Our resurrection to eternal life

THE readings on the Third Sunday of Lent remind us that we are meant for eternal life. In the first reading, from the Book of Ezekiel 37,12-14, we see how God promises to raise his people from their graves and fill them with his Spirit. 

 The Responsorial Psalm (130) practically asks us to trust in God’s mercy always, considering that we cannot avoid falling into sin. The Second Reading, from Romans 8,8-11, tells us that it is the Spirit of God that will give us true eternal life to our mortal bodies. The Gospel Acclamation, from Jn 11,25-26, reminds us that it is Christ who is the resurrection and the life, and if we believe in him, we actually will never die. 

 And the Gospel, from John 11,20-45, talks about the raising of Lazarus from the dead. It clearly shows that Christ has power over death. 

 With all these truths of our Christian faith, what we have to do is to correspond to them as best that we can. And it can only mean that we should try our best to be eternity-ready all the time. 

 We should therefore be clear about this point. Our time here on earth is a time of transit toward eternity, from where we came and to where we are heading. That’s because we are creatures of God who is in eternity. We came from him, and since we have been made in his image and likeness, we are meant to be with him in all eternity. 

 Our definitive state of life is to be with God in eternity. We therefore need to be eternity-ready in our time here on earth. And we can approximate that state of life and prepare ourselves for it by trying to be with God always, following his will and ways as we go through the drama of our earthly life. 

 We should know how to flow with the times without getting lost along the way. While there are changing things as we flow with the times, we also have to know that there are things that are not supposed to change, that will always have permanent value and relevance to us. 

 We need to see to it that our thoughts and desires are immersed in the supernatural gifts of faith, hope and charity, those theological virtues that enable our earthly and temporal affairs to acquire spiritual, supernatural and eternal value. 

 That is why, we need to study and assimilate the doctrine of our faith, make it generate hope in our earthly pilgrimage, and fuel the love that catapults us to eternity, uniting us to God and others. 

 This is how we can link our time here on earth with the eternity of our definitive life. It’s a matter of the belief that there is God and that he is our creator who gives us our very existence and that he continually, without any gap or break, intervenes in our life. 

 We have to be more aware of this truth, and more important, know how to deal with it. We often take it for granted, or worse, we can think that our life can just be on our own, completely dependent on what and how we make it to be. 

 Or we can think that we can be with God at some time and can be on our own at other times. We need to outgrow this mentality, because it simply does not correspond to reality. Ok, it’s not easy. There’s deep and vast awkwardness especially in the beginning. But it’s not a problem that cannot be solved.

No worldly algorithm can outwit divine wisdom

WE, therefore, should be wary of our tendency to rely more on our human and worldly estimation of things. Rather, we should always choose to be guided by God’s will and ways, by his abidingly loving and merciful providence, which we should try our best to discern at every moment of our life. 

 To be sure, no human plan can surpass divine guidance. Divine wisdom always outsmarts worldly logic. And God’s plan for us and for the world is above all else. We need to be clear about this and do everything to live by this truth of our faith. 

 Especially nowadays, when we are facing an increasingly complicated world, we need to strengthen our belief in this truth, and cultivate the appropriate skills and lifestyle. We obviously should try our best to make use of whatever human knowledge we can get from our human sciences, but all this should be motivated and guided by our faith, hope and love for God and for everybody. 

 This is not to mention that when one is determined to follow God in the best way he can, he has to expect to contend with the most devious ways of the enemies of God and of our soul. 

 This was articulated, for example, in the Book of Wisdom where some ungodly people said: “Let us therefore lie in wait for the just, because he is not for our turn, and he is contrary to our doings, and upbraids us with transgressions of the law, and divulges against us the sins of our way of life.” (2,12) 

 But again, we should not worry too much. As long as we try our best to stick to God’s will and ways, we know that no opposition to God and to us can dominate us. What we have to worry is when we allow ourselves to be guided simply by some worldly doctrine and standards. 

 In this, we have been forewarned by St. Paul who said, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” (Col 2,8) 

 And he went further to say that we should rely solely on Christ. “For in Christ,” he said, “all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.” (Col 2,9) 

 This is, indeed, a call for us to truly develop a strong and intimate relationship with Christ. In other words, to develop an authentic and effective spiritual life, since only then can we get some knowledge of divine wisdom and be guided by it. 

 In this regard, we have to acknowledge our need for a continuing formation that, at least, would cover the doctrinal, spiritual and ascetical aspects of our relation with Christ. 

 This is how we can aspire to acquire nothing less than the wisdom of God. We have to understand that formation involves assuming the very mind and heart of Christ, the very wisdom of God. It should lead us to center our lives on Christ’s love and to assume God’s plan with creativity and initiative. 

 Thus, the capacity for reflection is necessary so as to faithfully channel Christ’s love for everyone. We need to go through some philosophical and theological study of our faith, coupled with the appropriate cultural formation so we can be effective in transmitting God’s living word in the middle of the world. 

 This is how we can acquire the divine algorithm that would lead us to discover divine wisdom, rather than just a worldly one.

The greatness of St. Joseph

IT’S definitely his humility and simplicity that built up his greatness. And because of these qualities, faith in God’s will and ways was easy for him to follow and comply. In fact, especially in some crucial moments, he attracted some kind of special divine intervention that quashed his doubts and baffled condition. 

 This was shown, for example, when he found out that Mary, to whom he was engaged, was found already with child in her womb before they lived together. (cfr. Mt 1,16.18-21) He at first thought of separating from her. But being a just man, as the gospel narrated, he planned to do it not publicly but privately. 

 That’s when some special divine intervention came in the form of an angel appearing to him in his sleep, clarifying the whole matter to him. And with that, he immediately changed his mind and, without further question, accepted Mary as his wife. 

 St. Joseph is worth emulating, worth giving more and better attention than a cursory, casual one. His condition is very much identifiable with that of the majority of the people all over the world. Like him, many of us do very ordinary simple duties, with hardly any public or social consequence. But the possibility of being great, like St. Joseph, is always there. 

 We need to strengthen our realization about the very intimate and mutual relation between humility and greatness. When one is truly humble and simple, it can only show the greatness of his heart. That mutual relation enables one to do God’s will faithfully, and eventually to share in the very life and nature of God himself. True greatness is never shown in pride and vanity. It is proven and verified in humility and simplicity. 

 This mutual relation between humility and greatness is expressed when we manage to value others, whoever and however they are, above ourselves and when we look after their interest instead of our own. (cfr. Phil 2,3-4) 

 This is what we clearly see in the life of Christ. Let’s call to mind that stunning example of his when he shocked his apostles when he started and insisted to wash their feet at the Last Supper. (cfr. Jn 13,1-17) 

 With humility and simplicity, we, like St. Joseph, would be enabled to see the sacredness of what may appear simply as ordinary duties according to our human standards. By being faithful to these ordinary duties, we, like St. Joseph, can practically manage to touch heaven while here on earth. The many ordinary little things we do can somehow acquire eternal and redemptive value. 

 Of course, it must have helped St. Joseph a lot to be keenly aware of whom he was taking care of. Proximity helps. But that should not be an excuse for us to feel not as lucky as St. Joseph. Christ is always close to us. He is always watching over us and guiding us all the time. We just have to learn how to discern and correspond better to that reality. 

 That’s why it’s important that from time to time we pause and pray so that we can have or regain our spiritual and supernatural bearing, and feel’s Christ’s continuous presence and guidance in our life and in our affairs, and be moved to react accordingly. 

 St. Joseph is showing us that the ordinary things in life, the performance of the duties inherent to our state in life, are the very occasions we can be with Christ and deal with him as we ought. 

 That’s when, like St. Joseph, we can also aspire to greatness in the very simple things of our life!

Never worry about anything

IN this Lenten season when we are encouraged to do some deep reflection and penance if only to grow in our spiritual life, to make ourselves more identified with Christ, we should try to develop a lifestyle of abiding faith and hope such that nothing should worry us. 

 And the reason for this is because Christ, the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity, takes care of everything. All we have to do is to try our best to be with Christ who makes himself ever available to us, providing us with everything that we need. 

 This Christian attitude has basis on what many saints have testified very vividly. St. Paul, for example, has these following testimonies to support that claim: 

 - “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4,6-7) 

 - “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Phil 4,12-13) 

 - “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” (2 Cor 4,8-10) 

 We really need to learn how to think, react and behave according to what our Christian faith teaches us. For this, we need to spend time meditating on these truths of our faith, and to develop the appropriate skills and attitude. We should not dare to live our life, tackling all sorts of conditions, by relying simply on our human powers. 

 What is also helpful is to avail ourselves of the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, where we can have the very body of Christ in us, and hopefully share his very own spirit that animated the souls of all the saints. 

 With Christ, we really would have no reason to fear, nor to wallow in worries, anxieties and sadness. Christ himself has reassured us in this regard: “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16,33) 

 Let’s also remember that these unfortunate states are fertile ground for the enemies of our soul, especially the devil, to take advantage of us. Rather we should learn to convert these unfortunate situations as occasions to go to Christ. 

 About the only reason to fear, worry and be sad is when we lose our faith, when we lose touch with God. We have to pray and pray so that our doubts and fears would not undermine our faith. 

 What also helps is to develop a sporting attitude in life, because, to be realistic about it, we will always have frustrations, disappointments, mistakes, failures, sins and defeats in our life. But we just have to learn how to move on, just like a good sportsman. 

 We should always be cheerful in life, and strive to show it even externally with smiles and happy, warm and encouraging dispositions. Even in our grief and mourning, we should manage to learn how to be serene, knowing that suffering and death have already been redeemed by Christ and are now endowed with redemptive power.

“A clean heart create for me, O God”

THAT’S from Psalm 51,12 that is often used as Responsorial Psalm in some Holy Masses. It’s a psalm that is worth keeping in mind always because in the end our real identity and condition can only be found in our heart. We should try our best that our heart be as clean and pure as possible, reflecting the very heart of Christ that is full of love. 

 We really need to take good care of our heart, which means that we should anchor it on Christ, since we are patterned after him. Thus, in the Book of Proverbs, we have this invitation from God, “My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.” (23,26) This invitation should be clear in our mind and heart, and we should do everything to be able to correspond to that invitation properly. 

 Nowadays when our heart is glutted with so many worldly things, it is really a tall order to say, yes, to this invitation. But with God’s grace, which we can always receive with due humility on our part, there is no doubt that we can do it. 

 Obviously, to get a handle on our heart, we first of all need to go to God. Our human powers alone can never be enough. They can even be dangerous, since they are often very limited and, worse, erratic. 

 This is where strict self-discipline is most needed. We cannot deny the fact that we are often dominated by passions inside us and fashions outside us. We have our usual weaknesses of pride, laziness, attachments, etc. Thus, we need to undertake a continuing struggle, using all kinds of spiritual armory to wage this daily battle and aim at nothing less than conquering our heart for Christ. 

 Things may look difficult and unwinnable, but with faith, with persistence and God’s abundant grace, we can actually manage. Besides, there is deep within us a natural longing for God. Remember St. Augustine’s words: “My heart is restless until it finds its rest in You.” The natural attraction of our heart, if not corrupted, is God. 

 If we don’t complicate our heart, we can easily be led to God because he is where all good comes from. If we can just discipline ourselves and allow ourselves to be guided by faith and reason, we can always find God. 

 He is not someone who takes delight in hiding from us. His presence is everywhere. Christ himself assured us: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt 28,20) 

 And when we manage to keep our heart clean, then we can experience what Christ said in one of the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Mt 5,8) 

 Imagine how it will be when we manage to see God in everything and at all times because we strive to make our heart clean and pure! To be sure, God is never sparing in giving everything that we need to make our heart clear and pure. Things would just depend on how we correspond to what God is giving us. 

 Everyday, we have to see to it that we strive to keep our heart clean and pure. We should never let it float in any which way. We have to see to it that our heart increasingly gets united to God until it is fully identified with him. As said earlier, we have all the means to achieve that goal. 

 Thus, we have to constantly ask the question: “Where do I give my heart? To whom do I give myself completely?” And let’s be ready with the correct answer.

What can build up our mental health

“I WILL praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.” That’s from Psalm 30,2, sometimes used as a Responsorial Psalm in some Holy Masses. It’s a psalm that is most worthy to keep in mind and heart always, for it does nothing other than to assure us that no matter how our life goes with all its drama, Christ takes care of everything. There is actually nothing to worry. 

 Of course, given our human limitations, we oftentimes cannot help but react to certain things in our life with overwhelming worries and sorrows. But we should learn to overcome them as quickly as possible, since we know, if we are guided by our Christian faith, that everything works out for the good as long as they are referred to and lived with Christ. (cfr. Rom 8,28) 

 We obviously have to avail of all that our medical sciences can offer to alleviate if not solve our problems in the area of mental health. But we should not forget that the ultimate way to handle issues that have a great, albeit adverse, bearing on our mental health is by strengthening our faith in God’s loving and merciful providence. 

 This is where the value of piety comes in, playing a crucial role in keeping us healthy mentally, emotionally, psychologically and even physically. Piety is our relationship with God. It is nourished by God’s gifts of faith, hope and charity to which we have to correspond knowingly, freely and lovingly. 

 We have to realize more deeply our need to have a genuine life of piety to be truly healthy, first in the spirit and then in the body. We have to spread this Good News widely. It hardly involves money or some material things. What only is needed is an act of faith, which is something spiritual, a matter of our will and intelligence and, of course, God’s grace which is always given. 

 How important it is that we get to have a clear idea about the intimate relationship between faith and psychology! At the moment, it seems that psychology is largely grounded and ruled by one’s feelings, moods, temperament or some organic elements alone, if not by some cultural or social factors, then even by mere ideologies. 

 There are even those who develop their psychological life along lines of mere techniques, or worse, by some drug-induced sense of stability and calmness or other escape and defense mechanisms. 

 Yes, the human and medical means are important, but what is truly indispensable is to develop an authentic life of piety. For this, we really have to learn to pray, to refer everything to God whom we have to regard as our Father who never fails us. Our belief and love for him should be such that we trust him for everything, even in those things that humanly speaking cannot anymore have human solutions. 

 This means that we also have to develop a certain sense of abandonment in the hands of God. It should be such that whatever happens in our life, we can still remain calm, cheerful, optimistic and confident. 

 Let’s not leave behind this need for piety even as we look for human solutions to our problems and challenges, and develop good mental health! Let’s strengthen our belief that, as mentioned, in the psalm cited above, Christ has rescued us already. We are assured of that. What should remain in our mind and heart is the joy and peace that come with our praising God always. This is what truly builds up our mental health!

Curing our blindness

THAT gospel episode about Christ curing a man born blind (cfr. Jn 9,1-41) reminds us that given the truth of our faith that we are supposed to live a spiritual and supernatural life with God, we are prone to have some kind of natural, if not infranatural blindness because we fail to enter into the spiritual and supernatural world, and prefer to remain in the natural level of our life. 

 Because of that, we miss to see many things that are actually proper for us to know and to live by. Our infranatural blindness is worse than our natural blindness because we can even fail to see the natural things of our life. That’s when we are in the state of sin that obviously would have a big effect on how we see and understand even the natural things. 

 Remember that in the beginning, in the life of our first parents before they fell into sin, they were in the state of original justice. They could see God and the things of God directly. 

 But since they fell into sin, they lost that state of original justice. And we, being their descendants, would now be born without that state of original justice. In this sense, we can also be said to be born blind. That’s what original sin is all about. 

 And to cure this blindness, the only way is to go to Christ who clearly said, “I am the light of the world…whoever follows me will have the life of life.” (Jn 8,12) Obviously, the upshot of this consideration is for us to know and love Christ to such an extent that we become like him as we should. In other words, we become “alter Christus” (another Christ). 

 As “alter Christus,” we should go to the extent when we can echo St. Paul’s words: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So, I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2,20) 

 With Christ we would have discernment, able to see the things of the heart of men rather than relying simply on appearance or some worldly trends. With Christ, we would be able to make proper judgments, rather than being judgmental. 

 We therefore should do everything to become more and more like Christ. We need to know him more by studying his life, meditating on the gospel, and following his example. We should try to make ourselves one with him especially through the sacraments, and most especially through the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. 

 Yes, we have all the means for us to truly become “alter Christus.” We have the sources of divine revelation that show us the truth about ourselves. We have the word of God. We have the Church and the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist. 

 We just have to make the necessary adjustments in the way we think, in the way we identify ourselves. It would not be presumptuous, even given our limitations and woundedness, to start thinking that “I am another Christ, ‘alter Christus.’” We just have to try our best, with God’s grace to think and act like Christ. 

 With Christ we would have the proper understanding of things. We would have a universal outlook, and we can take on anything that can happen to us, whether good or bad, because Christ himself has assumed everything human including to be like sin even if he himself has not committed any sin. “He (God) made him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Cor 5,21)

A call to return to God

THIS is one of the important messages of the Lenten season. We are asked to return to God even if we feel we do not deserve to be received by him. God’s love is such that it can heal whatever wound we have both in body and soul. God’s love can even bring back the dead to life again. 

 This Lenten message is somehow articulated in the Book of Hosea where it says, “Return, O Israel, to the Lord thy God, for you have fallen down by your iniquity.” (14,2) And then it continues with this assurance from the Lord: “I will heal their breaches, I will love them freely, for my wrath is turned away from them.” (14,5) 

 We should not hesitate to respond to this invitation, trying our best to do our part of going through some sincere transformation by way of true repentance that is deep and heartfelt, and not just through some outward rituals or gestures. 

 Let’s take this Lenten season as an occasion to realize more deeply our need for continuing repentance and conversion and to cultivate an abiding spirit of Christian penance that does not take away our hope, joy and peace. 

 We have to understand that conversion is a continuing affair for all of us in this life. We can never say, if we have to follow by what our Christian faith tells us, that we are good enough as to need conversion no more. We are all sinners, St. John said. And even the just man, as the Bible said, falls seven times in a day. 

Besides, it is this sense of continuing conversion that would really ensure us that whatever we do, whatever would happen to us, including our failures and defeats, would redound to what is truly good for the parties concerned and for everybody else in general. 

That’s because conversion brings us and everything that we have done in life to a reconciliation with God, from whom we come and to whom we go. In this regard, we just have to cultivate the spirit and virtue of penance. It’s not to paint a dark world for ourselves. If we believe in God, we know that our life ought to be always bright and cheerful, and that everything, including our mistakes, can work out for the good. (cfr. Rom 8,28) 

We cannot deny that we have weaknesses. And temptations are never lacking. And in spite of our best efforts, we know that sooner or later we find ourselves falling into sin. 

 We need to know how to deal with these conditions.  We need to find a way to derive some good from them, since if we have hope, some good can always be achieved from them. 

 The virtue of penance starts when we acknowledge these conditions about ourselves. We should be humble enough to accept this reality. 

 But the virtue of penance goes farther than that. It grows when we put up the necessary defenses against these enemies of our soul and wage a lifelong ascetical struggle. Yes, our life will be and should be a life of warfare, a war of peace and love that will also give us certain consolations in spite of the tension. 

 And for this penance to be a true virtue, it has to include an indomitable hope that can survive even in the worst of scenarios. In fact, this hope gets stronger the uglier also the warfare gets. 

 It's a hope based on God's never-sparing mercy. Some relevant words of St. Paul: “I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil 1,6) It would be good if these Pauline assurance forms the deep attitude we should have toward our fragile human condition.

Beware of the dumb devil

THAT gospel episode of Christ casting out a dumb devil reminds us that we have to be wary when we keep critical and negative thoughts in our mind and heart, allowing them to fester to such an extent that we cannot anymore have any positive and constructive thought about something or someone. (cfr. Lk 14,11-23) 

 To counter this, we should try to enter into a dialogue first with God in our prayer and then with all the parties involved in any issue. This means that we should try to be open, sincere and transparent in sorting out whatever problem we have, always relying on the belief and hope that God will always help, that with him everything will work out for the good. 

 And with the other parties involved, we should just present our side as well as listen to theirs, and see how things can be resolved peacefully and satisfactorily. Of course, in this dialogue, we should follow Christ’s way of presenting the truth and our views always with charity, which can mean that in the worst scenario, we, like Christ, would just allow ourselves to suffer for whatever unfairness may come about. 

 It’s when we go to God first whenever we have this kind of predicament that we can manage to overcome the tricks of the dumb devil, that is, when we can talk and start the process of having a dialogue that eventually will lead to some resolution of any problem or issue we have. 

 In this regard, we need to see to it that we are most aware of a persona-non-grata that is called pride. We should keep it at bay, exerting appropriate effort to resist its many strong impulses and urges. 

 Pride always spoils dialogue. It feeds on our self-interest to the point of making us deaf and blind to the points, let alone, the valid points, of the others. It usually sources its strength more from feelings than from reason, more from our own estimation of things than from faith that gives us the full picture of things and leads us to the common good. 

 Besides, pride usually has bad manners and employs bad language. It always tries to dominate the conversation, using bullying tactics. It is more interested in scoring more points than in earnestly looking for what is true and fair. Its logic clearly follows the path of selfishness. Charity is a complete stranger in pride. Suffering and humiliations play no positive role in pride. 

 When one, for example, is accused falsely of something, pride would lead him to react very badly, and even violently. He cannot stand being misjudged and mistreated. His pride-stained sense of justice would immediately give a knee-jerk response along the lines of the tooth-for-a-tooth law of the wild. 

 Pride leads one to see things superficially. There is no depth in its considerations. It gets entangled in the externals and in the appearances. Besides, it usually assumes a rigid attitude, unable to be flexible and to adapt to different circumstances. It makes a person one-track-minded. A proud person is always closed-minded. 

 We have to be extremely conscious of the workings of pride in us, because it is so embedded in our systems that we often would not know we are being victimized by it. A saint once said that pride is so strongly incorporated in our life that it would only disappear twenty-four hours after our death. 

 We need to be humble to allow the spirit of God, which is the spirit of truth, justice and mercy, to enter into our hearts, enabling us to engage in a fruitful dialogue.

Divine law and human law

SOMEHOW, when Christ said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not abolish but to fulfil,” (Mt 5,17) we are led to realize that there must be different categories and levels of law and that in the end, the ultimate distinction is between divine law and human law. 

 Divine law, of course, comes from a higher power, no less than God himself, and covers everything in our life since it focuses on the moral and spiritual dimensions of our life. Human law is made by men through a variety of agencies, and it mainly focuses on rules for social order, rights and governance. 

 This divine law has been embodied, revealed and commanded of us by Christ, the son of God who became man to redeem us and the very pattern of our humanity. As such, he rightly claims to be the fulfillment of all the laws we have. 

 We have to disabuse ourselves from the thought that our laws can be based only on our common sense, or on our own estimation of what is good and evil according to the values of practicality, convenience, etc., or on our traditions and culture, etc. 

 While these things have their legitimate role to play in our legal and judicial systems, we have to understand that they cannot be the primary and ultimate bases. It should be God, his laws and ways that should animate the way we make laws as well as the way we apply and live them. After all, being the Creator of all things, he is the one who establishes what is truly good and evil, what is right and wrong, what is fair and unfair. 

 In this regard, we have to learn to distinguish and properly blend both the letter and spirit of our human laws. That’s the ideal. In our earthly reality, of course, the letter of the law will always be found wanting in terms of capturing the whole spirit of the law which should channel the spirit of God. 

 This discrepancy between the letter and the spirit of the law has been referred to a number of times in the gospel. One example is when Christ told the Jews: "You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.” (Mk 7,9) 

 We need to understand that our laws, both in the civil and especially in the ecclesiastical sphere, should be animated by the spirit of God who knows all things and keeps everything in its proper order. We should not just make our laws, interpret and apply them to specific cases by basing them only on our own estimation of things, inspired only by some cultural, historical, political, social, economic or some ideological ethos. 

 We need to realize that it is Christ who ultimately gives the real meaning and purpose of our laws. We have to disabuse ourselves from the thought that our laws can be based only on our common sense, or on our own estimation of what is good and evil according to the values of practicality, convenience, etc., or on our traditions and culture, etc. 

 For this, we have to learn how to assume the very identity of Christ. This may need a certain discipline, like spending time meditating on the life and teachings of Christ, developing the art of being recollected and contemplative so that we would always be aware that our thoughts, desires, words and deeds should always be with Christ and not just by our own selves.

Why is God so forgiving?

AND why should we, like God, be forgiving also? These questions can rise after reading that gospel episode where St. Peter asked Christ how many times should he forgive someone who has offended him. (cfr. Mt 18,21-35) St. Peter dared to suggest, 7 times, which already meant a lot. But Christ told him, not only seven times, but seventy times seven times, which practically means always. 

 The quick answer to these questions is that no matter how we are to God and to each other, we will always remain children of God and brothers and sisters to each other. As such, we are meant to love God and everybody else, irrespective of how we behave. And it is forgiveness which is the ultimate form of love. 

 If God, in Christ, loves us so much that he became man and went all the way to offer his life for us, and if we are children of God who are supposed to be like God, then we too should have a love for God and for one another that is boundless. 

 Christ’s boundless love for us is shown not only in the fact that he offered his life for us—and as St. John said, “Greater love has no than this, that a man lays down his life for his friends” (Jn 15,13)—but he also offered forgiveness to those who crucified him. (cfr. Lk 23,34) 

 We should just learn how to be forgiving the way God in Christ is always forgiving us. And the reason is because by always forgiving, we liken ourselves with God, with Christ, who is the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity. Forgiving is the ultimate act of love which is the very essence of God and which is also intended for us since we are supposed to be God’s image and likeness. 

 Thus, we have to learn to be forgiving always of others, no matter how undeserving we feel they are of forgiveness. That’s how God forgave us. He took the initiative. He offered forgiveness and continues to do so if only to bring us back to him. 

 The awareness of this truth should also help us to develop the attitude to forgive one another as quickly as possible, since that is the only way we can learn to love. When we find it hard to forgive others, it is a clear sign that we are full of ourselves, are self-righteous, proud and vain. 

 We have to continually check on our attitude towards others because today’s dominant culture is filled precisely by the viruses of self-righteousness, that feeling that we are superior to others, etc. We have to do constant battle against that culture that undermines our duty to be always forgiving. 

 Obviously, to be always forgiving, we need to make a lot of sacrifice since we have to conquer our pride. Forgiveness is a real game-changer since with it we would be willing to let go of whatever hurt and anger we may have. It actually takes a huge weight off our shoulders. 

 Pride often stems from the feeling that we have been wronged or disrespected. But with forgiveness, we can manage to let go of that feeling, enabling us to be stronger than our ego. It’s not actually about letting someone off the hook. The guilty still has to face the consequences of his acts. But with forgiveness, we free ourselves from negative vibes. 

 With forgiveness, we can manage to be at peace with anyone even as we continue to sort out things to fix whatever problem or issue we may have at hand.

God is always merciful

CONSIDERING our proneness to sin, we should always remember that there is always hope because God’s mercy is ever available for us. While we should try our best to avoid sin, we know that we can only go so far. We should not anymore make a big issue about this fact of life. Let’s just accept it and align our reaction to it in accordance with God’s ways of dealing with our sinfulness. 

 In this regard, it is good to keep in mind a psalm that articulates this kind of attitude. It’s from Psalm 130, 7 which says: “Put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.” 

 Yes, with our sinfulness we need to remind ourselves that not everything is lost. On the contrary, such misfortune has also brought about a greater blessing from above. “O happy fault,” we sing in the Easter Vigil hymn of the Exsultet, and that is because our sinfulness has brought about a greater blessing from God. Due to our sin, God became man and gave us a way of how to handle the consequences of our sins. 

 In this regard, we can cite St. Paul’s words as being very relevant. “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” (Rom 5,20) And we can also relish these beautiful words from the Book of Ezekiel: “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord God. Would I not prefer he turns from his ways and live?” (18,23) 

 Our sins and everything related to them should not separate us from God. If ever, they should make us all the more eager to go to God, always convinced that forgiveness will always be given as long as we have the proper disposition. God never tires in forgiving us. His love for us is much greater than the gravest offense we can make against him. 

 Let us always remember that it is definitely a sign of the devil’s wiles and lies when we feel that we should run away, ashamed and afraid, from God after falling into some sin. When we sin, the first thing to do is to go immediately to God to ask for forgiveness which will always be given. 

 Just the same, we have to realize the gravity of our sin and do something about our vulnerability to it. We have to learn how to avoid the occasion of sin, temptations and sin itself. We have to learn how to wage an abiding spiritual combat against the enemies of God and of our soul. 

 But we should try to avoid abusing the goodness and mercy of God. In this regard, we have to form our conscience well so that we would know how to protect and defend ourselves from sin and temptations, how to know and judge our moral acts properly, etc. 

 Sad to say, we can suspect that there are already quite a number of people and even large portions of societies all the over the world that seem to have lost the sense of sin. And as a consequence, many cases of depression and suicides are now reported. Temptations and sin can only give, at best, temporary and fake pleasures, but they wreck great havoc in the lives of people. 

 When we are asked to acknowledge our sins at the beginning of the Mass, let us review the whole drama of our sinfulness and also the assured mercy of God. That’s how we can be realistic about our life here on earth.

The water that springs into life eternal

THAT’S Jesus Christ, of course. That image of him is highlighted in that gospel episode where Christ, tired from his journey, stopped by a well in Sichar and met a Samaritan woman whom he later converted simply by talking about thirst and water. (cfr. Jn 4,5-42) 

 It’s a story that draws attention to the fact that God’s interventions in our life can take place in very ordinary, simple occasions. In fact, it occurs all the time, irrespective of how things are. 

 It brings to mind the truth of our faith that our deepest longing and thirst for unending joy, peace and fulfillment can be satisfied in the ordinary little things of our daily affairs. 

 We should just learn how to find Christ in the little things which comprise most of our day, if not of our whole life. This is not a gratuitous, baseless assertion, an act of fantasizing, of hunting lions in the corridors of the house. 

 This is as real and true as can be. Of course, it requires faith, but if we care to listen to faith, we will, in fact, find it reasonable and practicable, not something quixotic, cocooned in the realm of the abstract, the absurd and the impossible. 

 Christ is God made man. As God, he is involved in our creation, in our getting into existence. As such, since it’s existence that is involved in creation, he cannot withdraw from us, since by doing so would be like God withdrawing our existence. Since we obviously exist, ergo, he is in and with us by the very fact of our existence. 

 As God and man, he is our redeemer, the one who, in a manner of speaking, would re-do or re-create us after our original state of humanity has been damaged by our sin. 

 As such, since we all need to be redeemed at all times, he neither can withdraw from us, since by doing so would be like this God-and-man, Jesus Christ, withdrawing from our redemption. Since we need to be redeemed always, Christ is also always with us. He actually cannot help but redeem us, because of his great love for us. 

 We need to be more aware of this reality about ourselves, since we often do not realize it, dominated as we are with the merely material and sensible realities and with what is the here-and-now and what is immediately felt. We many times fail to go beyond this level. 

 As the living water that springs into life eternal, Christ is the only one that can satisfy our spiritual thirst and our deepest longing for connection with God. He offers us a life that never ends even while we are still in this world. He effects in us some kind of inner transformation. 

 And like that Samaritan woman who, when she discovered who Christ really was, went around inviting her friends to see Christ, let us also be eager to bring our friends and everyone we meet to Christ, telling them that Christ offers us the ultimate joy and fulfillment that everyone aspires for. 

 Let’s keep this apostolic zeal burning and spreading, making it as contagious as possible since what Christ offers us really gives us what is truly best for us. Like Christ, let us take advantage of all the ordinary, little events and circumstances of our life to make our friends meet Christ, the living water that springs into life eternal!

No evil can conquer authentic love

THAT’S what we can get from the story in the Book of Genesis about Joseph and his brothers. (cfr. 37,3-18) Joseph was the favorite of his father, Jacob, which made his other brothers so jealous of him that they went to the extent of plotting against him. They initially wanted to kill him, but later on changed their mind and instead sold him as a slave to some passing merchants who in turn sold him to an official in Egypt. 

 We know how the story ended, and what a happy ending it was! Joseph became a big man in Egypt, and when a famine broke out in the land, everyone, including his brothers, went to Joseph to ask for food. At first, the brothers did not recognize Joseph, and when, at last, they did, they were so filled with shame and fear that they thought they would be executed. 

 But Joseph thought nothing of that sort, and instead, with great magnanimity hugged them when his request to bring their father to him was granted. He reassured them with these heartwarming words: “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” (Gen 50,20) 

 This happy twist of fate is typical of God’s ways which can only be characterized by pure love, a love that remains so in spite of how things go. This was best illustrated, of course, by Christ who suffered the worst evil in the world—the killing of the Son of God himself, and yet gave the best effect—the salvation of mankind. 

 We should keep this truth of our Christian faith in mind, not because we can abuse the goodness of God toward us, but rather because no matter how deep we can fall into sin, we can be sure that God is all too eager to bring us back to him. He is willing to suffer for us. We just have to show at least a little sign of repentance. 

 St. Paul reassured us of this most merciful love of God toward when he said: “Where sin abounded, grace did more abound.” (Rom 5,20) We have to strengthen our belief in this truth of our faith. God is always in control of things no matter how much we mess up with them. He allows evil to take place, since he respects our freedom that can choose evil instead of the good. But he knows how to turn the tables on evil. 

 Yes, God is always in control of things. But we just have to be ready to tackle whatever possibilities the use and misuse of our freedom can cause or occasion. We should just be sport about this condition of our life here on earth. God is in control of everything. 

 This truth of our faith should always be in our mind even as we make use of all human means to resolve whatever issues, problems, crises, etc., we may have. We always have to use our common sense, our sciences and technologies, our culture, etc. to resolve our problems. But we should never leave God behind. 

 God may allow what is termed as the “dark night of the soul,” but that is precisely because he is giving us another opportunity to grow more in goodness and in strength. Let’s remember that God never loses any battle, much less, the whole war, unless we allow it. When we encounter some bad conditions in life, let’s always remember that we are actually given the golden chance to derive a greater good from them.

Trust in God always

ONE of the intended effects of the Lenten season is the transformation of our heart such that we trust God more and, in fact, always, rather than getting trapped in our tendency to rely mainly, if not only, on our human and natural powers. 

 This was highlighted in the Book of Jeremiah where we hear our Lord saying, “Cursed be the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm and whose heart departs from the Lord.” Then he proceeds to say, “Blessed be the man who trusts in the Lord, and the Lord shall be his confidence.” (17,5.7) 

 In all our affairs and situations in life, we should always go to God to ask for his help and guidance, and to trust his ways and his providence, even if the outcome of our prayers and petitions appears unanswered, if not, contradicted. 

 This should be the attitude to have. It’s an attitude that can only indicate our unconditional faith and love for God who is always in control of things, and at the same time can also leave us in peace and joy even in the worst of the possibilities. 

 Remember the Book of Ecclesiastes where it says that for everything there is a season, “a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal…” But everything is under God’s control, and even if we are capable of eternity, we just the same “cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” (3,1ff) We just have to trust him. 

 We have to follow the example of the many characters in the gospel who, feeling helpless in the many predicaments they were in, earnestly rushed to Christ for some succor. They went to him unafraid and unashamed and they got what they wanted. 

 So, we need to enliven our faith, always renewing it since we all know that our profession of faith and trust in God, no matter how fervently said, can only go so far. We need to continually renew our faith in order to trust God’s will and ways when we encounter seemingly unbearable predicaments. 

 Remember that episode of the apostles in a boat that was about to sink because of the big waves. (cfr. Mt 8,23-27) Christ reproached them for their lack of faith. And in that parable of the wheat and the weeds, (cfr. Mt 13,24-30) Christ was clearly telling them and us that we should just go on doing a lot of good even if we are disturbed by many evils, because in the end Christ would make the proper judgment. 

 He assures us that with him we will never work in vain and everything would just work out for the good. (cfr. Is 65,23; Rom 8,28) He assures us that as St. Teresa of Avila once said, he can write straight with crooked lines. 

 We need to learn to trust God, and in his word and in his ways, no matter how they seem unreasonable, impractical or impossible. For this, we have to go beyond our own understanding and estimation of things, and open our mind and heart to the light of our faith and love for God and for others. 

 While it’s true that we have to use all our human faculties in dealing with our earthly affairs and concerns, that is, our intelligence and will, our sciences and arts, our common sense and cultural and social wisdom, we should not forget that all these would have no real value unless they are engaged with our faith in God.

How to properly handle our greatness

THIS Lenten season, let's reflect on the importance of serving others, especially when we have been blessed with talents and privileges. Instead of expecting to be served, let's cultivate a heart of service and humility. 

 This we can gather from what Christ himself said once to his disciples: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mt 20,26-28) 

 This is how we can properly handle our greatness which we can always presume since, first of all, among God’s creatures we are the ones who have been created in his very image and likeness, meant to share in the very life and nature of God. All other creatures, except the angels, come from God and belong to God, but do not go to the extent of entering into the very life and nature of God. 

 We need to realize that our greatness as God’s image and likeness and that attitude of wanting to serve and not to be served are like two sides of the same coin. One cannot go without the other. This was clearly shown by Christ himself who, being God, emptied himself by becoming man and going all the way to offering his life as a ransom for our sins. 

 Indeed, there is an intimate and mutual relation between greatness and humility expressed in wanting to serve rather than to be served. When one is truly humble, it can only show the greatness of his heart. And when one is great in stature and dignity, he knows he is there to serve more than anything else. True greatness is never shown in pride and vanity. It is proven and verified in humility. 

 This mutual relation between humility and greatness is expressed when we manage to value others, whoever and however they are, above ourselves and when we look after their interest instead of our own. (cfr. Phil 2,3-4) 

 This is what we clearly see in the life of Christ. Let’s call to mind that stunning example of his when he shocked his apostles when he started and insisted to wash their feet at the Last Supper. 

 For us to have this humility and greatness in our life, we need to be always with Christ and Mary. We need to be in constant conversation with Christ and Mary, referring everything to them, asking them for the answers to our questions, clarifications to the many issues we have to grapple with in life, strength for our weaknesses and temptations, contrition and conversion after our falls, etc. 

 We should do everything to keep this state of humility alive in us all the time. We know very well how easy it is for us to take this virtue for granted. We have to realize more vividly how vulnerable we are to the ways of pride, arrogance, self-centeredness, desire for power and domination, etc. Humility keeps us guarded against these dangers. 

 And when we happen to receive praises and honors from others because of our good works, let’s keep our feet firmly stuck to the ground, not allowing ourselves to be intoxicated. We should not allow these praises and honors to go to our head and cast some evil spell over us. 

 Instead, we have to thank God profusely. All praises and honors belong to him. What we should realize also is that those praises and honors given to us are actually a sign that we have to give ourselves more to God and to others. Our sense of duty and responsibility should become sharper.

The proper setting of our intentions

THIS is none other than to do everything in our life with the intention of loving and glorifying God. And given how we, as children of God, are related to him, we should also do everything with the intention of loving others. We should not be doing things just for our own good. 

 This is what purity of intention means. We should be very careful with our intentions. Since they are hidden, we can easily play around with them. We can appear good outside but bad inside. Our deeds may be considered as acts of generosity and compassion, but the intentions may be those of envy, conceit and the like. 

 We have to be most careful in handling our intentions. They play a strategic role in our life, for how and where we direct them would determine whether we want to be with God or simply with our own selves. 

 Our intentions express who and where in the end we want to be. Do we choose God, or do we simply choose ourselves, or the world in general? It’s actually a choice between good and evil. 

 We really need to take care of our intentions. We have to do our best to see to it that we always have purity of intention in everything that we do, so that we only love and serve God, and because of that, we can properly love and serve everybody else. 

 This concern was somehow referred to in that gospel episode where Christ lamented over the hypocrisy and inconsistency of the leading Jews at that time. (cfr. Mt 23,1-12) “All their works they do for to be seen of men. For they make their phylacteries broad, and enlarge their fringes. And they love the first places at feasts, and the first chairs in the synagogues,” he said. 

 When our intentions are not pure, when they are diluted with some ulterior motives, there is no way but for us to fall into some form of inconsistencies and improper priorities. 

 We need to realize then that we have to take care of our intention, making it as explicit as possible, and honing it to get engaged with its proper and ultimate object who is God. We should try our best to shun being simply casual or cavalier about this responsibility. 

 Right now, we can say that hardly is this concern given due attention. People seem to be simply pursuing their own personal intentions, practically doing self-indulgence. We need to correct this anomaly. 

 In anything that we do, let’s see to it that our intentions are pure. That is to say, that we have to be motivated always by love for God and neighbor. And by love, we mean that we follow God’s commandments as clearly articulated by Christ himself: “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (Jn 14,15) 

 And the epitome of this obedience to God’s commandments is Christ himself, who said: “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of him who sent me.” (Jn 6,38) The secret therefore of love, which is obeying God’s will, is to have the mind and heart of Christ. That is to say, to be ‘another Christ’ which we can always attain because Christ himself has given us all the means to achieve that ideal. 

 For us to have purity of intention, we should be humble enough to ask for it from God first. We should not dare to think that we can have purity of intention by simply relying on our own efforts. We need God’s grace first of all.

Let’s always be merciful

ONE of the things that we are encouraged to learn and develop during this Lenten season is how to be merciful always. This we can gather from the gospel of St. Luke where we hear Christ telling his disciples: 

 “Be therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall be given to you: good measure and pressed down and shaken together and running over shall they give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you shall mete withal, it shall be measured to you again.” (6,36-38) 

 It’s quite clear that what Christ was telling his disciples, and now us, is to reflect the very love and generosity of God to everyone, irrespective of how they are to us. Yes, we need to sort out all our differences and conflicts as best that we can, but knowing our wounded condition, we can only go so far in that regard. What is important is that no matter where our justice can only reach, we should never fail to show mercy to everyone. 

 Christ himself showed us how to live by this standard when, in spite of all the preaching and miracles he did for the people, he just submitted himself, completely sinless as he was, to death by crucifixion without any complaint if only to save us, to recover us from our alienation from God in whose image and likeness we have been created, and in whose life and nature we are supposed to share. 

 And so, whatever differences and conflicts we may have among ourselves, whatever mistakes and failures we commit, we just have to be merciful in the end. 

 Mercy should be above all other considerations. It certainly goes beyond what our human justice can cover and resolve. Thus, even as we try our best to resolve our differences and conflicts through our legal and judicial system, and our other informal ways of justice, we should be ready and quick to dispense mercy to everyone. 

 Let’s not get detained too long by the mistakes that we all commit. Rather, assured of God’s mercy and liberally dispensing mercy ourselves to one another, let’s look forward to what can be done to help, to heal what is wounded, to restore what was destroyed, to repair what was damaged, to improve what still needs to be improved. 

 Christ was clear about how it is not in him to condemn people. “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save.” (Lk 9,56) We should also have this attitude. And so, we need to expand our mind and heart so as to be magnanimous always with those with whom we have some problems. 

 We have to be wary when we get too concerned about justice without as much being concerned about mercy. We would be treading on dangerous ground that way. Instead of attaining justice, we most likely would be generating more injustice. 

 In fact, we should be more concerned with mercy than with justice, given the obvious limitations of our human justice. It’s not that we should ignore justice altogether. We have need at least to air out our differences and enter into some discussion. But everything has to be marked by delicacy and refinement. 

 And no matter how far our justice can only take us, we should be in the end always merciful. This is how God treats us. This should also how we should treat one another.