Tackling the impossible

WE have to be ready for the impossible situations in our life. What we consider impossible in our life, those moments which we fear to death and try to avoid as much as we can, can actually happen anytime. They are unavoidable.

In fact, nowadays with the complicated developments we are having, these events are highly probable. And yet these cases are nothing compared to the fact that we are meant for a supernatural destination, completely impossible for us to attain simply by our own powers. Plus the fact that the challenges, trials, obstacles and enemies we have to contend with are simply beyond us.

We have to train our mind and heart to expect these things and not to be daunted by them. There’s always a way out, even if that may involve a lot of suffering and pain, and even death. We have to avoid plunging into unnecessary sadness, discouragement, pessimism and depression.

We always have reason for hope and joy. And that’s simply because there is God. With him nothing is impossible. And what may be considered as impossible, a failure, defeat and loss in our human standards are actually possible, a success, victory and gain in God’s calculus.

The crucial thing to do is to be with God through faith, hope and charity, and all the other virtues that derive from them, especially humility and simplicity. The crucial thing to do is to follow closely the example and teaching of Christ, the fullness of divine revelation and our way, truth and life, which are also reflected in the lives of all the saints.

When we find ourselves in a seemingly hopeless and helpless predicament, let’s imitate those characters in the gospel who were of a similar situation and who approached and importuned Christ in all humility and faith. They were all cured.

We just have to learn to go to Christ with deep humility and great faith. Christ is always passing by our side. In fact, he always looks at us, especially when we are in an impossible situation, with special concern, ever ready to give a helping hand.

It’s good that we spend some time deepening our humility and building up our faith. These tasks cannot and should not be taken for granted. There will always be endless frontiers to open in these virtues, not to mention the continuing effort to keep alive and healthy what we already covered in them.

We have to overcome our tendency to be complacent in this regard, thinking that we are humble enough or that our faith is just fine. In fact, the problem with these virtues is that we can never have enough of them.

The truth is the moment we say we have them, let’s be ready to lose them, and again and again to go through the process of recovering them. They are slippery virtues that require constant interior renewal and conversion.

To develop and nourish them, we need to realize that our heart and mind are in constant flux. Their stability is never static but rather very dynamic. They can turn one way or another in just an instant, and in fact it can go to extremes.

We need to realize that our control of these powers of ours, which need to be properly grounded and directed, is at best tenuous. And thus we have to constantly be watchful and at the same time proactive in developing these virtues, never waiting for occasions or some special inspiration to come before we do something about it.

Let’s remember that among the consequences of sin, both original and personal, is the pride of life. It’s just kind of automatic for us to be proud, so much so that another saint once said that pride is so ingrained in us that it would only disappear 24 hours after our death.

We can precisely make use of our impossible predicaments to deepen our humility and grow in faith. Humility strengthens when we are humbled more than when we humble ourselves.

When we approach God with humility and faith, we can be reassured of what Christ told many persons: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Mt 19,26)

These words should make us wonder if our humility and faith are really that strong since, perhaps, many of our urgent petitions seem to go unanswered. If they are truly strong, then we could have what we begged for, for Christ always responds promptly and generously.

We need to do a deep examination of conscience on this point.