Author: Miguel J. Javier

Thorn On My Side

A few days ago in the readings, St. Paul spoke about having a thorn—some kind of suffering—in his life and praised God for it because it kept him from being too elated with himself. He then, with pure humility, stated how if he is going to boast, that he will only boast in his weakness because Christ’s strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).

Praise God for our weaknesses. They humble us and keep us from being too elated in ourselves or boasting in ourselves. Let us have a healthy acceptance of our weaknesses and sufferings. When faced with the realization of weakness and suffering, we can choose between two things: trust more in ourselves or trust more in God. I think that if we choose to trust in ourselves we will be disappointed. However, if we trust in God, we will never be disappointed.

I think the world sees suffering as the absence of God. However, as a Christian, I believe that suffering is a great opportunity to experience the presence of God. If only we humble ourselves, accept the thorn on our side, and embrace our cross, we would surely be on our way to experiencing God’s glory and victory in our lives. Truly we would be on the path of holiness.

Oh, how weak am I. How easy it is for me to fall into sin. How easy it is for my thoughts to sway away from what is true, good, and beautiful. How often do I squander God’s graces each day and do not use the talents He’s given me as I should. How often do I desire sinful things. How selfish am I.

Litany of Humility

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved…
From the desire of being extolled …
From the desire of being honored …
From the desire of being praised …
From the desire of being preferred to others…
From the desire of being consulted …
From the desire of being approved …
From the fear of being humiliated …
From the fear of being despised…
From the fear of suffering rebukes …
From the fear of being calumniated …
From the fear of being forgotten …
From the fear of being ridiculed …
From the fear of being wronged …
From the fear of being suspected …

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I …
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease …
That others may be chosen and I set aside …
That others may be praised and I unnoticed …
That others may be preferred to me in everything…
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…

A Happy Household Head

Every time I go to a household I am reminded of its importance. Yes I’ve learned a lot about my faith and have been nourished, but what I value most is the presence of my brothers and sisters. We don’t need a household to learn the faith. If I want to learn, I can go on the internet, read a book, watch a documentary, etc. However, the blessing of having a household is the nourishment and building of relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ. I look forward to hearing my brothers share their experiences after the talk. I have learned a lot from them and in sharing our joys and struggles, I believe that the Lord has brought us closer to His heart and each other’s hearts.

I am not currently a household head but I have learned by recent observations what it means to be a household head. A household head is a friend, someone who is not looking to be one step ahead of his brothers but taking one step at a time alongside his brothers. He doesn’t seek his own interests but the interests of those the Lord has given to him. He builds relationships and is overjoyed when his members succeed, distraught when they suffer, and is inspired when he sees God in his members. And if the members do not show the respect he deserves, it doesn’t matter to him, because he is glad to lay down his life and his pride for them.

Praise God for household heads, and if we are one, may the Lord humble us always, that we may always seek the good of our members before our own. Let’s pray that we may always seek to lay down our lives for them and bring them closer to the Lord by leading a good example, and living a life of integrity. If we do this, I believe we will be a truly happy household head.

To Die Is Gain

Self-mortification. Every time I’ve heard of this term in the past I would always think of people that physically hurt themselves and that’s it. I’ve learned that that’s just one form of self-mortification.

When temptation comes along, it starts as a simple thought—a suggestion. When we entertain that thought or suggestion, we start to use our imagination to delve deeper into it. Suddenly, we are committing sin and acting upon entertained thoughts. How important it is to cast the first slightest thought of temptation! If we don’t nip it when it starts, we put ourselves on a very dangerous path to spiritual death.

In the heat of temptation it is very hard to follow our intellect that tells us that what we are about to do is a sin and that it’s wrong. Our carnal cravings can easily get the best of us. Redemptive self-mortification is when we prefer to be crucified rather than sin. In the pinnacle of temptation, we truly suffer. We experience an ultimatum: commit sin or die to self. That dying to self entails great suffering. However, we must remember that the Lord always provides a way out of sin. We only need to rely on His grace. If we end up choosing to deny ourselves and to take up our cross, then we truly follow Jesus.

Temptations will never stop on this journey to holiness. This is why we need so much grace. If it were not for the grace of God, we are truly dead. Spiritually dead. God’s grace helps us to know His will and gives us the strength to follow Him and carry our cross.

When we die to self, we lose the fleeting pleasures of the world and the flesh, but what we gain is eternal life in Christ.

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” —Philippians 1:21

All is Well

No matter what is happening in our lives or how heavy our cross, all is well and will be well if all is well in our relationship with God. Love for God must be our top priority. The prosperity of our lives truly depends on how our relationship with God is doing. If our life is chaotic and we feel lost and confused, we only need to go back to the Lord. We must humble ourselves, have a thorough examination of our conscience, bring to light our sins, and with a contrite heart, repent and ask forgiveness from our Lord through Confession. This is how we go back to the Lord. Then, in the state of grace, we receive Holy Communion. Then very truly our Lord is with us, and we will be filled with grace to recognize His will in our lives and to live the Gospel with our whole heart.

Let us strive to always live in the state of grace. This is the state of Christ’s strength made perfect in our weakness.

Lord, make haste to help me. Amen.

Presence

There is something very mysterious and powerful about presence. Just knowing the person you want to be there is there, is enough. No words even need to be said. Assurance and comfort come from the person’s presence.

Jesus, in a very real, mysterious, powerful way, is always present with us through the Holy Spirit. He will never leave us and will be with us until the end of time (mt 28). We can rest assured that He is always present with us. He is Emmanuel—”God with us” (mt 1:23).

The essence of prayer is God’s presence in us. Prayer allows us to be present with Him in the very moment of our existence. Truly we are with the Lord when we make ourselves simply present to Him in the moment because as C.S Lewis said, “the present is the point at which time touches eternity.” God is eternal, the Alpha and Omega, beyond time and space. When it comes to God, there is only present. God simply is.

Let us be present with each other and give one another undivided attention. More importantly, let’s be present with God.

Jesus is truly with us through the Holy Spirit. Let us always find peace and consolation in His presence. When we recognize His presence in us, we will truly have His peace.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” —John 14:27

Speak, Lord, your servants are listening. Amen.

Purgative Way

When I think of purgatory, I immediately think of suffering and pain but suffering and pain with a purpose, and that purpose is to be purified for Heaven. Truly, there is no other way to salvation except by way of the cross, and ultimately the Cross of Jesus Christ. No wonder the saints embraced suffering and so many saw their cross as the greatest gift from God. It is because by their cross, the Lord has sanctified and made them holy. Now they are in Heaven. The saints voluntarily experienced “purgatory” on earth so that they were already pure enough to be in Heaven.

Original Sin is the reason we need purging. Because of the fall of Adam and Even, we have become very prone to sin. The fall has caused us to be very ignorant and susceptible to the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. We have sinned more numerous times than there are stars in the sky—in our thoughts, our words, in what we have done, and what we have failed to do. The sins we have committed and stil commit have injured our nature and we are in need of great repair. Yes, we are forgiven of our sins in Confession, but our tendency to sin still remains and that’s the “broken window” that committing sin leaves behind. There is a need for us to be purged of our bad habits and tendencies to sin.

Praise God for our life here on Earth where we can in this lifetime be purged, illuminated  and unified to God. We need to be aware of our sinfulness and weakness so that we can allow God’s grace to sanctify us evermore. If we are striving to be saints, then we must strive to know our sins, the darkness of our intellect, and weakness of our will. We must know with all that we are, our weakness without the constant presence and grace of God. Let us never be confident in our works or our ways. Let us not let pride fool us into thinking even for a moment, that we don’t need God.

I think the people in purgatory want to be there. It’s hard to imagine that because like I said earlier, when I think of Purgatory, I think of suffering and pain. I think those in purgatory want to suffer and want to be in pain because they can see more clearly than ever, the purpose of their suffering and pain. The suffering comes from the purging, cleansing, purifying, and refining sanctifying grace of God. By the intercession of others, they are being made perfect for Heaven. Let us learn from our brothers and sisters in the Church Suffering, that our suffering always has a purpose.

As for us, we are even more blessed. Unlike those in purgatory, we, the Church Militant, have access to the limitless fountain of grace and mercy in the Sacraments. We don’t have to wait for Purgatory to be purified for Heaven. We can take advantage of all prayers and Sacraments the Lord has given us. We can, with our lives, love God and our neighbour very concretely.

I don’t think suffering is something God intentionally causes to punish us but it’s something He allows. He allows it so that a greater good to come from it. Greater good such as getting rid of a bad habit, growing more in virtue, forgiveness and mercy between family members and loved ones, uniting of relationships, and so much more. However, the ultimate greater good that comes from suffering is our eternal salvation and communion with God.

“For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” —2 Cor. 17–18

Let us not be afraid of suffering but embrace it, and always see it as a necessity for the sanctification and salvation of our souls. Let us never forget that to follow Jesus, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross daily.

Praise God for our cross. Praise God for our suffering. Praise God for the eternal glory that awaits us in Christ Jesus. Amen!