“Teach me your ways, O Lord”

THAT’S from Psalm 25,4, and is used as a Responsorial Psalm for one of the Masses in Advent. It’s a psalm that should always be on our lips, since we cannot deny that we are meant to be identified with Christ, the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity. His will and his ways should also be our will and our ways. 

 Obviously, this will involve a daunting task, a formidable undertaking requiring a herculean effort. But we should not forget that God is first of all with us and provides us with everything that we need. It would really just depend on how our faith is strong and deep to be able to carry out this duty. 

 First of all, we should develop in ourselves that constant awareness that since God has made us his image and likeness, he therefore is with us all the time, sharing his life and nature. 

 It should not be difficult for us to conclude and to assume that we also share in his powers and that there is something divine in us. We are not just human beings living simply on the level of the natural. There is something eminently spiritual and supernatural in us. 

 We need to spend time meditating on this basic truth about ourselves so that it may sink into our very consciousness. Also, by continually reflecting on this truth, we would know what we have to do to be consistent to that dignity and identity of ours. 

 Everyday we have to see to it that we are becoming more and more like Christ because we share the same spirit of love and everything that is good that Christ has. In this regard, we should realize that our knowledge of God is always made alive, updated and renewed, and our eagerness to be like him burning. 

 Let’s hope that at the end of each day, as we make some kind of accounting of how the day went, which is what we should be doing, we can truly say that we are becoming like Christ because we are becoming more patient, more compassionate, more apostolic, more hopeful, etc., etc. 

 We have to be clear about this point. We are meant to assume the identity of Christ. And that is not a gratuitous, baseless assertion, much less, a fiction or a fantasy. It is founded on a fundamental truth of our faith that we have been created by God in his own image and likeness. 

 And this truth of faith has been vividly shown to us since it is acted out in the whole history and economy of salvation that culminated in Christ offering his life and his very own self as the Bread of Life so we can have the eternal life with him, and so that he and us can be one. 

 We have to arrive at that point where we can make St. Paul’s words as our own too: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me.” (Gal 2,20) 

 We just have to learn to set aside whatever difficulty or awkwardness we may have in dealing with this basic truth of faith about ourselves. We have to try our best to know Christ and to adapt his very own mind and will, his own ways, behavior and reactions to whatever situation we may find ourselves in. 

 Thus, we should always repeat, “Teach me your ways, O Lord.”

Why we rejoice in Advent

THE 3rd Sunday of Advent is usually dubbed as Gaudete Sunday (Rejoice Sunday) because the Entrance Antiphon of the Mass for that day starts with the joyful greeting, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.” (Phil 4,4-5) 

 We are clearly encouraged to be happy as the birth of Christ is now fast approaching. But we have to know what this true Christian joy is. It simply is not a cheap and shallow one, the effect of feasting and bright and colorful decors with music and caroling all around. Rather, it should be the effect of a clean heart that gives the most appropriate welcome to Christ. 

 Thus, in the gospel of the Mass, we are somehow reminded of the need for repentance, an act of general spiritual and moral cleaning, so Christ would be most happy to enter into our lives. 

 The gospel is about John the Baptist, the precursor of Christ, who when asked by the Jews who he was, clearly said, “I am, as Isaiah prophesied, a voice that cries in the wilderness: Make a straight way for the Lord.” (Jn 1,23) That, though not in so many words, means that John the Baptist is appealing for repentance from everyone, an appeal that given the temper of the times, can be described as a “cry in the wilderness.” 

 And so, even if the season of Advent is in general marked by a spirit of sacrifice as preparation for the coming of Christ, it also should be characterized by joy. Joy is what we all actually long and yearn for. We want to be happy. Glee and bliss are the unspoken ultimate goal we want to attain. But how should we do it? That’s the problem. 

 Especially now when we are bombarded with all sorts of trials, challenges, pressures, we end up harassed, losing joy and peace easily and for extended periods, reacting to things with tension and irritation, and often plunging into despair and depression. 

 In reaction to this predicament, many people resort to deceptive quick-fixes and other forms of escapism—alcohol, drugs, sex, isolation or wild lifestyle—not knowing they are just poising themselves for an uglier crash. 

 We need to clarify some basic issues here, since we seem to be in the middle of a thickening confusion and drifting to a kind of hell on earth. Mental cases are piling up, some studies report, indicating many people do not anymore know how to cope with their situation. 

 We have to learn how to find joy then, its true source, the one that can be attained and felt whatever setting we may find ourselves in. Joy should not be based only on some shallow and shifty ground, like our physical, emotional or social conditions. They are very unreliable foundations, and can be very dangerous. 

 True Christian joy can only be an effect of repentance, a sincere return to Christ who gives us all that we need to regain our true dignity. And repentance should not be a difficult thing to do. All we need to do is just to say as sincerely as possible that we are sorry for our sins. Better yet, we go to confession, the sacrament that clearly gives us the divine absolution for our sins. 

 And even if at the back of our mind we somehow know that we would still fall into sin sooner or later, we should not be hindered in expressing repentance as often as necessary, since God always forgives. He always understands and is compassionate and merciful. Of course, on our part, we should try our best not to abuse the goodness of God.

Mary the surest way to Jesus

IT’S good to keep this spiritual and ascetical formula in mind as we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12. Mary, the Mother of Jesus is also our Mother. How she cared and identified herself completely with her Son is also how she cares and identify herself completely with us. 

 If we would just have a bit of common sese, we would know that it is always wise to go to Mary in order to get to Christ. As a saint once said, Mary is the shortest, surest and safest way to be with Christ. 

 Let’s see to it that our devotion to her grows. And if it is practically dormant if not dead, then let’s stir it up to life again. She is important to us. In fact, she is indispensable to us. She cannot be treated as an optional feature in our spiritual life, nor something decorative or appendical only. 

 While she is not God and, therefore, not to be accorded with the worship that is only due to God (latria), she rightly deserves to be given the highest form of veneration (hyperdulia) among all the saints who are already with God in heaven. 

 She never undermines our relationship with God. If anything, all she does is to bring us to God and to help us fulfill the will of God. Thus, in that episode of the wedding at Cana where she noticed that the hosts were running out of wine, she told the servants, “Do whatever he (Christ) tells you.” (Jn 2,5) 

 She is the epitome of motherhood who knows how to be a mother even to God and to all of us. All that because of her perfect identification of her will to the will of God, giving us a concrete example of how a human being can be so identified with God’s will that she becomes God’s perfect image and likeness as God wants her and also us to be. 

 We are often incredulous, even skeptical, about this possibility. But she managed to do it. Obviously, she was given the necessary graces for that. But she also corresponded to those graces with everything that she had, reflecting in the most perfect way the redemptive mission full of suffering of her son. How our Lady was and continues to be should also be how we should be. 

 And she is all there to help us achieve that dignity of being true children of God who can even be a mother of God and a spouse of God as our Lady was the most dutiful daughter of the God the father, mother of God the Son and spouse of God the Holy Spirit. 

 Let us just imitate our Lady’s perfect faith shown especially when she said, “Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum,” (Be it done to me according to your word) during the Annunciation. With that faith which for sure she could not understand completely, she put herself entirely under the designs and dynamics of God’s will of love, of redemption, toward mankind. 

 As mother, she would really take care of us the way she took care of Jesus. She will always be with us, ever solicitous of our needs, always ready to help and intercede on our behalf. 

 These are basic truths about Our Lady that should never be missing in our mind and heart. On the contrary, they should always be made to be felt more deeply so as to give the pertinent impulses and motivations to our thoughts, words and deeds.

Self-denial a constant necessity

THAT’S because of our undeniable tendency to enclose ourselves in our own world, practically unwelcoming and even hostile to God who actually gives us the proper spirit of our humanity as his image and likeness. 

 We have to find ways of how we can live out this basic necessity of ours. There’s certainly a need for tremendous effort. But we should not forget that the first thing we need to do is to humbly ask for God’s mercy and grace. 

 We need to be humble, first of all, which is an effect at least of what is called as God’s actual grace, before we can successfully proceed with the effort to empty ourselves in order to be properly filled with God’s spirit. 

 Christ himself told us that this should be the law that should rule our life. “He that shall lose his life for me, shall find it.” “Whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel, shall save it.” “He that hates his life in this world, keeps it unto life eternal.” 

 The same idea, the same truth and ideal, is reiterated, developed and expressed in many other ways in different parts of the gospel. In one instance, Christ tells us to be detached from all possessions and even from those we consider close and important to us. 

 “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple…Everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” (Lk 14) 

 As we can see, all this business of losing and hating and renouncing is meant to make us filled with God who after all is our everything. With him, we also would have everything else we need, but in their proper order. 

 “Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Mt 6,33) We should never worry that what we seem to lose according to our human standards would actually be lost. On the contrary, what we lose would actually gain us a hundredfold. 

 Again, Christ reassures us of this truth. “Everyone that has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting.” (Mt 19,29) 

 We should be quick to react to things and to reason out with faith, so that we avoid going into unnecessary episodes of anguish, sadness and self-pity. Rather, when this belief about losing so we gain the things of God truly rules our life, we can be happy and confident, with the mind of a victor, with a demeanor that would suggest elegance and poise. 

 Far from being a sad life, Christian life is actually a very happy life. When one conforms himself as tightly as possible to Christ, he knows that whatever self-denial and suffering he can experience in life, will always have great redemptive value. 

 We have to learn to rid ourselves of the fear of losing, of renouncing, and even of dying. Like a good, shrewd businessman, let’s not be afraid to throw in a big infusion of investment, as suggested by Christ, into our ultimate business of our redemption, when the hundredfold of spiritual dividends is already guaranteed to us. 

 To learn this, we can start in the self-denial of little things in our daily affairs—in our food and drink, in our comfort and convenience, in our dealings with others that should be marked with utmost understanding and patience, in the generous self-giving with which we do our work and other duties, etc.

“Blessed are those prepared to meet him”

IT’S a gospel acclamation during this Advent Season when we are made to prepare not only for the coming birth of Christ on Christmas Day but also, and more importantly, for his second coming at the end of time. Of course, we should also be prepared to meet Christ, our redeemer and judge, at our death when we are going to face him in our particular judgment. 

 Let’s internalize that Boy Scout motto, Be Prepared, and adapt it within the context of our ultimate purpose and end of our life. This is not meant to scare anyone, but the fact is that the end of time, the end of the world and our own death can come anytime. If we have some common sense, we should know that the natural thing for us to do is to be always prepared, since we would not know how much time we have left. 

 If we want to be realistic in our life, we should always be prepared for Judgment Day which can surely come anytime. In fact, we should go through our daily lives in pursuit of this most important moment when our eternal destiny is determined. 

 This may sound sobering to us, but it is actually meant to put us in the right direction of our life, avoiding the usual pitfalls of being confused, trapped and lost in our earthly affairs. 

 We are reminded of this truth of our faith in that gospel parable where Christ compared the Kingdom of heaven with a net thrown into the sea, collecting fish of every kind. (cfr. Mt 13,47-53) 

 As the parable narrated, once the net is full of fish, then a separation between the good catch and the bad ones is made. That separation is precisely the image of that Judgment Day when God will determine which of us deserve heaven. 

 Obviously, to be properly prepared for Judgment Day, we need to know in an abiding way the real and ultimate purpose of our life here on earth. For this, we need to strengthen our faith that only in God can we have the ultimate purpose in life. St. Paul said so: “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10,31) 

 This abiding sense of the ultimate purpose of our life will enable us to have a sense of unity and continuity among the different elements and the different occurrences in our life, be they good or bad, favorable or unfavorable to us, etc. 

 When we have love of God as our abiding sense of purpose in our life, we would find it easy to go from one thing to another, no matter disparate they are from each other. We would find meaning in everything, including what we consider to be human disasters in our life. 

 Also, the preparation we are asked here need not involve anything extraordinary. It is enough that whatever we do in our daily routine is done with God and for God. That way, we would always be motivated to do things in the best way that we can, leading us to be more and more like God. And even if we cannot escape the limitations and imperfections of our work, God will always understand and would be happy to see us working with that intention. 

 And so, it stands to reason that during the day we make many pit stops, so to speak, so we would know whether we are still on the right path, with the proper direction. That way, we would have the chance to rectify and purify our intentions.

The making of a Good Shepherd

WE are familiar with the usual lesson we can learn from the parable of the lost sheep. (cfr. Mt 18,12-14) Indeed, a Good Shepherd will always look for the lost sheep and would do everything, regardless of the sacrifices involved, to do so. 

 But an upshot of that parable that is often missed is how we can truly be a Good Shepherd ourselves. To look for the lost sheep is indeed already a tremendous responsibility, and undoubtedly a great manifestation of Christian love and concern. A truly Good Shepherd should not just be contented with that duty. He should see to it that all the sheep are led to their ultimate destination. 

 In this season of Advent, we are reminded that we should help each other pursue the real and ultimate goal of our life. This duty is somehow expressed in that gospel acclamation, “The day of the Lord is come. Behold, he comes to save us.” 

 Of course, the parable of the lost sheep simply talks about the furry animal whose end is simply to be eaten and whose fur is made use of. But we are not simply a flock of sheep. We are children of God who need to be reunited with our Creator and Father in heaven. We need to be led there, and the Good Shepherd should take that as his—and our—biggest duty toward each other. 

 This is indeed quite a tough job. To guide souls toward their ultimate destination is truly a very delicate job. It requires nothing less than entering into the inner life of a person with the intention of helping and of eventually leading that person to God. But how can this be? 

 Priests are supposed to be sacramentally configured to Christ as head of the Church and therefore as the ultimate guide of souls, the redeemer of mankind. They are supposed to have the very mind and sentiments of Christ. And if they are truly vitally identified with Christ, they will also share in the power of Christ. 

 But is this possible at all? If we have faith, the answer is yes. The sacrament of Holy Orders configures one to Christ with an effectivity that is called in Latin as “ex opere operato.” 

 It means that by the mere reception of the sacrament and as long as there is no formal impediment to such reception, that sacramental configuration is achieved, not so much by the qualities and dispositions of the recipient as by the power of Christ himself. 

 Would we think that the apostles had the qualities and dispositions of becoming the first bishops in the Church? If we are to go by our human standards, we would have serious doubts about that. But Christ made them our first bishops, and bishops they were. 

 The priestly ideal of being another Christ as head of the Church will certainly demand everything from them. But given that priests are men, with their own share of weaknesses, that ideal will be pursued in stages at best, with its own ups and downs, its twists and turns, its drama. 

 We, priests, should do our part of resembling more and more like Christ with our daily effort to be faithful to our identity and ministry. This can never be overemphasized. And everything should be done so that at least its approximation can be gained. 

 As guide of souls, we should learn how to deal with all kinds of souls with their respective consciences. Indeed, the priest should strive with God’s grace and his effort to be all things to all men, as St. Paul once said, in order to save all. This will require of him to forget himself and just try his best to have the very mind and heart of Christ whose love for us is universal and for always.

What Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception reminds us of

TO put it bluntly, what Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception reminds us of is that, like Our Lady who is our Mother, we are supposed to be immaculate and sinless from our very own conception all the way to the end of our earthly life and our definitive life in heaven. That was the original plan of God for us. 

 Though we lost that privilege and honor because of our sin, we should not worry too much because Christ has secured our salvation. And all we have to do is to correspond to Christ’s redemptive action on us which is always an ongoing affair for us by waging a continuing struggle against sin and against our weaknesses and temptations. 

 That may be an impossible pursuit, since we all know that we all have weaknesses and are most prone to commit sin, but it should not prevent us from doing our best to struggle to be as sinless as possible. In this regard, we should never forget to develop and strengthen our personal skills in handling our weaknesses and temptations. This concern never goes passé, and it touches a basic, indispensable aspect of our life in all levels. 

 We know that these days, temptations can come to us in the subtlest and trickiest of ways. This can be due, at least in part, to the increased level of sophistication both in people’s thinking and in world developments, especially in the area of technology and ideology. 

 With these developments, temptations can easily come undetected, and sin can be committed in a most hidden way and can even be easily rationalized. How important therefore it is for us to always grow in humility and simplicity, aggressively finding practical ways to achieve them! If not, we would just be lost. That’s for sure! 

 What makes things worse is that, as can be easily noted these days, the healthy fear of God is disappearing. In its place, a most heinous sense of self-importance is dominating. The criteria to determine what is good and bad have become blurred. They have gone almost completely relativistic and subjective, declaring total independence from any absolute and objective rule or law that comes from God. 

 Truth is, we always need God in our battle against temptations. We should disabuse ourselves from the thought that with our good intentions and our best efforts alone, we can manage to tame the urges of temptations. 

 We cannot! That’s the naked truth about it. We only can if we are with God who provides us with all the means and power to resist sin. And we have to be with him in a strong, determined way, not in a passive or lukewarm way. Do flies flock on a hot soup? No. But they do on a cold or lukewarm soup. 

 We need to do everything to be with God. Our mind and heart should be fully and constantly engaged with him. We always have reason to do so—at least, we can thank him for what we are having at the moment: health, food, air, work, etc. We should never dare to leave him aside and depend solely on our powers. 

 Also, we should help others in their struggle against temptations and sins. In this regard, we have to learn how to fraternize with everybody, especially those in some bad spiritual and moral conditions. Like Christ, we should learn how to fraternize with sinners to help them.

“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths”

ON this First Sunday of Advent, we are reminded of these words of the Prophet Isaias as recorded in the gospel of St. Matthew (3,3). These are words that should always be in our mind and, in fact, made as a guiding principle of our whole life. And the simple reason is that our life here on earth is actually a journey toward our final destination in heaven where Christ, the fullness of our humanity, waits for us even as he also always with us. 

 We should constantly check ourselves to see if we are progressing toward that destination and if we are still on the right road. We have to be wary of our strong tendency to be seduced and deceived by earthly and temporal goals even if we feel we appear to be doing great in pursuing them, reminding us of what St. Augustine once said: “You are running well; see that you do not run out of the way.” 

 Let us foster the awareness of this basic truth about ourselves and about our life here on earth. We need to encourage everyone to have a clear and strong sense of purpose, and to know how to pursue it given our human condition and all the means that God has given us. 

 We therefore cannot overemphasize this basic need of ours to make plans and strategies. If we have to develop ourselves as we should, if we have to be truly productive and fruitful, if we have to take advantage of everything in life, whether good or bad, to attain our ultimate goal, then we have to plan and strategize our moves. 

 Making plans and strategies may require some time and effort, but it’s an investment that is all worthwhile. The little time and effort required can actually multiply our time and make our efforts more productive at the end of the day. It’s like the little rudder that St. James talked about in his letter. (cfr. 3,4) Our plans and strategies can have the power to accomplish great things, like a little rudder giving direction to a big boat. 

 We should make it habit everyday to check from time to time to see if we are progressing properly, if we are still on the right road, if there are surprises and other obstacles that need to be resolved. 

 The ideal condition of our life should be that we always get the sensation that we are going well in pursuing our real goal. We have to make each day a microcosm of how we pursue the ultimate goal of our whole life. 

 Thus, at the end of the day, we should make a regular accounting of how the day went by making a thorough examination of conscience. That exercise should be like a rehearsal of that time when we will face Christ on judgment day. It would help us to be properly prepared to face him, avoiding unpleasant surprises. 

 Then as we go to bed, let’s understand it as a rehearsal of our ultimate rest in heaven. We should already forget, at least for that period of rest and sleep, all our daily concerns so that we can practice how to be finally united with God in total bliss. So, we need to learn how to leave everything behind, which is what will happen when we die. 

 To be sure, this practice will make our life here on earth most meaningful, since we would live it according to God’s purpose for it.

We have the highest dignity in the whole universe

WE should be most aware of this fundamental truth about ourselves. It should make us most happy and most unwilling to exchange it for something else that would undermine it. No amount of worldly pleasure, fame and wealth can surpass and outshine it. 

 And the simple reason is that we have been made in God’s image and likeness, sharers of his life and of his very nature. God shares his life and his very self with us, and it is just up to us to correspond to that truth by following God’s will and ways, instead of just following our own will. 

 Sad to say, we are notorious for doing the opposite. Instead of following God’s will, we prefer to simply do ours. It’s like we make ourselves our own God which is a very strong temptation to us since we usually think that our freedom entitles, nay, commands us to be simply on our own, guided only by our own estimation of things. 

 We need to strengthen our self-awareness of this basic truth about ourselves, recognizing our real worth and value as a child of God who gives us everything to be truly his child. 

 For this, we need to grow spiritually by deepening our relationship with God through prayer and continuing study of our faith so we would know God more and more, so that by so doing we also would know ourselves better. That’s simply because how God is should also be how we should be. 

 It may be incredible and hard to accept, but that who we really are. Indeed, for us to be able to accept this truth and live by it, we need to be truly humble, to continually deny ourselves since we always have the tendency to simply follow what we think instead of what our Christian faith teaches us. 

 Of course, to become more and more like God as we should, we need to develop virtues that would facilitate our unity and identification with God. To mention a few, aside from humility, we need to be compassionate, kind, magnanimous, patient. 

 We should realize that the most important duty we have is to earnestly know and fulfill the will of God for us at every moment. We need to train ourselves for this duty, since we all know that we always tend to do our own will rather than God’s will. 

 This is a basic truth that we need to spread around more widely and abidingly, since it is steadily and even systematically forgotten and, nowadays, even contradicted in many instances. We need to inculcate this truth to children as early as when they can understand and appreciate it. Then let’s give them the example of how it is lived. 

 God’s will is the source of everything in the universe. The whole of creation in all its existence, unity, truth, goodness and beauty starts from God’s will and is maintained by it. The entire range and scope of reality—be it material or spiritual, natural or supernatural, temporal or eternal—is “contained” there, not only theoretically but in vivo. 

 We need to pound it hard into our mind and heart that we need live by God’s will if we truly want to keep our dignity as children of God! We have to be wary of the many things that would now desensitize us from this need as we are prodded to go full-blast into self-indulgence.

Deeds, deeds, deeds, more than words and intention

IN the gospel, we are reminded that we should not just be good hearers of the word of God, but rather its doers. (cfr. Mt 7,21.24-27) In fact, we have to convert God’s word into our very own life, since that’s where we can start and keep our sharing with God’s life and nature as we are meant to do and be. 

 By acting on God’s word, we would actually be living by God’s will, which is what is most important to us. It’s not just following our will which is, of course, indispensable to us. Otherwise, we would be undermining our very own freedom and our humanity itself. Whatever we do is done because we want it. It should be a fruit of our freedom. 

 But what is most important is to conform our will to God’s will, which is even more indispensable to us. Otherwise, we sooner or later would destroy our freedom and our humanity itself, since God is the very author and the very lawgiver of our freedom and our humanity. 

 This is a basic truth that we need to spread around more widely and abidingly, since it is steadily and even systematically forgotten and, nowadays, even contradicted in many instances. We need to inculcate this truth to children as early as when they can understand and appreciate it. Then let’s give them the example of how it is lived. 

 God’s will is the source of everything in the universe. The whole of creation in all its existence, unity, truth, goodness and beauty starts from God’s will and is maintained by it. The entire range and scope of reality—be it material or spiritual, natural or supernatural, temporal or eternal—is “contained” there, not only theoretically but in vivo. 

 We have to learn to live by God’s will that is shown to us, thanks to God, by Christ, the fullness of divine revelation, who left us with his word and the sacraments in the Church. 

 What is God’s will for us? In general, it is to love him and our neighbor. It is to love the way Christ himself has loved us. God’s will is that we continually pray, so we get in contact with him in a direct and intimate way. We have to know him more and more by reading the gospel and following his teaching, and developing a real love for him, complete with feelings. 

 We should just learn to convert God’s word into action. St. Paul has something very relevant to say about this. “Not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” (Rom 2,13) St. James says something similar: “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (1,22) 

 Christ himself lived by this principle, even at the expense of his own life. “I do nothing of myself, but as the Father has taught me...” (Jn 8,28) And in the agony in the garden, he expressed that most eloquent submission to his Father’s will, “Not my will but yours be done.” (Lk 22,42) 

 We need to understand that our whole life is a matter of conforming ourselves to God’s will, the very seat of our ultimate identity as persons and children of God. This would involve the stages of knowing that will, believing it, then professing it and putting it into action. In short, receiving our faith, then turning it into life itself.

Assurance of our salvation

THERE’S a gospel acclamation in one the Masses of the First Week of Advent that gives us that assurance. It says: “Behold, the Lord comes to save his people; blessed are those prepared to meet him.” Yes, there is such thing as the second coming of Christ for which we have to be properly prepared. 

 This second coming of Christ is when he, the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity, will come again to make the final judgment on all of us, establishing the definitive and eternal Kingdom of God that is meant for us. Obviously, we have to prepare ourselves for it. 

 This attitude of waiting, expecting and making the proper preparation for the second coming of Christ should be learned by all of us. And we can do that by strengthening our belief that Christ is actually already with us. He is everywhere, around us and inside us. We just have to develop the habit of looking for him in order to find him. 

 Christ is already with us since he is the God who became man, identifying himself with us in all our conditions, even making himself like sin, the worst condition that we can be in, even if he himself has not committed sin. (cfr. 2 Cor 5,21) Yes, he identified himself with us so that we also can have a way of identifying ourselves with him. 

 We should develop the yearning, the longing, the passionate desire to look for Christ, so we may find him; and in finding him we may learn to love him; and in loving him, we get to identify ourselves with him. 

 And Christ is present everywhere. We have to learn to look for him and find him in the little ordinary things of our life—in our respective homes and communities, in our work, in the things that we use and handle, etc. We actually do not need to go far and to do extraordinary things to find him. 

 And most especially, Christ is present in the sacraments, especially in the Holy Eucharist. That is why we are encouraged by the Church to have frequent recourse to Holy Mass and Holy Communion. 

 In this regard, we have to learn how to go eschatological, for which we have to know what it means and how we can acquire its sense. It’s a necessity in our life, since it gives a bigger, if not complete picture of our life. It enables us to go beyond the here and now to enter into the world beyond death. 

 Eschatology is that part of theology concerned with death, judgment and the final destination of the soul and humanity itself, that is, heaven or hell, or the so-called the Last Things. It may sound scary at first, but it actually is very helpful. We just have to make the necessary adjustments in our attitude toward it. 

 So, it’s a part of theology and not a merely empirical science. We need to have inputs of faith which actually play a directing role in the study. We cannot simply rely on so-called observable data, material or sociological, that by definition cannot fathom the spiritual and supernatural dimensions of our life. 

 It shows us that how we live our earthly life has eternal effects on our afterlife. We have to learn how to live our earthly with the view of our eternal and supernatural destination.

“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see”

THAT’S in the gospel of St. Luke (10,23) where Christ said these words to his disciples in private. What Christ was trying to tell them was that the true knowledge of God is a gift of divine mercy, not a reward for human wisdom. It is granted to those who receive it with childlike humility. 

 Only when we are simple and humble like little children that we open ourselves to God’s grace. It’s when we make ourselves receptive and responsive to the God’s abiding providence over our life. 

 We really need to remain childlike even as we grow in age and stature, and even as we accumulate already quite a significant amount of knowledge with our exposure to the world and the life in general. 

 Yes, children and heaven are almost synonymous to each other. No wonder we feel like we are in heaven every time we see children around. Every time a baby is born, we are very happy because we somehow know that he just did not come out of his mother’s womb, but rather from the very hands of God who created him before the parents procreated him. 

 In spite of the many limitations of children, what makes them always desirable is their pure, innocent heart, incapable of malice, ambition, pride and haughtiness. They are a source of many other good things. 

 Their heart is always trusting in the Lord always, just like a little kid is always confident with his father. Faith and hope easily grow and acquire strength when nurtured in a child's heart. It's this attitude that leads them to go on and move on no matter what, for life to them could only be an adventure of discoveries. 

 Obviously, the privilege of seeing and hearing what the prophets could not should make the disciples, and now, us, to be ever grateful and to be more committed to carry out the mission now entrusted to the Church. That’s the only way to keep ourselves seeing and hearing what God wants us to see, hear and know. 

 And so, let us realize ever more deeply that we are meant to do apostolate, since that is in the very heart of Christ’s mission which should also be ours. Therefore, we need to sharpen our awareness of our apostolic duty, since left to our own devices, we would rather give our complete attention solely to ourselves. This tendency is a consequence of our sinfulness. But originally, before man’s fall, we tend to love and care for one another. 

 To develop this apostolic concern therefore entails sacrifice. We should not be surprised if in pursuing it we are challenged, faced with difficulties and asked to do self-denials and other forms of sacrifice. 

 We just have to hold firm on our Christian conviction, together with the continuing petition for God’s grace and the generous discharge of our human effort, that to do apostolate is the will of God. He is bent in accomplishing it. It’s his first concern to contend with the difficulties. Ours is simply to cooperate. 

 We have to continually ask ourselves if our thoughts and desires bear an eminently apostolic character. If not, let’s immediately do the necessary adjustments and corrections. 

 We have to embark also on a life-long effort to acquire apostolic skills—how to make friends and deepen that friendship, how to pursue full blast the supernatural apostolic goal of our life while respecting our natural conditions, etc. 

 The apostolic zeal should be revved to the max!

God provides for all our needs

WE should never forget this most important truth of our faith. Especially in our most difficult moments, when we find ourselves helpless and on the verge of discouragement, we should remember that God who is our Creator, and more than that, a loving Father to all of us, is always there to provide what we need. His ways may not exactly be what we want, but he is always around to help us. 

 We are reminded of this truth of our faith in that gospel episode where a centurion begged Christ to cure his paralytic servant. (cfr. Lk 8,5-11) And when Christ told him that he was going to his house, Christ was amazed at how the centurion reacted that showed his great faith in Christ. 

 This was the reply of the centurion: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.’” Of course, the centurion got what he requested. 

 As long as our faith is strong, deep and abiding, there is nothing in our life, no matter how difficult and humanly unsolvable, that cannot be taken care of by Christ. Thus, in our moments of helplessness, we should just ask God for help and abandon ourselves in his hands. 

 Let’s always remember that God is with us all the time. He can never stay away from us. As our Creator and Father, he will never abandon us no matter how estranged we might be from him, since he is at the very core of our existence itself. Our life is actually his life first of all. He shares his life and nature with us. That is what is meant by being the image and likeness of God that we are. 

 Ours is simply to live our life with God, always following his will and ways. We are simply stewards of our own life. God is its owner, and so, we are answerable to him as to how we manage it according to his will and ways. 

 And as an omnipotent owner of our life, he provides us with everything that we need. He always has all the solutions to our problems, giving us relief in our difficulties, challenges and trials, and assuring us of final victory irrespective of how the drama of our life goes, as long as we remain faithful to him. 

 And so, when we are faced with our limitations and a state of helplessness, we should just be ready for them and know not only how to deal with them but also how to derive something good from them. In these instances of the hard predicaments, for example, when we seem to be at a loss as to what to do, we should just see at what God does, after we have done all things possible to solve our problems. 

 We need to trust in God’s providence and mercy. We have to learn to live a spirit of abandonment in the hands of God. Yes, if we have faith in God, in his wisdom and mercy, in his unfailing love for us, we know that everything will always work out for the good. If we are with God, we can always dominate whatever suffering can come our way in the same manner that Christ absorbed all his passion and death on the cross.