Joyful, thankful, helpful

what the spirit of Easter should lead us to. With

Christ guaranteeing our salvation and as long as we do our part, we

have every reason to be joyful and thankful that in turn should

strongly encourage us to be helpful to others.

            This lifestyle was reflected well among the first

Christians. This is how the Acts of the Apostles (2,42-47) described

this phenomenon: “They (the first Christians) devoted themselves to

the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking

of the bread and to the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, and many

wonders and signs were done through the apostles.

            “All who believed were together and had all things in

common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them

among all according to each one’s need. Everyday they devoted

themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking

bread in their meals and exultation and sincerity of heart, praising

God and enjoying favor with all the people…”

  

            Take note of the radical simplicity these first Christian

lived as a result of their faith in the apostles that in the end

channeled their faith in Christ. Such simplicity led them to be

joyful, thankful and concerned with the needs of the others.

            We need to have the same simplicity if we really want to

be joyful, thankful and helpful to others. Let’s remember that we are

meant to be joyful. We may not be able to avoid suffering and pain in

this life, but it cannot be denied that deep in our heart we want to

be happy, with a joy that never ends.

            And it’s possible to be joyful despite the many negative

things that we have to face in life. As long as we hold fast to our

faith in Christ, we can experience what St. Paul experienced:

            “In all things we suffer tribulation, but we are not

distressed. We are sore pressed, but we are not destitute. We endure

persecution, but we are not forsaken. We are cast down, but we do not

perish. We are always bearing about in our body the dying of Jesus so

that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodily frame.”

(2 Cor 4,8-10)

            To keep our faith in Christ going, we have to be thankful

to Christ for whatever. When we are always thankful to Christ, we open

our heart to the workings of grace and the innate goodness that comes

with our nature, at least that part that is still unaffected by sin.

            We have to see to it that everyday, we are conscious that

we are always thanking God and others. In fact, we need to continue

lifting our heart in thanksgiving all throughout the day.

            A day without saying “thank you” is a bad day. It’s a

clear sign we are quite self-immersed only, blind to the continuing

proof of the goodness of Christ and the others. We detach ourselves

from them, isolating ourselves in effect and putting ourselves in

grave danger.

            It’s when we are joyful and thankful that we would be in

the condition to be helpful to others. This concern and helpfulness

for others would be manifested by desiring what is good for others

from every point of view: physical, moral and spiritual, and by being

always aware of the needs of others, especially their spiritual

well-being.

            This can only mean that we have to get out of our own

shell and to actively enter into the dynamics of a life of communion.

Thus, we certainly need to deepen and strengthen our sense of

communion. It’s definitely not an easy thing to do, but neither is it

impossible. We just have to realize that we need to constantly ask for

grace for it and be as unsparing as we can in exerting the necessary

effort.

Still engaged while isolated

WE might be practicing social distancing and are forced to

stay at home nowadays, but we should never think that we are now

detached and disengaged from others. That would go against our very

nature. We should not forget that we are meant to be in relation

always with others.

            Ok, we cannot deny that our relation with others is quite

hampered these days because of all this lockdown-and-quarantine thing

being imposed on us. But we should not overemphasize nor overdramatize

that sorry condition.

            If we have the proper frame of mind, we know that there

are many ways we can still maintain a tight, and even tighter,

relationship with others. For one, we cannot underestimate the

tremendous power of our modern technologies that can greatly help us

in communicating with others.

            I have noticed, for example, how many people have become

more pious and prayerful even if they could just attend the Mass

online. Many also have become more mindful and thoughtful of others,

greeting and initiating dialogues.

            I also know that we have already established some networks

and other structures during normal times that can now be made more

useful these days. Yes, in spite of some restrictions, there are

people who manage to undertake feeding programs especially for the

homeless in the streets, etc.

            As they say, if there is a will, there will always be a

way. These difficult times are challenging us to find new and

effective ways not only to be connected with others but also to be of

real service to others.

            Yes, even the worst of times can be converted into the

best of times, because that’s when we are challenged to be more

heroic, more generous, more creative. Even in the worst scenario when

we find ourselves completely hidden, grounded, isolated and all that,

we can still be in effective relation with others.

            The secret is always in the power of love—whether that

love is in our heart. We may lose the power of our hands and feet, we

may even lose the power of our mind, but if in our heart still throbs

of love that comes from God and is given back to him and to others,

then everything will be just fine.

            Love is ultimately what matters in the whole world. It is

ultimately what counts, because even if we are doing many impressive

things but done without love, those things count for nothing.

            Let’s remember what St. Paul once said about this point:

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love,

I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift

of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I

have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am

nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to

hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” (1

Cor 13,1-3)

            With this love, we can always make use of everything to

relate ourselves with God and with everybody else. Love enables us to

be resilient, adaptable to any condition without losing what is truly

essential in our life. It is always inventive, creative, productive.

It never makes us old for it makes everything new. Difficulties,

trials, problems, failures, setbacks, etc. are its best conditions to

express itself fully.

            We definitely need to see to it that we have this love in

our heart. We have already been told that love is God’s greatest

commandment for us, and Christ’s new commandment for us, summarizing

all the previous commandments given to us.

            And never think that this love is impossible to have,

because Christ himself is bent to give it to us. In fact, he is bent

to give his very own self to us. This love is all there for the

taking.

Sore loser, sure loser

WE cannot deny that in life we cannot avoid experiencing

some defeats and losses, some setbacks, failures, disasters and

crises. And all these possible scenarios can occur in spite of our

best intentions and efforts.

            Our reaction to all these should be, as much as possible,

gracious, not bitter, sad or sullen. Like Christ who also suffered the

worst defeat by being crucified as a criminal in the worst kind of

injustice that can take place in this world, we have to go through

these possible situations calmly and, yes, prayerfully.

            We always have to remember that only with Christ, only

when we unite our suffering with the passion and death of Christ,

would our defeats and losses, our setbacks, failures, disasters and

crises become a path to our own resurrection with Christ. Our victory

is assured and guaranteed by Christ himself who takes care of

everything.

            Obviously, human as we are, we can neither deny that our

reflex reactions to these negative scenarios would be anger or

sadness, bitterness, cursing, and the like. But we should not stay

long there. We have to cut it as immediately as possible. God will

always understand us. He is a father who is omnipotent to provide us

with all the graces and means to overcome those instantaneous human

reactions.

            We should not be sore losers, because to be one is also to

be a sure loser. If we are always guided by our Christian faith, we

know that the many contradictions we can meet in life are good, and

even privileged, occasions to get closer to God. He actually pays

special attention to us when we are in some difficulty. This truth of

our faith should never be lost in our mind and heart.

            We have to learn to train and purify our emotions and the

other human faculties we have so they can conform to this wonderful

truth of our faith. We have to learn to smile and be cheerful, sport

and game, whenever some of these dark events come our way. We should

always be hopeful, optimistic, bright-eyed in all this drama.

            We should try to avoid playing the role of the victim,

because there is only one real victim, and that is Christ, who turned

things around by converting his passion and death into his way to his

resurrection.

            Of course, we also suffer. We cannot avoid it. But that

suffering becomes sweet and meaningful when united with the suffering

of Christ. May we learn to suffer with a smile on our lips, and an

irrevocable confidence in the God’s mercy and love in our heart.

            To those who may have caused us suffering and humiliation,

we should always be nice and charitable. We have to drive away any

trace of anger, hatred and rancor. We have to be magnanimous, offering

the other cheek as Christ himself told us. (cfr. Mt 5,39)

            In a sense, we should even be thankful for them because

they are giving us the occasion to identify ourselves more like

Christ. This is never a form of masochism, but rather a concrete

expression of Christian charity. And so, we should even be welcoming

to these situations whenever they approach us.

            Of course, this does not mean that we provoke or cause our

suffering, although as a way to prepare ourselves for the unavoidable

suffering, we may actively submit ourselves to some personal

mortifications. It is our duty to try to avoid suffering and to

overcome it as soon as possible. That’s because in the end, we are

meant for a life of joy and bliss which, though fully fulfilled in

heaven, can be sought here also on earth.

            So, instead of being sore losers, let’s be a good sport,

knowing fully well that our defeats and losses, setbacks, failures,

disasters and crises are only temporal. They do not have the last

word. It’s God’s love and mercy that has it.