We have to examine ourselves to see if the house of our spiritual life is built on the foundation of rock or of sand. (cfr. Mt 7,21-29) This can be seen by the way we handle the different challenges, trials and difficulties we encounter in our life. In other words, how do we fare when we encounter the unavoidable storms of our life?
Of course, this rock is none other than Christ himself, the pattern of our humanity, the savior of our damaged humanity who gives us his own self for us to know “the way, the truth and the life” as we navigate the seas of life that are often turbulent.
But we should see to it that our relation with Christ is real and not just a matter of good intentions and sweet words. Remember him saying, “Not everyone that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that does the will of my Father.”
With these words, we are clearly reminded that we should not just be good hearers of the word of God, but rather its doers. In fact, we have to convert God’s word into our very own life.
Let’s see to it that our profession of faith is converted into a life of faith. How? We need to walk the talk, practice what we preach, bear fruit and not just leaves. We have to be consistent with our belief. And that can only happen if we are truly identified with Christ. Only with him can we live a real spiritual and supernatural life amid the things of this world. We would not get lost. We would manage to remain on track.
Let’s remember that when our words and intentions are converted into deeds, we are strengthening our integrity and consistency as a person and as a child of God. As the gospel says it, we would be like a house built on solid rock. We would be more able to bear our own weaknesses, to resist the temptations around, to carry out our duties in this life, and to continue to pursue our supernatural end to be with God in heaven.
We have to develop a unity of life where prayer, work and the several interactions we do in the different aspects of our life are integrated under the guidance of faith, avoiding fragmented life where words and action conflict.
For this, we have to see to it that our faith and love must be expressed through concrete deeds, charity and good examples, rather than just through intentions or empty words. We have to avoid hypocrisy at all costs, always living in transparency, integrity and aligning our external actions with our internal heart.
It cannot be denied that for us to achieve this goal, we would be needing constant formation that would involve constant prayer, study and reflection, humility and a lifelong ascetical struggle to overcome human weaknesses so as to align our will with God’s will.
In fact, we are expected to become nothing less than an “alter Christus” (another Christ) as we are meant to be. And this is always possible and practicable because we are already given all the means for us to be so.
The prospect may overwhelm us, but we are precisely prodded to just strengthen our faith. We are not expected to understand everything. What is expected is that we learn to live with Christ, to follow his will and ways, to discern and obey the constant promptings of the Holy Spirit. (Fr. Roy Cimagala)
