Be concerned about unity always

WHATEVER may be our differences and conflicts, which are

unavoidable in our life and some of which may even be very serious, we

should always be concerned about unity, not only trying to keep it but

also trying to build it up, even at the instance precisely of our

differences and conflicts.

            Our differences and conflicts need not be divisive. If

handled with the spirit of Christ, they can even generate the force to

strengthen our unity. Our unity is not uniformity. We are not expected

to agree in everything, and much less, in the same way and to the same

degree. Especially in matters of opinion, taste and preferences, we

are expected to have a wide range of variety, even to the point of

getting in conflict.

            We need to live out that ultimate desire of Christ which

he expressed in his priestly prayer just before his passion and death.

“My prayer is…that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in

me and I am in you…May they be brought to complete unity…” (Jn 17,20

ff)

            This would, of course, require us to have the same mind,

the same attitude and ways of Christ. To gather us into one family, he

finally offered his life for us. He did not simply stop at telling us

what is right and wrong, what is good and evil, what is just and

unjust. Even on the cross, he offered forgiveness to those who

crucified him.

            We have to imitate this example of Christ, his example of

true charity that goes all the way to being merciful and magnanimous.

We know that he suffered the worst injustice in the whole history of

mankind. While we can presume that he was most interested in having

justice accorded to him, he eventually forewent it, since the greater

good was the salvation of mankind.

            This attitude shown by Christ should always be ours too.

Yes, we are interested in justice, but given our human condition that

will always be marked by weaknesses, mistakes, failures and sin, we

should be ready to forego human justice to live out the more important

value in our life, our love-driven unity among ourselves as children

of God.

            Thus, we have to learn how to be patient, compassionate

and forgiving with everyone. In fact, we need to be pro-active in this

kind of attitude, not waiting for others to somehow deserve our

patience, compassion and mercy. We should just reach out to them.

            That is why, St. Paul one time said: “Bear one another’s

burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Gal 6,2) We have to

initiate that bearing of one another’s burdens, going beyond the

condition of whether one deserves to be helped or not.

            This does not mean that we should not be interested in the

requirements of human justice. We should be, but always in the context

of charity, never in anger or in the spirit of revenge.

            But we always have to remember also that our human

justice, no matter how well pursued, cannot be expected to resolve all

our differences and conflicts. Thus, when we find ourselves in a

dead-end insofar as justice is concerned, we should just learn to

suffer the consequences the way Christ suffered the consequences of

the imperfections of human justice.

            In some practical terms, to maintain unity some immediate

things to keep in mind are not to bring out the differences in public

or even through gossips, avoid creating factions, avoid sowing

intrigues and casting aspersions on those with whom we may disagree

over something, etc.

            Differences and conflicts should be resolved in the proper

fora without involving those who have no interest or are not involved

in the issues. If ever things have to be discussed in public, it

should be done with due decorum and courtesy. Inflammatory language

and tone can only create division. In our differences and conflicts,

we should strive to find areas of agreement rather than look for more

areas of disagreement.

Guarded, protected but on the go

IN this life, with all the bad elements we have to contend

with, we really would need to be properly guarded, protected but also

keeping ourselves always on the go. We should not just be on the

defense mode all the time. We should also know how to be on the attack

mode especially in our spiritual and moral life.

            Yes, we cannot deny that in this world, we cannot escape

evil in all its forms. And let’s always remember that in this world,

good and evil co-exist. We have been warned about this in that gospel

parable about the wheat and the weeds, the good seed and the bad seed.

(cfr. Mt 13,24-30)

            We should not forget that the many forms of evil can be

very subtle because it will always need to have the cover of good

things to inflict their malice. Even the temptations of the devil will

always be coated with something good and nice.

            This confusing mix of good and evil is usually present in

the world of media and social communication, where the so-called fake

news can take advantage of certain facts to pursue a self-interest and

not the common good.

            It is also most present in the world of politics where

politicians can have selfish interests in mind while promoting

projects that in themselves can produce some good. The same is true in

the world of business and the use of the new technologies.

            We really would need to be most discerning about this

phenomenon, learning how to take advantage of what is good in a

temptation, for example, while knowing also how to avoid the evil that

accompanies them. Doing so is complying with what Christ himself told

us: “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Mt 10,16)

            To be simple and innocent is not equivalent to being naïve

and simplistic, fantasizing that we can live in a world where

everything will be black and white, or that we can live in an isolated

world, escaping from the real challenges in this world. We live in a

real world where the combinations of good and evil can be infinite.

            We just have to learn how to live with that condition.

That is why to a certain extent we need to be immunized, allowing the

dirt of evil to come to our system if only for us to develop the

relevant antibodies in their proper amount so we can resist the

effects of evil and go on living. We can even take advantage of the

effects of evil to produce a lot of good.

            To be sure, Christ himself has shown us how to deal with

this condition. He clearly told us about what is good and evil, what

is right and wrong. And since evil in this world will always persist,

he taught us how to suffer and die with them so that we can also

resurrect with him.

            And the saints, following closely the teaching and example

of Christ, precisely got involved in some dirt, in some form of evil,

suffering them with Christ so they too would resurrect with Christ.

            In other words, we cannot expect to be squeaky clean in

this life. We have to expect to get dirty in this life. It’s something

that is unavoidable. But let’s hope that we can manage to handle that

condition without compromising what is most important in our life—our

relation of love with God and with others, a love that was shown to us

perfectly by Christ.

            In this regard, it might be good to review the principles

that govern the so-called material, not formal, cooperation in evil.

We have to be good in this so that we would know how to live with evil

in this world while advancing in our journey towards God, towards

heaven.

Homecoming

IT’S always a happy occasion or, at least, one that is

full of emotions. And even if we have mixed feelings about it, we

would still look forward to a homecoming, since it reminds us of the

past, of a sense of togetherness and shared experiences, of our

origins. Homecomings are actually a necessity for us. Its immediate

effect is undoubtedly one of joy and thanksgiving as we reconnect with

familiar faces.

            It brings back memories, insights, precious lessons

learned, and many other things, happy and sad, that occurred between

the past and the present. The road to the present, marked with lights

and shadows, has given us a good, meaningful journey. Life may have

led us to different and separate ways, but we are still together as

one family, one clan, one class.

            And regardless of how our accounting of things turns out,

whether it is in the black or in the red, a win or a loss in human

terms, we would still be happy and thankful because what matters is

that, once upon a time and in varying periods of time, we have lived

with others who are close to us and with whom we have some intimate

relations—our parents, brothers and sisters, relatives, classmates,

teachers, friends, etc.

            We can never fully account the value they have added to

our life. We know by some mysterious ways that they have helped in

shaping us the way we are today. We know that God is always in control

of things and would know how to derive good even from evil. And so,

even if we have experienced some negative things by the hands of

others, we still know that with God everything will work out for the

good.

            We just have to make sure that our homecomings are not

simply an exercise of nostalgia and mere sentimentalism. They, the

homecomings, have a significance that is truly important to all of us.

That’s because in the end, they remind us that we all come from God,

our Father and Creator. He is the origin of our togetherness, the

pattern, the power and also the end or purpose of our unity.

            The homecomings are a good reminder that we are and should

be together in our continuing journey toward our ultimate end who is

God himself, who made us to be his image and likeness, and wants us to

share his very life. Yes, the homecomings remind us that we need each

other, and that we are, with God, responsible for one another.

            The homecomings are a good reminder that we need to help

one another in this universally common journey of ours. They remind us

that there is a continuum among the past, the present and the future,

and eventually, eternity with God. Our life here on earth is the time

God uses to carry out his delicate task of creating and redeeming us.

It is a divine initiative that requires our full but free and loving

correspondence.

            The homecomings also remind us that the way we perform in

our temporal life here on earth determines the kind of eternity we

will have. So we need to be keen with regard to the great

responsibility we have in our hands. They remind us that we be

faithful to our commitments and everything else that such fidelity

would require.

            They are a good occasion to make some kind of accounting

and examination of conscience, to know where we are progressing and

where we are retrogressing. Let us never miss this aspect of the

homecomings. We should come out of them refreshed and renewed, with a

clearer vision and stronger impulse to reach our goals.

            The homecomings should strengthen our sense of

togetherness and of our common and mutual duties and responsibilities

for one another. These should be consequences after every homecoming.

“A cross without a cross”

AN intriguing statement, indeed! It’s part of the spiritual

consideration that Opus Dei founder, St. Josemaria Escriva, made on

the fourth sorrowful mystery of the holy rosary. The pertinent point

goes as follows:

          “But don’t drag the Cross…Carry it squarely on your

shoulder, because your Cross, if you carry it so, will not be just any

Cross: it will be…the Holy Cross. Don’t bear your Cross with

resignation: resignation is not a generous word. Love the Cross. When

you really love it, your Cross will be…a Cross, without a Cross. And

surely you, like Him, will find Mary on the way.”

          We need to familiarize ourselves with spiritual and

ascetical language. It has peculiarities that sometimes can appear

going against normal logic and common sense. It’s the language of the

heart that tries to capture the mysterious ways of the spiritual and

supernatural world. It is the language of the saints, which is not

meant to be compared, much less belittle, the language of the

sciences, technologies, arts, etc. It is its own species.

          It is a language that cannot help but get into paradoxes and

other figures of speech if only for us to get some idea of what the

heart is going through. It cannot be taken solely in the literal

sense. It can use words with the view of stirring the memory and the

imagination, and sparking spiritual considerations.

          It has a spiritual significance that beggars description. It

can only be appreciated by those who are spiritually inclined also,

just like what St. Paul said: “We have not received the spirit of the

world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God

has freely given us. And this is what we speak, not in words taught us

by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing

spiritual truths in spiritual words.” (1 Cor 2,12-13)

          Thus, St. Paul, for example, also spoke a lot in this

spiritual language. Samples of this can be when he said: “We are hard

pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;

persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We

always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life

of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” (2 Cor 4,8-10)

          In another instance, he also said: “That is why, for

Christ’s sake, I delight in my weaknesses, in insults, in hardships,

in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am

strong.” (2 Cor 12,10) He took advantage of his weaknesses and other

negative things as the reason to get closer to Christ and to attract

more graces from God.

          Of course, Christ himself, despite his efforts to adapt his

language to the common mentalities of the people, could not help but

speak in the spiritual language that was full of paradoxes and

parables.

          That is why he would often conclude his mysterious preaching

with the words, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (cfr. Mt

11,15; Mt 13,9, Rev 2,29) Only those who are spiritual and with faith

can get the meaning of what Christ was saying.

          Thus, Christ would say, “The last shall be first, and the

first last,” (Mt 20,16) and that he who loses his life will find it.

(cfr. Mt 10,39; Mt 16,25; Mk 8,35; Lk 9,24)

          In the case of St. Josemaria Escriva’s “a cross without a

cross,” what he means is that as long as we love the cross in all its

forms the way Christ embraced his cross, it will be a cross that,

while inflicting some pain, will actually purify and redeem us from

our state of sinfulness. It would be Christ, more than us, who would

carry that cross.

          And so whenever we suffer in one way or another, let’s never

forget to unite our suffering with Christ to make that suffering

bearable, meaningful, purifying and redeeming.

It’s God’s work, folks

I MEAN it’s God’s work, first of all, before it is ours.

This business of our creation and redemption is begun by God and he

also will be the one to complete and perfect it. (cfr. Phil 1,6) On

our own, we cannot. Neither did we begin it nor will we be able by

ourselves to complete it. Only God began and will finish our creation

and redemption.

            Obviously our creation and redemption can be likened to a

joint effort between God and man. That is because we have been created

to be like him, able to know and love. As such we are meant to

cooperate with God in our own creation and redemption.

            Thus, while God will do everything to carry out our

creation and redemption to completion, we also are expected to do

everything to cooperate. It’s like a 100%-100% proposition, even if

our all-out cooperation can never compare to God’s effort to create

and redeem us.

            This is, of course, a proposition that goes beyond

mathematical laws, since we are not dealing here with merely

quantifiable elements as much as with spiritual realities, ruled

mainly by faith, hope and charity. In this latter system, the law that

is followed is the all-or-nothing rule.

            This means that the 100% we are supposed to give is not a

100% exclusive of God’s 100%. Rather, it is a 100% that reflects and

channels God’s 100%. It’s a 100% that is homogeneous, not

heterogeneous, to the 100% of God.

            In short, this 100%-!00% proposition we are talking about

expresses the ideal proper to us in that we should try our best to

achieve a total identification with God through Christ in the Holy

Spirit. We should do everything with God, beginning things with him as

well as ending them with him.

            Said from another angle, we can say that every time we try

to do all we can to resolve our temporal affairs, we should try to

approximate our total identification with Christ who also went all the

way to redeem us by offering his life on the cross. Yes, we have to be

ready for the cross which, whether we like it or not, cannot be

avoided in our life.

            Christ did not simply preach and perform miracles, he did

not simply amaze the crowd with his gracious words and marvelous

cures. He went all the way to offer his life, showing us that his love

for us is to the extreme, since he said, “No one has greater love than

he who offers his life for his friends.” (Jn 15,13) He was willing to

assume all our sins even if he himself did not commit any sin.

            Every time therefore that we do our all we can, making use

of whatever astuteness and cleverness we have to handle our earthly

affairs, we should be keeping Christ more alive in us.

            Far from separating us from Christ, our active involvement

in the things of the world, if done properly, would keep us close to

Christ. The world is no obstacle in our relation with God, if we keep

this !00%-100% proposition in mind.

            And even if our 100% cannot be compared to God’s 100%, we

should just be reassured by what Christ told us: that the little we

do, if done with love for God, can acquire tremendous power and

produce abundant fruit.

            Yes, with a little help from us the full wonder of God’s

grace would be revealed to us. This was articulated by Christ himself

when he compared the Kingdom of God to how a seed grows. (cfr. Mk

4,26-34)

            “It is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and

would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow,

he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the

blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the

grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has

come.”

The deceptive perks of sin

THE story of Moses receiving complaints from his fellow

Israelites as he led them out of the bondage of Egypt (cfr. Ex

14,5-18) reminds us of the hardness of our heart to resist conversion

and return to God from our state of sin.

            Like those complaining Israelites, we prefer to continue

enjoying the perks of sin rather than go through the pain involved in

our conversion from sin. We can echo the same words of the complaining

Israelites: “Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians. For it would

have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the

wilderness.” (Ex 14,12)

            These perks can only entrap us to greater and irreversible

trouble. Yes, they can give us some convenience, comfort, pleasure,

etc. But in the end, they will only bring us down to hell, to a

complete self-separation from God even if God would still continue to

love us.

            We should be most aware of this usual condition of ours

and do something about it. We have to be wary of the intoxicating and

blinding perks of sin which can only be overcome if, letting the grace

of God to work on us, we humble ourselves to follow what Christ tells

us through the Church now.

            Let us instead always remember what the Letter to the

Hebrews said in this regard: “As the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today, if you

hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion,

during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors

tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did.

            “’That is why I was angry with that generation; I said,

‘Their hearts are always going astray and they have not known my

ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my

rest.’” (3,8-11)

            Let us always remember that only with God can we find our

true joy, peace and rest. But given our wounded condition here on

earth, we have to expect some sacrifices for us to attain that real

joy. Let us not be duped by the many dangerous perks of sin. We need

to realize that we always need to have conversion of heart.

            That we are all sinners and in need of conversion should

come as no surprise to us. We just have to be realistic in handling

this lifetime predicament of ours, making use of all the means that,

thanks to God, have also been made available in abundance.

            There’s confession, for one, and the Holy Eucharist,

spiritual direction, regular examinations of conscience, indulgences,

etc.

            There’s just one interesting thing that, I believe, is

worth bringing up at this point in time. And that is that conversion

should not just be a matter of a moment, but should rather be a stable

state of mind and heart.

            St. John Paul II’s encyclical, “Dives in misericordia”

(Rich in mercy), has some relevant words about this point. “Authentic

knowledge of the God of mercy, the God of tender love,” the saintly

Pope said, “is a constant and inexhaustible source of conversion, not

only as a momentary interior act but also as a permanent attitude, as

a state of mind.”

            He continues: “Those who come to know God in this way, who

‘see’ Him in this way, can live only in a state of being continually

converted to Him. They live, therefore in ‘status conversionis;’ and

it is this state of conversion which marks out the most profound

element of the pilgrimage of every man and woman on earth in ‘status

viatoris.’” (13)

            It would be good to go slowly on these words if only to

feel at home with this wonderful truth of divine mercy as well as our

lifetime need for it. Let’s hope and pray that we can manage to

conform our attitudes and core beliefs along these lines expressed by

St. John Paul.

Stepping into the supernatural world

WE need to realize more deeply that everytime we

participate in any liturgical act, we are actually stepping into the

supernatural world of God. We are made contemporaries with Christ as

he continues his work of human redemption until the end of time.

            And that’s simply because in the liturgy, as in the

celebration of the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, Christ

is made present and continues to act. The liturgy is a divine

initiative, not ours. It’s God who brings us to his supernatural

world. Ours is simply to express and articulate in human forms this

divine initiative as commanded by Christ, and to participate in its

supernatural dynamics.

            This is why we should develop and keep a very special

consideration, attention and devotion to the liturgy, especially the

Holy Mass. In it, we have to give our all, carrying out what Christ

commanded us to do: to love God with all our might, and our neighbour

as ourselves, which he later perfected by saying that we have to love

one another as he himself has loved us.

            If this truth about the liturgy is understood and upheld

properly, you can just imagine how we ought to behave when we

participate in a liturgical act! We can never exaggerate the intensity

of our devotion, prayer and worship to God. Our best will always be

found wanting. But the point is that we just have to do our best even

if our best can still be made better.

            We need to do a more effective and abiding catechesis on

this very important aspect of our Christian life. We cannot deny that

there are many things that indicate that the people’s understanding

and attitude toward the liturgy is inadequate, marked by ignorance,

confusion and error.

            This sorry state about how the liturgy is understood can

even start among the clergy. Though we cannot generalize, neither can

we deny that in many instances the sacredness of the liturgical acts

appears to be missing due to the way they are celebrated. More than

faithful ministers of Christ, some clerics reduce their status into

simply being performers and actors.

            Being a divine initiative, the liturgy, as in the

celebration of the sacraments, derives its supernatural effectiveness

more from God’s power (ex opere operato) rather than from our

dispositions (ex opere operantis). Just the same, it will always

demand of us the best dispositions that we can give. So we cannot

overemphasize the need for the appropriate preparation we ought to

have before celebrating or participating in a liturgical act.

            Our participation in it can be likened to the most pliable

clay in the hands of the potter (God) so that we can be as God wants

us to be. We need to be as malleable as possible to God’s will and

ways.  He is very eager to make us like him

            Our participation in it can also be likened to the

relation that good labourers have toward God, the owner of the

vineyard or faithful servants in God’s household. We need to work with

the will of God as owner always in mind.

            We therefore cannot overemphasize the need to participate

in the liturgical acts as actively as possible. In this regard, it

would be helpful if we familiarize ourselves with the prayers and the

different parts involved in the liturgy. We need to spend time for

this purpose so that hopefully we can go along with the liturgy

actively aware of what is happening and not just coasting along

passively.

            The prayers involved usually are most inspired prayers

that will always be helpful to us. They express the proper attitude

and sentiments we ought to have toward God. They are always worthwhile

to be internalized so that we can truly enter into the spirit of the

liturgy and not just get entangled in its externals.

Our be-all and end-all

WHAT is the ultimate and constant purpose of our life? It

is to be like God as God wants us to be. We have been created in his

image and likeness. He wants us to be like him, full of love. We are

meant to share his very own life.

            To be sure, God will do it for us. On our own, we can

never attain that ideal. But we have to give our all to correspond to

God’s will for us like good workers toward their master. Otherwise, we

will frustrate God deepest wish for us. That correspondence is the

be-all and end-all of our life.

            In short, everything that we are, that we have and that we

do should be oriented toward this final aim of our life. Nothing

should be done without this ultimate goal in mind. In a sense, this is

the only thing necessary in life.

            We may have many different goals, objectives, ambitions in

life, but all of them should be subordinated and made to work for our

life’s be-all and end-all. And our ultimate goal can also be described

as nothing other than our own sanctification and salvation. In other

words, everything that we do should work for our sanctification and

the salvation of all mankind.

            In our life, we will always have some short-term,

medium-term and long-term goals. We can have a goal set for each of

the different aspects of our life: physical, social, family,

professional, etc. But we need to see to it that all these goals, in

some kind of synergy, would always reinforce the ultimate and constant

goal of our own sanctification and the salvation of mankind.

            We need to broaden our understanding of the real purpose

of our life, and get to put ourselves into its dynamics. At this

juncture of our life in the world, we need to know better about our

life’s be-all and end-all and avoid pursuing things that do not

contribute to it.

            It is interesting to note that actually everything in our

life can be made to work for this be-all and end-all of our life. Our

mundane and temporal affairs should be made to work for our ultimate

aim in life. Even our limitations and weaknesses, our mistakes and

failures can be taken advantage of to pursue this ultimate goal. The

secret is always having the intention to offer everything to God and

to act on it the way God in Christ through the Holy Spirit does.

            In this regard, it is always good to be reminded of the

need to rectify our intentions always. Things always start with our

intentions. And let’s hope that we can keep that rectitude of

intention all the time, even in our trying moments when we are

intensely tempted and pressured to go along the ways of pride, vanity,

greed, or the world in general.

            To have the rectitude of intention means to assume the

mind of Christ in doing what he did to save us. He preached, he did a

lot of good, including performing some miracles. And in the end, he

went through his passion and death just to sanctify and save us. His

was pure love, and that is what we are supposed to reflect in our life

also.

            Whenever we plan something, we should never forget to ask

whether that something would reinforce our goal of sanctification and

salvation. We should not just stop at the level of worldly values like

profitability, practicability and the like, when we do some planning.

            Definitely, we need to do our planning in deep prayer. We

just cannot do our planning in the context of purely worldly

considerations. We have to relate everything to God. It should be love

for God that drives us to think, speak and act, and to undertake all

kinds of projects here on earth.

The Spirit of truth

WE need to be familiar with the Spirit of truth. He is the

one who will show us the whole truth and not just some aspects of it.

If we really want to be in the truth and not confused and lost in the

many appearances of truth, we need to get in touch with the Spirit of

truth.

            Christ himself said: “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes,

he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own. He

will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to

come.” (Jn 16,13)

            We have to take note that this business of getting to the

whole truth involves a process. It’s not a one-shot deal. It involves

some kind of journey. No one can ever say he has the whole truth until

he reaches where the Spirit of truth would finally lead him.

            We have to remember that everything that exists has

something of the truth, since by merely existing, that something is

already true. But as to whether it has the whole truth, it would

depend whether it has the Spirit of truth or not.

            The most important thing is to see if something that we

consider to be true is in conformity with the Spirit of truth.

Otherwise, we will be deceived and trapped by the many appearances of

truth that do not bring us to the real thing which, in the end, can

only be God.

            Thus, we can say that even the devil, who is a liar and is

the father of lies (cfr. Jn 8,44), has some truth in him. That he

exists is already an indication that he is true and real. And

everything that he says to tempt us certainly contains a lot of truth.

            But as to whether he has the whole truth, we can

definitely say that he does not have it. He precisely will take us

away from the ultimate and constant truth—God. He will do it by giving

us the many deceptive appearances of truth.

            We need to be clear about this point. Especially today

when we are bombarded with a lot of data and information supposedly

containing scientific things and facts, we have to see to it that all

these pieces of information are related to the Spirit of truth.

            So, for example, when we read news items and opinion

columns or listen to some talk shows, we should be properly guarded.

They will always try to impress us with what they consider to be the

truth. But unless they are related to the Spirit of truth, we will

always have reason to doubt them, or to take them with a grain of

salt, or to consider them in a tentative way, or to simply dismiss

them.

            Unless related to the Spirit of truth, these pieces of

information may just be inspired by self-interest that goes against

the common good. They can hardly escape from the distortions of their

biases and prejudices. They may even outrightly go against God, the

source of all truth and goodness. In fact, sad to say, this latter

observation is getting rampant.

            Even the scientific data can in the end be not in the

truth, since if they are not related to the Spirit of truth, they can

only occasion in us the anomalies of pride, vanity, greed, etc.

            With the Spirit of truth, we will always enjoy the gifts

and the fruits of the Holy Spirit in varying degrees. With the Spirit

of the truth, all our assertions of truth will always redound to the

ultimate purpose of our life here on earth—our own sanctification and

salvation.

            To be in the truth, our pursuit of it will not just limit

itself to some earthly and human interest. It will always be meant for

our sanctification and salvation, no matter mundane and human the

issue at hand we are dealing with is.