A Dominican’s Prayer on the Occasion of the Day of The OP JUBILEE 800

Dear Lord Jesus Christ, on the day of the celebration of the Jubilee 800, and just before Christmas, I wish to pray before you as a member of the Dominican Province of Our Lady of the Rosary. Gratefully, joyfully and humbly I beg for your graceful help for the brothers who announce your Kingdom in Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China, Philippines, Spain, Venezuela, Myanmar and Timor Leste. We pray for the civil authorities and citizens of these countries. Help us all, Lord, preach in these beautiful lands your Good News of love and salvation, be the voice of the voiceless and defend the poor, the unborn children, the neglected elderly, the migrants, the refugees and other ethnic groups excluded from the table of life.

Beloved Emmanuel, I humble ask your grace and blessings for the local churches where we minister: bless our bishops and priests and religious women and men and the lay Christians. Help us be part of the local community of disciples and cooperate harmoniously with all the agents of evangelization. Aid us to be faithful and joyful in preaching your Good News the Dominican way, which is based on contemplative prayer, supported by community life, enlightened by continuous study of your Word, and witnessed by a simple life style – all for the salvation of souls, of all peoples.

Dear Son of God, I pray for the global Dominican Family and in particular for the Dominican Family in the Asia/Pacific Region. I beg you, Lord, to strengthen our resolve to be a family united in communion and mission. Help us cooperate with each other and rejoice together for the marvelous works done by our brothers and sisters. Before your divine presence, I humbly ask for forgiveness for the offenses the brothers of our Province – past and present – have committed in our ministries and in our relations with other Provinces in Asia. To you, dear Lord whom we preach, I offer our determination to walk together, as a true Dominican Family, by the path of dialogue, reconciliation, prayer, and love. May our Jubilee 800 be – more than anything else – the unique opportunity to be truly converted individually, to renew our communities and thus be able to preach You, Lord, with enthusiasm and zeal, and not only with our words, but also and mainly with our good deeds. Like our Father Dominic, we all point to you – only to you -, beloved Jesus Christ!

Merciful Good Shepherd, we pray to you for our youth. Please, Lord, touch their generous hearts to answer your call. Bless in particular all those who are at present on the path of Dominic: our postulants, novices, simply and solemnly professed brothers, our deacons and our recently ordained priests. May we the mature and elderly brothers listen also to their voices and be attuned to the changes that are needed to live the Dominican life in our changing world. May they be a sign of joyful hope for the whole Dominican Family!

Before you, our Crucified Lord, I remember our crucified brothers and sisters today: those maligned, persecuted, martyred; those silenced by various powers; those who feel perhaps that you have forsaken them! With my brothers here present, I remember also those in our convents and houses who are afflicted by mental or physical illnesses. Certainly, you are with them all, Lord. May we, too, be present in their life with fraternal compassion and tender care!

Dear Jesus, we are working for you. Indeed at times we fail, but we are always your servants. Remember, Lord, that we have left family, country, roots to be your missionary disciples. Take good care of our parents, brothers and sisters, our families. Bless those who are alive and grant peace to those who are already with you.

With Mary, Our Lady of the Way, with our Father Dominic, our brother Thomas, our sister Catherine, our brother Martin de Porres and all our saints, particularly our martyrs, we ask for your graceful help. We place our prayers of petition in your heart of mercy. Merciful Lord, as we long for your coming at Christmas, we praise you, we thank you, we adore you – we hope in you! To you be honor and power and glory forever and ever. Amen

(Fausto Gomez OP. Macau, St. Dominic Priory: December 22, 2016)

A Pilgrim’s Notes: VIRTUE FASCINATES

FAUSTO GOMEZ OP

     In life, virtues are necessary and attractive sources of goodness and happiness. In classical ethics, in moral and spiritual theology, the study of virtue constitutes a fundamental significant chapter. Hereafter I wish to reflect on virtue and virtues from the perspective of reason and faith.

     The natural longing for true happiness is directed and strengthened by a virtuous life. After all, happiness consists in the practice of virtue that entails the good use of freedom (St. Thomas Aquinas). Truly, the purpose of ethics is “to make people good, that is, virtuous” (P. Kreeft).

     Why is virtue important in ethics and in life? Because virtue is a kind of excellence of the soul, a basic trait of character, and a positive moral attitude. In traditional ethics and theology, virtue is defined as a good operative habit. Virtue is a habit, that is, a human quality that disposes the person’s potencies towards good. Virtue is an operative habit, that is, it inclines a person to act in a manner that is pleasant, prompt and easy. Virtue is, specifically, a good operative habit: this quality of goodness distinguishes virtues (good attitudes) from vices (evil attitudes).

     While virtue enhances vision, vice darkens and finally blinds (G. Meilaender). Virtues are intrinsic principles of good deeds. They are embedded in the potencies of the person (intellect, will, sense appetite) who possesses them. Virtues are “successes in self-realization” (C. van der Poel), qualities that make persons “flourishing human beings.” Indeed, virtue attracts and fascinates (Spinoza).

     In every virtue, the human person says “yes to all that is good” (B. Haring). Every virtue is a mediation of love, which is the foundation, the form and the goal of all virtues. Virtues are rooted in and perfected by love. Vivified by love, virtues incline us to deeper love and communion with God, neighbor and creation.

Lao Tzu writes:

                 I am kind to the kind, / I am also kind to the unkind, / for virtue is kind. / I am faithful to the faithful, / I am also faithful to the unfaithful, / For virtue is faithful.

     According to origin, virtues are distinguished into acquired virtues (by personal effort, by repetition of similar acts) and infused virtues (by God). While acquired virtues perfect the human person in such a way that he/she may walk properly according to the natural light of reason, infused virtues perfect the human person in such a way that he/she may walk properly according to the light of grace (St. Thomas Aquinas). Grounded on grace, infused or supernatural virtues orient human potencies and human or natural virtues towards divine life – towards God. Among the infused habits, we have the following: the theological virtues, the moral virtues (elevated by divine grace), and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. The theological virtues (faith, hope and charity) are the supernatural habits that, infused by God, relate us directly to him (cf. CCC 1812-1828).

     Human virtues, which are perfected and elevated by divine grace and the infused moral virtues, put order in our personal and social life. The intellectual virtues (understanding, science, wisdom and prudence) incline us to know and understand and judge well, but not necessarily to be good persons. On the other hand, moral virtues (the cardinal virtues and many others) make human actions good and also the persons who perform them. The moral virtues rectify the whole ethical life of the person who possesses them by putting order in the intellect (prudence), in the will (justice) and in the sense appetite (courage and temperance). Since the time of Aristotle, the most important human virtues are the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, courage and temperance. It has been said that the moral life of the human person pivots upon these four virtues as the door upon its hinge. Virtues are connected among themselves: there can be no true prudence without the other three moral virtues, and, vice versa: no moral virtues without prudence. Prudence is the main rational and ethical guide of human life (cf. CCC 1805-1809).

     From the perspective of human ethics, what are the most important virtues today? A good life, an accomplished life, a happy life is a life lived in justice and love. Justice and love continue to be the most significant virtues today. In a world of injustice, there is a continuing need of justice, which inclines us to give to each person his/her due, that is, fundamentally his/her rights. Justice, in turn, needs the virtue of love to become even a just justice.  In a world of selfishness, pride and hatred, there is a great need of love. Love means to give to another person not only what is his or hers, but also of what is “ours.” The greatest virtue in human and Christian ethics is love or charity: as philia (“I am happy that you exist”), as agape (“I am ready to give my life for you”). Love is expressed, in particular, in solidarity with the poor, the sick, the abandoned, the unhappy and the disadvantaged in our families, communities and societies.

     For Christians, as St. Ambrose says: “To speak of virtue is to speak of Christ,” who is the Virtuous One.  And to speak of Christ is to speak, above all, of charity as love of God and neighbor – as agape -, which is the “form” of all virtues: “Over all these virtues (mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness) put on love, which binds the rest together and makes them perfect” (Col 3:14).

     Is it really hard to be virtuous? It is important to note before trying to answer this question that one who longs to be virtuous has to love virtue and to love his or her vocation. Vocation and virtue fortify each other, for genuine vocation is a call to passionate love, to virtuous life.

     I had a medical student who was really fascinated by the teaching on virtues: “It is so attractive. It is easy to have virtues: virtues are like a garden where one can pick the virtues she likes.” To love virtues is easy, but to practice them takes a little longer! Ethically speaking, the truly virtuous person is not born, but made! A person is made virtuous by performing over and over good acts, which form good habits, that is, virtues that form a good character. One acquires the virtue of compassion by performing compassionate acts.

     Is it hard to acquire and practice virtues then? Yes and no: Yes very hard, if one wants to acquire and practice them by himself or herself alone. Not so hard, if the person is guided by significant others, and cooperates with God’s grace, which is available to all. Let me add that usually God does not grant dole-outs but seeds to be watered and nurtured.

     William James suggests four steps to acquire human virtues: First, make a strong resolution; second, make no exceptions; third, actualize resolution often, and fourth, make daily and generous exercise of resolution.

     May virtue be taught? In a way, yes! How may it be taught? By teaching verbally and practically the qualities that make a person “good.” In truth, only the just man or woman knows what justice is; only the Good Samaritan knows what genuine merciful love of neighbor is. Philosophers and theologians have repeated that the best way to define virtue is by pointing to a virtuous person. The authentic path to describe the virtuous person is by pointing to a person who is honest, kind, compassionate, humble and prayerful – a good person.

     Do we really, really want to be happy? Socrates says: The person who knows what is right will do right. Because why would anybody choose to be unhappy? For the great Greek philosopher and ethicist Socrates, knowing what is good implies doing it. For ordinary mortals, however, it is not that easy: we know what is right and often we don’t do it!  Happiness, however is found in practicing what is good, which is best way of knowing virtue: “To know and not to do is not yet to know” (Buddhist Proverb).

     In a well-known poem, Samuel Smiles tells us simply and beautifully that to be virtuous is not that difficult:

                                Sow a thought and you will reap an act.

                                Sow an act and you will reap a habit.

                                Sow a habit and you will reap a character.

                                Sow a character and you will reap a destiny.

(Published in O Clarim, November 25, 2017)

A Pilgrim’s Notes: THE ENCHANTING WORLD OF DIVINE GRACE

FAUSTO GOMEZ OP

         Who is a Christian? A Christian may be correctly defined as a baptized person, who is loyal to the Blessed Trinity – to the grace of the Holy Spirit. Divine grace is the foundation of our being and acting as Christians, who are called to a life of grace, virtues, love, prayer and compassion – to holiness.  Hereafter, I present basic teachings on divine grace. (Cf. CCC 1996-2095)

         For a Christian, grace is the greatest power towards his/her full realization as a human being, a child of God and a brother/sister of all persons. As Christians, we are asked to do good deeds, to acquire by human efforts and’/or receive from God good attitudes or virtues, and to be good in the depth of the soul. The fundamental goodness is given by grace, which elevates the soul to the supernatural level or the level of God as God. Divine grace is always united to love. The New law of the believer is the law of grace and of love.

         Grace is the gift of gifts – a totally unmerited, gratuitous gift. Writes Saint Gregory of Nyssa: What words, thoughts of flight of the spirit can praise the superabundance of this grace? Man surpasses his nature: mortal, he becomes immortal; perishable, he becomes imperishable; fleeting, he becomes eternal; human, he becomes divine.

         In the present state of our wounded nature, we need grace in two ways: at the natural level, to be able to do all the possible good of nature (healing grace), and absolutely at the supernatural level, that is, to be elevated to the level of God as God (elevating grace). “It is through grace that you have been saved” (Eph 2:5). With the gift of grace comes the indwelling of the Blessed Trinity in the depth of the soul (Jn 14:23) is the effect of God’s special love for us.

         Grace in the soul is gratia, charis, chesed:  gracefulness, charm, graciousness, favor, kindness, piety, gratitude. Grace is a special love of God for all humans. God loves with common love all creation, and with special love humanity. God wants the salvation of all, and Christ died for all. Thus, God has bound himself to give sufficient graces to all. No one will be able to say: “Lord, You did not give me enough graces to reach salvation.” As free human beings, we may say no to God and thus commit sin, which is a betrayal of God’s grace and love. Without grace, moreover, one may – and should – pray always, and rely on God’s infinite mercy.

         Grace is a real participation in the very nature of God: “So that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature” (II Pet 1:4). The consequences of this incredible real and limited share in divine nature are truly awesome: we become children of God, God’s heirs, sisters/brothers of and in Jesus Christ, temples of the Blessed Trinity, new creatures indeed (cf. Rom 8:15-17; I Cor 3:16, Col 3:8-10).

         There are different kinds of grace. Grace “gratum faciens” is “grace that makes us pleasing to God by making a person holy (habitual or sanctifying grace) or preparing him for sanctification or preserving him or making him grow in it (actual graces)” (Cf. CCC 1999-2000).

         Another distinction of grace: Sanctifying grace, which is mainly ordered to personal sanctification, and freely bestowed graces (gratis datae), which are given for the salvation of others – like the different vocations and special graces. These special graces, or charisms – like the gift of miracles or of tongues – are also “oriented to sanctifying grace, and are intended for the common good of the Church” (CCC 2003).

         God is the principal cause of Grace: only He who is divine can make us divine. Christ is the meritorious cause of grace: all graces pass through Christ who redeemed us, satisfied for our sins, and ransomed us. Christ is the only Mediator of all graces. All graces flow from Christ: in particular from His Humanity and also from the Sacraments, in a unique way from the Holy Eucharist. To the end of time, the Holy Spirit will make the grace of Christ flow into the world and in the Church.

         The main effects of grace are justification and merit. Justification, which is the principal effect of grace, is the movement of the rational creature from the state of sin to the state of justice/holiness (St. Thomas Aquinas). Justification entails the following elements: forgiveness of sins, renewal and newness of life, and the human person’s free cooperation with grace. “God saving justice given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. No distinction is made: all have sinned and lack of God’s glory, and are justified by the free gift of his grace through being set free in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:23-24).

         Merit, which is the secondary effect of grace, is a title to a supernatural reward. An essential point: the first grace cannot be merited. Grace belongs to a higher level to which we cannot go up by ourselves but only with God’s help, with his divine grace. Without grace, we can merit nothing. No one can truly boast of the good labor or deeds he or she has performed: “What have you got that was not given to you?” (I Cor 4:7). Our merits, St. Augustine writes, “are God’s gifts” (CCC 2009). With God’s grace and gifts we can “merit” eternal glory, the increase of grace, and – only if helpful on the way to heaven – temporal goods. There are many texts in the Bible that speak of reward for work well done: “Your labor will have a reward” (Jr 31:16}; “Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first” (Mt 20:8; cf. I Cor 3:8). Jesus’ Parables of the Ten Virgins, the Talents and the Last Judgment speak of different rewards or merits from God.

         Our baptismal and sacramental grace can grow and develop in a threefold manner: through the worthy reception of the sacraments, the practice of infused virtues – especially the theological virtues of faith, hope and, above all, charity-, and prayer of petition. Grace – always in the company of love – is developed and intensified by growing in charity as love of God and neighbor. St. Thomas Aquinas speaks of the ascending perfection of charity: of the charity of the beginners, of the mature, and of the perfect.

         We may also grow in grace by ascending the ladder of prayer: vocal prayer, meditation, contemplation, and union. One of the best descriptions of the development of grace is found in the Interior Castle or Las Moradas of St. Teresa of Avila, where she explains the seven mansions of the soul on its way to spiritual marriage and deepest union with God.

         Graceful believers are asked by their faith to be faithful to divine grace. Fidelity to grace is “the loyalty or docility in following the inspirations of the Holy Spirit in any form that He shows Himself” (A. Royo-Marin). Fidelity to grace entails fidelity to habitual and actual graces; in particular, to the many actual graces that God gives to all daily. It implies fidelity to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 8:14), to the movements of the Holy Spirit and his Gifts.

         With grace, the Holy Spirit enlightens us and moves us to know and do the right thing. He inspires us indirectly, too, through various instruments, such as saints and angels, preachers, good books, friends – and the cross! Our Lady, Mother Mary aids us in a unique way, after Christ: she is the “full of grace.”

         Grace is given to us in baptism as God’s powerful gift, which calls for a task – our free cooperation. It is not given to us as a piece for a museum, nor as a light to be hidden under a bushel: “This grace in me has not been fruitless”; “yes, working together with him, we entreat you not to receive the grace of God in vain” (II Cor 6:1). Divine grace is God’s gift to us that requires our free and responsible cooperation. Life is not easy. With God’s grace and love, one can bear any adversity. St. Paul reminds us of God’s words to him: “My grace is sufficient to you” (II Cor 12:9).

         Grace is “a divine seed” (I Jn 3:9), which we have to water, nurture, and care for through life. A young man entered a beautifully lighted store, which announced itself thus: “Everything you wish.”  He asked the angel managing the store: “I wish the end of all wars; justice for the exploited of the earth, tolerance and generosity towards all foreigners, profound love in the families, decent work for all the unemployed, and… and…” The angel interrupted him kindly: “Excuse me, young man, I think you did not understand me. Here, we do not sell fruits; we only sell seeds.”  Only seeds!  Grace and graces: divine seeds!     

(Published by O Clarim, November 18, 2016)

Significant Work of Mercy: FRATERNAL CORRECTION

                FAUSTO GOMEZ OP

(faustogomezb@yahoo.com)

 Through Christian tradition, the corporal works of mercy were generally focused on almsgiving while the spiritual works of mercy on admonishing the sinner, usually understood as fraternal correction or correction to the erring brother or sister (Mt 18:15). Fraternal correction is recommended by the Fathers of the Church and classical theologians.

Fraternal life means, “a life shared in love” (John Paul II), loving one another as brothers and sisters. Charity is undividedly love of God and love of neighbor. Loving the neighbor entails doing good to him or her, including correcting fraternally and prudently their faults. Fraternal correction is spiritual almsgiving, an external act of charity, an act of charity as love of neighbor by the path of mercy (St. Thomas Aquinas).

We speak here mainly of personal, individual fraternal correction – one on one -, which can only be made public when the fault is public and required to avoid scandal (I Tim 5:20). Beside personal fraternal correction, there is also public social correction not only from authorities and superiors, but also from subjects and citizens. Authentic public social correction is mainly an act of justice and has to do with the common good. As citizens of a country and of the world, and as believers in Jesus, at times we have to condemn and denounce publicly social evils, such as violence, injustice, human trafficking, exploitation of others, corruption.

Individual fraternal correction is ordered to repentance, to the amendment of the brother or sister who committed serious sin. Amendment – or conversion and change – is the goal or end of fraternal correction. I remember the words of Romano Guardini: “What is essential in love (in friendship) consist in this: that one wishes that the other be good and perfect.”

Generally, one does not call the attention of our neighbor to any and all moral faults or sins. Jesus tells us: “Do not judge and you will not be judged; because the judgments you give are the judgments you will get …” (This is a kind of karma) “Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own?” (Mt 7:3).

It is difficult for humans to judge another rightly. Indeed, only God judges rightly; we, humans, “by appearance” (cf. I Sam 16:7). God our compassionate Father deals with us all as his sons and daughters, and corrects our faults: “God is treating you as his sons. Has there been any son whose father did not correct him?”(Hb 12:7; Ws 12:1-2). Imitating God our Father, we are asked by Jesus to be compassionate: “Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate” (Lk 6:36). Fraternal correction is a merciful or compassionate act of love of neighbor.

 Jesus also says to us: “Do not keep judging according to appearances; let your judgment be according to what is right” (Jn 7:24). Jesus made corrections. He often calls the attention of his disciples individually or collectively: of Peter, John, Joh and James, and the disciples (cf. Mk 8:32-33, 14:29-31, 9:38-40; Lk 9:51-55). He corrects them for their lack of faith and trust in God (Mt 8:26, 14:31; Lk 17:5-6) and of vigilance (Mt 16:6-8). In Revelation we read the admonitions of the Spirit to the churches (Rev 1:4 – 3:22), and his call to repentance: “I reprove and train those whom I love: so repent in real earnest” (Rev 3:19).

Jesus exhorts us to practice fraternal correction: “If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you… But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community …” (Mt 18:15-17). Before Jesus, the prophets – Jeremiah, Amos, Micah… – made strong admonitions to God’s people and some individual leaders. The saints and the preachers make corrections. St. Dominic de Guzman corrected the brethren when they did wrong with justice and compassion: “Brother, you have done wrong, do penance.” Pope Francis practices fraternal correction. For instance when on December 22, 2014, he accused the Roman Curia of fifteen possible “sicknesses.”

Correcting sinners is a serious responsibility of love (Lv 19:17-18; Sir 19:13-15; I Cor 11:17-22; 1 Th 5:14; 2 Th 3:13-15).” Admonishing the sinner is a precept of charity and at times it may be obligatory to practice it. When? When our neighbor commits something morally grave or seriously sinful and the circumstances warrant it. Admonishing someone who is not going to make amends is useless and not advisable. If correction to another is going to be counterproductive or make things worse, then it is not prudent to do it.

It is fashionable nowadays to be “politically correct,” that is, to say what others want to hear regardless of truth, justice and solidarity, which are with freedom the great social values.  Thus, for some – or many – among us, it is not “politically correct” to admonish sinners. Why complicate our life? It is not my concern! He or she knows what to do, anyway. St. Augustine questions us: “You do not care about the wounds of your brother?” Sin really hurts! The Bishop of Hippo sentences: “By keeping silent you are worse than he is by committing sin.” Fraternal correction is a precept and obliges all, including sinners, that is, all of us! Is it proper for a sinner to admonish another sinner? The Fathers of the Church answer in the positive, but caution us to be careful and not fall into the temptation of considering ourselves “holier and wiser than thou”! Often we commit the faults we are accusing others of. In these cases, St. Thomas Aquinas advises: We do not condemn the other but together weep and help each other to repent.

How to admonish sinners properly? Benedict M. Ashley answers wisely: “To make such a fraternal correction one must have certitude of the fault, a real necessity for the correction, a suitable opportunity to speak with the person, and a real possibility of the correction having a good effect.” Christian tradition recommends a fraternal correction which is “charitable, patient, humble, prudent, discreet, and ordered” (A Royo-Marin). The correction to a brother or sister must be done in the first place in secret (Mt 18:15): he or she has a right to a good name.

Generally, the saints accuse themselves and excuse others. They tell us that ordinarily the best way to practice fraternal correction is by giving good example and praying for the sinner in question. “Great wisdom is knowing to keep quiet and not looking neither to words nor deeds nor the lives of others”; “Do not harbor suspicion against your brother, because you will lose the purity of heart” (St. John of the Cross).

Pope Francis teaches us that one cannot admonish another without love or charity. Moreover, the Argentinian Pope adds: one can help another to grow by aiding him recognize the objective evil of his or her actions, but without judging his or her responsibility and culpability (cf. EG 172).

When and how to admonish or criticize others then? There are two kinds of criticism or judgment: negative (to destroy) and immoral, and positive (to improve) or ethical. The qualities of positive criticism are: first, we usually praise others and exceptionally, criticize or admonish them; second, we do it out of fraternal love; third, our correction is rooted in humility, and fourth, our neighbor’s moral fault is true and not the result of suspicion or rumor-mongering. When we are obliged to judge others, to make corrections, we do it, then, truthfully, humbly, charitably, and exceptionally! (Martin Descalzo).

On one hand, charity as love of neighbor calls us to admonish others when it is proper. If we love others and they feel loved by us, they will accept our correction: “Nothing moves to love than to feel loved.”  Moreover, as some authors underline, our humble and fraternal correction to the other may lead us to become more aware of our own faults and more committed to erase them. On the other hand, merciful charity urges us to accept proper fraternal correction from others: “Whoever rejects discipline wins poverty and scorn; for anyone who accepts correction: honor” (Pr 13:18). We will accept the corrections of our brothers and sisters because they love us, and “We listen to those who love us.”

Jesus keeps telling us: “Love one another just as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34).

(Published in O Clarim, November 4, 2016)