Divine Intimacy: Meditations on the Interior Life for Everyday of the Year

[Stone]

THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT TO THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
THE IDEAL: SANCTITY, INTIMACY WITH GOD, THE APOSTOLATE — THE MYSTERY OF THE INCARNATION — JESUS: HIS PERSON, HIS WORK, OUR RELATIONS WITH HIM — THE CHURCH — THE SACRAMENTS.

I - THE LORD COMETH FROM AFAR

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

PRESENCE OF GOD - The Lord is coming; I place myself in His presence and go to meet Him with all the energy of my will.


MEDITATION 

1. “The Name of the Lord cometh from afar.... I look from afar, and behold I see the power of God coming.... Go out to meet Him, and say, ‘ Tell us if You are He who shall rule....’” These words are taken from today’s liturgy, and in reply, it invites us, “ Come, let us adore the King, the Lord who is coming!..” (RB). 

This coming was expected for long ages; it was foretold by the prophets, and desired by all the just who were not granted to see its dawn. The Church commemorates and renews this expectation with each recurring Advent, expressing this longing to the Savior who is to come. The desire of old was sustained solely by hope, but it is now a confident desire, founded on the consoling reality of the Redemption already accomplished. Although historically completed nineteen centuries ago, this longing should be actualized daily, renewed in ever deeper and fuller reality in every Christian soul. The spirit of the Advent liturgy, commemorating the age-long expectation of the Redeemer, will prepare us to celebrate the mystery of the Word made Flesh by arousing in each one of us an intimate, personal expectation of the renewed coming of Christ to our soul. This coming is accomplished by grace; to the degree in which grace develops and matures in us, it becomes more copious, more penetrating, until it transforms the soul into an alter Christus. Advent is a season of waiting and of fervent longing for the Redeemer: “Drop down dew, ye heavens, and let the clouds rain the Just One!” (ibid.). 


2. In today’s Epistle (Rom 13,11-14), St. Paul exhorts us, “ Brethren, it is now the hour...to rise from sleep.” During Advent, the “springtime” of the Church, we must arouse ourselves and bring forth new fruits of sanctity. Even now, the Apostle shows us the great fruits of Advent: “Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light...put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. ” If we have been somewhat drowsy and languid in Our Lord’s service, now is the time to arouse ourselves to a new life, to strip ourselves generously of our meanness and weakness, and to “put on Jesus Christ, ” that is, His holiness.

In order to help us attain this end, Jesus encourages us by reminding us of His love in coming as our Redeemer: He comes to meet us with His grace; it is infinite mercy that inclines to us. On the other hand, the Church, in today’s Gospel (Lk 21,25-33), puts before us the last coming of Jesus as supreme Judge, “and then they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, with great power and majesty.” He came with love to Bethlehem; He comes with grace into our souls; He will come with justice at the end of the world: Christ’s triple coming, the synthesis of Christianity, an invitation to a vigilant, trusting expectation, “Lift up your heads, for your redemption is at hand!” 


COLLOQUY 

O my God, Word of the Father, Word made flesh for love of us, You assumed a mortal body in order to suffer and be immolated for us. I wish to prepare for Your coming with the burning desires of the prophets and the just who in the Old Testament sighed after You, the one Savior and Redeemer. “O Lord, send Him whom You are going to send.... As You have promised, come and deliver us!” I want to keep Advent in my soul, that is, a continual longing and waiting for this great Mystery wherein You, O Word, became flesh to show me the abyss of Your redeeming, sanctifying mercy. 

O sweetest Jesus, You come to me with Your infinite love and the abundance of Your grace; You desire to engulf my soul in torrents of mercy and charity in order to draw it to You. Come, O Lord, come! I, too, wish to run to You with love, but alas! my love is so limited, weak, and imperfect! Make it strong and generous; enable me to overcome myself, so that I can give myself entirely to You. Yes, my love can become strong because “ its foundation is the intimate certainty that it will be repaid by the love of God. O Lord, I cannot doubt Your tenderness, because You have given me proofs of it in so many ways, with the sole purpose of convincing me of it. Therefore, trusting in Your love, my weak love will become strong with Your strength. What a consolation it will be, O Lord, at the moment of death to think that we shall be judged by Him whom we have loved above all things! Then we can enter Your presence with confidence, despite the weight of our offenses!” (T.J. Way, 40). 

O Lord, give me love like this! I desire it ardently, not only to escape Your stern eye at Judgment, but especially in order to repay You in some degree for Your infinite charity. O Lord, do not, I beseech You, permit that this exceeding great love which led You to become incarnate for my salvation, be given in vain! My poor soul needs You so much! It sighs for You as for a compassionate physician, who alone can heal its wounds, draw it out of its languor and tepidity, and infuse into it new vigor, new enthusiasm, new life. Come, Lord, come! I am ready to welcome Your work with a docile, humble heart, ready to let myself be healed, purified, and strengthened by You. Yes, with Your help, I will make any sacrifice, renounce everything that might hinder Your redeeming work in me. Show Your power, O Lord, and come! Come, delay no longer! 

✠ ✠ ✠

2 - INVITATION TO SANCTITY

PRESENCE OF GOD - I place myself in the presence of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, contemplating Him as the Redeemer and Sanctifier of my soul.


MEDITATION

1. “Where sin abounded, grace did more abound” (Rom 5,20). Adam’s fall brought about the destruction of God’s plan for man’s sanctification. Our first parents, created to the image and likeness of God, in a state of grace and justice, and raised to the dignity of children of God, were hurled into an abyss of misery, drawing with them the whole human race. For centuries man groaned in his sin, he could no longer call God by the sweet name of Father, he did not even dare to pronounce His name, regarding the terrible God, the God of justice and vengeance.” Sin made an insurmountable abyss between man and God, and man groaned in the depths of the abyss, utterly incapable of rising from it.

To do what man could not do, to destroy sin and restore divine sonship to the human race, a Savior was promised. The most merciful God, “so loved the world, as to give His only-begotten Son ” (Jn 3,16) for its salvation. The Word, the splendor of the Father, and the figure of His substance became flesh in order to destroy sin and restore grace to us, that “ we might once again be called, and really be the children of God ” (cf. 1 Jn 3,1). God wants us “all to be saved”; for this reason He gave us His Son, and with Him and through Him, all the means necessary for our salvation. Therefore, if a soul is not saved, it alone will be responsible. 


2. Jesus was not satisfied with destroying sin and meriting only a sufficient amount of grace for our salvation. He did much more and He Himself declared it, “I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly” (Jn 10,10). This plenitude of life is the plenitude of grace, the supernatural life which causes sanctity to blossom. Sanctity is not reserved for a few; Jesus, by His Incarnation and by His death on the Cross, merited the means of salvation and sanctification for all who believe in Him. He, the All-holy, came to sanctify us, and has taught us, “Be you therefore perfect, as also Your heavenly Father is perfect ” (Mt 5,48). 

Jesus did not give this precept to a chosen group of persons, nor did He reserve it for His Apostles and close friends; He proclaimed it to the multitude who were following Him. St. Paul received His message and announced it to the Gentiles, “This is the will of God, your sanctification" (1 Thes 4,3). And in our times the Church, speaking through the great Pope Pius XI, has repeated it strongly and on many occasions to the modern world: “ Christ has called the whole human race to the lofty heights of sanctity.... There are some who say that sanctity is not everyone’s vocation; on the contrary, it is everyone’s vocation, and all are called to it.... Jesus Christ has given Himself as an example for all to imitate.” And elsewhere: “Let no one believe that sanctity belongs to a few chosen people, while the rest of humanity can limit itself to a lesser degree of virtue. Everyone is included in this law; no one is exempt from it.” Jesus comes not only to save me, but to sanctify me. He is calling me to sanctity and has merited for me all the graces I need to attain it. 


COLLOQUY

“It grieves me, my God, that I should be so wicked and that I am able to do so little in Your service. I well know that it is my own fault that You have not granted me the favors which You gave to those who went before me.... I grieve over my life, Lord, when I compare it with theirs; and I cannot say this without weeping. When I meditate, my God, upon the glory which You have prepared for those who persevere in doing Your will, and when I think how many trials and pains it cost Your Son to gain it for us, and how little we have deserved it, and how bound we are not to be ungrateful for this wondrous love which has taught us love at such a cost to itself, my soul becomes greatly afflicted. How is it possible, Lord, that all this should be forgotten, and that, when they offend You, mortal men should be so forgetful of You? O my Redeemer, how forgetful are men! They are forgetful even of themselves. 

And how great is Your goodness that You should remember us when we have fallen and have tried to strike You a mortal blow, and that You forget what we have done and give us Your hand again and awaken us from our incurable madness so that we seek and beg You for salvation. Blessed be such a Lord, blessed be such great mercy and praised be He forever for His merciful pity! O my soul, bless forever so great a God! How can a soul turn against Him?” (T.J. F, 4- Exc, 3). O Lord, although I know how much this poor soul of mine has cost You, yet how often have I offended You, resisted Your grace, been unfaithful to Your love, and deaf to Your invitation to a more perfect life, to sanctity. 

You, my God, have given everything, You have given Yourself entirely for me; therefore, it is not seeking too much in return to ask me to give myself entirely to You, to give You everything in order to match Your love for me. Yes, I know that You are not satisfied with my thinking only of saving my soul, just as You were not satisfied to acquire for me only the means necessary for my salvation, but willed also to acquire the means necessary for my sanctification. You have already purchased and paid for all of them; therefore, if I do not become a saint, it is entirely my own fault.

But, O Lord, how can a soul as weak and miserable as mine, one so full of faults, selfishness and meanness aspire to an ideal as high as that of sanctity? Oh yes, my pretensions would certainly be the greatest temerity if You Yourself had not shown me that this is exactly what You will. You have even given me a precious commandment concerning it, “ Be you therefore perfect as also Your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5,48). I beseech You, O Lord, repeat this sublime invitation to my poor soul, pressingly, compellingly, so that held by this ideal, it may be urged to greater generosity, stronger resolutions, and more complete confidence in Your merciful work of redemption and sanctification. 

✠ ✠ ✠

3 - SANCTITY AND THE PLENITUDE OF GRACE

PRESENCE OF GOD - I draw near to Jesus, the “ fountain of life and holiness,” with an ardent desire to drink from this inexhaustible fount.


MEDITATION

1. If Jesus came to sanctify all, if it is God’s will that “all should be saints,” then sanctity cannot consist in extraordinary gifts of nature and grace, which depend solely upon God’s liberality. Sanctity, therefore, must consist in something that all souls of good will, even the simplest and most humble, can attain, sustained by the divine assistance. Sanctity is the perfection of the Christian life. It is the full development in us of the supernatural life, whose beginnings are sanctifying grace, the infused virtues, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 

Baptism has deposited within us this seed of sanctity, which is grace, a seed capable of blossoming into precious fruits of supernatural and eternal life for the soul which zealously cultivates it. By elevating us to the supernatural state, grace makes us capable of entering into relations with the Blessed Trinity, that is, capable of knowing and loving God as He is in Himself, as He knows and loves Himself. Grace, therefore, engenders and nourishes a new life of knowledge and love in us, a life which is a participation in the divine life. What could be holier or more sanctifying than these intimate relations with the Blessed Trinity? Such are the lofty heights to which grace raises us, and this gift is bestowed on all who have been baptized. 


2. This supernatural life, proceeding from grace, must permeate our entire human life in such a way that the latter will be supernaturalized in all its activities, in every detail, as well as in its totality. As grace grows and flourishes in our soul, its influence becomes deeper and wider; and when this influence extends effectively to all our actions, directing them solely to God’s glory and uniting us wholly to Him by means of charity, then we have reached the fullness of Christian life, sanctity.

Grace is a wholly gratuitous gift bestowed on us by God through the infinite merits of Jesus. He merited it for us by His death on the Cross, and not in a limited measure, but superabundantly. St. John says that He is “full of grace... and of His fullness we all have received, and grace for grace” (jn 1,14.16). Hence, we can all become saints. This does not mean, however, that we are all called to the same degree and kind of sanctity. Besides those we call the “great” saints, those who had a special mission to accomplish and therefore received singular gifts of nature and grace, there have always been the humble, hidden saints, who were sanctified in obscurity and silence. 

Sanctity does not consist in the greatness of the works accomplished or of the gifts received, but in the degree of sanctifying grace and charity to which the soul has attained by faithful correspondence with God’s invitations. I, too, can aspire to this kind of sanctity with no fear of rashness
or self-deception.


COLLOQUY

O my sweet Savior, it was not only for certain privileged souls, but also for me, that You willed to merit the fullness of the life of grace which is sanctity. I understand that the infinite love which made You become incarnate for us and become one of us, which made You who are God, suffer death on the Cross and shed Your precious Blood for us, is more than sufficient to merit not only the salvation, but even the sanctification of the whole human race. 

Why then are there so few who really become saints? Why am I so backward on the way of sanctity, I who, because I have received from You not only the gift of holy Baptism, but also that of so many confessions and Holy Communions, should already have greatly increased my treasure of grace; I who have received so many actual graces, inspirations, and invitations, and have been called by Your infinite love to a state of consecrated life?

O my Lord, make me understand it well : You created me without any help from me, but You will not save me, You will not sanctify me, without my help. You have already merited all that serves for my sanctification; Your gifts are unnumbered, but I shall not become a saint unless I cooperate with You. You alone are holy and You alone can make me holy, and yet You demand my full cooperation to such a degree that, if I refuse it, You will not make me a saint, despite Your omnipotence and infinite love. 

O Jesus, by my sloth, my scanty love, my coldness, I can nullify all Your merits, all the Blood which You shed on the Cross. How could a miserable creature who owes everything to his God, be so bold as to oppose and hinder His action in his soul? Shall I, a little worm, have the audacity to do this? O Lord, never allow me to act thus; pursue me with Your grace until I give myself entirely to You. 

To prove to You that I am sincere, I intend, with Your help, to be generous, to overcome myself in the things which cost me most, and to say “ yes” to You, even when it is most repugnant to my evil nature. Help me with Your all-powerful aid, assist and sustain my poor efforts, for You know that I am weakness itself. Grant, O Lord, that I may drink from the fountain of living water which has its source in You, the fountain of life and grace, of strength and holiness, so that when my thirst is quenched, I can once again continue with fresh ardor along the way You point out to me. 

✠ ✠ ✠

4 - CHARITY, THE ESSENCE OF SANCTITY

PRESENCE OF God - I place myself in the presence of God, considering that He is infinite charity: “[i]Deus caritas est, ” God is charity.[/i]


MEDITATION

1. “Be you therefore perfect, as also Your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5,48). Before we can begin to imitate God, we must know who He is, and in what His perfection consists. Holy Scripture tells us, God is charity (1 Jn 4,16). It does not say, “in God there is charity,” but “God is charity,” that is, everything in God is love, God is essentially love. Now love, even human love, is a desire for what is good; to love is to desire the good of another; it is the act by which the will is drawn toward the good. In God, the infinite Being, love is an infinite will for good, and is directed toward infinite good, the divine essence which God possesses and in which He delights. This love, which is God, is therefore an infinite, complacent love of His own infinite goodness. Yet His embrace extends even to the creatures whom He creates, to communicate to them His own goodness and happiness. Infinite charity, which is God, turns therefore to creatures, bringing them into existence by an act of love which does not stop at the limited good they possess, but brings them back to the infinite good, the Trinity. In other words, God creates and loves them for His own glory. 

We, poor creatures, are called to share in this sublime life of love which is God, and grace has been given us for this express purpose. St. Paul exhorts us, “Be ye, therefore, followers of God, as most dear children, and walk in love” (Eph 5,1.2). If we are to imitate God, our supernatural life must be essentially love, that is, a love of benevolence for God and a will directed toward good, loving that infinite good which He is, and loving all creatures for Him and in Him.


2. Charity is so essential in the supernatural life that on its presence or absence depends the Christian’s state of life or death. He who does not possess charity, does not possess sanctifying grace either, because they are absolutely inseparable, “He that loveth not, abideth in death” (1 Jn 3,14). On the other hand, he who possesses charity, also possesses grace and shares in the life of God. “He that abideth in charity, abideth in God, and God in him” (ibid. 4,16), and according to St. Thomas, “Charity... unites man with God so that he no longer lives for himself but for God” (II Ile, q.17, a.6, ad 3). 

The three theological virtues, faith, hope, and charity, are infused into the soul together with sanctifying grace. God is the object of all three, but “the greatest of these is charity” (1 Cor 13,13). It is the greatest, because without charity there can be no Christian life; the greatest, because it will never end. Further, it is the unitive force which binds us to God and is a participation in that infinite charity which is God Himself. In fact, to the Pharisee who asked which was the greatest commandment of the law, Jesus answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment” (Mt 22,37.38). 

When our charity is perfect, it will keep us completely united to God and will direct all our activity to Him. Hence, in the measure that a soul is dominated by charity, it is mature in the supernatural life, and is holy, to a greater or lesser degree.


COLLUQUY

O my God, make me understand, even in a small degree, Your infinite charity. You are all charity and everything in you is charity. Charity is Your Being, Your Essence, Your Life. You are that sovereign charity by which You love Yourself ab aeterno, from all eternity, and take pleasure in Yourself. O Father, You love the Word, the figure of Your substance. O Word, You love the Father from whom you proceed. This reciprocal charity by which You, O God, love Yourself is so perfect that it constitutes a Person, the third Person of the Most Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit. 

“O my soul, reflect on the great delight and the great love which the Father has in knowing His Son and the Son in knowing His Father and the ardor with which the Holy Spirit unites with Them, and how none of These can cease from this love and knowledge since They are One and the same. These sovereign Persons know each other, love each other and delight in each other. What need, then, have They of my love? Why do You seek it, my God, or what do You gain by it?” (T. J. Exc, 7)

Yet, O Most Holy Trinity, You who are all—because You are infinite charity and enjoy from all eternity the reciprocal love of Your divine Persons—have willed, in time, to diffuse Your love, and to communicate Your infinite good to us Your creatures. By an act of Your love You brought us out of nothing; Your love is our first principle, the first principle of all things. Everything receives life from it; it is the cause of our existence and we, like little fishes, swim and live in the ocean of Your infinite love.

But, Lord, of what use can we, poor creatures, be to You, who possess within Yourself all love, all felicity, all glory? I understand: You have created us to share with us Your infinite goodness, to bring us back to the bosom of the infinite charity which is You Yourself, from whom we have received life. You have created us for the glory of the Most Holy Trinity, to communicate to us Your life of infinite love and to give us a part in it.

“O my God and my mercy! What shall I do, so as not to destroy the effect of the wonders which You deign to work in me? O Lord, how smooth are Your paths! Yet who will walk them without fear? I fear to live without serving You, yet when I set out to serve You I find no way of doing so that satisfies me or can pay any part of what I owe. I feel that I would gladly spend myself wholly in Your service, and yet when I consider my wretchedness, I realize that I can do nothing good unless You help me” (T.J. Exc, 1).

Without Your help, indeed, how can I obtain a treasure as precious as charity? O my God, if You want my whole life to be one of charity, it is absolutely necessary that You, charity itself, come to transform my poor soul. My faults —selfishness, pride, sensuality, coldness, avarice, sloth—all are obstacles to Your charity which should triumph in me. Give me grace to remove these obstacles with generosity, so that Your infinite charity may take entire possession of my nothingness. 

✠ ✠ ✠

5 - SANCTITY AND GOD’S WILL

PRESENCE OF GOD - I place myself in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, asking Him to penetrate my soul with His words, “He that doth the will of My Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 7,21).


MEDITATION

1. The path which leads to sanctity, that is, to God, can be marked out only by God Himself, by His will. Jesus expressed this very strongly when He said, “ Not everyone that saith to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doth the will of My Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 7,21). And to show that the souls who are most closely united to Him, the ones He loves most, are precisely those who do the will of God, He does not hesitate to say: “Whosoever shall do the will of My Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother” (ibid. 12,50).

The saints learned in the school of Jesus. St. Teresa of Avila, after having received the most sublime mystical communications, did not hesitate to declare, “ The highest perfection consists not in interior favors, or in great raptures, or in visions, or in the spirit of prophesy, but in the bringing of our wills so closely into conformity with the will of God that, as soon as we realize He wills anything, we desire it ourselves with all our might, and take the bitter with the sweet” (F, 5). St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus echoes this statement, “ The more joyfully [souls] do His will, the greater is their perfection ” (St, 1).

True love of God consists in adhering perfectly to His holy will, not desiring to do or be other than what God indicates for each of us, to the point of becoming, as it were, “a living will of God.” Seen in this light, sanctity is possible for every soul of good will; it is not impossible that a soul which leads a humble, hidden life, may adhere to the divine will as well and perhaps even better than a “great” saint who has received from God an exterior mission and has been enriched with mystical graces. The perfection of a soul may be measured by the degree to which it does the will of God, and finds its happiness in doing it. 


2. To become saints we must have total conformity of our will with God’s. It is necessary, then, that there should be nothing in our soul which is not in harmony with the divine will, and that our actions be motivated by His will alone. “Divine union consists in the souls total transformation, according to the will, in the will of God, so that there may be naught in the soul that is contrary to the will of God, but that, in all and through all, its movement may be that of the will of God alone” (J.C. AS J, 11,2).

In all our actions we are always impelled by love, love of ourselves, love of creatures, or love of God. As long as the soul clings to the least thing contrary to God’s will, that is, to some irregular attachment to self or creatures, it will often act, not under the impulse of God’s love, but through a desire for personal satisfaction, or because of a disordered love of creatures, and therefore, will walk apart from God’s will. Sin is not the only thing which is opposed to God’s will; even the slightest imperfection or deliberate attachment prevents the soul from acting under the motion of God’s will alone. 

But when the soul no longer has any attachments, and is entirely free from love of self and of creatures, it can adhere to God alone, acting only according to His will, and living moment by moment according to His good pleasure. The soul thus transformed has lost its will in the will of God and therefore is perfectly united to God Himself. This is the essence and the apex of sanctity.


COLLOQUY

O my God, You make me understand that the only thing necessary is Your holy will, that it is my one and only treasure. In this life, what can be more beautiful, more safe, more perfect and more holy than to do Your will? You have given me free will; to what better use can I put it than to make it adhere to Your divine will? If I should perform great works and carry out marvelous undertakings which are not fully in accordance with Your will, they would have no value for eternity and would therefore be destined to perish; whereas the slightest works done according to Your will have an eternal value. 

O Lord, I know that I am nothing, I acknowledge the weakness of my poor will which now turns to one good, now to another, and considers as good what is really imperfection, fault, sin. But Your will is indefectible; You can desire nothing but the true, sovereign good; hence, You desire only my good, my salvation, my sanctification. Nothing, then, can be more advantageous to me than to consecrate my will to Yours, O my God.

“At this moment, O Lord, I freely consecrate my will to You without reserve.... Grant that Your will may always be fulfilled in me, in the way which is most pleasing to You. If You wish me to do this by means of trials, give me strength and let them come. If by means of persecutions and sickness and dishonor and need, here I am, my Father, I shall not turn my face away” (T.J. Way, 32).

So many times I have made You the offering of my will, consecrating it to You and declaring that I wanted nothing but Your divine will. But an equal number of times, alas, I have taken back my offering, and in my actions, labors, and apostolic works; instead of allowing myself to be guided by You, I have been led more or less by pride and personal satisfaction. How far I am, O Lord, from losing my will in Yours! How attached I still am to my own ideas and tastes! How many things still remain in me which are contrary to Your will! Give me light to recognize them, and strength to free myself from them! I confess that every time I draw away from Your will, even if only in little things, to act according to my own will, I feel remorse, and a lessening of peace in my soul. Only in Your will is my good, my peace, my salvation, my sanctification.

O Lord, hear my poor prayer : once more I offer You my will; take it, keep it a prisoner, so that I shall never be able to withdraw my offering. With St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, I repeat, “My God...I will not be a saint by halves, I am not afraid of suffering for You. One thing only do I fear, and that is to follow my own will. Accept, then, the offering I make of it, for I choose all that You will” (T.C.J. St, 1). 

✠ ✠ ✠

6 - SANCTITY AND MY DUTIES

PRESENCE OF GOD - I place myself in the presence of God, ardently beseeching Him to help me know and fulfill His holy will.


MEDITATION

1. Jesus has said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.... If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love; as I also have kept My Father’s commandments, and do abide in His love ” (Fn 14,15 — 15,10). 

The perfection of charity consists in the perfect conformity of our wills with the divine will; this divine will is expressed, first of all, in the commandments of God and the precepts of the Church. Moreover, it is expressed in a more concrete and detailed way in the duties of my state and the various circumstances of life. The duties of my state determine particularly how I must act in daily life, so as to be always in conformity with the divine will: if I am a religious, these duties are set forth in my Rule, the customs of my Institute, the commands of my superiors, and the tasks imposed by obedience. If I am a priest, my duty is the care of souls; if I am a lay person, my duties are those required by my family life, my profession or occupation, my social activities and by good citizenship.

God’s will is also marked out for me by the circumstances of my life, whether important or not, down to the smallest detail, health or sickness, poverty or wealth, aridity or interior consolation, success or failure, misfortunes, losses, and struggles. From time to time, God asks me to fulfill special tasks of charity, patience, activity, or renouncement, detachment, submission, generosity, sacrifice. But everything is permitted by God, all is ordered by Him for my sanctification, “To them that love God, all things work together unto good” (Rom 8,28); “everything is a grace!” (T.C.J. NV). 


2. “Sanctity properly consists only in conformity to God’s will, expressed in a constant and exact fulfillment of the duties of our state in life” (Benedict XV). This statement confirms my knowledge that sanctity does not consist in doing extraordinary things, but is essentially reduced to the fulfillment of duty; therefore, it is possible for me.

For this reason I must be punctual and persevering in the fulfillment of my duties: punctual, that is, diligent, being careful to please God in all my actions, in order to do His holy, sanctifying will. Hence, I must accustom myself to see the expression of God’s will in every one of my duties, for then everything I do will be an opportunity to submerge myself in God’s love and to unite myself to Him; persevering, that is, fulfilling my duties faithfully, not only when I feel great fervor, but also when I am sad, tired, or in aridity; constancy calls for generosity. “ It takes uncommon virtue to fulfill with exactitude, that is, without carelessness, negligence, or indolence... but with attention, piety, and spiritual fervor, the whole combination of ordinary duties which make up our daily life! ” (Pius XI). This untiring, generous fidelity will not always be easy; however, I must not become discouraged by my failures, but begin again every day, fully confident that some day, God will make my poor efforts fruitful. 


COLLOQUY

O my God, in spite of my unworthiness, I have a fervent longing to become a saint. I desire this not for my own satisfaction, nor to obtain the esteem and praise of others, but solely because You desire it; for You have said : “Be ye holy, because I am holy” (Lev 19,2). My one aim is to conform entirely to Your will and Your desire, to please You, to give You glory, to correspond to Your infinite love, to give You all the love You expect of me and of which I am capable. You teach me more and more clearly that sanctity does not demand of me great exterior works, but only a strong, generous love which will lead me to fulfill Your holy will perfectly.

O my God, when I consider that You, the Creator and Lord of the universe, have deigned to make known Your will to me, who in comparison with You, am less than a little worm, I am filled with confusion. A King so great and so powerful speaks to the least of His servants with the goodness with which He would speak to a beloved son! Yes, O my God, You speak to me thus, and manifest Your will by Your commandments, the duties of my state, and all the circumstances of my life. Everything that surrounds me—every incident, event, sorrow and joy—all express Your will and tell me at every moment what You desire of me. O my God, how I wish I had that profound spirit of faith to help me recognize each circumstance of my life as a messenger of Your divine will! 

Yes, even at difficult moments and in painful experiences, it is You who come to me and ask a special act of charity, patience, sweetness, humility, or self-sacrifice. O my God, how this changes my point of view! Creatures, circumstances, causes, and human motives, all disappear, and I see only You and Your holy will, which always envelops me and urges me to greater generosity. Seen in this light, even the duties that are hardest and most repugnant to human nature, the “terrible daily duties,” become sweet and lovable, everything seems easy and agreeable. All I have to do at every moment and under all circumstances is to say a generous “ Yes” to Your sweet, lovable will. 

I beseech You, O Lord, give me the fidelity I need to persevere with humility and constancy in this path of continual adherence to Your will. With Your help, I will make this practice the center of my interior life. O my God, shall I ever fall again? Yes, for I am frailty itself; but I know that You will be even more eager to help me rise again than I shall be prone to fall. My firm resolution and my perseverance will be to “begin again” every day, every instant, humbling myself profoundly for my weakness, but having utter confidence in Your will to sanctify my soul. 

✠ ✠ ✠

7 - THE MOUNT OF PERFECTION

PRESENCE OF GOD - “Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord?” (Ps 23,3). I beg my God to permit me to approach the holy mountain on which He dwells, where His honor and glory alone reign.


MEDITATION

1. St. John of the Cross has left us a drawing which sums up, expresses in synthesis the whole spiritual life. It is the outline of a mountain whose summit, symbolized by a circle, represents the state of perfection. The ascent is symbolized by three paths, all leading toward the summit, but only one of them, the narrowest, reaches it. This is the way of the “ nothing” (nada), the way of total abnegation. It leads directly to the summit of the mount, where there is an inscription: “Only the honor and glory of God remain.”

The soul arrives at this supreme height, when dominated by perfect charity, it adheres totally to the divine will, and moved by that divine will alone, tends solely to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity. On the periphery of the circle are the words: “And here there is no way, as for the just man there is no law...” In fact, the soul which is completely dominated by the love of God no longer needs the stimulus of an external law obliging it to keep on the right road; God’s will has become the one “ principle of activity” which moves and directs it in all its actions. This is why the Saint says that, in this state, the two wills—the will of God and the will of the soul—have become one, and this one will is the divine will which has now become the will of the soul, which, losing itself in this divine will, has abandoned all other choice. 

All the infused virtues, together with the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, flourish abundantly in this soul, making it enjoy intimacy with God in a “perpetual banquet, divine silence, and divine wisdom.” Thus, by following the rugged path of the “nada” (nothing) the soul reaches the immense “All” of God, its only treasure, in which it loses itself. 

2. The only road that can bring us to the summit of perfection is the rugged path of “nothing” which leaves aside the two easy roads of the “imperfect spirit”; these end half-way up the mountain and go no farther. The imperfect spirit is one that is “ attached” to the things of earth, or even to spiritual goods, using these goods in a disordered way and with a view to personal satisfaction.

In order to leave the “road of the imperfect spirit,” we must no longer love anything, unless it be in perfect conformity with God’s will. In fact, every object which we love for itself and not according to God’s will, becomes for us a source of preoccupation, desires, distress, and anxiety; it moves our hearts and makes us act only for our own satisfaction. In a soul attached to created things, how many principles of action there are which are not conformable to God’s will! Such a soul finds itself on these “ paths of the imperfect,” which will never take it to the goal. This is why next to them is written: “Neither the goods of earth, nor the goods of heaven”; therefore nothing. A few lines inscribed at the foot of the mountain stress this fundamental idea: “In order to enjoy, know, possess, and be everything, desire to enjoy, know, possess, and be nothing. You must continue on the way without enjoying, without knowing, without possessing, you must follow the path on which you are nothing.” It is the arid, desolate path of the purification of the senses and of the spirit, the path which reduces the soul to nothing in order to prepare it for meeting God, for the “ all” of perfect conformity of its will to His. 


COLLOQUY

O my God, behold me at the foot of the sublime mountain of perfection! How shall I be able to follow such a long, rugged road?

To encourage my faintheartedness, I must consider that Your beloved Son came down to earth expressly to show us the one way that leads to You, and to walk before us on that way. He said, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mt 16,24). Does this not mean the path of the nothing? When He said, “ Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (ibid. 5,48), was He not inviting me too, to attain that high perfection in which only God’s honor and glory are sought? 

If You, O Lord, call me to sanctity, You are ready to provide me with the graces necessary to reach it. Your divine assistance always goes before me and gently urges me on. With You, even the most difficult things become easy and pleasant. “O my God, how abundantly do You manifest Your power! There is no need to seek reasons for what You will, for You transcend all natural reason and make all things possible, thus showing clearly that we have only to love You truly, and truly to forsake everything for You, and You, my Lord, will make everything easy. 

“It is well said with regard to this, that 'You feign labor in Your law’; for I do not see, Lord, and I do not know how the road that leads to You can be narrow. To me it seems a royal road, not a pathway; a road upon which anyone who sets out in earnest will travel securely. Mountain passes and rocks that might fall upon him—I mean occasions of sin—are far distant.... He who truly loves You, my God, travels by a broad and royal road and travels securely. It is far away from any precipice, and hardly has such a man stumbled in the slightest degree when You, Lord, give him Your hand. One fall—and even many falls, if he loves You and not the things of the world—will not be enough to lead him to perdition: he will be traveling along the valley of humility. I cannot understand why it is that people are afraid to set out upon the way of perfection.... Our eyes must be fixed upon You, and we must not be afraid that You, the Sun of Justice, will set, or that You will allow us to travel by night, and so be lost, unless we first forsake You. 

“People are not afraid to walk among lions, each of which seems to be trying to tear them to pieces — I mean among honors, delights, and pleasures of that kind...but when it is a question of virtue, the devil frightens us with scarecrows!... How sad this makes me! Fain would I weep ten thousand times!... You, whose goodness is all powerful, open my eyes and never let them become blind again. Amen ” (T.J. Life, 35).