Look, find, serve

IT’S a little formula that can be helpful to us in

developing and keeping a close relationship with God. We have to look

for Him in everything that we do and handle so we can find him. And

finding him, we can be drawn to serve him.  This, I believe, is what

loving God actually entails.

   

            We know that God is everywhere. That is in the very

essence of God. It should not be hard to find him if we only exert the

effort the look for him. Yes, even in our most mundane affairs, in the

middle of the pots and pans or while tilling the soil in the farm or

doing some intellectual study and research or engaging in some rocket

science experiments and projects, we should never fail to look, find

and serve God.

             It should be like an instinct, a healthy obsession that we

have to cultivate. This obviously goes beyond our natural powers. The

grace of God is needed, but we should also do our part.

  

            Yes, we have to pray first, asking for that grace. We have

to accompany our prayers with sacrifices and recourse to the

sacraments. This is how we enter into the spiritual and supernatural

level of our life. But we have to do our part.

   

            We have to thoroughly study the doctrine of our faith so

we can have a good picture of who God is and of how he is related to

us and vice-versa. The study should be such that we end up growing in

our hunger for God. We should end up strongly drawn to him, as we

learn who he really is and how much he loves us.

  

            For this alone, we really would need a lot of time and

effort. Unless God himself would appear to us in some extraordinary

and miraculous way, we have no other alternative but to go through the

process of studying and meditating on our faith.

  

            We should be deeply convinced that God is present

everywhere, in all our conditions, circumstances and situations,

whether good or bad. More than that, we have to realize that his

presence is never passive but rather active.

   

            That is, he is always around, ever solicitous of our

needs, full of love and mercy. He is actually guiding us, always

intervening in our lives, ever ready to be of help. We need to fathom

these realities.

  

            In other words, we have to learn how to be truly

contemplatives even while in the middle of the world, immersed in our

earthly and temporal affairs. This is what is ideal for us. And we

just have to make that ideal a reality, always with God’s grace and

our all-out effort.

  

            I imagine that when we do these things, we can always feel

the presence of God, his nearness to us, his fatherly love for us.  We

can see the divine wisdom behind all the events of our life. We would

be filled with joy and peace, and be more motivated to correspond to

God’s tremendous love for us.

  

            Thus, we serve him, and because of him, we serve everybody

else. We would be filled with that attitude that was once expressed by

Christ who said that he came to serve and not to be served. (Cfr. Mt

20,28)

   

            This is what true loving is. It is to give ourselves as

completely as possible without expecting any return. We even give

ourselves to those who do not seem to deserve being served.

  

            Let us always pay attention to Christ’s plea to us: “Ask

and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the

door will be opened to you.” (Mt 7,7) And, “Seek first the kingdom of

God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto

you.” (Mt 6,33) Let’s remember that God can never be outdone in

generosity.

Ain’t no mountain high enough

IT’S a title of a Motown soul song originally done my

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell way back in 1966 and re-performed by

Diana Ross in 1970. It was a big hit as it proclaimed the good news of

hope whatever may happen in our life.

  

            Part of its lyrics says: “Listen baby / ain’t no mountain

high / ain’t no valley low / ain’t no river wide enough, baby. / If

you need me call me / no matter where you are / no matter how far /

don’t worry, baby. / Just call my name / I’ll be there in a hurry. /

You don’t have to worry.”

  

            It’s, of course, a love song, but it actually is

Bible-inspired. It can be used to connect us to our true Lover, and

not just any human lover. The whole idea behind is that whatever

happens in our life, whether in our high moments or in our lows, God

is always there for us. We have no reason to worry. God takes care of

everything.

  

            In the Book of Isaiah, we have the following pertinent

passages that serve as basis for this song. “Every valley shall be

raised up / every mountain and hill made low / the rough ground shall

become level / and the rugged places a plain. / And the glory of the

Lord will be revealed / and all people will see it together.” (40,4-5)

  

            These words, which are divinely inspired, should be taken

seriously, and should be engraved deeply and permanently in our mind

and heart. Whenever we are faced with some problems, difficulties and

issues that are hard to resolve, let’s remember these reassuring

words.

  

            The beauty of this song is that it makes God’s assurance

of his constant care for us very easy to be felt. Human as we are, we

need to feel God’s love for us, his mercy and comfort for us. We just

should not be too cerebral about this matter. We need emotions,

feelings and passions as well.

            I sometimes advise people to sing an appropriate popular

song that can throb in their heart to bring to our mind a pertinent

divine quality that is applicable to a particular situation we may be

in. I think it was St. Augustine who said that “he who sings prays

twice.” I believe it’s because when we sing we would really express

what we have in our heart.

  

            Given the temper nowadays of people whose thoughts are

often set in some melody, suggesting to them some appropriate popular

love songs can have better effects than asking them to read and

meditate a serious, cerebral book.

   

            Not that meditating on some spiritual book serves no

purpose or is counterproductive. It, in fact, is indispensable. It’s

just that we have to help others by suggesting ways or processes in a

gradual manner. For many, songs are easier to appreciate than books,

though later on, books obviously give a deeper mooring.

  

            In my work as priest who has to give a lot of advice to

people, especially the young ones, I can see that many of them can

relate to songs more easily than to books. And so, I am in the process

of collecting titles of songs whose messages are appropriate to the

different situations and predicaments of the young ones.

   

            Nowadays, many young people find themselves in some grave

predicaments. Cases of persistent anxiety, depression and thoughts of

suicide are increasing. Very often they resort to some escape

mechanisms or deceptive and fake cures to address their problems, and

these only make things worse.

  

            There is a great need to reach out to them, but in ways

that they can easily relate. There definitely is a need for

accompaniment which can be sustained if it is done in the context of

the concrete conditions of the person concerned, not the hypothetical

or theoretical conditions.

Both strict and lenient

IF we truly want to be like Christ, full of love and

mercy, we should be very strict with ourselves but very lenient with

the others. Yes, we have to be very demanding on ourselves but very

understanding, forgiving and welcoming of the others even if we know

they are wrong in some points, or they may even have offended us.

  

            This was how Christ was and is with his own self and in

his dealings with the others. He spared nothing to carry out his

mission to save us, and gave all allowances to accommodate everyone in

that mission of human salvation. He even commanded us to love our

enemies. He even offered forgiveness to those who crucified him.

  

            If we are truly inspired by the love of God, we know that

we have to do our best in whatever undertaking we are making. That is

the law of love. Nothing can be better in expressing that most

demanding, most strict love than when Christ commanded us to love one

another as he himself as loved us. (cfr. Jn 13,34)

  

            It’s a love that involves total self-giving, including

one’s life. As Christ himself said, “Greater love has no one than

this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” (Jn 15,13)

  

            The same love would make us most understanding and lenient

with the others, avoiding judging others and finding faults in them,

offering excuses for their weaknesses and mistakes, etc.

  

            As St. Paul would put it, describing how our love for the

others should be, “love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it

does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is

not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of

wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It

always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1

Cor 13,4-7)

  

            It does not mean, of course, that while we should be

demanding on ourselves, we do not anymore acknowledge our limitations

and the need to give the proper accommodations to such tenuous

condition of ours. We should never forget that even our best and most

demanding efforts could not take away our weaknesses completely nor do

away with all possibility of mistakes and sins.

  

            Our strictness should not be an expression of

perfectionism, of some obsessive-compulsive disorder that, sad to say,

seems to be on the rise today. The strictness of our love should give

due allowance to our weaknesses and our over-all fragile condition

here on earth, what with all the temptations and the enemies of our

soul to contend with!

  

            Neither does our love for others be so lenient that we

would completely quash any effort to help others to grow in their

spiritual life, helping them in any we can by giving suggestions, for

example, and even giving them timely corrections.

  

            Yes, we should be accommodating and welcoming of everyone

in the way they are, warts and all, but this leniency should not be

taken to mean that we should have no concern to help them grow in

their spiritual life, in their love for God and everybody else as

well.

  

            They also have to learn to be strict with their own

selves, if we manage to teach them how to truly love. In fact, the

gauge of our effectiveness in our love for others would be if we

manage to make them love God and others as well, being strict and

demanding on themselves while being lenient and understanding towards

others.

  

            We really need to pause from time to time to see how we

can have this kind of love that is both strict and lenient, demanding

on ourselves while being understanding, compassionate and forgiving of

the others.

Going ecumenical

AM happy to know that our bishops have declared Year 2020

as the Year of Ecumenism, Interreligious Dialogue and Indigenous

People. It’s part of the preparation for the 5th centennial of the

Christianization of our country that will take place in 2021.

  

            It is definitely a way of reaching out to the other

Christian groups with the view of achieving a more coherent unity in

accord to Christ’s desire that we all may be one as Christ and the

Father are one (ut unum sint), that we all may be perfected in unity

(consummati in unum). (cfr. Jn 17,21.23) It is also a way of reaching

out to those who have not yet heard about Christ.

  

            This thing about reaching out to form one unity, one

family of God amid the diversity of our circumstances, is at the heart

of Christ’s message and mission. Christ is God who became man to

redeem all of us from our sin and our alienation from God.

  

            Christ’s desire is for all men to be saved, though we also

have to do our part in this divine initiative. It’s actually now up to

us to correspond to his desire for which he also has given us all the

means. Christ with his promise of our redemption is all there for the

taking.

  

            In this business of ecumenism and interreligious dialogue,

one basic and indispensable element for things to take off is that of

friendliness and openness. While we have our own ideas, our own

doctrine, our own ways, we should just try our best to be as

accommodating to the others without compromising the essential, which

in the end, is to love everyone the way Christ has loved us all. (cfr.

Jn 13,34)

  

            Let’s remember how Christ has loved us—he did not only

preach about what is right and wrong, what is good and evil, what is

moral and immoral; he did not only perform miracles and do many other

wonderful deeds. He went all the way by offering his life for our

sins, offering forgiveness to everyone even if we have not yet asked

for forgiveness (“Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they

do.” Lk 23,34)

  

            We need to be truly like Christ to be able to reach out to

everyone despite differences and conflicts among ourselves. We need to

reach out to everyone regardless of the sharpness and intensity of our

differences and conflicts. Like Christ, let us take the initiative to

reach out and to become, as St. Paul once said, “all things to all

men.” (1 Cor 9,22)

  

            In this regard, let us make the effort to know the others

as best that we can. We have to overcome our tendency to congregate

and fraternize only with those who are like us, who think, speak and

act like us, etc. We need to know the others well, especially those

who are different from us or are even in conflict with us.

   

            It’s for this reason that we should learn more and more

about the others, noting what things we have in common and what things

we differ in. To be sure, we will have more things in common than

things where we differ. Let us focus more on the common things and try

to sort out our differences slowly, peacefully and charitably.

  

            Let’s hope that the Year 2020 will see progress in this

area of ecumenism, interreligious dialogue and reaching out to

indigenous people. It is hoped that some people take the initiative to

continually nourish this pastoral thrust by offering relevant

information and data, organizing seminars and other platforms for

possible dialogues and outreach, coming up with appropriate

functioning structures, etc.

  

            Let’s strive to approach that ideal described once in the

Acts of the Apostles—that we be “of one heart and one soul” (cor unum

et anima una). (4,32)

Be always on the alert

WITH the many and rapid developments going around, we

should see to it that we are always on the alert, lest we can easily

get lost, lulled with all sorts of nice things down the road to

perdition. This is not to be a wet blanket, nor to be a paranoid. This

is just common sense.

  

            More importantly, this is to follow what St. Peter has

advised us: “Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil

prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist

him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your

brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of

suffering…” (1 Pt 5,8-9)

   

            We should not be naïve. While the new developments, like

the new technologies, can offer us a lot of advantages, facilities and

conveniences, we should remember that they also come with potential

dangers that require stiffer prudential measures.

  

            These new developments and technologies can stir up latent

weaknesses that we, up to now, may not be aware of. They can occasion

all kinds of disorder, like wasting time, falling into laziness,

complacency, unregulated curiosities, frivolity, envy, greed, lust,

anger, etc., etc. They can cause a certain kind of addiction that is

hard to control.

  

            With these new developments that clearly show progress in

our technological capabilities, we are expected, nay, required also to

progress in our virtues of order, prudence, humility, self-discipline,

sincerity and transparency, etc. Otherwise, there is no way but to be

swallowed up by what may be described as “sweet poison.”

  

            Most especially, with these new developments and

technologies we are required to radically rectify our intentions. We

should see to it that all we do should be clearly for the glory of

God. (cfr. 1 Cor 10,31) We cannot take this requirement for granted,

giving it only a lick and a promise.

  

            All other motives, like our interest to know more things,

to reach out to more people, to get ahead in life, etc., should be

subordinated and inspired by the ultimate motive of giving glory to

God, of loving him with everything we are and we have, and of loving

everyone else the way Christ loves us. (cfr. Jn 13,34) Otherwise, we

would be trapped in our own world of self-indulgence.

  

            We really should have a good inventory of our strengths

and weaknesses, so we would know how to behave properly and be guarded

and protected, as we go through this new phase of our life’s drama

with the new developments around.

  

            With our strengths, let us see to it that we manage to

grow in love for God and others as we pursue our temporal and mundane

affairs in the context of these new developments. Our strengths or

assets should not be used only for self-interest.

  

            With our weaknesses, let us put the necessary measures to

protect us from falling into them. Our weaknesses may be in the area

of pride, greed, lust, envy, laziness, etc., and we should put the

appropriate defenses, using both the spiritual and supernatural means

as well as the human means.

  

            We should always be on guard. Let’s remember that our life

can be regarded as always in the state of war and struggle, since the

forces of good and evil will always be around. For this, we need to

regularly examine our conscience, to see if our spiritual and moral

life is in order or not, is healthy or not, is growing or

deteriorating. And from there, let’s make the appropriate plans and

strategies.

  

            As in any war and struggle, there is the offensive mode as

well as the defensive one. We need to equip ourselves properly to take

on our need to grow and cover more areas spiritually and morally as

well as to protect ourselves from harm. And if we happen to fall into

harm’s way, we should know what to do.

Refer everything to God

WE really have to learn how to refer everything to God.

This should be like an instinct, an urge that needs to be

corresponded. We should always remember that the constant and ultimate

parameter of our life is God, since he is the one who sets the final

conditions and purpose of our life. He is also the one that takes care

of everything, including our mistakes and other negativities that we

can encounter in life.

  

            For this, we really should rev up our intellect and will,

the primary faculties we have, so that they can actively engage us

with God as we go through the different events and situations in life.

They are the faculties that would spark and keep our faith, hope and

charity alive and kicking. They are the ones that are supposed to

direct the other faculties and powers we have.

   

            Obviously, we have make full use of our other

faculties—our imagination, our memory, down to our emotions and

passions and even our instincts—for this purpose of engaging and

connecting us fully and constantly with God.

  

            We should be careful to avoid letting our human faculties

and powers to be fueled only by things of nature, like the play of our

biological elements, or by our worldly and temporal affairs, and much

less by our own selves, our own interests.

  

            We should try that they are always on the move but

properly directed, avoiding the state of idleness which is always a

danger to us. We need to see to it that our spiritual faculties—our

intelligence and will—are in good control of our other faculties.

  

            We have to realize that God is always intervening in our

lives. We should be constantly perceptive of this reality and figure

out how best we can go along with his will and ways. Thus, we have to

try our best to know the intricacies of God’s will by meditating on

the gospel regularly, by praying and always having the attitude of

looking for God, wanting to do his will, etc.

  

            When we encounter situations where we do not know how to

relate them to God, the very least thing we have to do is to pray,

making acts of faith and love. Meditating on the psalms, for example,

can give us good insights on how to relate things to God.

  

            Psalms 24 and 25, for example, give us an idea of what

attitude we ought to have and of how to deal with God when we are in

the dark as to how to relate things to God.

  

            “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?,” Psalm 24 asks.

“Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a

pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.”

(3-4)

  

            With these words, somehow we are given an idea of the

conditions that would enable to get close to God and eventually to

know and be familiar with his will and ways.

  

            Psalm 25, on the other hand, shows us what attitude we

ought to have before we ask God for light. “No one who hopes in you,”

it says, “will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who

are treacherous without cause. Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your

paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all day long…” (3-5)

  

            It’s good to be familiar with these words and to try to

live out what they say, especially nowadays when we are confronted

with many new things that can confuse us. We know that we can easily

be seduced by the many conveniences and advantages these new things

can offer without realizing the dangers that they can also occasion.

  

            We really would need to relate these things to God!

Saving the mundane and temporal

WE have to understand that our mundane and temporal

affairs are no obstacle in our relationship with God and with others.

They should not be. In fact, for most people, these matters and

affairs are the very occasion, material and motive for developing the

love for God and for others, and thus, they also serve as the means

for their own sanctification.

  

            While we have to take utmost care in carrying out our

sacred duties of praying, offering sacrifices, having recourse to the

sacraments, availing of the spiritual means of formation, etc., we

should not forget that our ordinary secular duties and

responsibilities play an important role in our spiritual life.

  

            It’s in these latter duties that most people have their

usual encounter with Christ. It’s in them that most people have the

opportunity to correspond to God’s continuing work of creation and

redemption on them.

  

            The basis for this assertion could be the fact that in the

life of Christ, our Redeemer, his hidden life that was spent in doing

the ordinary work of a citizen in a community is as important and is

as redemptive as his public life that was spent going around

preaching, performing miracles and ultimately going through his

passion, death and resurrection.

   

            In that episode of the boy Jesus who at 12 years of age

went with his parents in a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, we can have a good

inkling of how his hidden life was also redemptive in character. (cfr.

Lk 2,41-52)

  

            He was lost for some days and his parents looked for him

earnestly. When finally he was found in the temple, Our Lady said to

him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have

been anxiously searching for you.” To which, the boy Jesus responded:

“Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my

Father’s house?”

   

            We can have several interpretations of these words of the

boy Jesus, but my take is that he wanted to tell his parents that even

in his hidden life spent in doing ordinary things, he was doing the

things his Father God sent him for, that is, to redeem us.

  

            The episode ended with the boy going back home with his

parents and was subject and obedient to them, and he grew “in wisdom

and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

   

            I can only draw from this episode the conclusion that the

boy Jesus wants to show us that the ordinary things he had to do while

being subject to Mary and Joseph were an integral part of his mission

of redeeming us.

  

            We really have to look at the usual and ordinary things we

handle everyday, our mundane and temporal affairs, more from the point

of view of faith rather than just from the point of view of our

reason, our common sense, our practical needs.

  

            We need to save our mundane and temporal affairs from the

clutches of simply being treated in a completely technical and

practical way. We have to learn to see God there. We need to learn to

see how his continuing providence over us is working through those

usual ordinary things that we do everyday.

  

            Definitely, we need to pause and study how we can train

our mind and heart, our senses and all other faculties we have to

perceive the spiritual and supernatural dimension of the ordinary

things we do everyday and of all our mundane and temporal affairs.

   

            This, of course, will require nothing less than

cultivating and growing in our faith, hope and charity which are the

main nourishing elements to develop our spiritual life and to acquire

that skill in seeing God and his providence in everything that we do

everyday.

More power, more temptations

THIS should be a no-brainer. It should come much like an

instinct. When one is vested with power, with better endowments than

those of others, he must remember that such privilege will always

attract temptations of abusing it. It is like a magnet for

temptations. Thus, we have to be prepared for this condition in our

life.

  

            That power, therefore, has to be handled most delicately,

with great humility. In other words, it always has to be related to

God from whom all power and authority on earth comes. (cfr. Rom 13,1)

It should be exercised always with God in mind and in heart.

Otherwise, there is no way for it to go other than to be abused. Let’s

remember that the only thing we are capable of doing without God is to

sin.

  

            To know how to exercise whatever power and authority we

have according to God’s will and mind, all we have to do is to look at

Christ, imitate him and unite ourselves to him.

  

            Christ, who is the origin and seat of all power, exercises

that power with great humility, with justice, charity and mercy. His

attitude toward his power is expressed in these words of his: “The Son

of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life

as a ransom for many.” (Mt 20,28) That is the attitude we ought to

have toward any power we have. Only then can we exercise our power

properly.

  

            The damage that the abuse of power would inflict on us is

deep and grave. Remember Lord Acton’s warning: “Power tends to corrupt

and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always

bad men…” And there’s that Latin adage, “corruptio optimi pessima,”

the corruption of the best is the worst, that reiterates more or less

the same point.

  

            These thoughts came to me recently as I received again

another piece of bad news that a priest is accused of an anomaly. This

kind of news has become more common these days, sad to say. And I am

afraid that priests are figuring in these cases much like the way many

politicians and big, privileged people are. Let’s hope that the image

of priests does not get the same notoriety.

  

            Obviously, my reaction to all this is to listen to these

complaints and laments and to reassure those affected and scandalized

that justice, of course, will be served, without forgetting the more

important value of charity and mercy.

  

            But let’s not forget that these disturbing developments

are always a call for all of us to make a deeper, more thorough

examination of conscience, and have another conversion. Actually,

conversion is and should be a continuing affair for us in this life.

We are always in need of conversion, no matter how good and holy we

think we already are.

  

            We cannot deny that we priests hold tremendous power and

authority. It is a power and authority that is even greater than that

of the civil and world leaders, since ours links us with Christ as

head of the Church, with power to forgive sins, renew Christ’s supreme

act of redemption by celebrating the Holy Mass, etc. It is a power

that concerns itself to man’s eternal destiny, and not just to his

temporal welfare.

  

            As such, that power will always be buffeted by all sorts

of temptations. And many of these temptations can be so subtly vicious

that they can assume an appearance of goodness. We really have to be

most guarded against this danger.

   

            Priests should be the first ones to avail of spiritual

direction and confession. No matter how mature and tested a priest

feels he is, he will always be in need of guidance. Of course, he

should see to it that his spiritual life is truly healthy, immersed in

constant prayer and sacrifice, recourse to the sacraments, continuing

ascetical struggle, etc.

The hoopla and the solemnity

GIVEN our nature and condition, we cannot help but get

into modes of noisy excitement and silent, intimate solemnity whenever

we have some celebration. We are both body and soul, material and

spiritual. We, of course, have our human nature, but one that is

oriented to the supernatural. We are individual persons but also a

social being, unavoidably meant to enter into a growing web of

relations.

  

            It is because of these aspects of our life that we cannot

help but get involved in some hoopla and solemnity whenever we

celebrate a big feast, as in those of the Black Nazarene and the Sto.

Nino. We just hope that both modes of behaviour spring from the same

spirit of faith, hope and love of God and of everybody else.

Otherwise, we get into an anomalous condition of inconsistency that

will be detrimental to us.

  

            Thus, it is a challenge and a task for us to attain this

consistency, this unity between the hoopla and the solemnity of our

celebrations. Yes, we have to be as solemn as possible when we pray,

when we establish, nourish and develop our relation with God who is

the source of all good things meant for us. (cfr. James 1,17)

             But given the fact that we are also a social being, such

relation with God which should be a cause of great joy, can and should

be expressed with some festivity and hoopla. It is our way of sharing

the same joy with everybody else. And we express it in an external,

social and human way according to our earthly condition.

  

            In the Bible, there are countless instances where these

festivities were done. The only qualification to be made is what St.

Paul once said: “Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the

old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened

bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Cor 5,8)

  

            The proper way therefore to celebrate is when things start

with prayer, with our effort to relate the celebration to God,

thanking him for the occasion. That’s when our celebrations would be

“with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Thus, we have to

see to it that our own personal prayers should be maintained all the

time.

   

            But there is also a liturgical prayer that involves and

unites us in the living prayer of Christ and the Church, that is, of

everyone else. These prayers should be done as solemnly as possible,

directing our whole mind and heart to God through Christ in the Holy

Spirit.

  

            We should not forget that prayer is our personal encounter

with God. It is as necessary as breathing and the beating of the

heart. Without it, we cannot go far as a child of God. It should never

be left behind in all our celebrations, whatever the situation we may

find ourselves in.

  

            But since our celebrations are rooted on our love for God,

they also have to be shared with others. That’s because loving God

will always involve loving others. That’s when festivities and the

hoopla that accompany them enter into the picture.

  

            If we have the proper understanding of what really takes

place in a celebration, we would know how to combine the solemnity

that a celebration requires and the hoopla and the festive atmosphere

that it will always involve.

            Let us train ourselves to establish an organic link

between the solemnity of the prayer and the liturgical service

involved in a feast, and the hoopla, the festive atmosphere that comes

quite naturally.

   

            These two should mutually help each other. The solemnity

of the celebration should inspire the hoopla, and the hoopla should

lead us back to the solemnity of the occasion. One without the other

can mean a disaster to us.

  

            This is the challenge we have to tackle. A lot of

catechesis should at least be done in this regard.

Connecting people with God

THIS is a big, tremendous challenge to priests especially

when they—we, me included, of course—give homilies in the Mass which

is a very privileged occasion for us to preach in the name of Christ

as head of the Church.

  

            At this point, it may good to remit some relevant words

issued in 1997 by eight Vatican offices regarding “Questions regarding

collaboration of non-ordained faithful in priests’ sacred ministry.”

  

            “The homily,” they said, “during the celebration of the

Holy Eucharist, must be reserved to the sacred minister, priest or

deacon, to the exclusion of the non-ordained faithful, even if these

should have responsibilities as ‘pastoral assistants’ or catechists in

whatever type of community or group.

  

            “This exclusion is not based on the preaching ability of

sacred ministers nor their theological preparation, but on that

function which is reserved to them in virtue of having received the

Sacrament of Holy Orders.”

   

            Thus, we priests, have a tremendous duty to deliver the

homily in such a way that we connect people with God instead of just

with us. We may be able to connect with the people because of our

brilliant ideas, our oratorical and rhetorical skills, our gimmicks,

jokes, anecdotes, song-and-dance numbers, etc.—all of them having

their legitimate value. But the question to ask is whether we are

connecting people with God and not just with us, since that is what is

most important in delivering the homily.

  

            If we do not even know how we can say that we are

connecting people with God, then we have to admit we have a big

problem. Of course, it is not a problem so big that it cannot be

solved. Rather it is problem that is challenging us, priests, to do

our best to give due justice to this privilege of ours to preach in

the name and person of Christ.

  

            We have to use all the means, human, spiritual and

supernatural, to be able to preach in the name of Christ. Definitely

we need to study well the word of God, meditating on it continually so

that it can be an organic part, nay, the inspiring principle of all

our thoughts, words and deeds. A certain connaturality has to develop

between God’s word and our life.

  

            For this, the sciences of philosophy and theology are, of

course, indispensable. But we also need to avail of any science and

source of knowledge that would help us relate the word of God to the

different conditions of the people and the vice-versa. If there is

real faith, we can actually make use of anything to convey the word of

God to the people and connecting them with God.

  

            When delivering the homily, we must to see to that we are

not contented with the feel that the people are listening to us. That,

of course, is already a big success. What is more important is that we

have the gut feel that the people are listening to God.

   

            Somehow we have to develop the intuition that people are

listening to God instead of to us only. I suppose this can only happen

if we priests take our spiritual life seriously in the sense that we

really make the effort, with the grace of God, to identify ourselves

more and more with Christ, of whom we are his sacramental ministers.

  

            In this regard, we cannot overemphasize the need for

constant prayer and sacrifice, recourse to the sacraments, especially

the Eucharist and Confession, the continuing development of virtues

and the waging of a lifelong spiritual struggle against our

weaknesses, temptations and sins.

  

            There has to be the sensation that one is becoming more

and more like Christ. This is not some kind of presumption. It is

actually an obligation inherent to the fact that one is ordained to be

‘another Christ’ with the authority of Christ as head of the Church.

Broad-minded, big-hearted

IF we have to approximate our ideal of being Christ-like

as much as possible, I imagine that these are some of the qualities

that we have to develop. We need to be broad-minded and big-hearted.

   

            That is to say, we have to be quite open and quick to

understand everyone as he is, without being easily offended or

scandalized by the fact that he can be different from us or that, in

our understanding, he is clearly wrong in something, including in the

most important thing like faith and morals.

  

            We too should be big-hearted in the sense of being

generous, kind, magnanimous, not shying away from undertaking big

endeavors for the good of all without being afraid of the cost, effort

and sacrifice involved.

  

            Everyday, let’s try to grow at least a step forward in

this direction, no matter how small a step it may be. To become more

and more broad-minded, I imagine that we need to expose ourselves to

more people of different conditions, backgrounds, cultures,

lifestyles, outlooks, etc.

  

            For this, we may need to socialize a great deal, getting

in touch with people from all walks of life, the rich and the poor,

the saintly and the sinner, the young and the old, etc. The ideal is

for us to truly become friends with everyone, able to talk and enter

into a meaningful relationship with them. As much as possible there

should be no barrier separating us from others.

  

            And since our physical contact with people will always be

limited, we can make use of the many other means that would enable us

to know more and more people. This can be through reading materials,

use of the social media and the new communication technologies.

  

            This would really need great effort for us to transcend

without suppressing our unavoidable biases and preferences, especially

the legitimate ones. Definitely in this department, having a sporty

spirit and a good sense of humor will help.

   

            Also, developing a keen interest in everyone, no matter

how different from us, would be helpful. We should be eager to listen

to them, to quickly find areas of common ground rather than getting

stuck with faults and differences, so that we can create a meaningful

connection with everyone.

  

            Yes, we have to learn how to be adaptable to everyone,

creative and versatile in dealing with everyone the way they are. To

be sure, we gain much more than we what we may lose or give up in

being adaptable, creative and versatile.

  

            Also we need to be big-hearted, giving ourselves to others

as much as we can. Prudence and discretion, of course, play a part in

our self-giving, but they should not stand in the way of the ideal to

be generous, magnanimous and munificent.

  

            We have to train ourselves in this department in a more

serious way because while it’s true that we have limitations in our

capabilities, we often do not do anything to move these limitations

farther away. We get accustomed to them, and then get contented with

them.

  

            To have a big heart will always involve sacrifice, but a

smiling and optimistic one, not the sad and depressive type. It has to

reflect what Christ did for us—that being God he emptied himself to

become man and offered his life on the cross for our salvation. No one

can be as big-hearted as that. With God’s grace and our effort, we

should try to approximate that example of his.

  

            Everyday, let’s examine ourselves to see if there is some

improvement and growth in these crucial qualities that would resemble

us with Christ more and more. We should be able to identify the

specific acts we did to be more broad-minded and big-hearted.

  

            In the end, what should come out clear is that our

relationship with others improves in quality and grows in quantity.

Keep the Sto. Niño devotion strong

WE should consider ourselves very lucky and quite blessed

that we still have a vibrant spirit of popular piety as evidenced by

the tremendous outpouring of devotees during the feasts of the Black

Nazarene and of the Child Jesus (Sto. Niño). I don’t know if there are

still other countries with the same show of popular piety that we

have. We should thank God for this great blessing and strive to keep

it strong and growing always.

  

          I would say that this devotion to Sto. Niño is crucial in

our Christian life because it helps us to establish a strong

sentimental fondness to Christ who shows himself as a little child.

And yet he already reminds us that he is not just any ordinary child,

but a very important one, a king to whom we have to submit our whole

being.

  

          I am always moved to see great crowds of devotees pouring

out their affection and fondness for the little Sto. Niño. They carry

his image, sing and dance with it, clearly showing how fond they are

with the little child Jesus. Human as we are, it is important that we

have a basic fondness for Christ as a child so that no matter what

happens in our life, Christ will always be in our mind and heart.

  

          And we know that whether we like it or not, we will always

have all sorts of trials and challenges in this life, all kinds of

difficulties and predicaments, etc. But as long as we would still have

a strong fondness and affection to the Sto. Niño, we would not be

afraid to face Christ when he appears to us as the Black Nazarene who

invites us to suffer with him whatever suffering we have in this life.

  

          It is important that whatever situation we may find

ourselves in, we always relate ourselves and our concerns to Christ.

And, indeed, it helps that for as long as our fondness for Christ that

is fueled by our devotion to the Sto. Niño remains strong, we would be

able to do that.

  

          I know of certain persons who get a good spiritual lift and

boost whenever they would just picture in their mind the image of the

Sto. Niño. Whenever they have problems and difficulties, what helps to

keep them going is their devotion to the Sto. Niño.

  

          I believe that we really should promote this devotion more

insistently. And that’s because there are now many elements and

factors that tend to weaken the faith and piety of people, especially

the young ones.

  

          The new things of the world today, while not necessarily bad

and in fact are in themselves good, can undermine the spiritual and

moral lives of people if they are not referred to God. Our times are

in great need of being offered to God. There is so much indifference

to God now, so much confusion and ignorance about faith and religion.

   

          We have to find ways of how this devotion can be made more

relevant to the lives and concerns of the young ones, especially those

living in very urban areas and exposed to many worldly elements. We

cannot deny that most of the devotees are the elderly ones and those

coming from the provinces whose lives, concerns and challenges are

simpler than those living in the cities.

  

          This effort will indeed require a lot of creativity. And we

should not be afraid to face that challenge. To be sure, there are

many possibilities through which we can infuse attractive and

innovative ways in the evangelization of people, especially the young

ones.

  

          Let us remember that the very source of what is new, of what

is true, good and beautiful is God himself. If we would just persevere

in our relation with God, we can always come out with these attractive

and innovative ways.

Connect the little to the big always

WHILE it’s true that we have to take care of the little

things in our life, we should not forget that we are not meant to get

detained there. We should always relate the little ordinary things in

our life to the big and ultimate purpose of our life.

  

            Christ himself somehow referred to this point when he

said, “Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with

much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest

with much.” (Lk 16,10)

  

            With those words, Christ somehow was relating and

connecting the little with the big things in life. That is what we

should always do. We should avoid getting entangled and lost in the

little things and forgetting the big and more important things in our

life.

  

            More specifically, we should not mistake the means for the

end. Otherwise, we would also receive the accusation Christ addressed

to the Pharisees and some leading Jews of his time, who were entangled

with their own ideas of what is right and wrong without referring them

to God.

  

            “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,” he said, “you pay

tithes of mint, dill and cumin, but you have disregarded the weightier

matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have

practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides!

You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.” (Mt 23,23-24)

  

            This anomaly can happen to us when in our confessions, for

example, we accuse ourselves only of our failures to do our prayers,

to offer sacrifices, to attend some daily Masses, etc., without

mentioning how we have fared in our graver duty to do apostolate, to

Christianize our work and society in general, to reach out to the poor

and the needy, to be forgiving of others who may have wronged us, etc.

  

            This is not to say that our prayers, sacrifices, recourse

to the sacraments, etc., are not important. They are, and they should

not be regarded as optional, as a matter of fact. They are

indispensable too.

  

            But if our failures in this department do not have the

corresponding effects on the more important aspects of Christian life,

there is reason to think that we are just mistaking the means for the

end, the material for the spiritual, the temporal for the eternal, the

natural for the supernatural.

  

            We need to wake up from this anomaly, because like the

Pharisees and the scribes of old, we could justly be accused by Christ

to be hypocrites. And actually, many people today can also see that.

We would simply be caring of the externals without the internal, the

form and appearance without the substance.

   

            The example we can give to others would show a certain

hollowness and artificiality. And many people can detect that quite

easily, because this phenomenon, sad to say, is getting common. Thus,

we can expect people to be turned off by what they see in us.

  

            They are now more familiar with how hypocrisy and

artificiality look, how they sound, how they smell. They are now more

skilled in sifting our words from our deeds, the image from the real

McCoy. They can easily verify the authenticity of our words and

actions.

  

            To be able to connect the little things to the big,

important things in our life is, of course, no easy task. It requires

training, effort, self-discipline. It will always need God’s grace

which we should always ask.

  

            And given our human condition where our development

involves different stages, let us hope that we do not remain in the

kindergarten level in this respect, in the amateur and dilettante

level. We have to aim at nothing less than the mature and professional

level, where a certain consistency or unity of life that is rooted on

God’s grace and on our constant effort, is achieved.