Let’s be grateful always

THAT gospel episode about the 10 lepers who were cleansed of their leprosy (cfr. Lk 17,11-19) reminds us that God always expects us to be thankful to him. To be sure, it’s not because God just wants to be thanked always for the many favors he gives us. It is more for our own benefit. 

 God does not need anything from us. What he wants is that by being thankful to him, we learn to be with him always since we are his children, created in his image and likeness. He wants to share his life with us. God loses nothing if we choose not to be with him. But without him, we are the ones who would lose everything. 

 A thankful heart will never be alone and sad. It recognizes the many blessings and good things that it continues to receive. And it knows where they come from, and also for what purpose they are given. It will always be happy heart. 

 To be grateful is a necessity for us. It does us a lot of good. It keeps alive the reality that we depend on God and others for everything. It strengthens our intimacy with him, and our awareness that whatever happens in our life, God is always in control. 

 It makes us keenly aware of the all-powerful and merciful providence of God. With that providence, we would know that even the dark, negative things in life have meaning and purpose. They, at least, give excitement and beauty in life, because life, without these elements and when it only has all things bright and rosy, would be boring. 

 It keeps us humble and simple, otherwise we start inventing things and distorting reality. It keeps our feet on the ground even as we let our mind and heart soar to high heavens. 

 Gratitude forms an essential part of our relation with God. It is the adequate response we give upon seeing the continuous attention and care God gives us. It makes us stick to the reality of our life. It keeps us from inventing a world unhinged from its Creator and from others. 

 In short, it keeps us to be with God, which is what is proper to us. To be ungrateful can only make the many good things God has given us to turn sour and dangerous. It will only be a matter of time before these blessings would spoil us. 

 To be always grateful should be a basic attitude to have. It corresponds to the radical reality that we all depend on God for everything, and in a relative way, also on others. We have to be wary of the many things that can undermine this truth. 

 Let’s hope that we can take this business of being always grateful 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 while we explore the world!

On anger and our love for the Church

THAT gospel episode where Christ drove away those who converted the temple area into a market place (cfr. Jn 2,13-22) reminds us of what is known as righteous anger and of our duty to love the Church, not only as a physical building but most especially as the very People of God, the very Mystical Body of Christ of whom we are members. 

 Yes, there is such thing as righteous anger which we have to understand well since it is a very delicate emotion or passion that can easily turn bad if we are not careful. Remember St. Paul saying, “Be angry but do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil.” (Eph 4,26) 

 Anger is one of our God-given emotions, locked into our nature as persons. It has its legitimate use. But precisely because of our precarious human condition here on earth, we have to be wary of it. In fact, anger is also considered one of the capital sins, along with pride, envy, greed, lust, gluttony, sloth, that can beget many other sins.

 If ever we have to be angry, let’s try our best to be angry in the spirit of Christ who showed anger over the self-righteous Pharisees and scribes, and over those who turned the temple area into a market place. Christ’s anger is what is called righteous anger, one that is done always in charity and in the truth, and not just due to opinions and biases. It’s an anger that is meant to correct, purify, heal. 

 Besides, Christ’s anger is only momentary. It does not last long. As a psalm would put it, “his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (30,5) He is slow to anger, and quick to forgive. We need to have a strong grip over this particular emotion. 

 But more importantly, the gospel episode referred to here reminds us that we should develop a great love for the Church not only in her physical dimension as in her buildings and all the materials used in her liturgical celebration, which is already a tall order, but more so in her real essence as the very Mystical Body of Christ and the very People of God. 

 We need to be more conscious and skillful in our Christian duty to love the Church. This cannot be taken for granted anymore, especially these days when the world is developing in a very rapid pace that often leaves behind our spiritual and religious responsibilities. 

 The Church is nothing other than the people of the God, gathered together at the cost of his own life on the cross by Christ. This is because we from the beginning are meant to be God’s people, members of his family, partakers of his divine life. 

 We have to understand that this gathering of the people of God is not achieved merely by some political, social or economic maneuverings. It is a gathering that is described as “communion,” where our heart and mind work in sync with the mind and will of God. 

 It is a communion where the love of God for us is corresponded to by our love for him. And this is done not only individually by each one of us, but also collectively, all of us together in an organic way. Thus, we need to help one another in this common, universal concern.

Scandals and the duty to give good example

IN the gospel, Christ told us clearly that scandals cannot be avoided in this world. “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur,” he said. “It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.” (Lk 17,1-2) 

 We need to be prepared to properly handle this unavoidable condition in our life. We should try our best not to scandalize others. Instead, we should do all we can to give good example and edify others. And since we cannot avoid scandals, we should learn how to toughen ourselves so as not to be scandalized by them. Instead, we should see how we can correct and help those who cause scandals. 

 We have to be most careful about the danger of scandal, both in its active and passive aspects, since this danger is now rampant. In fact, we can say that the danger has become part of the world culture, promoted not only by individuals, but also by big and powerful institutions like the media, and in the fields of politics, business, entertainment, sports, etc. 

 For this, we truly need to have the very love that God has for all of us. It’s a love that is not scandalized by anything. It, of course, continues to maintain that what is wrong is wrong, what is sinful and evil is sinful and evil. It does not compromise the truth of things. 

 But that fact should not take away one’s love for the person who happens to be wrong not only in some matters of opinion but also in some very serious matters, like matters of faith, hope and charity. 

 It’s a love that clearly shows one is with God and is following the new commandment Christ gave us—that we love one another as he himself has loved us. (cfr. Jn 13,34) It’s a love that was clearly described by St. Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (13,7) 

 To avoid scandalizing others, we should focus more on giving good example. That way, we would be most sensitive to our duty not to scandalize others. We would be aware that we are following Christ’s command and will, and not just pursuing our own agenda in life. 

 Let us hope that we can echo sincerely in our heart what St. Paul once said: “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.” (1 Cor 11,1) This should be the motive and the attitude we have in desiring to give good example to others. It is to imitate Christ, to have his mind, to identify ourselves with his will and ways. 

 Everyday, we have to come out with a concrete plan to fulfill this duty of giving good example to others. It may just be as little as smiling, or reacting calmly when some disappointment comes our way, or saying something nice about somebody whose faults and mistakes are obvious, or showing compassion to those in difficulty and offering mercy to those who may have done us wrong, etc. 

 Part of our sense of accountability at the end of the day should be to present to God in our examination of conscience the concrete things we have done to give good example to others.