Charity’s fine points and more challenging aspects

THAT gospel episode about Christ’s townspeople finding it hard to believe that one of their own could speak the way Christ did (cfr. Mk 6,1-6) reminds us of the danger of overfamiliarity and self-satisfaction that would prevent us from recognizing the real Christ and the will and ways he has for us in every situation we may find ourselves in. 

 It prods us to always be refining and deepening our faith, never saying enough in our pursuit for holiness, also known as our duty to follow Christ. In this regard, we need to always look into the fine points of charity and its more challenging aspects. 

 We should never say that we are already good enough, kind enough, generous enough, etc. If we truly follow Christ, we can always do more and be more, until we become more and more like him as we should be. 

 While it’s indeed laudable that in whatever we do, we try to give it our best shot, we should also remember that our best will never be enough insofar as pleasing God and everybody else is concerned. Our best can always be made better. 

 This should not surprise us, much less, cause us to worry. But we should acknowledge it so that we avoid getting self-satisfied with what we have done and then fall into self-complacency. That’s when we stop growing and improving as a human person and as a child of God. 

 We have to remember that we are meant for the infinite, for the spiritual and the supernatural. That’s a goal that we can never fully reach in our life here on earth. But we are meant to keep on trying. 

 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 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. 

 That is why Christ commanded us to love even our enemies, to offer the other cheek when we are slapped in one cheek. That’s because true love does not count the cost. Let’s remember that Christ in loving us assumed all our sins and conquered them by dying on the cross and rising from the dead. He even asked the Father to forgive those who crucified him. 

 This is the paradigm of love which we have to pursue in our daily life with all its concerns, varying circumstances, trials, etc. It’s a love that unavoidably involves suffering, self-denial, the carrying of the cross. It’s a love that should culminate in the way Christ culminated his love for us in obedience to the will of the Father—through his passion and death that would lead to his resurrection, the final victory.

How to endure and persevere

THE secret, of course, is to go to Christ. That’s the main message of the readings of Tuesday of the 4th Week in Ordinary Time. In the first reading, from the Letter to the Hebrews, we are told: 

 “Looking on Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who having joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and now sitteth on the right hand of the throne of God. For think diligently upon him that endured such opposition from sinners against himself; that you be not wearied, fainting in your minds.” (12,2-3) 

 The same truth of our Christian faith is reiterated in the gospel reading of the day where two characters, Jairus, one of the synagogue leaders, and a woman under an issue of blood, went to Christ asking for help. (cfr. Mk 5,21-43) 

 We should see to it that our reaction to anything that bothers us is to immediately go to Christ without wasting time, allowing shame and fear to stop us from going to him. Christ always listens and gives in to our request, but in forms and ways that may not coincide with what we have in mind. 

 We cannot deny that in our life, we will always be hounded by all sorts of challenges and trials, temptations and other forms of evil that come from our usual enemies—our wounded flesh, the sinful allurements of the world, and the devil himself. 

 Especially when we think our suffering is self-inflicted because of our spiritual and moral weakness, we should not hesitate to go to Christ. What we have to remind ourselves always is that Christ has borne all our weaknesses and sins, and the suffering they bring, and converted them into a way of our salvation. 

 We should not stay long agonizing because of our weaknesses and sins. What helps, of course, is to unite our suffering due to our weaknesses and sins with the saving passion, death and resurrection of Christ. We should avoid suffering on our own. We should never keep our suffering from Christ. 

 That is why it is a good practice to regularly meditate on the passion, death and resurrection of Christ so we would know how to properly deal with our unavoidable weaknesses and sins. By so doing, we somehow would receive some strength to face and overcome them. In any event, by meditating on this culminating redemptive work of Christ, we would feel assured that victory would always be at hand. 

 We have to learn to be quick to go back to Christ who will always welcome us no matter how ugly our mistakes are. We should also learn to be quick to say sorry to God and to all the others who may be involved in our misdeeds, defects and predicaments. 

 We, obviously, need also to learn how to be tough with the toughness of Christ who knows how to blend it always with gentleness and patience. In short, we have to have the mind and attitude of Christ when developing and practicing both toughness and patience. Only then would these virtues acquire their true value and would play along the providence of God 

 Thus, for this blend to take place, we need to be vitally united with Christ. And for this purpose, we should continually ask for God’s grace. In fact, the first thing we should do when we need to be both tough and patient is to ask for God’s grace.

Demonic attacks on the rise

THIS should be no surprise to us. With the way things are now—new technologies offering more temptations than real advantages, and people spiritually and morally impoverished—what can we expect? That’s why requests for exorcism and deliverance have dramatically increased these days, not to mention the increasing cases of mental illness, psychological disorders, suicide, etc. 

 We should never take the devils for granted. They are always around, ever scheming and plotting against us in many, many ways, and often in a manner that is so subtle that we may not even notice them. As St. Peter would put in his first letter: “Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” (5,8) 

 We should never consider the devils as a myth, or as some kind of literary device only to highlight a point in the drama of our life. They are as real as you and me. Our problem is that we think lightly or, worse, falsely of them. And so, we become completely unprepared to deal with their antics. 

 But in spite of that unfortunate fact of life, we should remember that the devils cannot do anything against us unless allowed by God. And if allowed, it is because God in his mysterious providence can always draw a greater good from any evil the devils may cause in us. 

 We need to have a good grip on this rapidly emerging menace. And the first thing to do is to entertain the possibility that indeed these people who are disturbed by evil spirits are both mentally sick and demonically bothered. 

 Yes, while it’s true that the predicament can be an either-or proposition, we should not dismiss the possibility that it can also be a both-and one. Not just disjunctive, but also conjunctive. Let’s remember that the devil is always around. It’s not paranoia to be always alerted of the devil’s existence and his constant efforts to destroy us, usually in very sweet ways. 

 It would be good if we level up in our knowledge of psychology. This field of science is getting to be more and more relevant these days. It cannot anymore be the exclusive interest of some people. Everyone should know at least the basics of psychology and from there start accumulating relevant helpful information. 

 But we should never forget that the psychological and mental mechanism of a person is steeped in his spiritual dimension that can lead him either to the supernatural or infranatural world. It cannot be studied from the point of view of empirical science alone. It has to input the truths of faith to enable it to cope with the full range of its possibilities. 

 This is a point that should be taken more seriously these days. The complicated challenges of our times that have brought about many good things and also many bad things cannot but make this kind of demand. We have to take our faith more seriously, assimilating it in our system and making it the guide and shaper of our lives. 

 With our faith, we have the answer to all the questions, the solution to all our problems, even if the answers and solutions it offers may not be the ones we want. But they are the answers and solutions that God himself gives, and not just us. 

 Faith is the great healer, the constant pacifier, because it brings Christ into our lives, Christ who heals and who constantly tells us, “Do not be afraid...” We should bring our faith to bear on our sciences and on our other sources of knowledge.