Toughness amid unavoidable scandals

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

YES, we have to be tough, with the toughness of charity, amid the unavoidable scandals in the world. Christ already warned us about this. “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur,” he said. (Lk 17,1) We should just be prepared for this condition in our life.

While those who cause scandals in others would be severely punished—"It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.” (Lk 17,2)—we should avoid reacting to these unavoidable scandals by falling into a lack of charity.

If we have the charity that Christ commands us to live, we would know how to deal with these eventualities, willing to suffer and be patient while thinking of how we can help those who cause these scandals and those who are victimized by them.

As St. Paul said, true charity “does not rejoice over iniquity, but rejoices in truth. Charity suffers all, believes all, hopes all, endures all.” (1 Cor 13,7) It’s indeed a big challenge to live by that charity, but with God’s grace which we should always ask, we know that we can hack it.

What we should always do is to be most mindful of our words and deeds, because no matter how insignificant they may seem, we may already cause a scandal in others. And we also have to strengthen our defenses against scandals, so that instead of thinking badly, for example, of someone due to what we have seen or heard, we are ready to understand and help.

And scandal need not be in the sexual department only which is already a grave sin. It may only be a matter of gossip of any kind, as long as we cause another person to sin by thinking badly of someone or by leading him to have some critical thoughts, mental reservations, rash judgments, etc.

Of course, we have to distinguish between the temptation of scandal and the sin of scandal itself. Temptation is only temptation and is not yet a sin because we have not yet consented to it, though we may already be attracted to it. The sin of scandal is when we consent to the temptation and, worse, when we enjoy it and spread it around.

What we should always realize is we have a duty, as Christians, to always give good examples to others. Not that we have to flaunt whatever good thing we have or do, doing some kind of virtue signalling, for Christ clearly said also that we should not show off our good deeds before men, to be seen by them, lest we lose our reward in heaven. (cfr. Mt 6,1)

We have to be aware that we always have to give good examples to others for the sole purpose of leading others to God. It is to edify others, to encourage them to be holy and to pursue the path of sanctity in an abiding way.

This duty, therefore, should be carried out deliberately. It should somehow be planned and aimed at. It should not just be something incidental or something optional. Of course, this duty should not be done out of pride or vanity, but out of obedience to the will of God who wants to save all men. (cfr. 1 Tim 2,4)

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

Charity requires toughness

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          WHEN Christ talked about the lost sheep and how the good

shepherd would do everything to find it (cfr. Mt 18,12-14), he must be

telling us that we should be tough in our love and care for one

another, such that even if someone is in grave error, we should do our

best to help and save him rather than leave him to remain lost.

          This is the charity Christ is showing us. It’s the charity

that is meant for us. With God’s grace, let us learn to develop that

charity, cultivating the relevant allied virtues of optimism, patience

and fidelity, so that instead of being turned off or scandalized by

the evils of others, we would even rev up our concern and solicitude

for those in some form of disorder.

          We need to be tough in this life, otherwise we will fail to

follow Christ who is the epitome of how we should be since he is the

pattern of our humanity, the savior of our damaged humanity, the “way,

the truth and the life” for us.

          Christ was tough to carry out his mission of saving us. He

knew from the beginning that he would be betrayed by someone close to

him, that he would suffer and die a most ignominious death, but these

did not deter him from pursuing his mission. His love for us was and

is such that he can take on anything that would come his way.

          Christ already warned us of the kind of suffering to expect

in our life. “They will seize and persecute you,” he said. (Lk 21,12)

“You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and

friends, and they will put some of you to death.” (Lk 21,16)

          All these should not affect our charity. If anything at all,

we should even be more charitable with those who give us trouble.

Thus, St. Paul described such charity when he said that “love bears

all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all

things.” (1 Cor 13,7) Christ already reassured us that as long as

suffer with him, we will also have the victory of his resurrection.

          In other words, we have to learn how to be friends with

everyone regardless of how they are, because only then can we help

them to attain the ultimate goal common to all of us. We also have to

learn how to deal with any situation, no matter how difficult and

ugly, not so much in physical terms as in the spiritual and moral. If

we are truly Christian, we would have his desire “not to condemn the

world but to save.” (cfr. Jn 3,17)

          As one saint said it, we should be willing to go to the very

gates of hell, without entering it, of course, if only to save a soul.

This obviously would require of us to be tough and clear about the

real goal to reach, and yet flexible and adaptable to any person and

to any condition.

          In this regard, we have to learn how to fraternize with

sinners. We have to replicate Christ’s attitude towards sinners, who

actually are all of us—of course, in varying degrees. We have to give

special attention to the lost sheep and to the lost coin. We have to

open all possible avenues to be in touch with all sinners.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com