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By Fr. Roy Cimagala
Chaplain
Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)
Talamban, Cebu City
Email: roycimagala@gmail.com
ALL these stories about the appearances of the risen Christ to his disciples simply remind us that in spite of our limited condition here on earth, we are meant to enjoy an infinite state of life in our definitive life in heaven. And this infinite state of life is actually assured of us as long as we keep at least a shred of faith in Christ.
We should therefore keep this idealistic attitude toward our life in general even as we also have to be realistic about it, considering the many limitations and varying conditions that characterize our existence here on earth. In a sense, we have to be both idealistic and realistic in this life. And the secret is nothing other than to keep ourselves close to Christ, knowing, loving and serving him.
That’s when all the material, temporal and other negative elements in our life, like our weaknesses, mistakes and failures, our sins, etc., can enjoy the redemptive character of Christ’s mission here on earth, converting them into means of our own salvation, of our own reconciliation with God, of regaining our original dignity and identity as children of God, sharers of his divine nature and life.
That’s when all the perishable elements in our life can acquire an imperishable character. That’s when we can leap from the finite character of our earthly life to the infinite state of our definitive life in heaven. And this can take place as long as we see and understand things in a theological way, that is, with faith, hope and charity, and live according to it.
We have to cultivate this theological mind, which is actually necessary for us but which we have to do freely. Theological thinking is actually not an optional thing. With this theological thinking, we would be able to see Christ in everything.
This finds basis on the fact that God is everywhere. He is our creator who gives us and the whole world our existence and keeps it. With Christ who is the Son of God who became man to redeem us, God identifies with each one of us.
The Catechism expresses this truth in this way: “Christ enables us to live in him all that he himself lived, and he lives it in us...the Son of God has in a certain way united himself with each man...” (CCC 521)
Also with this theological thinking, we would be able to relate everything to God, as it should, regardless if in human terms it is good or bad.
As a creation of God, everything in the world can and should actually lead us to him. Nothing in it is non-relatable to God. Everything in it comes from him and belongs to him. There is no dead spot in it where God is absent or irrelevant.
Our sciences, arts and technologies can only discover the laws and the ways of nature that have been created by God. We do not create these natural laws. We just discover them and make use of them.
As such, we have to at least thank God for whatever usefulness we can find in the things of the world. But more than that, we should try to discern how the things of this world play in the all-embracing providence of God over his creation, since we also have a role to play in that providence. God somehow makes us as his living and loving instruments in governing the world.
This is how we can turn the perishable to the imperishable, enabling us to leap from the finite character of our earthly life to the infinite state of definitive life in heaven.
