Be prepared always for Judgment Day

IF we want to be realistic in our life, we should always be prepared for Judgment Day which can surely come anytime. In fact, we should go through our daily lives in pursuit of this most important moment when our eternal destiny is determined. 

 This may sound sobering to us, but it is actually meant to put us in the right direction of our life, avoiding the usual pitfalls of being confused, trapped and lost in our earthly affairs. 

 We are reminded of this truth of our faith in that gospel parable where Christ compared the Kingdom of heaven with a net thrown into the sea, collecting fish of every kind. (cfr. Mt 13,47-53) 

 As the parable narrated, once the net is full of fish, then a separation between the good catch and the bad ones is made. That separation is precisely the image of that Judgment Day when God will determine which of us deserve heaven. 

 Obviously, to be properly prepared for Judgment Day, we need to know in an abiding way the real and ultimate purpose of our life here on earth. For this, we need to strengthen our faith that only in God can we have the ultimate purpose in life. St. Paul said so: “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10,31) 

 This abiding sense of the ultimate purpose of our life will enable us to have a sense of unity and continuity among the different elements and the different occurrences in our life, be they good or bad, favorable or unfavorable to us, etc. 

 When we have love of God as our abiding sense of purpose in our life, we would find it easy to go from one thing to another, no matter disparate they are from each other. We would find meaning in everything, including what we consider to be human disasters in our life. 

 This effort to make God our abiding sense of purpose in life will identify us more closely with Christ who was also open to anything in his earthly life, including the worst possible things that happened to him, which was to die, and yet was consistent and ever faithful in doing the will of his Father. “I do not seek my own will,” he said, “but the will of Him who sent me.” (Jn 5,30) 

 We would know how to handle all kinds of situations, including the worst of them, like when we have deal with people who are full of malice and deceit, etc. There is nothing that cannot be taken care of by God when he becomes the abiding purpose in life. 

 That effort will always fill our life with hope and even excitement. There will never be a dull and boring moment, even when we are alone or confined and restricted by sickness and other factors. Even when we are resting or in solitude because of prayer or study, our spirit will continue to be active and still in touch with God and others. 

 We need to understand that our life here on earth is all about the ongoing creation of our own selves with God as the Creator and us as our own co-creator with God. That’s because God wants us to be like him, to be his image and likeness, to be his children, meant to share in his divine nature and life. 

 Let’s hope that on Judgment Day we can find ourselves as God’s true image and likeness!

The Christian art of detachment

IT’S a virtue before it is an art. Detachment that is proper to us is a virtue that comes as a result of the spirit of Christ. And we can only have that spirit if we are open to God’s grace and faithfully follow the consequences and implications of such grace. 

 We are reminded of this Christian art of detachment in that gospel parable where Christ compared the Kingdom of heaven with a treasure buried in a field and with a pearl of great price for which those concerned were willing to sell and let go of whatever they had in order to get that treasure and that pearl. (cfr. Mt 13,44-46) 

 The parable tells us, among other things, that we should never be contented with what we may consider as good enough. We should go after what is best and proper to us. The parable message validates the saying, “the good is the enemy of the best.” 

 It warns us against our tendency to be complacent and contented with what we already have, saying enough to the continuing and endless demands of charity which has God as the primary object, and everyone else, without exception, as a necessary accompaniment. 

 It also urges us to learn how to be detached from the things of this world even as we are immersed in them. It reminds us that everything in this world should only be a means, an occasion, a reason to love God and everybody else. The things of this world should never be regarded as end in themselves. They are just a pathway to God and to heaven, our definitive homeland. 

 To be able to live and practice this Christian art of detachment, we definitely need to follow the example of Christ. His detachment can be gleaned from the facts that he never stayed in one place even if the people urged him to stay with them; and while he loved his mother, he was also detached from her; and finally, he was detached from his own life which he gave up willingly and gratuitously for our salvation. All these showed how Christ lived what he preached. 

 We need to learn this art of detachment little by little, knowing that it definitely will be most demanding and challenging to us. And one way we can do that is by learning how to leave behind our usual daily concerns and worries as we go to bed. Bedtime should be spent exclusively with God in deep prayer, pondering spiritual and supernatural things, imagining how it will be in heaven when we come face to face with God, etc. 

 We have to learn how to cut off from clingy things like work concerns, videos, social media, etc. Doing so can be heroic and can also be a clear sign that shows where our heart really is. 

 To be sure, when we manage to live this Christian art of detachment, we will enjoy peace of mind and joy in our heart. We will fulfill what Christ promised: “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for the sake of My name will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” (Mt 19,29) 

 Christ is actually giving us the best deal in this life when we learn how to live this art of detachment.

Let’s always be hopeful

THERE are times when we have to wait, desist from acting at the moment, and hope for a better time that will surely come, although in ways that may not be according to our expectations. 

 We are reminded of this act of prudence in that gospel parable about the good seed and the weeds. (cfr. Mt 13,36-43) The point of the parable is that there are situations in life when acting at the moment may cause more harm than good. And so, we just have to wait, be patient and hopeful. 

 In the meantime, what we can do is to continue doing a lot of good, praying, making sacrifices, generously fulfilling our duties and responsibilities, reaching out to others, growing in the virtues, etc. 

 We have to remember that due to the God-designed life of communion we enjoy among ourselves, we know that anything good we do will always have a good effect on the others. The awareness of this truth of our faith should prod us to be generous in doing a lot of good. We also know that good in itself is self-diffusive. It is in its nature to spread. So, we should just do a lot of good. 

 As can be seen, to wait, to be patient and hopeful, does not mean to do nothing. What we cannot do at the moment, out of prudence, should push us to do many other good things. Instead of feeling lethargic, we should feel very energetic. 

 Especially with our present condition that involves an increase of pressure, confusing knowledge overdrives, increasingly sophisticated challenges and difficulties, we need to seriously cultivate this virtue of hope. There’s no other way. It’s either that or we get into a free-fall toward disorder, chaos and desperation. 

 Our problem is that, as usual, we have a very limited idea of hope. And from that handicapped position, it’s obvious that all sorts of dangers, confusion and errors can ensue. 

 Among the anomalies besetting our understanding of hope is that it is a purely man-made virtue, with only earthly and natural dimensions and relying solely on human and material resources. 

 We seem to get stranded in the external properties of the virtue, without entering into its real essence, significance and practicability. We need to recover the true nature and purpose of hope, and spread its knowledge and skill far and wide. That’s what we urgently need these days. 

 First, we need to understand that hope is a gift from God, one of what are called theological virtues. As such, it goes always in this life with the other pair of faith and charity. 

 The direct corollary of this reality is that the first thing we have to do about it is to ask for it, often kneeling and begging God our Father not only to grant it to us, which he actually does unstintingly, but also to increase it all the time. 

 We should never be casual about this fundamental and indispensable requirement of hope. Though we have to be discreet about it and natural in living it, we have to understand that without this condition met, no amount of human ingenuity can substitute it. 

 Of course, hope increases also to the extent that we deepen our faith and enrich our charity. In this life, these three theological virtues go together and mutually affect one another.