The particular should link with the universal

IT’S indeed good that we be faithful and loyal to the

particular vocation, spirituality or charism that we have. That is a

God-given gift that we should try our best to be most faithful to. We

just have to see to it that such fidelity and loyalty do not prevent

us from appreciating the other spiritualities, vocations and charisms

within the Church.

  

            More than that, we have to learn how to work in tandem and

in solidarity with the other Church-approved spiritualities, no matter

how different they may be from ours. In this, we have to take the

initiative to know more about them and to see what we can do to be

able to work with them for the good of the whole Church, since every

spirituality, vocation and charism is meant for building up the

Church.

  

            We have to be wary of the danger of falling into some

restrictive and exclusivistic lifestyle that would isolate, if not

alienate, us from the others. This, sadly, is a common tendency among

the many Church institutions and groups, giving rise to petty

rivalries, jealousies and gossips.

  

            Obviously, the higher authorities of the Church should

exercise the prudence of how to orchestrate the different institutions

with the different spiritualities in play. But each institution should

do its part of coordinating and establishing linkages with the others.

   

            There has to be mutual respect among them and the

legitimate differences should be acknowledged, respected and made to

work along the lines of complementation and supplementation in order

to work for the common good of the Church.

              We have to remember that no spirituality, vocation and

charism has the exclusive possession of the universal essence of what

is to be holy, of what true love is, etc. And every spirituality,

vocation and charism is not a frozen thing, but a dynamic one, alive

and always open for further enrichment, deepening and adaptation to

changing circumstances.

  

            Thus, a Church institution that only talks about itself or

about its particular spirituality and charism, with hardly any effort

to know more about the others, would be going along a dangerous path.

We need to break away from that attitude. Everyone should try his best

to follow what St. Paul once said: to be all things to all men.

  

            Especially at this point of Church and world development,

there is need for us to be more united in pushing for what is

essential in our life while respecting and coordinating the different

ways of doing it. Everyone should have a universal outlook while

keeping his respective particular spirituality.

  

            We have to face this challenge squarely if we want to be

truly faithful to God and to affirm our real Christian identity. I

wonder if our Church authorities in the different levels are doing

something about this.

  

            It seems ironic that with all the progress we have in our

communication technologies, we do not seem to make corresponding

progress in coordinating the different institutions and groups within

the Church.

   

            Yes, indeed, there are some efforts toward this end, but

we look like we are still ages away from what can be considered as a

working ideal. If, for example, we ask today some Church-goer at

random about this issue, most likely we are going to hear that he has

not heard anything about this concern.

  

            We have to have a way of determining that we are making

progress in terms of more and more people aware at least of this issue

and doing something about it.

  

            I am sure there are many relevant issues involved in this

concern and that need to be addressed. They can be complex and

complicated. But we should at least try to work on them little by

little.

From ignorance to arrogance

I WAS happy to read an article recently about why we are

increasingly unaware of our ignorance and why it is a big problem. It

caught my attention because that is also my observation. In fact, in

many of my columns, I have expressed that fear at least implicitly.

  

            The main argument of the article is that we in our time

are becoming so sure of our opinions that they now become our

convictions and our core beliefs, as if other opinions are completely

regarded as wrong.

   

            In other words, opinions now are considered to be absolute

such that there cannot anymore be a variety of legitimate and

differing and even conflicting opinions. A person’s opinions are now

held as gospel truths.

   

            The article went on to say that opinions considered as

gospel truths can obviously attract like-minded people, and when they

acquire a critical mass, that is when these opinions become the

absolute truths for them. That is when ignorance of the absolute truth

who is God becomes invincible and can easily fall into arrogance.

  

            We have to be most careful about our opinions. We have to

learn to distinguish between what merely is an opinion that can never

cover everything about a particular issue and much less about the

whole reality, and what is a matter of absolute truth that can come

only from God through our faith, as revealed in full by Christ, and

that touches on what is truly essential in our life.

  

            Especially these days when we are bombarded with an

increasing number of issues to tackle, a profusion of data and

information, and a growing number of means of communication and

exchanges of ideas, we need to have a good hold of our horses so as to

avoid mixing opinions with absolute and essential truths.

  

            We have to practice a certain detachment from our

opinions, no matter how strongly we feel about them, so that we can

give due attention to other opinions, especially those that are not

only different from ours but are also opposed to ours.

  

            In our exchanges and discussions, let us always try to be

civil and courteous. Opinions are no absolute truths. They don’t

deserve to be promoted and defended at the expense of charity.

  

            The usual problem we encounter is that we tend to make our

opinions the only position that is right. This is outright wrong. We

would be falling into what St. Paul once said of those who are “ever

learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (2 Tim

3,7) We can feel that we have the truth because of the amount of data

and information we have, but we still would miss the point.

   

            We have to be wary of what looks like a common world trend

now to assert our opinions to death. And this is not only in the field

of politics, but more so in the area of faith and morals. We need to

be protected from the subtle and silent osmotic effect that this trend

can come to us.

  

            We have to know, for example, how not to be quickly taken

by the easy accessibility and speed of the Internet in giving us data

and information and in sharing our views and opinions.

  

            In this regard, we have to strengthen our virtues of

prudence and tact. But, alas, how many are really thinking about these

virtues today? In fact, in many talk shows especially in the US,

bashing and mudslinging have become a standard practice. Disagreements

are not anymore civil.

  

            In homes and schools, let us teach the young ones the true

art of opinion-making and of civil and charitable discussions. We need

to teach the kids how to distinguish between mere opinion and absolute

truth, and where we can have the former and where to find the latter.

Touching heaven through our work

WE don’t have to die first before we can already have a

feel of heaven, if not practically touch it. By doing our ordinary

daily work, whether big or small, in public or hidden at home, and

doing it with real love for God and for others, we can already achieve

this ideal that is proper to us.

  

            For this to take place, we of course have to work with

working faith and piety, since without them, we will not be aware that

working with love for God and others can already connect us with our

final home in heaven. It’s love that is fueled by faith and piety that

does the trick, so to speak.

   

            Working with love for God and others lends sacredness to

whatever task we are doing, no matter how mundane it is. And that is

because as image and likeness of God, as God’s children whose creation

is still a work in progress in our earthly life, any kind of work, as

long as it is honest and is part of our responsibility, enters into

the dynamics of God’s providence over us, his continuing work of our

very own creation.

  

            That ordinary daily work we have, which we often take for

granted, is where we usually encounter God. It is where we correspond

to God’s continuing creation of us, until we conform to his radical

will for us to make us his image and likeness and children of his.

  

            This means that our work is not simply ours, but is rather

a work with God. In fact, it is first of all the work of God, before

it is also our work. It’s important that we be keenly aware of this

truth so that we can consciously and freely work in sync as much as

possible with God’s will and ways.

  

            We need to spend time to make this truth sink into our

consciousness and become an abiding guide in our daily life. If our

work does not make us feel at least the presence of God, let alone,

get to know his will and ways, then we are not working the way we

should work.

  

            In a sense, our work becomes prayer, even if it involves

dirt and the so-called “blood, sweat and tears.” Our work is where we

engage ourselves with God and enter into the dynamics of love that

characterizes our relationship with God and with others.

              Indeed, our work can somehow be considered as sacred,

because in spite of its worldly character, it is still a work with God

and a work of God. This is a truth that we have to appreciate some

more and act accordingly.

  

            We should disabuse ourselves from the thought that to be

sacred would involve us only in activities inside churches or that

things should be done in silence and in great solemnity. Sacredness

can be had also in the middle of the world, in the hustle and bustle

of mundane concerns and businesses. The only crucial thing to remember

is that irrespective of where we are, we should always be with God and

do things with him.

   

            We should train ourselves to feel very much at home with

God in heaven even while working here on earth. Truth is God is

actually leading us to him and is bringing heaven also to us through

our earthly activities.

  

            We need to feel this truth of our faith, overcoming

whatever awkwardness we may feel at the beginning. We have to process

this very important task, teaching our mind and our heart, our senses

and even our instincts to conform to this very sublime reality that we

often take for granted.