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(August
25 – August 31, 2008) Analysis Fr. Roy Cimagala Joy rooted in the cross THIS is the
joy associated with Easter. The very canon and source of joy, it’s an organic
fruit of Christ’s cross. And it can only be achieved through it. In short, if
not rooted in the cross, you can be sure it’s not real joy. To
understand this joy, we have to go theological. We surely would miss it if we
just depend on the biological, psychological, physical, social or economic
approaches to it. Sad
to say, these attitudes are common nowadays—of course, in constantly morphing
ways. The latest it would seem is to have some makeover. We’ve been through
the wellness fad, accessorizing, health tonics, reality shows, etc., all with
their intense but fleeting feelings of high. The
late Pope Paul VI described this unfortunate phenomenon once: “Technological
society has succeeded in multiplying the occasions of pleasure, but finds
great difficulty in giving birth to happiness. “For
happiness has its origin elsewhere. It is a spiritual thing. Money, comfort,
hygiene, material security, etc., may often not be lacking but nevertheless,
despite these advantages, boredom, suffering and sadness are frequently to be
found supervening in the lives of many people.” And
to add some more, it’s not only boredom, suffering and sadness that come, but
also all forms of destructive obsessions and sweet poisons can become
unavoidable. Many
things now lend credence to this observation. Just look at all the scandals
sprouting not only in the entertainment world, but also in the world of
politics. Even in some religious circles, these scandals can erupt precisely
because the idea of joy is wrongly understood and developed. Going
theological means going beyond the purely human factors that can produce some
elements of joy. It means relying more on our Christian faith, letting it
integrate all the other aspects to be able to take part in Christ’s joy, no
less. This
point is crucial, because it sets us in the most adequate framework in which
any effort to understand and attain joy has to be made. Faith corresponds to
our fullest stature as persons and children of God, indicating to us what we
truly need to be happy. Faith
engages us in our very core and embraces our whole being. It goes much
further than what our biological, physical or social nature can cover. It
takes us out of the confines of time and space. It
enters into that inmost sanctuary where we relate our time with eternity,
what is material with what is spiritual, the human with the divine. It links
us with God, our Father and Creator. For
many, the cross that leads to joy is how to actuate our faith. This can be a
real test, since faith is not readily felt. Besides, it requires tremendous
effort to get around to it. Primarily a supernatural gift, it defies sensible
grasping. Our
great challenge is how to make this supernatural faith take deep root in our
life so that it can work according to our human condition. We have to aim at
that moment when we would have a sensible appetite for it, like what we have
for food and air. This
is not an impossible, quixotic dream. We have the means, we have the
capability. There’s also, first of all, God’s grace that makes this
supernatural phenomenon take place in our often weak, frail selves. We
just have to be brave enough to carry the cross. And this means that we have
to learn to activate our spiritual faculties, that is, the use of our
intelligence and will be animated by grace. The
problem is that we often don’t develop our spiritual faculties. We prefer to
remain carnal and material, completely time-and-earth-bound. Worse, there are
now systematic ideologies that espouse and reinforce this attitude, and we
readily fall for them. We
have to break loose from this veritable slavery. We have to learn to pray,
makes sacrifices, study, avail of the sacraments, develop
virtues—literally carrying the cross to achieve that resurrection of a
joy that the world can never give nor understand. It’s
the joy that flourishes even in the midst of problems and difficulties, the
joy that refuses to get spoiled by an atmosphere of human success and
prosperity. It’s the joy of being with God. Email:
roycimagala@hotmail.com Ilocos
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