New Year through Mary

THOUGHTS AND VIEWS

Fr. Roy Cimagala

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone! Once again, we begin a new year and let’s hope that as another year starts, we can truly say that we are getting stronger in our resolve to pursue the real purpose of our life here on earth.
    Liturgically, January 1 celebrates the divine motherhood of Mary which tells us a lot of amazing things. From the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians, for example, we are told this wonderful, if incredible, truth about ourselves, about who we really are:
     “When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, made of a woman, made under the law: that he might redeem them who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying: Abba, Father. So, you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then also an heir, through God.” (4,4-7)
    We need to process these words slowly so they may sink into our very consciousness and start to live them out. Hopefully, we can little by little overcome whatever disbelief and awkwardness we can feel about this truth about ourselves.
    Of great help to us in this regard is to have a deepening devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus and our mother. If we try our best to imitate her faith in God, we too, despite all the difficulties and effort involved, can somehow also incarnate Jesus in our own lives. We are actually meant for that, since we are patterned after him and he is also the savior of our humanity that has been wounded by our sins.
    With Mary always in our mind and heart, we would always be led to Christ. She would teach us how to find Christ in everything that we do, no matter how mundane things are. Even the little ordinary things we deal with everyday can be an occasion to have an encounter with Christ as well as a chance to be like Christ as we should. As one saint had put it, Mary is the shortest, surest and safest way to Jesus.
    If we truly have Mary in our mind and heart, then we can learn how to always ponder the truths of our faith and to act on them. (cfr. Lk 2,19) Yes, we can develop a contemplative life even right in the hustle and bustle of our earthly affairs. Yes, we are all meant to be contemplatives because we need to be aware that we are meant to live our life with God and with everybody else.
    We are never alone. Feeling alone is an anomaly in our life. As persons, endowed with intelligence and will, we are meant to be always in relation with God and with everybody else. This potential of ours should be actualized. We need to find ways of how to actualize such potential.
    We need to see to it that we should always feel the urge to pray, to engage with God, to be with him. If we do not feel that urge yet, let’s convince ourselves that we have something most important to work on. Thus, like the disciples of Christ, impressed by how Christ was to them, we should beg him to teach us how to pray. (cfr. Lk 11,1-4)
Again, Happy New Year, everyone! And good luck! -- Email: roycimagala@gmail.com
 

 
THOUGHTS AND VIEWS

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Never feeling entitled

THE gospel reading of the Mass on December 29, the 5th day of the Christmas Octave, brings to our consideration the example of Mary and Joseph who complied with the legal custom at that time of presenting the Child Jesus in the temple. (cfr. Lk 2,22-35)
    Given who the child was and who they were, they should have known that they were completely exempted from complying with such law. But they did go just to the same, never feeling entitled because of the highest privilege and honor they enjoyed as being chosen as the parents of the very Son of God. What an example they give us!
    In the process, that gesture of theirs also played out a providential event because a man, Simeon by name, who was promised not to see his death until he could meet the promised Redeemer, had that promise fulfilled.
    In that momentous meeting, Simeon pronounced a prophecy about the child and Mary—that the child would be a sign of contradiction, and that a sword would pierce Mary’s heart so that the thoughts of many would be revealed.
    All these should make us realize that we too, if we are to be consistent in our Christian life, should expect to be some sign of contradiction also, and that some sword would also pierce our own heart.
    We should not be afraid to encounter these scenarios in our life, and should just be prepared. In fact, we should expect these things to happen in our life, what with all the differences and conflicts we are already having these days, not only in matters of opinion, but also in matters of belief and morals.
    But we really have no reason to fear nor to worry. If our faith is strong, deep and abiding, we know that God is always around. How many times did Christ tell his apostles not to be afraid! We should therefore always assume the attitude of confidence that everything would just work out for the good. (cfr. Rom 8,28) Even our limitations, mistakes, sins, as long as referred to Christ, would somehow work out for the good!
    While it’s true that in this life, we have to contend with all kinds of challenges, trials, difficulties and all other possible negative things, we can always count on the help of the Divine who will never abandon us.
    Yes, we have our own share of weaknesses, and we are always hounded by temptations coming from the world around and especially from evil spirits who are more powerful than us (cfr. Eph 6,12), but let’s also remember that we can count on the powerful help of angels and saints.
    Our Christian faith tells us that no matter how powerful the evil spirits are, the good ones will always prevail. It would really just depend on us as to whom we choose to side.
    But again, we cannot deny that in this life, we cannot help but share with Christ in being a sign of contradiction, and with Mary in that a sword should pierce our heart also. We should learn how to suffer with Christ, with Mary and all the angels and saints. It would be suffering that would be meaningful to us, one that would do us a lot of good.
    That is why we should just imitate Mary and Joseph in complying with the indications given to us by the Church, without feeling entitled. -- Email: roycimagala@gmail.com