The apostolic spirit
If we truly are consistent with our Christian identity, there should be no doubt that an essential part of it is that we are meant to be apostles and disciples of Christ who is asking us to go to the whole world, preach the gospel, and baptize people in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (cfr. Mt 18,19-20)
Vatican II itself spelled it out very clearly. “The Christian vocation is by its very nature a vocation to the apostolate.” (Apostolicam actuositatem, 2) So, anyone who wants to be truly consistent to his Christian identity and calling should realize ever deeply that he is called to help others get closer to God. This is what apostolate is all about.
This duty actually springs first of all from our nature, since we are not only individual persons but are also a social being. Our sociability is not an optional feature. It is part of our essence, violating which would be equivalent to violating our very own nature.
We can never live alone. We need to be with others. And more, we need to care for one another. We have to be responsible for one another. And while this caring and loving starts with the most immediate material human needs like food, clothing, etc., it has to go all the way to the spiritual and more important needs of ours.
That’s why we need to practice affection, compassion, understanding, patience, and mercy on everyone. We have to understand though that all these can only take place if they spring and tend towards God, “the source of all good things” for us.
Forget it if we believe we are capable of doing these duties merely on our own will power. We can give some semblance of their fulfilment, but if not anchored on God, the mask will just fall off sooner or later.
We have to be more aware of this duty. We need to talk about it more freely and more often. In the first place, because it has its complex and dynamic side that should be dominated and mastered. Besides, it has to contend with a world culture that is quite averse and even hostile to it.
The realization of this crucial aspect of our Christian life is what actually gives meaning and perspective to our whole life and everything contained in it. It puts our life in the right orbit.
Our life can’t simply be a life in pursuit of personal sanctity without doing apostolate. These two go together inseparably, mutually affecting each other to put us on the right track in our life.
This joint God-and-man effort is also in keeping with our dignity as persons and as children of God. As persons, we need to see to it that we get to be responsible also for our whole life, for attaining its true fullness of purpose.
And that’s nothing less than to participate in the life of God, since more than persons, we are children of his, meant to live with him.
Thus, to do apostolate engages our intelligence and will in their proper way. It’s how we can best use our freedom and our loving. It’s how we can be truly responsible for our life.
In short, if these distinctive human faculties and activities are not used for apostolate but rather for some other human purpose, we would be misusing them. No matter how noble these human purposes are, if the apostolic dimension is missing, we would be misusing these God-given powers.
With the price of gasoline and diesel reaching unprecedented highs, people are resorting to cheaper means of getting around. While some use motorcycles, electric scooters, or take public transportation, there is no cheaper way than walking.
But a TikTok video of Gabriele Raine Baljak, Miss Cebu 2016, went viral when she tried to walk from Bonifacio Global City to Mandaluyong. Google maps directed her to use the BGC-Ortigas Road Link Bridge in crossing the Pasig River. According to Google maps, the new bridge is safe for pedestrians to use. But when she started crossing the bridge over the aromatic river, there was no real sidewalk for pedestrians. Based on her photo, all I can see is a bike lane and a road. If the narrow-elevated concrete portion right next to the wall is what they consider a sidewalk, then it is laughable. If a bicycle and a car happen to be side-by-side along the bridge while you’re walking, then you will have to make sure you are not hit by the bicycle. A safe sidewalk that is not.
“Mt. Kamuning” or the very high footbridge on EDSA-Kamuning is back in the spotlight. This time a foreign diplomat criticized the footbridge and that does not help prop up the country’s image. He was spot on when he said, “there is no better way to make it clear to pedestrians that they don't matter." Comments were filled with blame on former president Noynoy Aquino’s administration, but the fact-checkers immediately proved it was built in 2018. People are just too quick to blame the “yellows” for almost everything without first knowing the facts. Typical.