Our constant need for conversion

“REPENT, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt 4,17) Words of Christ. We have to be realistic about ourselves and acknowledge our sinfulness and the constant need for conversion and penance. 

 This is an important matter to attend to if we want our Christian life to keep going. There is no use denying this obvious fact of life. As St. Paul quoted the Scriptures: “No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God…For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Rom 3,10-11.23) St. John reiterated the same point in his first letter: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1,8) 

 The sad fact that we have today is that many people are losing the sense of sin. Any idea they have about sin is strictly limited to their own very subjective view of what is bad and wrong. And this usually has no, or hardly any, relation to the articulated will and commandments of God. 

 We have to understand that conversion is a continuing affair for all of us in this life. We can never say, if we have to follow by what our Christian faith tells us, that we are good enough as to need conversion no more. 

 It's good that we never forget this reality. But we need to prepare ourselves for it by developing the virtue of penance. This virtue starts when we acknowledge these conditions about ourselves. We should be humble enough to accept this reality. 

 But the virtue of penance goes farther than that. It grows when we put up the necessary defenses against these enemies of our soul and wage a lifelong ascetical struggle. Yes, our life will be and should be a life of warfare, a war of peace and love that will also give us certain consolations in spite of the tension. 

 And for this penance to be a true virtue, it has to include an indomitable hope that can survive even in the worst of scenarios. In fact, this hope gets stronger the uglier the warfare also gets. 

 It's a hope based on God's never-sparing mercy. Some relevant words of St. Paul: “I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil 1,6) It would be good if these Pauline assurance forms the deep attitude we should have toward our fragile human condition. 

 Besides, we should not forget that nothing happens in our life without at least the permission and tolerance of God. And if he allows something to happen, no matter how evil it is, it is because a greater good can be derived from it. Precious lessons can also be learned from our sinfulness. 

 God predestines no one to fail definitively, although we have the power, due to our freedom, to go against God's will and saving designs. This truth of our faith should never be forgotten, especially in our deep moments of misery and misfortune. 

 The virtue of penance also includes the desire and practice of regular and frequent recourse to the sacrament of penance, where through the ministry of priests, Christ comes to us as father, friend, judge and doctor. This sacrament not only reconciles us with God, but also repairs whatever damage our sin would cause on others and the Church in general.

The Lord’s Epiphany and us

WITH the celebration of the Solemnity of the Epiphany of Christ, we are actually left with an invitation that can very well be a big challenge for us who profess to believe in Christ. This is none other than the duty to show or reveal Christ, as he is, to others. 

 Epiphany means to manifest or to reveal. It’s Christ revealing himself as he is in all his Christological and soteriological nature to the whole world. Making use of the visit of the three kings to the child Jesus, Epiphany is the feast that reminds us that Christ is not only for the Jews but also for everyone, not only for a few but also for all. 

 It’s a feast that reminds us that Christ is the Son of God, the second person of the Blessed Trinity who became man for our salvation. He is actually everything to us. He is the way, the truth and the very life for us. He is the very pattern of our humanity. How we ought to be is defined for us by him. 

 So, this is the big challenge. How can we present Christ to others as he is with our presence, words and deeds? A tall order, indeed! 

 This Solemnity reminds us that we, Christian believers, should imitate the three magi in undertaking a search for Christ in the world, guided by the star of our faith. 

 Like the magi, we too should also make our search for Jesus amid the many confusing and even hostile elements of the world. Let’s proceed with our daily adventure of looking for Christ in all corners of the world, in all moments of the day and in all circumstances of our life. Let’s not be afraid. God never abandons us and will guide us in his own mysterious ways. Let’s just be game. 

 Like the magi, we too should bring our precious gifts which in the end are not just a matter of things, no matter how valuable they are, but rather of giving our whole life, our whole mind and heart, our whole selves to him. 

 We can be sure that whatever generosity we show Christ will always pale in comparison to the generosity he will shower on us. Let’s not be sparing in making that deal. 

 Let’s learn to undertake this lifelong adventure of looking for Christ, training ourselves to see him in everything and in everyone, and in all the situations and circumstances of our life, whether they be good or bad according to our human standards. 

 Let’s keep ourselves from straying from this path that is proper for us. Let nothing or no one lead us astray. We are actually sufficiently guided and protected. Things would just depend on us, whether we correspond to God’s will and ways or not. 

 Everyday, we can make some kind of plan, something doable and not just theoretical, that would help us concretely and effectively in looking for Christ. In this, let us try to assume the attitude once described by St. Paul: 

 “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3,13) Yes, indeed, we have to have the mind of an athlete in looking for Christ. We should not be complacent in this duty.

Mary and the shepherds

JANUARY 1 is, of course, Happy New Year’s Day! A new beginning is offered to us. Let’s be happy and hopeful. Yes, we will always have challenges and trials, etc., but let’s never forget that we have God as our Father who takes care of everything. We just have to do our part in the best way that we can. 

 Liturgically, January 1 celebrates the divine motherhood of Mary. It’s a tremendous truth of our Christian faith if we consider the question of how a creature can become the mother of the Creator. It surely defies all human logic and understanding. 

 To me, what comes to mind is the reinforcement of the truth of our faith that man has truly been created in God’s image and likeness. That Mary, a human being, a creature of God, becomes the mother of God, proves that point of our connaturality with God. 

 In spite of our natural and infranatural limitations due to our sin, there is a certain connaturality we enjoy with God. Such connaturality can be to such an extent that we can conclude that how God is also how we ought to be. Incredible? Of course, it is, but that’s how our faith tells us. 

 Obviously, it can only be achieved through God’s grace. We can try to go along with God’s will and ways, but we all know very well that we can only go so far. It will be God, through his grace and mercy, that would enable us to acquire our connaturality with God. Tremendous faith is required of us to believe and say, “Amen,” to this truth of our faith. 

 In the gospel of this feast’s celebration, (Lk 2,16-21) we are told about the shepherds who hurried to look for the newborn Christ after they were informed by a host of angels. Let’s hope that we can also have such eagerness to look for Christ not only as a newborn but also as our Savior who redeems us with his passion, death and resurrection. Like them, let’s spread far and wide without let-up the Good News about Christ. 

 Such attitude would surely put us in the right condition to be consistent with our Christian belief even as we immerse ourselves in our earthly and temporal affairs that often lead us to get entangled, confused and lost. Let’s see to it that we can always be driven by an urge to look for Christ the way the shepherds were. 

 In the same gospel, we are also told about how Mary kept and reflected in her heart the good things she heard from the shepherds. It’s a stable trait of Mary to always ponder things that she heard from Christ and about Christ. 

 May that trait also be ours! We cannot deny that we often find ourselves carried away and swallowed by earthly forces. We forget that we are supposed to live a shared life with God. God should be the beginning, the end and a constant presence in all our thoughts, intentions, words and deeds. 

 Let us develop the habit of meditating and contemplating the presence of God at every moment of the day. It’s truly a discipline worth learning. It should not be considered as meant only for some ‘special’ people like the religious nuns and hermits. It’s for all of us. 

 As we begin another year, let’s clarify our priorities and establish the proper plans, structures and programs so that we can really say we are truly engaged in pursuing the real purpose of our life here on earth. 

 Again, a Happy New Year to all!