Complexities, opportunities, dangers

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THAT’S what we are facing these days. We actually have been having them for quite a while now, but these days, with the advent of AI—and we can expect more advanced technologies in the coming years—things have become exponentially more complicated.

How should we handle this condition such that we can manage not to be trapped by them and diverted from our true goal in life? Perhaps, we can get some ideas from these words of Christ in the gospel.

“The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field, which a man having found, hid it, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.” (Mt 13,44) Reiterating the same point, he said: “Again the kingdom of heaven like a merchant seeking good pearls. When he had found one pearl of great price, he went his way, and sold all that he had, and bought it.” (Mt 13,45-46)

In other words, to successfully navigate in these complicated times, we need to see to it that while we immerse ourselves in these powerful things of today’s world, we have to practice a certain kind of detachment from them so that our pursuit for the kingdom of heaven is not undermined, much less, compromised.

But let’s remember that detachment here does not mean that we run away from the things of the world. We have to take advantage of the good opportunities these new and very powerful technologies offer. I am happy, for example, that many young people today are going into start-ups that are helping them and the economy on the whole.

The detachment we are speaking of here simply means that we are clear and strong about the goal we are supposed to pursue. The things of this world are simply means, occasions and reasons for us to go on with that pursuit. We should not allow them to entangle us along the way.

This certainly means that we should have a working and healthy spiritual life, a constant and intimate relation with God and with everybody else that is always nourished by the appropriate practices of piety, like regular periods of prayer and meditation, recourse to the sacraments, undergoing continuing formation and spiritual guidance, etc.

These practices of piety are much more needed now than before. They should be taught and popularized as widely as possible, focusing more on the young ones who are very vulnerable to be confused and lost in these complicated times. We cannot deny that nowadays we are witnessing a massive leap of juvenile cases of vices and perversions, addictions, mental and psychological illnesses, suicides, etc.

We need to remind everyone of the need to have the proper intentions in this life. To put it bluntly, the ultimate intention that is proper to us is that of doing everything for the glory of God. If that intention is not clear, we surely would be treading on a dangerous path that most likely would lead us to a bad end.

If there is such a thing as upskilling, that is, acquiring additional skills and capabilities, we should first of all “upskill” our spiritual life and the virtues involved, like prudence, detachment, etc. in order to face the complexities, opportunities and dangers of our times.

The challenge of our times actually invites us to grow more in our spiritual life, in our love for God and for others.

No showing off if love is pure

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THAT’S what we can get from the gospel story about the two sisters, Martha and Mary. (cfr. Lk 10,38-42) If love is pure, we would not show off the things we do, baiting for praises; we would not compare ourselves with others to see if we are better lovers; we would just give and give without counting the cost; we would give our whole heart unconditionally to our beloved who in the end is God!

The problem with Martha was precisely that of comparing her love with what she saw was the inferior kind of love her sister, Mary, showed to Christ. It’s a phenomenon that, sad to say, is very common since time immemorial, and especially these days when the hunger for recognition seems to be sharper among many people in general.

Many people today like to flaunt the good things they do. They like to compare themselves with others. They even go to the extent of indulging in virtue signalling their own deeds while gaslighting those whom they consider to be not as good as they are.

To have pure love, we have to start with the purity of our intentions, since they express who and where in the end we want to be. Do we choose to be with God completely, or do we play games trying to do things for others when in fact things are done more for ourselves?

             

             We need to realize then that we have to take utmost care of our intention, making it as explicit as possible, and honing it to get engaged with its proper and ultimate object, who is God. 

We should try our best to shun being simply casual or cavalier about this responsibility. We can easily play around with it, since intentions are almost invariably hidden from public knowledge. We are urged to be most sincere in directing our intentions properly.

We can easily fall into hypocrisy and deception, doing what can appear good externally but is not internally, since we could refuse giving glory to God, which is the proper intention to have, and instead feed and stir our vanity, pride, greed, lust, etc.

If our love is pure, we would do a lot of good while passing unnoticed. All the glory should belong to God. We have to rid ourselves of any signs that would show that we want to divert the glory, even if only partially, to ourselves.

We are reminded of this danger when Christ said, “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.” (Mt 6,1)

And he continued by saying, “When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.” (6,2)

As we can see, the intention of our human acts plays a crucial role. With it, we can determine whether we are truly good and moral, or are simply playing around, playing the game of hypocrisy, appearing righteous when we truly are not.

We know that with our intention, we can direct our acts to God, following what was once indicated by St. Paul, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10,31) That’s how our acts become good, or moral, an expression of pure love. Otherwise, they are bad, or at least dangerous.

Our tendency to be impenitent

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

“THEN began he to upbraid the cities wherein were done the most of his miracles, for they had not done penance. ‘Woe to thee, Corozain, woe to thee, Bethsaida: for if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in you, they had long ago done penance in sackcloth and ashes.’” (Mt 11,20-21)

Thus lamented Christ over the people he had been giving a lot of favors. It’s a lament that continues to take place up to now, since we cannot deny that despite all the good things we have been having over the years, we still continue to be impenitent over our weaknesses, mistakes and sins.

While it’s a given that we cannot avoid sin, considering our wounded condition, it should also be given that we need to also have an abiding need for penance. Nowadays, it would look like while our sinfulness has become worse, our duty to do penance is practically neglected. 

The sense of sin is being aggressively undermined. And that’s simply because we are not anymore referring things to God. We are simply referring them to our own ideas. The clear distinction between good and evil is practically erased.

Our sense of penance is in crisis because our idea of what is good and evil is now reduced to our personal preferences, or at best to what can be termed as our social, political, cultural or even ideological consensus. Our legal system is often regarded as explicitly atheistic or agnostic, to free it from the so-called religious bias.

We need to make an effort, even a worldwide campaign, to boost our spirit of penance, explaining our dire necessity for it and the ineffable benefits we can derive from it.

The spirit of penance is not actually something that is dark, negative, painful, etc. It’s not something we should run away from. In fact, it’s not something that we should just bear and tolerate since we cannot avoid it. 

We need to embrace it, to love it, and thus, we have to develop that spirit as best that we can. It is actually something beautiful, since it is purifying and liberating. It recovers us from our wounded condition and reinforces our dignity as persons and children of God.

We need to develop and live this spirit of penance because it is clear that sin continues to dominate us in this life. In fact, it is quite clear that things are getting worse. There are now powerful and well-established structures of sin in our midst before which we are simply an easy prey.

The networks of corruption, pornography, godless and worldly ideologies, etc. are proliferating, taking advantage of the powerful technologies and the relative vulnerability of many people, especially the young ones, who are not yet prepared to properly handle these networks.

The virtue of penance should include the desire and practice of regular and frequent recourse to the sacrament of penance, where through the ministry of priests, Christ comes to us as father, friend, judge and doctor. This sacrament not only reconciles us with God, but also repairs whatever damage our sin would cause on others and the Church in general.

This virtue of penance also includes the desire and practice of continuing atonement and reparation. This can be done in many ways—exerting greater effort to pray, being more generous with our sacrifices and daily self-denials, especially in food, drink, and comfort. It can be done also by doing many corporal and spiritual works of mercy, etc.

The war for peace

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

IT’S, of course, intriguing that while Christ is known to often greet his disciples with peace, as in “Peace be with you” (cfr. Jn 20,19; Jn 20,21), he also said at one time: “Do not think that I came to send peace upon earth; I came not to send peace, but the sword.” (Mt 10,34)

Christ is supposed to be the Prince of Peace. (cfr Is 9,6) At his birth, a host of angels sang praises to him: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!” (Lk 2,13) Then why did he say he has not come to establish peace on the earth?

We have to understand that the sword Christ mentioned here does not mean to be destructive but rather constructive, driven by love and the desire to be united with God and with the others in a way proper to us as children of God and brothers and sisters among ourselves.

Our life here on earth cannot but be in some form of struggle. Aside from our innate urge to grow and develop that requires some effort, we also have to contend with the enemies of God and of our soul, whose sole intent is precisely to bring us down, to divert us from our proper path toward holiness.

We are not simply ranged against natural difficulties, challenges and trials in life, but also against very powerful and subtle nemeses. The natural enemies alone are already formidable.

But we still have enemies tougher than these. As St. Paul said, “Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.” (Eph 6,12)

Truth is many people—in fact, I would say all of us one way or another—are looking for effective ways to develop our spiritual life and to be skillful in the unavoidable spiritual warfare in this life.

People, including the young ones whose stirring for the spiritual can be sharp and intense if hidden, want to know, for example, how to pray, or how to keep it going amid the many concerns in life. Getting engaged with God all throughout the day eludes them.

The answer could very well be that war and peace somehow go together. To have peace, some war has to be waged. It cannot be any other way. A peace without a war, given our wounded condition, is a false peace.

And that’s simply because our life here on earth necessarily involves some warfare. The forces of good and evil do their battle all over the place, first in the hearts of men and then in many other arenas—practically in all the fields where human freedom is involved.

It’s true that peace is part of the ultimate goal all of us are seeking. It’s part of that inmost longing for joy that every human heart possesses. But to have that peace, we need to wage war precisely against those forces and elements that would undermine our pristine desire for endless peace.

That is how we have to understand those words of Christ cited above. He wants us to make war against the enemies of God and of men. And this war can take very subtle forms as when we have to contend with the so-called sweet poisons. We should always be on guard, and prepared to do battle against anything that goes against our own true good.

The pursuit for unity of life

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

IF we really know what the real and ultimate purpose of our life here on earth is, for sure we would do everything to organize our life in such a way that all the elements involved would work together to pursue that purpose.

This is what we may call as the duty to develop a sense of unity of life, where we integrate everything in our life, starting with our ordinary activities and work, our prayer and other responsibilities—social, family, apostolic, etc.—into a constant occasion to sanctify ourselves, i.e., to always do God’s will.

In this way, we would be affirming our true identity as children of God who wants us to be like him. That is why in the gospel, Christ always compares us with God our Father. “Be holy as your heavenly Father is holy,” he said. “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5,48)

We have to learn to turn everything into an occasion, means and reason to know, love and serve God, and to do the same to everybody else, since our relation with God is always developed through our relation with others and with everything else in our life here on earth.

This would mean that we have to learn how to find God in our daily lives and in all the events and circumstances of our life. If we have the proper frame of mind that is guided by our Christian faith, we know that everything can and should be sanctified, and by so doing, we also sanctify ourselves and others.

We should never forget that our life is not only biological, it relies simply on our biological functions. Neither is it just purely physical or material that requires merely material nourishment.

Our life has many more important aspects and dimensions that need to be integrated into one whole consistent thing. There’s the manual and intellectual, the active and contemplative, personal and social, the material and spiritual, the temporal and eternal, etc.

And precisely because of our spiritual nature, we open ourselves to a supernatural level. That’s just how the cookie crumbles. Thus, we should also be aware of what is natural and supernatural in our life, the mundane and the sacred.

I must say that of the different pairs of distinctions among the aspects of our life, that of the natural and supernatural is the most tricky, and therefore the most ignored, the least appreciated and lived with consistency.

And yet, we also have this intriguing reality that a good portion of the people all over the world, usually the poor and simple, automatically realize that our life has both these natural and supernatural dimensions.

The challenge we have is how to integrate all these elements in such a way that we live this unity of life as much as possible with uninterrupted consistency and continuity. This would definitely require God’s grace, first of all, and our all-out effort. 

There will always be a need for daily struggle. It would be helpful that as soon as possible we realize and start to do something about it. We may never reach perfection in this regard, but at least we can try and try, making progress little by little.

To be sure, it will be a very demanding life that we should have, but also one that would give us a certain sense of inner joy and peace that the world cannot give. 

The mark of a true Christian

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

CHRIST described it very clearly. This is how he said it: 

“You have heard that it has been said, You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. But I say to you, "Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you.”

And then he made this conclusion: “That you may be children of your Father who is in heaven, who makes his sun rise upon the good, and bad, and rains upon the just and the unjust.” (Mt 5,43-45)

This is, of course, beyond our human powers in their natural state. But when animated by God’s grace, our natural human powers can assume the divine capacity to love everyone, irrespective of how they are to us, whether friendly or hostile, likeable or unlikeable, etc.

It’s when we manage to love our enemies that we prove our commitment to God, a commitment that springs from our conversion of heart. Though we continue to be hounded by temptations and sin, and fall into them from time to time, we also would struggle to begin and begin again, renewing and reaffirming our commitment as often as necessary.

This obviously will require a lot of virtues—humility, patience, magnanimity, fortitude, to mention a few. We have to learn how to discipline our emotions and passions, and to be most careful with what we say and how we react to things. We have to be quick to purify our thoughts and intentions whenever some negative elements enter into them.

Let’s remember that the greatest evil and the worst injustice have already been committed, and that is the killing of Christ by man. But such evil and injustice did not elicit another evil reaction from Christ. On the contrary, he offered forgiveness. We do not correct a wrong with another wrong. As one saint would put it, we have to drown evil with an abundance of good.

To be able to love our enemies even as we try our best to resolve with justice and charity our differences, conflicts and other issues is clearly a sign of being Christ-like. It could be the proof that one’s Christianity is real and genuine, and not fake.

We have to be ready to develop and assume this attitude, always asking first of all for the grace of God and trying to have the very mind and heart of Christ. We also need to discipline our reactions and to train our emotions to conform to this basic Christian standard.

Yes, this ideal can only be possible and doable with God’s grace and the constant effort to assume the very mind and heart of Christ. We should never take this requirement for granted.

This will require tremendous effort, of course, but once done, we will surely feel the way Christ felt even in his most difficult moment when he had to suffer his passion and death on the cross. That’s when we can echo St. Paul’s words: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2,20)

Let us brace ourselves to face this challenge of becoming true Christians. Let’s make our Christianity really work, especially in difficult moments. Christ never abandons us, and he is willing to go through the experience with us. We just have to do our part, that is, to go to him, and follow him as best that we can.

Indeed, loving enemies is a sure mark of a true Christian!

True love goes beyond common sense

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THAT’S quite obvious if we would just consider these clear words of Christ. “I say to you not to resist evil: but if one strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him also the other. And if a man will contend with you in judgment, and take away your coat, let go your cloak also to him. And whoever will force you one mile, go with him other two. Give to him that asks of you and from that would borrow from you, turn him not away.” (Mt 5, 39-42)

We should train ourselves to live by this standard because this is what true love really is. It’s not just a matter of loving the lovable. The authenticity of our love is proven when it is given even, and most especially, to the unlovable. That’s what Christ himself has shown us with his passion and death on the cross to bear and conquer all our sins. He even went to the extent to offering forgiveness to those who crucified him.

            It’s in the very essence of love to give oneself without measure, without calculation, without expecting any return. It just gives and gives, even if along the way it encounters difficulties, rejection, suffering. It embraces them, not flee from them. By its nature, it is given gratuitously. 

Love engenders generosity and its relatives: magnanimity, magnificence, compassion, patience, pity, etc. This is the language of love, the currencies it uses. It thinks big, even if the matter involved is small according to human standards. In fact, it’s love that makes small, ordinary things big and special.  

That’s in theory. In practice, though, there can be elements that put limits and conditions to that love. This can be due to a number of reasons. One, because man grows by stages, and his capacity to love also develops in stages. It goes through a development timeline, much like one’s growth timeline from childhood to adulthood and maturity.      

      Thus, philosophers have distinguished more or less like 3 kinds or stages of love: “eros,” where one loves another because of what he can get from that other person. This usually happens among children who love others mainly because of what they can get in return from others. That’s very understandable.   

Then, there’s “filia,” where one loves another because he shares the same things—interests, likes and dislikes—with that person. This is typical of young boys and girls who happen to like sharing things among themselves.      

Then, there’s the final stage of “agape,” where one loves another because they just want to, without expecting any return, and continues to love even if that love is unreciprocated, or worse, rejected. This is the love of the truly mature persons, and definitely of heroes and saints.      

This kind of love definitely would require us to learn how to be magnanimous, enlarging our heart to make it more universal to accommodate everyone and any situation and condition properly. We have to see to it that our thoughts, desires and intentions, our words and deeds are always animated by charity. There should be no negative elements in them, even if we notice the defects, mistakes and sins of others, and even if they have wronged us.

For this, we need to have a good grip on our emotions, able to dominate and properly orient our biases, preferences and other idiosyncrasies that constitute our differences and even conflicts with the others.

We have to learn to focus more on what we have in common rather than on what divides. And what we all ultimately have in common is that we are all children of God, brothers and sisters of each other, meant to care and love each other.

Expect suffering if we follow Christ

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THAT’S how the cookie crumbles. If we choose to follow Christ as consistently as possible, we should expect suffering along the way and at the end. In fact, suffering would be an abiding companion in our life. 

We can draw this conclusion from that gospel episode where Christ asked Peter three times if Peter loved him. (cfr. Jn 21,15-19) After Peter professed his love for Christ in a most fervent way after being asked for the third time, Christ told him what would happen to him.

“Amen, amen I say to thee, when you were younger, you girded yourself, and walked where you wanted. But when you shall be old, you shall stretch forth your hands, and another shall gird you, and lead you where you would rather not go,” Christ told him. “And this he said, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him: Follow me.” (Jn 21,18-19)

What can immediately come to mind is that to be truly in love with Christ and to follow him as we should, we should not be surprised if suffering would come our way. In fact, we have to expect it and be prepared for it, understanding it as the clearest sign of love, of being with Christ. A love without suffering is not true love.

And this suffering comes in the first place from our own selves, from our own wounded flesh that would always try to go on its own way and law even if it goes against our very own nature and against God’s law. This predicament will always be with us all the way to our death, no matter how determined we are in trying to live a holy and chaste life.

Besides, we have to contend with the many problematic things in this world—a lot of misunderstanding, persecution, injustice, etc. And there’s also the devil who will never take a break from tempting us. He will always cling to us like a leech.

We need to be clear about this truth of our faith. If we really want to truly love, we should be willing to suffer out of love for God and for all souls. We need to realize that the willingness to suffer is the ultimate proof that our love is genuine. Love should not just be a matter of goodwill, of benevolence, of doing some good to others. It has to go all the way to an eagerness to suffer for the others.

This is what Christ has done for us and has commanded us to do. Being both God and man, Christ should be seen by us as the epitome of true love which is the very essence of God that is also meant for us since we are supposed to be God’s image and likeness.

In showing us that love where the willingness to suffer is highlighted, St. Paul made this description of Christ: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.

“Rather, he emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2,5-8)

We have to be willing to suffer the way Christ suffered for all of us. That is what true love is. No wonder that Christ himself said: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn 15,13)

Unconditional love

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THERE is no doubt that this is the kind of love that Christ is showing us and is commanding us to also live. “Love one another as I have loved you,” he said. (Jn 13,34) And we know that he went all the way by offering his life on the cross for all our sins, offering us mercy even if we have not yet asked for it.

He not only became a man to identify himself with us all the way to our worst condition. Not only did he proclaim the Good News to us. Not only did he work wonderful miracles that alleviated and continue to alleviate our wounded condition here on earth. 

He had to offer his life in the most ignominious way, not minding the worst injustice that can be committed in this world, since he was completely innocent and sinless and yet was given the worst punishment.

We should meditate often on the passion and death of Christ if only to be inspired as to what real love is, the love that we also are supposed to live also. We know that Christ’s love has a universal scope. It covers everyone, the saintly and the sinful, the friendly and the hostile, the likeable and the hateful, the hero and the villain, etc.

This is, of course, a tremendous, if not an impossible, challenge for us. But we should not waste time agonizing over the thought of how this can be tackled. If we have faith, one that is operative, we know that what is impossible to us can be made possible because Christ himself has assured us of his grace.

We have to realize that this kind of love is first of all supernatural. It is not simply human and natural love, depending only on some natural conditions and forces. And Christ is ever eager to share this kind of love with us. Things would just depend on how receptive and responsive we are to God’s grace.

On our part, we should just try our best to develop the appropriate virtues needed for this kind of love to be lived by us. This will take time, of course. In fact, it will involve our whole life. But we should just go through the discipline required, developing the appropriate requirements gradually and at one step at a time.

This will obviously involve times when we succeed and also times when we fail. But however things go, we should just move on, rectifying and growing in that kind of love. To be sure, we need to be tough. And it would also be helpful if we equip ourselves with a healthy sporting spirit and a good sense of humor. Whether we win or lose in a particular battle of love, we should just go on.

We have to learn how to be understanding and compassionate with everyone, always taking the initiative to reach out to others. We have to learn how to be adaptive to everyone, to be all things to all men as St. Paul once said. (cfr. 1 Cor 9,22)

We have to learn how to give ourselves to everyone without expecting any return, eager to offer mercy to those who may have done us wrong, and to ask for forgiveness once we ourselves can offend others.

There should never be the dregs of whatever resentment and critical thoughts in our hearts. On the contrary, we should always show affection to everyone, irrespective of how they are to us. We should be willing to suffer for others.

“Your sorrow will be turned into joy”

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

WHAT reassuring words Christ was addressing to his disciples, and now to us! While it is a given that we will have all kinds of sorrows in this life, we should avoid falling into a state of sadness that can only mean that we are not with Christ, that we do not believe him.

But if by our faith we stick to this promise of Christ, we know that our sorrows indeed will become joy that will also give us peace, a peace that is not of the worldly kind, but one that comes from Christ himself.

We need to know the real nature and character of this virtue of joy, now facing possible extinction amid the complicated air of modern times. It sadly has suffered many distortions lately such that its common understanding is now quite off the mark.

We also need to update our ability to develop and strengthen it, realistically factoring elements that now define our lives, as well as acquiring the relevant skills and art to effectively tackle our tricky times.

We cannot remain at the superficial level, restricting joy as a function only of biological, emotional, social causes, etc. Joy has deeper roots that go all the way to our Creator. We need to realize this truth more deeply, and do all, helping one another, to work out the proper mentality and culture of joy for one and all.

As such, joy has an eminently spiritual and supernatural nature. To develop it, we need faith, hope and charity, we need to pray and appreciate and live the value of sacrifice, and everything else that goes with these elements. 

It has to go all the way to the theological level as well as to the most cutting-edge practical skills we can get. The complexities and challenges of our times demand nothing less.

We have to wean ourselves from that childish notion that joy is just an emotional thing or some chemical or biological phenomenon that can be affected by certain drugs, potions and therapeutic exercises. Joy is neither just a matter of character or temperament.

Not that these things do not contribute anything. They do, and we need to give due consideration to their objective good effects as well as to the objective needs and conditions, both good and bad, of our body in all their aspects.

But we have to understand that they only play a secondary and instrumental role. They are useless if they are not attached to the real source of joy, and that’s nothing less than God himself.

Without God, these elements have no other way but to sooner or later succumb to our weaknesses, to the temptations around and eventually to death. With God, we can always find ways to go on and ultimately enter into eternal life.

Certainly, we need to be very discerning in knowing the actual state and conditions of our life insofar as the virtue of joy as a goal is concerned. We have to be very practical on how to go about developing it, doing the usual give-and-take that is unavoidable.

But we have to learn first how to be theological in developing and living our Christian joy. Thus, we need to see the example of Christ, trying to enter into his mind and heart, such that our thoughts and even our feelings can reflect the thoughts and feelings of Christ himself.

We have to convince ourselves that it is only in him that we find true joy and peace. It’s in his heart where we can find the way and strength to grapple with any trial and difficulty, and to derive some good from evil.

“Your sorrow will be turned into joy”

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

WHAT reassuring words Christ was addressing to his disciples, and now to us! While it is a given that we will have all kinds of sorrows in this life, we should avoid falling into a state of sadness that can only mean that we are not with Christ, that we do not believe him.

But if by our faith we stick to this promise of Christ, we know that our sorrows indeed will become joy that will also give us peace, a peace that is not of the worldly kind, but one that comes from Christ himself.

We need to know the real nature and character of this virtue of joy, now facing possible extinction amid the complicated air of modern times. It sadly has suffered many distortions lately such that its common understanding is now quite off the mark.

We also need to update our ability to develop and strengthen it, realistically factoring elements that now define our lives, as well as acquiring the relevant skills and art to effectively tackle our tricky times.

We cannot remain at the superficial level, restricting joy as a function only of biological, emotional, social causes, etc. Joy has deeper roots that go all the way to our Creator. We need to realize this truth more deeply, and do all, helping one another, to work out the proper mentality and culture of joy for one and all.

As such, joy has an eminently spiritual and supernatural nature. To develop it, we need faith, hope and charity, we need to pray and appreciate and live the value of sacrifice, and everything else that go with these elements. 

It has to go all the way to the theological level as well as to the most cutting-edge practical skills we can get. The complexities and challenges of our times demand nothing less.

We have to wean ourselves from that childish notion that joy is just an emotional thing or some chemical or biological phenomenon that can be affected by certain drugs, potions and therapeutic exercises. Joy is neither just a matter of character or temperament.

Not that these things do not contribute anything. They do, and we need to give due consideration to their objective good effects as well as to the objective needs and conditions, both good and bad, of our body in all their aspects.

But we have to understand that they only play a secondary and instrumental role. They are useless if they are not attached to the real source of joy, and that’s nothing less than God himself.

Without God, these elements have no other way but to sooner or later succumb to our weaknesses, to the temptations around and eventually to death. With God, we can always find ways to go on and ultimately enter into eternal life.

Certainly, we need to be very discerning in knowing the actual state and conditions of our life insofar as the virtue of joy as a goal is concerned. We have to be very practical on how to go about developing it, doing the usual give-and-take that is unavoidable.

But we have to learn first how to be theological in developing and living our Christian joy. Thus, we need to see the example of Christ, trying to enter into his mind and heart, such that our thoughts and even our feelings can reflect the thoughts and feelings of Christ himself.

We have to convince ourselves that it is only in him that we find true joy and peace. It’s in his heart where we can find the way and strength to grapple with any trial and difficulty, and to derive some good from evil.

The sweetness of true love

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THIS is the unmistakable mark of true love, one that channels the very love of God of whom we are his image and likeness, meant to share in his very life and nature. Irrespective of how things go in our life, whether they are going up or down in human terms, as long as we have that true love, the taste of love will always be sweet.

And the basis for this assertion is the truth of our faith that defines true love not only in human terms but also and most especially in spiritual and supernatural terms. True love is not only natural, subject only to the laws of nature which cannot help, given our wounded condition due to our sin, to bear the baggage of the infranatural.

This spiritual and supernatural love can transcend whatever temporal condition we might be in. As St. Paul once said, this kind of love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Cor 13,7) And given the current conditions in the world, we truly need this love to survive all the trials and challenges in our life.

The challenge we have here is how to have this kind of love and how to keep it going all day and all the time. For this, we should always find ways of how to keep going our relationship with God who is the very essence, source and power of love.

Let’s remember that when God created man, he entered into a personal relationship with us precisely because we have been created by him to be his image and likeness, to be a person, and not just a thing, a plant or animal, with whom we can share his very life and nature.

As we often hear, we, among God’s creatures, are not just something. We are a someone, a person, with intelligence and will. It is with us, together with the angels, that God establishes a personal relationship. We have to learn how to do our part in corresponding to this God-initiated relationship.

For our part, we should just find ways of how we can keep that relationship alive and vibrant, able to feel the reassuring will and ways of God. Only then can we manage the sweetness of love despite the varying conditions and situations of our life here on earth.

We should come up with the appropriate strategy to deal with this condition of our life, some kind of structure or system that can guide us irrespective of the changing circumstances of our daily life. This structure or system should be made up of some practices of piety that would keep our spiritual and supernatural bearing intact as we navigate the seas and oceans of our life.

These practices of piety should be the basic ones like a time for prayer, recourse to the sacraments especially the holy eucharist and confession, some devotions like the praying of the holy rosary, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and other practices like regular examinations of conscience, presence of God all throughout the day making use of human devices, etc.,

Everyday, we have to tweak this system to adapt it to the peculiar conditions of the day. In this regard, it is also good to consider our concrete physical, emotional and mental conditions, so we would somehow know what to do when their strong and weak points would impact on the different events of the day. Not all days are the same. There are what we call ‘good’ days and ‘bad’ days.

Always on the alert

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

          THIS should always be our normal state of mind. This is not a matter of paranoia or that of overacting. This is to be very realistic about our life here on earth. We have to realize that we have to contend with many challenges and trials, difficulties and all kinds of issues. To top it all, we have to contend with our real enemies which are our wounded flesh, the sinful allurements of the world and the tricks of the devil. 

          In a sense, we should always be prepared to do battle, properly equipped and with a go-go attitude. To be sure, this does not go against our naturalness. Rather, it purifies our natural ways and elevates them to where they should be, that is, to be with God and not just to be by ourselves. It is in this state that we can allow the Holy Spirit to work on us, giving us a strong reason to be hopeful amid the drama of our life here on earth. (cfr. Jn 15,26-16-4) 

          For this, we are actually given all the means, both natural and supernatural, material and spiritual. We should just train ourselves to be always on the alert, aware of what our life is all about, what means are provided for us, what recourse we can make in cases where we find ourselves in difficult situations or, worse, when we fall, hopefully only temporarily. 

          Yes, we have to always learn how to be vigilant. That is why the Bible is full of reminders about this need. “Be watchful,” St. Paul says, for example, “stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” (1 Cor 16,13) St. Paul

practically has given us a good program of how it is to be watchful always. 

          We are familiar with Christ’s admonitions. “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect,” he said. (Mt 24,44) In another instance, he said, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mt 26,41) 

          Let’s learn the appropriate skills and art of being watchful both in good times and in bad times and also in ordinary times when things appear to be neutral yet. Let’s sharpen our skill in examining our conscience, in reading the signs of the times, in assessing the different circumstances of the day, etc.  

          We really have to learn how to be always on the alert because nowadays not only bad things separate us from God, but also good things. Take the case of the new wonders of the digital world. In themselves they are not bad. They are good. They offer many practical uses. And they generate a seemingly self-propelled force to discover more potentials and possibilities that look endless. 

          But precisely because of this character, the digital charm can intoxicate us. We can get so entrapped in its technological and pragmatic loop that instead of living with God, we would simply be living by ourselves, exclusively seeking our own interests instead of seeking God. 

          That is why it is good to be reminded of the virtue of temperance. To be vigilant, to keep our music with God playing, we need to practice restraint and moderation in the use of material and earthly things, no matter how good in themselves they may be. 

Why do we have to love even our enemies

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

WHY? Because, first of all, Christ said so. In no unclear terms, he said: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” (Mt 5,43-45)

And he walked his talk by being always compassionate with the sinners of his time. And ultimately, while still on the cross, just a few breaths away from death, he offered forgiveness to those who crucified him, who in the end, are actually all of us. (cfr. Lk 23,34) That’s because every sin we commit contributes to Christ’s crucifixion.

But we may still ask, why should we love our enemies? Isn’t it against our nature? I believe the final answer to that is because in spite of how we are to each other and to God himself, we still are all children of God, brothers and sisters among ourselves, meant to care and love one another.

Irrespective of how we behave and develop our life, that basic truth cannot be erased. It’s a truth of our faith that was hinted in the following passage from the Book of Isaiah that says, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” (49,15)

Of course, this does not mean that what is wrong is right. The sharp distinction between the two is never denied by the love that we are asked to have. Rather, because of that love, we still should try to uphold that distinction as best that we can. 

Yes, we should try our best to clarify the issues, but knowing how imperfect we are even in our best conditions, we should just go beyond that distinction, and offer forgiveness the way Christ did so on the cross. Christ did everything to clarify what is right, but in the end, he sort of “failed” and had no other recourse than to offer his life as the ultimate testament of his love for us.

This is, of course, a tall order, an impossible thing for us to follow. But we should just try and try, never giving up. We obviously have to exert all the effort we can give, but first of all, we should ask for the grace of God, since only in that way can the impossible be made possible for us.

Let’s try to develop a lifestyle where in spite of our unavoidable differences and conflicts we can manage to have no enemies, since we would love everyone. More than that, it should be a lifestyle where the more unlovable a person in the natural level is given more love. That’s when we can truly say that we are entering the supernatural level of God which is actually meant for us.

This, of course, would require a lot of faith and hope for the charity meant for us to blossom. It should be a faith that should lead us to develop a certain toughness that can bear all things, as St. Paul once said. (cfr. 1 Cor 13,7)

Everyday, let’s hope that we can manage to love everyone, especially those who clearly are in error. These people can be considered as “one of the least of my brethren” as Christ once said, (cfr. Mt 25,40) to whom we should give a completely gratuitous love. For such is true love. It is completely gratuitous, expecting no reward nor compensation.

When we’d just be chasing after the wind

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THIS happens when with all the excitement we put into our earthly activities, we fail to reach the ultimate end proper to us, and that is, to be with God, to do everything to show our love for him, and to give him glory. In other words, when we fail to follow what Christ once said: “Do not work for food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life.” (Jn 6,27)

We cannot deny that we are notorious for making ourselves, instead of God, as the goal of our whole life. We are prone to fall into self-indulgence against which we should declare an unrelenting war. Yes, this has always been a problem to us, and these days it is much more so.

With the many new wonderful things that can instantly give us convenience, comfort, pleasure and satisfaction, many of us are trapped into the very sticky web of distractions, obsessions, addictions and the many other forms of self-indulgence that feed on our weaknesses, like lust, pride, conceit, gluttony, unhinged curiosities, envy, etc., etc.

We just have to give a cursory look around to see how bad this problem is. Many people are just looking at their cellphones most of the time. There are reports saying that many young people often forget their meals and lose sleep because of what they do in the Internet. It’s clear they are terribly hooked there and it seems it’s now next to the impossible to get them out of there.

As a result, many duties and responsibilities are left unattended. Disorder and chaos are fast gaining ground as priorities are skewed. Superficiality has now become a mainstream lifestyle, reinforcing the trend toward consumerism, materialism and what Pope Francis refers to as the “throw-away culture” where ethical and moral considerations are ignored or even flouted, i.e., regarded with contempt.

We have to be wary of this danger of self-indulgence that is becoming widespread. There is a slippery slope to it. We should therefore be constantly guarded against it. For example, we can start going to the Internet for the legitimate purpose of getting information that we need. But along the way, we get distracted by something else that can appear to us as interesting. 

We take a bite, and then another bite, until we fail to realize that we are already getting entangled and hooked. It is like being hijacked. We lose our sense of direction, and before we know it, we would already have forgotten why we went to the Internet in the first place. We would be trapped in a state of obsession and addiction that can be so strong that it can defy rationality and common sense.

To counter this strong bad tendency of ours, we should see to it that our strongest attraction should be God and no other. If we make God the source and cause of all our attractions, of all our pleasures, of what ultimately gives us perfect satisfaction and ultimate fulfillment, all the other things can attract us and give us joy in the proper way, always respecting our true dignity as persons and as children of God.

Otherwise, there is no other way but for us to have merely a fake kind of joy, pleasure and satisfaction that can only lead us to bigger dangers. We really have to train ourselves to make God and to make following his will and ways the constant source and cause of our attraction and joy.

Without God, everything we do would just be vanity

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

INDEED, that is what would surely happen. Without God, despite whatever brilliance and human and worldly success we may manage to achieve through our powers alone, everything would just be an exercise of self-indulgence and vanity that would lead us nowhere other than the ultimate disaster.

That is why Christ tried his best to convince the leading Jews then and now, us, that he comes from God and that he shows us the whole truth about ourselves, the truth that would make us really free, rid of the many subtle and sweet forms of slavery and bondage that we are prone to fall into. (cfr. Jn 8,31-42)

“If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” he said. We really need to train ourselves to have a certain abiding hunger and thirst for Christ, for his word and teaching, because, as he said, that is how we would truly be free.

This training should start as early as possible, right there at home when kids are still kids. They may not understand things yet, but they would eagerly follow what the parents, teachers and elders would teach and show them. And from there, they should be slowly made to understand who they really are and how they should be.

They have to be taught in a gradual but steady way that they, and all of us, are meant to be with God always, to do everything with him and for him, explaining slowly why this is so.

That is why, parents should first be properly taught about this, since they are the first teachers of their children. And they should not be teaching by words only, but also and mainly by deeds and example. The consistency between words and deeds should be made clear for their children to see.

Why do we need to be with God always? The quick answer is because we have been made in God’s image and likeness. We are supposed to share the very life and nature of God, a basic truth about ourselves that indeed is tremendously incredible, but which has to be explained well and inculcated in children’s mind as early as the children are able to understand things.

Without God, we would just be doing things on our own, without the eternal effects that our life and all our deeds ought to have. Our life would simply be of the perishable type, since without God, we would not be able to convert the perishable things in our life into something imperishable. (cfr. 1 Cor 15,53)

Everyone should be made to realize that we need to be with God more than we need air, water and food, which obviously are our necessities. It’s indeed a big challenge to be able to see that truth and to act in accordance with it.

Obviously, this will take a long and even a life-long process that will involve studying and internalizing the truths of our Christian faith, the development of virtues, the recourse to the sacraments and to the means of continuing formation.

There definitely is a need to learn how to pray, how to offer sacrifices, and how to avail of spiritual guidance. The art of spiritual and ascetical struggle should be mastered.

But before anything else, everyone should be made to see and understand why being with God offers us the best life we can have in this world, and why being by ourselves gives us the worst condition in life despite its apparent beauty.

Human and demonic malice can only go so far

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THIS is what we can gather from the story of the beautiful Susannah who was the object of lust by two elderly men and who was falsely accused of wrongdoing because she refused to accede to their evil request. (cfr. Daniel 13,41c-62)

These two elders occupied high positions in the community, being appointed judges. This fact somehow reminds us that our capacity to do evil does not depend on how young or how old we are. 

We are capable of doing evil at any age—with the exception perhaps of the innocent children and those with certain disabilities. And the good things—wealth, talents, prestige, power, etc.—that we enjoy can be used to pursue an evil plan. In fact, the better endowed we are, the greater and graver malice we can commit.

That is why we should be most careful with whatever human and God-given gifts we may have. They should only be used and enjoyed with God always and with the good of others in mind. Using and enjoying them simply for ourselves can only mean disaster for us, sooner or later, one way or another.

The story of Susannah also reminds us that it always pays to stick to what is truly good for us, even if by so doing may involve great sacrifice. Of course, what is truly good for us is to obey the commandments of God and to carry out God’s will and ways. We should be willing to prefer suffering, and even death, if it has to come to that point, rather than to accede to do evil.

We should be wary of our tendency to react to the evil and malice inflicted on us in a purely human way. Without referring things to God, we can only become bitter and prone to fall into anger and hatred and to devise ways of how to get even with the evil doers.

We should not be afraid to be faithful to God at all costs. We know that even if we may appear to be a victim of the most heinous injustice in this life, God, in his own mysterious ways, can never be outsmarted by whatever complicated malicious plots and schemes we may encounter in life. God’s providence is all powerful, all wise and all effective. He can even draw good from evil.

And so, we should not allow ourselves to sink into unnecessary worries and anxiety when we appear to be victimized by the malice of men and the devil. They cannot go far really. Sooner or later, the truth will always come out, and justice will always be served, if not in this life, then surely in the next.

We should never sacrifice charity which should cover even those who play the role of villains in our life. Remember that Christ told us clearly that we have to love even our enemies. (cfr. Mt 5,44) Obviously, we can only do that if we truly identify ourselves with Christ.

In the end, what truly matters is that we identify ourselves with Christ. With him, nothing can bother us. As St. Paul said in his Letter to the Romans, all things, including the negative elements in our life, will work out for the good. (cfr. 8,28)

We should see to it that we are spiritually and morally healthy and strong as we tackle all the possible cases of human and demonic malice that we may encounter in our life.

Always show charity with affection

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

AN anecdote I heard some time ago taught me the lesson that charity should never be dry and cold, but rather warm, full of affection. It was about a nun who got sick and stayed in bed for days in the convent. When asked how she was treated by her companions, she said that she was treated by the nuns in the convent with charity, but she missed how her mother treated her with affection.

For charity to be true charity, there should never be a distinction between it and affection. Charity should not only be an act of the will. It should always be given and expressed with affection. 

Without affection, all signs and expressions of civility, mercy and compassion would be hollow. They would all be a sham, for affection is the beginning and end of charity, the integral packaging of love that can have its highest point in mercy and compassion. Charity without affection would be a strange charity.

And the model for this is none other than Christ himself who in spite of the seriousness of his mission—nothing less than human redemption that would have its culmination in his crucifixion—never neglected to show affection for everyone.

First, he lived 30 of his 33 years of earthly life in a family, and we can just imagine how the family atmosphere was when both Mary and Joseph knew who their son was. We can be sure that the home life the Holy Family must have been invariably characterized by affection, to say the least.

Even in his public life when Christ was busy going around preaching, he always showed affection and compassion with everyone, especially with those who were sick and possessed. With his apostles who went around with him, he always managed to spend time with them in some lonely place where they could rest and talk with greater intimacy.

It’s important that we make a deliberate effort to develop our effective life. There now are many threats and dangers that can undermine it. We can now easily take others for granted, especially those who are close to us, like the family members. 

We can easily fall into familiarity that may not breed contempt as much as it breeds indifference and unconcern. Then, there are many distractions, especially coming from our new technologies, that can hook people into endless games and other self-absorbing and self-seeking activities. In this regard, there is a great need for self-discipline and a strong sense of order and priorities.

If not the above, then we can have the dangers of perfectionism, self-righteousness, obsessive-compulsive rigidities and oversensitivity. These can imprison us in our own world that can be used as defense mechanisms such as practices such as rash judgments, the keeping of grudges and resentments, the unwillingness to forgive, etc.

There also are the dangers of sentimentalism, particular friendships, loquacity, gossiping, backbiting.

We have to learn how to deal with our unavoidable differences and even conflicts in some matters. We somehow should welcome these differences and conflicts because they serve to expand and enrich our understanding of things.

When we manage to practice affection in our family life, we actually would be putting ourselves in a good position to handle the demands of all the other aspects of our life—spiritual, professional, social, etc.

We can pray better, work better and relate ourselves better to others when we know how to be affectionate in our family life. We can be very simple, and our ability to understand people and things better, as well as to discover more things of interest in others, would be enhanced if we are affectionate with others.

Be poor to be truly rich

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THIS is what Christ proposed to his disciples, and now to us. We need to be poor, to be detached from earthly things, so we can be filled with what truly enriches us. (cfr. Mk 10,28-31)

“Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come,” he said.

We have to understand these words well which at first sight can plunge us to disbelief, since we all know that we need brothers, sisters, parents, children, friends and everyone else in our life. We need houses and money and other material resources. God himself said that we have to love everyone, including our enemies.

He also wants us to “subdue the earth.” (cfr. Gen 1,28) We certainly need to be immersed in the things of the world if we want to subdue the earth. This can only mean that we have to deal with the things of the world, not to stay away from them.

What Christ’s words mean is that nothing and no one in the world, even those who are close to us, should replace our exclusive love for God that would actually give us the proper and inclusive love for everyone and everything in the world.

It’s when we fail to begin and end with God and to be with him in the whole course of life that we would put ourselves in danger, and of failing to gain God himself and everyone and everything in our life.

For us to live by this indication of Christ, we certainly need to continually rectify our intentions as we go through all our temporal and earthly affairs. We know how easily we can be trapped in the things of the world and forget the real way of dealing with them. 

We easily think that by forgetting God or putting him aside in our earthly affairs, and then giving our full attention to the technical aspects of our affairs, we would be achieving our true fulfillment, when in fact, it would be a real loss. Such an attitude toward our earthly affairs can only show that we are attached to the things of this world and that God is actually not important to us, he who is our “all in all,” as he should be.

How then should our attitude be toward the things of the world? It is to love them the way God loves them.

We have to embody that attitude articulated in the gospel of St. John: “For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believes in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.” (Jn 3,16)

It’s a love that carries out what God, its creator, commanded our first parents to do: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it…” (Gen 1,28) “To subdue the earth” does not only mean to master and dominate it, or merely to make use and take advantage of it, although all these go into that divine command. In fact, we have to develop as much as possible the good potentials of the world.

Our worldly affairs should be motivated only by love for God, and with that love, we can love everybody and everything else properly! It’s that love which can gain us a hundredfold of what Christ promised us and of eternal life itself. This is how we can be poor to be truly rich.