The making of a Good Shepherd

WE are familiar with the usual lesson we can learn from the parable of the lost sheep. (cfr. Mt 18,12-14) Indeed, a Good Shepherd will always look for the lost sheep and would do everything, regardless of the sacrifices involved, to do so. 

 But an upshot of that parable that is often missed is how we can truly be a Good Shepherd ourselves. To look for the lost sheep is indeed already a tremendous responsibility, and undoubtedly a great manifestation of Christian love and concern. A truly Good Shepherd should not just be contented with that duty. He should see to it that all the sheep are led to their ultimate destination. 

 In this season of Advent, we are reminded that we should help each other pursue the real and ultimate goal of our life. This duty is somehow expressed in that gospel acclamation, “The day of the Lord is come. Behold, he comes to save us.” 

 Of course, the parable of the lost sheep simply talks about the furry animal whose end is simply to be eaten and whose fur is made use of. But we are not simply a flock of sheep. We are children of God who need to be reunited with our Creator and Father in heaven. We need to be led there, and the Good Shepherd should take that as his—and our—biggest duty toward each other. 

 This is indeed quite a tough job. To guide souls toward their ultimate destination is truly a very delicate job. It requires nothing less than entering into the inner life of a person with the intention of helping and of eventually leading that person to God. But how can this be? 

 Priests are supposed to be sacramentally configured to Christ as head of the Church and therefore as the ultimate guide of souls, the redeemer of mankind. They are supposed to have the very mind and sentiments of Christ. And if they are truly vitally identified with Christ, they will also share in the power of Christ. 

 But is this possible at all? If we have faith, the answer is yes. The sacrament of Holy Orders configures one to Christ with an effectivity that is called in Latin as “ex opere operato.” 

 It means that by the mere reception of the sacrament and as long as there is no formal impediment to such reception, that sacramental configuration is achieved, not so much by the qualities and dispositions of the recipient as by the power of Christ himself. 

 Would we think that the apostles had the qualities and dispositions of becoming the first bishops in the Church? If we are to go by our human standards, we would have serious doubts about that. But Christ made them our first bishops, and bishops they were. 

 The priestly ideal of being another Christ as head of the Church will certainly demand everything from them. But given that priests are men, with their own share of weaknesses, that ideal will be pursued in stages at best, with its own ups and downs, its twists and turns, its drama. 

 We, priests, should do our part of resembling more and more like Christ with our daily effort to be faithful to our identity and ministry. This can never be overemphasized. And everything should be done so that at least its approximation can be gained. 

 As guide of souls, we should learn how to deal with all kinds of souls with their respective consciences. Indeed, the priest should strive with God’s grace and his effort to be all things to all men, as St. Paul once said, in order to save all. This will require of him to forget himself and just try his best to have the very mind and heart of Christ whose love for us is universal and for always.

What Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception reminds us of

TO put it bluntly, what Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception reminds us of is that, like Our Lady who is our Mother, we are supposed to be immaculate and sinless from our very own conception all the way to the end of our earthly life and our definitive life in heaven. That was the original plan of God for us. 

 Though we lost that privilege and honor because of our sin, we should not worry too much because Christ has secured our salvation. And all we have to do is to correspond to Christ’s redemptive action on us which is always an ongoing affair for us by waging a continuing struggle against sin and against our weaknesses and temptations. 

 That may be an impossible pursuit, since we all know that we all have weaknesses and are most prone to commit sin, but it should not prevent us from doing our best to struggle to be as sinless as possible. In this regard, we should never forget to develop and strengthen our personal skills in handling our weaknesses and temptations. This concern never goes passé, and it touches a basic, indispensable aspect of our life in all levels. 

 We know that these days, temptations can come to us in the subtlest and trickiest of ways. This can be due, at least in part, to the increased level of sophistication both in people’s thinking and in world developments, especially in the area of technology and ideology. 

 With these developments, temptations can easily come undetected, and sin can be committed in a most hidden way and can even be easily rationalized. How important therefore it is for us to always grow in humility and simplicity, aggressively finding practical ways to achieve them! If not, we would just be lost. That’s for sure! 

 What makes things worse is that, as can be easily noted these days, the healthy fear of God is disappearing. In its place, a most heinous sense of self-importance is dominating. The criteria to determine what is good and bad have become blurred. They have gone almost completely relativistic and subjective, declaring total independence from any absolute and objective rule or law that comes from God. 

 Truth is, we always need God in our battle against temptations. We should disabuse ourselves from the thought that with our good intentions and our best efforts alone, we can manage to tame the urges of temptations. 

 We cannot! That’s the naked truth about it. We only can if we are with God who provides us with all the means and power to resist sin. And we have to be with him in a strong, determined way, not in a passive or lukewarm way. Do flies flock on a hot soup? No. But they do on a cold or lukewarm soup. 

 We need to do everything to be with God. Our mind and heart should be fully and constantly engaged with him. We always have reason to do so—at least, we can thank him for what we are having at the moment: health, food, air, work, etc. We should never dare to leave him aside and depend solely on our powers. 

 Also, we should help others in their struggle against temptations and sins. In this regard, we have to learn how to fraternize with everybody, especially those in some bad spiritual and moral conditions. Like Christ, we should learn how to fraternize with sinners to help them.

“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths”

ON this First Sunday of Advent, we are reminded of these words of the Prophet Isaias as recorded in the gospel of St. Matthew (3,3). These are words that should always be in our mind and, in fact, made as a guiding principle of our whole life. And the simple reason is that our life here on earth is actually a journey toward our final destination in heaven where Christ, the fullness of our humanity, waits for us even as he also always with us. 

 We should constantly check ourselves to see if we are progressing toward that destination and if we are still on the right road. We have to be wary of our strong tendency to be seduced and deceived by earthly and temporal goals even if we feel we appear to be doing great in pursuing them, reminding us of what St. Augustine once said: “You are running well; see that you do not run out of the way.” 

 Let us foster the awareness of this basic truth about ourselves and about our life here on earth. We need to encourage everyone to have a clear and strong sense of purpose, and to know how to pursue it given our human condition and all the means that God has given us. 

 We therefore cannot overemphasize this basic need of ours to make plans and strategies. If we have to develop ourselves as we should, if we have to be truly productive and fruitful, if we have to take advantage of everything in life, whether good or bad, to attain our ultimate goal, then we have to plan and strategize our moves. 

 Making plans and strategies may require some time and effort, but it’s an investment that is all worthwhile. The little time and effort required can actually multiply our time and make our efforts more productive at the end of the day. It’s like the little rudder that St. James talked about in his letter. (cfr. 3,4) Our plans and strategies can have the power to accomplish great things, like a little rudder giving direction to a big boat. 

 We should make it habit everyday to check from time to time to see if we are progressing properly, if we are still on the right road, if there are surprises and other obstacles that need to be resolved. 

 The ideal condition of our life should be that we always get the sensation that we are going well in pursuing our real goal. We have to make each day a microcosm of how we pursue the ultimate goal of our whole life. 

 Thus, at the end of the day, we should make a regular accounting of how the day went by making a thorough examination of conscience. That exercise should be like a rehearsal of that time when we will face Christ on judgment day. It would help us to be properly prepared to face him, avoiding unpleasant surprises. 

 Then as we go to bed, let’s understand it as a rehearsal of our ultimate rest in heaven. We should already forget, at least for that period of rest and sleep, all our daily concerns so that we can practice how to be finally united with God in total bliss. So, we need to learn how to leave everything behind, which is what will happen when we die. 

 To be sure, this practice will make our life here on earth most meaningful, since we would live it according to God’s purpose for it.