From word to action

From word to action, from intention to fulfillment. These pairs are actually worlds apart, and our duty is to put them together in unity, to provide a link. We need to work out a strategy to achieve this goal daily.

St. Paul has something very relevant to say about this. “Not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” (Rom 2,13)  St. James says something similar: “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (1,22) Christ himself lived by this principle, even at the expense of his own life. “I do nothing of myself, but as the Father has taught me...” (Jn 8,28) And in the agony in the garden, he expressed that most eloquent submission to his Father’s will, “Not my will but yours be done.” (Lk 22,42) We need to understand that our whole life is a matter of conforming ourselves to God’s will, the very seat of our ultimate identity as persons and children of God. This would involve the stages of knowing that will, believing it, then professing it and putting it into action. In short, receiving our faith, then turning it into life itself.

All saints and the parade of holy men and women all through the ages have done nothing other than this. They had their ups and downs, their wins and losses, but they always stood up after each fall or loss, they repented, and went back to action again.

Of course, the epitome among the saints is Our Lady, who was praised by Christ himself to high heavens. When someone in the crowd told him his mother was around, he said: “Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Mt 12, 29-50)

We should see to it that we are good not only in words and in intentions, but also and most especially in deeds. Our usual problem, given our human nature and the current condition of our woundedness, is that we tend precisely to be very good in words and in intentions but really poor in performance and consistency.

Our words and intentions can far outpace our actions. Worse, they can cover up our failures in our performance. We can always find excuses, or even worse, we can always resort to rationalizing or telling lies, or to painting scenarios that have no basis in reality.

And nowadays, the art and skill for doing these follies have developed so much that a leader of a nation or an institution, for example, can really mislead a big mass of people. If you’re not aware of them yet, then familiarize yourselves with the dark practices of wagging the dog and spinning.

Sad to say, in many parts of the world today, and especially in the so-called developed countries that are actually suffering now in decadence, these practices have been developed to quite a high degree.

They can truly deceive massively and easily.

Yes, the probability for us to fall into inconsistency, hypocrisy, deception, playing games, etc., is quite high, and this predicament is somehow now facilitated and abetted by a pervading mentality and culture that pressure us to do these.

We have to be realistic and then acknowledge the obvious facts of the world today. But we, of course, should not remain there. We should strive to pursue how we ought to be.

The first thing that we have to do is to be humble enough to realize our need to ask for God’s grace, since no amount of effort, no matter how brilliant or heroic, could produce the right result without the grace of God.

If we have to rectify and undo certain things that we have said or done before, then let’s do them. God’s grace, which is abundant and is freely given, would be of no avail if there are things in us that would block it.

Then with that grace, let’s do all to convert our words into deeds, our intentions into reality. We need to make use of a working plan that can effectively address this need and requirement of ours. We need time to pray, to come up with a strategy, and other reminders and means to put us always aware of this need.

That’s why we need to have certain norms and standards to guide us in this regard. Aside from praying, we need to examine our conscience regularly, avail of confession and spiritual direction, etc.

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