Not angels, but angelic

WE, of course, are not angels who are pure spirits and who have already made their definitive choice to be with God completely for all eternity. We are, of course, with a body that has a soul that is not only a vegetative or animal soul, but rather a spiritual one that has to be properly animated by the spirit of God in whose image and likeness we have been created. 

 That is why we have to see to it that the bodily and material dimension of our being should be properly enlivened by the spirit of God. As a unity of body and soul, with the soul that is the principle of life, we need to have our soul vivified by the spirit of God. Our soul should go beyond the vegetative and animal levels of the spirit. That is what is meant to be angelic. 

 In other words, we should aspire to be spiritual rather than remaining in the carnal level of our life. That is the ideal that we should aim at. It’s not a matter of suppressing our sensual, material and earthly condition, but rather of going beyond that level. That’s where the road to the fullness of our humanity can be found. That’s where we are freed from the constricting world of our senses, emotions and passions. 

 St. Paul said something to this effect. “Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph 4,22-24) 

 In another instance, St. Paul talked about talking or preaching in a spiritual way and not just according to human and worldly wisdom. “My message and my preaching,” he said, “were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” (1 Cor 2,4-5) 

 More clearly, he said: “We speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.” (1 Cor 2,13) 

 This is a big challenge for us all. We have to learn to think, speak and act in a spiritual way, and not just mainly conditioned by our sensual, material and worldly aspects. 

 Nowadays, properly spiritualizing the bodily dimension of our life is a big challenge. We are now witnessing a lot of confusion, if not outright error, in this area. There are those who do not know anymore whether they are male or female. And in some official forms, there is now the distinction between “gender at birth” and “current gender,” as if genders can change. 

 And this confusion can affect those who can be least suspected. Just the other day, someone mentioned to me that he saw someone with “abs” (a muscular man who regularly goes to the gym) holding hands and kissing another one with “abs.” 

 Same-sex attraction, of course, is a fact of life. It’s part of our wounded condition in life. And this can take place early in life, as when one is still in grade school and high school. 

 There should be a way of how to handle this delicate issue as early as possible. That is why apart from clarifying the issue in a formal way, there should be a way of tackling this issue in a more personal way in the context of the family, schools, parishes, etc.

A culture of dialogue and consensus-building

WITH all this very toxic air brought about by our differences and conflicts in matters of opinion and preferences, especially in the area of politics, we should be very concerned about how to cultivate a culture of dialogue and consensus-building. 

 In this regard, we should be willing to engage in dialogue with all the parties involved in a particular issue, considering those who think differently from us as capable of telling us things that can contribute to a better understanding of that issue. 

 We should be attentive to them even if we don’t like them, allowing them to make their point before we make our own. And since at times, we can meet someone who is uncontrolled and irritating in expressing his views, we should exert effort to remain calm and avoid adding toxicity around by being uncontrolled and irritating ourselves. 

 Hopefully, when we manage to enter into a respectful dialogue with the different parties, we can proceed to build some kind of consensus among the different positions expressed. In this regard, it would be good to find common ground and to be open to some legitimate compromise that can focus on shared goals. 

 In all this, we need the proper spirit that would enable us to do these things. And that spirit is none other than the spirit of Christ who actually is the foundation and model for building culture of dialogue and consensus by uniting us in him, “the way, the truth and the life.” 

With him we can manage to break down walls of division. We can practice mutual listening, respect for diversity while sharing the pursuit of the common good. With him, we can manage to practice temperance, restraint and moderation in pushing our own ideas if only to allow other views and opinions to be expressed and considered also. 

 Yes, to be truly prudent in this regard, we should know how to practice both restraint and decisiveness in our judgments, reactions and actuations. We should not simply be restrained and moderate if only to play safe. Neither should we be bold and decisive to make our point clear. 

 Depending on the circumstances of a given situation, we would know how to be truly prudent, knowing when to be cautious, when to hold back, and when to take bold action. If facts are clear and the pieces of evidence are strong, then we should not hesitate to make our views clear and to take the appropriate action. 

 Otherwise, we should prefer to keep quiet and discreet, or would just keep some tentative views and opinions until things become clear in a way that would warrant a clear-cut judgment and action. 

 This kind of prudence can only come about as a result of one’s identification with Christ who would inspire us to always judge, react and act with charity. Yes, if prudence has to be true prudence, it always has to be animated by charity, the one that was shown and commanded by Christ to us. 

 If we take a close look at the life of Christ, we would see that he was both restrained and decisive in his ways. When some people, who were impressed with his words and miracles, wanted to make him king, he managed to get away. He also tried his best to adapt his very mysterious teachings to the capability of the people by using parables and common-life examples. 

 And while he could read the minds of people, he saw to it that any clarification and corrections he made was done both with clarity and delicacy. There was a forcefulness to them, but of the kind that was animated by charity. 

 Let’s be truly Christian to develop a culture of dialogue and consensus-building especially in our political affairs.

Devotional wonder vs. disbelief or unbelief

LIKE Nicodemus who could not fully figure out what to be “born again” means, (cfr. Jn 3,7-15) we can find ourselves incredulous in the face of certain truths of our faith that really are hard to understand, let alone, accept. In cases like this, we just have to have some devotional wonder or awe, rather than disbelief, or worse, unbelief. 

 To have this devotional wonder, and even awe, means that we should just have a faith-filled response to God’s works, mysteries, and presence that inspires adoration, love and a deeper union with him. This is not mere curiosity but a spiritual posture of humility and veneration before a supernatural reality. 

 We are not expected to understand everything that is of the spiritual and supernatural nature. But with faith, we can accept them, and only then can we start to understand. St. Augustine once expressed this position when he said: “Credo ut intelligam” which means “I believe so that I may understand.” 

 St. Anselm of Canterbury also held a similar view by saying “faith seeking understanding.” He believed that faith precedes understanding and that belief is a necessary step toward a deeper comprehension of God’s nature and the supernatural world. It’s important that when we consider the truths of our faith, we do it with some wonder and awe. Let’s avoid downgrading them by treating them like truths of reason alone. 

 With the truths of our Christian faith, we should pray rather than just study, expressing amazement and gratitude from the heart. It would be good if we can spend some time of silence to meditate on these truths, talking to God in the depths of our heart and listening to him as well. These practices should be learned as early as possible. They are indispensable if we want to be consistent to our Christian identity. 

 But let’s always remember that the divine gift of faith can only come to us if we are truly humble. Humility involves a certain giving up, a certain dying that actually gives rise to a better life, just like a seed has to die before it grows and bears fruit. 

 Disbelief or unbelief, on the other hand, is the obstinate refusal to believe the divine or supernatural truths despite sufficient evidence from revelation, miracles, (especially Christ’s resurrection from the dead) or teaching. It is the basic sin that prevents the forgiveness of other sins, as articulated in the Acts of the Apostles: “Everyone who believes in him (Christ) receives forgiveness of sins.” (10,43) 

 We need to be always guarded against disbelief or unbelief. And this we can do if we stay rooted in Sacred Scripture, regularly reading and meditating on it. We should really learn how to pray, asking God always for guidance and strength that we need. It is also a good idea to surround ourselves with believers who can support and encourage us. We should never be just by ourselves. 

 Also helpful is recalling those special occasions when we experienced how God has been faithful in our life, how his unwavering love, power and faithfulness have touched and inspired us deeply. 

 When even a trace of disbelief comes to mind, we should be quick to nip it in the bud. Let’s follow what St. Anselm once advised: “If one can understand, one should thank God; if one cannot, one should bow one’s head in veneration rather than sound off trumpets.”