Christian maturity

Like Jesus, we have to choose between good and evil; we have to make moral decisions. During the time of Jesus, He and his disciples had to confront this dilemma as they were being inundated by people that they could not even eat.

Jesus’ moral choices could have given people during that time reasons to think as they did. Before all of this, Jesus had decided to give up his family and his woodworking business in Nazareth.

That work brought in money weekly, but as a wandering preacher, he did not even have a place to lay his head. He also saw it as morally necessary to put himself on a collision course with the leaders of the people.

It would have been better to stay on their good side if you wanted to get things done; people believed then as what is happening now: one has to have clout, a group of people to force the powerful to listen. Besides, this little group that Jesus had stated didn’t look very impressive — some fishermen, a reformed tax collector, a nationalist fanatic, among others.

Whereas most people want jobs and money coming in, Jesus was throwing material security away. Whereas most people like to play it safe, he was taking a course that involved moral considerations and risk. And, whereas for most people, the voice of their neighbors speaks louder than the voice of God, and they are concerned about that, “What will people say?” He cared little for the verdict of society.

Jesus presented good and evil from another perspective, another point of view. Thus, to call evil good and good evil is a complete inversion of all moral values. The moral wreck who commits it has no sense of sin. Such a person can’t repent, and while unable to love, he can’t reach out for forgiveness, nor can he receive forgiveness.

Some of today’s conduct is as immature as anything done by Adam and Eve, the Corinthians, and the Gospel scribes. Nowadays, blame is more common than harmony, and judgment is more common than reconciliation. Church members may blame each other: conservatives blame liberals, liberals blame conservatives, parishioners their priests, priests their parishioners, and so on. Often, these actions are simply ways of coping with our inadequacies by placing them on others.

Maturity means turning the mirrors of our childhood, which concentrated on ourselves, into windows that enable us to see other people. Breaking that down, maturity means many other things. Maturity is the ability to control anger and settle differences without violence.

Maturity is patience — the willingness to pass up immediate pleasure in favor of long-term gain. Maturity is perseverance — the ability to stick with a situation in spite of discouraging setbacks. Maturity is the capacity to face unpleasantness, discomfort, and defeat without collapse. Maturity is the ability to say, “I was wrong,” when we were wrong and when we were right, resisting the satisfaction of saying, “I told you so.” Maturity is the ability to make a decision and follow it through. Maturity means avoiding the alibi, keeping one’s word, and coming through in a crisis.

Maturity is the art of living in peace with what we can’t change, having the courage to change what we know should be changed, and having the wisdom to know the difference.

Moral maturity gives radiance to our own person; it is the reason for respect and the grounds for veneration. The more mature we are, the greater the person we become.

The Persons with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) of the Quezon City government, headed by Deborah Dacanay, donated 100 wheelchairs and gave aid and gifts to their constituents who are persons with disabilities (PWD).

According to Mr. Engelbert Apostol, the Head of PAISD-QQC aside from wheelchairs, PWDs in Quezon City also received gifts and other financial assistance. As of today, there are about 69,170 PWDs registered in Quezon City.