THE words of St. Paul in 2 Corinthians 13: 11-13 would always relevant to us: “Brothers and sisters, rejoice. Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.” These are words that apply to every family, church, and community.
There are many times when we don’t live by these words because of varied reasons.
We can’t mend our ways because we don’t often see or accept our faults; we point the finger to another person. We don’t realize that the best solution to resolve a conflict is to change oneself and one’s ways of dealing with problems and issues in life.
We can’t encourage one another because we see the other person as a competitor. Our hearts are hardened by envy and jealousy; our minds are clouded with false assumptions and insecurities. We don’t appreciate our personal worth or gifts; we only see those of the other person.
We can’t agree with the other person because of self-righteousness and pride. We seek to be understood than to understand and to be loved than to love. We are handicapped by narcissistic attitudes – believing that we are better than others and that we’re special and are acting accordingly. We always expect others to go along with our ideas and plans, to believe that our opinions are always right.
We can’t exercise enough humility.
It is no wonder that we can’t live in peace and greet one another with a “holy kiss.” We carry the burden of resentments and anger. We don’t have peace in hearts and so we can’t be at peace with others.
If we have to reflect the love of God to others, we need to be healed from our wounded and damaged selves. One’s inner child must be fed with affirmations and forgiveness. It must also be willing to surrender to the grace and power of the Holy Spirit.
It’s true what many people say about one another: we all need conversion of hearts and minds and interior healing. We may not be able to get rid of our personal struggles completely, but we can ease our anxieties and fears with prayers and support of other people.
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Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas attended St. John Seminary in Camarillo, California and earned his Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri. For twenty years, he has been in the parish ministry of large multi-cultural communities. Since 2002, he has been the pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Los Angeles. Please email Fr. Rodel at [email protected].
