Married people are going through a lot, this is not because marriage is bad in itself, but rather because those who contract it are two different persons, who have been formed and nurtured differently; at times it takes effort to live together and tolerate each other. But marriage from its very institution makes those who enter into it couples and so, they should learn to tolerate each other in order to live in harmony with each other. No one is problem free, we too have our shortcomings that others have to overlook and live with. We just have to try. Getting married and staying married are two different things; but staying married is what married people should aspire. We cannot remove tolerance as an essential tool to staying married, when we do, marriages suffer and go sour. Tolerance is not the only essential tool for staying married, yet we all need it to stay married.
Friday, 29 July 2022
Wednesday, 15 April 2015
MAN'S LIMITATIONS IN ATTAINMENT OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOD HERE AND NOW
God, by His very nature
exceeds human intellect, for God Himself is beyond the power of the intellect. St.
Thomas affirms this in the question one of the Prima Pars of his Summa Theologiae, saying that no created intellect can see the essence of God. The reason being that the created intellect knows only existing things. For what falls first under the apprehension of the intellect is being. Now God is not something existing; but He is rather super-existence. Therefore, God is not intelligible; but above all intellect, this provides reason why human intellect cannot know God's
essence.[1]
St. Thomas explaining why human intellect cannot lead us to full knowledge of
God teaches that if men are left to find God that:
ü Many will not find him;
ü Some will find a caricature god
ü Some will find him only after a very long time.
Some will even find him but will not know him.
St. Augustine also has something to say about
man's limitations in attainment of knowledge of God. In the Book II, Chapter 2
of his classic work: City of God, Augustine
states that it is rare thing for a man, after he has contemplated the whole
creation, to understand the nature of God; for to know God is beyond our human
comprehension.[2] Similarly, in The Confession, Book 13; St. Augustine teaching about eternal
truth says that, the Divine Truth is not given through the senses but it comes
from divine light. Thus in order for man to know eternal truth, man needs
divine illumination. Everything apprehends the truth according to the mode of
the being. Human beings are rule by reason, they are limited beings, and
therefore cannot apprehend the immensity.[3]
The result being that there is a limit to power of reason, where reason stops,
revelation takes over, since we need God to know God. Reason's grasp of divine
truth is based on revelation of God about himself. Even when revelation is
present the knowledge of God cannot be said to be certain to be used in
understanding God Himself who is the giver of divine revelation.
WORK: AN ORDINANCE FROM GOD
BEING A TALK GIVEN TO GROUP OF STUDENTS
Man created in image of God shares by his work in
the activity of the creator. The first two chapters of Genesis bear witness to
this, for in them we find creative activities of God presented in form of
"work", done by God in six days. (Cf. Gen. 1&2). The work we do
is the means by which we contribute to the creative work of God. Hence, that we
must work is an ordinance from God. For we read in Genesis 1: 28, "Be
fruitful, multiply and fill the earth". In another place we read, "By the sweat of your face will you
earn food until you return the ground which you are from" (Genesis
3:19). Thus, from the aforementioned scriptural passages, we come to the
knowledge that work is an essential part of man; ordained by God. So, working
becomes a duty which we must fulfill; a sacrifice we must offer, and a debt we
must pay. Work is God's gift to us because we are created to be fruitful, to
this end, when we approach our work with right disposition and attitude; we are
thus fulfilling the law of Christ. Our work must therefore proceed from God
because we are journeying back to God (God is the end of man).
Every
legitimate work has dignity attached to it (by this claim I mean that there are
works that are non-legitimate, these works are illegal such as prostitution,
drug dealing, and professional thieves; these works are bad in themselves,
because they go against God's plan for man). (Some other works are legal but
imposes problem in terms of ethics & morality eg: working in abortion clinic
and in pornography industry). But every work is
honourable as far as it does not deprive man of his salvation.
Since the birth of civilization, human
beings have been doing all kinds of work; for man works to feed, he works to
sustain life. St. Paul recognizes this
with rather harsh words when he says: "If anyone among you is not willing
to work, let him not eat" (2Thessalonians 3: 10). Paul employed these harsh words to discourage laziness. Similarly, our Christian religion teaches us
to do our work diligently. This teaching stems from the belief that through the
work we do, we can find God. We read in
1 Corinthians 10:31, "Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God"
For this reason, I urge you my brothers and sisters not to look for God in
far-away places but only in work our state in life presentes to us. For God is
close to us in our homes, in our working place, on the streets, at the
playground, in your studies, for these are altars where we can find God.
It must also be noted That we must work
is a necessity, because God approved that we must not only work but that we
must work hard, this we see in the mandate He gave to Adam in Genesis 2: 15, God in the
Garden of Eden gave Adam the injunction to till land and cultivate it.
(Cultivation as we know is not an easy work; it needs hard work. Book
of proverbs also remains us about the necessity of hard work, Proverb
14: 23; says "Hard work always yields profits but mere talk leads to
penury (Poverty)".
Consequently, Successes
in all human endeavours bear witness to the testimony of hard work. Everything we enjoy is a result of someone's
hard work, hence excellence is not a luck but a fruit of hard work. Good talent
often without hard work crumbles. Some may ask: why should we work since
many work-up their lives and are paid little or nothing? But I said to you that we must attend to our works with eagerness
and right attitude, not only because it is ordained by God but because we owe
responsibility:
to self,
to our family,
to our society,
and to our environment. And more also because
we will be judged by the works of our hands and our state in life. That
is why a wife who lives her domestic duty to pinch her tent in the church in
prayer and fasting may still not make heaven.--------------- WHY?--- because
she abandoned her primary duty as a mother and wife, for she will be missing
the mark when she fails to cook food for her children because of her personal
devotion.
Therefore it
becomes necessary that we should treasure those works that our state in life
demands from us. As students our
primary assignment is our studies, and thus our studies need dignity, it needs
discipline, self-sacrifice and perseverance; for only in these that we can be
truly called students. With regard to this, when a student lives
his/her studies and takes pleasure in partying around and giving much time to frivolities,
his/her books suffers, he/she fails in her duty and go against the ordinance of
God. For
it is a sin for a student not to study (he/ she will be wasting
recourses). And so, we have to work now, when we have the time, energy and
strength because in near future, if not so soon we will not have the time and the
strength to do so. Let our consolation therefore be, that through our work we
can gain eternal life. It seems that we often forget this, but St. John reminds
us saying: Do not work for things that perishes, but for things that endures
to eternal life, which God will give you (See, John 6:27). Dear people of God, to carry out our work more
effectively in this present life, we must guard against those things that will
not help us in our work, such as Love of
pleasure, Love of power and Love of profit. Though not bad in themselves but they have a way of distracting us
towards achieving our goal in life.
In sum, hard
work is the only way to excel in life; we cannot seat in the comfort of our
rooms assuming that other people will do our work for us. We have to take
charge and work hard, because that is the means that God has ordained for us to
survive, because in work--- we gain our salvation. Through work we serve
people, through work we meet our own needs, for St. Paul teaches us that we
must work to meet our needs in life. Through work we acquire resources to help
others, for we read in Acts 20: 35, that it is by working hard that we help the
weak; hence our Lord teaches us, that ‘It is more blessed to give than to
receive.”
Finally, through work
we love God. This we do by obeying his commandment who has called us to be
FRUITFUL, MULTIPLY AND FILL THE EARTH. Our work in this present life prepares
us for life to come (Beatific Vision). And so dear friends in Christ,
let us learn to work,
let us love to work
let us live working, because work is ordinance from
God and when we work we contribute to the creative work of God. May Virgin Mary, who willingly submitted to God's creative work, through the Yes
she said, continue to intercede for us as we struggle to do God's will. Amen
VOCATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD: A SCHOOL OF OBEDIENCE
In the school of obedience there is
but one and only textbook, the Bible. This book was not written to make us mere
intellectuals but to guide our Christian conduct. In it God reveals himself to
us, his life and teachings become textbook to guide us in this school of
obedience. The very entrance into priestly vocation demands absolute obedience;
Christ whose footprints we follow had already taught us how to obey. For we
read in Hebrews 5: 8-9, he learned obedience by the things which he suffered;
and thus became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey. Christ has
come to teach us how to obey; obedience therefore is at the heart of priestly
vocation, in so far as this vocation is a share in the very life and ministry
of Christ. To this end, the scriptures tell us through the words of St. Paul, that
Christ is the greatest high priest, who obeyed in all things but sin (Hebrews
4:15); in another place we read, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto
death (Philippians 2:8 ).
Similarly, from Christ's teaching
and way of life we learn that the obedience he practiced, is what he asks from
all those who wish to follow him. Hence, priestly vocation is a call to
obedience; a call that demands more communion with Christ, who came to the
world for the purpose of carrying out God's will; in this lies the principle
task of the priestly vocation. For the greatest glory we can give to God is to
obey his will in all things. From entrance to the Seminary or Religious life to
the day a priest is ordained, obedience becomes something necessary and
needful; and after ordination it remains the rule of life and sacrifice a
priest offers to Christ and his Church. Nevertheless, the word to
"Obey" gains more strength in Religious Life, where more commitment
to obedience is required. Here obedience becomes the passion of life, where one
gives up one's life in obedience for him who has taught us to obey. It is in
obeying that a priest and a religious do the will of God. For we read in
Hebrews 10: 9, Behold I have come to do your will, o God. To do Christ's will
is to obey his teachings; this is the key to learning in the school of
obedience. This is what our teacher and master has called us to learn, this he
also asks of those who embrace priestly vocation.
Therefore, to do well in this
school, close attention should be paid to our teacher and Master Jesus Christ.
All the things we need to excel in this school is found in this teacher, his
entire life is a book to be read. It will be irksome that we call Christ our
master and fail to follow his teachings. For this reason, if those who enter
this school fail to obey; then it is either that they have learn little or
known nothing about Christ. On the other hand, when those who enter into this
school constantly look up to their master Jesus Christ, then the words of John
H. Sammis "When we walk with
the Lord in the light of His Word, What a glory He sheds on our way; While we
do His good will, He abides
with us still And with all who will trust and obey;" Is being made real in their witness to
Christ. Let us therefore trust in a God who has called us to obey and always
strive to do his holy will. Let us seek God in obedience, for he who strives to
withdraw himself from obedience, withdraws himself from God's grace. May Virgin Mary, who willingly submitted to God's plan with complete trust
and obedience,
continue to guide us as we learn from Christ's school of obedience. Amen
Death and its Mystery
The mystery surrounding "death" has always kept me mute. When I lost my dad, this mystery became more vague and hard to accept. As if this wasn't enough, I watch those who are so dear to me being consumed by the same mystery, yet I couldn't do anything but wonder. A wonder that always moves me to tears, a wonder that I guess no one could explain. I still watch people pass on today, people who have what it takes to live forever, people who are learned, those blessed with all manner of good things; those if it were to be possible could have bought death itself. Yet all these cannot envelop this mystery, these were also consumed by the mystery called death. Over the years I watch people grow old, become weak and die, but today death comes to us differently, old and young take their turns and die. This experience will one day be my lot. An experience that sucks my will power and leaves me with a feeling of nostalgia. The fact that I must die one day makes me sick and fragile, but that I (we) must die is a necessity. However, it remains striking to ask what kind of death is destined for me? This question could only be answered after I might have accepted the fact that I will soon die, but for now death remains a mystery that is yet to unfold.
Leonard Okpechi
A reflection on death.
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