‘Sent to bring glad tidings’

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

THIS was said of Christ. (cfr. Lk 4,18) If we are true to our desire to follow Christ, if not to be “another Christ” as we should, then we should also have this concern to bring glad tidings to the poor who actually are all of us. That’s because, although we have different social and economic status, we are all poor since we all need God. That is what is meant by one of the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” (cfr. Mt 5,3)

Bringing glad tidings to the poor can be carried out in many ways. But for sure, one way is to continually impart and inspire gospel values in all our temporal affairs, especially in those areas that are vulnerable to go wild, as in politics, business, entertainment, etc.

We need to make the world of public opinion, for example, human and Christian in spite of our unavoidable differences and conflicts. We, of course, are all free to express an opinion on any public issue at hand. In fact, this should be encouraged, since this will help in ferreting out what is truly helpful to the general public.

We just have to do it as responsibly as possible, which means that we should study the issue very well first, avoiding off-the-cuff comments that can cause unnecessary distress and acrimony among the people, and express our views as clearly as possible and with charity always.

Let’s always remember that our freedom of speech and expression can never do away with the requirements of charity. Even in the bitterest of our conflicts, we should always be charitable, ready to understand the others, to ask for pardon if we commit some mistake and to forgive when others commit them, etc.

For this to take place, we should first of all live out our Christian faith that would lead us to show gospel values like love, compassion and forgiveness in our daily life. We should try our best to be a good neighbor to everyone, irrespective of how they are to us. In whatever we say or do, we should do so with charity, kindness and respect.

We should use the social media wisely, sharing inspiring content, stories of hope and messages of love. We should engage in respectful dialogue as we actively participate in online forum and discussions, offering thoughtful and charitable insights.

What can also be helpful is to organize community events, like conferences and workshops, that promote gospel values and Christian spirit. Faith-based initiatives that especially serve the needs of the marginalized, promote social justice, and foster community life should be encouraged and supported.

Definitely, to be effective in “bringing glad tidings to the poor,” we should all pray first for guidance, seeking God’s guidance and wisdom to be able to inspire others. Also, regularly assessing our initiative and efforts to see their effects and impact on others should be done. This way, we can hope to inspire public opinion and make a positive difference in our community.

What we should avoid is to fall into extreme biases and prejudices that would compromise a healthy dialogue. Matters of opinion can lend themselves to different views and positions, all of them valid and legitimate, with their share of strong and weak points.

No one should claim that he has the last word in any issue or question. In matters of opinion, no one can claim that he has all the good, true and beautiful in his views. One should always be open-minded to the views of the others, no matter how different and conflicting they are to his. There is always some truth to what they say. We can always learn something from them.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com