Please pray for us that we will have a deeper encounter with the Lord and grow in faith and love during the retreat.
War is inevitable. Whether our battlefields are in school, the workplace, at home, or even in our hearts, whether our opponents are strangers, enemies, friends or even ourselves, everyday we face the possibility of getting ambushed, attacked, wounded, or thrown into a cloud of confusion.
In the midst of our daily battles, we sometimes try to flee - by denying, ignoring, or drowning ourselves in other distractions that may give temporary relief, but we never really succeed in finding any sense of peace. We try to fight with clenched teeth and fists, angry and spiteful of the whole situation, trying to throw blame on our opponents who 'started the war', and hope to put an end to war by putting an end to our opponents, but we eventually end up even more tired, frustrated, defeated.
But do we know who we are fighting against really? Do we know who is on our side of the battle really? Do we know how best to prepare ourselves for the inevitable war in our daily lives?
"Finally, be strong in the Lord with his energy and strength. Put on the whole armour of God to be able to resist the cunning of the devil. Our battle is not against human forces but against the rulers and authorities and their dark powers that govern this world. We are struggling against the spirits and supernatural forces of evil. Therefore put on the whole armour of God, that in the evil day, you may resist and stand your ground, making use of all your weapons." (Ephesians 6:10-13)
Whenever I got angry with someone, for whatever the person may have done wrong in my eyes, I set up my war zone against the person, thinking that the person started the war in the first place. Little that I know that the real enemy was putting these evil thoughts in my head, without realising I was raging war with someone on the same side! As much as I thought that the war was with another individual, I was actually unknowingly battling against the evil one who was using my emotions to hurt my fellow brother-in-Christ, or worse, to unknowingly cause harm to my own self.
Yet, we need not flee, for the Lord is calling us to resist and stand our ground, standing firmly in the truth that we are His soldiers, that we all belong to God's army. We need not clench our teeth, but open our mouths and make a (war) cry to our Lord to lead us in our battles. We need not clench our fists, but open our hands to surrender to the (battle) plans of our Lord, to surrender to the power and might of our King of Kings, and receive the weapons that He places upon us to fight the inevitable war of our lives.
"Take truth as your belt, justice as your breastplate, and zeal as your shoes to propogate the Gospel of peace." (Ephesians 6:14-15)
Truth as your belt
Whenever I get ambushed by an event or person that makes me yearn for marriage, or resentful of what I have been called to give up as a result of my priestly calling, what holds me together, keeps me from falling apart and losing myself in the midst of the frustration and turmoil, is the Truth that the Lord "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11), the truth that God remains faithful to me, giving me something greater each time He takes away someone dear to me, the truth that I am a beloved child of God whom God will always want the best for me.
It is in these trying moments when we find ourselves falling apart, or losing a part of ourselves, it is when we turn to these 'anchor points' of truth in our lives, the truth of God's faithfulness, mercy and love revealed in past events or situations or revelations or experiences, that we can rely on this TRUTH to hold us together, and bind us to the love and faithfulness of Christ.
Justice as your breastplate
Whenever I find myself caught in cross-fire, caught in an unfavourable or awkward situation, or deeply misunderstood or unintentionally hurt by another person, the 'misfire' can truly sink deep through the chest and into the heart, causing a searing pain of anguish and bitterness. Yet, often when I am reminded to rely on God's justice and righteousness, and not on my own act of fighting for justice for myself, eventually things get resolved into a happy ending, but only when I allow God to work in His time, for His justice to prevail at the appropriate time. Mother Mary herself, forewarned of a sword that will pierce her heart, had justice as her breastplate to protect her and allow her to continue surrendering to the plans of God, even while seeing her Son dying on the cross, trusting that God's justice and righteousness will prevail in time to come - and sure enough in His resurrection!
It is never easy to be misunderstood or hurt. But when we build our trust and dependance on the Lord's justice, we build a protection over our hearts, preventing ourselves from getting hurt too deeply, but allowing truth and righteousness to prevail in God's time.
Zeal as your shoes
Very often, it is in my most troubled times and hurting situations that I become prone to hurting others out of my own mood swings or temperament. Only with Truth to hold me together in times of turmoil, and justice to protect me from hurting blows, will I then be able to maintain inner peace in my heart, channel God's love into my life, and thereby put on zeal and enthusiasm in propogating and promoting this great peace of God to all around me, all who may be similarly wounded or affected by the war in their lives. It is in keeping peace in my heart that I can then keep on tirelessly spreading God's great peace to others.
"Always hold in your hand the shield of faith to repel the flaming arrows of the devil. Finally, use the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, that is, the Word of God." (Ephesians 6:16-17)
Shield of faith
"Faith is the way of holding onto what we hope for, being certain of what we cannot see." (Hebrews 11:1) In my constant battles when flaming arrows of doubt and discouragement rain down on me, faith can sometimes seem to be the only way out, or what I call the 'easy way out', where even when it doesn't seem to make sense, even when it sounds most ridiculous, even when it goes against my human desire, I just cover myself with the shield of faith and simply hide in the total care, protection and comfort of my Lord, trusting fully in faith that He will watch over me, He will protect me, and He will lead and guide me out not only to safety, but to the best possible plan for me, even if I am unable to see or be certain of what's ahead of me.
Helmet of salvation
When I only focus on the kind of earthly life I want to lead, the kind of earthly comforts or securities I want to have, I begin to miss out or shortchange myself of the heavenly life prepared for me. I get caught up with the petty defeats or losses on the ground until I put on the helmet of salvation and bring to my mind the greater life God wants me to have in His heavenly kingdom. And this is a kingdom I don't have to wait til I die, for so long as I keep my thoughts and mind focused on the heavenly life meant for me, "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." When I begin to live life with the heavenly kingdom in mind, I no longer get easily troubled by the earthly things I miss out or am deprived of, but can more fully claim the heavenly blessings that will stay with me deep in my heart, where no claymore mine or tripflare can ever surprise me and blow it away from me.
Sword of the Spirit
"For the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword." (Hebrews 4:12) Under the darkest of days or gloomiest of skies filled with overhead missiles flying across my head, it has always been the Word of God that continues to comfort me when I'm down, encourage me when I'm tired, assure me when I feel doubtful, embrace me when I feel alone, heal me when I get hurt, lift me when I am defeated, and the list goes on. If not for the daily readings I try to keep to, I may not be holding my head up high towards the gloomy war scene and release my clenched teeth to cry out to my God, release my clenched fists to surrender to His divine plan, and open my hands to receive Victory in my life.
"Pray at all times as the Spirit inspires you. Keep watch, together with sustained prayer and supplication for all the holy ones." (Ephesians 6:18)
Even if at this present moment, our lives seem to be at peace, St Paul warns the Ephesians that peace is only provisional, for the evil one is waiting for his hour to bring about war. And so in whatever battle we find ourselves fighting or not fighting, we are together still standing on the side of Christ in the inevitable war against Good and Evil. Let us continue to persevere in prayer for one another, especially those caught in the midst of their own battles, that we may depend on the weapons of Christ bestowed on us, put on the armour that God personally places upon us, and stand our ground with open hands, surrendering not to the Enemy, but to the love of Christ that will make us cry out with conviction and strength:
"This is War. But this is our Victory!"
In relation to the process and the importance of discernment, or in layman terms, the process of decision making particularly with regards to our spiritual growth, three elements: the Mountain, the Temple and the Throne, have been situated very significantly in the biblical history of salvation.
The Mountain has commonly been perceived as a place where God dwells in order to convey His Teachings. This is very clear in the scenes of the Ten Commandments (Ex 20) and the delivery of the Beatitudes (Mt 5:1). The Temple, on the other hand, has the aspect of sacrifice. Again, both the Old and New Testaments advocate this point to great heights especially when Jesus constantly focuses on Jerusalem where the Temple is located as His climax in relation to His own sacrifice of Self (Lk 19: 28-48). Lastly, the Throne is a symbol of authority of a judge or Judgement. And needless to say, this is evident especially in the Book of Revelation which communicates to us in rather a metaphorical way of Christ’s Second Advent (Parousia) to judge all the nations on earth. (Rev 20:11)
Thus, the need to listen to God’s Teaching, respond in the form of sacrifice (might not necessarily be physical or literal sacrifice), and judge to bring about Metanoia seem to be key to discernment. Were we to examine when these three elements flow smoothly in our lives, we own conviction and conversion as our standpoint. However, complacency and loss of the sense of direction could be the result of elimination or disregard of one or all of these three elements. Having said so, it is crucial to reckon that all of these aforementioned roles should bridge from being a mere knowledge in our Intellect to a passion in our life. Otherwise, it provides nothing more than a proper epistemological definition.
To add on, if Eucharist is the source and the summit of our lives, I can understand now why in the celebration of the Liturgy of the Mass, we keep our focus on the Lectern from where the Word of God is proclaimed, the Altar where Christ’s sacrifice of the cross is “re-presented” and the Presiding Chair, the throne on which God sits in a sacramental sense.
So, let us pray for this grace today that God may continue to open our hearts and our whole being in order to welcome the guidance of the Holy Spirit in every decision we make especially as we share the divinity of Christ as Prophet to proclaim God’s Word, as Priest to offer sacrifice and as King to make proper judgment of our lives in accordance to the promptings of the Spirit.
In psalm 50, King David pleads to God for mercy and forgiveness for his sins, and he begs to be reconciled with God. He recognizes his faults and longs to be in God’s loving embrace. Therefore, he turns to God because he recognizes the constant love of God as he cries out:
A pure heart create for me O God
Put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence
Nor deprive me of your Holy Spirit.
"How do you tell the difference between a person in heaven and a person in hell?"While this riddle takes what Jesus said in the Gospel (Mt 5:38-48) literally, it does help us visualize the difference between the life of love and the life of hatred. The life of hatred allows hatred and vengeance to perpetuate which will result in a world full of blind and toothless people. But in a world of love and forgiveness, the one who receives injury or insult, puts a stop to it by not taking revenge. He in fact tries to further eradicate hatred by "going that extra mile", by loving the enemy. In loving the enemy, it is not so much doing something good to gain our own salvation, but by loving the enemy, we are trying to help change the person to be better person.
"One has a halo and wings, the other has horns?"
"No. The one in heaven has rosy cheeks and is fit and muscular, the one in hell is blind and bogay (no teeth)".
"How is that so?"
"Because the one in hell takes a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye. The one in heaven has rosy cheeks because he offers the other cheek when he is slapped, and fit because he walks two miles when others walk one."
