Let God Speak Through Our Lives

How can you describe our world today? Perhaps many would say that we are in a state of crisis. But in spite of this situation we struggle to survive amidst the varied problems present in the different spheres of our society. We are endangered by a number of issues –political, economic, social, and even religious. Not only the government but the whole fabric of our society is threatened by moral degeneration. We should be worried then of the dangers we face today – how these things would affect us especially in each of our family. We should also be concerned with every individual human person especially the young who might become lost and entangled in this obviously defective situation.

In these circumstances, one may question the Christian community how did it lived the Gospel. It would seem to appear that the word of God had not yet penetrated to the heart of our civilization.

But God continues to speak through the lives of people who totally dedicate their lives for human development. Through these men and women, God’s word becomes meaningful and relevant for all especially the hopeless. God continues to touch the hearts of everyone through diverse and sometimes unusual instruments.

When the Lord touches the heart of a person, the experience would be so extraordinary that would fill that person with deep inspiration which sometimes led him or her to write a song out of that experience. Isn’t it wonderfully fascinating when the song continues to inspire others even though there is no personal contact with the songwriter? In similar situation, a person may be inspired by mere listening to someone’s story without having direct involvement to the story being told.

How are we influenced by people upon listening to their true stories of dedication and struggle for justice, peace and equality? Without seeking personal gain, some sincerely labor for the promotion and protection of human dignity. Despite the tide of corruption there are still people who courageously stand for honest and good governance. Isn’t it so inspiring to hear stories of these people who work unselfishly for others? They might be unnoticed, yet their lives become the voice of God speaking to everyone and bringing hope to our embittered world.

As Christians we are called to live by the values of the gospel. Therefore it is not just enough that we hear the word of God, but we are called to share the word and become the word that we share. No matter what is our status, age or gender, we are called to enflesh God’s word in all our activities. In other words, the word becomes alive – a living word. This is the word that gives life to the dying world, the word that loves the unloved and brings hope to the hopeless.

When we go to campaign for vocation our work will not be so much about explaining the word vocation, but rather on making this word alive. The Lord has already been calling and touching the hearts of the people we are going to meet. What we can do is to let God speak to them through our stories of encounter with Him.

To a people who seemingly lost the appreciation of deeper meaning and value of life, the world needs men and women who are willing to bring hope and to resound the living word of God through their lives.

God’s Love is Obscure

Reading the parable of the prodigal son gives me an assurance of the great love of God. But there are just times when I rather ignore this love of God and I fall into doing against his will. It seems like I sometimes become the wayward son. But when I am awakened from my slumber, I come to realize how fool I had been. I should have expected to receive retaliation and punishment from God but the opposite thing happened, I felt loved by the Lord most dearly. I had really a hard time to go into repentance, but on the other hand the happiness is very much incomparable similar to the restoration of the fellowship of the son with his father. The attitude of the father in the story is so encouraging that no one would be hesitant to draw nearer to him despite sinfulness.

Although I can associate myself with the younger son, I am more inclined to reflect on the situation of the elder one. The situation of the younger son appears to me as so exaggerated. I said to myself that I have not committed sin as great as his. Looking further to what I said, I come to realize that I am susceptible to self-righteousness as what the character of the elder son projects in the story. There is a sense of jealousy or envy seeing upon a person receiving honor even if that one has done more wrong. But I have to change this perspective as I have learned from the parable to have a welcoming attitude. Despite the unbecoming attitude of the elder son, the father did not scold him but rather the father loving explained to him the reasons for welcoming the younger son. Further reflection leads me to discover the graciousness of the father during the span of time spent by the elder son with his father.

It is rather easy for me to recognize the love of God when I experienced forgiveness than to appreciate his love in the ordinary experiences. Ordinary events could just be trivial compared to the unusual, but God’s love is still present in the ordinary. There are also times that God’s love seems missing but later on it appears to be so marvelous.

When my father died, I thought God’s love for me had faltered and he already neglected me. I thought He did not listen to my prayers and it added much to my grief at the loss of my father. Thus, to pray more and more at that time was so heavy for me. I did not abandon my faith, but my heart could tell how it was so difficult to believe in a God whom I thought did not love me anymore. But thanks to God’s grace, I was able to recover my faith although it took me more than a year to discover the wisdom of that event.

By the death of my father I found out how we are loved by our neighbors. I was able to encounter and appreciate people who are willing to extend a hand to those who suffer. I was able also to stand on my own and act as head of our family. There was really the hand of God working in that event but I did not recognize it immediately. My senses were covered with my misconceptions that I was not able to see the great love of God.

In seeking to understand the vulnerability of my faith, I tried to examine what was my perception of God. Since my childhood I was told that God is the Creator who provided everything. It was easy for me to understand this view because I had a father who is a good provider. Later on I learned and thought that God punishes our wrongdoings. As a child I had no difficulty of grasping this notion because I usually received punishment from my mother whenever I committed wrong. My mother then gave me a number of whips while I was kneeling and afterwards ordered me to ask forgiveness from God orally. This experience shaped my perceptions which now I found to be an obstacle to the image of a liberating and loving God.

I came from those insights which are somehow already imbedded in my subconscious. What I must to do today is to purify those insights as I continue to experience God’s love working in me and in others. Now I see God as loving and he invites me to live in that love. Although there are moments when this love becomes obscure, but I have to build a strong conviction that in due time I will see the wisdom of his love. Or even if I will not see I believe that God loves me more than what I can comprehend.

Christmas Exchanging Gifts (A Christmas Reflection on the Theology of the Priesthood)

I went home for the Christmas break on December 23, 2007. The surroundings were already filled with much anticipation for Christmas or perhaps most people already thought it was already Christmas. The festive mood of the season could be due to the great significance of the event or just a part of the usual practices embedded in our Christmas culture. How does the meaning of the celebration affect the faithful? What do we get in our contemplation of the Christmas event that may contribute to the growth of our Christian life and community?

We celebrate Christmas as a feast of our redemption and certainly not just the feast of a baby’s birth. Christmas portrays the profound mystery of the presence of Good with his people. The events that are connected with the mystery of incarnation are remembered, recalled and relived. There is really a great joy of coming to know that God shares with our humanity. The Christmas event presents the awesome mystery of God’s act of entering into human history. As human persons this event gives us dignity as well as encouragement to carry on Christ’s work here on earth. The incarnation event together with the resurrection could be set as the hinge through which we carry the different ministries and charisms in the church. Christ’s coming into the world gives a unifying value of the different levels of our participation in the life of the church.

The Lord Jesus, "whom the Father has sent into the world" (Jn 10:36) has made his whole Mystical Body a sharer in the anointing of the Spirit with which he himself is anointed. In him all the faithful are made a holy and royal priesthood; they offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ, and they proclaim the perfections of him who has called them out of darkness into his marvelous light. (PO, 2)

The prologue of St. John’s Gospel which is read in the mass during the day of Christmas describes Jesus Christ as the true light that enlightened all people. The emphasis then is not on the Christ who was once born but on the Christ who is the light shining on us now.

By gazing towards that person who is the central figure and whose birth we celebrate at Christmas, we can find a model par excellence on giving. The act of giving is understood by many as the spirit of Christmas. During Christmas we give or exchange gifts. But Jesus’ act of giving is not only about giving something, He who is the giver is Himself the gift. Such is the most amazing act of giving, a form of giving one’s life out of love. He says, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). He has demonstrated this love on the cross. Thus, by looking at the face of Jesus in the manger, one could discover the link with Christ crucified. The whole of existence of Christ, therefore, is priestly — a life of self-offering for others and in behalf of others. Is it not an act raising our dignity that the Son of God is born as human to redeem the whole of humanity?

In the midst of merry-making during Christmas, I could not find any excuse to disregard what actually happened to that child born in the manger. As a follower of Christ, I must be moved by his love to become generous of myself. But how could I give a good reason for expecting to receive Christmas gifts when I am not the one celebrating the birthday? In our culture we practice giving presents to a birthday celebrant. Contemplating at Jesus born in a manger, I feel sad not to have anything to give as present. Unlike the magi, I have no gift to bring. Oh Lord, what can I give you this Christmas?

If celebrating Christmas is like celebrating anyone’s birthday, there must be an urgent longing deep inside us to give presents as we are drawn towards the example of the One whose birth we celebrate. But we may not have any possession to be worthy as a gift. If this is the case the best we can do is to allow ourselves to become the gift as the love of Jesus challenges us to be. In that sense, the offerer becomes the offering himself. We may not be able to lay down our lives, although not impossible. But self-offering could mean self-dedication and faithfulness to our vocation. It could also be a priestly act of offering oneself to the Lord, since we are called to participate in the one priesthood of Christ.

Though they differ from one another in essence and not only in degree, the common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood are nonetheless interrelated: each of them in its own special way is a participation in the one priesthood of Christ. The ministerial priest, by the sacred power he enjoys, teaches and rules the priestly people; acting in the person of Christ, he makes present the Eucharistic sacrifice, and offers it to God in the name of all the people. But the faithful, in virtue of their royal priesthood, join in the offering of the Eucharist. They likewise exercise that priesthood in receiving the sacraments, in prayer and thanksgiving, in the witness of a holy life, and by self-denial and active charity. (LG, 10)

Therefore, celebrating Christmas is an opportune time to renew our commitment to God. Jesus has set an example of self-giving. Now, it is our turn to emulate such way of giving so that an exchange of gifts may take place. As friends carry out exchanging gifts during Christmas, may we be able to exchange gifts with the Lord. The Lord has accomplished his part. Right now we are challenged to do our turn.

Christmas Exchanging Gifts

I went home for the Christmas break on December 23, 2007. The surroundings were already filled with much anticipation for Christmas or perhaps most people already thought it was already Christmas. The festive mood of the season could be due to the great significance of the event or just a part of the usual practices embedded in our Christmas culture. How does the meaning of the celebration affect the faithful? What do we get in our contemplation of the Christmas event that may contribute to the growth of our Christian life and community?

We celebrate Christmas as a feast of our redemption and certainly not just the feast of a baby’s birth. Christmas portrays the profound mystery of the presence of Good with his people. The events that are connected with the mystery of incarnation are remembered, recalled and relived. There is really a great joy of coming to know that God shares with our humanity. The Christmas event presents the awesome mystery of God’s act of entering into human history. As human persons this event gives us dignity as well as encouragement to carry on Christ’s work here on earth. The incarnation event together with the resurrection could be set as the hinge through which we carry the different ministries and charisms in the church. Christ’s coming into the world gives a unifying value of the different levels of our participation in the life of the church.

The Lord Jesus, "whom the Father has sent into the world" (Jn 10:36) has made his whole Mystical Body a sharer in the anointing of the Spirit with which he himself is anointed. In him all the faithful are made a holy and royal priesthood; they offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ, and they proclaim the perfections of him who has called them out of darkness into his marvelous light. (PO, 2)

The prologue of St. John’s Gospel which is read in the mass during the day of Christmas describes Jesus Christ as the true light that enlightened all people. The emphasis then is not on the Christ who was once born but on the Christ who is the light shining on us now.

By gazing towards that person who is the central figure and whose birth we celebrate at Christmas, we can find a model par excellence on giving. The act of giving is understood by many as the spirit of Christmas. During Christmas we give or exchange gifts. But Jesus’ act of giving is not only about giving something, He who is the giver is Himself the gift. Such is the most amazing act of giving, a form of giving one’s life out of love. He says, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). He has demonstrated this love on the cross. Thus, by looking at the face of Jesus in the manger, one could discover the link with Christ crucified. The whole of existence of Christ, therefore, is priestly — a life of self-offering for others and in behalf of others. Is it not an act raising our dignity that the Son of God is born as human to redeem the whole of humanity?

In the midst of merry-making during Christmas, I could not find any excuse to disregard what actually happened to that child born in the manger. As a follower of Christ, I must be moved by his love to become generous of myself. But how could I give a good reason for expecting to receive Christmas gifts when I am not the one celebrating the birthday? In our culture we practice giving presents to a birthday celebrant. Contemplating at Jesus born in a manger, I feel sad not to have anything to give as present. Unlike the magi, I have no gift to bring. Oh Lord, what can I give you this Christmas?

If celebrating Christmas is like celebrating anyone’s birthday, there must be an urgent longing deep inside us to give presents as we are drawn towards the example of the One whose birth we celebrate. But we may not have any possession to be worthy as a gift. If this is the case the best we can do is to allow ourselves to become the gift as the love of Jesus challenges us to be. In that sense, the offerer becomes the offering himself. We may not be able to lay down our lives, although not impossible. But self-offering could mean self-dedication and faithfulness to our vocation. It could also be a priestly act of offering oneself to the Lord, since we are called to participate in the one priesthood of Christ.

Though they differ from one another in essence and not only in degree, the common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood are nonetheless interrelated: each of them in its own special way is a participation in the one priesthood of Christ. The ministerial priest, by the sacred power he enjoys, teaches and rules the priestly people; acting in the person of Christ, he makes present the Eucharistic sacrifice, and offers it to God in the name of all the people. But the faithful, in virtue of their royal priesthood, join in the offering of the Eucharist. They likewise exercise that priesthood in receiving the sacraments, in prayer and thanksgiving, in the witness of a holy life, and by self-denial and active charity. (LG, 10)

Therefore, celebrating Christmas is an opportune time to renew our commitment to God. Jesus has set an example of self-giving. Now, it is our turn to emulate such way of giving so that an exchange of gifts may take place. As friends carry out exchanging gifts during Christmas, may we be able to exchange gifts with the Lord. The Lord has accomplished his part. Right now we are challenged to do our turn.