When Christ leaves us incredulous

WE should not be surprised by this phenomenon. In the gospel, there are many instances when Christ would leave even those close to him questioning and skeptical about his teachings and ways. 

 When he went to his hometown, for example, and entered the synagogue and started to preach, those who heard him could not believe that someone of their own could preach the way he preached. “Where did this man get these things? What’s this wisdom that has been given him?” they asked in disbelief. (Mk 6,2) 

 Even among the apostles who had spent a lot of time and were already familiar with Christ’s will and ways were left shocked when Christ told them, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” To which they could only respond, “Who then can be saved?” (Mt 19,24-25) 

 Christ’s will and ways and the whole range of our Christian faith definitely would go beyond our normal process of understanding things. The simple reason is that God’s will and ways are supernatural that would go beyond but not against our natural power of understanding. 

 In the face of all this, all we have to do is to humble ourselves knowing that even in the natural level of things, we already would have difficulty understanding everything. How much more when we consider the mysteries and the supernatural truths of our Christian faith. 

 Just the same, even if we cannot fully understand everything of our faith, there should be no stopping in our effort to understand it. But as St. Augustine once said, we should first believe so we may understand. “Credo ut intelligam” (I believe so that I may understand). And St. Anselm coined this expression that says the same thing—“Fides quaeres intellectum” (Faith seeking understanding). 

 I suppose the thing to do is study well the Bible, exploring the context, genre, and message of each book. Then we should try to do some theological reflection which can be aided when we engage with theologians and scholars to deepen our understanding of the Christian doctrine. Of course, we need to pray and do some contemplation by seeking a personal experience of God’s presence and guidance. 

 Though our Christian faith is supernatural that contains truths that are beyond our human understanding, we can still bank on some strong motives of its credibility. To mention a few, we can cite the glorious resurrection of Christ which can only show us a definitive sign of his divinity. 

 Then we have the miracles performed by Christ and the saints. There is also the fulfillment of the prophecies made about Christ and by Christ himself. There is also the sublimity of the Christian doctrine which can give proof that it is of a divine origin. There is also the sanctity and spread of the Church, her fruitfulness and stability that despite, temporary problems, would tell us that the faith, despite its mysteries, is worth believing. 

 Obviously, what is needed here first of all is the grace of God which is always poured on us abundantly. Things would just depend on how receptive and responsive we are to that grace. That grace would help us to humble ourselves so we can open ourselves to the light God gives for us to believe and start understanding the content of our faith. 

 So, when Christ would leave us incredulous, we should deepen our humility for the grace to penetrate more deeply into our consciousness, enabling us to act accordingly.

“Christ took away our infirmities and bore our diseases”

THAT’S a verse from the Gospel of St. Matthew. (8,17) It’s actually from the Book of Isaiah (53,4) expressing a prophecy that Christ fulfilled through the many miraculous healings he made while going around preaching. 

 It’s a truth of faith that we need to cultivate and keep deeply and strongly in our mind and heart, especially when we find ourselves hounded by all kinds of infirmities and suffering all kinds of diseases. This way we would not waste time suffering unnecessarily and would just learn to bear all the inconveniences, convinced that in the end Christ would take care of everything. 

 We should just have a sporting spirit, spiced with a good sense of humor as we go through the unavoidable sufferings we would encounter in this life. We need a sporting spirit because life’s true failure can come only when we choose not to have hope. That happens when our vision and understanding of things is narrow and limited, confined only to the here and now and ignorant of the transcendent reality of the spiritual and supernatural world. 

 Besides, life involves a till-death struggle against all sorts of enemies, starting with our own treacherous self, the ever-seductive world, and most of all, the spiritual enemies who certainly are more powerful than us. 

 Finally, life involves pursuing a goal that is much greater, yes, infinitely greater than ourselves. We should not be a bad sport who gives up easily without even trying, or who surrenders in the middle of an exciting and suspenseful game. 

 We therefore have to develop a strong spiritual sportsmanship in the tenor expressed in some words of St. Paul: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.” (1 Cor 9,24) 

 Aside from a strong sense of self-discipline and submitting ourselves in a continuing training program, an indispensable ingredient of this healthy sporting spirit is the sense of acceptance and abandonment that we need to deliberately cultivate. This does not come automatically, as if it’s part of our genes. We have to develop them. 

 We have to learn to accept things the way they are or the way they can be. Yes, it’s true that we can shape things and events in our life. We can even shape persons to a certain extent. 

 While some heavy drama may be involved, let’s be convinced that we are given a game plan that assures us of victory. It’s the game plan of hope in the ever wise, omnipotent and merciful providence of God. What is needed here is precisely a healthy sense of acceptance and abandonment in the hands of God. 

 Added to that is a good sense of humor which definitely has very salutary effects and advantages. It makes us see things better. It makes us more flexible and more able to handle varying situations. 

 It gives us some space and distance from events so that we would be able to assess and judge things calmly and properly. And all this aside from its immediate effect of making everybody feel good, which is already a tremendous thing. 

 In the face of severe trials, joy expressed in wit and humor is a precious element to have. It can only show one’s deep trust and confidence in the providence of God. There’s absolutely nothing to be afraid of. There’s the conviction that everything, including martyrdom, is an organic part of God’s saving plan for the person concerned and for everyone else.

A lesson of obedience and humility

THAT’S what we can gather from the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Imagine Christ, the very son of God, submitting himself to some ritual when it would have been unnecessary for him. 

 Obviously, the child Jesus could be exempted from this law, and we can suppose that both Mary and Joseph would know this. Still, they proceeded to follow the law, giving us the precious lesson that like them, we should try to behave like any ordinary person, following the just laws and customs of the time and place, and choosing to forgo certain privileges that we may have. That’s humility in action. 

 That’s how we should behave. We may be quite privileged in life because of the many gifts and other endowments God and others may have given us, but we should never feel entitled to anything. Instead, our attitude toward these privileges should be one of willingness to serve more, doing a lot of good while passing unnoticed, and all for the glory of God and for the good of all. 

 It is something worth emulating, since this is a clear expression of humility, an indispensable virtue that would enable us to stick with God and his will and ways. We have to be most wary when we happen to enjoy some privileged positions or status in life because we tend to think that we deserve more entitlements. And not only would we expect them. We may even demand them for us. Without this humility, we in the end would separate ourselves from God. 

 Let’s be reminded that whatever privileges, favors and blessings we may enjoy in life are meant for us to strengthen our desire to serve God and others, and not to be served. But as it is, we should try to avoid them, since they tend only to spoil and corrupt us. Rather, we should try to follow what Christ himself once said—that we enter by the narrow gate instead of preferring the wide gate and the broad road that can only lead us to our destruction. (cfr. Mt 7,13-14) 

 This is also the example of Christ himself who, as St. Paul noted in one of his epistles, being God emptied himself to become man and went all the way to offering his life for all our sins. (cfr. Phil 2,7) This was also shown when Christ went ahead to pay temple tax when he obviously would have been exempted from it. (cfr. Mt 17,24-27) Seemingly impossible for us to do, we should just try our best to imitate that example, relying on God’s grace and on our all-out effort. 

 The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord also reminds us that we have to give not only the best that we have to God first, but also everything that we have. We have to remember that our life ought to be spent as an offering. It has to be lived as a gift, because it is first of all a gift also from God to us. This is a fundamental attitude to develop toward our life, because absent that, we would have a gravely handicapped understanding of life, prone to all sorts of anomalies. 

 The feast of the Presentation of the Lord can also be considered as another epiphany, another manifestation of Christ as our savior. This time, the manifestation is done not to the three magi anymore, but to two characters, Simeon and Anna. 

 The feast is a good reminder to all of us, Christian believers, that we have a duty to present Christ to everyone as he truly is to us—the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our humanity that has been damaged by sin.

The intriguing message of the Beatitudes

ONCE again, we are presented with the paradoxical teaching of the Beatitudes in the gospel reading of the Mass of the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time. (cfr. Mt 5,1-12) We, of course, wonder how these Beatitudes, which flip conventional wisdom, can be the source of blessedness for us. 

 They obviously are not simply about promoting suffering or hardship, but rather about revealing the true, ultimate and heavenly values that are meant for us. Yes, we can find strength in weakness, joy in sorrow and power in humility if we would try our best to depend wholly on God, rather than simply on our own selves. 

 Without God, all the negative elements in our life will remain negative and harmful to us. But with him as we should, all things work for the good. (cfr. Rom 8,28) Even all our earthly suffering and death can lead us to our eternal joy and life in heaven. 

 The Beatitudes actually reveal God’s heart and values that should be reflected and lived by us also. They show the path to true happiness and fulfillment. They challenge societal norms and expectations that are based only on worldly and temporal values. In short, the Beatitudes tell us that the world’s way is not the only way. God’s ways are different, and they are the path to true joy and satisfaction. 

 Said another way, the Beatitudes convert what we usually consider as human disasters or clear disadvantages and inconveniences according to worldly standards into a source of joy, a means of our redemption, a path to heaven, narrow and difficult though it may be. 

 They expand our understanding of what would comprise as our true happiness by including those situations which we normally regard as unsavory and therefore to be avoided as much as possible, if not hated. 

 To learn to live the Beatitudes is definitely a lifelong task and journey. We really need to pray and reflect, begging God to tell us where we can grow and become more and more his image and likeness. For this, we need to study and involve ourselves in a lifelong program of Christian formation, monitoring our progress regularly and without let up even if we encounter mistakes and failures along the way. 

 And to be sure, we can live those beatitudes, because Christ himself would give us all the necessary graces. We just have to train ourselves to have the appropriate attitudes, skills and virtues. 

 We have to learn to be patient, which is an integral part of the virtue of fortitude that in the end can only be animated by genuine charity. We have to be ready when we are bombarded with worldly goods that can take us away from God, cool down our piety, and lead us to sin. 

 Or when we cannot help but mourn not only because of the death of someone but also because of some failure we commit or a misery we cannot shake off. Or when we get misunderstood and provoked in our daily exchanges of ideas and opinions with others. Or when we have to rein in our curiosity and raging hormones to keep our heart pure and in its proper orientation toward God. 

 Let’s always remember the beatitudes, and continually ask for the grace to believe and live them to the hilt. Christ’s promises cannot be frustrated. We have to strengthen our faith in his word. And start to live calmly, oozing with confidence and focused on what really matters in life! 

 The beatitudes should always be in our mind, heart and lips!

Enough with one-upmanship!

IT’S actually a very shameless thing to do. But it’s just amazing that many of us resort to this clearly anomalous thing to push our particular view and opinion, especially in the field of politics. As defined, one-upmanship is when someone tries to outdo or one-up others, often by boasting or showing off their achievements, skills or possessions. It can be playful, but it can also come across as annoying, destructive and harmful if taken too far. And this is especially so with regard to politically partisan one-upmanship that is common nowadays. This can take place when there is some kind of competitive posturing. That is when politicians and their supporters try to appear more committed or passionate about their party’s cause. Apart from that, this politically partisan one-upmanship takes place when some outrageous claims are made, that is, when exaggerated or unsubstantiated statements are made to gain attention or support. It is also done through virtue signaling, that is, when one’s own moral superiority or commitment to a particular cause is publicly displayed. This usually goes together with bashing anyone or any party with a different or opposing position if only to appear stronger or more favorable. With this shameless politically partisan one-upmanship, we can only expect polarization and division among the people that can only lead to lack of constructive dialogue and compromise. Its only purpose is to win rather than solving concrete problems and resolving specific issues. The approach is always competitive and aggressive. Obviously, to counter this politically partisan one-upmanship, a thoughtful approach is needed. This can mean that we should be focused on issues, rather than on ego, emphasizing the issue at hand, rather than getting drawn into competitive posturing. It would be better if we would just ask questions rather than to quickly accuse those with different or conflicting opinions. Yes, critical thinking by asking questions so as to clarify positions or challenge assumptions should be encouraged, and done always in a courteous manner. More than anything else, everyone should try to seek common ground, knowing that despite differences and conflicts in opinions, we can always share something in common. We should rather highlight shared values or goals so as to build bridges and foster collaboration among the different parties involved. Also, we should not shy away from calling out in a polite way a questionable performative behavior of a person or party. Everyone should be reminded to focus the exchanges on substance rather than on virtue signaling and gaslighting. We should try to come up with respectful dialogue among the different groups, showing that this constructive conversation is possible by listening actively and responding thoughtfully. We need to clean up the field of public opinion, injecting with the spirit proper to our dignity as persons and brothers and sisters who have to care for one another despite our differences and conflicts. Let’s always remember that our freedom of speech and expression can never do away with the requirements of charity. Even in the bitterest of our conflicts, we should always be charitable, ready to understand the others, to ask for pardon if we commit some mistake and to forgive when others commit them, etc. We cannot deny that in matters of opinion we will always have differences and conflicts. We just have to learn how to be civil in arguing our points and in sorting out the differences. We have to learn this art, now so relevant and urgent given the growing complexity of our times.

The exponential character of love

THAT’S what we are reminded of in that gospel episode where Christ said: “In what measure you shall mete, it shall be measured to you again, and more shall be given to you. For he that has, to him shall be given; and he that has not, that also which he has shall be taken away from him.” (Mk 4,24-25) 

 That, in a nutshell, is the very nature of love, if it’s true love, one that is a vital participation and reflection of the very essence of God which is also meant to be our own essence, since we are God’s image and likeness. 

 It’s a love that never says enough in spite of our obvious limitations and weaknesses. When we reach those limits, like Christ we would just commend ourselves to God’s own ways that go beyond our natural powers, making the impossible possible. As God’s image and likeness, the supernatural powers of God are also shared with us. 

 This duty of loving knows no bounds. As St. Francis de Sales said, “The measure of love is to love without measure.” And we might ask, is this possible, is this doable? The answer, of course, is yes. In the first place, there is in us a spiritual capacity that would lead us to the world of the spiritual and supernatural, the world of the infinite. 

 And that is possible in us because of our spiritual faculty which is made actual due to God giving us his grace, that free gift that would enable us to actually enter into the very life of God and to share his power. We are reassured that this grace is given to us in abundance. Even if sin abounds, God’s grace will still abound even more, St. Paul tells us. 

 With his grace, we can manage to have a supernatural life with God, the kind of life meant for us since we are God’s image and likeness, children of his. Our very human nature is meant to have a supernatural life in God. It is not meant to a merely natural human life, much less, an animal life ruled mainly by instincts and emotions alone. 

 With his grace, what is impossible for us to achieve by relying only on our natural powers is made possible, for nothing is impossible with God. (cfr Lk 1,37) St. Paul verified that when he said: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” (Phil 4,13) Yes, we can do all things with Christ in spite of our limitations. 

 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. 

 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. That’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.

A servant, a leader, a child of God

AT first sight, we might think that these three categories are three separate divisions, hardly related to each other and having different rankings in our classification of them, one higher than the others, etc. 

 But if we follow the truth of our faith about our true identity, these three divisions are united, enjoying the same dignity, much like the relation among the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity. Somehow, we reminded of this wonderful truth of our faith in that Psalm verse that sometimes is used as Responsorial Psalm at Mass: “For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.” (89,29) 

 If we truly are children of God and try our best to be consistent to that identity, we cannot help but regard ourselves as a servant who does nothing other than to serve which is the very language of love, as well as a leader in the sense that like Christ and in Christ, we have to lead and rule all things—first of all our own selves, then the others, and the world in general—for the sake of making God all in all in us. 

 Indeed, to be a servant means prioritizing others’ needs and well-being. It involves humility, empathy and selflessness. And it focuses on serving and empowering others. And to be a leader means guiding, inspiring and influencing others with the proper spirit of God. It involves vision, direction and decision-making. It focuses on achieving a shared goal or mission, which in the end is the redemption of mankind. 

 All these come as an effect of our being children of God, sharing the very same life, nature and mission of Christ. Precisely because we are children of God, we inherit a dignity that reflects His character that is shown to us by Christ through his teachings and example. It is Christ who teaches us that true greatness actually comes from serving others. 

 In other words, we really cannot achieve and enjoy the status of being true children of God if we do not serve and do not lead. To be a servant and at the same time a leader is to reflect God’s true character as shown to us by Christ. We are actually called to emulate Christ’s servant-leader heart, prioritizing others’ needs and well-being. 

 This is the attitude meant for us, with Christ himself as the exemplar. Imagine, Christ served us by dying on the cross. Before that, he shocked his apostles when he insisted that he be allowed to wash their feet. That was to give an example to them, and us, so that what he did we would also do. We have to serve and not be served. This is what true leadership in Christ means. 

 The angels too, superior to us in nature, are made to serve us, following a divine law articulated by Christ himself when he said: “Let him who is greatest among you become as the youngest, and him who is the chief as the servant.” (Lk 22,26) 

 We need to be more keenly aware of this law. This is truly what is good for us, providing us with the basic source of strength and consistency we need as we grapple with life’s endless challenges. 

 This eagerness to lead by serving in Christ really has to be worked out, because with our fallen and wounded nature, every pore of our being tends to go against the law of love expressed in service that God meant for us.

We share in the kingly function of Christ

CHRIST, being the pattern of our humanity, should be the focus of our whole life with the view of becoming more and more like him to such an extent that we can be rightly called as “alter Christus” (another Christ), if not “ipse Christus” (Christ himself). 

 This is no gratuitous presumption. A proof of this can be found in his priestly prayer before his passion and death when he said: “That they (we) may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us…” (Jn 17,21) 

 St. Paul in his Letter to the Galatians also alluded to this truth when he said: “There is neither Jew or Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you all are one in Christ Jesus.” (3,28) 

 Now, since Christ is our ultimate King in the sense that he is our Redeemer who reigns over all creation, we should also understand that for us to be like Christ and to be one with him, we should also share in his kingly function. 

 This can only mean that we participate in Christ’s kingly authority and rule over sin and everything that is evil. This can only be made possible when we strive to live a life of obedience to God’s will, following his commandments and, as a consequence, living a life of holiness. This sharing of Christ’s kingly authority and rule is also exercised with we strive to serve others, using our gifts and talents to build up the body of Christ. 

 Some key aspects especially of the laity’s kingly function are, first, that of servant leadership. This means that the we should serve others, especially the poor and marginalized, in a way that would reflect Christ’s servant leadership. 

 Second, we should be in the forefront of transforming the temporal affairs, bringing Christian values into our work, family, social and political life, etc., always promoting justice and virtue. 

 Lastly but not the least, we should always be giving witness to Christ in all our words and deeds in such a way that we in effect would be proclaiming the Gospel and inviting others to follow Christ. 

 This can only mean that we really should make Christ our King, first of all. We can do this by making little conquests in our spiritual life everyday. We need to understand that our life will always involve some struggle. In fact, it is and should be a daily affair. Failing in that struggle does not only mean getting stuck at a certain point. It certainly means we have retrogressed. In this business of struggle, if we don’t advance, we retreat. 

 We should therefore be reminded of our duty to hone up our skills in spiritual warfare. Christ already hinted this much when he said: “from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away.” (Mt 11,12) 

 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 enemies whose sole intent is precisely to bring us down, to divert us from our proper path toward holiness. This is not to mention that our ultimate goal is to reach heaven, which definitely will require effort and struggle, and of course God’s grace. 

 This is how we can make Christ truly our king, and in the process make ourselves share also in his kingship.

The sin that cannot be forgiven

CHRIST mentioned this kind of sin in that episode where he was accused by some scribes that he cast out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of devils. (cfr. Mk 3,22) He said: “All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men…but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit shall never have forgiveness, but shall be guilty of an everlasting sin.” (Mk 3,29) That’s because they accused him of having an unclean spirit. 

 Obviously, it is an unforgivable sin since it involves a deliberate and complete rejection of God’s mercy, making it impossible for the person to repent and receive forgiveness. This kind of sin is committed when we attribute God’s miracles to the devil, when we refuse to acknowledge Christ as the Messiah, and when we reject God’s offer of salvation. 

 This unforgivable sin is precisely the sin of the demons themselves who refuse to believe in God in spite of everything God would do to help them. In other words, one who commits this unforgivable sin, that is, who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, is like the demon himself. 

 Let us always remember that God always likes to forgive. Remember Christ offering forgiveness to those who crucified him just moments before his death: “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.” (Lk 23,24) 

 In this case, those who crucified him did not really know what they were doing. And, in fact, they were converted when after Christ died, they confessed that he was truly the Son of God. (cfr Mt 27,54; Mk 15,39) But in the case of those who saw the miracle on the Sabbath, they persisted in their disbelief. 

 We have to see to it that we avoid falling into committing this unforgivable sin. We may not understand everything in our life and that is why we commit sins, but let us not directly, formally and openly reject God in the face of the many good things and blessings that we also enjoy. 

 Let us make our sins an occasion to get closer to God instead, to understand better his will and ways, and even to attain sanctity. Sin, of course, does not cause sanctity. But if handled well, it can occasion the way to holiness. It can trigger a strong impulse toward developing a greater love for God and for others, which is what holiness is all about. 

 It’s really a matter of how we react to our sinfulness. If we are sorry for our sins and try to make up for them, then sanctity would be at our reach. God, always a loving father to us, will never deny his mercy. Neither will he deny his grace to make us as we ought to be—true image and likeness of his, and a good child of his. 

 In fact, if we go by the reasoning of St. Paul, God seems to have the habit of choosing the foolish things of the world, the weak, the lowly and the despised, in order to confound and shame the wise, the strong and the proud of this world. (cfr 1 Cor 1,27-28) Along this line, He can also choose a sinner to confound those who pride themselves in a worldly way as saints. 

 Let’s be quick to ask forgiveness the moment we realize we fall into sin. And when faced with a mystery that is hard, if not impossible, to understand or to cope despite all our efforts, let’s be humble enough to abandon ourselves in God’s hands, in God’s providence.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation”

THAT’S from Psalm 27,1 and is often used a Responsorial Psalm the readings of many Masses. It’s a verse that deserves to be written deep in our heart and mind to remind us, especially nowadays when we have a lot of atheistic, agnostic and heretical tendencies, that it is in Christ where we have the true guide in our earthly sojourn. 

 We need to strengthen our faith in him, nourishing it daily with many acts of piety if only to counter the strong forces around that tend to take us to another path that would actually lead us nowhere even if it promises to give us a lot of earthly perks. 

 And this nourishment should not only be a personal duty but also a social one, starting with the family which is the basic cell of society. Let’s always remember that as persons, we are not meant to live by our own selves alone. We are meant to enter always in relation with others, starting with God, and in fact, develop a culture of intimate communion with everybody else. That is the ideal meant for us. 

 In this regard, parents should realize the importance of the great responsibility they have of forming their children to be strong in the faith to such an extent that they would always feel the need to help their children not only to be well-fed, well-clothed, well-provided, but also and most importantly to be good and consistent Christians, even to the extent of making them canonizable saints. 

 Indeed, there’s a certain urgency to make the family today an effective center of formation. With all the growing developments and complicated challenges of our times, we cannot afford to sit pretty and just allow blind fate to take its course. 

 We need to remember that the family plays a very strategic role in the development of a person and of society in general. It should be able to handle the duties and responsibilities inherent to its nature and purpose. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

“God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ”

THAT’S a verse from the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians (5,19), sometimes used as the Gospel Acclamation in some Masses. It highlights God’s love and desire for reconciliation with man. Through Christ, God is restoring the world to himself, forgiving sins, and entrusting us with the message of salvation. It’s a powerful reminder of God’s mercy and our role in sharing this message with others. 

 This truth of our Christian faith should strengthen our belief that our sinfulness, defects and errors should not separate us from God. If anything at all, they should bring us closer to him, assured that God’s mercy will never be lacking. 

 These two realities about our sinfulness and God’s mercy should always go together. We should always strengthen our conviction about the helpful relationship these two should have with each other in our life. 

 Whenever we feel the sting of our weaknesses and sinfulness, together with their antecedents and consequences, their causes and effects, let’s never forget to consider also God’s mercy that is always given to us, and, in fact, given to us abundantly. 

 Let’s strengthen our conviction that Christ has a special attraction to sinners, that he is ever willing to forgive us as long as we show some signs of repentance that he himself, through his grace, will stir in us. 

 Let’s play the part of Peter who, after denying Christ three times, realized his mistake and wept bitterly in repentance. Christ looked kindly on him and forgave him and even made him the prince of the apostles. 

 Let’s avoid playing the part of Cain and Judas who, after committing their crimes, ran away instead of going back to God repentant. Of course, in saying this, I am not at all judging that they are in hell. That judgment belongs to God alone. 

 But we also have to understand that the words addressed by Christ directly to the apostles are also meant for all of us. “As the Father has sent me, so I also send you,” he said. (cfr. Jn 20,21) And this can only mean that we need to impart Christ’s mercy to all, since that would be the ultimate sign of our reconciliation with God. 

 We obviously need to know what is involved in imparting this divine mercy. Yes, for this purpose we have to study well the doctrine of our faith and morals, now authoritatively taught by the Church magisterium. We need to be generous with our time and effort so that that divine mercy can be readily given to everyone. 

 This way we can hope to be father, a friend, a judge and a doctor to the others insofar as their spiritual and moral lives are concerned. 

 More than that, we really should pray so that we can see more directly and reflect in our attitudes, our thoughts, words and deeds the very passion, death and resurrection of Christ which in the end is the very substance of divine mercy. 

 The ideal situation is that all of us be filled with holy desires to ask for forgiveness, to atone and make reparation for our sins and the sins of others. It’s a mindset that we have to deliberately cultivate, always getting inspiration from the example of Christ himself. 

 In our daily examination of conscience, for example, let us try to see if we have been doing something concrete in this regard. Are we willing to bear the sins of others, in an effort to reflect Christ’s attitude toward all of us who are all sinners?

Let’s always be in love

THIS is the ideal condition of our life. Without love, we would be contradicting first of all our humanity, before we nullify our ultimate dignity and identity as God’s children, created in his image and likeness, and meant to share the very life of God whose very nature is love itself. (cfr. 1 Jn 4,8) 

 It’s love that would keep us going and growing toward the fullness and perfection of our humanity. We are actually made for it. That’s the reason why we have been endowed with intelligence and will so we can relate ourselves with God and with others all the way to a total and intimate self-giving. 

 We just have to see to it that our love comes and is constantly nurtured by the love of God who loves us first before we can learn to love him in return. (cfr. 1 Jn 4,19) In other words, our love should be divine and not just human. While it makes full use of our human powers, it should move and work at the instance of the supernatural power of God who shares it with us through his grace that is made available abundantly. 

 We can somehow distinguish between mere human love and the ideal divine love because the former often only focuses on personal attachment, emotions and desires. It is driven more by self-interest, possessiveness than by true concern for the others. It highly fleeting, prone to change due to some circumstances and the fickleness of our emotions. 

 Divine love is marked by unconditional self-giving and is focused on the inherent worth and dignity of the beloved. It continues to give itself to others even if it is not reciprocated. It is willing to offer forgiveness to those who may wrong us. It gives us inner peace and joy, even in challenging situations. 

 St. Paul has this beautiful description of divine love: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1 Cor 13,4-8) 

 We should frequently examine ourselves if we are truly developing and living this kind of love. We may ask ourselves: Is my love motivated by a desire to give or to receive? Is it unconditional or conditional? Is it focused on other’s well-being or on our personal gain? Is it rooted in faith and an active spiritual life of prayer, sacrifice, recourse to the sacraments, etc. or simply in our human and natural powers? 

 Let’s always remember that love has a universal coverage. It’s not only for those who are right in something. It’s also for those who are wrong. It’s not only for the winners. It’s also for the losers. Not only for friends, but also for enemies! 

 But the universal inclusivity of charity does not do away with the exclusivity of truth. It does not do away with the distinction between good and evil, between right and wrong, between truth and falsehood. In fact, it sharpens that distinction. And yet, it still works in all those distinctions. 

 Yes, charity is all-inclusive, though it is expressed, of course, in different ways. As they say, we have to have different strokes for different folks. And that’s simply because at the end of the day, whether we like it or not, we are all creatures and children of God, brothers and sisters to each other. We have been created by our Creator out of love and for love.

It’s love that keeps us going despite whatever

“LET not any man’s heart be dismayed.” (1 Samuel 17,32) This was the response of the young David to King Saul when the former reassured the latter that he was willing to face to the strongman Philistine, Goliath. It was a response that came from David’s strong and deep trust in God, from his working hope that produced a fearless and invincible love that enabled him to slay the brute giant with just a slingshot. The story reminds us that as long as we have the faith, hope and love like David’s, we have no reason to fear. More than that, we have all it takes to keep ourselves going despite whatever challenges and trials we may face in life. The depth and energy that these virtues give us would keep us so hot that no fly of weakness and temptation can come near and overcome us. We need to see to it that we are always with God, that we feel his power and strength. This means that we are always thinking of God and of whatever good we can do for him and for everybody else. Only in this way can we make ourselves driven and hot, and at the same time cool and confident, in dominion of whatever condition we may find ourselves in. The sure sign that we are not with God is when we feel dry and lazy, with our head and heart feeling empty and weak. When we feel the presence and love of God for us, we would always feel energized, we would always be thinking of others, of what we can do for them, the way God thinks and cares for everyone of us. Thus, if we want to be truly happy and driven in this life, one that is not simply a result of some worldly props and drugs, then we should be focused on God and driven and excited in carrying out his will and in following his ways. And the simple reason is because, to be blunt about it, God is already the supreme good for all of us. There could be no other good better than him to whom we should be attracted more or who should arouse in us a greater attraction. God is everything to us. More than that, he loves us so much that he created us to be like him. It’s with him that we can have our eternal joy in heaven, and while here on earth we can always count on his help, guidance and powerful, wise and merciful providence. Obviously, we need to process this basic truth properly and thoroughly, since it is a truth of faith that certainly involves a lot of mysteries that we have to learn to live with. Once we get convinced of this truth, then it follows that God should be the constant and strongest cause of our desire and attraction. His presence and interventions in our life should be intimately felt by us. Pursuing or being with him should give us the greatest joy. Yes, sacrifices would be involved here, but to be sure, when we are driven with love that is a sharing of the love of God for all of us, we would always feel happy and light, eager to do whatever it takes to help, and to find meaning in all the conditions of our life. This is the ideal state of our life here on earth. It’s love that would keep us going whatever may the circumstances and conditions of our fragile earthly life.

Our tendency to be judgmental

WE have to be wary of this tendency that, obviously, is a universal one, given our wounded nature here on earth. While it’s true that we are meant to judge and to judge with dispatch as much as possible, we should see to it that we know how to judge fairly. 

 We are reminded of this danger in that gospel episode where Christ and his disciples were crossing a corn field on a Sabbath, and when the disciples started plucking some corn, the ever-present fault-finder Pharisees quickly complained. That was when Christ clarified the issue and put them in their place, knocking them off their high horse. (cfr. Mk 2,23-28) 

 We need to train ourselves on how to judge properly, avoiding quick and shallow judgments that often are rash since they are more a product of some impulsive decisions or opinions without taking the time to consider all the relevant facts or to think critically. 

 For this, we have to realize that we can only judge properly when we do it with God always. We should be wary of our tendency to judge simply on our own, relying only on our own powers, especially when we are aware that we are quite gifted intellectually. 

 We should have no doubt about our capacity to judge with God always. Our spiritual powers of intelligence and will, plus the grace of God, would enable us to go beyond what we can only sense and understand with our reason alone. With our spiritual powers and God’s grace, we can judge according to the faith, hope and charity that God shares with us. 

 We should just be more aware that everything we do, starting with our thoughts, judgments and reasonings, should be done with God. Only then would we know and judge things properly. We have to develop the appropriate discipline because we cannot deny that we have a strong tendency to simply judge and do things on our own. 

 With God, we can aim to become 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. 

 In this regard, we have to help one another develop the proper attitude and skills to be persons of sound judgment. Obviously, the older and the more educated ones, the more mature and experienced persons and those with clear natural and supernatural gifts pertinent to this concern should lead the way. 

 There is obviously a theoretical and practical side to this affair. For one, we need to study the moral principles and the doctrine of our faith as thoroughly as possible. We should aim at nothing less than becoming masters and experts in this field, since these principles and doctrine are indispensable. We should not have second thoughts on this. 

 We have to realize that this study should be an ongoing and continuing concern, ever deepening and refining our understanding of these principles and doctrine, such that we can distinguish the nuances and fine points, and that they become part of our mentality. 

 Together with study and meditation, we need to grow in the virtues and to avail of the sacraments that keep us in the state of grace. We should not be theoretical and intentional only. We have to incarnate and express outwardly the things that we have learned in our ongoing formation.

“The word of God is living and effective”

THAT’S a verse from the Letter to the Hebrews (cfr. 4,12) that aptly captures what God’s word is all about. The complete verse goes: “Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” 

 Then it continues by saying: “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (4,13) 

 We have to realize that we need to be guided by God’s words rather than by our own thoughts, reasoning and estimations of things alone. No matter how brilliant and clever we are, we can only go so far in understanding things in this world, many of which are very mysterious to us. 

 We have to develop a fondness for the words of God. This we can do as long as we exert due effort and continually ask, with humility, for the grace of God. Without these requirements, we can easily be swept away by the many alluring but deceptive ideologies in the world. 

 It’s when we listen and live by God’s words that we attain our human and Christian maturity. And as St. Paul would say, we would then be like infants no longer, “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of the people in their deceitful scheming.” (Eph 4,14) 

 It’s important that we spend time developing a liking and an intimacy with the words of God. We have to read and meditate on them daily, and use them as the spirit behind all events, activities and concerns that we have during the day. 

 We have to understand that God’s words are not meant to give us the technical solutions to our problems. They are meant to be the soul and the spirit of all our concerns and activities. 

 Christ himself did not have all the technical solutions to the problems during his stay here on earth. In the end, he had to offer his life since he could not anymore find the solution to the extreme case of injustice inflicted on him. But his death was not actually a defeat. It occasioned the supreme victory over sin and death with his resurrection. 

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

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

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

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

Remain child-like even as we age

THAT’S essentially the point of our celebration of the Feast of the Santo Niño that, thankfully, enjoys a very popular devotion in our country. Let’s hope that the message not only sticks in our mind but also is effectively lived out in our daily affairs. 

 Christ himself said it very clearly. “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 18,3) With these words of Christ, it’s quite clear that we all need to be childlike even as we grow in age and stature, and even as we accumulate already quite a significant amount of knowledge with our exposure to the world and the life in general. 

 Yes, children and heaven are almost synonymous to each other. No wonder we feel like we are in heaven every time we see children around. Every time a baby is born, we are very happy because we somehow know that he just did not come out of his mother’s womb, but rather from the very hands of God who created him before the parents procreated him. 

 In spite of the many limitations of children, what makes them always desirable is their pure, innocent heart, incapable of malice, ambition, pride and haughtiness. They are a source of many other good things. 

 Their heart is always trusting in the Lord always, just like a little kid is always confident with his father. Faith and hope easily grow and acquire strength when nurtured in a child's heart. It's this attitude that leads them to go on and move on no matter what, for life to them could only be an adventure of discoveries. 

 It's this kind of heart that makes them transparent, sincere and simple, not afraid to be known as they truly are. They may still lack the subtlety of prudence and discretion, and be prone to spontaneity, but they hardly mind these deficiencies. 

 They are only interested in doing what they think is good and enjoyable. Suggestions and corrections do not humiliate them. Rather, they welcome these suggestions and corrections. 

 Children are humble, teachable, flexible and docile. You can tell them anything, and they always tend to believe and obey. Attainments, achievements and successes do not spoil them. Neither do difficulties, temptations and failures crush them and plunge them to sadness or bitterness. 

 They are easy to motivate, to be consoled, to be optimistic. Falls and mistakes are easily forgotten. They only leave a mark that becomes a source of precious lessons for them to learn. They are quick to heal when wounded. 

 In short, children are predisposed to see things as they are, whether they are self-evident natural truths or highly mysterious supernatural realities. What they don't yet understand, they simply accept and believe, relying simply on the recommendation of parents and elders. 

 Children somehow capture the spirit of the beatitudes, for they are poor in spirit, they are meek, they are easily comforted when some mourning takes place, they long for what is good and right, they easily forgive, they are pure of heart, they generate peace, and persecutions, insults and the like have no effect on them. 

 To remain childlike is a necessity to all of us as we cruise through the ocean of life, gaining and acquiring more knowledge and skills. Otherwise, we would have no other alternative but to get spoiled, and to forget where we come from and where we are supposed to go to. This is when we start to complicate our lives.

Curing the soul has priority over curing the body

THIS is what we can gather from that gospel episode of Christ curing a paralytic. (cfr. Mk 2,1-12) That’s because it is our spiritual health that has greater importance than our bodily health. After all, as he said, “The Spirit is the one who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.” (Jn 6,63) Of course, our bodily health is also important, but it depends on our spiritual health more than anything else. The real health of our body does not depend only on the kind of food we eat or the genes we inherit. 

 We have to realize that for our spiritual soul, the principle of our life, to be truly healthy, it needs to be animated by the proper spirit which is none other than the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God in whose image and likeness we have been made. We need to be clear and deeply convinced about this fundamental truth about ourselves. We are meant to share in the very life and nature of God. We are meant to be God-like, to be deified! 

 This obviously will require of us a lot of faith which we have to act out as best that we can. Despite the tremendous and incredible challenges presented to us in this regard, we just have to remember that we actually are given all the means so that what God wants us to be can be achieved by us. 

 We are already given the truths of our faith as taught authoritatively by the Church. We also have the sacraments that channel to us the grace, which is God’s life-blood, so to speak. We can count on the powerful intercessions of the saints, especially that of Our Lady and St. Joseph. 

 On our part, we are just expected to try our best. We may not be able to perfect everything, but we are assured, as St. Paul once said, “that he who began a good work in you will perfect it.” (Phil 1,6) 

 Just the same, we should try our best to grow in our ability 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, availing of means of formation, etc. 

 We need to be more wary of our duty to take care of our spiritual powers. Sad to say, many people do not even know what these spiritual powers of ours are. 

 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 being simply guided by the urgings 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. We really have to take initiative in making our spiritual life healthy. We cannot and should not be complacent in this area that plays a crucial role in our life.

Never say enough in doing good

THIS is what we can draw from that gospel episode where Christ, after healing the mother-in-law of Peter, attracted a big crowd who were also asking for some healing. (cfr. Mk 1,29-39) While he did some healing, he did not forget to retire to a certain place to pray and later to go to other places to continue with his mission of evangelizing and redeeming. 

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

 Even if such attitude would already seem to be going beyond common sense, our reason and other human and worldly standards that we usually use to measure our love, we would still go on giving ourselves, never saying enough. We would just give and give, even if we seem to consume ourselves till death. 

 This is, of course, an overwhelming prospect, but that is what true love is. It is some kind of madness that knows no limits. It is given without measure, without cost, without any calculation. 

 And even if such total self-giving is not reciprocated, it would still go on loving. It is purely gratuitous. Even more, even if it is not only unreciprocated but is also violently resisted and rejected, it would still go on loving. 

 It’s indeed laudable that in whatever we do, we try to give it our best shot. We should just remember 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. 

 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 devoid of what is called as bitter zeal. In fact, there is a certain sweetness to it in spite of the amount of effort and sacrifices involved. A sense of joy and peace will always be felt. It also knows how to pass unnoticed, avoiding attracting unnecessary attention from others.

“Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will”

IT’S a verse from Psalm 40 (8a,9a) that is often used as the Gospel Acclamation in many Holy Masses. It expresses the ideal condition of how our will should be, a tremendous challenge for all of us since we have the strong tendency to make our will exclusively as our own. If ever we concede to the will of another, it is mainly for our own convenience or advantage which in the end is just doing our own will. 

 We need to learn to live by God’s will which is what is most important to us. It’s not just following our will which is, of course, indispensable to us. Otherwise, we would be undermining our very own freedom and our humanity itself. Whatever we do is done because we want it. It should be a fruit of our freedom. 

 But what is most important is to conform our will to God’s will, which is even more indispensable to us. Otherwise, we sooner or later would destroy our freedom and our humanity itself, since God is the very author and the very lawgiver of our freedom and our humanity. 

 This is a basic truth that we need to spread around more widely and abidingly, since it is steadily and even systematically forgotten and, nowadays, even contradicted in many instances. We need to inculcate this truth to children as early as when they can understand and appreciate it. Then let’s give them the example of how it is lived. 

 God’s will is the source of everything in the universe. The whole of creation in all its existence, unity, truth, goodness and beauty starts from God’s will and is maintained by it. The entire range and scope of reality—be it material or spiritual, natural or supernatural, temporal or eternal—is “contained” there, not only theoretically but in vivo. 

 It would be absurd to believe that the whole reality can be captured by our senses and feelings alone, or by our intelligence that is working on its own and producing the arts and the sciences that we now have and that we continue to discover. 

 It would be equally absurd to speculate that we cannot know the origin of the universe, or that the whole cosmos just came to be more or less spontaneously, directly contradicting a basic principle that from nothing, nothing comes. 

 We need to conform our will to God’s will so we can attain the ultimate and real identity and dignity meant for us. That’s because God wants us to be his image and likeness, sharers of his very life and nature. 

 So, there is always a need to discipline our will to conform itself to God’s will. Indeed, we may start by looking for God in the things that we do, giving him glory and conforming ourselves to his will and ways. 

 That is why we really need to pause and check ourselves often. We have to see to it that we manage to keep our proper spiritual and supernatural bearing. In other words, we have to realize that whatever we do, whatever the situation is, we somehow would still be in contact with God. Somehow everything should be a form of prayer. 

 This will require of us to develop the skill of knowing what truly comes from God and what simply are a matter of self-indulgence. We need to be very discerning and discriminating in this regard. Not everything that presents itself before our mind comes from God. It can come from other sources—our weakened flesh or concupiscence, the world and the devil himself.

Driving out the demon of pornography

ONCE, Christ went to a synagogue and started to teach the people who were impressed by the way he did it, since, according to them, “he was teaching them as one having power, and not as the scribes.” (Mk 1,21) 

 Then came a man with an unclean spirit who cried out: “What have we to do with thee, Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us?” (Mk 1,22) That was when Christ immediately told the unclean spirit to go out of the man, and it did. 

 This gospel episode somehow reminds us that when we are practically possessed by some evil spirits who would put us under their bondage, all we have to do is to approach Christ through the many means the Church now offers us. And for sure, that possession would be solved. 

 While we would ardently hope that the relief be immediate, we know that God in his own mysterious ways would also want us to do our part, and this may take a lot of time and effort. But we are assured that all our needs are taken care of. God’s providence never fails. 

 Nowadays, we cannot deny that there is practically a widespread demonic possession of people, even those who look good and holy, that puts them in the helpless condition of being addicted to pornography. 

 The reasons are easy to find: there’s first of all human weakness that is left unattended, then temptations that can easily be covered up and hidden are proliferating, what with the very easy access to pornography in the internet. 

 We all know that the consumption of pornography gives rise to significant obstacles to genuine progress in one’s interior life and even the balanced development of one’s personality. 

 We cannot and should not be indifferent to this issue. Some drastic measures ought to be made. And I believe that among the things we can do is first all to come up with plans of prevention and comprehensive education of people that should start from an early age. 

 In this regard, parents play a crucial role, and so, they should be the first ones to be educated about the proper use of technology, the danger of pornography and how it can be avoided. They should delay giving mobile phones to their young children. 

They should learn the art of giving age-appropriate affective and sexual formation to their children. Alternative and healthy activities, like sports, hobbies and deep friendships can be suggested to foster a well-balanced life for their children. 

 Obviously, some personalized accompaniment of those affected should be done, where a wholistic view of the problem is sought, addressing not only the spiritual aspects but also the anthropological, psychological and emotional dimensions of the problem. In this regard, sincerity and complete transparency should be encouraged by treating those affected always with affection and understanding. 

 Another thing that can be done, and I think is very important, is the strengthening of the spiritual life, knowing that God’s grace and the spiritual means are fundamental pillars in the struggle for purity. Yes, frequent confession and regular prayers, even Eucharistic adoration and Marian devotion are very helpful in this regard. 

 We should also learn how to discern and identify clear signs of pathology in this area. For this, we may have to refer those affected to a specialist or a psychiatrist. In all this, a lot of patience is needed. 

 Let’s hope that we can really drive out this demon of pornography that is possessing a lot of people these days, especially the young ones.

Winning new apostles

THIS should not be some kind of a hidden concern, left unaddressed and regarded as a secret. This should be brought out in the open. With today’s pressing necessity for vocations who would actively work for the humanization and Christianization of our rapidly secularized society, marked with so much materialism, worldliness and hedonism, this concern should be given top priority and urgent attention. 

 Areas that would clearly need this attention are politics, business, education, healthcare, etc. It’s undeniable that many of the goings on in these areas are deteriorating. There is a need for evangelization and discipleship in societies where faith has declined, and Christians are being called to share the Gospel and live out their faith in a way that is relevant and impactful. 

 To be an active apostle need not mean that one has to be a priest or a nun. One can simply be an ordinary layperson but with a sense of commitment and the relevant skills and qualities to carry out the task of humanizing and Christianizing these areas. 

 As we all know, soon after starting his public life after his baptism in the River Jordan, Christ chose 12 apostles, practically in a random way, to help him in his most important mission of human redemption. 

 But we have to be clear about what human redemption means. It’s about making us as true children of God, sharers of his life and nature. In other words, we are all called to be holy as the heavenly Father is holy. (cfr. Mt 5,48) 

 And this pursuit of holiness is not simply and exclusively a spiritual and supernatural affair. It definitely would have its impact on our temporal affairs, such as our politics and business, which are where the test of whether we are with God or not takes place. The pursuit of sanctity that is indifferent to our temporal affairs would not be a genuine one. 

 The spiritual aspect of our sanctification cannot do without getting involved in the material and temporal affairs of our lives. And that’s simply because we are both body and soul, both corporeal, material and spiritual, meant to rise, with the help of God’s grace, to the supernatural life of God. 

 Thus, the pursuit of sanctity does not simply involve the duty to pray, study the doctrine, growing in the virtues, go through the ongoing spiritual formation, etc. It should involve the duty to learn the art and skills of our temporal concerns, like in politics and business, which are where the need for evangelization and sanctification is most felt. 

 Thus, contrary to the view that clerics, for example, should be completely hands-off and quiet about politics, we need to realize more deeply that clerics, in fact, have the grave duty to evangelize politics just as they ought to do the same in all the other temporal affairs of men and women, like in business, the arts, sciences and technology, sports and recreation, even in fashion, etc. 

 They have to bring the spirit of Christ to bear on all these human concerns, because that spirit should be involved in everything that is human. In fact, it has to be made known that that spirit is supposed to be what is proper to animate all these human affairs. 

 Obviously, great care should be lived in doing this. This business of evangelizing and Christianizing our politics and business should avoid unnecessary partisanship. Today’s apostles should be adept in how to present Christ in these areas in such a way that the spirit of Christ would succeed in animating the things involved there. Let’s look for these apostles.

Why Christ sought to be baptized

THAT’S a question we can ask on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Even St. John the Baptist asked that question. But Christ insisted. “Suffer it to be so now. For so it becomes us to fulfill all justice,” Christ told St. John the Baptist. (Mt 3,15) 

 The quick answer to that question is because Christ wants to show that with baptism, he is identifying himself with the whole humanity, demonstrating his commitment to fulfill the will of his Father. 

 At the same time, with the appearance of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and a heavenly voice heard, saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased,” what was established was the clear divinity of Christ and his mission of redeeming humanity. 

 It’s a historic event pregnant with very important implications. With no need to be baptized, he had himself baptized, even insisting on it, to institute the sacrament of baptism which is the gateway for us to Christian life, to incorporate us into the mystical body of Christ. 

 With baptism, we open ourselves to the possibility of receiving all the other sacraments that fully satisfy our spiritual needs with the view of attaining our salvation and our eternal life with God our Father. 

 We have to understand then that our life has to revolve around the sacraments that serve to build it up and make it Christ’s life as well. As the Catechism puts it, all the sacraments form one organic whole, and they “touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life.” (1210) 

 Some spiritual writers have also considered Christ’s baptism as his second birth. The first one was with Mary, quite hidden and known only to a few shepherds and mysteriously to three magi who came from a far country. This second one highlights the fact that Christ is the Son of God and presents him to the world as such. 

 Yes, Christ’s baptism also marks the transition of Christ’s hidden life, consisting of more or less 30 years of doing ordinary things daily, to his public life when he would start going around preaching and healing and ultimately offering his life on the cross. 

 To be sure, the life of Christ is perfectly one and consistent, thoroughly redemptive in character both in his human and divine natures, and also in his hidden and public life. The distinctions do not divide Christ since all these distinctions are held in one divine person as subject. 

 This truth about Christ should somehow be reflected in our own lives. We are human, yes, but we are meant for a divine destination since we are God’s image and likeness, adopted children of his. With God’s grace, this blend, so to speak, is made possible. 

 Also, our personal, hidden life should not undermine the public life that is also meant for us since we are social beings. We have need for privacy, for discretion and confidentiality, but all these should not be made as an excuse to avoid our social duties and responsibilities. 

 We should not be afraid to go public, so to speak, to give witness to our faith which is not something to be held only personally but also collectively. We just have to make sure that our “public life” should not be an occasion to seek human glory, but only for God’s glory and for the good of all. 

 This will be our constant danger, and therefore we need to rectify our intentions continually and see to it that the means we use for giving witness to our faith in public are in keeping with the purpose of simply giving glory to God and for the common good.

No showing off in doing good

THAT gospel episode about a leper who asked Christ for healing and was immediately healed (cfr. Lk 5,12-16) can tell us many good lessons. One is that it shows Christ’s power over any disease and his willingness to touch and heal those considered outcasts of society. Another is the foreshadowing of his mission to bring salvation and restoration to all people, including those marginalized by society. 

 But one lesson which I would like to highlight here is that often overlooked wisdom of doing good without showing off. This was illustrated when Christ just told the healed leper to present himself to the priest and make some offering. But when the happy healed leper could not help but broadcast what happened to him such that Christ became widely known, Christ decided to withdraw to a desert and to pray. 

 We should follow this example of Christ. Whatever good we do, we should do it solely for the glory of God. We have to be wary of seeking, albeit in a very subtle way, our own glory which can only corrupt us. We should avoid becoming a grandstander at all costs. 

 Human praise, whether actively sought or simply earned, is not bad in itself. It just should not undermine our primary duty to give glory to God in everything that we do. We have to be wary of the danger of letting it spoil our ultimate motive. 

 This is simply because all our life has no other purpose than to give glory to God. There can be no other higher purpose. Our Catechism tells us why in a very direct way: “The world was created for the glory of God who wished to show forth and communicate his goodness, truth and beauty. The ultimate end of creation is that God, in Christ, might be ‘all in all’ (1 Cor 15,28) for his glory and for our happiness.” (Compendium 53) 

 It’s important that we are constantly aware of the origins of the whole creation so we do not forget the fundamental principles that should shape our mind and heart and govern our whole life. 

 This is the problem and challenge that we have these days. We tend to forget or ignore the origins of things and simply allow ourselves to be carried away by the impulses of the current state of the world, now mostly intoxicated by our own accomplishments and achievements. 

 Nowadays, what drive our intentions and motives are usually selfish principles: pride, vanity, sheer quest for wealth and power, popularity, pleasure, and good and healthy animal life. 

 Nowadays, we need some extraordinary effort to correspond to God’s unfailing graces to counter this tremendous grip of self-seeking motives in us. We need to humble ourselves like what Christ did when he insisted that he washed the feet of his apostles. 

 Indeed, some drastic efforts are needed, a kind of paradigm shift that should start with each person, and continually reinforced in the families and society in general. We need to explain why we have to work always for God’s glory and show ways of how to put this intention into effect. We need to get to the practical aspects of this concern, and avoid getting stuck in the theoretical level only. 

 I imagine that one good way to see if we have the right motive and intention when we do things is to continually ask ourselves: Does this task I am doing now please God? Is this what God wants me to do now? Am I doing this task with my best efforts? Am I consciously following the commandments and duly carrying out the duties and responsibilities of my current state in life? Etc.