Lavish or austere?

 THOUGHTS AND VIEWS

Fr. Roy Cimagala

IN our liturgical celebrations, we can either be lavish or austere depending on the circumstances. What is important is what is in our heart—whether there is real love or not, whether there is a sincere effort to worship and please God or we are just making a show, whether we are making present the redemptive action of Christ or just playing games.
    We are somehow reminded of this consideration in that gospel episode where Christ observed some wealthy men putting their offerings into the treasury while a poor widow just put in two small coins, and praised the widow more than the wealthy people since the widow put in all that she had while the wealthy men put what was an extra thing for them. (cfr. Lk 21,1-4)
    Obviously, if our motives are sincere and our understanding about the liturgy is clear, we would really give the best that our capabilities can give. If we can give diamonds instead of just gold, then we would do it. We can never give enough to God.     We can never be too extravagant in this regard.
    But if all we can afford are just stones and pebbles picked up from the road, no problem. God looks at the heart more than the things we give him. And to God, there is no more precious thing than our heart if it is fully given to him. One good heart, faithful and full of love for God and others, is worth much more, infinitely more, than a world of precious gems.
    What we have to avoid at all costs is hypocrisy in our liturgical celebrations. If we are really sincere in our liturgical celebrations, we will do and give our best. Even those little details of kneeling, genuflecting, singing and praying should be done in such a way that genuine piety can readily be seen. Such behavior not only would draw more graces from God but also would inspire others in their own piety.
    I am happy to note that there is a marked improvement in the way our churches are built and furnished these days. The altars, the reredos, the ambos and the general interior decoration are being done in a splendid manner. The sacred vessels and vestments, the linens have, in general, improved in quality.
    They somehow show the kind of faith and piety of the people in general, even if we also know that we still have a lot of economic difficulty around. They somehow show people’s knowledge of what truly matters in this life, what truly gives them eternal joy and not just a transient one. Their sense of beauty transcends the economic costs and all other sacrifices involved.
We just have to make sure that our liturgical celebrations are done with the proper dispositions. This is something that has to be studied and put into practice, since it is no joke to be involved in the liturgy properly either as a celebrant or a participant.
    To be sure, the liturgy is not just some kind of dramatization. It is nothing less than the making present and effective of Christ’s sacrifice and his entire redemptive action. Both the celebrants and those who attend the celebrations should never miss this reality and should act accordingly. In the liturgy, everyone steps into the spiritual and supernatural world where Christ works out our redemption.
    Again, this requires of us to have a deeply theological mind, where faith more than anything else rules all our human faculties.
    Email: roycimagala@gmail.com
 

THOUGHTS AND VIEWS

This business of wrapping up

Fr. Roy Cimagala

WE have to learn how to wrap up our daily activities so that at the end of the day we can present to God what we have done in obedience to his command for us to be fruitful and productive in this life.
    We are reminded of this aspect of our Christian life in that gospel episode where some people asked Christ about when the Kingdom of God would appear. But Christ, instead of answering them directly, told them the parable of a nobleman who, before leaving on a journey, gave his 10 servants some gold coins and instructed them to do business with them. (cfr. Lk 19,11-28)
    In other words, Christ told them not to worry so much about when the Kingdom of God would appear. Instead, they should be more concerned about how they should be doing in their temporal affairs because only when they do well in this area would they be properly prepared for the Kingdom of God when it finally comes.
    We have to realize that what Christ told those people is also what he telling us now. Instead of being too concerned about the end of time and Judgment Day, what we should rather do is to see to it that we are always prepared for them by carrying out our duties in this life as best that we can. In short, that we should be as fruitful and productive as we can be in obedience to what God commands us.
    This concern will obviously involve that practice of planning and managing our earthly affairs well so that we can be fruitful and productive as God wants us to be. As much as possible, we should avoid leaving our affairs purely to chance. It’s definitely helpful to have some kind of a to-do list, and to establish a proper focus, always wary of the many possible distractions that can come along way.
    Thus, we should realize that the practice of wrapping up our daily affairs is a must. It’s a way of summarizing our daily affairs, hopefully bringing them to good conclusion. It’s a way of monitoring the progress of our daily duties, making some kind of balance sheet, tying some loose ends, and preparing the so-called deliverables.
    We should inculcate the need of developing this practice to everyone, especially the young ones who are often distracted and trapped in their own world, unable to relate themselves to the ultimate purpose of our life.
    In this regard, it’s important that everyone gets to have a truly global picture of life, developing a sense of time that is connected to eternity. We have to realize that what would truly connect time with eternity is when whatever we do here on earth is done with faith, hope and charity with God as the main object and all the others as an unavoidable accompaniment of the exercise of these virtues.
    We should not be doing things with purely earthly and temporal goals only. We need to refer them to our eternal goal with God. That is why, St. Paul said, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10,31)
    We should learn how to make everything we do as a form of prayer. St. Paul articulated this truth when he said, “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thes 5,17) And this is always possible and practicable since all that is needed is the awareness that everything we do is done with God and for God. -- Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THOUGHTS AND VIEWS

Developing a keen sense of management and accountability

Fr. Roy Cimagala

THAT’S what we are reminded of in that gospel parable about a man who embarked on a journey and entrusted all his possessions to his 3 servants, giving them different amounts of talents. (cfr. Mt 25,14-30) When the man returned from the journey, he asked for an accounting of what he gave them. And we know how that parable ended.
    In our life, we should try to develop a keen sense of management and accountability over all the things God has entrusted us with. Obviously, this will require first of all that we are clear and strong about our Christian faith so we would know what our life here on earth is all about.
    We cannot deny that even among Christians, many do not exactly know what the ultimate purpose of our life here on earth is. They take things for granted, or they just allow themselves to drift to wherever life’s many currents and forces would bring them.
    We should realize very deeply that God’s first mandate to men, through our first parents, was: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living things that moves upon the earth.” (Gen 1,28)
    In other words, everything that we do here on earth should be in obedience to this original mandate from God in whose image and likeness we have been created. There should be nothing that we do in this life that is not in keeping with obeying this original commandment from our Creator.
    We cannot say that what we are doing is purely a personal project of ours, or that it is just matter between our family and us, between our bosses and us, etc. Everything that we do should first of all be a matter between God and us.
    And so, we need to manage well what God has given us, such that we follow as best that we could what he has commanded us. Thus, we need to expand and deepen our sense of management and accountability to cover not only our businesses and other earthly concerns, but also and first of all our spiritual life.
    We should be accountable not only to ourselves, to our family and to some other earthly superiors, bosses and authorities, but also and most especially to God. After all, he is the original and ultimate boss, our common father and creator of all.
    And, of course, the parameters and standards to be used should not just be the temporal and worldly, but rather the spiritual, moral and supernatural. We need to educate ourselves in this sense of management and accountability proper to us.
We even have to account for the words we speak, as attested in this passage of St. Matthew’s gospel: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (12,36-37)
    St. Paul in his Letter to the Romans also said that “each of us will give an account of himself to God.” (14,12) And in his second letter to the Corinthians, he said: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (5,10) -- Email: roycimagala@gmail.com