Resurrecting With Christ

“Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him.” (2 Tm 2:11) To really resurrect with Christ, we have to die a thousand, nigh, a million, deaths. There are so many things that we have to die to before we can even say we truly belong to Christ– the self, the world, sins, our attachments, etc. It’s a total renunciation of Satan and his wiles, the things that seemingly give us joy, a boost, a high; things which, if we try to uproot from our hearts, make us forlorn. But the choice is only between God and the Devil. There is no middle ground. No wonder God asked us to love Him and Him alone, with all our hearts, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind. (Cf. Dt.6:5; Lk. 10:27)

Jesus said to His apostles: “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mt.19:24) Astonished, the apostles asked Him, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus assured them, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” (Mk. 10:27)

God chooses what to do with us. It’s a child’s total trust that He demands from us. “Be still and know that I am God.” (Ps. 46:10)

My Lover Pursues Me

My Lover pursues me,

Now and then unceasingly.

I toss, I turn, I sigh, I weep,

Impatient for His all sweet nudging.

With His love, He wounds my heart,

Leaving it aching and wanting.

A mere glance at His comely Face

Is balm that soothes all my desire.

My Lover pursues me,

And I run to Him,

My one Desire.

“Stir the Sugar to Sweeten”

The sight of the religious who devote their entire life in service to Christ and His Church stirs a sweetness of devotion in our hearts. Let us be like spoons that stir the sugar in one another’s hearts to rekindle the fire of God’s love. “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,” (Heb. 10:24)

“The Sign of Jonah”

“An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Mt 12:40)

Behold the Humility of God

“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (Jn 13: 12-15)

Jesus in the Confessional

I read a lot of Hollywood stars who go to psychotherapists, psychiatrists and psychologists for a handsome fee just so someone will listen to them. These mind professionals choose from a range of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, reality therapy, Kent therapy, transactional analysis, etc., to use on their patients/clients. Psychoanalysis and psychotherapists use free association based on Sigmund Freud’s theory of the id, ego, and super ego. Reality Therapy developed by William Glasser gives more stress on the individual’s present action rather than his past experiences and present mental health. Transactional analysis developed by Dr. Thomas A. Harris concentrates more on the Parent/Child recordings in the mind of the individual and the Adult perception of reality. A modern author, Dr. M. Scott Peck, stresses an individual’s discipline and sense of responsibility for his overall well being.

Other people try the more popular radio programs for advice from the DJs who either take the callers seriously or just make fun of them on air.

When a person commits a sin, depending on his religious upbringing, background and morality, the peace equilibrium is, in most cases, disturbed. There are sins which one may see as petty like saying a white lie or just being plain lazy. Some sins are committed for the first time by a person. Other sins are more serious which may pose a serious danger to the society, the family, or to the person committing the sin. It is the disturbed equilibrium which causes a psychological or spiritual contraction, so to speak, where the tension gathers strength in the person, until the tension reaches to a point that it seeks release.  The person feels a sense of guilt or remorse and wants to revert to his former peace of mind. A person, if he has a strong conscience, will not find peace until he feels a sense of forgiveness and starts anew with a clean slate. In contrast, a person with little or no religious and moral background can take the tension until it reaches to a point that his conscience is hardened and he does not feel any pang of guilt anymore. This peace equilibrium in the mind or psyche of the person is what makes for a good mental and spiritual health. Without this peace equilibrium being restored in the person who commits a sin, he may drift from day to day unfocused, ineffective and even self-destructive.

Jesus said,”… If your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Mt. 6:23) It is this light within us which we must attempt to be always light, so we will not be engulfed in darkness. When Jesus Christ instituted the Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation, He was acting as our Spiritual Therapist. He knew that like the prodigal son, we will feel the need to go back to the Father, even if it may be repetitive in the process, He knowing fully well how weak we are. Jesus said in the Diary of St. Faustina that He is always waiting for us in the confessional. He knows that time and time again, we will need healing of the spirit, mind and body. For this purpose, among others, Jesus instituted  likewise the Sacrament of the Priesthood so the priest will be an “alter christus,” another Christ, to hear the confession of His faithfuls. No one can take the special place of a priest who is the only person who can hear confession in behalf of Christ. Christ has exalted His priests so much so that even the angel who was giving Holy Communion to St. Faustina did not arrogate that special and exalted office for himself.

Priests are, so to speak, modern therapists looking after the overall well being of their penitents. The seal of secrecy assures them that they can open their minds and hearts to the priests with a deep sense of trust and confidence. And they serve without a handsome fee because they do that in the name of and in behalf of Christ, their Big Boss.