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) 

\

 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.

All the way to the gates of hell

THAT’S how willing we should go in our apostolic tasks if we truly dedicate ourselves, as we should, to Christ’s continuing work of human redemption. We should not be afraid of anything, the effort, sacrifices and all sorts of contradictions that may be involved along the way. We should do all we can, yes, even going all the way to the gates of hell if only to snatch a soul from entering there. 

 Christ already warned us that we will be like “sheep in the midst of wolves” in this world. In pursuing this mission, he told us to be “wise as serpents yet simple as doves.” (cfr. Mt 10,16) We should not be naïve, we should not be afraid to get dirty. We have to be tough and learn how not to be scandalized by anything in this life. 

 If we truly are good and saintly, we would not be scandalized by any evil that can hound us. It’s not that we are not affected by evil. Like anybody else, we are. At least, we would be annoyed and can get angry. We can even try to seek justice and retribution to anyone who might have done us wrong. But we would not respond evil with another evil. 

 Like Christ, we would know how to bear evil patiently. And more than that, like Christ we would be aroused to correct evil with charity, and even to love those who cause us evil. We would try to correct them with charity and seek their conversion. That is what is most important to carry out. 

 And even with those who have no more hope of conversion, like the evil spirits who already have made their definite choice to go against God and everything that comes from God, like Christ we would refuse to fall into hatred or any form of evil. We may have to defend ourselves against them, as we should, but we would not be baited to fall into lack of charity. 

 As Christ said, we have to love even our enemies. (cfr. Mt 5,44) So we have to be most careful when in our pursuit for goodness and holiness, we end up hating those who are not good and holy and who give us trouble. 

 That kind of goodness and holiness is not the goodness and holiness of God. They would be fake, and are based simply on our own gratuitous and unjustified ideas of goodness and holiness. It would be the goodness and holiness of the prude persons, the puritans, the self-righteous and hypocrites, etc. 

 We really need to learn how to suffer. The massive problem we have now is precisely that many of us do not know how to suffer. We complain and cry even at the slightest touch of suffering. We become sad and fall into a hard case of depression. Self-pity and idle passivity can dominate us, sinking us into a spiral of problems and predicaments. 

 Learning how to suffer is an art and skill that is available if we only care to notice. It’s all there as clear as noonday, its cause and meaning precisely defined, its antidote and vaccine abundantly provided. Our Christian faith sheds tremendous light on this mystery of our life. Christ is showing us the way, and is actually empowering us. 

 The most important thing to always keep in mind is do everything to bring souls back to God. We should not shy away from this mission, because God himself will do it with us if we would just care to cooperate with him.

How to be both idealistic and realistic

THESE should be the abiding traits we ought to have in this life. Given the fact that we are just having a pilgrimage toward our eternal destination in this life, we should see to it that we don’t lose sight of the idealism meant for us as well as the realism that properly considers the realities on the ground that we have to contend with on our way to our final destination. 

 And the way to combine these traits is simply to be like Christ or to be with Christ. Christ presents to us the highest ideal meant for us as well as “the way, the truth and the life” so we can successfully traverse this valley of tears and trials that we have in this world. 

 Idealism and realism need not be in contrast with each other, as many people tend to consider them. They ought to be united, since our life in this world, as has been said so many times, is like a journey toward our eternal destination. 

 It’s important that as much as possible we sharpen our idealistic attitude toward life, aiming at no less than what God wants us to be, i.e., for us to be like him, sharers of his life and very nature. We should nourish this idealism constantly, ridding it of false values and goals that many times are presented to us by some ideologies, cultures, etc., and overcoming whatever disbelief we have about it. 

 This idealism presented to us by Christ should be the dream of our dreams which we should pursue without pause as much as possible. If we pursue it with Christ, we would see that our dreams will, in fact, fall short, since Christ gives us much more than what we can expect to reach or achieve. 

 We have to be wary of our tendency not to anchor our idealism on Christ. That’s when we can tend to build some kind of ivory tower, enclosing ourselves in our own ideas, theories and doctrines that, while useful to a certain extent, will always need to be adapted properly to the objective realities on the ground. 

 That’s when we become armchair players in the drama of life, not realizing that ideas, theories and doctrines are no cold, frozen things, but are meant to be dynamic, subject always to some development, deepening, and evolution. 

 In our hot pursuit for the ultimate goal of our life, we should also be realistic. In this, we just have to follow what Christ once said: “Be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.” (Mt 10,16) 

 It’s indeed an overwhelming combination! But hard and even impossible as it may seem, we just have to try our best to achieve such condition, obviously with God’s grace, because as Christ himself warned us, in this world we would be like sheep in the midst of wolves. We just have to be clever without compromising our human and Christian integrity. 

 Is it possible? Is it achievable? We can always ask these questions, but in the end, we just have to reconcile ourselves with what Christ is telling us, since he himself will do it for us and with us. All we have to do is try our best to be like him who precisely epitomizes this most intriguing blend of shrewdness and simplicity. 

 Definitely this is a combination that will be very challenging for us to develop. But we can always try, like taking one step at a time in pursuing this goal. For this, we may have to spend some time studying on how to develop it, coming out with some plans and resolutions along the way.

When our dormant weaknesses get enkindled

WE have to be wary of this possibility. Given how things are nowadays, we should be prepared to deal with this phenomenon that, sad to say, is getting more common. We should realize that instead of feeling sad when such thing occurs in us, we should rather somehow welcome it, since it is an opportunity and an invitation to grow more in the virtues and to make progress in our pursuit for both human and Christian maturity. 

 As St. Paul once assured us, “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8,28) Yes, the secret is always to refer these occurrences to God. We should never dare to deal with them solely by our own selves, relying only on our own strength that can only go so far. 

 We should not be surprised that we have these dormant weaknesses. These are our vulnerabilities that have been hidden or inactive because we have managed to put them under control so far, or because we simply did not realize we have them. 

 We may have impressive talents and other qualities, but let’s not forget that we all have “feet of clay.” (cfr. Dan 2,33) Just a little disturbance, and the whole edifice of our humanity would just crumble down. 

 When our dormant weaknesses get stirred up, the first thing to do is to pray, to refer them to God, asking for help and strength. And then let’s do all that are needed to confront this problem properly. 

 Obviously, we would need some concrete help from outside. We should not just handle this thing on our own. We need counselling and accompaniment, both human and supernatural, material and spiritual. 

 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, depression or self-isolation, 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 and from others. 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 limits. 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. 

 We have to learn how to react according to our Christian faith when our dormant weaknesses get enkindled. We should never just rely on our own estimation of things that would often lead us to be scandalized, to feel bad and discouraged, and to run away from the one who precisely can resolve everything for us, including those problems we cannot anymore resolve. 

 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 even as we do our best to develop the appropriate virtues and norms of prudence. 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. (cfr. Rom 8,28)

Learning the art of sifting and discerning

WITH the way the world us currently developing, with so many things coming out that can easily grab our attention and interest, we really would need to hone our skills at sifting and discerning, since these developments can easily give us a lot of dangers even if initially they can offer, or at least, promise to give us a lot of good. 

 These are skills that are urgently needed these days. With so many things competing for our attention, we need to know which ones we ought to give priority or which ones are truly God’s will for us. We cannot deny that there are many things that can look like they come from God but are not. 

 For this, the first thing to do is always to be guarded, and not just allow ourselves to be easily held captive by the many charms these new developments offer. We need to be clear about what the real and ultimate purpose of our life is, that is, to be properly anchored and focused, so that no matter how things go, we would not get lost or confused. 

 To be properly anchored and focused means to have God as the be-all and end-all in all our human activities and affairs. More specifically, to have love for God and for everybody else as the motivating principle of our life. 

 That’s when we would be able to distinguish what is essential from what is non-essential, what has absolute value from what only has relative value. We would have a proper sense of priority that would guard us from falling into self-indulgence which is actually the very opposite of true love. 

 Let’s never forget that we have a very strong tendency toward self-indulgence. That is why Christ clearly told us that for us to follow him, which is what is proper to us, we need to deny ourselves and to carry the cross. (cfr. Mt 16,24) 

 We should not ignore this clear indication Christ gave his disciples. We have to strongly convince ourselves that such indication never undermines our humanity. What it would rather do is to purify our humanity, put it on the right path in pursuit of our ultimate goal, and eventually elevate it to the very life and nature of God himself as we are meant to have. 

 This habit of self-denial would enable us to do God’s work, which is actually meant for us as his children, sharers of his life and nature, while being easily flexible and adaptive to the varying challenges and circumstances of the times. We have to be wary of our tendency to be trapped into some closed system of routine, if not to be imprisoned in our comfort-zone. 

 Self-denial will obviously involve certain detachment from things. That is why we should intensify our union with Christ as we immerse ourselves in the things of this world. We can do that if we know how to pray always, converting everything into a form of prayer, a form of engaging ourselves with God. 

 For this, we certainly need to train ourselves and to acquire a certain discipline, so that our union with Christ would be kept alive. We have to realize that our life is supposed to be always a life with Christ and for Christ. 

 Only then can we learn how to bear all things to achieve the fruitfulness of Christ who gained our salvation through his passion, death and resurrection. The paradox of dying in order to be fruitful would become a reality in our life.

With faith, miracles can happen

THAT’S the conclusion we can draw from that gospel episode where a woman with a 12-year illness was cured instantly, and a dead girl was made to rise back to life again. (cfr. Mt 9,18-26) 

 These two miraculous events highlight Christ’s power, showing us how a strong faith can have a transformative power, and how Christ, without doubt, has authority over death. Both events reinforce Christ’s identity as our Savior, and that he is capable of healing what is sick, restoring what is lost, and ultimately conquering death itself. 

 These two events also show how compassionate and merciful Christ is towards the suffering and the desperate. They also highlight the fact that Christ always responds to our needs of healing and restoration, a clear expression of love. 

 But we have to remember that it is faith that would let us enter the spiritual and supernatural world, enabling us to receive God’s favor, and letting us share in God’s wisdom and power. Remember those stirring words of Christ: “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove from there, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible to you.” (Mt 17,20) 

 Without faith, in spite of our keenest intelligence, we will miss much of the more important aspects of our life as we would only be restricted to the here and now, the material and the temporal. We would be left with our own human devices that can only do so much. 

 Especially in our special needs and persistent human miseries that nowadays are getting more common, we need to follow the example of the men and women, the blind, the lame, the deaf, the sick, etc., who did all to get close to Christ and to beg. Some even had to climb to the roof and cut a portion there to be able to be near Christ. 

 This is the pattern we have to follow. We have to eagerly seek Christ and importune him with all our might, accompanying our pleas with external signs of our fervent faith and love for him. 

 We need to understand that as the very beginning of our life with God, our life in the Spirit which is a supernatural life more than just a natural life, our Christian faith has to be taken care of, nourished and developed to full maturity. 

 We need to be more aware of this duty and develop the appropriate attitude and skills to carry out this responsibility effectively. We have to go beyond mere good intentions or being merely theoretical in order to be truly practical and vitally engaged with this obligation. 

 Faith is a tremendous gift from God who starts to share with us what he has, what he knows about himself and about ourselves. It gives us the global picture of reality, covering both the temporal and the eternal, the material and the spiritual, the natural and supernatural dimensions of our life. 

 Faith contains the medicine and the remedy to all our spiritual inadequacies and illnesses. It is what is required for miracles to happen, as attested many times in the Gospel. 

 Yes, it is only with a strong and insistent faith that we can see the impossible becoming possible, and to see and even experience the many marvels God always likes do for us. Miracles happen even up to now because God’s love and care for us never ends!

Abundant harvest but few laborers

THAT gospel episode where Christ appointed 72 other disciples and sent them to places where Christ intended to visit (cfr. Lk 10,1-12.17-20) reminds us that if we too consider ourselves as disciples of Christ, we should also realize that this commissioning is also addressed to us. 

 We need to give utmost attention to this task because first of all, as disciples of Christ, we cannot help but also get involved in the continuing work of human redemption of Christ. He is practically begging us to do so, especially when he said: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.” 

 That’s because if we are truly Christians, we should be involved in Christ’s mission here on earth. Christ’s mission and concerns should also be ours. We have to realize that Christ treats us the way he treats himself precisely because we are patterned after him. 

 That’s also why we have been endowed with intelligence and will which, together always with God’s grace, would enable us to know and love others the way Christ loves all of us. And in this regard, we know that Christ’s love goes all the way to offering his life for us. That’s how we should love one another. That’s how we as disciples of his should be willing to love everybody, including our enemies. 

 In that gospel episode, Christ told his disciples of what they should only bring along, as well as the difficulties and dangers they should expect along the way. “I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals,” he said, somehow making them to understand that he would take care of whatever conditions they might find themselves in pursuing this task. 

 Yes, there would be suffering, but in the end, Christ would know how to turn everything negative into something constructive and redemptive. He was implying that he would be sharing his powers with them. As it turned out, the disciples where amazed at what they accomplished. "Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name," they said. 

 We have to realize more sharply that we need to be burning with zeal in carrying out our apostolic duty. That’s because the apostolic panorama and challenge is getting increasingly tremendous and complicated. Yes, we should always ask for God’s grace to fulfill this duty, but we need to acquire the appropriate attitudes and skills as well. 

 Nowadays, with all the absorbing developments around, it is very easy for us to think that we are doing many things when, in fact, we are falling into the deceptive dynamics of self-indulgence. 

 We have to be most wary of this danger that is clearly becoming widespread. Self-indulgence is a constant threat, especially these days when good and evil are so mixed up that we would mostly likely be left confused and easily taken by sweet poisons that today’s new things readily offer. 

 We need to be very discriminating in dealing with these new developments, knowing how to discern what is good and useful for the apostolate from what can simply be a distraction which can appear to us also as something useful. The ways of evil usually assume the appearance of some good. 

 Thus, we should try to come out with a concrete apostolic plan everyday, so that however things go during the day, we can have clear apostolic goal to pursue, and thus fulfill the task Christ is entrusting us.

A true Christian always cares for sinners

THIS is the lesson we can draw from that gospel episode where some Pharisees told Christ’s disciples: “Why does your master eat with publicans and sinners?” (Mt 9,11) 

 To which Christ responded: “They who are healthy need not a physician, but they who are ill.” He then proceeded to say: “I have not come to call the just, but sinners.” (Mt 9,13) 

 If we truly have the mind and heart of Christ, then we should be eager to look after those who are lost, far away from the true faith, or even those who consider themselves non-believers and open enemies of God. 

 Again, this is a tall order, but we can always do something about it. We should just develop the appropriate knowledge and virtues to capture that spirit of Christ who like the Good Shepherd will always look for the lost sheep. 

 When we actually do not go all the way in our effort to identify ourselves with Christ as completely as possible, we would end up like those Pharisees of old who were openly self-righteous and quick to judge others based only on some human and worldly standards or criteria. 

 We have to remember that God, as Christ told us clearly, cares for everyone of us. He does not make distinction of persons insofar as loving is concerned. His love is universal. It covers all. 

 This is the thought that should be with us everytime we see the differences and the great variety of conditions we have among ourselves. Yes, we have to acknowledge our differences, our advantages and disadvantages, etc., but we should not forget that God loves all of us and that we too should love everybody else the way God loves all. 

 Let us remind ourselves that our differences are meant to develop, if not enrich, everyone through the dynamics of complementation and supplementation. Let’s see to it that we are not unduly entangled with the unavoidable tension and conflict, and that we manage to go past them and see the bigger picture. 

 What is incumbent on us is to give what we have, what has been entrusted to us by God—our talents and other gifts—as much as we could for the common good. This is where our true joy and self-fulfillment can be found. It’s in giving that we truly love, and that we truly get blessed. 

 We have to develop this kind of love that would urge us to look after the lost sheep. Do we know, for example how to deal with an unbeliever, an atheist or agnostic? Or a smart alecky fellow who actually has great potentials to help but is oblivious of his duty to be concerned with the lives of others? 

 We have to be wary of the subtle temptation to classify people without knowing how to put them together in one communion as we all ought to be, with God as the principle, end, pattern and power for that communion. 

 Everyone should be concerned for the common good, both temporal and eternal, material and spiritual, and should know how to work together in solidarity and subsidiarity. 

 We should be wary of things that would stir up our emotions and feelings such that we follow the playbooks of those ideologies that are already detached or even opposed to our faith and true charity. In this, we have to help one another.

What we can learn from the doubting Thomas

TO be blunt about it, what we can learn from him is to realize that it is faith more than our human and natural sciences that can lead us and explain to us the full reality that are beyond our natural world and our human self. 

 That’s because faith has a much greater scope. It includes the spiritual and the supernatural realities which our sciences cannot fully fathom, no matter how developed they are, although they can lead us to these realities. 

 Our usual problem is that we rely too much on our sciences, as if they have the last word and as if they can show us the full extent of the reality of our whole life and of the whole universe. That is why on the Feast of St. Thomas, the Apostle, the risen Christ told him, “Because you have seen me, Thomas, you have believed; blessed are they who have not seen, and have believed.” (Jn 20,29) 

 Of course, we have to realize also that faith is, first of all, a gift given to us by God. We need to receive it gratefully and live according to it. It is not something we make or invent. And this faith is made tangible to us because the very author of reality, God, made himself man in Christ who showed us beyond doubt that he is telling us everything we need to know to be what God wants us to be. 

 More than telling us everything, Christ has provided us with everything we need to reach our real goal in life, irrespective of whatever conditions we may go through in this life. As he said himself, he is “the way, the truth and the life.” 

 Though faith cannot be fully explained by our reason alone, there are many things—in fact, everything in this world—that would make it credible and acceptable to us. And that’s because even if we use our reason alone, we can somehow discern that everything in this world actually points us to God. 

 The order, beauty and complexity of the universe, including the intricate workings of nature and the human mind, can lead us to believe in a divine creator. Given the finite nature of everything, we cannot presume that things just came into existence on their own, or spontaneously. There must be a Creator who has been existing from all eternity. 

 We need to realize that we actually need faith. Thus, these words of some of the gospel characters should also be ours. “I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mk 9,24) “Increase our faith.” (Lk 17,5) 

 We can never say that we have enough faith. We should never be complacent in this regard. Faith is an ever-dynamic thing that needs to grow and grow as well as to inspire us more deeply, thoroughly and consistently. 

 We need to make it grow to cope with our natural needs. In this level alone, we always need faith to make things very clear for us, even if in theory we can handle the natural challenges and difficulties we can encounter in life. 

 We need it to deal properly with our weakness and our proneness to commit sin. We also need it most especially, because we have to pursue a supernatural goal, and not just a natural one. 

 That is why we need to discipline our thinking and emotions, because they tend to go on their own and leave faith behind. We have to see to it that the way we think and feel should always be infused by faith, otherwise we expose ourselves to unnecessary dangers that would lead us to fear, doubts, gloominess, etc.

What true friendship is

TO be sure, true friendship is not just a matter of enjoying each other’s company, sharing things in common or just having a good time. All of these are presumed in friendship. But a friend through and through would go much farther than that, since it will always have charity as the main and ultimate driver of his relationship with his friend. 

 In other words, true friendship cannot be separated from charity. Without charity, any appearance of friendship would only be just that—an appearance that lacks the real substance. It remains in the superficial level, and cannot survive the many challenges and trials of life. It’s only good for some time, under some favorable conditions. It wilts when the unavoidable differences and conflicts among us take place. 

 True friendship has a universal scope. It can include enemies. Said in another way, with true friendship, there will be no enemies. And even those who consider themselves as enemies would be treated with utmost care and affection. True friendship works in all seasons and in all conditions. 

 We have to rediscover the authentic face of friendship. As social beings, we can never be alone, we need others. In fact, we have to be open to the ideal of being friends with everyone. 

 Yes, even our enemies, in a certain sense, should be our friends, because Christ himself told us to love our enemies. “If you love them that love you, what reward shall you have?” he said. “Do not publicans do that…Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5,46-48) 

 We need to polish always our skills of making friends, starting with those details that foster closeness—greeting, smiling, spending time together, saying some nice, positive words—to the more demanding ones—flexibility to different types of characters and situations, dominating our bad humor, etc. 

 The warmth and glow proper of friendship should be readily seen and felt. It need not be showy, of course. But by and large, there is kind of heightening of feelings and desire involved in it. 

 We have to know how to enter into meaningful dialogue especially when certain issues divide us. Each one should try to understand the others, listening to their reasons of the others, trying to see things the way the others see them. 

 As persons and children of God, our friendship should go all the way to the spiritual and supernatural level. It has to go beyond, but never discard, the natural or human level. Friendship has to develop into apostolate, far beyond the dynamics of blood or social relations. 

 It just cannot remain in the natural level, given the way we are, who have been created in God’s image and likeness. It has to be theological, since our relation with others should channel the relation that the three persons in one God have among themselves, as well as the relation Christ, the pattern of our humanity, has towards everyone. 

 We should develop this friendship using both human and supernatural means. Friendship has to be based on faith and love for God. It should begin and end in God. Of course, given our human condition, this ideal will be reached in stages, with a lot of drama. But in the end, God should be the seed and fruit of friendship. 

 We have to start training ourselves in this kind of friendship as early as possible.

When life’s tempests assault us

THAT gospel episode about Christ’s disciples experiencing a terrible tempest at sea while Christ was simply sleeping in one corner of the boat (cfr. Mt 8,23-27) should remind us that while we cannot help but be filled with fear and worries when all kinds of life’s troubles would assail us, we should never lose the hope that Christ will always come to our aid one way or another. 

 We should try to recover our hope and serenity so that we can be in a better condition to tackle the many challenges of our life. We have to train ourselves to have this kind of reaction, knowing that trials and all kinds of difficulties are unavoidable in our life. Let’s never forget what Christ once said: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16,33) 

 In all our affairs and situations in life, we should always go to God to ask for his help and guidance, and to trust his ways and his providence, even if the outcome of our prayers and petitions appears unanswered, if not, contradicted. 

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

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

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

 It may happen that we may not get what we want. And in this, we should not be too surprised or too worried. What is sure is that God always listens and gives us what is best for us. If our request is granted, it’s because it is good for us. We should however be careful that the favor should not spoil us but should rather make us more thankful and faithful to him. 

 If our request is not granted, it could be because what we asked is actually not good for us. Examples of this kind of cases are aplenty, and many would later on realize how lucky they were that what they asked for was not granted. 

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

 We need a sporting spirit because life’s true failure can come only when we choose not to have hope.

The pursuit for unity of life

IF we really know what the real and ultimate purpose of our life here on earth is, for sure we would do everything to organize our life in such a way that all the elements involved would work together to pursue that purpose. 

 This is what we may call as the duty to develop a sense of unity of life, where we integrate everything in our life, starting with our ordinary activities and work, our prayer and other responsibilities—social, family, apostolic, etc.—into a constant occasion to sanctify ourselves, i.e., to always do God’s will. 

 In this way, we would be affirming our true identity as children of God who wants us to be like him. That is why in the gospel, Christ always compares us with God our Father. “Be holy as your heavenly Father is holy,” he said. “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5,48) 

 We have to learn to turn everything into an occasion, means and reason to know, love and serve God, and to do the same to everybody else, since our relation with God is always developed through our relation with others and with everything else in our life here on earth. 

 This would mean that we have to learn how to find God in our daily lives and in all the events and circumstances of our life. If we have the proper frame of mind that is guided by our Christian faith, we know that everything can and should be sanctified, and by so doing, we also sanctify ourselves and others. 

 We should never forget that our life is not only biological that relies simply on our biological functions. Neither is it just purely physical or material that requires merely material nourishment. 

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

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

 I must say that of the different pairs of distinctions among the aspects of our life, that of the natural and supernatural is the most tricky, and therefore the most ignored, the least appreciated and lived with consistency. 

 And yet, we also have this intriguing reality that a good portion of the people all over the world, usually the poor and simple, automatically realize that our life has both these natural and supernatural dimensions. 

 The challenge we have is how to integrate all these elements in such a way that we live this unity of life as much as possible with uninterrupted consistency and continuity. This would definitely require God’s grace, first of all, and our all-out effort. 

 There will always be a need for daily struggle. It would be helpful that as soon as possible we realize and start to do something about it. We may never reach perfection in this regard, but at least we can try and try, making progress little by little. 

 To be sure, it will be a very demanding life that we should have, but also one that would give us a certain sense of inner joy and peace that the world cannot give.

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven”

TREMENDOUS words of Christ addressed to Peter! (cfr. Mt 16,19) If we would just pause for a while and savor the implications of those words and consider the person to whom they were addressed, we can only think that there is no way these words can be true. This must be a joke! 

 Imagine the power and authority handed to a person like Peter who denied Christ 3 times before he repented, and who received that stinging rebuke from Christ who told him: “Get behind me, Satan,” (Mt 16,23) for trying to prevent Christ from consummating his redemptive mission by offering his life on the cross. 

 A number of times, Christ would castigate his disciples, including Peter, for their lack of faith, and yet Christ still counted on them as his disciples. Even more, Peter, for all his weaknesses, was made the rock on which Christ would build his Church where “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” 

 It surely would require a deep act of faith for us to believe that these words can be said to Peter. Not only that, we are told that “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” is handed over to the successors of Peter and shared in varying degrees by those who we now call as the clergy. We can never tell if these successors and sharers would be better or worse than Peter. 

 Indeed, we can only say, if we have faith, that God can write straight with crooked lines. That’s what St. Teresa of Avila said when she referred to the fact that in spite of all our human weaknesses, God can still achieve his purpose. Another saint also said that God can write perfectly even with a leg of a table. So, we should not worry so much! 

 And St. Paul has something to say along this line: “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong…” (1 Cor 1 27) 

 On our part, we should try not to overreact when we notice the weaknesses and even the mistakes of our Church leaders. What we have to do is to first of all pray and offer sacrifices, and then slowly but seriously and charitably exert the effort to resolve whatever issues are involved. 

 Our Church leaders are also human beings who have their own share of the woundedness of our human condition here on earth. No matter how well selected they have been, it’s a fact of life that this condition of human woundedness would always be around. 

 Let’s not be easily scandalized by what may cause us consternation, disbelief and worry due to some actuations of our Church leaders. We should just tackle the issues involved calmly and in the presence of God, so we can manage to handle them and resolve them properly. 

 We should not be surprised that the ways of God can go beyond or even break our usual mold of thinking and understanding. It’s in these instances that God would be trying to bring us to another level of thinking and understanding. The spiritual and supernatural ways of God often defy our human ways. 

 When we find it hard to accept certain things that our Church leaders would tell us, let’s pray harder, asking for more grace, and do whatever pertinent human effort like further study and consultations would be called for. Let’s avoid the temptation of separating from the Church because of our disagreement with some of our Church leaders. 

 Sad to say, that’s what happened with some men and women who put up their own churches, inflicting cracks on the only Church Christ founded.

“My child, give me your heart”

THAT’S from the Book of Proverbs. (23,26) If we would just give some time meditating on these words, for sure we would be moved to realize that God himself is begging us to give our heart to him. He does not place obstacles in this regard. The problem lies in us—in whether we really would be willing to give our whole heart to him. 

 Here, God is asking us to conform our heart to his. That is why when Christ was asked what the greatest commandment was, he clearly said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Mt 22,37) 

 We need to realize that the ideal condition for our life is when we have the very heart of God in us. And the way to do that is to give our whole heart, our whole being to him. It involves a transformation that God himself facilitates for us as long as we learn to give our heart to him. 

 Yes, we need to develop a certain discipline which would always remind us that we need to pause as often as possible to see if indeed our heart is vibrating in unison with God’s heart. That awareness should be developed and as much as possible made stable or permanent. 

 Somehow, we would know that our heart is already with God when, as a liturgical hymn would put it, “The heart that truly welcomes Christ brings forth a conscience free from sin.” There would always be a feeling of peace that, as Christ himself said, is of the kind that the world does not and cannot give. (cfr. Jn 14,27) This is a peace that is not fleeting. It’s a peace that offers inner calm and strength even in the face of challenges. 

 We need to constantly ask ourselves as we go through the many affairs of our day, “Where is my heart? Is it with God? Is it throbbing in synch with Christ’s Sacred Heart? Do we really know what is in that Sacred Heart of Christ?, etc.” 

 That way we would get some ideas of what to do to conform our heart to Christ’s Sacred Heart. Yes, there will be some difficulties, awkwardness, even mistakes, but if we persist, for sure the way to see and imitate what is inside Christ’s Sacred Heart would open to us. 

 The secret is in our persistence and perseverance. Let’s not forget that God is a loving father to us. He cannot allow us to wallow in our difficulties without him helping us. And we also have to understand that the difficulties we will experience in this regard would always be helpful to us if considered in faith. There is always a reason behind them. 

 We should just try our best to attain that level where the very stream of our consciousness has God always in the middle of everything. Let’s always make our faith functional, so that this reality would be captured in our heart and mind. To be sure, we are not inventing things here. We are not playing make-believe. God is first of all already in our heart. All we have to do is to learn to acknowledge him. 

 If we become more and more familiar with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we would know why we always have to be patient, understanding, compassionate, magnanimous, etc. The very image of Christ, the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity, would be formed in us. 

 We can echo the same words of St. Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me!” (Gal 2,20)

Charity always and above all

THAT’S how charity, the one that channels the very essence of God in our life, should be lived. It’s the charity for all seasons, for all conditions, the good times and the bad times, with friends or with enemies, etc. 

 We may have to deal with difficult people, sort out all kinds of issues, pursue the cause of justice where we can have victims and villains, friends and foes, believers and non-believers, etc., but we should never forget that in all these situations, charity has to be lived. In fact, the more difficult the situation is, the greater the charity ought to be lived. 

 We need to prepare ourselves to live out what St. Paul once articulated: “Because you are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with heartfelt mercy, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another: forgive whatever grievances you have against one another. Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you.” (Col 3,12-13) 

 Then he capped it all by saying, “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in unity.” (Col,3,14) 

 This, of course, is a tall order and requires nothing less than the grace of God and the willingness to go through what Christ went through with his passion and death. This is how we can pursue the perfection of our humanity when we live out God’s charity, as shown, taught and commanded on us by Christ. 

 Remember St. Paul saying that “charity bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things?” (1 Cor 13,7) We better be prepared to live by that injunction, always asking for God’s grace and constantly cultivating virtues, as we go through the many tricks and snares of the devil and the world. 

 Thus, it’s important that we be sport and game in this life. We need to be charitable all the time. And let’s continue to struggle that it be so, or at least that we recover as soon as we can after a slip or a fall. 

 And charity means that we also have to understand and be merciful to the offender. In the case of the sources of the fake news, we should also be quick to understand and forgive them, even as we try to clarify the issue. Let’s see to it that our clarifications are free of bitterness, sarcasm, irony and like. Charity is not lived when these elements are present in our reactions. 

 Obviously, to be charitable as we should be, we have to learn to suffer. On this, we already have been amply warned by Christ himself. And yes, we can learn to suffer as long as we do our part to correspond to God’s grace that will always be given to us in abundance. 

 For this, we have to learn to see Christ in everyone, including those with whom we may have serious differences or are in conflict. We have to go beyond seeing others in a purely human way without, of course, neglecting the human and natural in us. 

 In short, we have to see others in a spiritual way, within the framework of faith, hope and charity. Otherwise, we cannot avoid getting entangled in our limited and conflict-prone earthly condition. And no amount of human justice and humanitarianism can fully resolve this predicament. 

 Thus, we need to develop and hone our skills of looking at others beyond the merely physical, social, economic, cultural or political way. While these aspects are always to be considered, we should not be trapped by them.

Only with Christ can we bear good and imperishable fruit

CHRIST himself said so. “Remain in me, as I remain in you, says the Lord; whoever remains in me will bear much fruit,” he said. (Jn 15,4a.5b) We need to take these words more seriously so we can begin to act and to live according to those divine words. 

 We have to remember that since our life is always a shared life with God in Christ through the Holy Spirit, there should be no moment where we are not aware of what Christ wants us to do and to be. Otherwise, we would just be at the mercy of our wounded human condition, prone to all sorts of weaknesses, limitations, failures and the like. 

 We have to be careful with what is now popularly known as a “me-time,” which is supposed to give us time for relaxation, self-reflection and personal activities that supposedly promote well-being and enjoyment. 

 While it can offer us a lot of advantages, it can turn out to be a sweet poison if it is spent only with oneself, and not with Christ who is actually everything to us, the one who gives us “the way, the truth and the life” in any situation we might find ourselves in, and the one who clearly said that he will give us the proper rest if we get overburdened by whatever. 

 The proper “me-time” is for us to be with Christ. Let’s never forget that at the very core of our identity is Christ. We are all children of God, created in his image and likeness. Let’s cast out the idea that we are just by ourselves, that our identity is simply uniquely ours, and that everything depends solely on us, on our thinking and decisions. 

 The “me-time” without Christ would simply isolate us from others, first of whom would be Christ himself. We may appear to be doing well for a time because of our innate talents and skills. But without Christ, we cannot last long, and in time we cannot handle well the inevitable decline that we are all subject to. 

 That “me-time” can only lead us to a perishable goal, and not the imperishable one that we are all meant for. There is need to acquire the skill of how to convert the perishable condition of our earthly life into the imperishable quality of our definitive life in heaven.  

Converting the perishable to the imperishable can happen if we see and understand things in a theological way, that is, with faith, hope and charity. We need to realize that our thinking would not work in its most proper way if it is not enlightened and guided by faith, hope and charity. 

 It would be like saying that we can simply be on our own. It’s tantamount to saying that we don’t need God from whom we come and to whom we belong. Or that we may need him only from time to time, but not always, and that he is not truly indispensable in our life. 

 We have to cultivate this theological mind, which is actually necessary for us but which we have to do freely. Theological thinking is actually not an optional thing. With this theological thinking, we would be able to see Christ in everything. This finds basis on the fact that God is everywhere. He is our creator who gives us and the whole world our existence and keeps it. 

 Yes, only with God in Christ through the Holy Spirit can we bear the proper and imperishable fruit meant for us! 

The crucial role of St. John the Baptist

JUNE 24 is the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, and the gospel of the day talks about his circumcision (cfr. Lk 1,57-66.80) which, at that time, meant his entry into the covenant between God and the people of Israel. 

 He plays the very significant role of being the link between the previous covenants, mainly that of the Mosaic law, and the new covenant that is mediated by the most perfect mediator who is Christ, since he is both God and man. The previous covenants were mediated by not so perfect agents, since they were only men, albeit holy men, but not yet God themselves. St. John the Baptist serves as the bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament. 

 That is why St. John the Baptist is often called the forerunner or precursor of Christ. He prepared the way to Christ’s perfect redemptive mission by preaching repentance and baptizing the people, including Christ himself. 

 As such, he was endowed with some special privileges from God, such as being miraculously born from an old, childless and barren couple, Zachary and Elizabeth. He had a great capacity for sacrifice and was also given the gift of prophecy by pointing to Christ as the “Lamb of God” and telling the people to follow Christ. 

 St. John the Baptist should remind us of the importance of the sacrament of baptism and the necessity for repentance if we are to receive Christ properly. He shows us how to prepare ourselves to welcome Christ into our lives. 

 Like him and following his teaching, we should go through the process of making sacrifices and of overcoming our tendency to hypocrisy and inconsistency. He is asking us for real conversion. In short, he is asking us for a proper spiritual preparation for the coming of Christ into our lives. 

 With what St. John the Baptist reminds us, we should do our best to prepare ourselves to welcome Christ into our lives. This can mean that we should acknowledge our need for salvation, expressing repentance for our sins. We should recognize our sinfulness, and exert the effort to turn away from our old ways, and accept Christ as truly our Lord and Savior. 

 In this regard, we need to express our willingness to follow Christ’s teachings and example, especially accepting that Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose again, offering us salvation. 

 As a consequence, we should feel the need to invite Christ into our life through prayer, letting him to guide us through the Holy Spirit. We should be sharply aware that Christ actually is always intervening in our lives and it would just depend on us whether to accept and respond to his guidance or not. 

 And if we are thoroughly consistent with the example of St. John the Baptist and of Christ himself, we would always feel the need to share our Christian faith and way of life with others, helping them prepare to welcome Christ into their lives. 

 We should teach them that by following St. John the Baptist and Christ, we should also expect suffering and death itself, but regarding death not only as the final deterioration of our natural human life but also and more importantly as death to sin. In that way, our death would be some sort of martyrdom also, like those of St. John and Christ, even if we die in the best of human conditions.

How to judge properly

WE, of course, have heard Christ telling us: “Do not judge, or you will be judged. For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you…” (Mt 7,1-2) 

 We have to understand these words of Christ well. It’s not that we are not meant to make judgments. That is impossible since we can only know something or someone the moment we make some judgments. We are actually meant to judge, but to judge properly. 

 And to judge properly means that we should start always from the indispensable basis that God is the creator of everything and of everyone and he loves all of them irrespective of how they are to him. That should also be how we base our judgments, since we are God’s image and likeness, sharers of his life and nature. Irrespective of our differences, conflicts, biases, etc., our judgments should first spring from charity. 

 Of course, in our daily affairs, our judgments usually come from some immediate reasons or standards—the looks and feel of something or someone, the trends, fashion and culture of the time, the legal systems, etc. All of these have their degree of validity. But we should never rely completely on them. They are never perfect. They can only go so far in terms of what proper judgments should be. 

 We should make the effort to inspire our judgments with charity which, by the way, does not do away with what is right and wrong, what is true and false, etc. Charity goes beyond them. It is willing to show understanding and compassion with everyone, to offer mercy, to bear the burdens and mistakes of the others. It is even willing to offer one’s life for the sake of proper judgments. 

 We need to train ourselves in this way of making judgments, and also in training others to do the same. Nowadays, with all the “Mariteses” around and the pervading culture of spreading all kinds of spins and narratives in the areas of journalism, politics, etc., we need to make extra effort to be protected from the pressure of making rash judgments. 

 But more than just being protective and resistant to this tendency of making rash judgments, we should enhance our duty to take the initiative to make charitable judgments of everyone and everything. 

 That means that we should try to think well of everyone and of everything. Even if we see defects, mistakes and other forms of evil, our judgment should remain charitable rather than simply condemnatory. Of course, we should keep the distinction between what is right and wrong, good and evil. 

 When we are faced with any form of evil, let us remember that we actually are given a golden opportunity to grow in charity. That should be the attitude to have in that kind of situation. Obviously, we would initially feel bad and can fall into anger and the like when evil comes our way. But we should not stay long there. We have to convert that situation into an occasion to be more charitable. 

 For this to take place, we obviously need to identify ourselves more closely with Christ who is the personification of charity and sound judgments. He gives us the proper example of how to be charitable in our judgments and reactions to the various events and conditions of our life. 

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

"Whoever eats this bread will live forever"

AS we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, we are reminded that Christ has given us everything for us to be what God wants us to be. Christ is the living bread, and he offers it to us freely and abundantly. He offers us all the means so we can handle all the conditions and situations of our life here on earth, both the good ones and the bad ones, properly, i.e., in a way that would lead us to our eternal life. 

 We need to enliven our belief that in Christ we have everything, we have what is truly and ultimately needed by us. Many of our needs are passing, are of a temporal nature. It is Christ who we truly and ultimately need. 

 And he gives himself to us so completely as to make himself bread to be eaten by us. Although he is like air since we cannot truly live without him, he compares and makes himself bread, because unlike air, he as bread has to be deliberately sought. 

 This duty of seeking him is what we have to be more aware of. In the Gospel itself, we hear our Lord saying, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.” (Mt 6,33) 

 We have to learn to subordinate our earthly and temporal concerns and plans to the task of seeking Christ. We have to be wary of being influenced mainly if not solely by the standards of practicality, convenience and other worldly values. That’s our problem. God is often left behind in the play of our competing interests. 

 As our Lord said: “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?” (Mt 16,26) We should not lose the spiritual and supernatural character of our life, and do everything to keep ourselves from being dominated by a purely worldly and temporal outlook in life. 

 We need to seek Christ and be close to him always. This intimacy is what we have to build up and maintain. Thus, we have to learn to make seeking Christ a permanent attitude and disposition in our life. Whatever we may be doing, whatever situation we may find ourselves in, let us always seek Christ. 

 Our Lord himself tells us to seek him with insistence. “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you…” (Lk 11,9) We have to understand that to lead a truly upright and moral life, we need to be existentially close with Christ. 

 And Christ is actually very close to us. He is actually very accessible to us. He does not play hard to get. He is at the very core of our being, because he is the main cause of our existence. Besides, his overpowering love for us is what makes him truly close to us. It’s us rather who tend to ignore him. 

 We have to understand that our moral life does not depend so much on our knowledge of moral principles as on our living relationship with God. It’s this intimate relationship with God that would effectively guide us as to how to think, speak and act. It’s this relationship that would enable us to live charity all the time in spite of difficulties. 

 This intimacy is attained when we develop this Eucharistic mind frame, that abiding belief based on Christ’s teaching, that in the Eucharist we have the real presence of Christ and, in fact, the very bread of life, the bread that gives us the true, ultimate life, and not just biological, physical and material life.

Internalizing, incarnating, spiritualizing, divinizing

THESE, I believe, are the processes we have to undergo to pursue our lifelong duty of transforming ourselves into “another Christ,” having his spirit, his mind and heart, such that even in the level of our body, that spirit of Christ is lived and can be observed externally. 

 We need to internalize first of all the teachings and example of Christ which, of course, would require faith and the effort to make his teachings and example as our own. 

 It does not only involve the duty to know, study and understand his teachings and example, but also to turn them into practice. Our thoughts, intentions, words and deeds should be those of Christ, and not just our own. 

 Such internalizing should lead to incarnating these teachings and example of Christ. In other words, the spirit of Christ should so animate our bodily dimension such that even our instincts, senses, emotions, passions, etc. are guided mainly by Christ’s teachings and example, and not just by hormones and other biological and worldly factors. 

 Of course, that process of incarnating Christ’s teachings and example would involve spiritualizing our bodily dimension which means that we have to train our bodily faculties to go beyond, not suppress, their natural ways. 

 And by so doing, we enter the supernatural level of the life and nature of God who calls us to be one with him. On God’s part, he provides us always with the grace we need to achieve that goal. It just now depends on how receptive and reactive we are to this gift. 

 All these processes will definitely proceed in our human way, which is that of being gradual, requiring all-out effort, and always involving struggle since we have to contend with our own weaknesses and the many temptations around. But we should never forget that it is God who takes the initiative to guide us. 

 In studying and understanding Christ’s teachings, we have to learn how to deal with the many paradoxes and mysteries they contain. For example, how should we understand and live the beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit…Blessed are those who mourn…Blessed are those who are persecuted…” 

 Or how should we understand these paradoxical teachings of Christ—that whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, whoever loses his life shall save it; that if any one wants to be first, he shall be last of all; that whoever wishes to become great shall be slave of all, etc.? 

 This lifelong task before us is definitely tremendous. But we just have to acknowledge the basic truth that it is God who directs our life to his. Ours is simply to correspond to his abiding guidance. We obviously have to overcome first our initial human awkwardness in the face of our supernatural goal, and then slowly but persistently develop the appropriate mindset, attitudes, virtues, etc. 

 It’s a process of always conquering new frontiers and defending our fronts from the enemies of God and of our soul. We have to do our part to reciprocate God’s providence over us. 

 We need to develop a theological mind, thinking always in terms of our faith, and not just with our reason and senses. We have to aim at nothing less than being contemplatives, able to see God in everything and everything through the eyes of God. 

 I’m afraid we are still light years away from this ideal. But if we put our mind together, we can achieve what is really meant for us. We just have to be aware of what is involved and consistent in putting into action what we know and realize about our life, thanks to our faith and regardless of the difficulties and mistakes.