Viewpoints
Grace of God Plus Good Will of Man
By +Oscar V. Cruz, JCD
SO there is a new man named to become the Archbishop of Manila. So there are questions raised and speculations made about the future of the Archdiocese of Manila. So there are hopes and fears on the vision-mission of the Church in the Philippines – considering that the CBCP too is going to have a new President next year. Questions: What will the Archbishop-Elect of Manila do? How would the Archdiocese of Manila fare under his pastoral leadership? What is in store for the Church in the Philippines as far as the administrative stewardship of incoming CBCP President in concerned?
Answers in particular: The incoming Archbishop of Manila is wise and prudent, knowledgeable and competent, humble, kind and prayerful. He has a well-deserved Doctorate in Theology. He successfully occupies responsible positions in the local Church. The Archdiocese of Manila will be then in good hands. Its real and genuine assets are the millions of remarkable lay people, Religious Men and Women plus an able and dependable Clergy. As a whole, the Church in the Philippines cannot be but going towards the right and proper direction as fortified by faith and guided by reason. The CBCP will be well and alive, active and proactive specially in the realm of Ethics and Morals in Philippine society.
Answers in general: There is that standing and inspiring tenet in the Church that when the Good Lord assigns to or reposes a particular task on someone – such as the assumption of the Office of the Archdiocese of Manila by the Cleric thereto assigned – it incumbents upon God to help the man with the fulfillment of his commission. This is no only reasonable but also credible. Otherwise, without the enabling grace of God specially in favor of her merely human leadership, the Church all over the globe would not be now more than 2000 years and still going on – and on. In the same mystical vein, in the absence of the empowering grace of the Good Lord, Clerics in particular with leadership positions would find it humanly impossible to accomplish their tasks, to fulfill their commitments to, in and for the Church.
The grace of God plus the good will of man – this is the infallible combination of ecclesial strength. Such is the paring that brings about spiritual empowerment in the Church as a whole. Such is also the spiritual compound that makes wonders and miracles, that brings about Saints. Without the grace of God, what can man do? Without the good will of man, how would God’s grace work in the ordinary day-to-day life of the Church?
Conclusion: Would that we be all in peace and at ease. This is not the first time – much less the last time – that someone new becomes the Archbishop of Manila, that the Archdiocese of Manila has a new pastoral leader, that the CBCP has a new President.
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