Beware of religious indifference

THOUGH man is at bottom a religious being, always looking for a deity to worship and to run to, that natural religiosity can also be stifled for a number of reasons. On a number of occasions, Christ himself lamented over this sad tendency of ours. 

 One time he said, “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’” (Mt 11,16-17) 

 The Catechism of the Catholic Church lists down some of the reasons that can stifle our natural religiosity, like “revolt against evil in the world, religious ignorance or indifference, the cares and riches of this world, the scandal of bad example on the part of believers, currents of thought hostile to religion, that attitude of sinful man which makes him hide from God out of fear and flee his call.” (CCC 29) 

 We cannot deny that there’s vast religious indifference and even hostility against religion today. That may be intriguing to say, since on the other hand, thanks be to God, we can also notice a surge of religious fervor in some sectors. 

 This contrast actually has been around since time immemorial, an indication that human history is always an interplay between good and evil, between God’s providence and man’s freedom. But what is interesting to note is the degree of seriousness into which both indifference and fervor have developed. 

 A complex structure of rationalizations now supports religious indifference and hostility to religion. It seems that the threads of naturalism, skepticism, agnosticism, atheism, relativism, etc., have become more sophisticated, snuffing whatever religious ember that may still remain in a person or in society. 

 Some intellectuals and occasional theologians join free thinkers in lending their dissenting voices and expertise to this trend, adding to the string of scandals the Church has been suffering these past few years. 

 Try to look at some of our so-called leading Catholic universities, and you will likely find nests of dissenters who invoke an unhinged type of academic freedom (aka, academic license) to retail their heresies and questionable if not patently erroneous ideas. They are quite well-funded and supported by powerful international ideological groups. 

 Even centers of religious formation and seminaries are infected with this kind of virus. Imagine seminarians and priests now taught about the beauty and practicality of contraception, etc. It’s really about time that a thorough clean-up be made in these places, but, of course, with due process. 

 Let’s take advantage of this season of Advent to develop a burning desire to be with Christ. Actually, more than just being with Christ, we are supposed to be like Christ, to be “another Christ” himself. That’s what God wants us to be. That’s how we become God’s image and likeness, children of his. 

 We have to develop an abiding and burning desire to fulfill the real purpose of our life which is precisely for us to be “another Christ.” We should be clear about this ultimate purpose of ours so we can have the proper sense of direction and focus in our life, and the corresponding urge to fulfill it. We have to follow the example of Christ. In fact, we have to assume the same mind and mission of Christ.

Advent time to develop deep yearning for Christ

“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force.” (Mt 11,12) 

 With these words, Christ is actually telling us that we have to be forceful and determined in following the will of God who wants us to be his image and likeness, children of his, and sharers of his divine life. 

 And the season of Advent is a good time to develop this burning desire to be with Christ. Actually, more than just being with Christ, we are supposed to be like Christ, to be “another Christ” himself. That’s what God wants us to be. That’s how we become God’s image and likeness, children of his. 

 We have to develop an abiding and burning desire to fulfill the real purpose of our life which is precisely for us to be “another Christ.” We should be clear about this ultimate purpose of ours so we can have the proper sense of direction and focus in our life, and the corresponding urge to fulfill it. 

 Our problem is that we often take our life’s real and ultimate purpose for granted, preferring to sway and dance according to the music played simply by worldly conditions. We prefer to be guided by our senses and emotions, or by our reasoning alone as expressed in our man-made different ideologies, philosophies, sciences and technologies, etc. 

 We ignore the guiding light of our Christian faith that gives us not only a global picture of things but also the means to attain our true goal of eternal life with God in heaven. We have to remember that our Christian faith shows us the ultimate dimensions and purpose of our life that definitely includes the spiritual and supernatural realities. 

 We often fail to realize that our earthly life is a voyage of faith in time that is heading towards the eternity of God. This predicament has to be resolved, and the earlier the better—of course, with due consideration to the readiness of each one of us to appreciate the value of our Christian faith, something that has to be worked on. 

 In this regard, the first thing to do is to look at the example of Christ who is “the way, the truth and the life” for us. In several occasions, Christ would say that what he was doing was in fulfillment of what the prophets of old, the advance proclaimers of God’s will for Christ and for all of us, said. (cfr. Mt 26,54.56; Mk 14,49; Lk 18,31; etc.) 

 For this, we need to exert some forcefulness. Not destructive violence, not pervert obsession, but a certain forcefulness that helps us to grow properly and love God and care for one another. That´s what we need. This is clear in our human and natural conditions, both in our personal and social aspects. And if we have to consider our ultimate supernatural goal, then this forcefulness becomes even more necessary. 

 We have to follow the example of Christ. In fact, we have to assume the same mind and mission of Christ. It’s clear that Christ already had in his mind that he has to follow and fulfill a purpose and a mission already spelled out for him beforehand. This should also be the mentality we ought to have. We have a purpose and mission already spelled out for us beforehand, and we should do our best, with God’s grace, to fulfill it.

The struggle to be immaculate

THE Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated annually on December 8, reminds us of that most wonderful truth of our faith that we all are actually meant to be immaculate, that is, sinless, completely holy which means we are truly and entirely identified with Christ who is holiness himself. 

 Yes, we may not be conceived immaculate like what the Blessed Virgin Mary enjoyed as a divine privilege given to her, but we should strive, with God’s grace, to be sinless, always fighting against sin and against anything that can lead us to sin. In a sense, we have to develop a zeal to be immaculate, like Our Lady, which definitely would involve constant struggle against sin and temptations. 

 That may be an impossible pursuit, since we all know that we are all sinners, but it should not prevent us from doing our best to struggle to be as sinless as possible. In this regard, we should never forget to develop and strengthen our personal skills in handling temptations. This concern never goes passé, and it touches a basic, indispensable aspect of our life in all levels. 

 These days, temptations can come to us in the subtlest and trickiest of ways. This can be due, at least in part, to the increased level of sophistication both in people’s thinking and in world developments, especially in the area of technology and ideology. 

 With these developments, temptations can easily come undetected, and sin can be committed in a most hidden way and can even be easily rationalized. How important therefore it is for us to always grow in humility and simplicity, aggressively finding practical ways to achieve them! If not, we would just be lost. 

 As can be easily noted these days, the healthy fear of God is disappearing. In its place, a most heinous sense of self-importance is dominating. The criteria to determine what is good and bad have become blurred. They have gone almost completely relativistic and subjective, declaring total independence from any absolute and objective rule or law that comes from God. 

 Truth is, we always need God in our battle against temptations. We should disabuse ourselves from the thought that with our good intentions and our best efforts alone, we can manage to tame the urges of temptations. 

 We cannot! That’s the naked truth about it. We only can if we are with God. And we have to be with him in a strong, determined way, not in a passive or lukewarm way. Do flies flock on a hot soup? No. But they do on a cold or lukewarm soup. 

 We need to do everything to be with God. Our mind and heart should be fully and constantly engaged with him. We always have reason to do so—at least, we can thank him for what we are having at the moment: health, food, air, work, etc. 

 And to be with God can mean that we have to be actively involved in the lives of others, since our relation with God always passes through our relation with others. The more we get involved in the lives of others, knowing them well, praying for them, helping them in any we can, etc., the more we get to be with God. And the more we are with God, the stronger we become to resist sin and temptations. This is the way toward the ideal of becoming immaculate like our Mother Mary.