HAPPY Easter to all! Christ is truly risen, never to die again. We are now a new creation. Alleluia, hosanna, praise the Lord! Sin and death have been conquered by Christ’s cross.
We have reason to be happy and hopeful, no matter how dark our earthly situations may be. We have to remember, though, that our own resurrection in Christ always has to pass through the cross, through suffering.
Our death is not forever. Our pain and sorrow here are emptied of their sting. With Christ’s resurrection, we have hope of the kind that does not defraud, to live on and conquer evil. Sadness should not stay with us for long.
All this translates to the truth that Easter is the celebration of our new, redeemed life in Christ in the Spirit. It’s not just human life—biological, physical, professional, social, etc. It is supernatural life, the life really meant for us. Let’s be more conscious of this wonderful albeit demanding truth.
This is the life that can contend with any situation in our earthly affairs. It has the capacity to go beyond death, beyond sin. It has tremendously healing, strengthening and purifying powers.
For this to happen, we have to follow Christ. Of course, not only in the physical or emotional sense. We follow him through faith, hope and charity, supernatural virtues that connect us vitally with him.
We follow him when we cling to his teaching, now the doctrine also of his Church. When we assimilate his teaching and make it our own, we unite ourselves with his will. We will be in the same wavelength with him.
We follow him when we avail ourselves of the sacraments, his continuing presence and action. Christ continues to live on. Precisely he resurrected. Death has no dominion over him. And though he already sits in the right hand of his father, he makes himself easily available to us. He in fact wants to enter our life.
We follow him when we make ourselves active and living members of his Church, allowing ourselves to be governed pastorally by his ministers, the clergy and the hierarchy, from the Pope down to the last priest and deacon. Christ leads us through them.
We need to have the necessary dispositions to achieve all these requirements for following Christ. We need to be humble, docile and obedient, completely free and responsible which should go together always.
And given the complicated conditions of our life today, we have to be shrewdly prudent. We need to have the prudence of the spirit, never of the flesh, no matter how attractive the latter tries to make itself up.
Right now, with the elections coming, we need to be very discerning in choosing our leaders. If we truly live the spirit of Easter, then we have to choose leaders who are clearly pro-life, not pro-death nor anti-life.
We may have varying opinions—valid and with their advantages and disadvantages—with respect to purely political, economic and social issues. In these issues, we have to learn to dialogue civilly, respecting one another’s opinions.
But when it comes to matters of faith and morals, like what the life issues are all about, then we should try to choose what promotes life over death, what favors true good over attractive evil, doing this always with charity.
Anti-life politicians, simply put, are those who are for contraception, divorce, abortion, same-sex unions, immoral family planning methods, etc. We have to expose them.
Since many of these anti-life politicians usually crow that they are actually for life, then we have to examine whether they follow truly Christ. Thus we have to see how closely they follow Christ’s doctrine, his sacraments, and his Church.
We have to be wary of politicians’ and ideologues’ charming ways. We have to assess their views and positions according to the sure touchstones of prudence.
This is, of course, a very delicate task. It should be done with utmost respect for freedom and in utmost charity. This is because the truth can only be properly affirmed and defended in charity.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Taking sanctity to the next level
THE Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences is a Vatican office tasked to monitor and make in-depth study of world social developments. As such, it carries out an important function of the Church.
This is because the Church, while mainly religious, spiritual and supernatural in character and mission, cannot avoid having to grapple with mundane events. In the first place, it is immersed in the world.
To effectively shepherd souls to their ultimate destination, the Church has to know how to Christianize the world. While its mission transcends worldly dimension, the Church cannot escape from worldly affairs.
Thus, it is important to distinguish between the material and the spiritual, what would comprise our earthly progress and what our spiritual and supernatural growth would entail. We should avoid confusing them.
At the same time, we have to know the relation and unity between our material and spiritual dimensions, our temporal occupations and eternal vocation. Any moral gap in these two dimensions should be bridged.
This is our inescapable condition which we have to learn to properly live with. It is not easy at all, but again it is not impossible. What is more, we just have to find an effective way to do this integrating act, because it is necessary.
We have to understand that our salvation is not only a purely spiritual and personal affair. That means nothing unless it gives due attention to our complete character that includes our material and social aspects.
This is taking our sanctity to the next level. This is precisely the self-understanding of the Church today, as embodied in many documents like the pastoral constitution “Gaudium et spes,” Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, etc.
The good thing about this Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences is that
there’s a serious, inter-disciplinary effort to know the root causes of world developments, so as to infuse the proper Christian spirit into them.
It is manned by very able men and women, all professionals and experts in their fields. There’s a regular program of activities, study sessions, meetings and exchanges as well as special initiatives when good reason warrants them.
In short, it is a living and working entity, governed both by love for the Church and competence that includes the indispensable and tricky prudence from all its members.
In its current plenary session, it tackles the question of charity and justice in the relations among nations and peoples. It is listing some worrying signs of the times that need to be addressed. It promises to be an exciting session.
I just hope something like this can be replicated in the local levels of our Church. We have to give more attention to how our Christianity can be consistently lived in our social life—in our business, politics, entertainment, etc.
If there already are such offices in the local levels, then we may need to put more life into them, since there’s hardly anything substantial heard from them.
Instead, we get the impression many Church leaders are awkward in this regard. We have to go beyond knee-jerk responses to issues, recycled motherhood statements, idle attacks and condemnations, all bluster-and-bombast stuff.
It is for these reasons that complaints about clericalism or undue interference of priests and bishops in civil life are heard.
Toward this end, I believe we have enough professionals with true love for
the Church and competence who can help. Let’s work toward a more constructive pastoral ministry of our earthly affairs.
Also, there is a need for Church leaders to be more familiar with social issues and to learn how to effectively shepherd souls in this area. Thus, the Church’s social doctrine has to be mastered. This will help us overcome our blind and soft spots.
This obviously will require a lot of prayer, study, patience, humility, mercy, fortitude. The capacity to be flexible, to dialogue and consult all parties, to adapt with changing situations, and to act, should be cultivated.
Of course, all these virtues should spring from an authentic personal sanctity. This is the barest requirement.
This is because the Church, while mainly religious, spiritual and supernatural in character and mission, cannot avoid having to grapple with mundane events. In the first place, it is immersed in the world.
To effectively shepherd souls to their ultimate destination, the Church has to know how to Christianize the world. While its mission transcends worldly dimension, the Church cannot escape from worldly affairs.
Thus, it is important to distinguish between the material and the spiritual, what would comprise our earthly progress and what our spiritual and supernatural growth would entail. We should avoid confusing them.
At the same time, we have to know the relation and unity between our material and spiritual dimensions, our temporal occupations and eternal vocation. Any moral gap in these two dimensions should be bridged.
This is our inescapable condition which we have to learn to properly live with. It is not easy at all, but again it is not impossible. What is more, we just have to find an effective way to do this integrating act, because it is necessary.
We have to understand that our salvation is not only a purely spiritual and personal affair. That means nothing unless it gives due attention to our complete character that includes our material and social aspects.
This is taking our sanctity to the next level. This is precisely the self-understanding of the Church today, as embodied in many documents like the pastoral constitution “Gaudium et spes,” Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, etc.
The good thing about this Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences is that
there’s a serious, inter-disciplinary effort to know the root causes of world developments, so as to infuse the proper Christian spirit into them.
It is manned by very able men and women, all professionals and experts in their fields. There’s a regular program of activities, study sessions, meetings and exchanges as well as special initiatives when good reason warrants them.
In short, it is a living and working entity, governed both by love for the Church and competence that includes the indispensable and tricky prudence from all its members.
In its current plenary session, it tackles the question of charity and justice in the relations among nations and peoples. It is listing some worrying signs of the times that need to be addressed. It promises to be an exciting session.
I just hope something like this can be replicated in the local levels of our Church. We have to give more attention to how our Christianity can be consistently lived in our social life—in our business, politics, entertainment, etc.
If there already are such offices in the local levels, then we may need to put more life into them, since there’s hardly anything substantial heard from them.
Instead, we get the impression many Church leaders are awkward in this regard. We have to go beyond knee-jerk responses to issues, recycled motherhood statements, idle attacks and condemnations, all bluster-and-bombast stuff.
It is for these reasons that complaints about clericalism or undue interference of priests and bishops in civil life are heard.
Toward this end, I believe we have enough professionals with true love for
the Church and competence who can help. Let’s work toward a more constructive pastoral ministry of our earthly affairs.
Also, there is a need for Church leaders to be more familiar with social issues and to learn how to effectively shepherd souls in this area. Thus, the Church’s social doctrine has to be mastered. This will help us overcome our blind and soft spots.
This obviously will require a lot of prayer, study, patience, humility, mercy, fortitude. The capacity to be flexible, to dialogue and consult all parties, to adapt with changing situations, and to act, should be cultivated.
Of course, all these virtues should spring from an authentic personal sanctity. This is the barest requirement.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Mercy, mercy, mercy
IN a priest’s daily prayers, the Breviary, there’s a psalm that never fails to warm my heart. It is a beautiful hymn on divine mercy, meant for us to learn also, since our Lord said: “Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful.” It goes:
“Give thanks to the Lord for he is good / for his mercy endures forever. / Let the sons of Israel say: / ‘His mercy endures for ever.’ / Let the sons of Aaron say: / ‘His mercy endures for ever.’ / Let those who fear the Lord say: / ‘His mercy endures for ever…” (Ps 118)
Of course, there’s in the psalms a certain element that makes us flow in a prayerful stream of thoughts. Its lilt makes us recollected in peace, making us feel at home with the one who is precisely our original father—God. I hope many of us can rediscover the beauty of the psalms.
Divine mercy is the culmination of God’s love for us. It shows us who we truly are to God. We are not just any creature. We are no just even the best creature in the material world, able to know and choose.
We are God’s children, created in his image and likeness, endowed not only
with the best the natural world can give. We have been gratuitously raised to share in the very nature and life of God! This happens through grace.
It is this innate, original dignity we all have that, in a way, does not allow God to ever forget us, no matter how bad we have been. We can even say that the more mean we are, the more God shows his love for us.
Remember what our Lord said to Simon who thought ill of the woman who washed our Lord’s feet with ointment: “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much. But to whom less is forgiven, he loves less.” (Lk 7,46)
Many practical considerations can spring from this fundamental realization
of who we are. One is that we have to learn to be truly patient, eagerly forgiving and open to all. We deserve nothing less than this as we deal with one another.
No matter how different one may be from us, especially in terms of culture,
mentality, attitudes, and even of morality and spirituality, we need to be patient, quick to give excuses and to forgive, hardly taking any offense.
That’s why we have to be very open and strong, staying away from being overly sensitive and rigid in our own ways and styles. Flexibility is always a mark of a strong man. Far from weakening our personality, this attitude enhances it as it makes us more like Christ.
Thus, we have to learn the soft and gentle skills of being affable and ikeable to all. Good manners, refined ways, warm dispositions, details of urbanity are always worth cultivating. Same with highlighting the positive and the unifying.
This, of course, does not do away with the requirements of justice and truth. Mercy demands justice and truth, but somehow it goes beyond them, purifying them and setting them in their proper place and context.
Mercy does not allow justice to lapse to revenge, anger, irritation. It does not allow truth to be cold, unfeeling, heartless. It provides the proper solution for justice and truth to serve the ultimate good of man.
Where justice tends to give a defined, focused picture of a situation, mercy gives the large picture and perspective. Where truth tends to be precise and exacting, mercy protects it from being discriminatory and self-righteous.
Mercy reminds us all that we are always brothers and sisters to one another, whatever may be our condition, differences and conflicts. It reminds us to love one another the way our Lord loves us. Even the enemy is object of such love.
Mercy, in the end, elevates justice and truth to the level of God, taking it away from being mere play things and instruments of clever men. We have to learn the ways of mercy! That’s the need today.
“Give thanks to the Lord for he is good / for his mercy endures forever. / Let the sons of Israel say: / ‘His mercy endures for ever.’ / Let the sons of Aaron say: / ‘His mercy endures for ever.’ / Let those who fear the Lord say: / ‘His mercy endures for ever…” (Ps 118)
Of course, there’s in the psalms a certain element that makes us flow in a prayerful stream of thoughts. Its lilt makes us recollected in peace, making us feel at home with the one who is precisely our original father—God. I hope many of us can rediscover the beauty of the psalms.
Divine mercy is the culmination of God’s love for us. It shows us who we truly are to God. We are not just any creature. We are no just even the best creature in the material world, able to know and choose.
We are God’s children, created in his image and likeness, endowed not only
with the best the natural world can give. We have been gratuitously raised to share in the very nature and life of God! This happens through grace.
It is this innate, original dignity we all have that, in a way, does not allow God to ever forget us, no matter how bad we have been. We can even say that the more mean we are, the more God shows his love for us.
Remember what our Lord said to Simon who thought ill of the woman who washed our Lord’s feet with ointment: “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much. But to whom less is forgiven, he loves less.” (Lk 7,46)
Many practical considerations can spring from this fundamental realization
of who we are. One is that we have to learn to be truly patient, eagerly forgiving and open to all. We deserve nothing less than this as we deal with one another.
No matter how different one may be from us, especially in terms of culture,
mentality, attitudes, and even of morality and spirituality, we need to be patient, quick to give excuses and to forgive, hardly taking any offense.
That’s why we have to be very open and strong, staying away from being overly sensitive and rigid in our own ways and styles. Flexibility is always a mark of a strong man. Far from weakening our personality, this attitude enhances it as it makes us more like Christ.
Thus, we have to learn the soft and gentle skills of being affable and ikeable to all. Good manners, refined ways, warm dispositions, details of urbanity are always worth cultivating. Same with highlighting the positive and the unifying.
This, of course, does not do away with the requirements of justice and truth. Mercy demands justice and truth, but somehow it goes beyond them, purifying them and setting them in their proper place and context.
Mercy does not allow justice to lapse to revenge, anger, irritation. It does not allow truth to be cold, unfeeling, heartless. It provides the proper solution for justice and truth to serve the ultimate good of man.
Where justice tends to give a defined, focused picture of a situation, mercy gives the large picture and perspective. Where truth tends to be precise and exacting, mercy protects it from being discriminatory and self-righteous.
Mercy reminds us all that we are always brothers and sisters to one another, whatever may be our condition, differences and conflicts. It reminds us to love one another the way our Lord loves us. Even the enemy is object of such love.
Mercy, in the end, elevates justice and truth to the level of God, taking it away from being mere play things and instruments of clever men. We have to learn the ways of mercy! That’s the need today.
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