Opinion
Our blindness and our faith
Though we may enjoy good vision at the moment, we have to realize that to be able to see things properly and completely, we simply do not rely on our eyes nor any of our senses.
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Fr. Roy Cimagala
Fr. Roy Cimagala is a Catholic priest and the Chaplain of the Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE) in Talamban, Cebu City. A prolific columnist and spiritual director, he provides daily theological insights and moral guidance for the modern believer. His writing bridges the gap between traditional Catholic doctrine and the complexities of contemporary Philippine life, offering a roadmap for spiritual maturity and "new creation" in Christ.
723 stories
Opinion
Always ready to meet Christ
We should never be distracted, much less, forget the real and ultimate purpose of our life. We are here on earth still being created and redeemed by God, and we have to do our part in that divine project. We are here on earth to be trained to be what God wants us to be, as well as to be tested whether what he wants us to be is also what we would want to be.
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Opinion
The need for transparency and sincerity
To be sure, our life would be much lighter and happier that way. We would unload ourselves from unnecessary burdens. What is more, we would keep our good relations with God and with others. Our life would be much simpler and properly focused on their true ultimate purpose.
500
Uncategorized
Fighting self-righteousness
Self-righteousness is a common disease since all of us have our share of pride and arrogance. We may not acknowledge it—a more insidious situation to be in since pride has tremendous blinding power—but we can fall into it from time to time, especially when we make rash judgments, easily jump to conclusions, stereotype people, making a habit of finding fault at others, etc.
1900
Opinion
Beware of legalism, formalism and political correctness
We should always be on guard against all these forms of inconsistency, always rectifying our intentions and also regularly editing our life, much like what writers do with their work before they are submitted for publication. That way, we can monitor how things are going and can have the chance to make appropriate corrections, improvements, revisions, etc.
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Opinion
‘Fortes in fide’
By Fr. Roy Cimagala THAT’S “strong in the faith” in English. The expression comes from the First Letter of St. Peter (5,9) and is made also in the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians (16,13) Both passages are made in the context of our need to be always on guard against the enemies of our soul and to be trusting of God’s will and ways. We need to make our faith strong and operative because that is how we can start and maintain our life to be a life with God as it should be. With faith, we start to share God’s knowledge of things and his power, and that is how our life should be since we are God’s image and likeness, meant to share in the very life of God. At one point, Christ lamented the common phenomenon of our lack of faith. “This generation is an evil generation,” he said. “It seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” (cfr. Lk 11,29-32) If there is no faith, we will never see the things of God and the rich reality of the truly spiritual and supernatural world, no matter how much we spin our human powers to capture this reality. Not even our powerful sciences and technologies can enter into the spiritual and supernatural reality of our life. We have to realize that our faith should not remain only in the theoretical, intellectual level. It has to be a functioning one, giving shape and direction in our thoughts and intentions, our words and deeds. In fact, it should shape our whole life. The ideal condition is for us to feel our faith immediately. Indeed, it should be like an instinct such that whatever we think, say or do, or whenever we have to react to something, it is our faith that should guide us. We have to understand that it is our faith that gives us the global picture of things, since it is God’s gift to us, a gratuitous sharing of what God knows about himself and about the whole of creation. It is meant for our own good, for us to live out our true dignity as children of God. It is a kind of knowledge that will lead us to our eternal life. It will make us relate everything in our earthly life, both the good and the bad, to this ultimate goal in life which is to be in heaven with God, a state that is supernatural. But it is a divine gift that we need to take care of. It is like a seed that has to grow until it becomes a big tree and bears fruit. For this, we really need to have a living contact with Christ who is the fullness of God’s revelation to us. He is the substance, the content and the spirit of our faith. So, the first thing that we have to do is to look for him always in whatever thing we are thinking, saying or doing. We need to check our attitudes and dispositions. Do we really look for him, in the manner spelled out by Christ himself, that is, with constancy and determination? Christ said: “Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (Mt 7,7) Of course, we have to understand that a functioning faith is also the result of being actively guided by the Church which has been given full powers by Christ to keep and teach the faith with his very own authority.
400
Opinion
Prayer keeps our love burning
It has to be our very life itself. Everything in our life should be an act of prayer, including our sleeping. Our very consciousness, our breathing, and our heartbeat should be converted into prayer.
600
Opinion
Christian poverty and the things of this world
Many times, we are given the impression that money and the Christian spirit of poverty are incompatible. To a certain extent, there is some truth to that view.
500
Opinion
Updating the story of Martha and Mary
The precious lesson the story of the two sisters offers us is that of seeing to it that everything that we do is always for the glory of God. That motive should the first, last, and constant intention of all our thoughts, words, and deeds. It should be not dislodged by any other motive, no matter how legitimate in human terms it is, and how urgent it is.
800
Opinion
Revisiting Christian poverty
THE Memorial of St. Francis Assisi (October 4) reminds us of the strategic role of poverty and detachment from earthly good in pursuing true Christian charity. And the gospel of that day reinforces this crucial theme in Christian life. It’s about the rich young man who wanted to know from Christ how to inherit eternal life. (cfr. Lk 10,25-37)
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Opinion
Refining our spirit of penance
We cannot deny that there now are many elements that would lead us to be self-absorbed and self-centered, to be just concerned about the here and now and forget about the hereafter, to be stuck with the material and temporal and ignore the spiritual and eternal. Even worse, there are now moves toward outright irreligiosity, directly contradicting God’s laws by legalizing immoral actions like abortion, etc.
700
Opinion
Be wary of bitter zeal
Bitter zeal makes a person hasty and reckless in his assessment of things. It fails to consider all angles, to listen to both sides, so to speak.
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