Back to basics

The story is told about two monks who were having a hearty conversation on Christmas Eve, the only time of the year when they were exempted from their monastic rule of perpetual silence. Just then the bell rang, signaling the end of their talking time. When the two of them met again on Christmas Eve of the next year, the first monk enthusiastically started:  “Ah, as I was saying last year…”

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In today’s Gospel (Mt. 6, 24-34), Jesus teaches His disciples how money and money matters can deprive us of peace and joy.  The poor and those who don’t have much rejoice over simple joys and are grateful for whatever blessings. The rich and the proud, on the other hand, subjected to much worry and stress, do not even have the time to enjoy and be grateful for their blessings. Faith is the defining factor! Faith uplifts us in our poverty, and faith should guide us in our prosperity. May God, not money, be our God.

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We need money to live, but we do not need to live for money. In other words, we must not become slaves of money. On the personal level, when money becomes a constant pursuit, a passionate concern, or the basis of our and other people’s worth, then money has become our master. When we value money more than family, friends, or relationships and country, then money has become our God.

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The poor are miserable and worried because of money. But so are the rich, especially the filthy rich who worry about how to keep their money, how to explain their money, and how to hide their money. On a deeper level, there is that constant voice within that asks them how they acquired their money, and how generous they are with their money. And there is that nagging thought within: Who am I without my money? Deprived of power and money, who am I to people, who am I to God?

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I am writing this column at the Our Lady of the Philippines Trappist Monastery in Guimaras, where 25 monks live a life of prayer (ora) and work (labora), witnessing to the world by their simple and hidden lives that money is not everything in this world. They have chosen to take the “road less travelled,” the journey that leads to God’s heart. They concretize what our Lord says in today’s Gospel: “But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be given you besides.”

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The Trappist Monastery in Guimaras was established in 1972. One of the six original monks was a diocesan priest, Fr. Constantino Montero, our town mate from Bani, Pangasinan. His joining the monastery was a mystery and an inspiration to me, a young seminarian then; it is still a mystery when we hear of a physician, agriculturist, ship captain, chef, engineer, or what have you, turn their backs on their career, leave everything and everyone, to live a hidden life with God. It is a mystery. It is grace. And these people are living reminders that there is a God, and that life is not all about you or me, but about God.

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Back to basics. It was so liberating to experience in the monastery how to be simple, minimal, and natural once again. Come to think of it, we can do away with so many unnecessary baggage and clutter in our lives. Very little, indeed, is necessary in this life. In fact, when we go beyond the necessary and wallow in the excess, we become unhappy and stressed. By the way, March 5 is Ash Wednesday, reminding us to dispose of our sins and bad habits, and our excess baggage and belongings.

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The silence, the solitude, and the peace of the monastery made up a refreshing experience. The whole day is focused on God, with fixed prayer times starting at 2:30 a.m. and ending with a night prayer at 6:45 p.m. While many of us just rush through our prayers and practically forget God in our busy day, the contemplative life reminds us that the whole day is not all about you or me, but about the presence of God. May we become more aware, and acknowledge, and come into, the presence of God throughout the day. As it were, prayer is not just by-the-way, but the way to make our day meaningful and holy.

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By the way, people are welcome to visit and stay in the monastery guest house and join the monks in their prayers. (For inquiries, call 9196554881/09184212852; e-mail [email protected]; or log on to www.ourladyofnewhelfta.com.olp.) Lay people, priests and religious would do well to experience simplicity, humility, prayer, and peace. Our politicians, too, would do well to go there, and be reminded that God, not money, is God, and that the people are their masters, not their slaves.

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I treasure the silence and solitude in the monastery. Joining the monks at prayer at 2:30 a.m. was a clear reminder that God is God, and that we are His lowly servants who wait on Him and serve Him. The night prayer at 6:45 p.m., chanted by the monks in the dark church, was a reminder that God is present especially in the darkest moments of our lives.

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, help me to go back to basics in this life so that I can go back to You in eternal life. Amen.