ALTHOUGH we already are born again in Christ especially through the sacrament of baptism—and with that reality continually nourished by the other sacraments and other instrumentalities that Christ through the Church has made available to us—we should see to it that we know how to live up to that reality in our daily life.
We know that we tend to be inconsistent in our ways. We say one thing and yet do another. We profess, even very fervently, our Christian faith, and yet our actions often belie what we profess.
We have need to truly work out how our being born again in Christ is really lived. For this, I imagine that we should make as our own these words of St. Paul: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2,20)
It would indeed be helpful if everyday we set some concrete goals of how we can become more and more like Christ. This would help us to have a good sense of purpose in our daily life, and to be protected from the danger of the distractions we can meet along the way. This would also help us to be more resistant to the urges of our weaknesses and the many temptations around.
For example, we can have some ideas of these goals if we can ask ourselves: Are my thoughts and intentions those of Christ? Do I have a sense of mission and is that mission a sharing in the mission of Christ? Am I growing in the virtues like kindness, humility, fortitude, love for the cross and suffering in general, etc.? We should try to make these goals as concrete and as specific as possible.
And once these goals are clearly set, let us get down to make some practicable plans and strategies to achieve them. For this, we need to give due consideration to the different current conditions and circumstances of our life—personal, family, professional, social, etc.
It would be good if we can identify both the favorable and unfavorable elements involved in the pursuit of our goals, so we would know how to prepare ourselves accordingly for this daily endeavor. As much as possible, we should try to achieve that ideal condition when the pursuit of the goals is done in a smooth, active and lively way.
Obviously, we have to make some allowance for some unexpected things that can appear along the way. We should learn also to be flexible and adaptable to these surprises that may involve a radical revision of our plans.
And then, when these plans and strategies are made, let’s put all our efforts to put them into practice. Let’s remember that we should first of all ask for God’s grace and that our intentions are always pure and all for the glory of God. There should be zeal and ardor in carrying out these plans.
But we should also see to it that for all the zeal and ardor that we should try to attain, we should remember to be humble, meek, tender and even sweet. Far be it from us that we become bitter and rigid in our zeal, highly sensitive and irascible whenever we meet some negative things along the way.
