Lent, with its 40 days observance, is a commemoration of Jesus' own experience of being led out by the Spirit into the desert. The experience of being led out, inspired, or moved by the Spirit to go away from the comforts of home into the wilderness is the same for every Christian this Lent.
The mention of home is not just a metaphor to family and the house where you grew up in. I believe this home is something deeper and more encompassing than familial relationships or the domicile. Home for me is everything in your existence that makes you comfortable and at ease. Be they bonds of relationships, physical comforts, financial security, emotional stability, intellectual achievement, everything that brings about security in your existence is your home.
And Jesus is inviting us to go out of our homes, to leave that place of security, and into the unknown, into insecurity and discomfort. He challenges us this Lenten season to go out of our shells, naked and vulnerable, out into the open in order to see for ourselves the horizons blocked out by eyes already at ease with comfort. It is in the limits of the wilderness that you see how small your world has been and this opens you up to real growth.
We do not physically leave our houses to venture into forests and live with wildlife. No, we venture into living life with better set of behaviors, more pronounced and lively outlook, and a stronger will to do and stay good. Perhaps there are bad habits that need to be broken and good ones that need to gain traction. Perhaps there are relationships that have turned either stale or sour that needs to be reinvigorated or repaired. Perhaps the will to live and fully experience life has waned through time and test and one needs to revisit the core of one's existence.
Even more, it is an invitation to leave the lethargy in spiritual battle and charge out into the front lines. To face one's inner demons and point out the very weaknesses that has kept one from standing up again. It is a call to courageous admission of one's imperfections, and facing them squarely vow to accept them and improve on them. It is a call to remove sin from one's internal life and proceed on to live at peace with God.
The deepest call of Lent perhaps is for us to examine our love for God, how it is lived and expressed towards Him and our neighbors. It is a call to revisit those instances in our lives when we were truly touched by the Spirit and have met God in the inner locus of our being. It is a call to go back there without the distraction of the comforts of the world or the rest of creation, our persons bare, naked, and vulnerable before God.
Yes, Lent for me is that time to go out into the open. To be see and be seen naked by oneself and God, with all the imperfections and all the potential. For it is in the wilderness of discomfort that we begin to see the truth and in truth we find freedom and growth.
All these may remain to be words unless we take up the challenge. Can I challenge myself to love more each day the persons I already love and begin to love those I find difficult to love? Can I challenge myself to break bad habits and form new good ones? Can I challenge myself know better Christ that I may love him better? The list goes on and on.
But Lent begins with the single challenge to challenge, to have a strong resolve and will, to be led out by the Spirit into the open, not alone, but sharing in the same challenge with Jesus.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Stories of Coming Home
This morning I was blessed to read a testimony of a convert to the Catholic Faith. I respect our protestant brothers and sisters who devoutly keep their faith ,while at the same time, I feel blessed to be born into the Catholic Faith. A phrase that really got into me from the testimony is the assertion that some who are born as Catholics need to understand and love their faith deeper than they do now because converts from Protestantism, in immersing themselves into the richness of Truth in the Church, put to them to shame in their complacency.
There is the question of sola scriptura, sola fide, works, and grace in the article and the question begs, "What can save man?" Is it by scripture alone, or faith alone, or works, or grace? Protestants have long taught that scripture alone holds authority and faith alone brings salvation. Catholic Catechism I have read taught me that it is a triumvirate of faith, work, and God's grace.
Allow me to bring you along my train of thoughts...
Adhering to my Faith, I believe that God's grace prompts us to have faith in Jesus and gives us strength to do good works. Our faith is the root of our works while our works will not be enough without faith. We need to do both otherwise we fall into error. Yet it is not enough still, for it is not by power of man that man saves himself.
And this brings me to a dilemma. Can I then ask God to give give me grace that I may be saved? Would my asking be from my own strength or is it still grace coming from God? I remember St Paul saying that everything is Grace. I would opine that even the act of seeking redemption is grace. But then, philosophizing about it, if it is by grace that I seek redemption, why is it that not all men seek redemption? Does God play favorites with His grace?
Now I feel I am in dangerous waters. I must be missing something... and yes, there is something wrong in how I understand God's grace.
God by nature is all-Benevolent. He lavish with His Grace and He showers it on everyone and everything there is. I would go on to say that the universe is immersed in God's grace. Since it is the will of God that every man be saved, then everything must be working hard to ensure man's salvation. The universe and all that is in it has been sweating it out to guide us to salvation.
Isn't it that the stars have been faithful enough to shine every night that our wonder may be aroused and we may ask who made them? Isn't it that the warmth of the sun, the cool breeze, the verdant lush all speak of beauty and intricate design that brings us back to God? Isn't the phenomenon of life an outstanding breakaway from an infinite statistical improbability in a universe of entropy? Yes, everything has been grace. My life, my history, my person, and my being have all been grace that were given that I might find Him.
Going back to the question of why not all men are seeking redemption, I discover that each man does and years for God. The question of happiness, its search, and man's perennial failure and retry to find it is indicative that he is looking for something, or someone. And here, I see a play between Divine Will and Human will.
While Grace has been at work all along, in the foreground and background, consciously or unconsciously to man, the choice of redemption is all up to man. God patiently waits for man. He inspires him, He bombards him with beauty, goodness, and knowledge, and in His power orchestrates the universe to play music, and He waits for man to join in singing. He does not force, he inspires.
However, the human condition is complex.
Each one of us has a story, has his own interior life, his own person and character. The beautiful thing is, God deals with us individually, as if we are the only one left to be saved in the universe.
And so we get different responses. Some easily open up and say yes to God's invitation. Some take a lot of prodding. And some are still trapped in their human condition still waiting for a spark of light.
Back with the triumvirate of Grace, faith, and work, I see the primacy of God's grace in human redemption. It is not by man's power that man is saved but by God. In the question of sola scriptura, there is a need to ask if God's grace can only be found in and limited to scripture. In the teaching of sola fide, there is a need to ask if man's faith is equal to God's grace. In the idea of working our way to heaven, there is a need to ask if we all have the energy to finish such work.
We need to discover the graces that God has peppered into our existence that we may be saved. It could be the Communion within the Church, the Sacraments, our loved ones, our daily tasks, or even this internet connection we now enjoy. It is the ultimate generosity and love of God that saves.
There is so much to discover. There is so much to treasure.
Such is the love of God - unmerited and lavish.
There is the question of sola scriptura, sola fide, works, and grace in the article and the question begs, "What can save man?" Is it by scripture alone, or faith alone, or works, or grace? Protestants have long taught that scripture alone holds authority and faith alone brings salvation. Catholic Catechism I have read taught me that it is a triumvirate of faith, work, and God's grace.
Allow me to bring you along my train of thoughts...
Adhering to my Faith, I believe that God's grace prompts us to have faith in Jesus and gives us strength to do good works. Our faith is the root of our works while our works will not be enough without faith. We need to do both otherwise we fall into error. Yet it is not enough still, for it is not by power of man that man saves himself.
And this brings me to a dilemma. Can I then ask God to give give me grace that I may be saved? Would my asking be from my own strength or is it still grace coming from God? I remember St Paul saying that everything is Grace. I would opine that even the act of seeking redemption is grace. But then, philosophizing about it, if it is by grace that I seek redemption, why is it that not all men seek redemption? Does God play favorites with His grace?
Now I feel I am in dangerous waters. I must be missing something... and yes, there is something wrong in how I understand God's grace.
God by nature is all-Benevolent. He lavish with His Grace and He showers it on everyone and everything there is. I would go on to say that the universe is immersed in God's grace. Since it is the will of God that every man be saved, then everything must be working hard to ensure man's salvation. The universe and all that is in it has been sweating it out to guide us to salvation.
Isn't it that the stars have been faithful enough to shine every night that our wonder may be aroused and we may ask who made them? Isn't it that the warmth of the sun, the cool breeze, the verdant lush all speak of beauty and intricate design that brings us back to God? Isn't the phenomenon of life an outstanding breakaway from an infinite statistical improbability in a universe of entropy? Yes, everything has been grace. My life, my history, my person, and my being have all been grace that were given that I might find Him.
Going back to the question of why not all men are seeking redemption, I discover that each man does and years for God. The question of happiness, its search, and man's perennial failure and retry to find it is indicative that he is looking for something, or someone. And here, I see a play between Divine Will and Human will.
While Grace has been at work all along, in the foreground and background, consciously or unconsciously to man, the choice of redemption is all up to man. God patiently waits for man. He inspires him, He bombards him with beauty, goodness, and knowledge, and in His power orchestrates the universe to play music, and He waits for man to join in singing. He does not force, he inspires.
However, the human condition is complex.
Each one of us has a story, has his own interior life, his own person and character. The beautiful thing is, God deals with us individually, as if we are the only one left to be saved in the universe.
And so we get different responses. Some easily open up and say yes to God's invitation. Some take a lot of prodding. And some are still trapped in their human condition still waiting for a spark of light.
Back with the triumvirate of Grace, faith, and work, I see the primacy of God's grace in human redemption. It is not by man's power that man is saved but by God. In the question of sola scriptura, there is a need to ask if God's grace can only be found in and limited to scripture. In the teaching of sola fide, there is a need to ask if man's faith is equal to God's grace. In the idea of working our way to heaven, there is a need to ask if we all have the energy to finish such work.
We need to discover the graces that God has peppered into our existence that we may be saved. It could be the Communion within the Church, the Sacraments, our loved ones, our daily tasks, or even this internet connection we now enjoy. It is the ultimate generosity and love of God that saves.
There is so much to discover. There is so much to treasure.
Such is the love of God - unmerited and lavish.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
A Higher Call for Extra-ordinarili-ness
First, what was that word?
We often quote St John Bosco on the popular slogan among Bosconians, "Do your ordinary duties extraordinarily well". The sentence is engraved in every Bosconian's heart and soul but interestingly, the phrase is not original of Don Bosco but is often said by him.
For most of us, it means putting our best foot forward in everything that we do. That is how the sons of Don Bosco became known to be talented and skilled people. Most Salesians would explain it that way and I have grown up understanding it that way. For most, our human effort of turning the ordinary into extra-ordinary is truly sanctifying for such good, or would I say best, works are pleasing to God's eyes.
In an ordinary breakfast, Fr Fidel and I were happily discussing the aspirants' schedule of the day, to do's, chores and work until the conversation ended up here. He gave me a strong argument to challenge the common understanding of the saying.
The phrase could also mean that, in a higher perspective, those who are in God's grace are given the power to do things extra-ordinarily beyond the level of what they normally can. It is no longer us who does the extra-ordinary, putting a notch higher the mundane things we do, but it is God who empowers us to do much more than what we possibly can.
It was the little Johnny Bosco of Becchi who stunned the world. A humble peasant from an obscure village in northern Italy rose to become an influential figure in the Church and state, rightly earning during his time the title "living saint". A boy who received not the best of education became one of the best educators. St John Bosco's story of success is a powerful testament to the grace of God who lifts up the humble from their lowliness to seat them with kings and nobles.
Now back to the saying. Can we then say that the saying is a higher and stronger challenge to stay in the grace of God which empower us to transcend our normality towards the extra-ordinary? This is something more theologically sound since it is not by man's effort that he sanctifies himself but through the generous and unmerited love of God.
Should we accept this paradigm shift, then Don Bosco must have asked for his sons and daughters to stay in the grace of God always, that they may witness to the "normal" world the extra-ordinariness of God. When we have followed his advice of frequent Confession and Communion, a spiritual director and confessor by our side, and a real friendship with Jesus and Mary, then we can stay in God's grace. And the extra boost of extra-ordinarili-ness will come not just from our own effort but also from the empowering love of God.
We often quote St John Bosco on the popular slogan among Bosconians, "Do your ordinary duties extraordinarily well". The sentence is engraved in every Bosconian's heart and soul but interestingly, the phrase is not original of Don Bosco but is often said by him.
For most of us, it means putting our best foot forward in everything that we do. That is how the sons of Don Bosco became known to be talented and skilled people. Most Salesians would explain it that way and I have grown up understanding it that way. For most, our human effort of turning the ordinary into extra-ordinary is truly sanctifying for such good, or would I say best, works are pleasing to God's eyes.
In an ordinary breakfast, Fr Fidel and I were happily discussing the aspirants' schedule of the day, to do's, chores and work until the conversation ended up here. He gave me a strong argument to challenge the common understanding of the saying.
The phrase could also mean that, in a higher perspective, those who are in God's grace are given the power to do things extra-ordinarily beyond the level of what they normally can. It is no longer us who does the extra-ordinary, putting a notch higher the mundane things we do, but it is God who empowers us to do much more than what we possibly can.
It was the little Johnny Bosco of Becchi who stunned the world. A humble peasant from an obscure village in northern Italy rose to become an influential figure in the Church and state, rightly earning during his time the title "living saint". A boy who received not the best of education became one of the best educators. St John Bosco's story of success is a powerful testament to the grace of God who lifts up the humble from their lowliness to seat them with kings and nobles.
Now back to the saying. Can we then say that the saying is a higher and stronger challenge to stay in the grace of God which empower us to transcend our normality towards the extra-ordinary? This is something more theologically sound since it is not by man's effort that he sanctifies himself but through the generous and unmerited love of God.
Should we accept this paradigm shift, then Don Bosco must have asked for his sons and daughters to stay in the grace of God always, that they may witness to the "normal" world the extra-ordinariness of God. When we have followed his advice of frequent Confession and Communion, a spiritual director and confessor by our side, and a real friendship with Jesus and Mary, then we can stay in God's grace. And the extra boost of extra-ordinarili-ness will come not just from our own effort but also from the empowering love of God.
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