Humility, grace, love

Fr. Roy Cimagala .

WE need to be humble to attract and receive God’s grace that would enable us to do what we cannot do on our own—to be able to love everyone, including our enemies. Christ has told us, nay, commanded us to love our enemies, and that is just impossible for us to do unless we have God’s grace.

But the grace of God, which is always made available, cannot enter into our heart and would have no effect in us unless we humble ourselves, denying ourselves of our own likes and preferences and willing to carry the cross of Christ, which is the cross that“signifies everything that we do not want and also all the sins of man.

It is humility that is the gateway for God’s grace and Christ himself to enter into our lives and empowering us to do what God himself, who is all love, does. Humility involves a certain giving up, a certain dying that actually gives rise to a better life, just like a seed has to die before it bears fruits.

Remember what Christ said about this point. “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it“remains only a seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (Jn 12,24) And he continued: “Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life…” (12,24)

How important it really is to learn how to be humble, unafraid of the many inconveniences it would surely involve! To humble oneself is actually never an act of cowardice nor the misfortune of a defeat.

On the contrary, it requires a lot of courage to leave behind the nest of our comfort in order to fly to far distances, pursuing nothing less than heaven. And success and victory is assured, since Christ promised it. We should just have faith in Christ.

Humility is emptying ourselves to fill ourselves with nothing less than God himself, of whom we are supposed to be his image and likeness. Humility enables us to receive grace, and with grace we are enabled, in spite of our weaknesses and differences and conflicts among ourselves, to love everyone.

When we humble ourselves, we would reflect God’s own self-emptying as described by St. Paul: “He, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.” (Phil 2,6-8)

We have to start training ourselves to have this attitude and outlook in life. This is the sure way to be like Christ and to be able to love the way Christ loved all of us, both sinners and saints.

We need to examine ourselves to see if indeed we are ready and eager to follow this example of Christ. We need to drive away any trace of pride, vanity and conceit from our thoughts and desires.

We should regard ourselves merely as instruments, tools,“or as a rug for others to step on softly in life. This is not self-degradation, but an assertion of our true dignity as image and likeness of God, children of his. This is what it means to be another Christ, who is our way, truth and life.

Everyday, we need to make some kind of plan and strategy to turn this ideal into a concrete reality. Indeed, if we have a mind to follow Christ, we actually have more than enough possibilities everyday to do so. We do not need special occasions for this possibility to take place.

Humbling ourselves truly enables us to receive God’s grace and to love all!

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Don’t delay, just begin again. This is a good advice for those who are trapped in a predicament that tempts them to plunge into hopelessness and despair. We should not delay in having to begin and begin again, no matter how many times we have to do it. We just have to move on. God is always merciful.

Whatever failures or sins we may have committed, no matter how grave and ugly they are, we just have to go to him, asking for forgiveness and he will forgive us. We just have to move on.

Remember the parable of the prodigal son. That spoiled brat finally came to his senses after suffering so much for his stupidity and decided to go back to his father even if he would not anymore be considered his son. The father welcomed him back with great joy and restored him to his dignity.

The important thing is just to come home. We may have strayed from the right way and have done it knowingly and freely, and therefore with guilt. But God is always a father. He will never reject his son.

In other words, we should just come home. It’s understandable that we can present ourselves to God with shame and fear, but let’s be reassured that God will always take us back most happy with our return.

This piece of advice is most relevant to those who suffer from some persistent weakness and misery that tempt them to fall sad and depressed. And many people nowadays find themselves in this predicament. They try their best to be and do good, but somehow one day they fall again into the same weakness or sin.

At the beginning, they manage to go back to God asking for forgiveness without difficulty. But since they seem to be falling to the same predicament in spite of their resolutions and effort, they feel that they are already hopeless, that they are already abusing God’s goodness, that they are insincere and are hypocrites.

These thoughts and reactions usually are the ones suggested by the devil who take advantage of our sadness and sorrow to inflict a greater harm on us. He will do everything to convince us that we are a hopeless case. We should be forewarned of this possibility.

There is no denying that while we are here on earth, we will always be hounded by all kinds of trials coming from our weaknesses, the allurements of the world and the wiles of the devil.

With our weaknesses alone, we already have a lot of load, and they can be very disgusting. Something in us will always push us to be and to do good, and we try to follow that urge. Yet, for one reason or another, we would just fail. This can happen even in the most unlikely moment when we are in the middle of sacred act.

We have to remind ourselves that our condition here on earth is always precarious and tenuous. We may be highly gifted, and yet we know that we have feet of clay. We should not be surprised and too worried about this condition of ours. We know that God is always around. The important thing is always to go back to him, no matter what happens. He will always receive us with open arms.

In this regard, it would be good that we develop a deep sense of sportsmanship in our spiritual and moral life. We may commit a mistake often, we may also be fouled by others many times, but we should just get up and move on with the game of life whose end is surely a victory as long as we go back to God.

We have to have that attitude of having to begin and begin again, without delay and without tiring as much possible. Let’s never pay attention to the devil’s whisper that we are already a hopeless case. We are not. We never will be, with God.

E-mail: roycimagala@gmail.com