FINDING God amid the clutter and tangles characteristic of our modern life is one of the skills we have to learn these days, and fast. The accelerating flow of data, info, interests, concerns, etc., make it imperative that we find ways to be connected with God and not to lose our proper bearing.
The other day I saw someone literally entangled with the products of today´s digital culture. He was driving, he was untangling the wires of his earphone, he tried to open his Ipad, his cellphone rang, he responded by a remote gadget, he dictated his insurance policy number...whew. What a life!
Images like this are now common. The new technologies that are supposed to make life easier have managed to make life busier and tenser. People from all walks of life have come to me confiding more or less the same predicament in their work places and even in their homes.
Pressures have mounted, challenges and problems have multiplied. From some medical journals I learned that the number of cases of nervous illness, largely due to our frenetic lifestyle now, has also increased.
There must be a way to keep things and our life in general calmer, more orderly and more focused.
For this, our Christian faith gives a basic answer. It´s found in the Gospel of St. Luke, where our Lord clearly says: ¨He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.¨ (11,23)
We need to understand that putting order into our life, acquiring the proper sense of priority and dominion over things, are a matter of being vitally united with God through Jesus in the Holy Spirit. In this, there are no ifs and buts, no middle ground, no compromise.
It is not just some smart management techniques that can do this. At best they help, but precisely as aids amd as supports, but not as the main source of the virtues we are trying to have. For these virtues, we need God.
Without God, it is also quite clear what can happen. Our view of things would be shallow and narrow, often reduced to what is immediately beneficial and relieving at least for a while. We would be prone to pressures and to give knee-jerk reactions to things.
Without God, we would not understand the value of suffering and of the cross, which in our Christian faith, are vital in our life. We, in fact, would run away from them, missing precisely the very element that is supposed to complete and perfect our humanity.
We have to learn to find God in today´s world of clutter, tangles, embroilments, etc. What can help is when one tries to develop and keep a sober and serene character, given more to thinking and reasoning rather than to get easily excited and swept up by events.
A temperament that lends itself easily to analyzing and planning while at the same time not averse to make prompt decisions and to take action would be a great gift. But whatever character and temperament one may have, it is the life of prayer, of constant dealings with God that matters ultimately.
When this life of prayer is realistically supported by a well-defined plan of pious exercises spread throughout the day, week, month and year, and nourished by proper doctrine and recourse of the sacraments, plus an ongoing effort to develop and polish virtues, then finding God in today´s mess would be a breeze.
When these things are done, one would find it easy to see the vital link of whatever he is doing, no matter how mundane, with God. He will always have a constant source of impulse for renewal and conversion that are always needed to cope with the demands of the times.
In effect, he will see God in everything, in everyone and in every situation, whether humanly good or bad, whether big or small. He would be a contemplative even in the midst of the hustle and bustle of modern life. This lifestyle would be second nature to him.
It´s truly important that everyone be properly equipped spiritually, first of all, to be able to face the challenges of life today in a realistic and effective manner. We cannot leave this aspect of our life behind while we give our all to our economic or technological progress. That would be a monstrosity, an absurd, lopsided way to pursue our development.
We need to improve our spirituality and life of piety without compromising our responsibilities in the world!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Humility and power
THEY have to go together. Power, with its corrupting potentials, is in great need of humility. And humility, properly lived, always has a certain power that can go beyond human recognition and even shorn of power’s earthly trappings.
This pair should not be decoupled in our mind nor in our deeds, because in the will of God, in the ultimate reality of things, humility and power are meant for each other. Disaster can surely come when the two are separated.
We need to bring this piece of truth to public notice, since it seems it is not only ignored but is also increasingly denied and ridiculed, especially by our leaders, whether in politics, business, etc.
The world culture seems to make the two not only strangers to each other, but opponents as well. This is a dangerous drift that can only end up in a calamity, not so much in the physical and material sense as in the spiritual.
Human civilization would enter the dreaded stage of decadence and eventual death when no regular correctives are made in this delicate relationship between humility and power. Its needed renewal would be denied and its growth arrested when we persist in living our humility and power in the wrong way.
The example of God, as shown by our faith, is quite clear in this regard. His tremendous power of creation which could be carried out in an instant, in just an utterance of a word, has to contend with a long and serpentine process of gestation, birth, development, decay, death then gestation again…
Especially in the case of man, on whom God took the risk of giving powers similar to his, God has to contend with the humbling possibility of us abusing these powers.
And even when that possibility became a reality, God’s power did not lessen since he had the will to recover us by sending us his Son to make things right again. This took place by way of the most humbling and painful death of Christ on the cross.
St. Paul expressed this truth very beautifully when he said that Christ “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men…He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross.” (Phil 2,7-8)
In Christ’s death on the cross, we see the perfect blending of humility and power. This is the model followed by all the saints and the men and women of good will who actually wielded power in humility and left tremendous effects on the world that can’t be measured simply in economic or political terms.
Mary’s example validates this truth best. When she said in the Magnificat, “He has regarded the humility of his handmaid, and behold all generations shall call me blessed,” she simply described how she lived her power as the Mother of Christ in humility, and what effects it made.
Even in our human affairs, we can readily detect the close, mutual relationship between humility and power. Unless affected by malice and other undue schemes, we can readily detect that the pursuit and possession of power, whether in terms of knowledge, health, wealth, fame, political status, etc., can only be made possible and be enhanced when done in humility.
To be a doctor or lawyer or digerati, there’s no way but to study hard, do a lot of practice, and attend to a hundred and one of activities. This is humility in action. It’s what attracts power in its various forms to us, and maintains and exercises it properly.
We cannot learn anything unless we are humble. Our prayer cannot prosper, cannot touch base with God, with the Spirit, when it is not done in humility. We cannot exercise political power properly, nor enjoy the true benefits of whatever fame and wealth we may have, if these are not lived in humility.
Again, even in some vain pursuits like beauty and physical strength and wellness, we would be willing to undergo humbling processes and difficult regimen of diets and exercises and some medical procedures.
We need to understand that humility and power should never be separated if we want to keep our human and Christian dignity intact, and if we want to contribute to the common good.
Nowadays, there’s a great need to remind everyone about this truth. More, there is a great need to establish the appropriate culture with the relevant structures and ways that highlight and bring to reality the truth about the necessary marriage between humility and power.
Let’s take the necessary steps.
This pair should not be decoupled in our mind nor in our deeds, because in the will of God, in the ultimate reality of things, humility and power are meant for each other. Disaster can surely come when the two are separated.
We need to bring this piece of truth to public notice, since it seems it is not only ignored but is also increasingly denied and ridiculed, especially by our leaders, whether in politics, business, etc.
The world culture seems to make the two not only strangers to each other, but opponents as well. This is a dangerous drift that can only end up in a calamity, not so much in the physical and material sense as in the spiritual.
Human civilization would enter the dreaded stage of decadence and eventual death when no regular correctives are made in this delicate relationship between humility and power. Its needed renewal would be denied and its growth arrested when we persist in living our humility and power in the wrong way.
The example of God, as shown by our faith, is quite clear in this regard. His tremendous power of creation which could be carried out in an instant, in just an utterance of a word, has to contend with a long and serpentine process of gestation, birth, development, decay, death then gestation again…
Especially in the case of man, on whom God took the risk of giving powers similar to his, God has to contend with the humbling possibility of us abusing these powers.
And even when that possibility became a reality, God’s power did not lessen since he had the will to recover us by sending us his Son to make things right again. This took place by way of the most humbling and painful death of Christ on the cross.
St. Paul expressed this truth very beautifully when he said that Christ “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men…He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross.” (Phil 2,7-8)
In Christ’s death on the cross, we see the perfect blending of humility and power. This is the model followed by all the saints and the men and women of good will who actually wielded power in humility and left tremendous effects on the world that can’t be measured simply in economic or political terms.
Mary’s example validates this truth best. When she said in the Magnificat, “He has regarded the humility of his handmaid, and behold all generations shall call me blessed,” she simply described how she lived her power as the Mother of Christ in humility, and what effects it made.
Even in our human affairs, we can readily detect the close, mutual relationship between humility and power. Unless affected by malice and other undue schemes, we can readily detect that the pursuit and possession of power, whether in terms of knowledge, health, wealth, fame, political status, etc., can only be made possible and be enhanced when done in humility.
To be a doctor or lawyer or digerati, there’s no way but to study hard, do a lot of practice, and attend to a hundred and one of activities. This is humility in action. It’s what attracts power in its various forms to us, and maintains and exercises it properly.
We cannot learn anything unless we are humble. Our prayer cannot prosper, cannot touch base with God, with the Spirit, when it is not done in humility. We cannot exercise political power properly, nor enjoy the true benefits of whatever fame and wealth we may have, if these are not lived in humility.
Again, even in some vain pursuits like beauty and physical strength and wellness, we would be willing to undergo humbling processes and difficult regimen of diets and exercises and some medical procedures.
We need to understand that humility and power should never be separated if we want to keep our human and Christian dignity intact, and if we want to contribute to the common good.
Nowadays, there’s a great need to remind everyone about this truth. More, there is a great need to establish the appropriate culture with the relevant structures and ways that highlight and bring to reality the truth about the necessary marriage between humility and power.
Let’s take the necessary steps.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Law, yes; legalism, no
A SIDELIGHT in the RH Bill issue that is gaining public interest is that ordinance of the Ayala Alabang Village that seeks to regulate the availability of contraceptive materials. It so happens that the same ordinance is now being copied by other barangays in Luzon, and so, the controversy thickens.
The brouhaha actually surfaces a more important aspect of life, and that is none other than the interplay between legality and morality, man’s laws and God’s laws. This is an area prone to a lot of problems.
For one, there is an emerging attitude of considering any reference to God in the making of our laws as completely out of place. How this mindset came to be is quite a mystery to me, since as far as I can see, the ultimate basis of our laws should be God’s laws.
Of course, we are now in some secularized and Godless world, and thus, we should not be all too surprised when we meet anomalies like this not only in the streets, but also in our lawmaking congresses worldwide. Some would ask, how would we ever know that such and such is the law of God?
So, some of our legal minds are held captive by what is known as legal positivism. That’s purely human law with God having no place in it. Unfortunately, in some so-called developed countries and among some of our bright minds, this narcissistic anomaly reigns supreme.
There are also people who may not openly profess atheism and agnosticism, but put God in brackets when they pursue their temporal affairs, like making laws and ordinances. They consider God a drag, a bother or an embarrassment in law-making. At best, they give him only some formalistic references, but no more.
This is actually a common problem. While we need to have law and a whole legal and judicial system to regulate our life in society, what we don’t need is legalism, or the distortion and abuse of our man-made legal system.
We are, of course, vulnerable to this predicament, since man’s intelligence and free will can take tortuous turns that in the end are determined by how our heart tilts—either toward God or is it just stuck with our own selves?
Apropos of this point is what St. Paul once said about freedom: “You have been called unto freedom. Only do not make freedom an occasion to the flesh, but by charity of the spirit, serve one another.” (Gal 5,13) St. Peter said something similar when he said we should not make freedom a cloak for malice. (cfr 1 Pt 2,16)
That´s why Christ told us to be most faithful to his word. ¨"Whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." (Mt 5,19)
When our freedom is not acknowledged as coming from God and therefore, for God, when it is not lived in charity for the others as God wants it, then we can make laws and ordinances that cater to our own ideas, and not anymore God’s, of who we are and of how we are supposed to behave, etc.
We can abuse our freedom and use it to pursue what we want, even to the point of disobeying God. This abuse of freedom and of the other gifts of God to us is rampant these days. That’s why we have many brilliant people entangled in their own web of conceit and pride.
In this RH Bill-related Ayala Alabang ordinance, for example, it is claimed that some sector of the Catholic Church is imposing their option on others, and therefore, unconstitutional.
How that conclusion was arrived at is again a mystery to me. I suppose we can look at things in different ways and through different lenses. If one is not clear about the intrinsic evil of contraception, not to mention abortion to which the RH Bill is bound to approve one day, if experience of other countries is to be considered, then anything that regulates or restrains the use of contraceptives would be viewed negatively.
Some so-called legal luminaries are questioning this ordinance when in fact other RH-related ordinances that favor contraceptives not only regulate and promote but rather impose the use of contraceptives.
In this RH Bill issue, we are not mainly concerned about the legalistic intricacies involved. We are more concerned about the morality of such bill.
The brouhaha actually surfaces a more important aspect of life, and that is none other than the interplay between legality and morality, man’s laws and God’s laws. This is an area prone to a lot of problems.
For one, there is an emerging attitude of considering any reference to God in the making of our laws as completely out of place. How this mindset came to be is quite a mystery to me, since as far as I can see, the ultimate basis of our laws should be God’s laws.
Of course, we are now in some secularized and Godless world, and thus, we should not be all too surprised when we meet anomalies like this not only in the streets, but also in our lawmaking congresses worldwide. Some would ask, how would we ever know that such and such is the law of God?
So, some of our legal minds are held captive by what is known as legal positivism. That’s purely human law with God having no place in it. Unfortunately, in some so-called developed countries and among some of our bright minds, this narcissistic anomaly reigns supreme.
There are also people who may not openly profess atheism and agnosticism, but put God in brackets when they pursue their temporal affairs, like making laws and ordinances. They consider God a drag, a bother or an embarrassment in law-making. At best, they give him only some formalistic references, but no more.
This is actually a common problem. While we need to have law and a whole legal and judicial system to regulate our life in society, what we don’t need is legalism, or the distortion and abuse of our man-made legal system.
We are, of course, vulnerable to this predicament, since man’s intelligence and free will can take tortuous turns that in the end are determined by how our heart tilts—either toward God or is it just stuck with our own selves?
Apropos of this point is what St. Paul once said about freedom: “You have been called unto freedom. Only do not make freedom an occasion to the flesh, but by charity of the spirit, serve one another.” (Gal 5,13) St. Peter said something similar when he said we should not make freedom a cloak for malice. (cfr 1 Pt 2,16)
That´s why Christ told us to be most faithful to his word. ¨"Whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." (Mt 5,19)
When our freedom is not acknowledged as coming from God and therefore, for God, when it is not lived in charity for the others as God wants it, then we can make laws and ordinances that cater to our own ideas, and not anymore God’s, of who we are and of how we are supposed to behave, etc.
We can abuse our freedom and use it to pursue what we want, even to the point of disobeying God. This abuse of freedom and of the other gifts of God to us is rampant these days. That’s why we have many brilliant people entangled in their own web of conceit and pride.
In this RH Bill-related Ayala Alabang ordinance, for example, it is claimed that some sector of the Catholic Church is imposing their option on others, and therefore, unconstitutional.
How that conclusion was arrived at is again a mystery to me. I suppose we can look at things in different ways and through different lenses. If one is not clear about the intrinsic evil of contraception, not to mention abortion to which the RH Bill is bound to approve one day, if experience of other countries is to be considered, then anything that regulates or restrains the use of contraceptives would be viewed negatively.
Some so-called legal luminaries are questioning this ordinance when in fact other RH-related ordinances that favor contraceptives not only regulate and promote but rather impose the use of contraceptives.
In this RH Bill issue, we are not mainly concerned about the legalistic intricacies involved. We are more concerned about the morality of such bill.
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