Faith should always guide our reason

THAT Bible story about that Syrian general, Naaman, who was a leper, (2 Kings 5,1-15) and the gospel reading about Christ reproaching the people in the synagogue for not believing the prophets (cfr. Lk 4,24-30) remind us that while we have to make full use of our reason, it should always be guided by faith, it should always bow to faith when at a certain point we are made to choose between our faith and our reason. These are the readings of the Mass of Monday of the 3rd Week of Lent. 

 As the Naaman story went, he was at first hesitant to believe what the prophet Eliseus told him, that is, for him to wash 7 times in the River Jordan. He expected that Eliseus would go to him and, invoking God, would heal him. 

 “Are not the Abana, and the Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel, that I may wash in them, and be made clean?,” Naaman complained. But his servants managed to convince him to follow what the prophet told him. And when he did, he was made clean. 

 The gospel story simply reiterates the same point. Christ told the people in the synagogue of their usual tendency when they would prefer to listen to their own reasoning and estimation of things than to what the prophets would tell them. “No prophet is accepted in his own country,” he lamented, and proceeded to tell them that only those who believed the prophet got their favors granted. 

 We have to realize very deeply that our reason always needs the light of faith. Being the human faculty we use to know and later to love, our reason just cannot be beholden to the data provided by our senses and our own understanding of things.

 That would confine our reasoning to the world of the sensible and the intelligible, that is, to the world of matter and of ideas. Thus conditioned, our reason cannot go beyond those levels and would miss the world of the spiritual and the supernatural. It would get trapped in some subjective mode as opposed to what is entirely objective. 

 It’s important that we do some disciplining to our reasoning because it tends to get contented only with the sensible and the intelligible in the many forms that they come and attract us. It can willingly let itself be held hostage by these dimensions of reality. 

 We know that our reason does not create the truth. It does not create the reality. It can only apprehend, reflect, process and transmit the truth and reality. It will always depend on a reality that is outside and independent of itself. 

 And reality just cannot be sensible and intelligible. A lot more goes into it than what our senses can perceive and our intelligence can discern and understand. Our reason itself, if used properly, can acknowledge that at the limits of its capability, it can discern a world that is beyond the physical and the ideal. 

 This is where we need to humble ourselves, a predicament that many of us find hard to resolve. We tend to hold on to our own ideas and the facts and data that we can manage to gather, guided mainly by our senses and intellect. In short, we make our own selves, and to be more specific, our own senses and intellect, to be our own sole guide, our own god.

Zeal for all the things of God

THIS is what we can learn from that gospel episode of Christ driving those who converted the temple into a market place (cfr. Jn 2,13-25), which is the gospel reading for the Mass of the 3rd Sunday of Lent. We need to develop this zeal because otherwise our heart can only be captured by earthly things that in the end would lead us nowhere. 

 With respect to the things of God, be they churches, liturgical items, sacred books, sacraments, means of formation, etc., we should see to it that there is that constant zeal that would let us consider them as our real treasures. Anything that would undermine these things should stir in us some passionate reaction to defend, protect and uphold them. 

 We should be wary of that common tendency of ours to be just casual about the things of God. Christ himself warned us about this danger when in that gospel cited above, he said, referring to those who claimed they believed in him, that he did not believe them. 

 “But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature,” says the gospel. He was referring, of course, to the fickleness of our human condition. Thus, we should be wary of this fact of life and do our best to do something about it. 

 Indeed, we need to exert effort, we need to educate our feelings and emotions, training them to consider the things of God to be our most precious treasure, for which we should be willing to sacrifice everything else when necessary. 

 In our relation with God and the things directly related to him, we have to involve not only our spiritual faculties but also the basic element of our humanity which are our feelings, our emotions and passions. 

 Our Catechism tells us that our emotions and passions are “movements of the sensitive appetite that incline us to act or not to act in regard to something felt or imagined to be good or evil.” (1763) 

 As such, we can say that our emotions and passions play an important and crucial role in our life. And that’s why we have to take pains in forming them well. We just cannot be complacent with this responsibility. 

 In fact, the Catechism tells us that our emotions and passions are “natural components of the human psyche; they form the passageway and ensure the connection between the life of the senses and the life of mind.” (1764) 

 Our emotions and passions therefore serve as a link between our body and soul. They are where we materialize what is spiritual in us, and spiritualize what is material in us. As such, they create a rich texture in our lives. They create the consistency proper to us as a person and as a child of God. They also help to give focus on our judgments, modulate our will, and add sensitivity to our reasoning. 

 In other words, they play a decisive role in achieving a happy and fully human life. They contribute to achieving the full potentials of our humanity. But given the wounded condition of man, our emotions and passions need to be purified and thoroughly educated. 

 They should not be allowed to just develop at the instance of our hormones and instincts, for example, and the many other blind or short-sighted impulses and trends in our social, cultural, economic, or political environment. They need to be reined in, to be guided and given direction.

Christ wants us to be productive

THE gospel of the Mass of Friday of the 2nd Week of Lent (cfr. Mt 21,33-43.45-46) reminds us that Christ wants us to be fruitful and productive, making use of everything that he has given us—our life, our talents, and the many other gifts that we have. 

 The gospel also tells us that failing to be fruitful and productive is tantamount to nothing less than rejecting Christ. We should be wary therefore of our tendency to be lazy, to waste time, and to pursue useless and even harmful things. 

 Fruitfulness and productiveness here refer more to the spiritual and moral fruitfulness, a bountiful growth in our love of God and of others, than of mere material productiveness. More than profitability in terms of money and other earthly standards, our fruitfulness should be measured according to the growth in our own sanctity. 

 At the end of each day, we should be able to present to God something like a report card or a balance sheet that hopefully shows some improvement or growth in the virtues like charity, faith, hope, fortitude, patience, etc. 

 No matter how small or seemingly insignificant, we should be able to tell Our Lord, “Today, Lord, I am happy to say that I managed to hold my temper amid an irritating incident, or to be more understanding of an annoying person, or to be more patient and persevering in pursuing a goal, etc.” 

 Yes, everyday, we should be keenly aware that we need to be fruitful and productive. That’s simply because even from the beginning of our creation in Adam and Even, this has always been God’s will for us. 

 “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it,” (Gen 1,28) God told our first parents, clearly outlining his mandate to them. It’s a mandate that continues to be repeated up to now. Christ himself said as much. 

 In his parable of the three servants (cfr. Mt 25,14-30), for example, a master clearly told each one to trade with the amount given to them. He was happy with the first two who gained as much as was given. But he was mad at the third one who did nothing with the amount given. 

 We have to realize that God has already given us everything that we need, not only to survive but also to improve our lot that ultimately translates into realizing the fullness of our dignity as image and likeness of God, as children of his. 

 In this regard, we truly should be most enterprising, coming up with daily plans and strategies such that at the end of the day, when we make our examination of conscience, we can show God that we have gained something, and that the daily balance sheet of our spiritual life is in the black, not in the red. 

 We have to realize that the capitalization of this enterprise cannot be any better. God has given us everything—life, talents, intelligence, freedom, all kinds of capacities, his graces, etc. 

 And even if we commit mistakes or we fall into sin, no matter how grave, his mercy is always available. It’s really just up to us to make use of what is all there for the taking. 

 We have to assume the attitude of a shrewd businessman who is keen in discovering new possibilities of making money and expanding his business. Thus, in our spiritual life, in our relationship with God and with others, we should never say enough in loving them! We can always love them more.