Be fruitful in season or out of season

THIS is what we can draw from that gospel episode where Christ saw a fig tree with a lot of leaves but without the fruit. (cfr. Mk 11,12-13) Disappointed, he said: “May no man hereafter eat fruit of thee any more for ever.” 

 His statement may sound unfair, since it was said that it was not the season for figs. But upon considering who said it and what the tree was to him, it could not be said that it was unfair. Christ wanted to give the lesson that everyone should always be consistent of who we truly are and why we have to be fruitful all the time. 

 Christ is the source of all good things. No one can bear fruit, the real fruit, if he is not vitally connected to Christ, like a branch can only be alive and fruitful when united to the vine. We are expected to be fruitful always because we are expected to always be united to Christ. 

 Everyday, we should be keenly aware that we need to be fruitful and productive. That’s simply because even from the beginning of our creation in Adam and Eve, this has always been God’s will for us. 

 “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it,” (Gen 1,28) God told our first parents, clearly outlining his mandate to them. It’s a mandate that continues to be repeated up to now. Christ himself said as much. 

 In his parable of the three servants (cfr Mr 25,14-30), a master clearly told each one to trade with the amount given to them. He was happy with the first two who gained as much as was given. But he was mad at the third one who did nothing with the amount given. 

 We have to realize that God has already given us everything that we need not only to survive but also to improve our lot that ultimately translates into realizing the fullness of our dignity as image and likeness of God, as children of his. 

 In this regard, we truly should be most enterprising, coming up with daily plans and strategies such that at the end of the day, when we make our examination of conscience, we can show God that we have gained something, and that the daily balance sheet of our spiritual life is in the black, not in the red. 

 We have to realize that the capitalization of this enterprise cannot be any better. God has given us everything–life, talents, intelligence, freedom, all kinds of capacities, his graces, etc. 

 And even if we commit mistakes or we fall into sin, no matter how grave, his mercy is always available. It’s really just up to us to make use of what is all there for the taking. 

 We have to assume the attitude of a shrewd businessman who is keen in discovering new possibilities of making money and expanding his business. Thus, in our spiritual life, in our relationship with God and with others, we should never say enough in loving them. 

 We have to increasingly go deeper, higher and beyond what is already attained. We should avoid complacency and self-satisfaction. Our attitude should reflect the lyrics of a Spiral Staircase song: “I love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow.” 

 Of course, we should do all this with rectitude of intention, otherwise whatever good we can derive in being enterprising in our spiritual and moral life can only spoil us. In this, sad to say, we have many examples. We have to realize that the more we gain, the more we have to give. “Freely you have received, freely give,” Christ said. (Mt 10,8)

Desire for God despite our spiritual blindness

THE story of the blind Bartimaeus who reacted strongly upon hearing that Christ was passing by (cfr. Mk 10,46-52) reminds us that despite our blindness to spiritual and supernatural realities, there remains in the heart of man, as created by God, an innate desire for him. 

 This truth of our faith is clearly articulated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church which says: “The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself.” (#27) 

 Just the same, this desire for God can be thwarted by a variety of reasons and, thus, cause bad consequences. So, let’s just prepare for the worst scenario and try our best to imitate Christ himself who, in redeeming us, prepared himself for the worst. In fact, he already knew about his death and how it was to be. 

 Toward this end, we should just make sure that our love of God is always vibrant. We have to make it grow day by day. We have to feel that love so intensely such that it is actually what would energize us in any endeavor we have. 

 We have to see to it that we do not take this love for granted. This is the best and ultimate weapon we have to prepare for the worst scenario in our life. With this love, we would be willing to go through what Christ himself went through—suffering all the indignities of the world and ultimately dying on the cross. 

 But then, after death, there is the resurrection, the final victory that is meant for all of us, irrespective of how we fare in this life. 

 Just the same, given our fickle and fragile human condition here on earth, we have to feel the need to feed our desire for God daily. We know all too well that such desire, when we have it, would not last long unless we do something to keep it burning. We are notorious for being easily carried away by merely worldly and temporal interests. 

 Toward this end, we should avail of certain spiritual exercises, like prayer, sacrifices and mortifications, recourse to the sacraments, continuing spiritual and doctrinal formation, etc., to develop in us a true and deep devotion, sharpening our attraction always to Christ. 

 It’s important to realize that the net effect of all these should be a strong and abiding feeling of intimacy with God, a strong attraction to him. We should not allow our attractions to stop at the level of some earthly and temporal goods only. It should be God and his will and ways that should attract us most. 

 Let’s always remember that if it is not God who attracts us, then it would be something else. And that something else can be none other than what is opposed to God. Remember Christ saying, “Whoever is not with me is against me…” (Mt 12,30) 

 We should be always mindful of our need to have the proper focus in our life. We should do everything to be able to have that focus, given the fact that in our earthly life, we cannot help but get immersed in so many earthly and temporal things. We need to sharpen our longing for God in every circumstance of our life. 

 In this way, we can remain faithful in pursuing the real and ultimate purpose and mission of our life.

“With great power comes great responsibility”

THAT’S an aphorism from the movie, The Spiderman, which serves as a moral axiom. It highlights the need to use whatever power or capability one has, for a greater good, and not as a means of entitlement. 

 To be sure, that axiom must have been inspired by what Christ told his apostles. “You know that they who seem to rule over the Gentiles, lord it over them, and their princes have power over them. But it is not so among you. Whosoever will be greater, shall be your minister. And whosoever will be first among you, shall be the servant of all. For the Son of Man also is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister…” (Mk 10,42-45) 

 These words came as a clarification when two of the apostles asked for the privilege to have special places in heaven. The request was quite impertinent as it was made immediately after Christ foretold his forthcoming passion, death and resurrection. These two apostles must have been more focused on the future resurrection of Christ than on his passion and death. 

 These words of Christ are a good warning for us, since we cannot deny that we have the tendency to feel entitled the more honors, power and privileges we enjoy in life. We should do our best to be most guarded against this danger and do everything to develop a keen sense of humility and gratitude for all these blessings. More than that, we should realize more sharply that these blessings are meant for us to work harder and serve others more and better. 

 Let’s remember that to serve is the language and the action of love. It authenticates any affirmation of love that we make, converting it from intention to tangible reality. 

 This is the attitude meant for us, with God 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 example to them, and us, so that what he did we would also do. 

 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) 

 Christ is the very epitome of this proper attitude. Being God, he emptied himself to become man and to bear all the sins of men by dying on the cross, all for the purpose of saving mankind. (cfr. Phil 2,7) 

 He reiterated this point when he lamented about the domineering sense of entitlement of some of the leading Jews of his time while praising the poor widow who put all that she had into the temple treasury. (cfr. Mk 12,38-44) 

 While it’s true that we obviously are entitled to our rights, we should not feel entitled to privileges and favors that are above our rights and needs. If they come and we cannot avoid them, then let’s be thankful. 

 But let’s be reminded that these privileges, favors and blessings are meant for us to strengthen our desire to serve and not to be served. But as it is, we should try to avoid them, since they tend only to spoil and corrupt us. We need to be truly guarded against this danger.