Smile, laugh, have fun

AS long as all these are properly grounded and oriented,
there’s nothing at all to worry. Smiling, laughing and having fun
would do us no harm, and in fact would be and would do good to all.
The world would be a much better place to live, work and face our
usual as well as our unusual concerns.

            If we manage to smile, to laugh and maintain a good sense
of humor, in spite of whatever and all because of love of God and of
others, then it can only mean we are healthy not only bodily but also
spiritually.

            We need to cultivate this art of smiling and laughing
especially these days when we see a lot of harassed faces. It’s indeed
ironic that even as we seem to progress because we now enjoy a lot of
technological facilities and many advancements and developments in
other areas, the number of distorted and contorted face has also
increased.

            The Holy Father has talked about this phenomenon sometime
ago. He made reference to people with funeral faces. This should not
be the case, since if we truly go by our faith, there’s indeed no
reason to feel sad, let alone, show it physically.

            Everything has already been taken care of by Christ.
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace,”
he reassured us. “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage;
I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16,33)

            It’s important that we know the ultimate source of our
peace and serenity, our sense of confidence and hope that would enable
us to be cheerful at all times no matter what. It’s in Christ.

            In other words, the art of smiling and laughing would
depend on how truly and vitally united we are with Christ. It’s not
merely a matter of luck, of some advantages we happen to have in life
in terms of health, wealth, social position, talents and other
endowments.

            It’s when we truly encounter Christ who actually comes to
us and who never abandons us, and overcome our initial fear in meeting
him, and follow him as closely as possible, when we would be filled
with indescribable joy that would simply overflow.

            Let’s remember that the apostles themselves were driven to
great fear when they met Christ in some unusual occasions, as when
Christ walked on the water. But when they were reassured it was
Christ, they immediately became very happy.

            Obviously, this joy will come when we know how to live in
the presence of God, how to pray and refer things always to him, never
feeling alone to face the vagaries of life. It comes and develops when
we have an intimate relation with him, with his teachings, with his
will at every moment.

            It comes and develops when we, like Christ, would overcome
the fear of the cross, of any problem we can have in life, when we
know how to react to anything in a supernatural way, with faith, hope
and charity, much like how Christ behaved when his time to suffer and
die came.

            It should be a constant intention in our prayer that we
grow in identification with Christ, and then start to make adjustments
in our attitudes and ways of seeing and doing things, to let the
forces of faith, hope and charity to irrigate our thoughts, desires,
plans, words, and general behaviour.

            Yes, we can avail of some finishing-school type of
developing cheerfulness and sense of humor, like learning how to crack
jokes, to make fun of oneself, to act like a comedian or jester for
the others, but only as a consequence of an authentic relationship
with Christ or at the instance of faith, hope and charity.

            I believe that this concern for learning how to smile,
laugh and have fun is a real and urgent one that needs general
attention. It might be a good idea if we can devise a way of
monitoring the level of authentic joy and cheerfulness in the
different levels of society.

            Things should start with oneself, then with the family and
the neighbourhood. Schools and other forms of community life should be
marked by a healthy brand of cheerfulness.

            Yes, we have to practice to smile and laugh and have clean
fun. Parents should plan things so that everyone at home smiles and
has a good time, in spite of whatever problems there may be. Let’s
remember education starts at home, before it is sustained in the
schools.  Might be good to collect jokes and nice, edifying anecdotes
for this purpose.

Is chastity a lost cause?

IT may look that way, but the answer is definitely, No. It
can never be a lost cause. In fact, things are getting more exciting
in this area. Let’s face this crisis with great optimism.

            And the reason for that is precisely the very same reason
why many of us are pushed to think chastity is already a lost cause.
The complex and seemingly impossible challenges, the ugliness of the
situation has made this virtue more important, more relevant, more
desirable.

            As to whether chastity can still be achieved and lived in
a stable way, you can be sure that it can. Surprises can happen.
Miracles do happen. While we have to do everything we can, let’s
remember that God is always in the middle of things. If Christ was
able to resurrect a dead man, the recovery of chastity in a person and
in society is nothing compared to that!

            Yes, it’s true that we cannot and should not underestimate
the gravity of the problem. Pornography is everywhere and is easily
accessible. Even kids as young as 8 can get it in a click. One can
avail of it with apparent impunity. In fact, one can avail of it also
with apparent great benefits, or so they say.

            We have a good number of people, especially the young, who
are already crazed with sex. Cases of sexual addiction are increasing
by leaps and bounds, and not everything in this regard is reported
yet.

            Marital infidelity is still like a byword among many
people. Flings, one-night stands, hook-ups are getting common. We now
have the same-sex marriage issue. You can just imagine what goes
inside the mind and heart of many people, and the solitary abuses
people commit right and left in thought, desire, word and deed.

            Yet, in spite of all these, there is still hope. We just
have to be realistic, and that should start with a boost to our faith
that with Christ, who already died for our sins, the impossible can be
made possible.

            Which means that we have to feel at home with the reality
that in this life we are expected to do the impossible—with God’s
grace. If you think that nothing works unless it is under your control
or power, be convinced that you are wrong. We have to enliven our life
of faith and piety. This is the indispensable minimum.

            There is no use complaining, feeling bad, getting
pessimistic and depressed. We have to move, and move forward. But we
have to redefine the terms of engagement. We should not get stuck with
those of the past generations that may have worked well before, but
now no more.

            With the many new developments around, the personal,
family, social terrain, etc., has changed drastically. Where topics
like the nature and meaning of human sexuality and the need and
practicability of chastity were a no-no before, now they should be
openly discussed. We have to overcome the initial shyness and shame
that are now quite misplaced if we have to consider how things are
now.

            The way and manner of doing this should also be changed.
Let’s avoid lecturing and preaching, because many young people today
feel they are being spat upon when Scripture is quoted or some
scientific or social data are cited.

            Things have to be done in a more friendly way. A lot of
patience is needed as well as creativity and a large dose of
naturalness. We have to somehow talk like them, with jokes, anecdotes
and entertaining trivias galore. Let’s be wary with being too
intellectual. The young ones resent that.

            Let’s never be shocked to hear the most scandalous things
related to this area. In fact, we should always be reassuring them
that things will just be all right. But we also have to be ready to
give concrete, doable steps to recommend to them. We should not expect
that things radically change overnight.

            Let’s be quick to see the brighter side of things, instead
of getting stuck with the negative details. You can be sure that there
will always be some redeeming elements in the apparent oceanic mess
people can get into. And it’s love, affection, understanding and
compassion that will win at the end of the day.

            Chastity should be presented as a very positive virtue, a
true manifestation of love and a basic truth about us. It should be
presented as something doable but requiring daily effort and daily
struggles where one can win and lose, but hope is always there. It has
to be understood as a consequence of faith and piety.

Our Trinitarian life

WE have just celebrated the great solemnity of the Most
Blessed Trinity. It is supposed to be, and in fact it is the most
important mystery of our faith, the fount of all the other truths and
mysteries of our faith, since it shows us the inmost, intimate life of
God in himself, even before being the Creator of the universe.

            The relevance of this mystery in our life stems from the
basic truth that we, as man, are created in God’s image and likeness,
adopted children of his, and therefore made to reflect and, in fact,
participate in this very Trinitarian life of God. The implications and
consequences of this truth are endless, but let’s tackle at least a
few of them later.

            Through this mystery, which was revealed to us in full by
Christ, we are told that God, though one, are three persons, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit, because the absolutely one and simple God is
never an idle God, nor a lonely God.

            He is rather a God who is full of dynamism, an eternal
dynamism of knowing and loving. His knowing and loving are no mere
acts that begin and end, that come from potency to act, but are so
perfect that they create the three eternal persons in that one God.

            God’s eternal knowing and loving give rise to the eternal
relations within God. The God who knows and who loves is the Father.
The same God who is known and is loved is the Son. The same God who is
the very love between the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit. The
Father, Son and Holy Spirit are eternally inseparable in their dynamic
life of knowing and loving.

            With respect to God’s creation, the three persons are also
all involved, with the Father being the decider or author of it, the
Son as the pattern of creation with us, man, as the masterpiece since
we are his image and likeness, and the Holy Spirit as the implementor
and the keeper of creation, and thus our sanctifier.

            The whole God is involved in our creation and keeps it
according to his will, his designs and the natures in which each
creature is created. In our case, God created us with the power to
know and to love through our intelligence and will, which precisely
make us his image and likeness.

            He will always respect us the way we are, even if we abuse
these powers by making them  as if they are solely our own, to be used
exclusively according to our own designs, instead of referring them
always to God and his will.

            But God, being a Father to us, full of love, mercy and
compassion, will also do everything to bring us back to him even if we
stray. Just the same, there is always the possibility, given our
freedom which can be misused, that in spite of what God is doing for
us, we can dare to go against him and his will.

            The key relevance of the mystery of the Most Blessed
Trinity to us is that it’s a truth that sets the basic tone and
attitude we ought to have toward God and toward everybody and
everything else.

            Its unfathomability should not hinder us, but should
instead spur us to seek God in adoration and in extreme humility.
Without this attitude, we expose ourselves to great dangers, as we
would dare to venture life on our own, and would likely fail to relate
the things of our life, whether favourable or not, to God.

            We would be left to our own devices, and to fend for
ourselves in all the things of this life and of the world, the trials,
challenges, temptations, as well as the successes and accomplishments
that can spoil us instead of improve us.

            We would miss the real meaning and purpose of our life
here on earth, and would simply pursue our own goals. And this is the
general world situation today. They call it the post-modern era when
God is completely left out of the picture and everyone is free to
interpret things the way he wants them.

            We have to learn to deal with God in his Trinitarian
life—that is with the Father who knows and loves, and with the Son who
is the known and the loved, and the Holy Spirit who is the very love
of God.

            Among the practical implications of this truth are that we
need to pray, live always in the presence of God, refer everything to
him to see how we ought to think, say, or behave.