We are all sinners!

IT’S, of course, a given. We are all sinners! There’s
nothing new about that. Whether you are a priest or a mayor,
saintly-looking, good-looking or plain-looking, we all have feet of
clay, and from time to time, we fall in spite of our best efforts.
It’s only the self-righteous and the hypocrite who stupidly thinks he
is without sin and has the right, even the obligation, to judge
others.

            This has solid biblical basis. “If we claim to be without
sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”(1 Jn 1,8) “The
just man falls 7 times…” (Prov 24,16) If our first parents were
created sinless, and yet in spite of that ideal condition, they
managed to sin, who are we to think that we can be without sin, we who
even from our own conception already had the original sin?

            I was just a bit concerned because a priest recently
posted on his social media account that because of this Duterte
threat, a pure blackmail actually, to expose the sins of priests, he
is not anymore inclined to preach. I immediately reacted that he has
no reason to be afraid, even if there indeed are some dirty linen that
can be exposed.

            We should not fall for that devious ploy. We, priests,
bishops and even the Pope, all have our share of human weakness and we
can safely presume that we all have sinned and continue to sin one way
or another. But this does not prevent us from doing our sacred duty to
preach, to administer the sacraments, to lead souls in their spiritual
journey, etc.

            Remember what the Letter to the Hebrews says: “For every
high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men
in relation to God, and offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can
deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset
with weakness.” (5,1-2)

            From these words, we can deduce that a priest’s weakness
and even his falls could and should be a good factor to make him more
compassionate with the others, more effective in his preaching and in
his ministry in general.

            The only thing to consider is that the priest, just like
anybody else, has to acknowledge his weakness, faults, mistakes and
sins, ask pardon for them, learn precious lessons from them, do some
atonement, and then move on, doing what he is supposed to do.,
struggling to sanctify himself while doing his ministry.

            Everyone is supposed to carry out a lifelong ascetical
struggle to achieve holiness. Everyone has to fight.  We can fight and
win. We can also fight and lose, and yet we should just get up and
fight again. This has always been the law of our life here on earth.

            This is expressed in that passage from the Book of
Proverbs cited above: “The just man falls seven times, and rises
again.” If the right to preach and carry out the priestly ministry
would spring only when one is sinless, then there would be no one to
continue Christ’s mission for human salvation. In fact, there would be
no need for human salvation.

            Someone has aptly said that “the church is a hospital for
sinners, not a museum of saints,” and that “every saint has a past,
every sinner has a future.” We should start to feel at home with this
reality.

            In spite of our weaknesses, and even because of our
weaknesses, etc., priests have a great, God-given duty to carry out in
the world. In spite of our unworthiness, we, priests, are given a
crucial mission.

            If for one reason or another, priests are dragged into the
pit of shame, let’s remember that Christ, our Master, had been mocked,
scourged, crowned with thorns, and crucified too. We are told that the
disciple cannot be above his Master. So, when these ugly things come,
then let’s just welcome them, and suffer them together with Christ. We
know that the whole experience would have a wonderful ending.

            Let’s avoid playing the game of the devil. As long as we
are earnest in sanctifying ourselves, we would just be fine, even if
along the way, some falls would take place, and some enemies of our
soul and of the Church would take advantage of them.

            We should lose the fear of shame over our weaknesses and
sinfulness. If we persist in doing good, in carrying out our duties,
in taking care of our spiritual life, in obeying God’s commands and
the Church’s urgings, all our weaknesses and sinfulness would be
outshone and converted into some kind of spiritual fertilizers.

Tired? Burned out?

TRY prayer. Try getting in touch with God who is the
source of all good things, including a peaceful and happy life even in
the midst of all the difficulties, stresses, trials, failures in life,
etc. He is the ultimate answer and solution whenever we find
ourselves, for one reason or another, tired, burned out, or worse,
falling into depression.

            Remember Christ saying, “Come to me, all you who are weary
and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Mt 11,28) Let’s remember
that even if tiredness, being burned out, depression and the like have
their physical, emotional, psychological components, they in the end
reveal something about the state of our spiritual life, our soul.

            We should not be deceived by the thought that our
tiredness is just an entirely physical phenomenon, or something only
emotional, etc., and that it can be relieved and resolved by some rest
through sleep, taking a walk, an excursion, etc., or taking some drugs
and some psychologizing.

            While it’s true that these natural and human relievers
have to be resorted to also, we should not forget that in the end the
ultimate reliever is Christ himself. Our tiredness, our feeling of
being burned out, and worse, our sadness and depression should always
be referred to Christ.

            It’s he who knows what to do with all kinds of situations
and predicaments we can find ourselves in. It’s he who gives the whole
picture and the meaning of things. In the end, it’s he who will take
up with us everything that we may go through in life.



            More than us, it’s he who carries the burden, and
reassures us that everything would be just fine. When our tiredness
also becomes his, everything will be bearable and meaningful. Remember
his words: “For my yoke is easy and my burden light.” (Mt 11,30)

            We need to make some drastic changes of attitude and
skills. Aside from staying calm and trying to sort out things to form
some strategy to tackle our tiredness, we have to pray and ask for
God’s help.

            This approach may look at first as being passive or
evasive or unrealistic. But this is actually what is proper to us who,
in spite of our mistakes and failures, continue to be God’s image and
likeness, and children of his.

            God who is a loving Father will always rush to our aid. To
be sure, we would not be exempted from pain and suffering, but he can
always give us some amount of peace and joy in the midst of all that
suffering. We can find meaning in everything.

            We just have to strengthen our faith, and deepen our
humility since pride is what spoils and distorts everything. We should
go beyond a knee-jerk reaction to our tiredness, and much less fall
for the many deceptive human and natural relievers.

            The most that these human and natural relievers can give
us is some transitory relief. But if resorted to regularly without
linking them to God, they can lead us to the dangers of addiction,
obsessions and other compensatory tactics that would become riskier
each time they are used.

            This, sad to say, is what is happening these days. Many
people are drifting into more dangerous escape mechanisms. And so, we
get this intriguing phenomenon that while we seem to enjoy some
material progress, we are actually also having a lot of spiritual,
internal and hidden suffering—anguish, tension, anxiety, fear, etc.

            We need to understand that our tiredness and all other
forms of our weakness are very good occasions to go to God. They are a
fertile ground to develop a more intimate relation with Christ.
Remember St. Paul’s words: “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2
Cor 12,10)

            It’s in these situations that we are given a lot of
opportunities to have a deeper understanding of our life here on
earth. More, we are given a lot of opportunities to identify ourselves
more with Christ, which is what our ultimate identity is all about.

            What may appear as a bad time or bad news for us, humanly
speaking, is actually a golden time, a good news, spiritually
speaking. If we only activate our faith, which in the first place is
given to us abundantly, then we can enter into a much richer reality
where our tiredness and all other forms of human weakness have great
sanctifying value.

            We need to wake up to this reality. As I’ve said, we need
to do some drastic adjustments in our attitudes and skills to conform
ourselves better to this wonderful reality.

Generosity and prudence

CHRIST gave more praise to a poor widow who put in her two
little coins into the temple’s treasury than to the wealthy people who
gave a lot more. “Those others have all made offerings from their
surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole
livelihood.” (Lk 21,4)

            He is reminding us to be generous, just like this poor
widow. But we have to understand what really would constitute genuine
generosity. For sure, the gospel episode would tell us that generosity
is not so much a matter of how much is given as how it is given.

            Is our generosity truly from the heart in love with God
and with others? Or is it done simply to do away with an
inconvenience, or worse, with some ulterior motives only? We have to
examine ourselves more closely to see if we are generous, and if our
generosity is genuine.

            Nowadays, it’s getting difficult to be truly generous.
There’s so much hypocrisy and deception, a lot of self-interested
calculation and shrewdness surrounding the appearances of generosity.

            If ever people give something, certain things often spoil
those acts. There’s the sweet poison of commercialism and materialism,
greed, vanity, envy and self-indulgence that contaminate what
otherwise are good acts.

            We need to get out of that system. We may have to exert a
lot of effort to do this because this culture of false generosity
seems to be getting stronger every day.

            To be sure, to be truly generous does not mean to be
extravagant and wasteful, just giving out dole-outs that spoil people
more than encouraging them to be more responsible for themselves and
others.

            We have to make sure that our generosity does not create a
culture of mendicancy, entitlements and dependence. This is where
prudence has to enter in developing this virtue of generosity.

            A prudent generosity gives not only things but his own
self without compromising his own welfare such that one becomes a
problem to his family or to society. It makes sure that what he gives
becomes fruitful and productive, following what Christ said once:
“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And
from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be
asked.” (Lk 12,48)

            It’s a generosity that helps people to be responsible,
self-reliant and productive. It knows how to live the spirit of
poverty and detachment even if it exerts all effort to generate more
money not only for oneself but more for the others, for the common
good. It’s a generosity that knows how to make business and is very
enterprising not so much for the profit as for attaining the capacity
to help the others.

            A person who is truly generous and prudent is not afraid
to become a billionaire and is not corrupted by money. He is aware of
the requirements of the common good, giving preferential attention to
the poor and needy. He knows how to handle the goods of the earth that
are meant for universal destination even as the right to private
property is also respected.

            His generosity is not based on sheer sentimentalism. It’s
not sporadic and reactive, but abiding and pro-active. It’s not merely
theoretical and intentional, but practical and delivered in concrete
terms.

            A truly generous and prudent person is always mindful and
thoughtful of the others. He would try his best to know what others
need, and not just wait for these needs to come to his attention. He
is always thinking, planning and strategizing so that the requirements
of social justice, solidarity and charity are met.

            He is not afraid to make sacrifices and to deny himself.
He lives the virtue of temperance well. And neither does he flaunt his
generosity. His joy is in the giving. He does not expect any earthly
reward.

            Besides, a truly generous and prudent person knows how to
respect the integrity of creation, avoiding anything that can harm the
ecology. He is aware that since some unavoidable mistakes can be
committed in this area, he is also willing to do reparation.

            We have to do everything to develop this culture of
prudent generosity in our society. We have to start with the family
where the fundamentals of education and formation take place. Parents
should be empowered and properly equipped to carry out this duty to
their children.

            Schools and other institutions should also do their part.
Various plans and programs have to be thought out to make this
important social virtue a living reality. What a world it would be if
we have people who are truly generous and prudent!