Winning new apostles

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

THIS should not be some kind of a hidden concern, left unaddressed and regarded as a secret. This should be brought out in the open. With today’s pressing necessity for vocations who would actively work for the humanization and Christianization of our rapidly secularized society, marked with so much materialism, worldliness and hedonism, this concern should be given top priority and urgent attention.

Areas that would clearly need this attention are politics, business, education, healthcare, etc. It’s undeniable that many of the goings on in these areas are deteriorating. There is a need for evangelization and discipleship in societies where faith has declined, and Christians are being called to share the Gospel and live out their faith in a way that is relevant and impactful.

To be an active apostle need not mean that one has to be a priest or a nun. One can simply be an ordinary layperson but with a sense of commitment and the relevant skills and qualities to carry out the task of humanizing and Christianizing these areas.

As we all know, soon after starting his public life after his baptism in the River Jordan, Christ chose 12 apostles, practically in a random way, to help him in his most important mission of human redemption.

But we have to be clear about what human redemption means. It’s about making us as true children of God, sharers of his life and nature. In other words, we are all called to be holy as the heavenly Father is holy. (cfr. Mt 5,48)

And this pursuit of holiness is not simply and exclusively a spiritual and supernatural affair. It definitely would have its impact on our temporal affairs, such as our politics and business, which are where the test of whether we are with God or not takes place. The pursuit of sanctity that is indifferent to our temporal affairs would not be a genuine one.

The spiritual aspect of our sanctification cannot do without getting involved in the material and temporal affairs of our lives. And that’s simply because we are both body and soul, both corporeal, material and spiritual, meant to rise, with the help of God’s grace, to the supernatural life of God.

Thus, the pursuit of sanctity does not simply involve the duty to pray, study the doctrine, growing in the virtues, go through the ongoing spiritual formation, etc. It should involve the duty to learn the art and skills of our temporal concerns, like in politics and business, which are where the need for evangelization and sanctification is most felt.

Thus, contrary to the view that clerics, for example, should be completely hands-off and quiet about politics, we need to realize more deeply that clerics, in fact, have the grave duty to evangelize politics just as they ought to do the same in all the other temporal affairs of men and women, like in business, the arts, sciences and technology, sports and recreation, even in fashion, etc.

They have to bring the spirit of Christ to bear on all these human concerns, because that spirit should be involved in everything that is human. In fact, it has to be made known that that spirit is supposed to be what is proper to animate all these human affairs.

Obviously, great care should be lived in doing this. This business of evangelizing and Christianizing our politics and business should avoid unnecessary partisanship. Today’s apostles should be adept in how to present Christ in these areas in such a way that the spirit of Christ would succeed in animating the things involved there. Let’s look for these apostles.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com