Some indices of personal growth

Fr. Roy Cimagala .

NO matter how imperfect and non-conclusive, it is always helpful that priests, or anybody who has the duty to take care of others, like parents and teachers, avail of some measurements or indices that can show if there is progress and development in the personal life of the those under their care.

These indices will help them to be very effective in their work, which means that they are truly helping those under their care.

Besides, these indices would allow them to discover more areas that need to be looked into in their effort to guide souls. They can serve as leading and directing guide to discover the more specific needs of the people.

Obviously, priests, and the others similarly situated, should have a clear plan of formation for those under their care.

Depending on the concrete conditions of the parties involved, this plan of formation may include doctrine classes, periods of recollection and retreat, personal chats and mentoring, administering of the sacraments, especially confession and the Holy Mass, etc.

This plan of formation should cover the different aspects of personal growth toward maturity. These can be in the human, doctrinal, spiritual, apostolic and professional aspects. The different virtues have to be explained well. Same with the doctrine of our faith. The art of praying, making sacrifices, waging spiritual struggle have to be taught. Concern for others has to instilled. Love for study and work has to be instilled.

These activities in this plan of formation should be adapted to the level of the persons involved. We have to avoid being too theoretical or the other extreme of being too practical in these means of formation. And they have to be delivered in such a way that those who receive them would really appreciate them. As much as possible, the priests and others should show consistency between what they preach and what they do.

With this plan of formation taken care of, the priests and the others similarly entrusted with the duty to take care of people have to see to it that some progress and development can be observed in the life of those they are giving guidance.

For me, with the students that I am taking care of, I look first of all if there is an improvement in the way they take care of their appearance and their relation with others, that is, if they are cultivating social skills which in some concrete terms means they do less bullying and are learning to be more refined in their speech.

I also look into how they are overcoming their shyness, especially in approaching the sacraments of confession and the Holy Mass. If they come to see me for some chat and spiritual direction and eventually to open up his personal life and have a confession, I would know that the student is improving spiritually.

When they invite their friends to see me also, then I know that they are developing an apostolic spirit. And when their grades improve, I also would know that they are acquiring the proper discipline of studying.

I also look into their classrooms and see if they are clean and orderly, the lights and fans turned off when these rooms are empty. I also try to see if the noise they create are in proportion to the specific circumstance they are in at a given moment.

It is a matter of accompanying them, motivating them and opening to them new horizons, new goals to reach. In this regard, it is important that we win their friendship and confidence.

Of course, they can commit mistakes and offenses against school policies anytime. And when these happen, it is important that they realize that they will always be understood even if some appropriate penalties would be given.

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To be truly Christ-like. Knowing that as a human person we are patterned after Christ, we should aim at making ourselves more and more like him. This should be our constant daily concern. All our other concerns in this life, no matter how important and urgent they may be, should be subordinated to this primordial one.

To be sure, this fundamental desire does not undermine our humanity. If anything at all, it will only bring us to our human perfection. We should not be afraid to give priority to this desire, for it can only put all our other plans and ambitions in their proper order.

To be truly Christ-like would, of course, require that we know Christ through and through. This will certainly ask of us that we, at least, read and meditate on the gospel regularly, for it is where we can find Christ. As St. Jerome famously said: “Ignorance of the Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” We have to make it a daily habit to read, study and meditate on the Bible. With our new technologies, this should not be difficult to do.

To be truly Christ-like would, of course, be an endless affair. We can never say we are definitively Christ-like, since we can never exhaust the richness of Christian life no matter how much effort we exert. We just have to try and try. At least, everyday we should be able to say that we are becoming more and more like Christ in a specific aspect.

Definitely, if we want to be truly Christ-like, we should be full of goodness and love. We should reach out to everybody, no matter how difficult that would be or how undeserving the others may be of our care and attention. Like Christ, we have to be willing to empty ourselves so as to identify ourselves with everybody. We have to fan into a bursting fire this desire to serve others.

Like Christ, we have to assume the attitude of wanting to serve everybody and not to be served. We have to be wary of our tendency to fall easily to a sense of self-importance or conceit. Like Christ, we have to be willing to “wash and kiss the feet” of everybody.

Like Christ, we have to love our enemies, and to bear the burden of everybody, willing to replicate in our life the very passion and death of Christ, so that we too can join him in his resurrection.

We should be willing to offer mercy to everyone as well as to ask for pardon for our own sins.

We also have to understand that our identification with Christ can be achieved sacramentally. Aside from baptism and confirmation, let us see to it that we regularly go to confession and receive Christ in the Eucharist.

Like Christ, we have to pray constantly, keeping an abiding conversation with our Father God. We have to learn how to pray in all situations and circumstances of our life, be it happy or sad, light or heavy.

Like Christ, we have to have a sharp hunger for souls. The apostolic dimension of our life should be considered essential and indispensable. Wherever we are, whatever be our situation, the apostolic concern should always be in our mind and heart. We should always be praying for souls and thinking of how we can help them get back to God.

Like Christ, we have to offer everything in our life to God. We have to learn to give up everything for God, to live true detachment from earthly things even as we continue to use them. We have to reach that point that we are willing to offer our life to God, unafraid of death and all the suffering that goes with dying. All these to a heroic degree!

E-mail: roycimagala@gmail.com