Patience in compassion

PERHAPS that’s what we can learn from the readings of Friday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time. (cfr. Rom 9,1-5; Lk 14,1-6) There we can see how St. Paul expressed his deep sorrow and anguish for his unbelieving people and was willing to be cursed if only to help his Jewish brothers and sisters. The gospel reading talks about Christ giving priority to compassion over legalism by healing a man with a dropsy on a Sabbath day. 

 We can ask, why do we have to be patient when faced with all sorts of suffering, be it physical, moral or spiritual? There can be many answers to this question, foremost of which, I think, is that it is what is expected of us—that is, expected of us by God. That simple. 

 Patience is understandably a very trying trait to have, a most difficult virtue to cultivate. It somehow goes against our common sense, our instinctive impulses. Some people have even regarded it as unnatural, as inhuman. 

 All these spontaneous reactions with respect to this virtue are understandable, given our weakened condition. We tend to see things in a very limited and shallow way. It takes time and effort, and of course, God’s grace, before we get to see the true character and beauty of patience, and fathom its wisdom. 

 Somehow, we are given a glimpse of the reason for patience through these words of St. James in his letter: “You will always have your trials, but when they come, try to treat them as a happy privilege. You understand that your faith is only put to the test to make you patient, but patience too is to have its practical results so that you will become fully-developed, complete, with nothing missing.” (1,2-4) 

 Besides, patience allows us to see things more objectively and calmly, disposing us to react and behave in a more appropriate way whatever the situation may be. Our judgments would be better arrived at. 

 With it, we become more able to handle all kinds of predicament, whether they be hot issues, difficult persons or personal failures. We cannot deny that situations are aplenty where we find ourselves unable to cope with our problems, where we can only see face to face the naked reality of our limitations. 

 With it too, we would know how to move on in spite of impediments and hindrances. We would not get stuck at a certain point, and would just allow the workings of providence to take effect. Along the way, we get to know more and new things, expanding our knowledge and savouring the finer points of things we already know. 

 Our mind would be broadened, our heart made more universal. We would be released from the confines of our temperament and character, and put ourselves on track toward a fuller actualization of our potentials. Yes, it facilitates our blossoming to maturity. 

 There are many other practical advantages of patience. But what is of utmost importance is that it is what would also resemble us with Christ who is patience personified. 

 We have to be clear about this. If we want to have patience, it is to Christ whom we should approach and learn from. It’s he who will make us understand the reason and meaning of it, he who will give us the very strength for it, which otherwise would be impossible for us. 

 With Christ, all our efforts to be patient can have not only temporal, human effects, but also eternal and supernatural ones.

Just be cool when misunderstood and persecuted

THAT’S simply because things would just get worse if we behave otherwise. In our life, we should expect these things to happen to us. It’s part of our wounded human nature. It should not surprise us. But obviously, we should learn how to be properly prepared for it. 

 We cannot deny that the world today is in a very toxic condition that easily lends itself to misunderstandings among ourselves. The rapid developments, considered as progress, is actually creating a Tower-of-Babel effect where people, communities and societies are increasingly fragmented instead of being more united, giving rise to all forms of animosities and discord. 

 People are hardening in their biases, preferences and peculiarities, in their perceptions, views and opinions, and even in their core beliefs, without the corresponding effort to understand those with different positions. 

 Before all these, we need to be calm and figure out what the most prudent way to react is. Very often, we need to pause and pray, bring matters in the presence of God, asking for his light and guidance. We have to learn how to hold our horses. What we cannot understand and handle, let’s leave them in the hands of God who knows what to do with everything. 

 We just have to look at Christ and follow his way of handling misunderstandings. He was patient with everyone. Just imagine him having to contend even with his closest friends—the apostles—who in spite of their closeness to him did not understand him fully most of the time. 

 He just went about preaching, not minding so much how the people responded. There were those who immediately believed him, but there were also others who were always suspicious of him. 

 We should not mind so much how others would react and correspond to our views and positions. We should just focus first on thinking, saying and doing things as rightly as possible, in truth and in charity, as we are told by St. Paul. (cfr. Eph 4,15) 

 We have to learn to behave with extreme prudence, which should not be a cover for cowardice, since there will be times when we have to act with great courage even at the expense of extreme suffering. Part of this prudence is the virtue of tactfulness, of a certain restraint and moderation in our speech and actuations. We have to learn when to speak and when not, and how to deliver our points. 

 We should avoid getting involved in petty controversies. Rather, we should focus on issues and points that unite us rather than dwelling long on those that divide us. Let our assertions and clarifications be done in delicacy, which does not mean that we cannot be forceful. 

 For this, we need to be humble. A proud and conceited person, who always wants to have the last say, cannot avoid getting into wranglings. A humble person would be in a better position to see things more objectively and judge them more fairly. He is quick to correct himself when he is mistaken, and to forgive those who may misunderstand him. 

 We should be magnanimous to those who misunderstand us. “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles,” Christ said. (Mt 5,41) We have to drown evil with an abundance of good. 

 We should be convinced that sooner or later some form of our vindication will take place as well as the proper resolution of the issues involved, if not here, then in the hereafter. Let's just be patient, just as God is patient with all of us!

How we can truly be sincere

TO get to the point without beating around the bush, the only way we can truly be sincere with everyone and with everything is when we are with God who, after all, knows all things and knows them always with charity, justice, mercy, prudence and the like. 

 We have to understand that sincerity is a matter of having a proper relation first with God, since only then would we manage to be sincere with everyone and with everything. 

 When we have this understanding of sincerity, we would know that our relation with others and with everything else, to be true and sincere, would not just involve knowing them, which mean they are in us. It would also involve loving them which would enable us to be in them, just like God is in all of us. Like anything else in our life, to be sincere is a relational affair. It’s not just a personal, individualistic or egocentric affair. 

 That’s just how the cookie crumbles in our life. We need to be in others, as well as the others need to be in us. We are meant for communion among ourselves. And this can happen if we give full and proper play to our knowing and loving, using our intelligence and will to reflect the inner dynamism of the life of God whose image and likeness we are. 

 God is in an eternal process of knowing and loving, giving rise to the three persons of the Blessed Trinity, with the Father as the knower, the Son as the known, and the Holy Spirit as the love between the Father and the Son. 

 With this inmost dynamism of his eternal knowing and loving, God also gets to know and love everything else outside of himself. There is nothing that exists that is outside his knowledge and loving, though in varying degrees and ways. 

 When we have this understanding of sincerity, we would be able to overcome whatever fear or shame we may have that would prevent us from being sincere. We would be able to know how to deal with our unavoidable biases and prejudices, our differences and conflicts in such a way that we would be sincere to each other. 

 With this kind of sincerity, we would be able to broaden our mind and heart in such a way that we can go beyond the here and now, the material, sensible and natural aspects of our life and enter into the spiritual and supernatural dimensions of our life. 

 To be sincere and to be in the truth goes further than mere facts and data. Much less is truth about a certain view or choice that may be supported by a majority of the people. Truth can only be found in God when the Spirit of Truth shows us what truth is. 

 We are reminded of this very important aspect of our life when in the gospel of St. John, Christ said that the Spirit of Truth “will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears and will declare to you the things that are coming.” (Jn 16,13) 

 To know the truth and to be in the truth are a matter of being discerning of what the Holy Spirit tells and shows us. In short, we cannot know and be sincere and in the truth unless we follow what the Spirit tells us.

Let’s keep growing and going

THIS is the ideal we should pursue in our self-giving, first to God and then to everybody else. If we truly love God and everybody else, with a love that is nothing less than a participation of the love God has for us and as commanded by Christ to us, then we will never say enough in our self-giving.

 While it’s indeed laudable that in whatever we do, we try to give it our best shot, we should never forget that our best will never be enough insofar as pleasing God and everybody else is concerned. Our best can always be made better. 

 This should not surprise us, much less, cause us to worry. But we should acknowledge it so that we avoid getting self-satisfied with what we have done and then fall into self-complacency. That’s when we stop growing and improving as a human person and as a child of God. 

 We have to remember that we are meant for the infinite, for the spiritual and the supernatural. That’s a goal that we can never fully reach in our life here on earth. But we are meant to keep on trying. 

 In our spiritual life, we need to always go forward, to advance, to cover more area. In other words, we have to always go on the offensive, always growing and going. We cannot be all the time defensive, though that is also necessary, but as a complement to our efforts to reach our ultimate goal. 

 For our spiritual life to be truly alive and healthy, we should not just wait for things to happen. We have to make things happen. We cannot afford to be cold. We have to try our best to be as hot as possible and for always. 

 This is not going to be an easy task, of course. But we have been assured of God’s grace, and if we correspond to that grace as much as we can, somehow some progress can be made. More virtues can be acquired and developed. We can reach out to more and more people. We can do a lot of good. 

 Let us remember that in our spiritual life, that is, in our relation with God and with everybody else which is marked always by love, there is no such thing as a fixed position. Either we move forward or we slide backward. Let us not be deceived by the idea that we can be in some stable and fixed condition. The spiritual life is supposed to be always in a dynamic state. 

 What can keep us going in this regard is certainly not our own effort alone, much less our desire and ambition for fame, power or wealth. It’s not pride or some form of obsessions. These have a short prescription period. A ceiling is always set above them. In time, we will realize that everything we have done was just “vanity of vanities.” 

 It is God’s grace that does the trick. It’s when we correspond sincerely to God’s love for us that we get a self-perpetuating energy to do our best in any given moment. It’s when we can manage to do the impossible. 

 It’s a correspondence that definitely requires a lot of humility because we all have the inclination to be proud of our accomplishments that would kill any desire to do better. It’s also a correspondence that is always respectful of our human condition, given our strengths and weaknesses, our assets and limitations. 

 It is important that this attitude be instilled actively in all of us, since it is what is proper to us as persons and children of God. It’s what keeps us growing and going.

Our human laws can only go so far

UNLESS our human laws can capture the logic behind that divine commandment to love one another as Christ has loved us and continues to love us, even to the extent of loving our enemies, we can only say that indeed our human laws, despite all the good things they can accomplish, can only do so much for us. 

 Our human laws can only struggle to capture the divine wisdom of loving our enemies because they are designed more to maintain order, human justice and protection within a society, whereas the commandment to love our enemies is a moral and spiritual teaching that certainly goes beyond the scope of legal codes. 

 Our human laws can mandate behaviors like not harming others, but they cannot legislate things that are mainly on the spiritual and supernatural levels which actually are the ultimate dimensions that shape our life not only as persons but also as children of God, created in God’s image and likeness. 

 While we obviously need to be governed by the rule of law, we should also see to it that we manage to distinguish between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law, and know how to understand and apply our human laws properly. 

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

 That is the reason why we can go beyond but not against a particular human law, when such law cannot fully express the concrete conditions of a particular case. We know very well that strictly following the letter of the law may not align with the law’s intent or broader justice. We need to discern the spirit of the law that involves considering the context, intent of the lawmakers, and the ultimate purpose the law aims to achieve. 

 For this, we have to understand, first of all, that all our laws should be based on what is known as the natural law that in the end is a participation in the divine eternal law of God, our Creator and the first and ultimate lawgiver. And that part of natural law that is specific to man is called the natural moral law that would recognize, as its first principle, God as our Creator and source and end of all laws. 

 A legal system not clearly based on this fundamental principle about laws would already be a system that is defective ab initio. A legal system that is based only on some human consensus would put the spirit of the law in full subservience to the letter of that law. 

 Our human laws certainly need continuing refinement. They should not be regarded as something static or stagnant, averse to the need for improvement. They should continually be diligently perceptive to evolving things, and should be adaptive to new conditions. 

 That's simply because charity, truth, justice, and mercy, which our laws should in the end 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.

Never be boastful in our prayer

THAT’S what we can get from the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. (cfr. Lk 18,9-14) Especially before God, we never have any reason to brag about our own righteousness. We may be doing a lot of good, but let’s not spoil them and render them useless by crowing about them. 

 We need to be humble in our prayer. That is what would effectively connect us with God, please him and “nudge” him to give us more favors. A humble prayer “pierces the clouds” and reaches the ears of God. 

 Humility in our prayer, as shown in that parable, would win us our own justification before God. It enables us to recognize our constant need for God’s mercy. It puts us in the state of always seeking and doing God’s will, rather than seeking our own personal recognition. 

 Yes, with God, we have no reason at all to show off whatever good we have done, for everything good comes from him. He knows them already, and for sure is happy with that fact. What we have to do instead is to feel the great need we have of him since we cannot deny that despite all the good things we have done, we continue to have defects and weaknesses, if not all kinds of sin themselves. 

 Let’s remember what St. James in his Letter said in this regard: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” (4,6) With the current tendency in our culture to fall into virtue signaling or moral posturing, we really need to do some extra effort to remain humble and simple, always feeling the need for God, for forgiveness and for more grace. 

 One source defines virtue signaling as “the action or practice of publicly expressing opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one’s good character or the moral correctness of one’s position on a particular issue.” 

 Another source puts it as “a pejorative neologism for the conspicuous and disingenuous expression of moral values with the intent to enhance one’s own image.” Still another source describes it as taking “a conspicuous but essentially useless action ostensibly to support a good cause but actually to show off how much more moral one is than everybody else.” 

 This is not to develop in us a gloomy and negative self-esteem. Rather the contrary. It is to be realistic about ourselves that would enable us to know more objectively both the good and bad aspects of our life. If we have a realistic and healthy self-esteem, we would know how to approach God properly in prayer, since we would be both thankful to him for the good things we have, and begging for mercy for the bad things. 

 The acknowledgement of the negative things in our life before God does not undercut the value of the good things we have done. Such acknowledgement would in fact reinforce the merits of those good things. Thus, it is always worthwhile to remain humble in our prayer in the way the publican prayed. 

 We need to continually work on the proper dispositions for our prayer which should be marked by humility, trust in God’s goodness and willingness to listen, a sincerity that really comes from the heart, and perseverance.

 That’s because we should always to contend with our human weaknesses, the hostile environment that we always have in the world, not to mention the powerful spiritual enemies that are ranged against us.

Navigating the signs of today

WITH the super rapid pace of developments these days, we really need to learn how to read the signs of the times so that we would not get confused and lost, like what St. Paul warned us once when he talked about helpless “children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles.” (Eph 4,14) 

 More than just learning how to read the signs of the times, we need to acquire the relevant skills and, of course, the proper spirit, so we would know how to navigate in our increasingly complex world. 

 We are reminded of this duty in that gospel episode where Christ reproached the crowds for only knowing how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, and yet did not know how to interpret the present time. (cfr. Lk 12,54-59) 

 What Christ wanted to teach them—and now, us—was for us to realize the importance of recognizing the signs of the times and being prepared for the coming judgment, settling as far as we can whatever issues and conflicts we can have with others so that we can be prepared spiritually for the inevitable judgment. 

 We need to be guarded against being carried away and swallowed by the allure and siren calls of the new developments. For this, we should feel the need for seeking guidance through prayer, considering the doctrine of our Christian faith so that we would know how to live faithfully and consistently in a rapidly changing world. It may also be a good idea to consult with spiritual mentors or guides. 

 We all should strive to be persons of sound judgment. It’s an ideal whose importance, relevance and urgency are increasing these days, given the complicating conditions we are getting into. 

 That’s actually an understatement. We know that to be a prudent man or a person of sound judgment is essential to us, considering our nature and dignity, plus the growing scope of the responsibilities we are acquiring nowadays. 

 Not only do we have to contend with the multiplying pressures and conditionings on our personal, family and professional life. Not only do we have to grapple with the confusing ramifications of our social, economic and political life, sorting them out as best that we could. 

 With escalating insistence, we need to learn how to integrate the material with the spiritual dimension of our life, the here and now with the eternal and supernatural destiny meant for us. 

 We have to know how to live by faith, hope and charity, the essence of our supernatural life with God, in the middle of our daily activities and concerns, and in the pursuit of our temporal affairs, be it in business, politics, education, culture, sports, etc. 

 This necessity demands of us to be nothing less than persons of sound judgment. We have to overcome our tendency to be guided mainly by instincts, emotions, moods, fashions, and some sophisticated philosophies and ideologies which, while offering many good elements, actually lead us away from our principal and ultimate end. 

 Let’s realize that we can only read the signs of the times properly when we have a vibrant interior or spiritual life, a vital link not only with theories and principles, but with God himself. This is how wisdom is acquired, nourished and kept. 

This is also how we can counsel others properly, seconding the will and ways of God in everything that happens in our life. This is how we can safely navigate the signs of today!

Some notes on spiritual accompaniment

FOR those giving spiritual accompaniment to others—most especially priests and even lay persons who are dedicating themselves to this delicate and important task—it may be good to take note of the following observations. 

 It’s good to remember that this business of spiritual accompaniment is an occasion for both the one accompanying and the one accompanied to grow in their own respective spiritual life. Spiritual accompaniment is a very important occasion for both to grow in intimacy in their relationship with God who should be “all in all.” (1 Cor 15,28) 

 First of all, spiritual accompaniment is a type of mediation between God and man. God makes use of it in some way so that the Holy Spirit may awaken in the person accompanied lights, inspirations, resolutions, etc. to keep him growing in his spiritual life and approach the ideal of a shared life with God as we are meant to have. 

 The person giving spiritual accompaniment needs to cultivate in his prayer the habit of seeking what the Holy Spirit wants for the person he is trying to help. If that person already has years of dedication and experience in interior life, it is especially important to evaluate how to help keep alive that desire to identify himself with Christ and the desire for holiness. It’s not easy to do, but we can always try. 

 It’s definitely helpful to encourage the person accompanied to develop a deeper understanding of the meaning and value of daily life and of listening to the Holy Spirit on basic issues. 

 Obviously, the one accompanying needs to pray about what is the most appropriate approach for the one accompanied to know the meaning and value of his daily affairs. Let’s remember that God is always intervening in our lives, and we should be as quick as possible to know what he wants us to know. 

 It’s in this way that the one accompanying can avoid improvisations and generic recipes. It will also make it easier to go beyond one’s own experience, useful though that experience may sometimes be. But he should not just rely on his own experience. During the chats, the one accompanying should listen attentively, with genuine interest and empathy, asking questions from time to time. 

 Since the depths of a person’s soul cannot be fully knowable to both the one accompanying and the one accompanied, both should be reminded that God is always present in both of them. Thus, it’s good for the one accompanied to be encouraged to learn how the Holy Spirit speaks deep inside him through the events, memories, and thoughts, etc., that come his way. 

 Even if we cannot fully know everything, we can still make progress in this direction if would just persevere in trying to find out what the Holy Spirit would be telling or prompting us. 

 The one accompanying should always be in the process of learning more and more about the art of spiritual accompaniment. He can never say that he already knows everything about it. 

 That’s especially because God, who is the ultimate end of our life, can never be fully known by us. But we should try to know him more and more through the different means available. It’s in this way that we can also make progress in accompanying the others spiritually. 

 In the end, spiritual accompaniment is a type of help that we can offer to others. It requires a spiritual and human base of sincere affection and attention. And this affection should be manifested in the way we relate to others by listening with interest, sympathy and benevolence.

Love the best and proper way to prepare for death

THAT’S what we can learn from the Gospel of St. Luke where Christ talks about death that will come to us like a thief in the night and how we can prepare for it by giving ourselves to others what God has given us. “Unto whomsoever much is give, of him much shall be required, and to whom they have committed much, of him they will demand the more.” (cfr. Lk 12,39-48) 

 This point is reinforced in that gospel story about a rich young man who asked Christ how he can inherit eternal life (cfr. Mk 10,17-27). It is a poignant warning among the so-called good Christians who may already be doing a lot of good but still are unwilling to give all to God. 

 It’s a story that effectively reveals what is truly inside our heart. Is our heart really for God or is it actually just for ourselves though it can be showy about being Godly? The man in the gospel readily admitted that he had been observing the commandments, as Christ articulated them again. But when he was told what he had to do to merit eternal life, he could not take it. 

 “You are lacking in one thing,” Christ told him. “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this, the man’s face fell and went away sad, for he had many possessions which he was unwilling to give up. 

 We have to be most wary of this scenario in our life, which actually, and sadly, is quite common. There are good people who are not truly good enough, because when the ultimate test is made, they are not willing to give up all in order to have God. 

 They forget what St. Teresa once said, “Solo Dios basta,” (With God we have enough). They get too attached to the many good things in their life such that these blessings from God are converted into competitors of God themselves. 

 They prefer a life in this world that is without suffering, without self-denial, without the cross, as if a genuine Christian life can be exempted from all these. It is as if they have been born without original sin and have led their lives without committing any sin at all. 

 We have to be most careful with this most likely phenomenon happening in our lives. Yes, we have to be well-guarded against this temptation and do everything to combat it whenever, wherever and however it arises. 

 It would be a pity if after the many good things we may be doing, we fail to pass the final test. We have to remember that love is without measure. It is in its nature to give itself completely, convinced that what seems to be lost would actually be regained a hundredfold. In this, Christ has reassured us abundantly. 

 We have to realize more deeply that by giving back what we receive, we foster greater connectivity and communion among ourselves. This is urgently needed these days when, ironically, we have many more communication technologies than before and yet we seem to have more people isolating themselves from others now than before. 

 We have to cultivate a strong appetite for communion by giving ourselves to others unstintingly, not so much for what they give us as for what God has given us. This the way to prepare ourselves for death and to face God on Judgment Day.

What is our greatest expectation?

IT’S, of course, to meet God at our judgment day. This should be the abiding and life-long expectation we ought to have, for which we should always be vigilant and, more than anything else, properly prepared. 

 We are reminded of this duty in what Christ told his disciples about being always watchful and prepared to receive the master of the servants in his return from a wedding. (cfr. Lk 12,35-38) “Let your loins be girt, and lamps burning in your hands,” he said. He told them that they should be like “men who wait for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding; that when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately.” 

 And Christ continued by saying, “Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when he comes, shall find watching. Amen, I say to you, that he will gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and passing will minister unto them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.” 

 In this regard, we have to continually update and upgrade our vigilance skills. Remember Christ telling his disciples: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life…Be vigilant at all times.” (Lk 21,34.36) 

 Times are constantly changing. Although we are told that nothing is new under the sun, still we cannot deny that there will always be new developments that will require us to upgrade our skills in handling them, knowing how to take advantage of the benefits they give and to avoid the dangers they also pose. 

 Truth is the many developments today, while giving us a lot of advantages and conveniences, can also easily lead us to bad things. They can foster complacency, self-indulgence, vanity, pride, greed, envy, discord, etc. They can turn us into materialistic monsters, totally insensitive to the spiritual and supernatural realities of our life and to God himself. 

 We should never underestimate the tricks and snares of the devil, the false allurements of the world, and the dynamic of our weakened and wounded flesh. These enemies of our soul will constantly make new guises to mislead and tempt us. To upgrade our vigilance skills is not a matter of paranoia. It is to be realistic. It is to be effectively prudent. 

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

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

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

 Yes, desiring to be with God in the end and always should be our greatest expectation!

How to be truly poor to be truly rich

THAT’S’ what Christ actually wants us to be. We have to be truly poor in order to be truly rich in what really matters in our life. This is the lesson that we can get from the gospel parable about the rich fool. (cfr. Lk 12,13-21) 

 When someone asked Christ to speak with his brother regarding the division of the family inheritance, Christ must have perceived a wrong motive on the part of the person who asked because he refused to get involved in the dispute, saying: “Man, who has appointed me judge, or divider, over you?” 

 Christ then proceeded to warn that person and the crowd around about the danger of covetousness, saying that “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of things which he possesses.” And then he proceeded to talk about the parable of the rich fool who thought that life was about acquiring and keeping as many things as possible. 

 This parable teaches us about the danger of greed and storing up treasures for ourselves without being “rich toward God.” Greed and attachment to things of this world are what would keep us away from our true wealth which is none other than God. Here Christ is telling us about the importance of being mindful of our relationship with God rather than on relying on material wealth. 

 For this, Christ teaches us that we need to be truly poor—poor in spirit—and yet also to be truly rich. To be poor in spirit means having a humble and dependent attitude toward God who takes care of everything and, in fact, shares what he has with us. 

 We obviously have to take care of our material needs, but this should not get in the way in our relation with God and with others. To be truly poor in spirit means having a real need for God of whom we can never have enough. It’s about having a spiritual posture of humility, dependence and openness to God. It’s about having a trusting attitude toward God’s providence and guidance. 

 It’s when we are poor in spirit that we can in fact become rich toward God. This is when we can manage to cultivate a deep and meaningful relationship with God. For this, we should focus on building a strong and intimate connection with God through prayer, worship and study of God’s word which we should try our best to put it into practice. 

 That is why Christ once said: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Mt 6,33) God assures us that everything will be taken care of as long as we always are with him and are not entangled in the things of this world. 

 Definitely for these things to happen, we need to practice spiritual disciplines like engaging in prayer, fasting, meditation on God’s word in the Scripture, etc. We need to grow in humility and dependence of God which can only lead us to the richness that truly matters in our life, considering who we really are. 

 We need to see to it that in our temporal affairs, even as we take care of their technical and other human and natural aspects and requirements, we should build up things like the virtues of honesty, integrity, patience, compassion, etc., because these are what would make us rich in what matters to God. 

 We have to continually check ourselves especially these days when we are bombarded with many tantalizing and intoxicating things that can capture our heart and remove God from it. It always pays to lead a very simple and austere life in spite of the great wealth that we may have.

“Always to pray, and not to faint”

THAT’S the lesson Christ wants us to draw from that gospel parable about a woman who persisted in asking a judge to render her justice—even to the point of disturbing him—and finally got what she wanted. (cfr. Lk 18,1-8)) 

 Like that woman we should also persist in asking God for help so we can carry out our duty of resolving very difficult problems we are having in our country and in the world in general. 

 We know that in the end, God will always give in to grant our petitions, even as we also should be ready to do what God would want us to do. We should just persist, never giving up, because we need nothing less than divine, and not just human, intervention. Difficult and complicated problems require difficult and complicated solutions as well. 

 We cannot deny that we are facing very complicated problems and issues—widespread poverty, injustice, a culture of ingrained corruption in all levels of government and society in general, etc.—and we just cannot be indifferent to them even if at the moment we seem to be helpless. 

 We have to heed what Christ told the apostles once: “Duc in altum,” go to the deep, (cfr. Lk 5,4) unafraid of the challenges along the way. We know that God will take care of everything even if we have to meet and carry the cross. 

 Like Christ we should not even be afraid to offer our life. Let’s remember that our human redemption was achieved through the cross. We should expect the cross to come. More than that, we should love it. 

 The first thing to do is to pray, to connect ourselves with God who knows everything and has the solution for all our problems and difficulties. In this regard, let’s pay attention to what St. Paul once said: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thes 5,16-18) We need to be strong in the faith to fuel our hope of a better tomorrow. 

 It’s when we pray when more than us talking to God, begging for some favors, it is God talking to us. It’s more a matter of listening to God and carrying out what he will be telling us or showing or insinuating to us. 

 Definitely, to tackle the daunting challenges and immense difficulties we are facing today, we really would need to study well the doctrine of our faith and know the as much as we can the facts on the ground, the actual situation of the issues involved. 

 We have to make plans and strategies as well as learn to coordinate with the involved parties, the stakeholders, key players and those who in one way or another can collaborate with us. We should not be afraid to complicate our life. 

We should not be afraid when our life gets complicated. As long as we are with God, we even would be willing to complicate our life. I think that is the proper attitude to develop in ourselves. We should not just wait for our life to get complicated. We somehow should complicate by truly involving ourselves in the mission of resolving the serious problems of our country and of the world. 

 Obviously, we should try our best to be properly prepared for this unavoidable condition in our life. Let’s prepare ourselves for this physically, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually and morally. For this, we need to avail of all possible and appropriate means.

The principal and ultimate end of all we do

GIVEN who we really are and how we are in this life, we should make sure that everything that we do knowingly and intentionally should have God as its principal and ultimate end. 

 That’s because God is our creator who created us in his very image and likeness. As such we are supposed to share in his very life and nature. That’s the goal that we have to pursue in this life which is actually some kind of a testing ground to see whether what God wants us to be is also we ourselves would like to be. 

 And that means that we are expected to do everything with God and for God. That way, with whatever we do in this life, we would be approaching or pursuing the real and ultimate goal of our life. We should have the sensation that each day we are becoming more and more like God as he wants us to be. 

 We need to realize that everything that we do is actually a choice we are given to see if we want to be like God or we would just like to be on our own which, in the end, would lead us nowhere but to be against God. 

 We have to be clear and explicit about the intention of all our human acts. God should be the principal end of our actions in the sense that he should not just be treated as a minor or peripheral or optional motive for all our actions. In everything that we do, we should be aware that it is done because of God, first, last and always. 

 Besides, God should also be the ultimate end of all our actions. Nothing and no one is higher than him. He can never be considered simply as an intermediate end. We can have many, and even endless, intermediate intentions in our actions—like earning money, helping the family, succeeding in some business, etc.—but all these should lead us to God. 

 Because of that, we should always find ways of how we can relate everything to God. And this task can involve a number of things. We have to develop a strong and intimate relation with God, trying to know him more and more by studying the doctrine of our faith, gaining intimacy with him through prayer and meditation, coming up with an effective plan of life that would keep our intimate relation with God alive and abiding, etc. 

 That is why we have to realize that we need to undergo a continuing and life-long spiritual formation. And that’s because the basics and essentials, the old and absolute truth, which we may already know, will always have to cope and somehow need to be enriched by the changing incidentals in life, by the relative, innovative and other evolving things in our life. 

 In his second letter, St. Peter urges us to go on with our formation: “Strive diligently to supply your faith with virtue, your virtue with knowledge, your knowledge with self-control, your self-control with patience, your patience with piety, your piety with fraternal love, your fraternal love with charity.” (1,5-7) 

 And as we all know, charity is a never-ending affair, ever making new demands on us, and introducing us to more aspects, dimensions and challenges in life. It will always push us to do more, to give more, to be more. 

 With the increasingly complicated problems and challenges in our life today, we really need to do things with God and for God since he is the one who knows all things, who has the ultimate solutions to our problems, who can make the impossible possible.

A growing concern

I’M referring to the growing cases of same-sex attraction among students in our country. Though specific research is limited regarding the prevalence of same-sex attraction among students in our high schools, colleges and universities, we cannot deny that we are hearing more and more about these cases nowadays. 

 When this matter is not taken seriously among those involved in our educational system, starting with the parents at home, and when the relevant factors contributing to this condition are not identified and addressed, and with all other things that can contribute to it—like easy access to pornography, some groups that are actively advocating sex ed that is free-flowing and unrestricted—we should not be surprised why we have this issue. 

 We need to do something about this before things spin out of control. While we always have to show understanding and charity toward those involved, we should do everything to minimize these cases, if not resolve them completely. 

 I believe the things to do, among others, is first of all to really clarify what human sexuality is all about. Sad to say, the God-given natural law about human sexuality has been distorted in many ways by certain ideologies and cultures that have put God at the sides, if not ignored completely and contradicted. 

 Human sexuality is a very delicate topic that has to be handled very, very well. It is so delicate that even a little misunderstanding of it can cause tremendous damage in the spiritual life of a person. It is where the disconnect between man’s body and soul, and ultimately between God and man, can be the sharpest. It can leave us blind, deaf and insensitive to the spiritual and supernatural dimension of our life. 

 The parents and the teachers play a crucial and indispensable role in this regard. That is why, we should see to it that they have a clear idea about what human sexuality is all about. They should be the first ones to give the teaching and example about how human sexuality should be understood and lived. 

 Obviously, we should approach individuals with this issue with respect, compassion and sensitivity, avoiding unjust discrimination. Everyone should realize that we are all called to live the virtue of chastity, and that virtue is about living our human sexuality in accordance with God’s plan. 

 There should also be a provision of support and accompaniment to help those affected how to live chastely. Thus, some spiritual direction, mentoring and counselling would be highly recommended. Everyone should truly develop a healthy spiritual life, because without it there is no way but for us to fall into all kinds of disorder, same-sex attraction included. It should be made clear that living chastely is a path to holiness. 

 Yes, our human sexuality should be sanctified. It should not just be subject to our animal instincts. It should be trained to behave according to God’s will and law about it. Of course, given our wounded nature, where it is very vulnerable to just follow the blind and erratic ways of our hormones and other earthly factors, we really would need God’s grace, first of all, and our all-out effort to attain its ideal condition. 

 Thus, we need to understand that we can only sanctify sex and use it properly when we grow in our love for God and neighbor, such that we freely follow what God’s will and law on it is. As a corollary to this, we will understand that sex is actually a very sacred thing, and not just a toy to be played around according the movements of our human or animal lust.

Beware of the danger of hypocrisy

WE know that a number of times Christ complained about the hypocrisy of the leading Jews of his time. He issued a number of “Woe to you’s” to those who “tithe mint and rue and every herb, and pass over judgment and the charity of God…love the uppermost seats in the synagogues and salutations in the marketplace…like sepulchres that appear not and men that walk over are not aware…” (cfr. Lk 11,2-46) 

 Actually, our tendency toward hypocrisy is always a proximate danger to all of us. Again, this should not be a surprise to us. It’s a plain fact of life given our wounded condition here on earth. 

 But we should always be guarded against it and try our best to convert it into what is ideal for us, that is, for us to be sincere and simple, acknowledging our weaknesses and mistakes but assured of God’s mercy and help as long as we do our part to fight against this danger of hypocrisy. 

 Of course, we have to distinguish between hypocrisy and discretion. Discretion may look like hypocrisy but it is a completely different banana. Some facts and data may be withheld not to deceive others nor to take advantage of them. It’s rather done out of charity, since certain conditions and circumstances dictate that certain truths, secrets, facts and data need not be said, at least, as of the moment. 

 Discretion requires great discipline. In this regard, I would like to remit what St. James in his letter said about our tongue that is so relevant to this topic. “The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members, staining the whole body…For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed, but no human being can tame the tongue…With it we bless and the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men…” (3) 

 We have to be most careful with our tongue which, sad to say, seems to be given free and unregulated rein in our current prevailing culture that is marked with so much gossiping and unhinged criticisms, etc. 

 To fight against this danger of hypocrisy, we should try our best to be brutally sincere and truthful which is a matter first of all of being with God, of having a vital relation with him, since he is the Truth himself, the author and maker of reality. Without him, our effort to know the truth and to be truthful would be undermined. 

 With him, our pursuit for the truth will always go with charity. And given our human condition that is marked with our frailties and limitations, it will also go with prudence and discretion. We would know what to say, when, how and to whom to say, etc. 

 Without him, our pursuit for the truth would most likely be simply based on what is sensible and intelligible alone. In that condition, truth-seeking and truth-affirming would be at the mercy of our human frailties and limitations, not to mention our ulterior motives and our tendency to play games, if not to get into the dynamics of malice, self-interest, greed, etc. We would be left helpless against the danger of hypocrisy. 

 Yes, we need to promote truth always, defend and protect it especially if it is under attack, whether openly or in a hidden, subtle way. But we have to avoid hypocrisy, and instead continue to grow as earnestly as possible in sincerity and discretion, more so now that we are in some confusing and complicated times.

Let’s be quick to rectify and purify our initial reactions

IT’S well known that our first or immediate reactions to things we see, hear or experience are not quite right. They can even be totally wrong. We should not be surprised by this fact of life. It’s part of our natural human limitations, not to mention that we have to contend with spiritual and supernatural realities that obviously are way above our usual way of understanding things. 

 Rather, what we should do is precisely to rectify and purify them by always referring them to what our Christian faith teaches about the proper morality we ought to have as children of God. Our reactions, in the end, should be marked with charity as shown to us by Christ. 

 In the gospel, many of the characters misjudged Christ as their first reaction upon seeing him. In one instance, for example, a Pharisee who dined with Christ, was critical of him after observing that he did not wash before dinner. (cfr. Lk 11,38) 

 That was when Christ corrected the Pharisee, saying, “Did not he who made that which is without, make also that which is within?” (Lk 11,40) What he tried to tell the Pharisee was that since God created both the outside and the inside of a person, inner purity is just as important as outer cleanliness. Christ was trying to stress the importance of inner spiritual cleanliness over just outward appearances. 

 Given the way we are, we should not be surprised when our first reactions are not right. But we should be quick to rectify and purify them. We have to be most careful with our judgments, since it is very easy for us to fall into rash judgments. 

 We can easily react with traces of pride, envy, lust and other anomalies, like our biases and prejudices, when we see something, for example. Or we would just have these kinds of reactions, albeit usually passing, from time to time. Given our personal weaknesses and the conditions around, that tendency to make rash judgments is always there. We need to be wary of it and do whatever we can to counter it. 

 The thing to do is to try our best to consider everyone, despite our differences and conflicts, always with charity even before we make some considerations about them. And the basis for this is that from the beginning till the end, we are all brothers and sisters, children of God who are supposed to love everyone even to the extent of offering our lives for them, just like what Christ did. 

 When we find ourselves, for example, with some critical thoughts about someone, for one reason or another, let us immediately bring that person into our prayer, begging our Lord to grant us the grace to love him despite the sharpest of differences. 

 We should sustain this prayer until we can really say that we have put off the remaining embers of said critical thoughts and start to feel the sprouting of understanding and charity toward him. There may be an element of tolerance involved here, but of the kind that does not take away the duty to sort out and clarify things, or even make corrections when necessary. Obviously, this has to be done in a very gradual way. 

 We should try our best that we can live out what St. Paul once said—that we should manage to be all things to all men irrespective of how they are without comprising the ultimate truth which in the end is charity. (cfr. 1 Cor 9,22)

Compliance vs. commitment

A NUMBER of times, Christ complained about the lack of faith of the people of his time. “This generation is a wicked generation: it asks for a sign, and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet,” he once said. (Lk 11,29-32) 

 We need to see to it that our faith is strong, deep and abiding so we can go on with our daily activities with a profound sense of commitment and not just go through them with the attitude of simply complying with what is expected of us. 

 To do things and to live with a sense of commitment means that we should be driven by some core belief which in none other than a belief in God. We would always be aware of doing things with and for our Lord and because of that, we would do things in the best way we can, despite our limitations and the various conditionings that we are subject to. 

 When we have a good sense of commitment, we would show determination in fulfilling it, a determination that can only spring from love. We make a promise that we take very seriously. As such, a commitment can truly be considered proper when it is inspired by God’s’ love, since it is God’s love that is the source and pattern of what true love is. As shown by Christ, we would be faithful to our commitments regardless of how things go. 

 We need to develop this sense of commitment as early as possible, especially nowadays when we are confronted with the prevailing environment of disloyalty, infidelity, promiscuity and hypocrisy. We have to convince ourselves that this is the way to our true happiness and our human maturity and Christian perfection. It is a way for us to develop authentic virtues. We have to convince ourselves that entering into a commitment does not make us rigid persons. Neither does it curtail our freedom. Rather, entering into a commitment enhances our freedom, since it will help us to attain our goal despite changing circumstances. 

 To do things for the sake of compliance only is to have the mind of a worker without really considering the mind of the master and of the common good. It is to do things simply to fulfill the rules and the expectations of the people around, and not much more. There hardly would be room for creativity, innovation and further development of things. 

 This mindset is prone to the dangers of hypocrisy and deception, as expressed once by Christ when he told some leading Jews of his time that they preached but did not practice what they preached, they did things more to be seen by others. (cfr. Mt 23,1-7) 

 We should overcome our tendency to do things out of compliance only and develop the strong sense of commitment. This can be done if we would really grow in our faith in God through prayer and reflection, study of Scripture and Christian doctrine, etc. 

 When we truly have a good sense of commitment, we would always make daily plans complete with set goals and means, and always seeing to it that everything is done with God and for God, and that there is a sensation of love in all the things we do. 

 And despite the changing circumstances and problems and contradictions we can encounter along the way, we would know how to make due adaptations so as to be consistent with our commitment. We do not give up no matter what happens.

Ten were healed but only one was thankful

WE are familiar with that part of the gospel where ten lepers approached Christ begging for healing, and they were healed, but only one of them had the fine detail of going back to Christ to thank him, which made Christ very happy, of course. (cfr. Lk 17,11-19) 

 To be sure, Christ would not mind if he was not thanked for what he did to the 10 lepers. Christ, the very personification of love—a love lived in the context of our limitations and sinfulness—would just do things for others completely gratuitously, without expecting any return. He would gain nothing if he is thanked. 

 But what he would rather mind is when the recipients of his favors would not be thankful since they would sooner or later be spoiled by Christ’s goodness. To be thankful is meant more for the good of the recipient of God’s favors than for God himself. 

 Indeed, to be thankful to God can only deepen our spiritual connection and relationship with him. Knowing how easily we can be separated from God, it would be good if we are always thankful to him for whatever favor received from him, even if we consider them as small and ordinary, like being able to wake up in the morning from sleep. 

 To be thankful to God would also enable us to see life’s many blessings more clearly. We know very well that we always have the strong tendency to take these blessings for granted, and even going to the extent that God has the obligation to give us these blessings. 

 To be thankful to God also would foster humility and help us to acknowledge our abiding dependence on him. There is no doubt whatsoever that we always tend to think that we can simply be on our own. We only go to God when we find ourselves helpless in some difficult situations. 

 The duty to be thankful should also be done with the others, since this would strengthen our relationship with them. Let’s remember that we are meant always to be in relation with others. We should not simply be on our own since that would contradict the very nature of our humanity. 

 Besides, when we are always thankful to others for whatever favor they give us, we would actually foster more positive interactions and a supportive environment. It would minimize our tendency to be judgmental of others, especially because we cannot deny that we will always have differences and even conflicts among ourselves. 

 In the end, the virtue of gratitude promotes greater well-being among ourselves and generates an atmosphere of positivity, especially these days when with all the confusing developments around, we are often tempted to fall into negative and critical thoughts. 

 Let’s hope that we can take this business of being thankful always seriously. Let’s not allow any opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to pass. And let’s see to it that we do it sincerely, coming from the heart, avoiding the pitfall of doing it mechanically. 

 For this, we need to train our heart to be truly thankful, quick to realize its basis and purpose. For sure, we would be making a very beautiful world if we manage to be consistently grateful. We would have an environment that is healthy and vibrant, quite immunized to the evils of this world. 

 We would know how to be at home with God and with others while we explore and navigate our now complicated and challenging world!

Technically competent and spiritually healthy

THIS is the ideal condition for us to be in as we go about our temporal affairs, especially in business and politics, and in the more complicated and challenging sector of the new technologies. We should be as technically competent as possible in these areas, but what is even more important than that is for us to be spiritually healthy. 

 Otherwise, there is no way but for us to be misusing and abusing the elements involved in these temporal affairs. And as a consequence, it would just be a matter of time before some disaster, especially in the moral and spiritual aspects, would befall us. 

 We should see to it that all our temporal affairs, especially those that have very significant impact on the lives of many people, should be guided by the laws God has given to all the things of our life, foremost of which is for us to do all for the glory of God. (Deo omnes gloria!) 

 Let us always remember that we are notorious for simply following our own ideas, our own estimation of what is right and wrong according to some worldly standards that in the end would just lead us to self-indulgence, and thus goes against the common good and our innate duty of love toward God. 

 We need to do things always with God and for God, since Christ said it very clearly: “He who is not with me, is against me; and he who gathers not with me, scatters.” (Lk 11,23) To do things with God and for God is not an optional thing. It is a necessity for us, considering who we really are. Of course, to do things with God and for God should be done freely, and not forcibly. 

 To be technically competent means having the skills, knowledge and abilities needed to perform tasks or work in a specific field or area effectively. An example would be a software engineer needed to be proficient in coding languages, a mechanic who knows how to do engine repair. 

 Those in business, for example, should be knowledgeable about data analysis and tech literacy, financial management, strategic planning, communication and leadership tools, etc. While those in politics should be conversant in policy analysis and development, public communication and media literacy, data-informed decision making, legislative and regulatory knowledge, etc. 

 Spiritual health is a matter of knowing how to discern the abiding promptings of the Holy Spirit. In this regard, we cannot overemphasize the need to make use of certain helpful acts of piety, like regular mental prayer, presence of God all throughout the day, continuing study and formation regarding our spiritual life. 

 We need to be more wary of our duty to take care of our spiritual powers. Our spiritual powers are mainly our intelligence and will, our thinking, judging, reasoning and loving. These need to be managed and supervised well, seeing to it that they are rooted properly and are oriented toward their proper objects and not simply allowed to drift and flow wherever they are blown by our bodily and worldly conditionings. 

 St. Paul talks about the distinction between the carnal man and the spiritual man, and we should make the right choice and develop it to its maturity. St. Augustine warns us not to allow our soul, our spiritual powers, to become carnal by consenting to the affections of the flesh. 

 Caring for our spiritual powers means exerting realistic effort to always find reasons, motivations and ways to relate all our thinking and loving to God and all souls.

Our social sciences need the guidance of faith

THAT gospel episode about a fellow who, by insisting and disturbing a storeowner, finally got the bread he requested for a friend who arrived at his home in the middle of the night (cfr. Lk 11,5-13), reminds us that there is always a need for insistence and perseverance in requesting for God’s guidance in areas in our life which are most vulnerable to go wrong. 

 And among these vulnerable areas are those of the social sciences, like sociology, economics, political science, anthropology, etc. These social sciences are not exact sciences like math, physics or chemistry, since they study evolving human behavior and societies with the view of understanding and having an enlightened dominion over certain social phenomena, like cases of inequality, conflict and appropriate development. 

 Yes, our social sciences definitely need the guidance of our Christian faith if only for them to avoid going to the dogs. This may be hard to observe considering a strong tendency among people everywhere to think that for these social sciences to be credible, it should be based solely on empirical data and avoid being influenced by some religious faith. 

 That is, of course, a baseless presumption since we cannot avoid to do and interpret things according to some mindset, some philosophy and ideology. In the end, everyone is guided by their beliefs, whatever they may be. 

 We have to remind ourselves that it is actually our Christian faith that would give us the proper guide in doing and developing our social sciences, since it contains all the truth about man in all aspects of his life. God possesses the complete and exhaustive knowledge of humanity. We should never dare to do things simply on our own, relying only on our powers. 

 Our sciences, technologies, arts, our various systems: legal, juridical, political, social, business, etc., have laws that ultimately come from God. We only discover them, and use them to lead us to God and to glorify him which actually involves serving and loving the others. 

 This obviously means that we all should try our best to develop a solid and intimate relationship with God. Especially for the leaders in the different levels of society, this intimate relationship with God should be the first requirement for them to be truly qualified to lead. They should not depend only on some human or natural talents for them to lead. They need the guidance of God through the faith which God shares with us. 

 Our Christian faith provides the moral framework for considering issues involved in the social sciences. For example, the principles of love or charity, justice and compassion can help properly shape on how we approach issues like poverty, inequality or community development. 

 Obviously, it is in our Christian faith that provides us with the proper perspective on human nature, enlightening us on how we have to understand what proper human behavior is, what our true human dignity is, and how our relationship with one another should be. 

 It would be appropriate to integrate our Christian faith with whatever study and research is done in the social sciences. This Christian faith can offer us the proper values and motivations for engaging in social science research or practice. It gives us the proper perspective on how to interpret data or findings in the social sciences. 

 This does not mean that we have to do away with the principle of separation of Church and state and that clerics more than lay persons should lead in the areas of politics. This only means that all our human affairs, including what our social sciences study and manage, need to be guided in the end by our Christian faith, and not just on some empirical data that can be interpreted in any which way.

Our constant need for prayer

WE should be clear about this point. Everything in our life should be an occasion, a means, a reason for prayer. Whatever the condition and situation in our life, whether considered humanly speaking as good or bad, proper or improper, in solemn or jovial moments, etc., we should see to it that we manage to connect ourselves with God through prayer. 

 Prayer can take on any form or method. The important thing is that we manage to be with God always, since that is actually what is proper for us. Without him, we would just be living like animals, perhaps a little bit better than them, but in the end, no better than them really. Without him, it would just be a matter of time before we fall into some disorder insofar as we are rational animals, let alone, as we are children of God. 

 Without God who is our creator and source of all good things, we can only do evil. We would be like a branch cut off from the vine. We may manage to give an appearance of life and goodness, but without Him, we actually have and are nothing. 

 We have to be constantly aware that we cannot be simply on our own. We need God and we need to be with everybody and everything else. We have to overcome our tendency that we can afford to be isolated. We should never forget that we are always in communion and we need to make that communion alive and healthy. And prayer is what enables us to achieve these goals. 

 As early as possible, as in when one is still a little child, everyone should be told and taught about this important duty of ours which is actually a necessity of ours. Prayer should be like the beating of our heart, the breath we make instinctively. It is what makes us alive spiritually and supernaturally, and not just biologically and naturally. 

 We have to see to it that we learn how to really pray. That is, we have to learn how to vitally engage with God, our Father and Creator, mainly through our mind and heart, and later through the other faculties and powers that we have—our imagination, memory, feelings and passions, and the physical and natural powers we have. 

 Ideally, everything should be an act of prayer, whether we are doing our sacred or mundane duties, whether things are good or bad for us, whether we are alone or in a crowd, etc. 

 And just like any training, it at first has to be taught under a controlled environment. That is why, at the beginning we were taught as children to recite and put into memory some vocal prayers. We may not understand everything said there, but that at least initiates us to the practice of prayer. 

 Then further steps ought to be made. We have to learn how to exercise our faith, how to meditate and contemplate, how to find a proper place, time and even posture for it. And then how we can have presence of God the whole day, rectitude of intention in all our actions, the habit of offering everything to God, and literally of conversing with God and discerning his will as we go on with our daily activities. 

 In the end, the quality of our life is determined by the quality of our prayer. If we truly are with God the whole time, we would know what to do at any given moment. We would practically share in the very power, wisdom and goodness of God himself.

The relevance of the Holy Rosary today

CONSIDERING the rapid shifts on the global stage, leaving us often sharply challenged and confused, we really need now more than ever a stable anchor that would put us on the right groove to help us navigate life smoothly and lead us toward our real and ultimate goal in life. 

 And I believe the Holy Rosary would help us greatly in this regard. It’s a highly recommended devotion that would help us contemplate on the lives of Christ and Mary, our best guides in our earthly pilgrimage. It connects us to the mysteries of our Christian faith and promotes spiritual reflection and peace, which are what we really need in these often chaotic times. 

 Let’s remember that we are meant to have a shared life with God and with everybody else in a blessed communion of saints. And the Holy Rosary, properly prayed with real faith and piety, would greatly help us by keeping us in synch with the mysteries of the salvific mission of Christ and with the help of our most powerful intercessor, our Mother Mary. 

 The Holy Rosary would help us keep a relation of intimacy with Christ and Mary especially these days when we are often tempted to be guided only by our emotions and passions, and the worldly trends that tend to lead us to self-indulgence. 

 It is a form of meditative prayer that combines vocal prayers with the contemplation of the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, thus encouraging both vocal and mental prayer. It is a powerful weapon against evil and a source of grace and peace, particularly in times of conflict or difficulty. 

 According to Archbishop, now Blessed, Fulton Sheen, the Holy Rosary is one of the most profound ways to find Christ. More than a mantra, each mystery actually allows us to reflect on the message of the Gospel and of the key moments in the life of the Christ and Mary. 

 “The Rosary is the book of the blind,” he said, “where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known. It is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the education of other men. The power of the Rosary is beyond description.” 

 Sister, now Venerable, Lucia of Fatima, also has these to say about the Holy Rosary: “My impression is that the Rosary is of greatest value not only according to the words of Our Lady of Fatima, but according to the effects of the Rosary one sees throughout history. My impression is that Our Lady wanted to give ordinary people, who might not know how to pray, this simple method of getting closer to God.” 

 We should learn to pray the Holy Rosary properly. We should focus on meditating on the mysteries of Christ’s life while reciting the prayers, approaching it with sincerity and devotion, and allowing it to inspire both contemplation and action. 

 We should approach the Holy Rosary with a great desire to grow closer to God and seek Mary’s intercession. We should avoid a rote recitation of it. Rather, we should strive to make each prayer a heartfelt expression our faith and love for God. 

 We obviously need to pause from time to time to keep or recover the appropriate disposition in praying it. Somehow, we should feel the very the presence of Christ and Mary while we pray the Holy Rosary.