Fidelity and solidarity

WE need to see to it that our fidelity to a particular

charism, a particular vocation and spirituality does not lead us to

fall into some exclusivistic outlook in life, or into some

narrow-minded elitism. We have to learn how to develop and live our

fidelity in solidarity with all the other charisms, vocations,

spiritualities in the world and in the Church.

            A kind of fidelity that does not know how to live in

solidarity with the others would not be an authentic fidelity. And

vice-versa, a spirit of solidarity that does not respect the different

charisms and spiritualities to which people should be most faithful,

would not be true solidarity either.

            We have to be most careful when we start to be assume

exclusivistic and restrictive ways that can come into our lifestyle in

a very subtle way. This can happen when we mingle only with our own

kind, either in terms of temperament, interests, social and economic

status, etc. We somehow feel indifferent if not antagonistic to the

others who do not share what we have, what we like or prefer.

            This would go against that Christian tenet as articulated

once by St. Paul that we have to be “all things to all men to save

all.” (1 Cor 9,22)  We have to learn to be open-minded and versatile,

able to flow with the times and to connect with all kinds of people.

            Of course, we should also be equally guarded when we start

falling into some kind of indiscriminate sense of solidarity and

universalism, blind and insensitive to the variety of temperaments,

personalities, charisms, spiritualities around.

            This can happen when we impose our own ideas and ways on

others, thinking that our ideas and ways are the only ones that work,

etc. Or that we can just dish them out at random, believing that

everyone can understand and appreciate them.

            Another way we can fall into a questionable solidarity and

universalism is what is called in theological circles as false

irenicism. It is the ism that says that all beliefs are the same and

have equal value.

            We should figure out how we can blend together these two

requirements of fidelity and solidarity in our life. And the basis of

this ideal is what St. Paul describes in his first Letter to the

Corinthians. I think it would be good to go through it again.

            “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all

the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with

Christ…For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the

foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the

body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body…” (12,12-16)

            We need to examine ourselves frequently to see if we are

satisfying the seemingly contrasting requirements of both fidelity and

solidarity. Are we faithful to our vocation, to our charism? Do we

know how to make our particular vocation work for the good of all?

What satisfies our true hunger

IT’S God, of course. No one and nothing else can satisfy

our true hunger and thirst. Our problem is that we do not even know

what our real hunger and thirst are. We tend to base our idea of

hunger and thirst on the merely biological, physical or material. Or

at best, we equate it with the many curiosities we have regarding the

many worldly and temporal things that catch our attention and fuel our

interest.

            The big challenge we have today is precisely to know what

our real hunger should be. And knowing that, to develop or stir that

hunger, because it is a hunger that does not come automatically, nor

does it come out loud and clear through our merely bodily and social

processes.

            Yes, we will always have some inkling of it, since in the

end we have been created or designed for that kind of hunger. Our

Catechism teaches us so:

            “The desire for God is written in the human heart, because

man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to

himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never

stops searching for.” (CCC 27)

            But with our human condition that is wounded by sin, it is

a hunger that is often muted or drowned out by the many other forms of

hunger which, though legitimate, do not lead us to the proper and

eternal satisfaction.

            We have to be wary of the many factors that tend to deaden

our appetite for God by replacing it with merely earthly appetites. We

all know that the inordinate fascination for worldly pleasures, be it

in food and drinks, sex, sports, entertainment, etc., can easily

dominate us. Thus, we need to be properly guarded.

            That’s why Christ told us that if we want to follow him,

we need to deny ourselves and carry the cross. It’s not that we have

no right to have these earthly pleasures. We can have them as long as

they are legitimately and morally resorted to, that is, they begin and

end with God, giving glory to him, our Father and Creator, which is

what we are all supposed to be doing all the time.

            We should give priority to our need to exercise always our

spiritual duties of praying and making sacrifices, because only in

this way would we manage to feel this yearning for God. We have to

learn how to be cautious and circumspect even as we immerse ourselves

in the very dynamic and intoxicating world of our work and other

worldly concerns.

            What also would be most helpful is to connect our earthly

forms of hunger and thirst with our ultimate yearning and desire for

God. This can always be done if we would just put our mind and heart

to it.

            That way, the temporal satisfaction of these temporal

forms of hunger would not detract but would rather reinforce the

eternal satisfaction of our real hunger. We would put into practice

what the Book of Revelation already foretold:

            “Never again will they hunger. Never again will they thirst.” (7,16)

Rectifying our thoughts and intentions

IN the face of the many good developments taking place

today, we have to be ready to quickly rectify our thoughts and

intentions so that we avoid getting easily carried away by the passing

if not false allurements that these achievements and accomplishments

usually bring.

            This means that whatever we do with these new

developments, whether we are inventing them or studying them or using

and enjoying them, we should refer them always to God. Short of that,

we open ourselves to the possibility of getting into a spin of merely

worldly forces that despite their highs and perks can get us nowhere

but our own corruption.

            Obviously, these new developments, like our new

technologies, can give us some advantages and conveniences. But we

should always remember that whatever advantage or convenience they

give can only have a relative value.

            They can only acquire an absolute value if referred to God

and invented, studied, used or enjoyed according to God’s providence.

Otherwise, they can pose as potential danger to us, since they can

spoil us or occasion in us many moral anomalies, like vanity, pride,

lust, greed, envy, etc.

            In our involvement with them, let us quickly thank God for

whatever advantage they give us. If we are amazed at what these new

technologies, for example, can accomplish, let’s not forget that we

should first be amazed at God’s power and wisdom that is behind all

these amazing developments.

            We should not just stop at being amazed at the ingenuity

of the inventor concerned, or at the technical perfections the gadgets

possess. We should relate everything to God as the ultimate source and

goal of all these developments.

            More importantly, we should try our best to discern how

these new developments are supposed to play or to work in the abiding

providence of God. They should never just be an object of our own

plans and designs.

            Without referring them to God’s providence, they can only

become tools to our own selfish designs that we often mask with

extravagant hypes and clever deceits. Let’s remember that without God,

the only thing we can do is evil. Christ said it clearly: “Whoever is

not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me

scatters.” (Lk 11,23)

            Let us explode the myth that we can do some good even

without God’s help and providence. This, of course, does not detract

from the truth of our faith that God can derive good even from the

evil that we produce.

            But this should never be an excuse for us to do whatever

we want to do, since we can rationalize that God can always derive

good even from the evil that we produce. Let’s remember that God’s

omnipotence and his love for us that is full of mercy never do away

with the requirements of justice.

            We should see to it that we are always rectifying our

thoughts and intentions, always referring everything to God who is the

only one who can determine what is truly good and evil, safe and

dangerous in the new developments we are having today.