By Fr. Roy Cimagala
WHILE this is something that we should try our best to avoid, we cannot deny that in spite of our best efforts, we are still capable of betrayal, treachery and infidelity. In fact, every sin that we commit, no matter how small, is already a form of betrayal to God who has given us everything for us to be like him as he wants us to be. Everyone can be and do a Judas Iscariot anytime if we are not careful.
And so, we should not over-react when this thing happens. What we should do is to immediately return to God, asking for forgiveness and also for grace so that we can become more and more like Christ who was ever faithful to the Father in spite of the tremendous cost involved. Christ assured us that forgiveness will always be available.
The example of St. Peter is worthwhile imitating. After he realized what he did when the cock crowed the third time, as Christ predicted, he immediately wept and asked for forgiveness. May we have the same reaction whenever we fall into sin.
Judas Iscariot took time before he realized the evil he had done. He repented and wanted to make up, but he did it in a wrong way. Anyway, it is not for us to make the final judgment on him. That belongs to God alone, and we know that he is all merciful without compromising, of course, the due requirement of justice.
Let’s always remember that God has shared his life and everything that he has with us. And that’s because we are his image and likeness. Things just depend on how receptive we are to what God is sharing with us.
We should just sharpen our awareness of this truth about ourselves in our relation to God. To be sure, we would be filled with joy, peace and hope. Like Christ we would know how to handle temptations.
Yes, there will be effort and sacrifices involved, but all these would be done always in an atmosphere of confidence. We would get the sensation that we are gaining mastery over the erratic urges of our body, the many temptations from the world and the devil himself.
The secret is to channel the very mind of Christ with respect to his relation with the Father. He once said: “I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father who has sent me.” (Jn 6,38) This should be the motto of our life.
Let’s never forget that more than us, it is actually God who directs and shapes our life. And for this, he has given us everything that we need for us to follow his will. We should just be wary of our strong tendency to be ruled simply by our own will.
It’s when we do the will of God in an abiding way that we can even have the very power of God. To the extent that we follow God’s will, we share in his life, nature and powers. That is why saints and some very holy people enjoy some special powers, like curing the sick, the gift of prophecy, etc.
Let’s remember that our true freedom is when we unite our will with God’s will, and our true dignity and power is when we follow God’s will. Only then can we manage to properly tackle any temptation, difficulty, challenges and trials in our life!
Email: roycimagala@gmail.com
