In a day and age when we are being bombarded by so many voices, telling us how to think, what is popular, who is influential, and why it is important for us to listen to this or follow that person and thought, we feel a tug of war game being played between the powers of the world as they try to pull us from God. We feel tired, frustrated, and agitated all the time, as we have very little time or even know how to rest. At the end of the day, we have very little to offer to the Lord because we are too exhausted, bitter, or angry at someone or something that we cannot really focus on how to spend time with Him or be present with the people who care for us. So, we have to be honest in asking ourselves, is our life worth living, and do we really belong to Christ, or are we vainly trying to hold on to what is pitifully ours?
So many of us feel like it is full of doom and gloom because we have given up on humanity, society, and even God Himself. We have no hope or anything that is really meaningful in giving us the strength to live more than what is going on in front of us or presented to us. The news media do not help, and what is even sadder is that even some so-called Catholic news agencies have caught on and bought into the sensationalistic “news” that seeks and triggers reactionary counter-action. It makes me sad to see that even our Catholic news reporting institutions have adopted and become like every other secular organization. No wonder there have been more divisions, questions, and doubts instilled amongst the believers! When we become like everyone else, losing our transcendental focus and integrity, we allow the Devil to be at work in sowing distrust and division within the Mystical Body of Christ.
From the beginning of the Church and throughout our history, we have had people who were very worldly and political. There were priests, bishops, cardinals, and even popes who chased after the things of this world instead of following the Gospel. Perhaps they all began with good intentions; however, worldly goods and the egocentric desires to secure what seems to be good in the eyes of the world can creep in very easily and quickly. From the beginning, we have had people — even saints — who disliked each other or disagreed with one another on how the Church should be. This is where dialogue should take place, discernment of spirits needs to happen, and charity has to be the foundation instead of self-righteous singularity. When we stop short on the personal practice of charity to truly love, listen, and learn from others, we become arrogant and full of ourselves.
Does it really matter if this or that person is not good enough for our standards? Does it really matter if this or that person is a priest, bishop, or cardinal and they are not up to our liking? We often spend so much time talking about the things that we cannot change, point out the faults and shortcomings of others, but have not taken the time to personally change ourselves to become more Christlike through our own personal life of discipleship. When the Lord chose His disciples, He did not choose the perfect and high-pedigree ones! As a matter of fact, He chose people from different paths of life, some who were on the extremes of one another, too, but they all came together to follow Him. He taught and formed them with kindness and truth! They chose to love each other because they loved Him.
Therefore, we have to be honest with our very own life of faith, too, whether we have personally chosen to love our neighbors, brothers and sisters in Christ, especially those we do not agree with or like!?! Do we find reasons to trust the Lord and pray for those who are hard to love or ones who tell us to simply blame others and walk away from the faith? I have seen many demanding and self-righteous people in my life, but too few have chosen to truly love and embrace the call to care for people who are outside of their circles or comfort zones. I have seen a disturbing increase in vicious, vocal, and arrogant people who think that they are better than others, but leave no room for genuine charity or the work of grace.
No matter how a person might be, it is important that we never cast them out without the kind and loving act of prayer for their conversion and transformation. The grace of God is still at work in this world, for us and for everyone. Even when we have to discipline and correct a person’s errors and mistakes, we ourselves cannot close the door that is reserved for God Himself. If we quickly cast someone out, we need to ask ourselves whether we are really just and charitable, just as He has been faithful and merciful to us — even when we strayed away from Him. Think about this… If God never gave up on us, who are we to be so short-tempered and self-righteous when someone is not up to our standards or made a mistake?
We have to discipline and be just to teach the truth, but we also have to be grounded in the mercy of God to never give up on the person! We have to pray that they recognize their errors, accept His mercy, seek forgiveness, and be willing to change their ways — even if it is at the last moment of their life. We have to trust and believe that those who repent to inherit the Kingdom! Even though they will have to pay for their mistakes and the consequences of life’s choices, they will one day join the holy ones in the Heavenly Kingdom.
We have to remember that not everyone will be great in the Kingdom; many of us will be in the least. As a matter of fact, I am not looking to be great in Heaven because I know that I still struggle to love Him, and I have a long way to go, so I am doing my best just to enter the Kingdom! This is my hope and what I am working toward each day, even though there are definitely challenging times in my life. This is not a competition or a contest of self-righteous justification. We all try our best to be genuine, honest, and choose to love the Lord each and every day. And when we fail, we need to be humble, seek pardon and forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and try our best to amend our lives.
So, let me ask you again… Is the world winning in captivating our hearts and controlling our lives, or do we belong to Christ? Do we try to have everything under our control, yelling, puffing, and pouting when we do not get things our way with “MINE!” Or, do we try our best to let go and choose to love Him so that everything we have is Christ? My brothers and sisters, we all struggle because the sin of pride is deeply ingrained within us and is very well alive in our very own lives of faith. As broken people, we struggle each and every day to put Him first instead of ourselves, but we cannot simply give up and give in to what is easier, comforting, and egocentric… we must choose Christ! Therefore, let us step back from what the world is trying to dictate and control as we try to humble ourselves and allow Him to be our everything.