The Fullness of Life
Fruit of Christian meditation
There are various approaches to Christian meditation but the goal and fruit of it is a maturing in the love of God and neighbors.
Christian meditation focuses our heart and mind toward God, enables us to experience union with Him, and the fruit of this union with the heavenly father is love and concern for all His children.
In one of His parables about the Kingdom of God, Jesus tells us that in His second coming, He will come as a King full of Glory and majesty and will sit upon His throne to judge the whole humanity. Then He will separate us into two groups, one on His left and the other on His right.
To one group He will give His blessing and say: 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me... Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.' The other group, on the other hand, were reprimanded for their negligence and lack of concern for the plight of the poor, and our Lord reminded me 'truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of them, you did not do it to Me.' And I added, 'These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.' (cf Mt 25: 31-46).
During the 23rd ECIP-IPA National Convention held at Lake Sebu, South Cotabato last Nov. 22-25, one of the bishops based in Mindanao told this touching story taken from the Lives of the Desert fathers to emphasize the importance of the Church's mission to the poorest of the poor, especially to the Indigenous peoples.
One of the saintly monks who lived in the desert of Egypt by the name of Abba Agathon was bringing his products to the town for sale. The town was 40 kilometers away, so he had to start quite early carrying all the baskets he had produced. After walking for about four kilometers he met a beggar who was crippled. The beggar called out to him, 'Abba Agathon, please bring me with you to town.' Startled that there was this beggar in that remote area in the desert, he approached him and asked, 'But, how, since you're a cripple?' 'Just carry me,' the beggar insisted. So Abba Agathon carried him along with his other load all the way to the town.
While the town folks were flocking around the monk to buy his baskets and to request for prayers and some words of wisdom, the beggar expressed his hunger and asked Agathon to buy him bread. The monk left and came back with armload of bread more than the beggar could consume. Then after, the cripple asked to buy a book for him to read while waiting. So Agathon bought one which was very expensive during those times. Toward evening the beggar asked for a blanket as it was getting cold. Again, the saintly monk procured one for him, spending all the money he had.
As Agathon was about to leave, the beggar told him to carry him back to his place. And meekly the poor monk did so, struggling for another ten kilometers. And when they reached the place, the beggar was so grateful that he began to praise and thank God for Agathon's kindly deed. After a short distance Agathon looked back and was shocked... the beggar had disappear! Only then did Abba Agathon realize that the beggar was Christ Himself.