True love goes all the way

INDEED, that is how true love is. It never says enough in its self-giving. If it would cost one’s life, so be it. It would always take the initiative, never waiting for some favorable conditions to start loving. It may involve some episodes of anger, but it would always end with mercy. 

 We can learn these qualities of true love from the first reading of the Mass of Tuesday after Epiphany Sunday. (cfr. 1 Jn 4,7-10) “Let us love one another, for charity is of God. And every one that loves, is born of God, and knows God,” it says. 

 And it describes the extent to which this love goes in this way: “In this is charity: not as though we had loved God, but because he has first loved us, and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins.” 

 It obviously would look like impossible for us to have that kind of love which we are meant to have since we are supposed to God’s image and likeness, sharers of his life and nature. We should not waste time worrying about that apparent impossibility. We are told that as long as we do our part, imperfect as it is, it would be God himself who would do it for us and with us! 

 If we truly love God and everybody else, with a love that is nothing less than a participation of the love God has for us and as commanded by Christ to us, then we will never say enough in our self-giving. 

 Even if such attitude would already seem to be going beyond common sense, our reason and other human and worldly standards that we usually use to measure our love, we would still go on giving ourselves, never saying enough. We would just give and give, even if we seem to consume ourselves in death. 

 This is, of course, an overwhelming prospect, but that is what true love is. It is some kind of madness that knows no limits. It is given without measure, without cost, without any calculation. 

 And even if such total self-giving is not reciprocated, it would still go on loving. It is purely gratuitous. Even more, even if it is not only unreciprocated but is also violently resisted and rejected, it would still go on loving. 

 Obviously, if we are to rely only on our own powers, there is no way we can have this kind of self-giving. This can only take place if we are truly identified with Christ, if we have his grace and are corresponding to it with all that we have got.

 It’s only in this condition that that we can go beyond the limits of our natural self and above the usual drama in life. We of course have our limitations, physical, mental, emotional, etc. And yet, as long as we are truly with Christ, we can still manage to give ourselves unstintingly. The spiritual and supernatural in us through Christ would enable us to give ourselves despite our natural limitations and worldly conditions. 

 It is God’s grace that does the trick. It’s when we correspond sincerely to God’s love for us that we get a self-perpetuating energy to do our best in any given moment. It’s when we can manage to do the impossible. 

 We need to help each other to do and give our best in whatever task we have out of sheer love for God and neighbor. The appropriate training should be established in homes, schools and everywhere. The proper climate and environment should be created for this purpose.

“Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”

THESE are words of Christ himself as recorded in the gospel reading of Monday after Epiphany Sunday. (cfr. Mt 4,12-17.23-25) Epiphany being Christ’s manifestation as savior not only to the Chosen People but also to all of us, the thing to do after having this Good News is, of course, to go and follow him. But this needs repentance and conversion. 

 We cannot deny that we all are sinners who need to keep on struggling against our weaknesses, temptations and sins so we can attain the real identity and dignity God wants us to have, which is that He wants us to be his image and likeness, sharers of his divine life and nature. 

 We should also realize that given our wounded condition here on earth, repentance is not only a matter of a moment or just a one-time affair. It’s going to be a lifelong concern for us. This should be considered as a fact of life which we should just learn how to handle properly. 

 And the secret of true repentance is for us to learn to be always with Christ. This is clearly articulated in the first reading of the Mass of Monday after Epiphany Sunday from 1 Jn 3,22-4,6. 

 “Whatsoever we shall ask, we shall receive of him: because we keep his commandments, and do those things which are pleasing in his sight.” Then it adds: “And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ: and love one another, as he hath given commandment unto us.” 

 If we live by these words of our faith, the consequence is that Christ would abide in us and we in him. This is the ideal condition for our life here on earth as it will be in its definitive and perfect state in heaven. 

 This is the secret of true repentance. It’s when we slowly and steadily approach that ideal condition when Christ and us become one. Outside of Christ, there’s no other way but for us to fall into sin sooner or later, one way or another. 

 We should just try our best to learn how to be with Christ all the time, never daring to be simply on our own, relying only on our human and natural powers. For this, aside from studying the life and teachings of Christ, we should see to it that the very Spirit of God in Christ is with us. Thus, we need to be discerning of the spirit that actually is inspiring us. 

 We would somehow know the kind of spirit we have by the kind of thoughts, desires and loves we have. If we look more closely at how our consciousness works, what its usual contents are, what we are most aware of, we would have an idea of the kind of spirit we have. All we have to do is to see if our thoughts, desires and loves are those of the fruits of the Spirit or the fruits of the flesh. 

 This is also true when we examine the kind of dreams we have in our sleep where we are supposed to be unconscious. Our state of unconsciousness is when we disengage ourselves for a while from our bodily mechanisms, but it is in that state where our spirit takes over, so to speak. In a sense, it’s when we are unconscious that the kind of spirit we have can be known.

What the Epiphany teaches us

THE Solemnity of the Lord’s Epiphany reminds us that Christ is meant for all of us, and not just a few, and like the 3 magi, we should make an effort to look for him, that is, to look for God, in everything in our life—in the persons we meet, in the different situations, conditions and circumstances of our life. 

 To be sure, God is everywhere. This is how one of the psalms describes this reality: “Whither shall I go from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” (139,7-10) 

 More than that, God’s presence is not merely passive but active. He is always intervening in the existence of all the creatures, ever applying his wisdom through the ceaseless providence that he exercises over all his creation whose nature he always respects, upholds and defends. 

 What all these considerations can tell us is that like the 3 magi, we need to persevere in looking for Christ despite the difficulties and challenges we may encounter along the way. “By your perseverance you will secure your lives,” Christ told a crowd one time. (Lk 21,19) He listed down some terrible scenarios that can happen in our lives which we should just learn to endure, since he will always be with us, defending, protecting and teaching us how to react all the way. 

 “They will seize and persecute you…You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.” (Lk 21,12ff.) 

 Christ even said that we should not worry about having to prepare our defenses before all these possible severe trials, because as he said, “I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.” (Lk 21,15) 

 We have to remember that if Christ could not help but had to offer his life to save us, how can we think that our life and the world in general would take a different path? Remember Christ telling his disciples, “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” (Jn 15,20) So, let’s always keep in mind his assurance, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16,33) 

 With faith and hope, we can manage to endure anything and to persevere, because as St. Paul told us once: “God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Phil 1,6) 

 The Pauline words somehow tell us that the secret of perseverance is our strong faith in God, in his omnipotent and merciful providence that can always make do with whatever situation we may find ourselves in any given moment. 

 We have to see to it that we keep that faith alive and burning. And to make that faith vibrant, we need to keep ourselves always in love. It’s love that keeps our faith going. It should be a love that goes beyond good intentions, sweet words and nice feelings. It has to be expressed in deeds.