Spiritual deepening

WHEN Christ told Peter to “put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch,” (Lk 5,4) the immediate conclusion we can make is that Christ was telling Peter to be enterprising and aggressive in reaching out to people, i.e., in doing apostolate. This can be validated when Christ told Peter, after such a big catch of fish was made, flooring Peter in amazement, that “from now on you will be catching men.” (Lk 5,10) 

 But we should not forget that for us to be good apostles, we should first take care of our growing identification with Christ because only then can we feel the urge to be energetic and vigorous in our apostolate. Our apostolic zeal can only come about when we truly identify ourselves with Christ, assuming his very mind and heart that is full of desire to save all men. 

 Thus, we can say that unless we have this burning apostolic zeal, we are not really identifying ourselves with Christ as we should. Of course, this goal of identifying ourselves with Christ would be a lifelong endeavor. But we should start it as soon as possible and sustain it as far as we can. To be truly apostolic, we need to have a continuous spiritual deepening. This apostolic duty can only be an overflow of our spiritual life with Christ. 

 Yes, we need to spend time meditating on this Christian duty of ours so that little by little we can start to feel this apostolic urge and sustain it as much as we can. We also should sharpen our apostolic skills, training ourselves to enter into the lives of everyone we meet. It always pays to be friendly with everyone, despite our unavoidable differences and conflicts. Smiling, having a warm and open disposition, will go a long way in carrying out this apostolic duty. 

 But even before all this, we should bring to our prayer our apostolic plans and desires, since only then can we be divinely inspired to carry out this apostolic duty as Christ wants. Only then would we be bold enough to talk about God, about things spiritual and supernatural, about vocation, with everyone. 

 We have to be ready to get interested in everyone apostolically. We should be interested both in the rich and the poor, those in the mainstream of society as well as those in the peripheries. Everyone without exception should be an object of our apostolic duty. 

 For this, we need to be patient, persevering, creative and versatile. We have to learn how to “waste time” with everyone, especially those who may be very different from us in terms of temperament, social and economic status, etc. 

 We should not wait for some favorable circumstances before we do apostolate. To do apostolate should be like our heartbeat. We should feel its urge the way we feel the urge to breathe, eat and drink. And this can only happen when we truly are with Christ. 

 Of course, to do apostolate is not a biological urge, but a spiritual one, to be triggered by an act of our will that is animated by God’s grace. We do not do apostolate because we happen to have some extra time. We do it because we are supposed to be apostles, and we always look for time to do it. 

 We should neither forget that first of all we should ask for God’s grace, since only then can we be truly effective and zealous in our apostolate.

When faced with our limitations and mistakes

WE should not be surprised when we are faced with our own limitations of whatever kind, and hounded by the consequences of our mistakes. We have to expect this kind of situations and learn how to handle them, converting them even into something that will be helpful to us. 

 And that’s because Christ has given us everything we need not only to survive but also to succeed in achieving our ultimate goal, no matter how the drama of our life goes. What we have to do always is to go to Christ, never doubting his omnipotent powers even if we are made to suffer. Yes, we also need to learn how to suffer, because suffering will be inevitable in our life. 

 Some verses from St. Peter’s First Letter can help us understand how suffering should be handled properly, especially when we are made to suffer unjustly. They are in the second chapter, and they go as follows (19-25): 

 “For one is approved if, mindful of God, he endures pain while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it, if when you do wrong and are beaten for it you take it patiently? But if when you do right and suffer for it you take it patiently, you have God’s approval. 

 “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin. No guile was found on his lips. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but he trusted him who judges justly. 

 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” 

 I believe it’s truly worthwhile to reflect on these words slowly and repeatedly, so we can have clear ideas why it’s also worthwhile when instances of unjust suffering come to us. We can find meaning, and even joy and peace, when these occasions occur. 

 Engraving these words in our mind and heart would help us avoid sinking into doubts, useless lamentations and despair. It would even put us in a better condition to resolve matters if they still can be humanly resolvable. 

 What we have to do when we find ourselves in some conditions of helplessness is to go immediately to Christ and follow his teaching and example. We should develop the instinct of going immediately to Christ. Let’s avoid rotting in sadness, lamentations, victim complex, etc. We know that what is impossible for us is always possible with Christ. What cannot anymore be solved by us can always be solved by Christ, if not here and now, then in the hereafter. 

 Thus, we need to strengthen our faith so we can be quick to entrust ourselves to the workings of the spiritual and supernatural realities that also govern our life. We have to remember that we are not ruled simply by biological laws or physical, chemical, social, political, economic laws. There is a higher law that governs us and that would enable us to transcend our human and earthly limitations 

 The secret is always to go to Christ. He always has the solutions to our problems, the answers to our questions. He always gives them, albeit not in the form we want, but always in a way that would be beneficial to us.

Only with God can we be protected from the demons

AND also, only with God can we manage to drive out demons when they happen to succeed in possessing us. Let’s always remember that the demons who are spiritual beings—they are originally good angels who decided for all eternity to go against God upon their creation—are always under the power of God. They can never win over God no matter how smart and clever they are. 

 That they are always around and are ever scheming to ruin our lives should make us feel ever in need to be with God, since only with him can we deal with them properly. Without God, there’s no way we can resist their temptations. They are much smarter than us. 

 They always offer attractive arguments. That is precisely the dynamic of demonic tricks and temptations. In the case of Eve, the first woman, for example, she was made to look at the forbidden tree and fruit. And she fell for it, because she “saw that the tree was good to eat, and to the eyes, and delightful to behold.” (Gen 3,6) 

 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 him. 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. 

 Just the same, we should always be guarded against them, especially when we happen to enjoy a lot of privileges in life. That’s because these privileges, like some power we may wield, if not referred to God and to our duty to love everyone, irrespective of how they are, can only spoil us and make us vulnerable to the antics of the devils. 

 Nowadays when we enjoy a lot of conveniences and advantages due to our technological progress, we should be more wary of the evil tricks of the devils who can make use of these conveniences and advantages to convert them into some kind of sweet poison. 

 Let’s always remember that whatever convenience or advantage we enjoy should lead us to level up our desire to serve and not to be served, to love God and everybody else more. Otherwise, there is no way for us to escape getting spoiled and becoming more vulnerable to the tricks of the devil. 

 To be with God always, given our condition here in this world, can only take place when like Christ we are willing to deny ourselves and carry the cross, as Christ suggested. (cfr. Mt 16,24) 

 And only to be with God always can we manage to derive a greater good from whatever evil the devil can play on us!