CLEAN FROM WITHIN

There is a pervading obsession to be clean and neat in our society today. We frequently wash our hands and use sanitizers to keep bacteria and germs away. We wash our faces with various cleansers. In grocery stores and supermarkets, an entire section is allotted for tons of disinfectants, soaps, lotions, and creams that can make our skins flawless and blemish free. As if these are not yet enough, we take in food with anti-oxidant and cleansing agents. Others even breath pure oxygen and drinking purified mineral water. But even after using these products and regiments, we still feel that they are not enough. We still feel unclean.

During the time of Jesus, people were also preoccupied on how to be clean. They have rituals for washing their bodies. They are very particular on the food they take. But even the observance of these laws pertaining to cleanliness failed to make them truly clean, as our collections of cleaning products also disappoint us. 

Christ reminds us that uncleanliness and consequently genuine cleanliness comes not from outside factors but from within us. It is what comes out of us and not what comes from outside of us that makes us clean or unclean. It is so since all that we take (the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe) are God's creation and thus are good in themselves. In principle, none of God's creation can harm us. What can pollute our minds and damage our bodies are those that come out of man: deceit, indecency, slander, pride, and folly. We can add to this list the unhealthy food man had concocted, the unhealthy lifestyle man has adopted, and the shows and information fed to us through different media of social communications. The things man do and create can either make him clean or unclean physically and spiritually. The unhealthy and evil things a person does affect not just himself but also others, in as much as our actions always have a social dimension.

What can make us truly clean also lies in the same seat of uncleanliness: from within us. Within us is the breath of God which He gave to us when He created us (Genesis 2:4b-9 15-17). That makes each one of us an image of God. God made us sharers of His divinity and goodness as He breathed life into us.  Through his creative act and gifts of intellect and will, He made us capable of knowing and doing either good or evil; things that can either make us clean or unclean. There is in us the capacity to do good things as God does in his creation, but also the freedom to choose good or evil; to be spotless or impure. And God encourages us to cooperate in His creative action, to create, do, and live the goodness He had gifted us, though we have a choice.

Will you choose to be clean or unclean; good or evil? Should you choose to be good and clean, you have within you the power to do so. Be faithful to the (good and clean) breath of God that gives life to us. Collaborate in God's creative act by choosing to be good and clean.  

GOVERNED BY LOVE

In one monastery, as the abbess and her nuns began their evening meditation, a cat who lived there made such a noise that it distracted all the nuns. So, the abbess ordered the cat to be tied up every evening during the prayers. Years later, when the abbess died, the cat continued to be tied up during the meditation session. And when the cat eventually died, another cat was brought to the monastery to be tied up. Centuries later, a learned scholar wrote a treatise about the religious significance of tying up a cat for meditation practice.

Have you ever thought of or questioned the things we usually do in our life, or you simply do it since it has always been like that or just because everyone else has been doing it?

There is a practical and logical reason for the things that we do in our communities. We wash our hands before eating a meal to avoid contracting diseases. We clean ourselves after going to a marketplace to remove dirt that we might bring inside our homes. The rules we adopt are meant to protect us and improve our way of life. Behind these rules and practices are logical and practical reasons meant to promote the welfare of the person. Unfortunately, sometimes, we lose track of this practical reason so much so that we keep on doing some unnecessary activities even after the original problems they ought to address had long been gone. In the process, we become slaves of the laws made in the past, putting aside the welfare of the person which should be the foremost concern of these laws and practices.

From 10 commandments, the Jews have created 613 other laws in order to practice the 10 more fervently. With all these laws, they have become slaves more than free men under God's grace. When Christ came, he reduced the 10 commandments rather than increase them. He reduced them to two: Love of God and love of neighbor. Love is the ultimate commandment that promotes the welfare of man who is the most precious creature in the eyes of God, having been created in His own image. Man is not just good, but very good for God (Genesis 1:20 - 2:4).

Is our life governed by this ultimate commandment of love? Or have we overburdened ourselves with practices which, more than promoting our welfare, have reduced us to slaves of laws and practices, the origin and rationale of which is unknown to us? There are only two commandments that will remain relevant anywhere and to anyone: Love of God and love of neighbor. Be governed by love at all time.

LISTENING WITH THE EARS OF THE HEART

Hearing is one of the vital senses which man possesses. I witnessed this for the first time when I anointed a sick person. The patient was unconscious in the ICU. The nurse tried to wake him up by touching his chest and calling out his name. He remained asleep until his niece bent towards his ear and called out his name: “Tito Antonio! Tito Antonio! We are here to pray for you.” Hearing a familiar voice, the patient moved his head and with much difficulty, he nodded. I administered the sacrament to him, presuming that he was listening intently to the text I was reading as he kept nodding his head.

A lot of things come from hearing. We learn our ABCs by listening to our teachers. We come to know what we should do in an exam by listening to the instructions given to us. We believe in God, as we receive our faith by hearing His voice calling us by our names and directing us with His gentle words. On the contrary, deafness disables us. We fail to hear what we ought to hear. Eventually, deafness leads to muteness, as deaf people grow accustomed to silence; unable to utter words properly as they themselves could not hear what and how they articulate words.

Having healthy auditory sense, however, is no guarantee that we will be able to do good things in life. We may be able to hear, but unless we truly listen, we shall not understand a single thought or phrase communicated to us. There is a big difference between hearing and listening. Hearing (naririnig) implies that one senses the words spoken to him but does not necessarily mean he comprehends it. Listening (nakikinig) does otherwise. We may have been hearing the words of God every Sunday and in all masses we attended, but it is possible that we have not truly listened to them, as we have not yet fully integrated their message in our life. We might have been listening to other words besides His, leading us to disobey His will. In the case of Adam and Eve, for example, they heard God's command but they chose to listen to the serpent and fell to the temptation to be like god. Thus, by listening to a wrong object, man was led to disobey God and fall out of His grace (Genesis 3:1-8).     

More than hearing by our ears, we are to listen with the ears of our hearts. It is these ears that we have to open before our Lord so that we may fully listen and receive the life-giving words he gives to us. It is through these ears that we can truly listen and discern the will of the Father for us. No voice and sound may be heard. Fear not. After all, the open ears of our hearts can understand the silence of God.      

At the middle of our celebration of the sacrament of healing, Tito Antonio stopped nodding his head and ceased to make any movement. I continued the celebration nevertheless, believing that my words fell not on deaf ears but to the open “ears” of his heart. After I anointed him, there was a visible peace and calmness in his face. He had truly heard and listened to the comforting words of God.

To whom or what do we listened to? Do we listen to the false promises of Satan or to the powerful words of Gods? Through which are we listening to: simply through our ears or through the open ears of our hearts? 

GOD IS WAITING FOR YOUR RESPONSE

When I received my new assignment in Calamba, I had initial doubts and hesitations in accepting it. It is not because the community of brothers there is unbearable. Far from it, it is considered one of the best we have in the Province. The reason behind my fear is the ministry of the brothers assigned there. The community ministers to a College, making education their primary apostolate. I saw myself unfit and unprepared for this kind of ministry. Yes, I taught some courses before, but education apostolate is more than teaching. It involves management as well. I never held an administrative or financial-related office back in the seminary. My initial questions and thoughts were: What will I do there? I know nothing about CHED and DepEd's regulations. I have no experience in managing financial matters. When my new assignment was handed on to me, I was given a few minutes to decide. I accepted it, in faith and obedience. Since then I never had a single regret for doing so.   

We receive a lot of assignments, tasks, missions, and roles in our lifetime. In our life as Christians, we are constantly invited by God to follow Him: to live a holy life in accordance with His will. We may perceive ourselves unworthy and weak for this vocation towards holiness; incapable of loving the most unlovable, relying solely upon Divine Providence, faithfully obeying His plan for us etc. But who among us can claim to be worthy of his vocation; that it is his right to assume the mission God bestows upon him? Isaiah had unclean lips. Paul was a persecutor of Christians. Peter was a fisherman who caught nothing despite his efforts to fish overnight and confessed that he was a sinful man. With the standard of God, no one, by the merit of his own strength, can step forward and assert himself as one fit for the life which God has given.

God calls us not because of our strength, not because we are qualified, perfect, sinless, unspotted or unblemished. Even when we respond, God knows in the future that we will fail Him. We will commit mistakes and sins. Christ knew Peter will betray Him three times and will be cowed by the persecutions in Rome. He called him nevertheless and made him the Rock on which His Church is built.

God is calling us in spite of our fragility and brokenness. We all have weaknesses and shortcomings, but God calls us nevertheless, for He desires one thing: that we may be with Him, and that we may be strong and whole again. We can respond in two ways: We can focus on ourselves, on our weakness, and on being unqualified; or we can embrace the call God is giving us and focus on His grace and mercy that would qualify us and perfect us for this life. Would you focus on your weakness and own strength? Would you rather trust and obey God? How do you respond to His invitations?                

We may be tempted to think that it is impossible to be his faithful disciples because of our weakness. Isaiah, Paul, and Peter had weaknesses and sins. They never focused on their iniquities but on the grace and mercy of God at work in their lives. Through the mercy of God, they realized that they are more than their sins and brokenness; that they can love in as much as they are beloved by God. It is not so much about their own powers and capabilities, but about the One who called them to the life they lived.

In responding to God's call to follow Him and be holy, we may have our reservations and fears based on our self-perception or on the things unknown to us. As He calls us, He tells us: Duc in Altum. Cast into the deep. You do not know what is there in the deep. You do not know where God will send you or whether you can do it or not. Answer and obey nevertheless, for it is the Lord who calls us and assures us that he will be with us all as we plunge ourselves into His will and plan for us.

Trust God. Rely on Him more than in our own abilities (for many times we had been disappointed by our own capabilities). Obey Him. Our journey in responding and doing his will may lead to suffering and death, but God promises eternal life for those who follow Him. It will never end in a Calvary but will lead to resurrection and eternal life.

God is waiting for our response; for us to open our mouths like the prophet Isaiah; to let Him take over our boats and nets like in the case of Peter. God is waiting for you to let Him enter into your life. Isaiah, Paul and Peter had considered themselves inferior, unworthy, and not qualified. But because they allowed God to touch their lives, they were transformed in becoming his prophet and apostles. God is waiting for you to cast into the deep, unknot the rope and sail to unfamiliar seas towards the port of heaven. 

VOCATION KNOWS NO VACATION

In our seminary, in Santo Domingo, we once had a heated debate between our master and the brothers. The issue was whether the brothers should serve as DLP operators in the shrine on Sundays. It was proposed that responses and songs in the mass should be projected through the wide screen to help the faithful in actively participating in the mass. However, with the tight budget of the convent, it could not afford to hire lay personnel to do the job. And so it was proposed that the brothers should take the said task. The brothers resisted because Sunday is the only free day and rest they have for the whole week. The master insisted that the brothers should take the job in the name of the apostolate.

We all desire for rest and break from our tiring and busy days. Rest is important, for it allows us to pause for a while to see what we worked for so far and take a deep breath to regain our strength to continue our work. Christ himself wanted to rest for a while together with his disciples after preaching and administering the people (Mark 6:30-31). We have to take enough sleep and eat on time, lest our body is neglected, leaving us incapacitated in fulfilling our tasks. As it is said in Filipino "Katawan ang ating puhunan." But should our task demand for more time from us, are we willing to give up our precious time for rest so that we may attend to the needs of others?

As Christians, our life is characterized by our love of God through our love of our neighbor. Loving and doing good works are not only aspects of our life but the Spirit that animates and is manifested in all aspects of our life. We cannot be loving or do good works only from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. We are Christians 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We should not neglect to do good works even if it means less time for ourselves. Our offerings, sacrifices, and praises to God should be continuous through the life we live (cf. Heb 13:15-17). Our vocation knows no vacation.

In the gospel (Mark 6:30-34), Christ intended to rest together with his disciples. However, when he saw the people like sheep without a shepherd, he was moved with compassion and administered to them. He put aside the rest he deserved in order to fulfill his mission. Do we give more premium to our rest so much so that we neglect our mission to serve others? Are we animated by the same compassion of Christ that moves us from our rest and comfort zone that we attend to the needs of others? The Good News is, even if we give up our time for rest and peace of mind, we shall find true comfort in serving others, for there we meet Christ, the true rest and peace for our drooping spirits.

Today, years after that heated debate, the brothers serve as DLP operators in the shrine in Santo Domingo every Sunday from 5 am to 7 pm. It means giving up their time for rest, for the cinema and mall, meeting their families, etc. But they are fulfilled and happy, for in serving, they find true rest and comfort. Yes, they find Jesus by operating the DLP.

Where do you find your true rest?