should be the first one to show it to the world, aware that he is called to be the very instrument of God’s love and grace. 

 To be a priest should be an all-time affair. Once a priest, he is a priest forever. He cannot say that he is a priest at certain moments of the day only when he celebrates the sacraments, or in certain situations and conditions in life. He is and should be a priest at every breath he makes.

The art of ending the day well

YES, we have to learn the art of how to end our day well. That’s because it is our way also of how to end our life well, ready to meet God in judgment. We just have to be realistic about the real purpose of our life here on earth, so that we avoid getting entangled in things that are not actually necessary for us even if they seem to us as indispensable at the moment. 

 We are reminded of this need in that gospel episode where someone asked Christ to mediate on the inheritance issue with that person’s brother. (cfr. Lk 12,13-21) Of course, Christ, knowing the motive of that fellow, refused to do so. Instead, he reminded the person to focus more on what truly matters in life, that is, to seek the real treasure. Rather than focusing on earthly treasures, he told him to be “rich in matters of God.” 

 In our daily life, we should have a running account, so to speak, of how our life is going in terms of achieving its real purpose. We are not here mainly for earthly gains, although they figure as a means to pursue our real goal. We are here to gain our own sanctification through all the events and circumstances of our life, whether ordinary or extraordinary. 

 Let us remember that every moment in our life, irrespective of how it affects us—whether good or bad according to some earthly or temporal criteria—is an occasion to interact with God who always intervenes in our life, testing us but also guiding us and giving us all the means that we need. Yes, we have to be aware that every moment is a moment for sanctification. 

 We need to train ourselves to think that way and to act accordingly. That’s why we need to have some running account of how we are faring in this ultimate concern of ours in this life. And so, at the end of the day, we should make some kind of accounting to see if we are progressing or not, if there are things to be improved or to be more focused on, if we are equipping ourselves adequately to pursue our real goal, etc. 

 The ideal thing to happen is that at the end of the day, before going to bed, we should make some kind of examination of conscience so we would have a good idea of how things are going in our life. This way, we would always be ready to face God in judgment. 

 We have to learn to leave our earthly and temporal concerns so that we can focus more on the definitive eternal life that is promised us. This is just to be realistic about our life, cutting away whatever fantastic and fictional ideas we have about our life here on earth. 

 To be sure, this will give us a lot of confidence and hope no matter how things go. We would know what to do, both in good times and in bad times. The only thing necessary is to do the will of God which, as Christ spelled out to us, can involve denying ourselves, carrying the cross and following Christ himself wherever he leads us. (cfr. Mt 16,24) 

 We avoid getting entangled in an unnecessary drama that would only complicate our life without leading us to where we should be in the end.

Our disbelief in the spiritual and supernatural

I SUPPOSE this condition is understandable. But we need to do something about it, because whether we like it or not, the reality that governs us goes far beyond the material and the sensible and even the intelligible. We have to deal with things spiritual and supernatural which, in fact, are far more important in our life. They have a much greater bearing in our life. 

 That gospel episode where some people of Christ’s hometown could not believe what they saw and heard from him dramatizes this point. (cfr. Mt 13,54-58) “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?” they asked in astonishment. “Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us?” 

 We need to incorporate in our system the way we can overcome this disbelief and awkwardness. And the first thing to do is to acknowledge the reality that our life has a prominently spiritual dimension that requires us to nourish the way we think, judge, reason and ultimately to love. These are the functions of our spiritual soul. It’s in this dimension that the supernatural aspect of our life enters. 

 Our spiritual soul with all its faculties (our intelligence and will) enables us to go beyond our material and natural world. It is what connects and engages us with others, be they things or persons or a supernatural being. It is what enables us to enter into communion with others. 

 We just have to remember that our spiritual soul is not a self-generated being. It is a creature, created by God the Creator. It is what would make us realize that we come from God and should remain with God for its proper vitality. We have to realize deeply that we cannot live properly without him. 

 That is why we have to see to it that to live properly as a human person we need to establish and continually reinforce our spiritual and supernatural bearing. This duty has priority over all the other duties we have in this life. We may call it the mother duty from where all our other duties and responsibilities, as well as our rights and dignity, spring. 

 We should do everything to establish, recover and maintain this spiritual bearing and supernatural outlook. We should see to it that more than anything else, we should be guided by God’s will and ways that are shared with us through his gifts of faith, hope and charity. We just cannot rely on our own counsel. 

 Given the way we usually are, we really need to exert great effort to comply with this duty of keeping a spiritual and supernatural bearing in our life. Fact is we tend to rely simply on our own ideas, opinions, preferences. We easily allow ourselves to be swayed by social trends and fads, hardly questioning their foundations and orientations. Worse, we can even be guided mainly by our biological elements. 

 That is why we need some time everyday to do some deep thinking and reflection that should lead us to meditate on God’s word and works, and to pray, that is, to enter into conversation with God. Otherwise, we would not be able to enter the spiritual and supernatural dimension of our life. We would simply remain in the peripherals and the superficial aspects of our life.

Immersed yet detached

CHRIST’S parable about the Kingdom of heaven being compared to a net thrown into the sea and catching all sorts of fish after which the good fishes were put into a bucket while the bad ones were thrown away certainly reminds us that at the end of our life here on earth, there will be judgment. (cfr. Mt 13,47-53) 

 Let us hope that we are always aware of this truth of our faith so that we can try our best, always with God’s grace, to qualify as a good catch and to be confident to face that judgment. 

 This can only mean that we be always mindful that in this life, we are actually being tested to see if what God wants us to be—that is, to be his image and likeness, sharers of his divine life and nature—is also what we ourselves would like to be. 

 And the only way to pass that test is to see to it that we follow God’s will to such an extent—and this is the ideal that we should try to achieve—that our will is none other than the will of God. We should make as our own Christ’s very own words: “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” (Jn 6,38) 

 It is for this reason that we are placed in this world to carry out the original mandate God gave to our first parents, when he said: “Be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” (Gen 1,28) 

 We just have to see to it that in our life here on earth, we do not get trapped by the worldly things. Rather, while we should immerse ourselves in the things of the world, we need to practice a certain detachment from them to avoid missing the real purpose of our life here on earth. 

 We should know how to be in the world, without being worldly, trapped and imprisoned in worldly things, and failing to look, find and love God and everybody else. And the secret is to follow Christ who shows us how to be in the world without being worldly. 

 Christ who is the very essence of wealth and human dignity lived a very simple life: he had nowhere to be born or die, nowhere to lay his head, came to our world with nothing and left it also with nothing. In his public life, he sent his apostles to preach without extra luggage. 

 We need to understand that poverty and a certain detachment from earthly things are required for our hearts to be properly filled with the spirit of God and to enable us to fulfill our mission in the world and to pursue the real purpose of our life. 

 We have to be most wary of the danger of worldliness which is becoming practically irresistible these days. Yes, it’s true that we have to love the world since that is where God has placed us to test us if what he wants us to be is also what we ourselves would like to be. We should love the world the way God loves it, but we should not be held captive by it.

Complexities, opportunities, dangers

THAT’S what we are facing these days. We actually have been having them for quite a while now, but these days, with the advent of AI—and we can expect more advanced technologies in the coming years—things have become exponentially more complicated. 

 How should we handle this condition such that we can manage not to be trapped by them and diverted from our true goal in life? Perhaps, we can get some ideas from these words of Christ in the gospel. 

 “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field, which a man having found, hid it, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.” (Mt 13,44) Reiterating the same point, he said: “Again the kingdom of heaven like a merchant seeking good pearls. When he had found one pearl of great price, he went his way, and sold all that he had, and bought it.” (Mt 13,45-46) 

 In other words, to successfully navigate in these complicated times, we need to see to it that while we immerse ourselves in these powerful things of today’s world, we have to practice a certain kind of detachment from them so that our pursuit for the kingdom of heaven is not undermined, much less, compromised. 

 But let’s remember that detachment here does not mean that we run away from the things of the world. We have to take advantage of the good opportunities these new and very powerful technologies offer. Am happy, for example, that many young people today are going into start-ups that are helping them and the economy on the whole. 

 The detachment we are speaking of here simply means that we are clear and strong about the goal we are supposed to pursue. The things of this world are simply means, occasions and reasons for us to go on with that pursuit. We should not allow them to entangle us along the way. 

 This certainly means that we should have a working and healthy spiritual life, a constant and intimate relation with God and with everybody else that is always nourished by the appropriate practices of piety, like regular periods of prayer and meditation, recourse to the sacraments, undergoing continuing formation and spiritual guidance, etc. 

 These practices of piety are much more needed now than before. They should be taught and popularized as widely as possible, focusing more on the young ones who are very vulnerable to be confused and lost in these complicated times. We cannot deny that nowadays we are witnessing a massive leap of juvenile cases of vices and perversions, addictions, mental and psychological illnesses, suicides, etc. 

 We need to remind everyone of the need to have the proper intentions in this life. To put it bluntly, the ultimate intention that is proper to us is that of doing everything for the glory of God. If that intention is not clear, we surely would be treading on a dangerous path that most likely would lead us to a bad end. 

 If there is such thing as upskilling, that is, acquiring additional skills and capabilities, we should first of all “upskill” our spiritual life and the virtues involved, like prudence, detachment, etc. in order to face the complexities, opportunities and dangers of our times. 

 The challenge of our times actually invites us to grow more in our spiritual life, in our love for God and for others.

Lessons from the sisters Martha and Mary

WHAT these two sisters can tell us is that we will always have differences, and even conflicts, among ourselves, even if we belong to the same family or clan, the same neighborhood or group, etc. Martha was the active type, while Mary was the quiet and withdrawn type. (cfr. Jn 11,19-27; Lk 10,38-42) We should not be surprised by this fact of life. But we should be prepared to deal with it properly. 

 We have to realize that these unavoidable differences and conflicts are very good occasions for us to develop and grow in the virtues, especially of humility, patience and most importantly, charity. That’s how we should see these differences and conflicts. And so, more than being bothered by them, which is also unavoidable, we should rather be welcoming to them. In God’s providence, they come with some hidden and special gifts. 

 For this, of course, we should be guided by our Christian faith and follow the example of Christ who was willing to suffer the cruelest injustice inflicted on any man if only to consummate our human redemption. We just have to try our best to go to that extent, although we know that we can only go so far. 

 But we can always do something about this, no matter how small and insignificant it may be. As long as we persist in following the example of Christ, no matter how erratic and inconsistent at times, Christ himself has assured us that victory always awaits us at the end. It will be him who will get it for us, but also with us. 

 These days, many friends of mine complain about the “habal-habal drivers” or what they call as “kamote drivers.” I myself have my own negative reactions against them, especially when they would just suddenly appear in front me while driving my car. But I try my best to get over the irritation as quickly as possible. 

 What I would suggest is that, of course, we should be careful while driving on the road. Let’s do what they call as “defensive driving” which focuses on anticipating and responding to potential hazards, going beyond simply following traffic rules. It makes us always vigilant and quick to react properly to the actions of the other drivers. 

 But more than that, we can use those occasions when we get irritated or even angered on the road to practice and develop the virtues of patience, humility and, yes, even charity. Let’s pray for those who bother us on the road. Think and wish them well. This way, we are truly following the example of Christ in a direct way. 

 In time, we will notice that we are learning how to go above the unavoidable “drama” on the road. We can remain at peace and more focused on what truly matters in our life. We polish and refine the animal part of our humanity. 

 Let’s remember that as St. Paul said, we have to “bear each other’s burdens.” (Gal 6,2) Do we have that kind of outlook? Are we quick to help others even to the point of inconveniencing ourselves? 

 We have to start dismantling attitudes, habits and practices that keep us imprisoned in our own world, mistakenly thinking that these actually would make us happy or are good for us. We have to expand our heart to be able to resolve in a Christian way our unavoidable differences and conflicts.

Looking for God in the little things

THIS is the lesson we can draw from those parables where Christ compared the Kingdom of God with a mustard seed and a yeast. (cfr. Mt 13,31-35) We need to develop the urge to look and find God in the little ordinary things of our daily life, because only then can we find him in the big things of life, whether good or bad in human terms. 

 God should be the one who should arouse our most intense and constant attraction. That’s because if we make God the source and cause of all our attraction, of all our joy and pleasures, of what ultimately gives us perfect satisfaction and ultimate fulfillment, all the other things can attract us and give us joy in the proper way, always respecting our true dignity as persons and as children of God. 

 Otherwise, there is no other way but for us to have merely a fake kind of joy, pleasure and satisfaction that can only lead us to bigger dangers. We really have to train ourselves to make God and to make following his will and ways the constant source and cause of our attraction and joy. 

 For this, we first of all should ask for God’s grace which is actually given to us in abundance. And from there, let’s go through some systematic plan of life that will nourish and strengthen our constant and intimate relationship with God, a relationship that should involve our entire self—body and soul, feelings, emotions and passions down to our very instincts, as well as our mind and heart. 

 It should be a plan that should obviously include prayer in all its forms—vocal, liturgical, ejaculatory, mental, contemplative, etc. Our life of prayer should be such that even when we are immersed in the things of the world due to our work and our temporal duties, we would still be aware of God’s presence, and it is doing God’s will that should always motivate us. 

 Let’s hope that we can manage to see and find God in the little ordinary things of our daily life. That’s because when we fail to see, know and love God in the little things, it is very likely that we also will fail to see, know and love God in the big things of our life. Let’s keep in mind what Christ said in this regard: “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much.” (Lk 16,10) 

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

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

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

 When we learn to find God in the little things, we have a better prospect of being with God the whole day. Our pursuit for sanctity would be more consistent despite the varying conditions of our daily life.

Let’s be insistent in our prayers

WHEN the disciples asked Christ to teach them how to pray, they were not only given what is now known as the Lord’s Prayer, or the Our Father, but also were egged to be insistent in their prayers. (cfr. Lk 11,1-13) 

 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you,” Christ told them. “For every one that asks, receives; and he that seeks, finds; and to him that knocks, it shall be opened,” he reassured them. (Lk 11,9-10) 

 Doubling down on that assurance, Christ told them, “Which of you, if he asks his father bread, will he give him a stone? Or a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask for an egg, will he reach him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask him?” (Lk 11,11-13) 

 We will always have problems and difficulties in this life. But they should not be a reason for us to fall into despair. Rather, in these instances of the hard predicaments, 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 some worldly standards and criteria. 

 We have to be quick to discern what God is telling us through them. Let’s be quick to see in these problems golden opportunities to receive more graces and other blessings from God. These graces and blessings can deepen our love for God and neighbor, enrich our understanding of things, occasion the birth and development of virtues. They can truly do us a lot of good. 

 There’s really no reason to be too worried and anxious when we encounter some difficulty in our life. In fact, we have every reason to be confident and at peace, focused on what we are supposed to do. And that’s because we are always in God’s hands. 

 Whatever situation we may be in, we can be sure that God will always provide for what is truly needed by us, and it may not be what we want. We just have to trust him completely for he knows better than we do, and what we want may not be what we need. It may not even be what is good for us. 

 We should just insist on praying, asking for God’s help, irrespective of how things go. Nothing is wasted and everything is actually a gain when we pray.

Where true greatness can be found

CHRIST gave us the clear answer to this question. “Whoever will be the greater among you, let him be your minister. Ad he that will be first among you, shall be your servant. Even as the Son of Man is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a redemption for many.” (Mt 20,26-28) 

 In short, our true greatness is when we truly become like Christ, or “another Christ” as we should be. It is when we assume his spirit of wanting to serve and not to be served, even to the extent of offering his life for the redemption of men. It is when we humble ourselves so we would have the attitude of wanting to serve everybody else, no matter how undeserving we think they may be. 

 We need to discover the intimate and mutual relation between humility and greatness. When we are truly humble, it can only show the greatness of our heart. And when we happen to be great in stature and dignity, we should know that we are there to serve more than anything else. True greatness is never shown in pride and vanity. It is proven and verified in humility. 

 Mary perfectly mirrors the humility and greatness of Christ himself who, as St. Paul said, “being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Phil 2,6-8) 

 This mutual relation between humility and greatness is expressed when we manage to value others, whoever and however they are, above ourselves and when we look after their interest instead of our own. (cfr. Phil 2,3-4) 

 This is what we clearly see in the life of Christ. Let’s call to mind that stunning example of his when he shocked his apostles when he insisted to wash their feet at the Last Supper. 

 For us to have this humility and greatness in our life, we need to be always with Christ and Mary. We need to be in constant conversation with Christ and Mary, referring everything to them, asking them for the answers to our questions, clarifications to the many issues we have to grapple with in life, strength for our weaknesses and temptations, contrition and conversion after our falls, etc. 

 We should do everything to keep this state of humility alive in us all the time. We know very well how easy it is for us to take this virtue for granted. We have to realize more vividly how vulnerable we are to the ways of pride, arrogance, self-centeredness, desire for power and domination, etc. Humility keeps us guarded against these dangers. 

 And when we happen to receive praises and honors from others because of our good works, let’s keep our feet firmly stuck to the ground, not allowing ourselves to be intoxicated. We should not allow these praises and honors to go to our head and cast some evil spell over us. 

 Instead, we have to thank God profusely. All praises and honors belong to him. What we should realize also is that those praises and honors given to us are actually a sign that we have to give ourselves more to God and to others. Our sense of duty and responsibility should become sharper. 

 Those praises and honors that we receive are actually some kind of a test to see if we would still remain with God or we would now choose ourselves as our own god.

Our animality, humanity and Christianity

WHILE we can consider our life under many different aspects and levels, we however can somehow distinguish three basic levels or stages that our life is subject to, without denying our basic identity as a human being or person. And that is that we are animals, first of all, that need to be humanized and later on, Christianized. 

 We are, of course, biologically classified as animals since we possess all the defining characteristics of the animal kingdom. We have tissues and organs, hormones, instincts, etc. We are mammals with hair and mammary glands. We, of course, are on top of the animal kingdom, since we are what they call as primates, with backbones, grasping hands, binocular vision and a high degree of social organization. 

 But we are not just animals. Unlike the other animals, we are rational animals with intelligence and will, with the capacity to know and to love, to enter into distinctive relation with others. We are not detained only in the sensible world. We enter into the intelligible world. 

 This is what makes us a human person, with the capacity to enter into relationships. We have consciousness, capacity for empathy, creativity, resilience, and a sense of meaning and purpose of life. We can communicate through our language and abstract thought and reasoning. 

 But we also have to realize that because of our intelligence and will which bring us beyond the material and sensible world and introduce us to the world of ideas and to things abstract, we are poised actually to enter into the spiritual world that later on would bring us to the world of the supernatural. 

 This is where we have the duty to Christianize ourselves. And the reason is because we will realize sooner or later, if we become aware of our Christian faith and learn to believe in it, that Christ, the God our Creator who became man, is actually the pattern of our humanity. 

 Our humanity is actually still in the process of an ongoing creation where we are given a choice of whether we want to remain as another animal, or just human, or as Christian where we can achieve what our faith tells us about ourselves—that we are God’s image and likeness, meant to share in his life and nature. 

 We need to seek our perfection by humanizing our animality, and Christianizing our humanity. In other words, our creation is still a work in progress, with God creating and redeeming us through Christ but also needing our cooperation since God wants us to be like him. We somehow should also be co-creators and co-redeemers with God. 

 It’s a pity that many of us do not realize this truth of our faith and, therefore, fail to do our part in our own creation and redemption. Remember St. Augustine lamenting about this fact. “You were with me, but I was not with you.” 

 He also said that “God created us without us, but he did not will to save us without us.” These words imply that our creation by God includes his work of our salvation. This truth of our faith has basis on what St. Paul once said: “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil 1,6) 

 We need to be aware that we therefore have to cooperate with God in our own creation and redemption. Thus, we have to realize that we need to go through the process of humanizing our animality and Christianizing our humanity.

Personal sanctity always involves the apostolic duty

THAT’S how we have to understand our duty to pursue personal sanctity without let-up. It will always involve the apostolic duty because sanctity is not only about one’s own holiness. It is also concerned about the holiness of everyone else. 

 The word “personal” should not be understood as simply to be on one’s own. To be a person, gifted with the faculties of the intelligence and the will, enabling us to know and to love, means to be always related to others, first to God, ideally, and then to everybody else. A person is not meant to be isolated from everybody else. That would be an anomaly. 

 And so, when we are seeking personal sanctity as we should, since it is the ultimate purpose of our life here on earth, we should see to it that it is very much involved in helping the others seek their sanctity also. And if the pursuit for personal sanctity should be constant effort, so should it also be with respect to carrying out our apostolic duty. 

 Thus, when we talk only of our own struggles involved in the pursuit for sanctity without any mention about what we are doing with respect to our apostolic duty, that pursuit for personal sanctity would be hanging on air. It may present very dramatic episodes but it would be hollow and would miss the real goal. 

 To be holy is to have the very mind and heart of Christ, to have the very spirit of Christ. As such, it would inescapably participate in the very mission of Christ which is the salvation of humanity. Christ is not only the embodiment of holiness. He is also our savior. If we are to be like Christ, as we should, then we should be both holy and apostolic, intrinsically involved in the salvation of mankind. 

 We then have to realize that we just don’t do apostolate as if it is just one more task to be done on some parts of the day. We are first of all apostles, and our apostolic concern should be constant and abiding, even while we are asleep or doing all kinds of tasks during the day. We have to learn how to convert everything in our life as an occasion and material for doing apostolate. 

 Our lifestyle should somehow reflect the kind of life or relationship that exists among the three persons of the Blessed Trinity. If we are God’s image and likeness, and if God is three persons in one in perpetual relation and communion with each other, then we too should somehow channel the same life of continuing relation and communion with God and with everybody else. 

 Of course, we would find this ideal impossible. But that is a given. We are not expected to really achieve it with our own efforts alone. What we are expected is to try and try to pursue this dual goal of personal sanctity and apostolate, because as St. Paul once said, “He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil 1,6) 

 We should just believe what our Christian faith teaches us even if we do not quite understand it fully. That is exactly what faith is all about. It is about believing beyond what we can see and understand. As the Letter to the Hebrews puts it: “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (11,1)

What we can learn from St. Mary Magdalene

THE very first lesson we can learn from the life of St. Mary Magdalene is that no matter how big and ugly our sins are, God’s grace or gift of mercy is always there, more powerful than whatever damage our sins can inflict on us. It validates what St. Paul once said: “Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound.” (Rom 5,20) 

 We should never prolong our sadness over our mistakes, failures and sins. That would make the devil happy, since our sadness would make us a sitting duck to their evil tricks. We would not have the strength to protect ourselves. 

 Instead, even as we carry a heavy heart because of our sins, we should just follow the example of St. Mary Magdalene who showed greater love to Christ precisely because of her sinfulness that was forgiven. She wanted to make up, and did so with burning zeal. 

 As a consequence, she even received more favors from Christ. Among them is the fact that she became the first one to meet Christ after the resurrection, although our tradition maintains—and this is not explicitly mentioned in the Gospels—that Our Lady must have met Christ soon after his resurrection. 

 We have to reassure ourselves, based on what Christ has promised and has actually done for us, that there can be no sin that is too big for the grace of God to handle. 

 We have to remember that nothing happens in this life without at least the knowledge and tolerance of God. And if God allows some really bad things to happen, it is because a greater good can always be derived from them. 

 We just have to put ourselves in God’s side to tackle whatever crisis or sin plagues us. That is the real challenge we have to face. And just like what Christ did and continues to do to redeem us, we have to follow the formula he once spelled out: deny ourselves, carry the cross and then follow him. (cfr. Mt 16,24) 

 If we are willing to do that, then we can even gain a lot more than what we appear to lose and to suffer because of our sin. In other words, we can say that the bigger, the more serious the problem or the sin is, the bigger, plentier and stronger also would the grace God will give us. So, let us just be game and do our part of the bargain. 

 It’s not easy, of course. But neither is it impossible. It would really depend on how we see things. If we only consider the enormity of the problem, then we cannot help but feel overwhelmed and even get discouraged. But if we consider God’s abundant grace, even the impossible can be possible for us. 

 We need to educate ourselves always to remain calm and optimistic when faced with our persistent sinfulness, and just try our best to discern what God is showing us with respect to resolving that unfortunate condition of ours. 

 Yes, we have to learn to suffer. But let’s never forget that there is always the resurrection of Christ. Christ has already won for us the war against any form of evil. We just have to learn to be with him and not be so stupid as to do things simply on our own. 

 We have to strengthen our conviction that every sin we commit is an opportunity to grow in strength and quality in our spiritual life, in our love for God and others and the world in general. Yes, we need to develop a proper love also for the world. We have to conquer the world that will always be beset with the effects of our sins.

A call to docility

A BEAUTIFUL psalm expresses that call. “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” (95,8) This was articulated as a warning against hardening one’s heart, using the example of the Israelites’ rebellion in the time of the Exodus. They grumbled and questioned God’s provision, despite his prior blessings. Because of their lack of faith, they ended up wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. 

 We always have to remember that God constantly is guiding us and providing us with everything we need to reach our goal in our earthly journey, which is to be with God in heaven for all eternity. Our life here on earth is just a testing ground to see if what God wants us to be is also what we ourselves would want to be—that is, to be his image and likeness, sharers of his divine life and nature. 

 To be docile to God, we have to learn to be open and responsive to his guidance, like a child who is easily taught and led. This can mean that we cultivate a quiet and recollected heart even in the midst of our mundane affairs. We should seek wisdom from God and actively obey his continuous promptings. He actually never leaves us alone. 

 For this, we need to make time for prayer and quiet reflection with the view of cultivating a heart that is attuned to the voice and promptings of the Holy Spirit. What is also helpful is to familiarize ourselves with Sacred Scripture so we may be able to discern the true voice of the Holy Spirit, and not the fake ones that unfortunately are now getting very common. 

 We should also seek counsel from trusted spiritual mentors and guides who can help us discern the Holy Spirit’s will. We should also learn to be flexible and adaptable because the Holy Spirit may lead us in ways we do not expect or like. 

 To be able to listen to the Holy Spirit more clearly, we should try to avoid distractions, and to spend some time in meditation and contemplation. In fact, we should try to be contemplative always, especially when we are in the middle of the hustle and bustle of our daily activities. 

 Definitely, the virtues of simplicity and humility play a very important role in this endeavor. Without these virtues, we would actually be putting up walls and barriers around us, keeping us deaf and blind to the ways of the Holy Spirit. 

 Let’s also remember that in spite of our best efforts to be docile, we still can manage to commit errors in our discernment. We should just be game and sport in this regard, and just learn to move on, hopefully gaining some precious lessons from our mistakes and failures. 

 Once we are quite sure about what the Holy Spirit is prompting us, we should immediately take action. This would help us to maintain a continuing and intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit. Delaying our response can cut that relationship or distort the connection we have with him. 

 We would somehow know that we are being docile to the Holy Spirit because the image of Christ is progressively carved into our lives. Like Christ, we become more charitable, patient and merciful. Our attitude toward the cross and suffering would be like that of Christ who considers the cross as his supreme act of love, of obedience to the will of the Father.

No showing off if love is pure

THAT’S what we can get from the gospel story about the two sisters, Martha and Mary. (cfr. Lk 10,38-42) If love is pure, we would not show off the things we do, baiting for praises; we would not compare ourselves with others to see if we are better lovers; we would just give and give without counting the cost; we would give our whole heart unconditionally to our beloved who in the end is God! 

 The problem with Martha was precisely that of comparing her love with what she saw was the inferior kind of love her sister, Mary, showed to Christ. It’s a phenomenon that, sad to say, is very common since time immemorial, and especially these days when the hunger for recognition seems to be sharper among many people in general. 

 Many people today like to flaunt the good things they do. They like to compare themselves with others. They even go to the extent of indulging in virtue signaling their own deeds while gaslighting those whom they consider to be not as good as they are. 

 To have pure love, we have to start with the purity of our intentions, since they express who and where in the end we want to be. Do we choose to be with God completely, or do we play games trying to do things for others when fact things are done more for ourselves? 

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

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

 We can easily fall into hypocrisy and deception, doing what can appear good externally but is not internally, since we could refuse giving glory to God, which is the proper intention to have, and instead feed and stir our vanity, pride, greed, lust, etc. 

 If our love is pure, we would do a lot of good while passing unnoticed. All the glory should belong to God. We have to rid ourselves of any signs that would show that we want to divert the glory, even if only partially, to ourselves. 

 We are reminded of this danger when Christ said, “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.” (Mt 6,1) 

 And he continued by saying, “When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.” (6,2) 

 As we can see, the intention of our human acts plays a crucial role. With it, we can determine whether we are truly good and moral, or are simply playing around, playing the game of hypocrisy, appearing righteous when we truly are not. 

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

Our human laws and Christian morality

THAT gospel episode where some Pharisees complained against Christ’s disciples who were plucking ears of corn on a Sabbath to appease their hunger (cfr. Mt 12,1-8) again brings out the issue of our human laws and how they have to be made, understood and applied. 

 While they are indispensable in our life here on earth, we should also realize that they do not have the last word since they will always have certain limitations. And because of that, they need to be constantly purified so they can be aligned more and more, despite our mistakes and faults, to our ultimate dignity as God’s image and likeness, God’s children, meant to share in God’s life and nature. 

 In other words, our human laws should pursue the goal of achieving the proper Christian morality where all our human acts should reflect as well as reinforce who we really are. Our laws and idea of morality should help us to become more and more like Christ who is the pattern of our humanity. He is the fulfillment of any law we have in life. 

 

 That is why we should really know him so we would know how to handle our laws. More than knowing him, we should love him since that would make us one in spirit with him. Let’s remember that we are meant to be like Christ, “alter Christus,” another Christ, as some theologians have told us, if not “ipse Christus,” Christ himself. Only then can we have the proper understanding and attitude toward our laws. 

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

 That’s why any human law should always be a dynamic one, always in the process of refining, polishing and enriching itself. It should never be considered as static, or irreformable, unenrichable. 

 A lot of discernment is needed here. Prudence requires it. And the common good, which the law should always serve, can often present competing interests that need to be resolved as fairly as possible. 

 That’s simply because charity, truth, justice and mercy, which our laws should embody, have aspects that can be mysterious and that will always demand new requirements from us. 

 Let's hope that the proper structures are made available to address this ongoing need with respect to continually polishing our laws. The task is definitely daunting. But rather than be daunted, it should challenge us to do it whatever it costs. We actually have the means. God, for his part, will always give us the grace for it. We just have to have the necessary attitude, will, and skills to do it. 

 We have to understand that for this task to be properly undertaken, those involved should be vitally in contact with God, the source of all good things, of all truth, charity, and justice. Being the creator, he is the foundation of reality and the supreme lawmaker and lawgiver. 

 In the end, for us to make our laws reinforce our proper human and Christian morality, all the processes involved in their making and application should be done with Christ and for Christ. Outside of that context, we can only fall into some forms of legalism that misses the real intent our laws should have.

The secret of how to find rest

PERHAPS we can get an idea about that secret from what Christ himself said. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” (Mt 11, 29) It’s when we are meek and humble, like Christ, that we can find true rest, which is to rest with and in Christ. 

 It’s Christ who reassures us of the effectiveness of meekness. We should simply follow what he has told us even if our initial and spontaneous reaction is to doubt whether meekness, together with humility, could help us in our effort to tackle our worldly affairs, now getting more complicated and more challenging. 

 We have to strongly convince ourselves that it is when we follow Christ’s words that things would just work out right even if our common sense as well as our sophisticated sciences seem to contradict them. 

 Christ always has the last word, and we should just try our best that our human ways of knowing conform and comply with what Christ tells us. To be sure, Christ must have given due consideration to our human estimations of what would work, like effectiveness and efficiency, profitability and popularity, convenience and comfort, etc., but he goes much further than these. 

 Many of us are afraid to play the role of a meek character in any situation we may find ourselves in. We often think meekness is a defeatist trait, a weakness and a clear evidence of powerlessness and helplessness. 

 Meekness may appear to us in our human and worldly standards as a quality for weak, defeated and poor people. Nothing of that sort actually enters into the definition of meekness as defined by Christ himself. It’s a virtue that requires nothing less than heroic strength that can take on anything in this life, no matter how it goes, including of course the worst scenario that our life can get into. 

 When we are meek with the meekness of Christ, we can manage to be patient, understanding, gentle, tolerant, etc., when things and times get rough and difficult. Meekness prevents us from falling into sadness, anger, bitterness, fear, shame. It prevents us from rotting in frustrations and disappointments when things don’t go our way. 

 Meekness will always make us hopeful and optimistic, always looking at the brighter side of life and for solutions to problems rather than getting entangled with our problems and mistakes. 

 Meekness enables us to be accepting of things and situations as they are, without over-reacting to whatever defects or bad elements these things and situations may have. Obviously, meekness should encourage us to do something about them. And where we cannot anymore find any human solution to some of our problems, meekness helps us to live a spirit of abandonment in the hands of God. 

 And the basis for all this is because in the end God takes care of everything. What we cannot do, what we cannot anymore solve, God in his infinite and merciful wisdom and providence can always do something for our own good.  

That’s why we really need to strengthen our faith that fuels our hope as we continue to get on with our life here on earth, and sharpen our charity that in the end is what is truly essential to us. We are made for love, for charity, since that is the essence of God and we are supposed to be his image and likeness. 

 This is how we can find true rest, our rest with and in Christ!

Charity is the ultimate truth

WE need to be very clear about this point. We often contrast charity with truth, mercy with justice. And that’s because we consider these values and virtues more from our own point of view, based only on our experiences, observations, sciences, etc., that while giving us some elements of truth can really go so far as to tell us the whole truth. 

 It’s a truth that depends mainly on our perceptions, discernments, judgments and reasoning. In short, in the way we are. It tends to be self-established and developed. It’s a truth that is often held captive by one’s subjective ways, and averse to anything pertaining to the truth that can go against how we are. 

 And so, with this subjective kind of understanding of truth, we tend to have at best only a partial grasp of reality, or a tentative one, if not a distorted one, that is most vulnerable to be used by the many ulterior motives we can have. 

 The whole truth can only come from God who, being the Creator of the whole universe, reveals it to us completely in Christ, the son of God who became man to offer us “the way, the truth and the life.” 

 Our experiences, observation, sciences, facts and data, in the end, are heavily conditioned by things of nature which, while giving us some aspects and elements of truth, often neglect the basic truth about ourselves—that is, that we are meant to live a spiritual and supernatural life with God. Our purely human ways cannot give us the whole truth. 

 What is worse is that many of us claim that there is no God, and that everything would just depend on our own selves in whatever way we understand that dependence. Many of us refuse to acknowledge that there is such thing as the spiritual and supernatural world that transcends our natural and material world. It’s no wonder that we can only end up with all sorts of ideas and professions, often contradicting each other. 

 Of course, to know the whole truth which is charity, we need to have faith in God. The problem we often encounter in this department is that that faith in God is often denied. Instead, we rely on the faith in our own selves, in our own powers that clearly are limited and prone to error. 

 Truth therefore just cannot be reduced to a cold data, or to mere personal perceptions and understanding, no matter how scientific it is, or politically and socially popular its consensus is achieved. We really cannot have the truth unless that truth is held also in charity as taught to us by Christ. 

 This is where we have to make some drastic adjustments in our understanding of truth. It’s when truth equates with charity that we can achieve true justice and equality among us. That’s when we can truly be brothers and sisters to one another, without anyone higher or lower than the rest of us. 

 It’s when truth equates with charity that we can live genuine prudence and discretion, avoiding the stupidities of gossips and mindless chatter. We would know what and when to think, speak and act, and when not. 

 It’s when truth equals charity when we, all of us, can achieve our authentic and ultimate dignity as persons who are the image and likeness of God and children of his, meant to participate in the very life and nature of God.

Our tendency to be impenitent

“THEN began he to upbraid the cities wherein were done the most of his miracles, for they had not done penance. ‘Woe to thee, Corozain, woe to thee, Bethsaida: for if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in you, they had long ago done penance in sackcloth and ashes.’” (Mt 11,20-21) 

 Thus lamented Christ over the people he had been giving a lot of favors. It’s a lament that continues to take place up to now, since we cannot deny that despite all the good things we have been having over the years, we still continue to be impenitent over our weaknesses, mistakes and sins. 

 While it’s a given that we cannot avoid sin, considering our wounded condition, it should also be given that we need to also have an abiding need for penance. Nowadays, it would look like while our sinfulness has become worse, our duty to do penance is practically neglected. 

 The sense of sin is being aggressively undermined. And that’s simply because we are not anymore referring things to God. We are simply referring them to our own ideas. The clear distinction between good and evil is practically erased. 

 Our sense of penance is in crisis because our idea of what is good and evil is now reduced to our personal preferences, or at best to what can be termed as our social, political, cultural or even ideological consensus. Our legal system is often regarded as explicitly atheistic or agnostic, to free it from the so-called religious bias. 

 We need to make an effort, even a worldwide campaign, to boost our spirit of penance, explaining our dire necessity for it and the ineffable benefits we can derive from it. 

 The spirit of penance is not actually something that is dark, negative, painful, etc. It’s not something we should run away from. In fact, it’s not something that we should just bear and tolerate since we cannot avoid it. 

 We need to embrace it, to love it, and thus, we have to develop that spirit as best that we can. It is actually something beautiful, since it is purifying and liberating. It recovers us from our wounded condition and reinforces our dignity as persons and children of God. 

 We need to develop and live this spirit of penance because it is clear that sin continues to dominate us in this life. In fact, it is quite clear that things are getting worse. There are now powerful and well-established structures of sin in our midst before which we are simply an easy prey. 

 The networks of corruption, pornography, godless and worldly ideologies, etc. are proliferating, taking advantage of the powerful technologies and the relative vulnerability of many people, especially the young ones, who are not yet prepared to properly handle these networks. 

 The virtue of penance should include the desire and practice of regular and frequent recourse to the sacrament of penance, where through the ministry of priests, Christ comes to us as father, friend, judge and doctor. This sacrament not only reconciles us with God, but also repairs whatever damage our sin would cause on others and the Church in general. 

 This virtue of penance also includes the desire and practice of continuing atonement and reparation. This can be done in many ways—exerting greater effort to pray, being more generous with our sacrifices and daily self-denials, especially in food, drink, and comfort. It can be done also by doing many corporal and spiritual works of mercy, etc.

The war for peace

IT’S, of course, intriguing that while Christ is known to often greet his disciples with peace, as in “Peace be with you” (cfr. Jn 20,19; Jn 20,21), he also said at one time: “Do not think that I came to send peace upon earth; I came not to send peace, but the sword.” (Mt 10,34) 

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 Christ is supposed to be the Prince of Peace. (cfr Is 9,6) At his birth, a host of angels sang praises to him: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!” (Lk 2,13) Then why did he say he has not come to establish peace on the earth? 

 We have to understand that the sword Christ mentioned here does not mean to be destructive but rather constructive, driven by love and the desire to be united with God and with the others in a way proper to us as children of God and brothers and sisters among ourselves. 

 Our life here on earth cannot but be in some form of struggle. Aside from our innate urge to grow and develop that requires some effort, we also have to contend with the enemies of God and of our soul, whose sole intent is precisely to bring us down, to divert us from our proper path toward holiness. 

 We are not simply ranged against natural difficulties, challenges and trials in life, but also against very powerful and subtle nemeses. The natural enemies alone are already formidable. 

 But we still have enemies tougher than these. As St. Paul said, “Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.” (Eph 6,12) 

 Truth is many people—in fact, I would say all of us one way or another—are looking for effective ways to develop our spiritual life and to be skillful in the unavoidable spiritual warfare in this life. 

 People, including the young ones whose stirring for the spiritual can be sharp and intense if hidden, want to know, for example, how to pray, or how to keep it going amid the many concerns in life. Getting engaged with God all throughout the day eludes them. 

 The answer could very well be that war and peace somehow go together. To have peace, some war has to be waged. It cannot be any other way. A peace without a war, given our wounded condition, is a false peace. 

 And that’s simply because our life here on earth necessarily involves some warfare. The forces of good and evil do their battle all over the place, first in the hearts of men and then in many other arenas—practically in all the fields where human freedom is involved. 

 It’s true that peace is part of the ultimate goal all of us are seeking. It’s part of that inmost longing for joy that every human heart possesses. But to have that peace, we need to wage war precisely against those forces and elements that would undermine our pristine desire for endless peace. 

 That is how we have to understand those words of Christ cited above. He wants us to make war against the enemies of God and of men. And this war can take very subtle forms as when we have to contend with the so-called sweet poisons. We should always be on guard, and prepared to do battle against anything that goes against our own true good.

Lessons from the parable of the Good Samaritan

THE obvious lesson we can immediately gather from the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10,25,37) is that we should have true empathy and compassion with everyone, irrespective of how those involved are, whether they are friendly or not, of our type or kind or not, likeable and lovable or not, etc. We should try to have a universal heart, quick to serve anyone, irrespective of who or how one is. 

 The more subtle lesson we should draw from it, however, is that we should be wary of our tendency to rely mainly on our titles, status or whatever privileges and entitlements we have. This reliance may not be openly seen, and that’s the problem to face and resolve. 

 Very often, even if we profess ourselves to be truly and entirely Christian, in reality there are some hidden things that would belie such claim. We may talk a lot about charity and show in some external acts that we are living it, but very often if not always, we can always find ourselves in some inconsistent condition, because there are times when we fail to live charity truly. 

 We can be choosy as to whom to be compassionate as well as to the kind of conditions that would prevail in a certain occasion. We expect that all the conditions be favorable for us to show charity. When sacrifices are involved, especially the extraordinary ones, we tend to turn a blind eye, just like what the priest and the Levite did in the parable. 

 This is not to mention that we all have certain biases and preferences that would prevent us from having a heart that would show and give love at all times, irrespective of the circumstances around. 

 We truly need to address this problem realistically. And the first thing to consider is to acknowledge our deficiencies with respect to the charity expected of us as true children of God. This may take a lifetime, but it is worthwhile to keep doing something to make our heart resemble more and more like that of the Good Samaritan, or to put it bluntly, a heart like that of Christ. 

 In our prayers, examinations of conscience and other spiritual and ascetical exercises, let us identify those items or aspects of charity where we are failing or lagging behind. It could be that we are still dominated by what and whom we like and dislike, or by the fear of more sacrifices especially if they are occasioned by surprises. 

 Definitely, we need to ask for grace, but we also need to develop a certain discipline that would enable us to truly have a charity, empathy and compassion that have a universal scope. 

 It is also helpful that we avail ourselves of some help from someone who can truly give us guidance in our pursuit for personal conversion. Obviously, in this regard, we need to be open, sincere and transparent, putting all the cards on the table without hiding anything. 

 We have to learn how to discipline our feelings and passions, teaching them to go along the true spirit of charity as Christ himself has shown, commanded and enabled us to have. This can mean that we learn, for example, how to convert difficult and humbling moments into moments of graciousness and magnanimity. 

 In our pursuit to have this kind of charity, we should have the sensation that we are becoming “all things to all men” as St. Paul once said (1 Cor 9,22), willing to “bear one another’s burdens.” (Gal 6,2) This is when we can truly be a Good Samaritan to anyone, whatever may be the circumstance.