Taking care of our spiritual powers

WE need to give due attention and care for our spiritual

faculties of the intellect and will. As our Christian faith tells us,

of all the powers and capabilities we have, it is the intellect and

the will that make us image and likeness of God before all the other

components of our humanity, like our body, can partake of the same

dignity.

            That’s simply because these powers of ours enable us to

know and to love, and therefore, allowing us to enter into communion

with the objects of our knowledge and love. They are spiritual powers

that transcend the dynamics of our physical or material constitution,

i.e., our biological, chemical make-up, etc.

            As such, these powers of ours are capable of receiving and

acting not only on things of nature, but also on the spiritual and

supernatural realities. A philosophical term is applied to this

phenomenon. And this is called their “obediential potency,” that

allows them to be elevated to the supernatural order, to the world of

grace, the world of the spirit and of God.

            As a Catholic dictionary would put it, obediential potency

is “the capacity to receive either a miraculous change or a

supernatural perfection that exceeds the natural capacities of a

being.” Of all the creatures of God, we, together with the angels,

have that potency.

            It stands to reason therefore that we have to give due

attention and care for these powerful faculties of ours. We just

cannot allow them to develop on their own, simply guided by what our

senses can discern.

            They have to be inspired and guided by the things of God

who give us a share not only of his knowledge but also of his very

life through the gifts of faith, hope and charity, or the gift of

grace in general.

            Unless our spiritual faculties of intellect and will are

guided by faith, hope and charity, they can only go anywhere and

nowhere, and in fact can expose and lead us to a lot of dangers.

Indeed, they can be our worst enemy, our gravest curse!

            Without faith, hope and charity, or without grace, we may

know a lot of things and get involved also in significant human

affairs, but we will fail to reach the goal meant for us. We would be

prone to get entangled in controversies and endless contentions.

            That is why nowadays we see a lot of controversies and

wranglings, bashings, not to mention sins that are now considered as

the right things to do, like abortion, contraception, corruption,

same-sex marriage, divorce, etc.

            With faith, hope and charity, or with grace, we get to see

and behave beyond the physical sense and to reason beyond the human

sphere. In short, we get to reflect the life and the ways of Christ in

our own lives, Christ who is the very pattern of our humanity and the

redeemer of our wounded humanity.

            To be sure, letting our intellect and will to be inspired

and guided by faith, hope and charity does not undermine the natural

operations of these spiritual faculties of ours. If at all, it will

only enhance their functions, using them in their fullest potentials.

            With faith, hope and charity, our intellect and will can

avoid getting trapped in a bubble that isolates them from the

spiritual and supernatural world. With faith, hope and charity, even

the smallest and insignificant activity of these spiritual faculties

can acquire an eternal value.

            We need to see to it that our intellect and will are truly

inspired and guided by these theological virtues, going deep in our

knowledge of the doctrine of our faith, availing of the sacraments,

developing the virtues, and waging a lifelong ascetical struggle.