The mark of divine filiation

WE have to be more familiar with this Christian doctrine about our divine filiation. Simply said it means that through God’s grace which he gives us, we become adopted children of his, sharers of his life and nature, without erasing the distinction between God who is our Father, the Model and the Keeper of such identity for us, and who is the creature. 

 We also have to realize that this divine filiation is actually meant for all of us. It is not reserved only to a few people or to some special kind of men and women. 

 To enable us to receive this grace and to become adopted children of his, God created us with a spiritual nature, endowed with intelligence and will that would enable us to know and love him. 

The ideal condition for us is to always have an intimate and constant relation with God. This ideal condition was once expressed graphically when Christ described the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep. “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me,” he said. (Jn 10,27) In other words, for us to live out an authentic spirit of divine filiation, there should be some kind of synchronization between God’s will and our will. 

 We would always follow God’s will, regarding such disposition as the perfection of our freedom. To be sure, to attain such setting, we would need a certain discipline that would involve practices like prayer, recourse to the sacraments, deep knowledge of the doctrines of our faith. There is also need for continuing ascetical struggle and conversion, and the ability to discern the things of God amid our varying earthly conditions. 

 In short, we can truly say that we have a healthy spirit of divine filiation when we can honestly, accurately and with conviction say that we are doing nothing other than the will of God. Somehow, we can echo the words of St. Paul when he said: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Gal 2,20) 

 This may sound like something impossible to achieve, but with a strong faith lived consistently in our life, that impossibility can become not only possible, but also real. We should just train ourselves to feel at home with this incredible truth of our faith. 

 In this regard, we should try our best to go beyond our natural self without abandoning it, to enter into our supernatural self which God is offering us. For this, we have to live the Life in the Spirit. 

 That is to say, our life should be animated first of all by the Holy Spirit, the spirit of God that makes us children of his in Christ, making us “alter Christus” (another Christ), since Christ is the pattern of our humanity. It should not be a life animated simply by natural elements and principles. 

 Somehow, we can say that we are living the life in the Spirit when we can see in ourselves the fruits of the Holy Spirit as mentioned by St. Paul. They are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal 5,22-23) 

 Yes, in spite of the varying conditions of our earthly life, in spite of the many challenges and trials that we are going to encounter here, we can manage to enjoy these fruits. That’s when we can say that we are doing things in synch with God’s will and ways. That’s when we can say that we are truly living as children of God, that we have the mark of divine filiation!

We should always be driven by love

THAT is the proper condition of our life. Everything we do should have love as its principle and end. We should not just be contented with some worldly motives and goals which, by the way, are also important to be taken care of. But we should not get stuck in that level alone. 

 We have to do everything out of love for God, and because of that love, it should also be done out of love for everybody else. This way of doing and working would enable us to enter the dynamic of the real love which is the very essence of God and the essence that is also meant for us. 

 We should not be contented with doing things and working only for some temporal and worldly goals, no matter how legitimate they are. We should not be contented with gaining technical achievement, for example. Nor should we be ok only with some economic gains, some political power and things of that sort. 

 These motives can only give our dedication a short life-span. They often work only under favorable circumstances. And most likely, they tend to corrupt us. Without love for God and everybody else as the motive for all our actions, we would just get involved ins some pursuits that in the end are simply fleeting, meaningless, and ultimately empty, like chasing the wind. 

 It is doing things with love for God and neighbor that would keep us going irrespective of the varying circumstances. It is this love that would unite us with the very power of God himself. We would not be depending solely on our human powers, even if also need to make full use of them. 

 That is why it is important that we be clear about the intention we have in everything we do. Let’s remember that nothing is good, true and beautiful, nothing is fair and just, nothing is perfect if it is not done with God and for God. In short, we need to refer all our acts to God. We have to make this affirmation very clear in our mind and do everything to make that ideal a reality. 

 And so, a lot depends on our intention, because our intention is the very expression of who and where in the end we want to be. Do we choose God, or do we simply choose ourselves, or the world, in general? It’s actually a choice between good and evil. 

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

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

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

 We need to actively purify our intentions, since we have to contend with many spoilers in this regard these days. In fact, we just have to look around and see how openly opposed many people are of directing their intentions to God. 

 To them, intentions are strictly personal and confidential matters that others do not have any right to meddle. While there is a certain truth to this claim, we have to remind ourselves that our intentions too are subject to a universal moral law.

Christ: the one for all

IN the gospel, we can hear Christ declaring himself as the door of the sheepfold. (cfr. Jn 10,7-9) “I am the door,” he said. “By me, if any man enters in, he shall be saved, and shall go in, and go out, and shall find pastures.” 

 With these words, we are made to understand that he is the sole legitimate entrance to human salvation, the protector who safeguards the sheep (us) from harm, contrasting himself from false leaders and prophets who would only exploit the flock. 

 In other words, he depicts himself as the only and unique mediator, as articulated once by St. Paul when he said: “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim 2,5) In short, his salvific mission and mediation have a universal scope, and not just meant for some people. 

 In this regard, we can cite some points from a Vatican document, issued way back in 2000, entitled “Dominus Iesus, on the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church.” It responded and clarified certain theological trends that denied Christ’s exclusive mediation and proposed alternative and complementary revelations. 

 It’s definitely a delicate topic that has to be studied well and thoroughly. But first of all, it has to be studied in a way that is always guided by faith and not just by pure human reason that can present all kinds of theories, hypotheses and assumptions. 

 Let’s remember that the ultimate proof of the credibility of our Christian faith is the fact that Christ who is regarded as the fullness of revelation can truly be regarded as God because among the many good things he did, he finally resurrected from the dead. 

 Christ’s resurrection is the pivotal event that validates his claims about his divinity. It shows his power over death and the fulfillment of the prophecies that showed his relationship with God—that he is not just a man, a very special man, but first of all, he is God, the son of God who became man for our salvation. 

 We need to constantly strengthen this belief especially nowadays when there are many elements that tend to distract and weaken our belief in Christ. There even are open efforts to present an alternative to Christ. 

 We need to do everything to make Christ the constant focus and center of our life. May everything that we do, from our thoughts and desires to our words and deeds, begin with Christ as the inspiration, continue with Christ as our main help, and reach its target with Christ as the goal himself. 

 Let’s convince ourselves that any way of being and acting that is outside of this loop would expose us to deadly moral and spiritual dangers. Thus, right from the beginning of the day, as when we wake up, the first thing that should come to mind is regain this awareness that we need Christ always. 

 And so, we should develop the practice of making a morning offering to Christ of everything that will take place on that day as soon as we get up from bed in the morning. It’s what saints and many other people have been doing to set the proper human and supernatural tone to their daily affairs, giving them a sense of direction and purpose for the day. 

 The effort to give the first thought of the day to Christ is all worthwhile since it corresponds to the fundamental reality that our life is always, from beginning to end, a shared life with Christ and therefore also with God the Father, Creator, and God the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier. Christ should be our all! (cfr. Col 3,11)