You plan to move to the Philippines? Wollen Sie auf den Philippinen leben?

There are REALLY TONS of websites telling us how, why, maybe why not and when you'll be able to move to the Philippines. I only love to tell and explain some things "between the lines". Enjoy reading, be informed, have fun and be entertained too!

Ja, es gibt tonnenweise Webseiten, die Ihnen sagen wie, warum, vielleicht warum nicht und wann Sie am besten auf die Philippinen auswandern könnten. Ich möchte Ihnen in Zukunft "zwischen den Zeilen" einige zusätzlichen Dinge berichten und erzählen. Viel Spass beim Lesen und Gute Unterhaltung!


Visitors of germanexpatinthephilippines/Besucher dieser Webseite.Ich liebe meine Flaggensammlung!

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Showing posts with label Cross. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cross. Show all posts

Friday, September 17, 2021

Christ’s cross clarifies our human condition

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *






        

  I FIND it amusing if it were not a disturbing and sad story.

While Christ was already predicting his passion, death and

resurrection, all that his apostles did was to discuss who among them

was the greatest. (cfr. 9,30-37) This, to me, is the example par

excellence of what is termed as impertinence.


          That’s when Christ told them to be as humble as a little

child. “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives

me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”


          Of course, receiving a child in Christ’s name means

receiving Christ and everything that he has done for the salvation of

man, and this would include suffering and loving the cross. The cross

is necessary in our life. It plays a big role in clarifying our true

condition in our earthly life which is marked by sinfulness and thus,

in great need of redemption.


          We need to know the purpose of the cross because the cross,

through Christ’s passion, death and resurrection, is where everything

in our life is resolved. Christ’s passion, death and resurrection is

the culmination of Christ’s redemptive mission on earth.


          Yes, Christ preached. He performed miracles. But in the end,

he had to offer his life on the cross because no matter what he did,

our sins are such that they simply cannot be undone and forgiven

through the preaching of the truths of our faith and the tremendous

effects of the miracles. Christ has to offer his life on the cross!


          We might ask, if Christ is God, why did he have to go

through all that suffering and death? Why not just say, “Everything is

now all right, guys.” As God, nothing is impossible with him. With the

movement of his will, with a flick of his hand, everything would be as

it should be.


          I must say, it is a good question to ask. Indeed, nothing is

impossible with God. He does not have to do anything spectacular to

repair what was damaged. A word from him, and everything would be as

he wants it to be.


          Be that as it may, the fact is that Christ chose the way the

Father wanted it. “Not my will, but yours be done,” Christ said. (Lk

22,42) And I imagine the reason behind this is because God respects

our human nature as it is, as it has been created by him, capable of

loving and hating, and also capable of being faithful and unfaithful

and faithful again after some conversion, and some consequences

follow.


          The return to fidelity, given our nature, will unavoidably

involve suffering and death which Christ took to himself, showing us

the way of how to go about these consequences of our sins.


          In other words, the cross and all the suffering it involves

are the consequences of our sins which need to be forgiven and undone.

And that can only happen when with Christ, we go through the

consequences of our sin by suffering them with Christ on the cross.

Thus the cross of our sins has been converted by Christ into the cross

of our salvation. That’s how we have to understand the cross and all

the suffering it involves.


          We should not be afraid of the cross. In fact, we should be

looking forward to have it if only to help in Christ’s continuing work

of our redemption.


* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE) Talamban, Cebu City.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com