From out of nothing but out of love, God created man after His likeness. We are all born of a Father who destined us to be his children according to his purpose (cf Eph 1:5). “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God” (1 Jn 3:1). Giving life to man is His joy. “My delight is to be among the sons of men” (Prov 3:31).
The awareness that we are all “members of the household of God” (Eph 2:19) should also fill us with joy. For our very existence here on earth is no mere accident. Each person is, in the words of Pope John Paul II, a “unique and irrepeatable human reality’ (Redemptor hominis, 13; Carvajal and Beteta, Children of God, 4). Everybody has a role to play in God’s master plan.
But the gift of life received by us, the grace of being the “children of so wonderful a Father” (Escriva, Friends of God, 26), exacts from us the duty to live as He desires, and that is “to enter into a communion with God” (id, Christ is Passing By, 100).
Our vocation then is to live and to love as children of God, in the midst of our daily activities, in our relations, and at every moment. “We are children of God all day long” (Conversations with Monsignor Escriva de Balaguer, 102).
One who desires to live a life befitting a child of God has a model. Striving for holiness is no more and no less than imitating Jesus Christ. “To be holy is to be a good Christian, to resemble Christ. The more closely a person resembles Christ, the more Christian he is, the more he belongs to Christ, the holier he is” (id, the Forge, 10).
Identifying with Christ entails seeking him, finding him, knowing him and loving him.
Seeking Christ means to put him in the center of our life, accepting with all humility that without him, we can do nothing (Jn 15:5). We are searching for Christ in the way we are struggling to become better persons, by overcoming defects in our character, by working harder, by being kinder and friendlier, and by being more sensitive to the needs of others. The beautiful paradox of seeking Christ is by becoming like him in our daily relationships.
“Truly, to seek Christ is, in a way, to have found him already. He arranges for us to cross his path, if only we seek him” (Children of God, op cit, 35). We find Christ in the Gospel. “It’s not enough to have a general idea of the spirit of Jesus’ life; we have to learn the details of his life and through these, his attitudes. And especially we must contemplate his life, to derive strength, light, serenity, peace. When you love someone, you want to know all about his life and character, so as to become like him. That is why we have to meditate on Jesus’s life, from his birth in a stable up to his death and resurrection” (id, Christ in Passing By, 107).
We also find Christ in the sacraments, especially in reconciliation and in the Holy Eucharist. When we fall into sin for any reason, we do not despair, but like the prodigal son, we return to our Father’s merciful embrace through a contrite confession. Receiving the Holy Eucharist in as many days of the week as possible increases Christ’s presence in our lives. “Those who feel they are children of God have an overpowering need of Christ” (id, The Forge, 830).
Through prayer, we learn more about Christ. “There is only one way to become more familiar with God, to increase our trust in him. We must come to know him through prayer; we musk speak to him and show him through a heart to heart conversation, that we love him” (id, Friends of God, 294). This constant dialogue with God is carried out not only during certain moments of the day, but throughout the day: while doing house chores, or while studying or working. Though we are not consciously thinking God, our daily activities become immersed in God and are elevated to prayer.
Christian life does not consist in “much thinking, but in much loving” (St. Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle, 4:17; Children on God, op cit., 41). “In the hour of our death," said Mother Theresa, “when we come face to face with God, we are going to be judged on love – not how much we have done, but how much love we put into our actions.” Love is a verb. Loving God is shown in action, for love is expressed in deeds, not sweet words. Love comes alive in the small courtesies we practice, the gentleness of our manners, graciousness of our words, as well as in our little acts of kindness and respect especially for the least of our brothers and sisters, those who are in no position to repay us.
The miracle of God’s love is it is inexhaustible. The more we are in love with Christ, the more we give his love to others, the more love we received from him, the more we make him live in us, and the more we grow in our love of him.
No comments:
Post a Comment