By Fr. Roy Cimagala
THIS is what we can gather from that gospel parable about a certain man who planted a fig tree in his vineyard and who after 3 years sought for a fruit but did not find one. (cfr. Lk 13,6-9) Frustrated, he wanted to cut it down, but was appeased by the vineyard dresser to give the tree a grace period of one year.
Indeed, God expects us to bear the fruit of sanctity since he already has given us everything we need to achieve that goal. God had to become man in Jesus Christ so that we can be given “the way, the truth and the life” that we need in the context of our wounded condition here on earth.
We really have no excuse why we cannot achieve that goal, since with Christ any condition and situation in our life, including the worst scenario in our life, can be an occasion to gain and regain sanctity. As St. Paul once articulated, “all things work together for good to those who love God.” (Rom 8,28)
We just have to see to it that everything in our life—our work, for example—should have as its main purpose the achievement of holiness, and not just the fulfillment of some technical requirements and the attainment of some worldly goals, no matter how legitimate they are.
And the secret is always to do everything with Christ and for the glory of God. We should not just do anything with our own intention and on our own effort alone, because such way of doing things negates the plan that God, our Father and Creator, has for us. We should be guarded always against this strong tendency of ours to do things simply on our own.
It’s also interesting to note that the above-mentioned parable is preceded by a warning Christ gave to some people that we should stop comparing ourselves with others, especially when we think we are better than them, and thus, would feel self-contented.
Christ wants us to always acknowledge our need for repentance and conversion, since we cannot deny that in spite of the many good things we may already have done, we still are hounded by weaknesses, temptations and sin itself.
Let’s see to it that our work, for example, should have as its main purpose the achievement of holiness, and not just the fulfillment of some technical requirements and the attainment of some worldly goals, no matter how legitimate they are. Remember Christ saying, “What does it a profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul.” (Mk 8,36)
We should see to it that the Christ-and-Church provided instrumentalities lead us to have a living encounter with Christ, something that can happen only when we activate our faith, hope and charity through a functioning life of piety.
“Do you think that these Galileans were sinners above all the men of Galilee, because they suffered such things?” he asked those who told him about those Galileans that Pilate put to death. “No, I say to you, but unless you shall do penance, you shall likewise perish.” (Lk 13,2-3)
We can never over-emphasize this need for our conversion and renewal. In spite of our best intentions and efforts, we somehow would find ourselves in some irregular, imperfect if not completely sinful situation.
God will always welcome us back, even if we appear to be already abusing the goodness and mercy of God. We should just put our mind and heart to this fact of life that we are all sinners and that we need to convert.
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