Have you ever wondered what makes a boy grow into a man?
Reflecting upon this question during the past month, I thought about all the people in my life who exemplified as men: my dad, teachers, couple coordinators, priests, and saints whom I looked up to. I pondered upon what virtues they all had in common.
THE VIRTUE OF OBEDIENCE
One virtue I thought of was obedience, specifically to their families, their work, and especially to God. When it came to this virtue, I look up to three men.
First, Jesus was a perfect example of a man who was obedient to His family. He always did everything His mother asked Him to do and obeyed out of the love He had for His family. Second, when I reflected on a prudent example of a man who was obedient to His work, I thought of Jesus’ foster father, St. Joseph. St. Joseph was hardly mentioned in the Bible, but his value of hard-work was present and influential and it surely continues to be. He was genuinely a person with so much humility that it reflected on his dedication to provide for his family. Lastly, when I reflected on a faithful example of a man who was obedient to God, I wanted to focus on a person who lived in this day and age such as St. John Paul the Great. He woke up every single day at around four to five in the morning to go to adoration before celebrating mass at seven-thirty. Imagining how he carried out his morning routine was so remarkable! All these men are perfect examples of how being obedient to the people you love and the people who love you will ultimately dictate who you are.
THE VIRTUE OF INTEGRITY
Another virtue that I associate with the men I look up to is integrity. It was integrity in that they were always doing what they were supposed to be doing, not doing anything wrong or letting their emotions or thoughts dictate what they were doing. It was integrity that taught them to not be guided by the surroundings and people of their day and age, but to be courageous and embrace what God was calling them to do in the present moment. When thinking about the necessity of integrity, I thought of the word ‘convenience’:
“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.”
– 2 Timothy 4:1-2
Reflecting on this verse and the mindset of practising integrity, do you think that St. John Paul the Great woke up every single day at four in the morning because it was convenient to do so?
Our lives should be revolved around Christ not to conveniently place Him wherever we choose and whenever we feel like, but to see God as our necessity just like the food we eat or the air we breathe. In this humility, we realize that we are nothing without God’s love and mercy, which gives us strength and courage. We must not be comfortable with falling into our own sinfulness and doing what we desire. Instead, we must be courageous to what God is calling us to do in every single moment: to continue to grow in love and holiness by His grace.
To conclude, I pray that we all grow as men and women of God not only because we love Him, but because of how much He has blessed us, continues to bless us, and continues to remain faithful to us. He only asks us to not conform to what is normal in this world, but instead be counter-cultural and show others how much God’s love has transformed our whole being.
“But childlikeness is not childishness. To be childish is to retain in maturity what should have been discarded at the threshold of manhood. Childlikeness, on the contrary, implies with mental breadth and practical strength and wisdom of maturity they are associated the humility, trustfulness and obedience of the child.”
– Ven. Fulton Sheen, The World’s First Love, 2nd Edition: Mary, Mother of God
Christian Arenzana – Brother Campus-Based Program Head | CFC-Youth Pacific Region
