Developing the apostolic zeal

“Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” (Lk 5,4) Famous words of Christ addressed to Simon Peter which should also be addressed to each one of us. These are words that tell us to be bold, creative and zealous in our apostolic duty, and to have a universal mind insofar is apostolate is concerned. 

 Peter at first was hesitant to follow what was told him, saying that he and his companions tried to fish the night before and caught nothing. But then he corrected himself and did as told, and voila, a huge amount of fish was caught that floored him in amazement. 

 He could not help but tell Christ to depart from him since he was a sinful man, i.e., he felt so unworthy of Christ. And that’s when Christ told him that from then on, he would be fishing men, i.e., he was clearly told to do apostolate and to win new apostles. 

 This moving scene in the gospel should urge us to learn to trust God, and in his word and in his ways, no matter how they seem unreasonable, impractical or impossible. For this, we have to go beyond our own understanding and estimation of things, and open our mind and heart to the light of our faith and love for God and for others. 

 While it’s true that we have to use all our human faculties in dealing with our earthly affairs and concerns, that is, our intelligence and will, our sciences and arts, our common sense and cultural and social wisdom, we should not forget that all these would have no real value unless they are engaged with our faith in God. 

 We also should sharpen our apostolic skills, training ourselves to enter into the lives of everyone we meet. It always pays to be friendly with everyone, despite our unavoidable differences and conflicts. Smiling, having a warm and open disposition, will go a long way in carrying out this apostolic duty. 

 But even before all this, we should bring to our prayer our apostolic plans and desires, since only then can we be divinely inspired to carry out this apostolic duty as Christ wants. Only then would we be bold enough to talk about God, about things spiritual and supernatural, about vocation, with everyone. 

 We have to be ready to get interested in everyone apostolically. We should be interested both in the rich and the poor, those in the mainstream of society as well as those in the peripheries. 

 For this, we need to be patient, persevering, creative and versatile. We have to learn how to “waste time” with everyone, especially those who may be very different from us in terms of temperament, social and economic status, etc. 

 We should not wait for some favorable circumstances before we do apostolate. To do apostolate should be like our heartbeat. We should feel its urge the way we feel the urge to breathe, eat and drink. 

 Of course, to do apostolate is not a biological urge, but a spiritual one, to be triggered by an act of our will that is animated by God’s grace. We do not do apostolate because we happen to have some extra time. We do it because we are supposed to be apostles, and we always look for time to do it. 

 We should neither forget that first of all we should ask for God’s grace, since only then can we be truly effective in our apostolate.

Christ is never indifferent to our suffering

LIKE those who went to Christ for healing, (cfr. Lk 4,38-44) we too should immediately go to our Lord especially when we find ourselves in some form of suffering, be it a matter of sickness or some difficulty in the different aspects of our life, financial, professional, social, etc. 

 We should never suffer by our lonesome, coping with our problems through some human ways alone. This method can only go so far. What we need to do is always to go to Christ who teaches us and enables us to suffer with meaning. 

 With Christ, there is even the possibility of solving our problems while here on earth. We can be cured of any illness we may have. And if these problems cannot be solved anymore in our life, Christ can turn them into a way of our purification and salvation. Christ can always derive from it something good for us. 

 We need to develop in ourselves the instinct to go to Christ immediately. We have to be wary of our tendency to get stuck in the human level when some suffering comes our way. Christ always listens to us and gives what is best for us at the moment and in the long run. He is never indifferent to our needs. 

 Of course, his ways may not be what we specifically would want to happen. In this, we have to be ready to develop the appropriate attitude of acceptance and abandonment in the often-mysterious providence of God. We should just strengthen our faith that whatever happens, as long as we have begged God for help, everything would just work out for the good. (cfr. Rom 8,28) 

 We should avoid unnecessarily dramatizing our predicaments. Obviously, we have to learn how to suffer which can be done as long as we learn how to suffer with Christ. That is why a certain toughness in us should also be developed. 

 And we can have that toughness if we follow what Christ one time spelled out for us. That is, if we want to follow him, we have to learn to deny ourselves and carry the cross. (cfr. Mt 16,24) And that, on a daily basis. 

 We just have to follow the example of the many characters in the gospel who, feeling helpless in the many predicaments they were in, earnestly rushed to Christ for some succor. They went to him unafraid and unashamed and they got what they wanted. 

 There is no denying that life always has more to offer us than what we can understand, let alone, cope. And they can come in all shapes and sizes, good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant, likeable and hateful. There are surprises and moments when we seem to rot in expectation and still things we long for don’t come. 

 In the face of all this, I believe the attitude to have and the reaction to make is to be calm, pray hard, and while we do all we can, we have to learn to live a certain sense of abandonment in the hands of God. 

 In those situations, I believe we just have to allow ourselves to play in God’s game plan, in his abiding providence whose designs are beyond reckoning, or are way beyond our comprehension and appreciation. 

 In this life, we need to develop a sportsman’s attitude, since life is like a game. Yes, life is like a game, because we set out to pursue a goal, we have to follow certain rules, we are given some means, tools and instruments, we train and are primed to win and do our best, but defeats can always come, and yet, we just have to move on.

God shares his power with us

THAT’S right! God shares his power with us. If we are truly God’s image and likeness, sharers of his divine life and nature, then it should come as a no-brainer that we too can share in his tremendous power. 

 We are somehow reminded of this wonderful truth of our faith in that gospel episode where people were amazed both by Christ’s teaching which they considered as being with authority and by the driving out of the devil that possessed a man. (cfr. Lk 4,31-37) 

 That God shares his power with us can also be shown by the fact that he gave his apostles, who were then his closest helpers at that time, great powers like the authority over unclean spirits, and the power to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. (cfr. Mt 10,1) 

 Eventually, Christ gave them such powers that, as he told them, “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever they loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” (Mt 18,18-20) 

 Thus, Sts. Peter and Paul, despite their human weakness, were able, for example, to heal a crippled beggar, raise the dead, exorcise a demon, etc., all recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. And throughout the history of Christianity, saints had been performing many miraculous deeds that only showed they shared the powers of God. 

 There’s hardly any better way to show that indeed we are meant to share also in the tremendous powers of God! The condition, of course, is if we truly identify ourselves with God through Christ in the Holy Spirit which is what we should try to do since that is the ultimate purpose of our life. And God has provided us with all the means that we need for this purpose. 

 In other words, things just would really depend on us. Are we willing to do our part and go along with God’s will and ways, or do we prefer to be and to do things simply by our own selves? 

 This is a truth of faith that we have to slowly process in our mind and heart, since definitely it’s a truth that is very incredible for us to accept. Usually, given our natural limitations when referred to the supernatural dimension of our life, our reaction would be disbelief to this truth of our Christian faith. 

 This is then where we truly have to humble ourselves to let the light to faith to guide us rather than keep ourselves to our own human estimations and ways. God is ever willing and eager to share his power with us. Our sharing in God’s power starts with our faith in God, but for that faith to take root in us, we need to be humble. 

 We should spend time meditating on this truth of our faith, and we should try to overcome whatever awkwardness and disbelief we have about it. Truth is, given the way the world is developing today, with so much drifting away if not rebellion against God, we need some divine powers to put ourselves afloat in our true dignity as children of God. 

 To be sure, if we have the right intention to share God’s power, we would always remain humble and ever eager to help others. Otherwise, we would be playing the game of the devil!