Evil fathomed, borne and destroyed

 If there is anything that is very prominently highlighted in the Good Friday liturgy and the entire Easter Triduum that ends on Easter Sunday, it is that all the evil and malice we are capable of committing are fathomed and measured by Christ, borne and assumed by him and finally destroyed and conquered.

This is what we have to bear in mind as we go through the liturgical services that from the human point of view can really be tedious and boring because of the many details involved.

It's only with this thought that would enable us to enter into the deepest meaning of these days. Otherwise, we would just end up hating the services and itching for an escape.

Our capacity to do evil and to succumb to malice is also infinite. That's just how things are with us. The range and scope of possibilities for both good and evil, given our spiritual nature, is quite extensive.

That's a thought that should sober us, especially if we consider the evil possibilities. If we think we have already seen enough evil and malice in this world, think again. There are still more, and in forms that can truly beggar our imagination.

This is not meant to scare us. Rather, it is meant to firm up our conviction that the greatest evil has already been done, and that is the killing of Christ on the cross, the crucifying of not only a great man, even the greatest man, but also of God himself, for Christ is both man and God.

In a sense, we should not worry so much about the evil that can still unfold before our eyes in forms and ways that can really stretch our disbelief to the limit. Nothing can surpass the evil and malice of killing Christ, though we must also admit that every evil we commit contributes and reprises the cruel crucifixion of Christ.

This does not mean that we can be cavalier with evil, even in its slightest forms. We should try to avoid all traces of evil and malice, and resist them with our best efforts. But if we cannot help but fall into them, we should not worry too much, because all that evil has already been borne by Christ and conquered by him.

Besides, St. Paul told us quite clearly that while sin has abounded, the grace of God has abounded even more. It's a truth that was richly dramatized in the parables of the lost coin, the lost sheep and the prodigal son. What we have to do is to act out what those involved in these parables did-to look and find God again, to ask for pardon.

We need to immerse ourselves more deeply in this conviction so we don't waste precious time and energy tangling with our doubts and fears because of our weakness, temptations and falls. We sometimes go to such extremes in lamenting over these phenomena that we may not be able to get hold of what is truly important-to go back to God.

That's why it is important that we meditate on the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. Being the culmination and summary of his redemptive work that is also perpetuated in the Church especially through the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, this paschal mystery sheds abundant light on the interplay of grace and evil, mercy and malice, etc.

Such meditation, especially during the Holy Week, can truly widen our perspective and deepen our faith in God and his loving, wise and merciful providence over us. It will take us away from ignorance, error and confusion, so rampant these days insofar as our faith is concerned.

It will also help us to be understanding towards ourselves and others whenever we feel we are committing or seeing evil around us. It will help us to be more charitable, preferring to pray, to ask for pardon, to go to confession, to make atonement, etc.

If there's any need to clarify something or to defend ourselves, then we can do these with utmost delicacy, without falling into bitter zeal. We would also be encouraged to imitate Christ in accepting the cross, our daily contradictions with faith and trust in God and his providence.

In the end, we will be helped in developing a supernatural and theological outlook toward life, especially its unavoidable dark aspect, and even to have a positive, serene and cheerful attitude, so necessary these days when we are wracked with a lot of negativism and tension.