We are the Aroma of Christ

This birdbath is of the St. Pio Chapel in Libis. It's interesting to know that birds do "take-a-bath." They take the time to cleanse and refresh themselves. Since the birdbath is located within the chapel compound, I can't help but make a connection about it to our own spiritual lives. We too get a "spiritual bathing" to cleanse and refresh ourselves when we visit Church. Yes, we are able to pray anywhere and at anytime -- but within the hallowed walls of the Church, we are powerfully pointed to the God.  More so, in Church we receive God's grace through the Sacraments.

When a person literally does not take a bath for a considerably long time, he starts to reek and feels itchiness all over the body.  More so, others are repelled from him and come to highly question the person's hygiene habits. In the same way, if we don't approach Jesus through the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation for a really long time, there's a good tendency that the sinfulness in us – the stench of the evil one – will reek; through our words, actions, and especially our thoughts -- from subtle to obvious to devastating.  We need the grace of forgiveness, for our conversion, to be brought back to wearing the heavenly scent of Christ. Forgiveness cannot be earned, we need to humbly ask of it as a purifying gift; to cleanse us, heal us, and refresh us. 

"This endeavor of conversion is not just a human work. It is the movement of a "contrite heart," drawn and moved by grace to respond to the merciful love of God who loved us first (CCC 1428)."

By the act of confessing our sins and through the absolution of the priest, we are granted that undeserved grace. Like the birdbath, it's open and it's free.  One of the reasons why many of us find it hard to confess our sins is that our hearts have become calloused with pride; we justify every wrongdoing; we have the fear of the humiliation of admitting our faults and failures. In a very deceiving way of the devil, we have found comfort and "getting-used-to" in the state of "itchiness and filth." Just like the complaint of the Israelites when they were grumbling of hunger in the desert: "Would that we had died at the LORD'S hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread! But you had to lead us into this desert to make the whole community die of famine!" (Exodus 16:3).  Despite of them knowing the Lord's promise of a land of freedom for their own people, even "flowing with milk and honey," they looked back and would have rather suffered slavery; eating "comfortably" a slave's food ration instead of the abundant life ahead.

The devil's goal is to make us "insane with sin." In the Philippines, we have the "taong grasa" or street vagrants who are oily and dirty; mentally affected by the harshness of the experiences of their own lives or may be inborn -- may God heal and restore them. Our hearts can become "pusong grasa," emotionally feeding off from the filth of sin and mentally affected by the whispers of pride and insatiable ambition by the evil one. Yet, Romans 5:20 powerfully reveals the truth that "where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more."  There is hope for a "spiritual bathing" and a restoration of our dignity in Christ! No matter how filthy our souls have become, there is a time for cleansing! Go ahead, take a spiritual bath, and smell like Christ!

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ and manifests through us the odor of the knowledge of him in every place. For we are the aroma of Christ for God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to the latter an odor of death that leads to death, to the former an odor of life that leads to life..." (2 Corinthians 2: 14-16)

On Talking to Others About Jesus Christ

My 7-year old son Sev, from time to time, talks to Siri (an iPhone feature). One day he asked, "Siri, 'you know Jesus Christ?"  Siri replied, "I eschew theological disquisition." I was surprised by the answer.  I was expecting Siri to at least point to Google for results. But the question really was directed to Siri -- which is a computer software and without a soul.

If we were asked the same thing, what would be our answer?  How would we answer? Are we simply going to say "yes?" How are we going to present Jesus? Are we going to be like Siri; eschewing the question?

St. Paul, in order to preach about Jesus Christ to the Gentiles had to take off from Philosophy and their culture:

“Athenians,” he said, “I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, 'To an unknown god'. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you” (Acts 17:22-23). From this starting-point, Saint Paul speaks of God as Creator, as the One who transcends all things and gives life to all. (John Paul II, Fides et Ratio 24)

  Unlike the Jews who had the background of all the books of what we now call the Old Testament, the Greek speaking world did not. He had to speak in terms that were relevant and easily understood:

"After preaching in a number of places, St. Paul arrived in Athens, where he went to the Areopagus and proclaimed the Gospel in language appropriate to and understandable in those surroundings (cf. Acts 17:22-31). At that time the Areopagus represented the cultural center of the learned people of Athens, and today it can be taken as a symbol of the new sectors in which the Gospel must be proclaimed." (Redemptoris Missio 37)

To find the appropriate and effective answer to the question, "Do you know Jesus Christ?", it may be best to first attempt in asking possible relevant questions:

1. As a jump-off point to present Jesus, what are the current philosophical or popular thinking today that are not contrary to the Gospel? (e.g. trending movies, news, books, etc.)

2. In what "language" can we be understood? How do we talk to the youth, the academe, the government, the masses, and the other sectors?

3. How are we bearing witness to the reality of Jesus in our lives?

The answers vary from person to person; from situation to situation; and from generation to generation -- but one thing is clear: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8)." 

Great Love Unleashes True Potential

"It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants." (Mt.13:32) Every small work done with great love unleashes true potential!

Hidden in every task, even in the mundane, is an opportunity for love to be uncovered; for God who is Love, is in all things. Our negative attitude towards work may come from a belittling view of the world around us and an enlargement of the ego within. We belittle things or people who/that don't challenge us; tasks that demean our position; and efforts that move us out from our comforts. 

On the flip side, many of us also belittle ourselves, and rely much on how others criticize us. We may become too overwhelmed by the task at hand to the point of fear and paralysis. We find ourselves constantly faced by a "Goliath"; not realizing the "David" within.

Jesus, sees something big in us, even if others belittle us; he beholds something great in others even if we belittle them. There is no servant's task too small for Him not to merit His love. He washes our feet. He takes notice of a mustard seed and tells us that the biggest thing unimaginable, the Kingdom of Heaven, is such. Are we not more than a mustard seed? 

Can Pain Be Avoided in Life?

"A tree filled with thorns" Taken on March 28, 2011 during the CFC "Pearlgrimage" to the Holy Land

The thorns that were crowned on Jesus were highly likely to come from this type of tree. Abundant in Jerusalem, one can easily fashion a ring of spikes.  How great was Jesus' suffering! Each were as big as nails!

A particular saint who shared in Christ's passion of the crowning of thorns was Saint Rita of Cascia. When Saint Rita's family died, she became an Augustinian nun and devoted her life to Jesus. She was miraculously given a thorn on the forehead, just as St. Francis had a stigmata on his hands. 

"In contemplation before an image of Jesus that was very dear to her, the Jesus of Holy Saturday or, as it is also known, the Resurgent Christ, she was moved by a deeper awareness of the physical and spiritual burden of pain which Christ so freely and willingly embraced for love of her and of all humanity.  With the tender, compassionate heart of a person fully motivated by grateful love, she spoke her willingness to relieve Christ’s suffering by sharing even the smallest part of his pain.  Her offer was accepted, her prayer was answered, and Rita was united with Jesus in a profound experience of spiritual intimacy, a thorn from his crown penetrating her forehead.  The wound it caused remained open and visible until the day of her death." saintritashrine.org


St. John Paul II in his address to the pilgrims of Saint Rita reflected on this extraordinary physical mark of suffering: "The mark which shines on her forehead is the verification of her Christian maturity. On the Cross with Jesus, she is crowned in a certain way with the love that she knew and heroically expressed within her home and by her participation in the events of her town." (St. John Paul II)

Our minds and even our hearts would naturally reject the idea of pain and suffering when following Jesus, but Saint Rita expressed her willingness to share in the pain of Christ.

I once asked brethren in community: "Can pain be avoided in this life?" Further I detailed, "Can pain be avoided in a Christian Community life?" Outright their answer was "no."

We are actually aware that even in the most special and Christ-centered relationships, there can be pain.  Misunderstandings, difficult decisions, corrections, unintentional hurtful words and difference in views will always happen and may cause pain.  Similar to the story of Job, there is much pain in the loss of life of a loved one; an illness; an accident; and loss of property and resources.  There are situations also as a result of our sinfulness, would cause pain to others: gossip, slander, irresponsibility, prejudgement, and others.

If we go through pain, especially if unjustly caused, we too get a thorn on our crowns (head).  If we cause the pain because of our sins, we inflict the thorns on others affected, and on Christ – and on other victim souls like Saint Rita! Repentance, faith, healing, and forgiveness should too be a part of a Christian's response to pain.

For a Christian, the path of suffering as a way to heaven is not "sugar-coated." The symbol of our salvation is the Christ crucified. As we experience some prosperity and the purest of joys, we too share in Jesus' Paschal mystery -- his life, passion, death, and resurrection!  Yes, pain is unavoidable, but when offered in unity with Christ can work for the salvation of souls and purify us more to be like Jesus:"By his passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to him and unite us with his redemptive Passion." (CCC 1505) After every pain, when shared in Jesus, is the promise of resurrection!

The Gift of Self

Although we espouse the ideal of loving other people as an act of sacrifice and selflessness, many actually come to abuse themselves -- in an extreme form of a lack of self-regard for the sake of others. They don't take care of themselves: abusive of health; unreasonable loss of property or resources; and even willing to "go to hell" as long as their loved ones go to heaven. 

To find the right motivation in loving one's self is to contemplate on how God loves us, as reference. A response to this love is to honor it by being grateful and responsible stewards of our bodies, minds, and souls. From a certain viewpoint, a self-sacrificing love for others---not the twisted notion--- is also a form of loving self; for in agape we experience profound joy. 

We tend to think man is hopelessly pleasure-centered. The truth is, when we uncover our dignity as God's children, we really are service-centered; honoring as well the gift of one's self, the gift of life from the creative love of God.