We are all interconnected

By: Fr. Roy Cimagala

WE need to be more aware of this reality so that we both can enjoy its rights and privileges and fulfill the duties inherent in it. Truth is no matter how isolated we are physically, mentally or emotionally, we are all interconnected for the most basic reason that we belong to the same world, the same universe, the same creation of God.

If we believe that God our creator is intelligence and love himself, then we can presume that he must have created the whole universe with an over-all single and consistent design with each creature somehow related to everybody and everything else.

We may not see the interconnection clearly but we can already have some clues and hints of it by the way we want to live some semblance of law and order in our lives. If we have that innate desire, it is because there must be a pre-ordained interconnection among all the creatures of this world, with us, being the image and likeness of God, exercising a leading role in living, developing and keeping that interconnection.

This is the reason why we have to be always thoughtful of God and of others, and in fact, of everything else. We just should not be thinking of ourselves only. We have to realize that our growth to maturity depends on how much we are thoughtful of God and of the others and how we fulfill our duties towards them.

And because of our interconnectivity, we have to realize that whatever we do or whatever condition or status we can find ourselves in, will always have an effect on the others. No matter how isolated or separated we are from the others, we can always affect them either in a good or a bad way depending on how we are in a given moment.

That is why even if we are alone and doing some work, we can still affect the others in a positive way if we offer that work for the intention of the others and doing that work well. What we do alone never remains with us only. It will always affect the lives of others.

In this regard, it might be good also to know about the doctrine of our faith called “communion of saints.” The Catechism describes it in this way: “Since all the faithful form one body, the good of each is communicated to the others…

“We must therefore believe that there exists a communion of goods in the Church. But the most important member is Christ, since he is the head…Therefore, the riches of Christ are communicated to all the members, through the sacraments. As this Church is governed by one and the same Spirit, all the goods she has received necessarily become a common fund.” (CCC 947)

This is a tremendous reality, a truth of our faith, that should give us tremendous joy. It should fill us with a lot of confidence in the goodness of God in spite of all the trials, challenges, temptations and sins we have in this world.

At the same time, we have to sharply feel the responsibility we have of keeping this communion of saints going by availing ourselves of what they can give us and of doing our part in strengthening it.

We can strengthen it by uniting ourselves more and more with Christ, the source, pattern and power of all this communion, and doing everything as best that we can because of him.

As we have been saying, what we do out of love for God even in a hidden and isolated way will redound to the good of everyone. We should be generous then in this duty of loving God and uniting ourselves more and more with Christ in the Holy Spirit, so we can contribute greatly for the good of everyone!

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com