Redeeming while being redeemed

THAT’S how we are in this life. We are both co-agents with

Christ in our own redemption as well as objects of such redemption

that is wrought out primarily by Christ and instrumentally by us.

            Yes, we are co-redeemers with Christ, concerned not only

of our own redemption but also that of everybody else. In fact, our

own redemption would depend on how we involve ourselves together with

Christ in the redemption of everybody else.

            This is not about falling into some psychological disorder

that some people refer to as the “Messiah complex.” It is not a

complex, because it is what we are meant to be, and who we ought to

be.

            Obviously, because of its supernatural character, it may

appear as unnatural. But what it actually does is to perfect our

humanity and elevate it to the supernatural order of the life of God

and to involve us in his redemptive work on us. That is because of all

the creatures, we are made to be his image and likeness, meant to

share in his life and in his work.

            This is a basic truth about ourselves that we need to be

most familiar with, so that we can conform ourselves to it and live it

as fully as possible. And the secret is, of course, to unite and

identify ourselves as closely as possible with Christ, assuming his

mind and heart, his desires and his life itself which he provides so

directly and easily.

            Remember that Christ as the second person of the Blessed

Trinity and the perfect image that God has of his own self is the

pattern of our humanity, and as the Son of God who became man, he is

the redeemer of our damaged or wounded humanity.

            He both does the work of redemption and shows us how we

can be redeemed by simply suffering and dying for our sin. That is why

from the beginning of his earthly mission, he already knew what was

going to happen to him. He was even predicting his passion, death and

resurrection, something that his apostles did not quite understand at

first and were hesitant to ask for an explanation.

            We need to assume the mind of Christ to be both

co-redeemers with him and the object of his redemptive work. This

means that we too need to suffer and die as Christ suffered and died

for us, so that we too can resurrect with him.

            As St. Paul said in his second letter to Timothy, “If we

died with Him (Christ), we will also live with Him. If we endure, we

will also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He will also deny us. If we

are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”

(2,11-13)

            What we can derive from this consideration is that our

attitude toward suffering and death in life should be the same as that

of Christ. It should be active, and not merely passive. We have to

look for it, not avoid it. As much as possible, if we are generous and

heroic, we have to look forward to a lot of suffering and to death

itself.

            That was the attitude of Christ as it was in all the

saints. The latter were not afraid to suffer and die. In fact, they

looked for it. We have to learn to look for suffering and to be happy

with it, but with the same motivation as Christ and the saints had.

            It is for the sake of our being co-redeemers with Christ

as well as the object of Christ’s redemption on us. Let’s leave behind

our fear for suffering and death. Let’s welcome them the way Christ

and the saints welcomed them.

            It’s when we assume the mind of Christ when we suffer and

die that we co-redeem with Christ as well as being redeemed by Christ.

God predestines no one to hell

ONE burning question many people ask is, if God is truly

God and knows everything from all eternity, why does he still create a

person when he would already know that that person would end up in

hell? Does he not predestine that person to hell?

            The answer, of course, is a big No. God predestines no one

to hell. If one gets to hell, it is because of him rather than because

of God who will do everything to save that person. His mercy is

forever, but we, with our freedom, can manage to reject that mercy, to

reject God definitively.

            It may be difficult to imagine that a person can

definitively reject God, given our weaknesses, but it is still

possible. That’s why there is hell, as revealed in the gospel. Hell is

not just a literary device to scare us and to pressure us to behave

well.

            It’s purely God’s love, his goodness, his desire to share

what he has with us that makes him create all of us irrespective of

whether we reciprocate his love or not. To be sure, God loses nothing

if we choose to lose ourselves from him. We are just being given a

chance to be with Him for eternity, with his help.

            But God will continue to love everyone. As St. Paul would

put it, God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge

of the truth.” (1Tim 2,4) He loves everyone, including those in hell.

In a manner of speaking, he cannot help but love everyone because he

is love himself. (cfr. 1 Jn 4,8)

            And since we are supposed to be the image and likeness of

God, we are supposed to reflect and assume that same attitude toward

everybody else. We need to love everyone, including our enemies as

Christ himself told us, because God loves everyone.

            This can mean many things in practical terms. It can mean,

for example, that we have to be understanding of everyone, always

charitable, quick to forgive, willing to suffer and even to die for

the others. It can mean that we should not be judgmental and that we

try to find excuses for the defects and mistakes of the others. And

more than condemning others for their mistakes, our attitude should be

to help them.

            When we are humbled by others and even offended, we should

avoid fighting back, imitating the example of Christ who, according to

St. Peter, “did not retaliate when they heaped abuse on him. He made

no threats when he was made to suffer, but entrusted himself to the

One who judges justly.” (1 Pt 2,23)

            Given our human condition, wounded by sin, we really would

need to train ourselves thoroughly to acquire this attitude and spirit

of God especially toward those who not only do not reciprocate our

love but also who contradict and offend us.

            Of course, we would depend first of all on the grace of

God which is actually given to us abundantly. Just the same, we have

to ask for that grace and correspond to it as faithfully and

generously as possible, so we can have the same spirit as Christ, as

God wants us to have.

            Toward this end, we have to learn to suffer, even to the

extent of suffering the way Christ suffered and died to achieve our

salvation. We should not be afraid to go through some extreme

sufferings, because a lot of blessings can definitely come to us. God

cannot be outdone in generosity. If we are generous with him, he will

be much more generous with us.

            God’s love is such that he is willing to suffer and die

for us as shown by Christ. That is how we should be, how our love for

others should be. If God predestines no one to hell, neither should we

condemn anyone definitively.

We are all interconnected

WE need to be more aware of this reality so that we both

can enjoy its rights and privileges and fulfill the duties inherent in

it. Truth is no matter how isolated we are physically, mentally or

emotionally, we are all interconnected for the most basic reason that

we belong to the same world, the same universe, the same creation of

God.

            If we believe that God our creator is intelligence and

love himself, then we can presume that he must have created the whole

universe with an over-all single and consistent design with each

creature somehow related to everybody and everything else.

            We may not see the interconnection clearly but we can

already have some clues and hints of it by the way we want to live

some semblance of law and order in our lives. If we have that innate

desire, it is because there must be a pre-ordained interconnection

among all the creatures of this world, with us, being the image and

likeness of God, exercising a leading role in living, developing and

keeping that interconnection.

            This is the reason why we have to be always thoughtful of

God and of others, and in fact, of everything else. We just should not

be thinking of ourselves only. We have to realize that our growth to

maturity depends on how much we are thoughtful of God and of the

others and how we fulfill our duties towards them.

            And because of our interconnectivity, we have to realize

that whatever we do or whatever condition or status we can find

ourselves in, will always have an effect on the others. No matter how

isolated or separated we are from the others, we can always affect

them either in a good or a bad way depending on how we are in a given

moment.

            That is why even if we are alone and doing some work, we

can still affect the others in a positive way if we offer that work

for the intention of the others and doing that work well. What we do

alone never remains with us only. It will always affect the lives of

others.

            In this regard, it might be good also to know about the

doctrine of our faith called “communion of saints.” The Catechism

describes it in this way: “Since all the faithful form one body, the

good of each is communicated to the others…

            “We must therefore believe that there exists a communion

of goods in the Church. But the most important member is Christ, since

he is the head…Therefore, the riches of Christ are communicated to all

the members, through the sacraments. As this Church is governed by one

and the same Spirit, all the goods she has received necessarily become

a common fund.” (CCC 947)

            This is a tremendous reality, a truth of our faith, that

should give us tremendous joy. It should fill us with a lot of

confidence in the goodness of God in spite of all the trials,

challenges, temptations and sins we have in this world.

            At the same time, we have to sharply feel the

responsibility we have of keeping this communion of saints going by

availing ourselves of what they can give us and of doing our part in

strengthening it.

            We can strengthen it by uniting ourselves more and more

with Christ, the source, pattern and power of all this communion, and

doing everything as best that we can because of him.

            As we have been saying, what we do out of love for God

even in a hidden and isolated way will redound to the good of

everyone. We should be generous then in this duty of loving God and

uniting ourselves more and more with Christ in the Holy Spirit, so we

can contribute greatly for the good of everyone!

As it is in heaven

THAT is what Christ himself told us to aspire—that God’s

will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. Yes, while we are here

in this world, we should always have a sense of heaven and a hunger

for it. The world, with all the drama it contains, should not be a

hindrance but rather a pathway for us to go to heaven. Christ himself

has shown us the way.

            If we follow the teaching and example of Christ, we would

also know how to deal with the world that is now immersed in sin. Yes,

like Christ, we have to suffer and all that, but it is all worthwhile.

Anyway, as long as we truly identify ourselves with Christ, we would

also know how to suffer the way Christ suffered and died for us.

            In a way, we have reason to passionately love the world,

rather than be afraid and overcautious of it. If we have the love of

God for the world, there is nothing to be afraid of. Victory is

assured over all the negative things that can arise in our earthly

sojourn.

            We just have to acquire the mind and the spirit of Christ,

his will and his ways, which he actually gives in abundance through

his grace. If we pray, study the doctrine, develop the virtues, avail

of the sacraments, do apostolate, etc., the world can truly be our

path to heaven.

            This is one of the challenges we have in life. How can we

reflect heaven here on earth? How can we make everything in our

earthly life a preparation, an anticipation, an occasion and means, a

path toward heaven, our final destination, our definitive home?

            These are not useless questions, or so abstract,

theoretical and impractical an issue to be bothered about. They are

very important matters to be attended to and to derive the

corresponding duties we have, for tremendous duties and

responsibilities we actually have in this regard.

            Truth is, if we look around, our common sense will readily

tell us that we are not yet in heaven. In fact, we are still very far

from heaven, or worse, we seem to be developing instead the opposite

of heaven, what with all the crying situations of injustice,

inequality, thefts, deception, scandals around.

            This world, as it is now, is, of course, not heaven. But

it plays a very important and crucial role in our journey to heaven.

It is where God, our Creator and Father, has placed us to see if we

want to accept the designs he has for us. He does not impose his will,

full of wisdom and goodness, on us. He wants us to freely accept it.

            It would be good if we can include in our mentality,

lifestyle and culture the frequent consideration of heaven. It would

be good if we develop a taste of heaven even now. This is not an

impossibility. In fact, it is a necessity.

            Such awareness and attitude would help us greatly in

giving our earthly life its proper shape and direction. It would give

us a complete picture of our life that should go beyond the here and

now, and even beyond death.

            Otherwise, we would have a myopic, shallow, narrow, if not

distorted and erroneous view of life, and would be, in the words of

St. Paul, “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of

doctrine by the wickedness of men…” (Eph 4,14)

          St. Paul suggests to us the following action to take: “Set

your hearts on heavenly things, not the things that are on earth.”

(Col 3) We have to learn how to be properly focused here on earth,

practicing a certain detachment from earthly things even as we use

them and somehow also enjoy them. The earthly things should not

undermine our heavenly yearning. They should rather sharpen that

heavenly yearning.

Pacing and changing gears

THIS is an art and skill that we have to learn, especially

these days. With all the developments around and the many challenges

and tasks they involve, we have to know when to move fast and when to

go slow, if only to keep ourselves on track toward our proper goal

with the minimum of distractions and delays, and to make good use of

our time, so limited and so precious as it is.

            We have to know how to give the proper pacing to the

different situations and conditions of our life, quick to change

gears, in a manner of speaking, depending on the concrete

circumstances at hand.

            Yes, we have to move fast with respect to what is

routinary in our life, since they are more of a mechanical or manual

task, Of course, it is presumed that this kind of work has already

been planned out, part of an over-all scheme that is carried out to

pursue a concrete goal.

            The routinary tasks should not just be a filler or a

killer of time. They should have a clear direction and purpose, and be

given a clear time limit. Far from desensitizing us and lulling us to

boredom, they should give us the sensation of excitement and thrill,

since they are supposed to be done with a clear goal in mind.

            And we also have to learn how to move slow when things

need to be studied more or to be planned out. Most especially, we have

to go slow and even willing to ‘waste’ time when it comes to praying,

to dealing with family and friends, or when we meet difficulties and

unexpected things in life and find ways of solving problems.

            We have to remember that there are always things in life

that need a lot of patience and waiting from us. Certain things need

time to develop, flower and bear fruit, even as we conscientiously do

the relevant tasks day in and day out. We should learn how not to be

too tense and nervous as time passes by.

            There will be surprises that may require some drastic

changes of our plans. We may have to do some stopping for a while,

some changing of course, some deviations, etc. In a manner of

speaking, we have to do some repairs, some making up, and all these

would require time. We should be ready for these eventualities.

            But just as well, we need to know when to retake the

course of things when it is the time to do so, without so much delay

and hesitation. We have to have a good sense of continuity and

coherence despite the stoppages and changing circumstances that can

occur along the way. We have to learn how to make good use of any

situation, good or bad. The art of synergy should also be learned.

            All of these considerations would require that we really

should have the habit of making plans and schedules and of referring

them to our ultimate goal, which is to give glory to God and all that

are involved in that goal—knowing how to love, how to serve others,

developing virtues, strengthening our spiritual life, doing

apostolate, etc. God is the North Star that guides us in the twists

and turns of our life.

            In any event, we should try our best to maintain our

spiritual and supernatural outlook, that is nourished by the divine

gifts of faith, hope and charity. Of course, this ideal would require

nothing less than the full cooperation of our intelligence and will,

and the full complement of our bodily and human powers.

            Yes, we have great need for prayer, for a direct contact

with God which is always possible since God is always with us. Thus,

before anything else, we should see to it that our prayer life is

functional, always shedding light and producing impulses for action.

Battling addictions and obsessions

THERE is no doubt that cases of all kinds of addictions

and obsessions are on the rise these day. They even affect little

children. These cases are often referred to as mental illnesses or

emotional or psychological disorders.

            Aside from the usual addictions and obsessions of food,

drinks and drugs, we now have addictions to pornography and other

things that our new technologies offer, like games, social media, etc.

Oh, how much time and energy are wasted in these addictions and

obsession, not to mention the more important loss not only of one’s

mind but also of his spiritual life!

            This phenomenon gives us a new challenge to face and

tackle. They should not be there only for us to lament and suffer.

They are there to elicit in us an improvement in the way we handle

ourselves and to spur in us a greater development toward human and

Christian maturity and dominion over the things of this world.

            Yes, we are being challenged to be masters of our

fascinating creations, rather than to be their slaves. And to achieve

that, it is quite clear that there has to be a tighter union between

God our creator and us, his masterpiece creature.

            This tighter union between God should redound to a greater

coherence among the many dimensions and aspects of our life—the

spiritual and material, the eternal and temporal, the soul and the

body, etc.—all the way down to their finer points.

            With respect to this challenge of addictions and

obsessions, we have to learn how to make our biological constitution,

or specifically, the management of our pleasure hormones, conform to

the requirements of right reason, if not of our faith, hope and

charity.

            A point in the book, The Way, by Opus Dei founder, St.

Josemaria Escriva, can give us an idea of how we need to humanize and

Christianize our emotions, passions and the hormones that usually

figure prominently in the development of addictions and obsessions.

            It says, “You tell me, yes, that you want to. Very good.

But do you want to as a miser longs for gold, as a mother loves her

child, as a worldling craves for honors, or as a wretched sensualist

seeks his pleasure? No? Then, you don’t want to.” (316)

            What it is trying to say is that unless our love for God

and for others, for doing good, for praying and for making sacrifices,

etc., involves our emotions, passions, and the corresponding hormones,

then that love cannot go far. It will be overtaken by the baser kinds

of love of the flesh, of world and of many other things other than

God, the source of all goodness.

            The challenge now is how to make the love for God and

others and all that is truly good involve not only our mind and our

spiritual operations but also our heart and our bodily operations. If

our piety is mainly spiritual without involving the body, that piety

cannot last and cannot cope with the trials and difficulties we can

meet in this world.

            We have to learn how to spiritualize and supernaturalize

our bodily functions involved in any act that is objectively good,

starting with our relation God and then in our relation with others

and the things of this world.

            A lot of discipline and self-denial will obviously

involved here, since the body will always be attracted only to what is

material and bodily pleasurable. That’s the reason Christ told us that

if we have to follow him, we need to deny ourselves and, in fact, to

carry the cross, that is, his cross, the cross of all our sins and all

the evils of this world so that that cross will lead to our

resurrection and salvation in Christ.

            This is the only way to battle addictions and obsessions.

The medicine and other therapeutic and rehab measures, while helpful,

can only do so much. It is God who can truly overcome our addictions

and obsessions.

Hope urgently needed today

INDEED! Given the way things and many people are today,

hope has become an urgent need. There are just too many signs that

many people today, especially the young ones, are trapped and

entangled in worldly things. They have forgotten or do not even know

that all of us are meant for another world, another life, one that is

eternal and is our real home with God our Creator and Father.

            Because of that entanglement, many are simply chasing

illusions, if not delusions. If they get some degree of success, they

are happy, of course. But it is of the type that certainly will not

last long, and one that would not know how to cope with difficulties

and trials, let alone, failures and disasters which are always

possible in this life.

            And when they are not successful, they unavoidably fall

into sadness and depression, their verve for life all but lost. Their

world would become gloomy and they would feel as if it already is the

end of the world. Pessimism and despair then become a logical result.

            We need to more consciously develop this virtue especially

these days when we can get easily mesmerized of the many developments

that would pin us on the here and now and forget about the future and

the life hereafter.

            As defined in the Compendium of the Catechism of the

Catholic Church, hope “is the theological virtue by which we desire

and await from God eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in

Christ’s promises and relying on the help of the grace of the Holy

Spirit to merit it and to persevere to the end of our earthly life.”

(387)

            That it is, first of all, a theological virtue can only

mean that the first thing we have to do is to ask for it, often

kneeling and begging God our Father not only to grant it to us, which

he actually does unstintingly, but also to increase it all the time.

            When we truly have hope we will trust God always and

believe in his promises, regardless of what happens. We know that God

will always be true to his promises and that he has done everything so

that his will and designs for us, that is, our salvation, our eternal

life with him in heaven, can really take place. That is, if we have

hope.

            As St. Paul said, “Hope does not disappoint, because the

charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who

has been given to us.” (Rom 5,5) It is the Holy Spirit who is already

given to us that assures us beyond doubt that we are going to receive,

if we continue to hope, what Christ has promised us. We may not yet

receive these promises now, but we are already assured of them by the

Holy Spirit no less.

            It’s good that we immerse ourselves in this truth so that

we can be ready when all sorts of earthly trials assail us. With

strong faith, we can even exploit these trials to let our hope grow

even more.

            To develop this virtue of hope we need to relate

everything to God. We have to give spiritual or religious meaning to

all our acts, including the most menial acts we do. That way, we will

always be with God, always feeling reassured especially in our trying

moments, and not giving an opening to the enemies of God and of our

soul to bother us.

            Let’s try our best to be men and women of hope, of real,

great and abiding hope, which means that we have a clear vision of our

ultimate goal in life and are confident that with God’s grace and our

effort we can reach it. Let’s beam with hope and not just keep it

inside, if only to give our present troubled world some real glow.

Spiritual and supernatural

HOW nice and beautiful it would be if we manage to keep

ourselves spiritual and supernatural even as we immerse ourselves in

the mundane activities and temporal affairs! Let’s remember that given

the way we are, we are meant to live a life that is both spiritual and

supernatural.   We are not meant to live only a natural,

material and carnal life.

  

            We are God’s image and likeness, children of his. Our life

will always be or should always be a life in God and with God. Let’s

feel at home with this fundamental truth about ourselves and do

something about it, because while it is God who is the main agent in

making our life spiritual and supernatural, we are expected to

cooperate and correspond to his will and ways.

  

            And one secret that we can use to keep ourselves spiritual

and supernatural is precisely to give some spiritual and religious

consideration or meaning to every act we do and to every situation,

condition and circumstance we can find ourselves in.

  

            We need to develop the proper attitude, skill and habit of

giving spiritual and supernatural considerations to everything that we

think about, say and do, so that we can really say that we would

always be with God. That is the ideal that we should try to actualize.

  

            One way among many other ways of doing this is to make use

of the psalms which are inspired words that express the proper

spiritual and supernatural attitude and reaction we ought to have to

anything that occurs in our life.

   

            Of course, we have to study and meditate on the psalms

well so that we can internalize their real meaning and imbibe the

spirit behind the words. We have to know the psalms that are relevant

to every act we do and to every situation we can find ourselves in.

  

            For example, when we are happy, we can say internally,

“Give thanks to the Lord / for he is good / his love endures forever.”

(Ps 118,1) Or, “I thank you, Lord / for your faithfulness and love.”

(Ps 138,1)

             When we are sad, lonely and tempted, and we need to be

reassured, we can say, “Though my father and mother forsake me / the

Lord will receive me.” (Ps 27,10) Or, “My refuge and my fortress / my

God, in whom I trust.” (Ps 91,2)

  

            When we need to persevere in our struggles and in our

effort to reach our ultimate goal, we can say, “Even though I walk

through the darkest valley / I fear no evil / for you are with me /

your rod and your staff comfort me.” (Ps 23,4)

            There are many psalms that truly answer our need to keep

us spiritual and supernatural amid the varying conditions of our life.

When we need to process our pain with God, perhaps we can use Ps 22.

When we feel like a failure, or that things have gone from bad to

worse, we can say, “Though he falls / he shall not be cast headlong /

for the Lord is the stay of his hand.” (Ps 37,24)

  

            It is indeed worthwhile to spend time and effort to

familiarize ourselves with the psalms since they express the proper

thoughts, sentiments and reactions we ought to have to the different

situations of our life. They help us to relate our experiences to God.

  

            Obviously, we have to fight against our tendency to ignore

or belittle the importance of the psalms. Given the pervading mindset

and culture of our times, we really would need to exert significant

effort to appreciate the value of the psalms in our life.

   

            It’s indeed a pity that we often disregard the tremendous

help the psalms can give us as we go through the twists and turns of

our life. The psalms actually can be the gateway to our joy, sanity

and ultimate salvation.

One view on the millennials

THIS is just one view among many others with regard to the

so-called ‘millennials,’ those young people born between 1980 and

2000. I have heard quite a bit of comments about them, and many of

them are not good. I thought of putting my two cents if only to give a

more balanced view on them.

              Some people say that the millennials are very different

from those of the previous generation, as in, they are disturbingly if

not offensively different. They are not just different in a legitimate

way, but rather that they have already crossed the line of legitimacy.

  

            In one talk show, for example, they were characterized as

“coddled, entitled, narcissistic and lazy.” I thought that was a

rather sweeping and reckless characterization of these young people

who are grappling with a significantly different world environment,

what with all the technological progress and the many ideological,

cultural and lifestyle choices, etc., they are exposed to.

  

            I find it unfair to see and judge people more by their

peripheral aspects rather than by the more essential one that should

have a universal applicability irrespective of what generation one

belongs, or of race, religion, gender, etc. We have to be clear about

what things we should hold as having an absolute value and what also

are those that only have a relative value.

  

            Yes, there will always be differences among the different

generations, some of them we may consider as legitimate while others

we may already deem as illegitimate. This phenomenon should not come

as a surprise. Given our human condition, we will always have these

kinds of differences. But that should be a challenge we have to

tackle, making clarifications in an atmosphere of respect, patience

and charity.

  

            Truth is what the past generations worked so hard to

discover and accomplish are now usually already taken for granted by

the current generation as it will try to discover and accomplish other

new things or at least introduce certain innovations. This fact will

bring about certain differences in attitudes and outlook. So it is

unfair to compare people from different generations using the

yardstick of a particular generation.

  

            Of course, not to be forgotten is the reality that

regardless of whatever generation one belongs, there will always be

cases of persons who manage to do good and take advantage of what

their generation in general has accomplished, as well as cases of

persons who misuse and get spoiled by what their generation has

developed.

  

            We just have to learn to live with that reality, and focus

more on what can unite the different generations rather than on what

divides. We need to know where to find the source and energy of unity

among the different generations. And this can only be God. Without

him, there is no way but for us to cause division and conflict among

the different generations.

  

            In this regard, we have to focus on catechizing everyone

about God and us, about how we come from God and how we ought to live

our whole life with him, discerning and following his will and ways

not only on the big issues of life but also on the small, ordinary and

usual ones.

  

            We should be guided by the basic moral principles that are

truly inspired by the teaching of Christ and authoritatively taught by

the Church. But we should also realize that these principles are never

frozen and rigid, but rather alive and still open to further

deepening, refining and polishing to better adapt to varying

situations without compromising what is truly essential and absolute.

  

            With good doctrinal and moral foundation, we should be

able to discern what is good and useful in any development in a

particular generation, and what is bad and potentially dangerous in

that generation.

Train to be spiritual warriors

GIVEN our objective dignity as children of God and our

current human condition that will always be hounded by our own

weaknesses, the temptations in the world and by the devil, we should

train ourselves to be spiritual warriors who know how to wage a

lifelong war of love and peace against the enemies of God and of our

soul.

  

            Yes, our life will always involve some fighting, some

struggling. But let’s always remember that we have a Father who takes

care of everything. He assures us that everything will just be all

right even if we commit some mistakes as long as we are with him or we

go back to him after we fall. He will always welcome us with open

arms.

   

            We should not worry too much over the erratic condition of

our life in this world. While God assures us of his love and mercy, he

does not exempt us from having to fight against his enemies and those

of our soul, because our life here on earth is still the time of God’s

creation and redemption of us. There will always be trials and

temptations to contend with.

  

            We have to learn to always choose God over anything else,

knowing that with him everything else that we need will be taken care

of. We just have to learn the art of fighting, of smelling dangers

even from afar, of protecting and defending ourselves from temptations

and the consequences of sin.

  

            We have to hone our combat skills, knowing how to say no

to temptations and how to conquer more areas of love for God and for

others. Usually the fighting is done in little things, and if we are

faithful in these little skirmishes, then we would be ready when the

big battles come along.

  

            We cannot deny that in our life we have to face many

challenges and some of them can be very difficult, if not impossible

and insurmountable, ones. I always remember what St. Paul once said

regarding this point:

   

            “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do

not do, but what I hate to do,” he said. (Rom 7,15) “I have the desire

to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the

good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on

doing,” he continued. (18-19)

  

            And he explained why this is so. “As it is, it is no

longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that

good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature…Now if

I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is

sin living in me that does it.”

   

            We should not be surprised anymore by this phenomenon. We

just have to accept it and learn to deal with it as best that we can.

That is what matters. And what we cannot accomplish despite our best

efforts, Christ will take care of it.

  

            Christ has assured us of his mercy. “In this world you

will have trouble,” he said. “But take heart! I have overcome the

world.” (Jn 16,33) And thus, while we have to continually wage war

against our real enemies, we can still manage us to have peace of mind

and even joy.

  

            Of course, this assurance of Christ should not lead us to

lower our guards or to soften our desire to progress in our love and

in our spiritual life. Rather, it should spur us to sharpen our desire

to make war with our real enemies, since we are assured of victory.

  

            Yes, we can manage to be spiritual warriors but always

looking good and even elegant!

Tired but not bored

IT’S understandable that at the end of the day we get

tired, dead tired even. That can only mean that we have worked a lot

and have worked to exhaustion. But we should not be bored.

  

            Boredom can only mean we are not happy with our work. We

may not find meaning in it. We may even feel we have been prostituting

ourselves, slaving for something that we do not like or finding that

we have been cheated all the while.

  

            The ideal situation should be that we get tired but very

happy, contented and feeling fulfilled. This can only happen if we

work with the proper motive which can only be love—love for God and

for others. Love makes the tiredness due to work meaningful.

  

            But that love has to be the genuine one, the one that

really comes from God, not from the many fake ones that can give some

perks for a while but later on can only become toxic.

             The God-inspired love would know how to handle tiredness

and other similar conditions like frustrations, disappointments,

stress, forced idleness due to sickness or disability, etc. It would

know how to derive something good from these conditions.

  

            This kind of love is willing to make sacrifices, to bear

the burden not only of one’s own but also that of the others. The

energy and the rejuvenating power that it gives certainly come not

from material, natural and worldly sources. It comes from a higher

source that is spiritual and supernatural.

  

            It prevents one from losing the love for work even as it

helps in losing the fear for tiredness. It does not count cost. It

simply gives and gives, and instead of feeling empty after so much

self-giving, one feels more and more filled with enthusiasm and desire

to work more, to give more.

  

            It reflects what the Book of Proverbs says: “Those who

give generously receive more, but those who are stingy with what is

appropriate will grow needy. Generous persons will prosper; those who

refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” (11,24-25)

  

            The love-inspired tiredness knows where to find true rest.

It is in Christ who said: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy

laden, and I will give you rest.” (Mt 11,28) More than that, it knows

that whatever heavy and tiring tasks one has to do are really not so

burdensome because as Christ said: “My yoke is easy and my burden is

light.” (Mt 11,30)

             We need to examine how we deal with our tiredness. Is it a

tiredness out of the exertions of love or is it simply a meaningless

tiredness? Does our tiredness lead us to seek God or does it want to

find relief somewhere else?

             A tiredness that does want us to go to God is one that

would be most vulnerable to the weaknesses of the flesh that will try

to reclaim its so-called “lost rights” and will seek illicit and

sinful compensations. One would be feasting on the offerings of lust

and other worldly ways of relief. Of course, the devil would have a

heyday.

  

            It is important that while we are working and getting

tired, we are always with God, always finding motives for loving and

giving more of ourselves, not being afraid of the sacrifices involved.

In this regard, what can help is always to keep in mind the passion

and death of Christ which should be the ultimate standard of what true

love and self-giving is.

  

            We certainly need to promote a culture of work that

highlights this way of dealing with the unavoidable tiredness and

stress. In the families, churches, schools and offices, this culture

has to be developed. And given the temper of the times, it has to be

consciously and vigorously promoted.

We need human devices

IN our relationship with God and with others, we need

these human devices that would help us keep a lively awareness of our

duties towards them and especially of our need to relate everything to

God.

  

            Yes, we have to use first the spiritual and supernatural

means to keep that relationship going. They have priority always. But

for these spiritual and supernatural means, like prayer, sacrifice,

sacraments, etc., to be truly effective, we need those practical human

devices also.

  

            Without the latter, the former would be floating on air.

The spiritual and supernatural means would remain in the world of

theories and intentions. But of course, without the former, the human

means can only mean nothing. They would be spiritless and vulnerable

to be taken advantage of by unwelcome forces. These two means should

go together.

  

            The human means can be anything that we can see, touch,

hear or feel, to which we attach some special spiritual and

supernatural meaning. Of course, we can start with having some

crucifixes, images of God, Christ, saints and angels in the places

where we usually find ourselves, like our bedroom, office, car, etc.

They can easily elicit in us some spiritual and supernatural

considerations every time we see, touch or kiss them.

  

            But we have to be more inventive when it comes to all the

other places and situations that we can be in. While in the street,

for example, as we drive or walk or do some exercise, we should have

appropriate human devices to keep us on the spiritual and supernatural

track and not get swallowed up by merely mundane considerations.

  

            For example, we can consider giving some spiritual meaning

to objects we usually see in the streets. Like whenever we see a car,

we can choose to say “Thank you, God, for this means of convenience,”

instead of just looking at its brand, its color and shape, its beauty

or its lack of it.

  

            And whenever we see billboards, we either say “Thank,

God,” or “Praise, God,” or “Sorry, Lord,” depending on whether the

billboard is good or not so good. Same whenever we see buildings and

the many people around.

  

            We really should relate everything to God. That should be

the first consideration before we start assessing the human and

temporal value these things can have. Doing this should be like an

instinct in us.

  

            And in our work, we should also be quick to relate things

to God, otherwise we can get carried away by merely earthly

considerations, concerned only about the technicalities and failing to

relate it to our proper ultimate goal.

  

            The technicalities of our work should not be a problem or

an obstacle in our relationship with God and with others. In fact,

they can and should be converted into means and occasions to relate us

to God, either praising God or thanking him or expiating for sins in

general or asking for some favor from him.

  

            It would truly be helpful if we are clear about what

spiritual and supernatural considerations we can give to each

technicality involved in our work. Our work, whatever it is, should

somehow be a form of prayer since we use it to relate ourselves to

God.

  

            We really would have to pause and study things before we

can make an appropriate plan or strategy to actualize this ideal of

using human devices in our work. Whether our work is easy or hard, is

completed or not, is something routine or involves something new and

unfamiliar, we should know how to relate it to God or we should

somehow see God in it.

  

            In this way, the stress and tiredness that our work

usually causes would not take us away from God but would rather

strengthen our union with him, since it is in him that we can find our

true rest. (cfr. Mt 11,28)

A blank check from God

THAT’S what God has practically given us. He has created

us to be his image and likeness. And he has given us everything to

reach that goal—our intelligence, will and his powerful grace, and

everything else that is for our own good.

  

            In a sense, his precious project with us is well funded.

Now it is up to us to write whatever amount we are going to put on

that check by way of our free correspondence to his will for us.

Whatever amount we write there, it will always be honored.

   

            This is a truth of our Christian faith that we have to be

most aware of. Besides, even if along the way, we bumble and commit

all sorts of mistakes and blunders, God knows what to do with them,

deriving something good from them. It’s a win-win proposition. But it

is also true that in spite of this great privilege, we can choose to

lose.

  

            We need to be more aware that our life here on earth is a

matter of how much we correspond to God’s will and ways. It is a

matter of giving ourselves to him, and because of him then also to the

others. It’s a matter of losing ourselves in order to win him, to

become like him as he wants us to be.

   

            That is why Christ has been consistent in saying that we

need to deny ourselves, carry his cross and follow him. (cfr. Mt

16,24) More vividly, he said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate

father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even

his own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” (Lk 14,26)

   

            We have to lose our fear of losing ourselves if only to

have God, to be with God, and to be like God as he wants us to be.

This might sound like an insane proposition if considered in human

terms. But God assures us that what we seem to lose would be gained

back many times over.

  

            “No one,” he said, “who has left home or brothers or

sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the

gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present

age homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with

them, persecutions, and in the age to come, eternal life.” (Mk 10,

29-30)

  

            We need to have the conviction that it is all worthwhile

to give up everything for God. We should never be afraid because he

will take care of everything. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his

righteousness, and all these things will be added to you,” Christ

said. (Mt 6,33)

  

            Ours is simply to correspond to his will as fully as we

can, imitating the example of Christ, our way, truth and life, who

gave up everything, including his life, to do his Father’s will to

save us. And that giving up led to the resurrection.

  

            Like Christ, we should correspond to God’s will even to

the most extreme of conditions. St. Paul, another good example of how

one should very generously correspond to God’s will, gives us an idea

of the extent to which we should be willing to correspond to God’s

will.

   

            “I have worked much harder,” he said, “been in prison more

frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death

again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes

minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with

stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in

the open sea, I have been constantly on the move…” (2 Cor 11,23-26)

  

            We need to train ourselves to give ourselves to God more

and more, even if it is slow especially at the beginning and in small

degrees. As long as it is steadily done, we can end up writing a big

amount on the blank check God gives us.

Don’t delay, just begin again

THIS is a good advice for those who are trapped in a

predicament that tempts them to plunge into hopelessness and despair.

We should not delay in having to begin and begin again, no matter how

many times we have to do it. We just have to move on. God is always

merciful.

   

            Whatever failures or sins we may have committed, no matter

how grave and ugly they are, we just have to go to him, asking for

forgiveness and he will forgive us. We just have to move on.

  

             Remember the parable of the prodigal son. That spoiled

brat finally came to his senses after suffering so much for his

stupidity and decided to go back to his father even if he would not

anymore be considered his son. The father welcomed him back with great

joy and restored him to his dignity.

  

            The important thing is just to come home. We may have

strayed from the right way and have done it knowingly and freely, and

therefore with guilt. But God is always a father. He will never reject

his son.

   

            In other words, we should just come home. It’s

understandable that we can present ourselves to God with shame and

fear, but let’s be reassured that God will always take us back most

happy with our return.

  

            This piece of advice is most relevant to those who suffer

from some persistent weakness and misery that tempt them to fall sad

and depressed. And many people nowadays find themselves in this

predicament. They try their best to be and do good, but somehow one

day they fall again into the same weakness or sin.

  

            At the beginning, they manage to go back to God asking for

forgiveness without difficulty. But since they seem to be falling to

the same predicament in spite of their resolutions and effort, they

feel that they are already hopeless, that they are already abusing

God’s goodness, that they are insincere and are hypocrites.

   

            These thoughts and reactions usually are the ones

suggested by the devil who take advantage of our sadness and sorrow to

inflict a greater harm on us. He will do everything to convince us

that we are a hopeless case. We should be forewarned of this

possibility.

  

            There is no denying that while we are here on earth, we

will always be hounded by all kinds of trials coming from our

weaknesses, the allurements of the world and the wiles of the devil.

   

            With our weaknesses alone, we already have a lot of load,

and they can be very disgusting. Something in us will always push us

to be and to do good, and we try to follow that urge. Yet, for one

reason or another, we would just fail. This can happen even in the

most unlikely moment when we are in the middle of sacred act.

  

            We have to remind ourselves that our condition here on

earth is always precarious and tenuous. We may be highly gifted, and

yet we know that we have feet of clay. We should not be surprised and

too worried about this condition of ours. We know that God is always

around. The important thing is always to go back to him, no matter

what happens. He will always receive us with open arms.

              In this regard, it would be good that we develop a deep

sense of sportsmanship in our spiritual and moral life. We may commit

a mistake often, we may also be fouled by others many times, but we

should just get up and move on with the game of life whose end is

surely a victory as long as we go back to God.

   

            We have to have that attitude of having to begin and begin

again, without delay and without tiring as much possible. Let’s never

pay attention to the devil’s whisper that we are already a hopeless

case. We are not. We never will be, with God.