Fr. Roy Cimagala
THIS we should remember always. Everything in our life, in the different aspects and dimensions of our life, and in the different possibilities and scenarios our life can take, irrespective of whether they are good or bad humanly or naturally speaking, or even spiritually and supernaturally speaking, can and should be related to God who knows what to do with them.
We should avoid the pitfall of thinking that there are certain things and situations, certain concerns, issues and affairs in our life where God has no role to play. God is in everything. His interventions in our life are constant and abiding, and are meant to lead everything to him who is the beginning and end of all things.
His providence is both immediate and eternal, direct and transcendent, and as such, he infuses his wisdom and power, his truth and justice, his mercy and compassion, etc. into everything in our life.
Our part is at least to be aware of this reality and to cooperate with his providence as much as we can, since we are his image and likeness. We need to spark our faith into action and to keep it working as much as possible, because only through faith can we enter into this sublime reality and play the role proper to us.
As Creator, God cannot withdraw his presence and governance in all of his creation. And that’s simply because as Creator, God gives and keeps the very existence of everything he has created.
He does not only make things and then leave them behind, as if these things can have their independent existence, as happens when we make things. God as Creator cannot leave us, since he is the very source, support and end of our existence.
Without him, we revert to nothing. And if we think we can be on our own without God, then we would just be left to our own devices, and our estimations of what is true, good and beautiful in life, of what is the source and purpose of our life would actually have no objective and radical basis. Everything will be subjective.
We have to learn to detect the presence of God, to know his will and to cooperate with his ways. We have to learn to look for him and find him, even in the most ordinary things in our life.
As St. Josemaria Escriva once said: “There is something holy, something divine hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each of you to discover it.” God is everywhere. A psalm describes this truth well: “If I go up the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” (139.8)
We cannot say that in our intellectual and creative work, for example, when we do a lot of discoveries and inventions, God is not there. Neither in our business and politics, in our sports and entertainment, could we say God is not there.
The independence and autonomy we enjoy in our earthly affairs does not mean that God is not involved in them. God is the author and the lawgiver of our independence and autonomy, and he is right in the middle of all these affairs.
The least thing we can do in this regard is to acknowledge God as the ultimate author of what we discover and invent, and of what we get involved in, and then to thank him for them.
And from there, we can try to discern the purpose God has in our discoveries and inventions, and in all our earthly and temporal affairs. Otherwise, we would just end up misusing and abusing them. We end up corrupted and corrupting others.
Especially in situations of crisis, challenges, issues, and yes, grave mistakes and sin, we need to realize more deeply that we have to relate them to God. Doing so will make us see the objective picture of these things, and would enable us to grapple with them properly.
He has the ultimate answer to all our questions, the ultimate cure to all our disorders, the ultimate mercy to all our mistakes and sins. What we cannot solve humanly speaking, God always can, in his own way.
So, instead of keeping to ourselves when these predicaments come our way, we should rush to him, not to renege on our duties, but rather to be where the ultimate solution can be found.
Our mistakes and sins should no alienate us from God. With humility, with sorrow, they should occasion the need for us to go to him.
E-mail: roycimagala@gmail.com
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