Gracing

“Father, why was it so easy for Jesus to forgive His disciples who left Him alone during His passion and death?” Ryan asked.

“Because Jesus was bent on saving us. And He is not a vengeful God who only sees your sins and mine. He, more than anyone, knows our limitations. That is why He eagerly wants to give us an upgrade by pouring out His love and mercy upon us.”

“But doesn’t he get tired of us sinning and sinning again?”

“Not like we get tired of others and of ourselves when we commit the same things over and over again,” I clarified.

“What do you mean, Father?”

“Let’s put it this way,” I sat down beside him.

“God undoubtedly seems to be the recipient of all of mankind’s offenses.”

“I’d hate to think of Him like a huge recycle bin, Father,” Ryan grunted.

“Then we could use another word, like the one offended…,”

“Like a punching bag?” he interrupted me.

“Not even close,” I chuckled.

“Right. Admittedly, He is hurt by all our sins –past, present and future– but He mysteriously seems to focus more on our desires and efforts to start over again.”

“So after He resurrected, He was not confrontational towards the disciples who were known to have denied or abandoned Him like St. Peter, Thomas and the two disciples of Emmaus.”

“Instead, Jesus called their attention by inviting, not confronting, them to conversion.”

“So you’re saying that He doesn’t mind as long as we decide to begin again?” Ryan clarified.

“He does mind. Our sins affect Him because He is pained that through sinning we become weak and forfeit ourselves of His grace and love.”

“But He knows that man, given his finite nature, cannot possibly sin 24/7. God, however, can shower His grace for man infinitely, that is, 24/7!” I said.

“What does that mean, Father?” Ryan asked.

“Although we know that we are sinners, our Lord wants us to focus on the grace He constantly provides us to help us to become holy. We often get bogged down in our sinfulness to a point that we allow it to overwhelm the awareness of God’s mercy and love.”

“That’s a positive way of looking at things, Father,” Ryan concluded.

“Not only of looking, but also of engaging. In this way, the Christian should consider more the good he can do, more than just the evil he ought to avoid. The former is living a creative stance in one’s love for God and neighbor, the latter is a restricted perception of spiritual life ruled by do’s and don’ts.”

“In other words,” Ryan said, “I have to strive to invest more on the infinite amount of grace to do many good things daily, rather than to fearfully limit myself simply avoiding the bad things I may fall into.”

“And we attitude can be amusingly called gracing!”