Veritas June 2024 Edition: Sacrifice and the Magnetism of Good (Part One)
SACRIFICE
And the Magnetism of Good
(Part One)
In the month of May, we discussed Sacrifice and the Magnetism of Evil. We looked at various ways people make a pact with the devil and demons through certain cult membership or rituals in other to enrich themselves or to become powerful and famous. We also discussed the foolishness of such an action compared to some greater values lost in the process. The major challenge is that we are weak and fallible human beings and we will not be able to perfectly do or avoid certain things or actions demanded of us by the Magnetism of Evil.
Sacrifice can also be done in line with the Magnetism of Good. The Magnetism of God refers to the Supreme Being (God) who personifies Goodness among other perfect qualities. The Christian understanding of the Supreme Being (God) is Trinitarian. Thus, every action of one of the Persons of the Blessed Trinity involves the corroboration of the other two Persons. For instance, God the Father created everything through Jesus Christ (Jn. 1: 3) with the power of the Holy Spirit (Gen. 1: 3); and, indeed, creation was very good (Gen. 1: 31). When sin and evil came into the world through the trick the devil played on Adam and Eve, God the Son, Jesus Christ, was sent by the Father to die for our sins, empowered by the Holy Spirit at the baptism of John, and raised to life by the power of the Holy Spirit. By these actions of the Blessed Trinity, goodness was once again restored. After the ascension of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit was sent by the Father to empower, sanctify, and bring to perfection all persons that have come to accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Redeemer. This is also goodness. Wherever you find goodness, or anything that is good, you find the presence and action of the Supreme Being (God). This further explains the idea that the Holy Spirit is everywhere – in places where good is done, and in all persons who do good works irrespective of their race, colour, religion or tribe. Persons who do good works are referred to as men and women of goodwill, and on such persons “God’s favour rest” (Lk 2: 14). The idea that without the Holy Spirit nothing good can be found or can be done is made clear in one of the verses of the sequence of the Holy Spirit:
Where thou art not, man has naught;
Nothing good in deed or thought;
Nothing free from taint of ill.
Men and women of goodwill are under the influence of the Magnetism of Good. Such persons make sacrifices in two ways. The first way is to accept the negative and painful challenges of life we cannot change. The second way is to intentionally make sacrifices in line with moral virtue. We shall briefly explain the first way and discuss the second way in the July edition.
Accepting the negative and painful challenges or sufferings of life that we cannot change, and offering them as sacrifices for our spiritual, moral and financial growth is an essential aspect of Christian mysticism, and it is the basis of “The Morning Offering” every Catholic should pray each morning. Unfortunately, this aspect of Christian mysticism has been neglected in the wrong search for a Christian religion that takes away all pains and sorrows from the lives of Christians. There are certain negative and painful challenges or sufferings we must cope with as men and women of goodwill and, more so, as Christians. All the Apostles of Christ including St Paul, whose sufferings are written in his letters, endured much sufferings for the sake of Christ without complaining, cursing, revenging or retaliating. Some of the negative and painful challenges or sufferings faced by the Christians of today are (a) suffering resulting from speaking the truth and doing what is right at your place of work, (b) Refusing to take bribe to do what is wrong especially when your salary is not enough for your monthly expenses, (c) suffering from a terminal illness, (d) bearing with one’s parents, spouse, or in-laws, (e) enduring bad government policies and insensitivity to economic growth and security of one’s country, (f) refusing to revenge, that is, refusing to paying wrong with wrong, or evil with evil because you are a Christian, (g) writing exams without using prohibited materials because you are a Christian, even if others are secretly or openly doing so to their seemingly ‘advantage’, and so on. Offering such sacrifices to God daily with the intention to grow your spiritual life, for protection from evil, the growth of one’s business or career, etc., will go a long way to mystically make one’s life more meaningful and fulfilling. So, stop grumbling, complaining, getting angry and bitter over things you cannot change. Ask for the wisdom to know the things you can and should change, and the things you cannot change and should accept. I will end with the Serenity Prayer:
“O God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference. Amen.”
(Sylvester Idemudia Odia, Ph.D., VERITAS: The official newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Benin City, Vol. 15, No. 141, June 2024, p. 33)