By Fr. Roy Cimagala
“ASK, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you.” (Mt 7,7) Words of Christ that clearly tell us to simply focus on God in whatever we do, irrespective of the changing circumstances and conditions of our earthly sojourn.
Christ reassured us that everything would just be fine even if we encounter some kind of heavy drama in life. “For everyone that asks, receives; and he that seeks, finds; and to him that knocks, it shall be opened.”
Then he reinforced the same idea by saying, “What man is there among you, of whom if his son shall ask bread, will he reach him a stone? Or if he shall ask him a fish, will he reach him a serpent?”
And the divine reasoning concludes splendidly. “If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven, give good things to them that ask him? All things therefore whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them. For this is the law and the prophets.”
We have to train ourselves to abide by this reassuring words of Christ, especially in the way we think and react to things. It’s important that especially in the psychological and psychosomatic dimensions of our life, these reassuring words would constitute as their animating spirit.
That’s how we can manage to have peace of mind, a peace that the world cannot give, and a joy that is proper to our human person who is at the same time a child of God. That is how we can achieve a good mental health, an issue that is nowadays being talked about widely due to the many problems many people are having in that area.
We need time and effort to let these reassuring words of Christ sink deep in our consciousness and to make them the effective guide to the way we think, react, behave, etc.
If some of the oriental religions, like Hinduism and Buddhism, teach practices about mental concentration and contemplation—the yoga, for example—Christianity encourages us to spend time in meditative and contemplative prayer. That’s because once our mind and heart know how to get intimate with God, then it would be much easier for all the other faculties we have—our feelings, passions, imagination, etc.—to connect with God.
It is highly advisable that we set aside some time everyday to mental prayer, doing it conscientiously and not just for show. That way, we can manage to keep focus on God the rest of the day, and all of our actions, would always be carried out in the spirit of faith, hope and charity, and not just with human and temporal values.
We need to persevere in prayer, continually developing a certain intimacy with God. Let’s remember that God is a most loving and understanding father with whom we can confide anything at all. We should not be afraid or ashamed to talk about some dark and bad things that may be lingering in our mind and heart.
In fact, these negative things should motivate us all the more to get close to God who will be most happy to hear and help us. Let’s remember the parables of the lost coin, lost sheep and the prodigal son, whose common conclusion is precisely that of God being most happy when a sinner comes back to him.
Email: roycimagala@gmail.com