while I was taking my one-hour lectio in my cell, and while I was reading Matthew Chapters 10, 11 and 12, my focus and thought was redirected in a little while on the e-mail of my superior that says all about the description of what we expect a monk should be.
I thought of it certainly as a very idealistic one.
Probably none of us monks, live up to it entirely, but it surely will give us a clear goal and direction in our monastic lives.
The expectation goes something like this...
-a monk of our community is a person who is willing to work at keeping the first and primary focus of life on the inner search for God in prayer;
-is consistently present at the Divine Office and the daily Eucharist and uses his energies to pray to God at these times;
-arranges his life so that he can be present at the Mass and the Work of God;
-is willing to do hard and difficult work with a generous spirit whenever he is asked;
-offers himself generously for whatever work the community may ask of him;
-is able to communicate in an appropriate way with his superiors and with his brothers;
-strives for human and spiritual maturity and fights against his inclinations to laziness and blaming others;
-encourages his brothers to growth and depth in the monastic life and works against any form of grumbling;
-strives to resist in his actions and his heart all forms of complaint against the community,
-the superiors or other brothers, unless such complaints are made openly to the persons involved and in such a manner that reflects that the brother is not acting from anger or other passions;
-does lectio every day and uses some of his time for private prayer; is willing to sacrifice his own comfort and even well-being for the good of others;
-strives to be responsible and reliable in every aspect of life for the love of Christ; cooperates with all those in charge of his work and his formation;
-is obedient with generosity and gladness even when he disagrees with a decision of the superior or of the community;
-accepts and is faithful to all the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church in union with the Holy Father and the Bishops;
-prays for the reconciliation of any conflicts in the community and prays especially for his own reconciliation if he himself is involved in conflict;
-strives to live the life according to the norms of the Church, the Constitutions of our Congregation and the Customary of the House with generosity and love.
now, isn't this a big real challenge?
Now, going back to my main post today, Mathew's 10, 11, and 12 as I was saying awhile ago, are certainly called the Mission Discourses. These tell us about Jesus' criteria in choosing His followers, His disciples in carrying out His mission proclamation that he reign of God is at hand.
As you all know, Jesus chose 12 men to help Him carry out His mission.
There were great theologians at that time, the Bible experts, as what they say; there were Bible teachers otherwise known as the Scribes who were then teaching in the synagogues; there were priests who were offering sacrifices in the temple; there were scholars, professors, scientists. But Jesus did not choose them to be part of His magic twelve. He instead chose ordinary, simple men who were not educated, who had rough calloused hands, men who were not prepared for life. But just the same, Jesus called these men because they knew the meaning of being ordinary. They knew the meaning of being weak.
Make no mistake about it, the Lord chooses us to be His followers and inheritors of His Kingdom not because we are special, not because we have donated fifty thousand pesos to the glorietta victims. Jesus chooses us not because we go to Mass or pray the rosary everyday. The Lord does not choose us because we read the Bible and attend weekly meetings in PREX or Legion of Mary or Knights of Columbus or Charismatic prayer rally.
The Lord chooses us not because of all those things. If He has any reason at all and a criteria to base from, it is that we are weak and vulnerable.
When we are weak, the Spirit of God works within us. And when we are weak, we are able to achieve and do things, not because we are experts, nor learned, nor scholars, but because the Spirit of God is at work with us.
Our attending the daily Mass may convince us that we are holy. Our spiritual exercises, our donations, our acts of service, our outreach programs may convince us that we are good Catholics.
Our thinking about all these will lead us to label ourselves as the self-righteous men and women of the Church. But this kind of thinking is the back entry which the devil usually enters in our lives. That back entry is called "convincing myself that I am holy".
My dearest friends, brothers and sisters, after we have given our very best in the apostolate, after we have given our very best in our Christian life, we must clearly say, "they do not suffice, for I am still a weak Christian".
So, let's recognize that we are indeed weak. As St Paul says, "When I am weak, then I am strong with the strength of God" (2 Cor 12:10)
Let us pray for humility. Let us pray that we be delivered from self-righteousness.
Have a happy Tuesday to all of you....
