Lessons we can learn from the Epiphany

DEFINITELY, the main lesson we can learn from the Solemnity of the Epiphany when we commemorate the visit of the 3 Magi to the newborn Jesus is that Jesus is meant to be the redeemer not only to the Jews, regarded as the chosen people of God, but also to the non-Jews. His message and redemptive work have a universal scope, covering all men and women regardless of background, race, color, social status, etc. 

 That’s because God’s love is for all. And that love had its ultimate expression when Christ died on the cross for the sins of all people, providing a way for reconciliation with God, as articulated in the First Letter of St. John where it says: “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (2,2) 

 Thus, it is through our faith in Christ that all of us can receive forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. Christ himself said: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” (Jn 14,6) With these words, Christ proclaims that he is the path or direction to God, that he is the embodiment of truth and the source of truth and that he is the source of eternal life. No one can reach God without going through Christ. 

 We need to meditate these words of Christ more deeply so we can truly capture the significance of the Epiphany of the Lord. They surely tell us that Christ’s mission was to bring salvation to all people, breaking whatever barriers there may be due to the diversity of backgrounds, race, color and the like. 

 We also need to understand that while Christ offers us a universal salvation, we too should also realize that we need to properly correspond to that offer. We need to realize that the offer of universal salvation is also a universal call to holiness to all of us. That’s because, as St. Augustine once said, that while God created us without us, he cannot save us without us. 

 We have to overcome the idea that sanctity is reserved only for a few and that it can only be achieved through certain acts and states of life. Sadly, sanctity has often been associated with priests and nuns and others who by some peculiar circumstances prefer to lead a religious or consecrated life practically spent in churches or some isolated or special places like caves, deserts, mountains, convents, monasteries, hermitages, mission areas, foreign lands, etc. 

 As a consequence, the ordinary people who stay at home and work in the fields or schools and offices, or those who simply find themselves in the middle of the world, are often considered out of contention for sainthood. At best, they can aspire only to be helpers and assistants to priests and religious men and women. 

 We need to correct this attitude because it is not quite correct. While such conception about sanctity contains a lot of truth and many good things, it however does not capture many other elements through which holiness can be pursued and achieved. 

 Everyone is called to holiness, because everyone is a creature of God, and as such is therefore created in the image and likeness of God, adopted as a child of his, and meant to participate in the very life of God. 

 There is a basic and inalienable equality among all of us insofar as we are God’s creatures and children called to holiness. Regardless of our position and state in life, whether we are priests, religious men and women, or ordinary lay faithful, we have the same calling and purpose in life.

Ready, set, go

IT’S a phrase that is often used to start a race or to signal a countdown, creating excitement and anticipation before a race or an event. It’s a phrase that also can be useful as a daily spur for us as we begin the day. 

 We know that in a very clear way, our daily life is like a race. We should never be sluggish in life, not knowing exactly where we are going. We should be very clear about where we are going, what real goal we are supposed to achieve. Somehow, we should echo what St. Paul once said in this regard: 

 “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave…” (1 Cor 9,24-27) 

 If we want to have a truly good and happy life, one that is not simply a result of some worldly props that can only go so far, then we should be focused on God and driven and excited in carrying out his will and in following his ways. 

 And the simple reason is because, to be blunt about it, God is already the supreme good for all of us. There could be no other good better than him to whom we should be attracted more or who should arouse in us a greater attraction. 

 God is everything to us. More than that, he loves us so much that he created us to be like him. It’s with him that we can have our eternal joy in heaven, and while here on earth we can always count on his help, guidance and powerful, wise and merciful providence. 

 Obviously, we need to process this basic truth properly and thoroughly, since it is a truth of faith that certainly involves a lot of mysteries that we have to learn to live with. Once we get convinced of this truth, then it follows that God should be the constant and strongest cause of our desire and attraction. His presence and interventions in our life should be intimately felt by us. Pursuing to be with him should give us the greatest joy. 

 We have to be wary of our tendency to get trapped in some worldly and temporal goals as our main focus in life. These goals, for sure, also have their objective value. But we need to understand that these worldly goals cannot stand on their own. They have to be grounded on God, on his will, on his abiding providence over us. Otherwise, they can only pose as a danger to us. 

 This truth was articulated quite clearly by Christ when he said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Mt 12,30) We really need to know and love Christ, the fullness of the revelation of God to us. He should not only be known by us. He has to be loved too, so that we can truly enter into his life and be identified with him, which is what is proper to us. 

 We need to examine ourselves to see if we are exerting the necessary effort to know and love Christ. That is why we need to spend time meditating on the life, word and example of Christ to such an extent that Christ becomes alive in us and is the one who motivates us in our thoughts, words and deeds.

Routine and new initiatives

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone! 

 As we open another year, let us first of all be thankful for everything that took place in the last year, regardless of what color they came, and look forward to this new year with great desire to do a lot of good things. 

 We certainly have to continue with our usual routine which had been helpful in filling our day with meaningful and fruitful work, but let us not be unmindful of the new challenges that certainly would also present themselves to us. 

 Let’s remember that the world is constantly evolving, and even if there are different times and conditions and things would just be the same in the end, there will always be new things that we need to deal with properly. 

 For us to discern these new things, we need to be most attentive to what God is prompting us in our prayer. He is always showing us the way for us to go. We should be quick to capture these promptings and act on them, coming up with plans and strategies that would involve new initiatives even as we retain the usual routine we have. 

 To take the initiative can only mean that we are following God’s primal command, the one given to our first parents: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.” (Gen 1,28) It is a command that has not become obsolete nor superseded. It remains effective, reaffirmed in the commandments given later. 

 To take the initiative can only mean that we should be discovering something new, conquering and covering new territories. It need not mean something new in a quantitative sense. It can mean something new in the qualitative sense. “Non multa sed multum,” goes a Latin expression that highlights that point. “Not many things, but much.” 

 So, it is possible that this duty of taking the initiative can be carried out even if we are doing the same things everyday. We may be producing the same quantity of things everyday, but there should be growth in the quality of the things produced, of the way we do things, and of the way we are. 

 In the end, taking the initiative should redound to our becoming more and more a child of God. There should be growth of love, in any and all of its manifestations, because love is the essence of God and it is what makes us more and more like God as we should. 

 We have to be wary of our tendency to be contented at a certain level of human accomplishment. We have to do more to be more like God. That’s because love is not just sweet words, sweet feelings, but rather concrete deeds. And the character of true love involves being open to unlimited self-giving. It is given without measure. 

 Everyday, we have to take initiatives. Otherwise, our spiritual growth gets stalled, stunted or stagnant. And later on, our soul becomes a breeding ground for everything that is the opposite of love. 

 We have to take initiatives in developing our spiritual and apostolic life. We can never say enough—that we are already ok. There will always be new challenges. That is due to our weakened and erratic human condition. God will always be asking for more even as he gives us more graces. He will always be asking us to look for new frontiers in our effort of personal sanctification and apostolate.