All the way to the limit

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

THAT gospel episode about the multiplication of the loaves and fishes where Christ shocked his disciples when he told them to feed the big crowd with the very few things they had on hand (cfr. Mk 6,34-44) clearly reminds us that we should just give  whatever we have, all the way to the limit, in pursuing God’s will for us. That’s because, as often said, we should just do our best and God will do the rest.

We should not be afraid when we would already find ourselves at our wits’ end, knowing that we are always in God’s hands. He knows what to do when we would already feel we are at our breaking point or at the end of the rope.

Let’s keep this truth of our faith alive so we can continue moving on despite whatever difficulty or failure may come our way. We should never give up. We should put away all forms of doubts and hesitation. With a sporting spirit and good sense of humor which should be the effects of our living faith, we know that even the impossible becomes possible. Christ proved it, and the saints who followed him closely did the same.

The important thing is for us to always keep in touch with Christ who is always around, ever eager to help us. Let’s hope that we can sincerely echo St. Paul’s words:

“Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8,38-39)

We should just give and give. That’s the real language of love that is supported by a deep faith and a working hope. No matter how melancholic or phlegmatic our temperament may be, there should be in our mind and heart something that burns and drives us to action all the time.

We just have to train ourselves how to give our all, which is a tall order. But what is clear about this matter is that it is actually a call to enter into the will and ways of God which are supernatural. We are being asked to go beyond, but not against, our natural self. This is a call for us to approximate our identification with Christ.

If that pursuit for identification with Christ is strong in us, for sure we will also feel assured that everything would just be ok since Christ himself said: “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” (Mt 19,29)

We need to beg God’s grace to be able to meet this Christian standard. We just cannot rely on our human powers to abide by it. It actually is an invitation for us to take a leap to the supernatural world of God where God wants us to be, since we are his image and likeness, meant to share in his very life and nature.

We need to develop a keen sense of generosity and self-giving that is also a result of detachment. Let’s never forget that whatever we have comes from God who wants us to work for the common good. Thus, we hear St. Paul saying, “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor 4,7)

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com