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

[Stone]

336. FORGIVENESS
TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Lord, as You are so generous in forgiving me, teach me to forgive others generously.


MEDITATION

1. “The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king who would take an account of his servants.” Today’s Gospel (Mt 18,23-35) refers to the account which all men will one day be called upon to give. It is a serious thought, which makes us reflect, as we did last Sunday, on the state of our conscience. Yet, as we continue the reading of this parable, our hearts are comforted. God, represented by the king, manifests such kindness, mercy, and compassion to the poor servant who cannot pay his debt; He forgives him everything and sets him free.

The debt of that servant was not a trifling one: ten thousand talents; our debts to God are much greater and cannot be computed in talents, nor in silver and gold; they must be reckoned according to the price of our redemption, the most precious Blood of Jesus. Our debts are our sins which needed to be washed away in the Blood of a divine Victim. In spite of our good will, we increase these debts each day, to a greater or lesser extent, if only by faults of frailty and weakness. Is there one who can say at the day’s end that he has not contracted new debts with God? If, at the end of life, God should place before us an exact account of our deficit, we should find ourselves in a much more embarrassing position than that of the servant in the parable. But God, being infinite goodness, knows and has pity on our misery; each time we place ourselves before Him and humbly acknowledge our faults with sincere repentance, He immediately pardons us and cancels all our debts. God is magnificent when He pardons: He does not reproach us for the faults over which we have already wept, nor does He keep any account of them; His pardon is so generous, so great and complete, that it not only annuls our debts, but destroys even the memory of them, as if they had never existed. It is enough for Him to see us repentant; then every wound, even the most grievous and repugnant, is completely healed by the precious Blood of Jesus. Christ’s Blood is like an immense sea which has the power to cleanse and destroy the sins of all mankind, provided they are sincerely repented of. Every minute of every day we can take the burden, heavy or light as it may be, of our sins and infidelities and make it disappear in this ocean of grace
and love, certain that not one trace of it will remain.


2. The second part of the parable speaks of our forgiveness of others. Returning home, the fortunate servant whose debts had all been cancelled, met one of his fellow servants, who owed him a hundred pence, a very small sum compared with the ten thousand talents which had been cancelled for him. Yet he who had been treated with so much mercy, showed none to his fellow servant; he would neither listen to his pleadings, nor heed his tears, but “went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.”

A few moments ago we were moved by the master’s kindness; now the servant’s cruelty makes us indignant. Yet, even though we blush, we ought to recognize that, just as the kindheartedness of the master is the image of the mercy of God, ever ready to pardon, so the cruelty of the servant is the figure of our own hardheartedness and miserliness in forgiving our neighbor. Unfortunately, it is all too true: we who need God’s forgiveness even more than we need our daily bread, are so hard, so demanding toward our fellow men; we find it difficult to be indulgent and forgiving. Yet what are the debts that our neighbor may owe us compared with what we owe to God? Certainly, infinitely less than a few pence compared with ten thousand talents, since it is a matter of an offense committed against a mere creature compared with one committed against the infinite majesty of God. But what a contrast! God pardons, forgets, and entirely cancels all our heavy debts; He does not cease to love us and bestow favors upon us in spite of our continual want of fidelity. We, on the contrary, find it very difficult to forgive some little slight; even if we do forgive, we cannot entirely forget it, and we are ready to reproach the other person at the first opportunity. How would we act if our neighbor committed against us each day the numerous infidelities and faults that we commit against God? Oh! how miserable and constrained is our way of pardoning others!

The parable describes the punishment inflicted on the cruel servant by his master: “And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt”; and the conclusion follows: “So also shall My heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not your brothers from your hearts.” If we wish God to be generous in pardoning us, we must be generous in forgiving others; we shall be forgiven according to the measure in which we forgive, which means that we ourselves give to God the exact measure of the mercy He is to show to us.


COLLOQUY

“Is there anyone, O Lord, who is not in debt to You? Is there anyone who has not someone in debt to him? In Your justice You have determined that Your rule of conduct toward me, Your debtor, should be that followed by me in regard to my debtors. Therefore, because I also have sinned—and how often!—I must be indulgent with him who seeks my pardon. In fact, when the time of prayer comes, I should be able to say to You, ‘Forgive me, O Lord, my trespasses,' and how? The condition is laid down by me, I myself fix the law: ‘Forgive me my trespasses as I forgive those who trespass against me.’

“O Lord, You have set down in the Gospel two short sentences: ‘Forgive and it shall be forgiven you; give and it shall be given to you.’ This is my prayer: I ask pardon of You for my sins, and You will that I should pardon others.

“Just as the poor beg from me, so I, Your poor little beggar, stand at the door of my Father’s house; rather, I prostrate myself there, begging and groaning, longing to receive something, and this something is You. The beggar asks me for bread, and what do I ask of You, if not Yourself, for You have said, ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven?'

“In order to obtain forgiveness, I shall forgive; I shall pardon others, and I shall be pardoned. Because I wish to receive, I shall give, and it shall be given to me.

“If it is hard for me to forgive someone who has offended me, I shall have recourse to prayer. Instead of repaying insults with more insults, I shall pray for the guilty one. When I feel like giving him a harsh answer, I shall speak to You, O Lord, in his favor. Then I shall remember that You promise eternal life, but You command us to forgive others. It is as if You said to me, ‘You who are a man, forgive other men, so that I, who am God can come to you °”? (St. Augustine).

337. EDUCATION AND CULTURE AT THE SERVICE OF THE APOSTOLATE

PRESENCE OF GOD - Teach me, O Lord, to put into the service of the apostolate all the talents I have received from You.


MEDITATION

1. Together with the natural virtues placed at the service of apostolic charity, it is also necessary to consider the other human qualities which give the apostle an ascendency in his field of activity, not for his personal gain, but for the benefit of the Christian ideal. To say that notwithstanding his culture and abilities, the apostle can do nothing without the help of God, is not a condemnation of these natural values; is merely the statement that, of themselves, these qualities are insufficient to attain the essential end of the apostolate, that is, the communication of grace to souls, an end which only the divine action can effect. However, that which does not suffice in itself, can become in the hands of God a most excellent means for procuring the good of souls. The brush of itself can do nothing, but in the hands of a skillful master, it can be used to create great works of art.

The apostle should be conscious of the radical insufficiency of his gifts and talents; but at the same time, he should cultivate these gifts and make these talents bear fruit, so as to put them at the disposal of God for apostolic ends. It is therefore necessary that apostles foster their intellectual formation, together with the interior life. Certainly sanctity is always the more important element; however, when learning is united to sanctity, the results will be better. St. Teresa of Jesus was of this opinion, and she did not hesitate to say concerning spiritual direction: “The director ought to be a spiritual man, but if he has no learning, it is a great inconvenience” (Life, 13). This is true, not only in the direction of souls, but in any form of apostolate, for “learning is a great help in giving light upon everything” (Way, 5); furthermore, it is impossible to gain entrance into certain circles without sufficient culture. It is therefore a duty of the apostle to procure an intellectual preparation adequate to the apostolate which he must exercise. It is not a question of seeking knowledge which inflates, nor of cultivating one’s intellect in order to make a display of oneself, but of putting into use for the good of souls all the talents received from God. Under the vivifying influence of charity, such things as education, culture, doctrine, technical capabilities, — everything, in fact, is transformed into means of furthering the apostolate.


2. Those who are called to exercise the apostolate in professional life have, more than others, the duty of training themselves and of developing the technical skill required for their profession. A teacher who does not carefully prepare his courses, who does not keep abreast of the times, or give himself with zeal to teaching, will never deeply influence his pupils; any apostolic endeavor among them is doomed to failure. Only good professional competence can obtain for the Catholic that authority which, going beyond the limits of his profession, often embraces the moral and religious field, permitting him to exercise an efficacious influence over those who approach him; in this way he can do immense good, and his word is sometimes more readily heeded than that of the priest. It is noteworthy that Pope Pius XII counseled Catholic laymen not to “be inferior to others in scientific and professional competence, but to do what they could to become better professionals, better jurists, scholars, physicians, engineers” (to the Catholic Laureates, March 20, 1941); and this, not in view of financial profit, but in order to acquire for apostolic ends a wider and more authoritative influence.  In proportion to their professional competence, Catholics will be called upon to occupy positions of command in society; they will in this way be able to cooperate more effectively in organizing a civil world in harmony with the principles of the Gospel, thus making it more receptive to divine grace.

Before devoting himself to other forms of the apostolate, the layman should first exercise it by the perfect fulfillment of his professional duties. For, as sanctity should be sought above all in the fulfillment of the duties of one’s state in life, so the apostolate should be developed primarily through the perfect accomplishment of professional duties, which are precisely those of one’s state of life. To become a saint and an apostle by means of his ordinary everyday life, that is, by the fulfillment of his professional duties, should be the program of the Catholic layman. This practical program is within the reach of all; nevertheless, it requires an eminent spirit of sacrifice, of faith and of love, to transform arduous professional labor into an apostolic force. But apostolic charity is capable of great things. In the name of God it can do all things, because it “beareth all things, hopeth all things” (1 Cor 13,7).


COLLOQUY

O Lord, I do not desire knowledge that inflates, but the humble learning which comes from You, enlightening minds and enkindling hearts.

“You, O Lord, are He who teaches men knowledge, and to little ones You give a clearer understanding than can be taught by man. If You speak to me, I shall become learned in a short time and will make great progress in the spiritual life.

“It is You, O Lord, who in an instant so enlighten the humble mind that it comprehends more of eternal truth than could be learned by ten years in the schools, You who teach without noise of words or clash of opinions, without contention of arguments” (Imit. II, 43,2.3).

Give me this knowledge, O Lord, and I shall be able to enter into study and work without any danger of vainglory. I want to use the intelligence You have given me by employing it in Your service; I want to make it fructify for Your glory and for the good of souls. Everything that I have received from You—intelligence, will, physical and moral energies— should be used for this end, for the apostle must be completely devoted to the fulfillment of his mission, always at his post for the defense and the glory of Your Name.

Sanctify, Lord, my studies, my work, the practice of my profession; grant that love may transform all into a means of apostolate.

“Remember, Lord, that You declared to me, ‘I have come for the salvation of souls.’ I offer You, then, my life, now and forever; grant that it may be pleasing to You; I offer it for Your glory, humbly begging You by virtue of Your Passion, to purify and to sanctify Your people” (St. Catherine of Siena).

338. APOSTOLIC HOPE

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Jesus, I place all my hope for the souls that You have entrusted to me, in Your power, in Your infinite love, and in Your Passion.


MEDITATION

1. In his work the apostle needs to be sustained by a strong hope. The moments of enthusiasm are brief, success is quickly followed by failure, difficulties are numerous, the struggle waged by enemy forces is sharp and incessant, and if the apostle is not firmly anchored in God by solid theological hope, he will end, sooner or later, by giving up the enterprise in discouragement. “I have overcome the world” (Jn 16,33), Jesus declared, and sending the apostles to continue His victorious mission, He assured them, “I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world” (Mt 28,20). The foundation of apostolic hope is the victory of Christ and His continual help. Yes, He is with us all days, even on the dark days, when the horizon is black without a ray of light, when the enemy triumphs, when our friends forsake us, and when, humanly speaking, one does not see any possibility of success. If we had to rely upon our own resources, our ability, our works, we should have every reason to give up in despair; this, however, is not the case. We hope and we are certain in our hope, because God is omnipotent, because He wills all men to be saved, because Christ has redeemed us with His Precious Blood, and because He has died for us and for us has risen again; and finally, because His promises—the promises of a God—are infallible: “Heaven and earth shall pass, but My words shall not pass” (ibid. 24,35).

Relying on the salvific will of God, on His infinite power, and on the redemption of Christ, the apostle should nourish the certain hope that grace will triumph in the end. But at the same time, he should have no delusions; he should realize that he will not attain victory except by passing through Calvary. “Neither is the apostle greater than He that sent him” (Jn 13,16). If Jesus reached the triumph of the Resurrection only after His Passion and most painful death, the apostle cannot seek another way. For him also, there will necessarily come hours of darkness, but rather than being a sign of defeat, they will be the prelude to victory; rather than being a sign of abandonment on the part of God, they will be a proof that God is with him, precisely because He is leading him by the very same way along which He led His divine Son.


2. Jesus also has known failure: after His discourse in the synagogue of Nazareth, His fellow citizens were indignant. “ They brought Him to the brow of the hill... that they might cast Him down headlong” (Lk 4,29). On two other occasions when the Jews were scandalized by His words, they “ took up stones to stone Him” (Jn 10,31). The Pharisees conspired against Him and treacherously plotted His death; Judas betrayed Him; His own abandoned Him. He was made the laughingstock of the soldiers; He was scourged, crowned with thorns, clothed as a mock king, blindfolded, spat upon; Barabbas was preferred to Him. He was led to Calvary and crucified between two thieves. Humanly speaking, one could well say that the apostolate of Jesus terminated in absolute failure, with His death as a malefactor. All this should be deeply impressed on the mind of the apostle, so that he may not be scandalized if something similar should happen in his own life: “If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (ibid. 15,20).

By means of persecutions, humiliations and failures, the apostle will learn not to trust in his own strength; he will consider himself a useless servant even after he has labored much; he will be convinced of his own insufficiency and of the insufficiency of all human means; hence, he will place all his hope in God. He will learn to work solely for the love of God, without seeking the consolation of success, renouncing even the legitimate satisfaction of seeing the results of his labors. He will learn to be detached from the opinions and judgments of men, to act independently of their approval or disapproval, and to look only to the judgment and approval of God. The contradictions and troubles that the apostle encounters in his work constitute his dark night, comparable to that of contemplatives, a night that is painful but very precious, because its purpose is to purify the soul of every remnant of self-love, of egoism, of vanity, of attachment to creatures and to their esteem.

This night, if generously accepted, will gradually lead to an ever greater interior purity, and therefore, to an ever closer union with God. The apostle should remain steadfast in hope, notwithstanding struggles, difficulties, and failures. He should be assured of success, not only where the salvation of the souls entrusted to him is concerned, but also in relation to his own personal sanctification. Even if God should permit his success to remain hidden and all his work to end, as did that of Jesus, in apparent failure, the apostle will find strength in the wounds and Blood of the divine Crucified to persevere in hope, and to hope against all hope.


COLLOQUY

“O Lord, I wish to draw down Your mercy on this poor world, not only by the generosity of my sacrifice and my detachment, but also by the generosity of my confidence. I want to believe against all evidence, hope against all hope; I want to believe with unshakable confidence, even when things seem to become ever more painful and difficult to resolve. I want to touch Your heart, O Lord, by the firmness and generosity of my confidence!

“I know and firmly believe that You love me, that You permit all for Your greater glory and for my greater good; I know that I can cooperate in the salvation of souls, and that the sufferings of time have no proportion with future glory; I know that to become a saint it is necessary to suffer much, and that one reaches pure love through pure suffering; I know that all is possible to me in You, who are my support. Even if I were fatigued, oppressed by darkness, anguish, and agony, by looking at You, O Jesus Crucified, I should always taste an intimate supernatural joy, since You admit me to share Your sufferings in order to conform me to Your Passion and to permit me one day to participate in Your glory.

“I can always rejoice in the face of any suffering, humiliation, trial, interior or exterior pain, by reflecting that You, O Jesus, do me the honor of inviting me to participate in Your Passion, in Your redemptive work for souls. Therefore, far from considering these sorrows as evils, teach me to embrace them and to welcome them as favors and precious means for my sanctification, vivifying them through love and a peaceful, total adherence to Your will. O Lord, it is in this spirit that I intend to offer You my prayer, my mortification, my daily renunciation, my continual acceptance of the sufferings You send me, to draw down graces on the whole Church and to save souls” (Sr. Carmela of the Holy Spirit, O.C.D.).

339. PROGRESS IN THE APOSTOLATE

PRESENCE OF GOD - Unite me to You, O Lord, and may the power of Your charity enkindle in my heart true apostolic fire.


MEDITATION

1. St. Thomas teaches that love is like fire. It produces a flame, and the flame of love is zeal. If the fire burns intensely, then the flame will also be intense and devouring. True apostolic zeal is the spontaneous result, the normal fruit of intimate contact of the soul with God through love. The more a soul is united to God by love, the more it becomes enveloped in the flame of His charity, participating in His infinite love for men, in His eternal zeal for their salvation; thus it necessarily becomes apostolic.

It would be an exaggeration to say that one could not be an apostle before being thus intimately enraptured by divine love, but it is evident that the fullness of the apostolate, and therefore of apostolic fecundity, will not be attained without this interior flame which is born of union with God. Until we attain this, we must consider ourselves beginners in the apostolate, like apprentices who apply themselves to an art, executing this or that work without yet being sustained or led by personal inspiration. Beginners must act as such,
that is, with caution, giving themselves to the apostolate with prudence and measure, because not having attained that spiritual maturity in which the flame of zeal burns spontaneously within them, they have not as yet those reserves of grace which serve to defend the soul from the dangers of a too intense external activity, and which, at the same time, have the power to make all their labor fruitful.

St. Teresa asserts that “as yet the soul is not even weaned, but is like a child beginning to suck the breast. If it be taken from its mother, what can it be expected to do but die? That, I am very much afraid will be the lot of anyone to whom God has granted this favor, if he gives up prayer; unless he does so for some every exceptional reason, or unless he returns to it quickly, he will go from bad to worse” (int C IV, 3). Let us remark that the Saint is not speaking of souls who are taking the first steps in the interior life, but of those who have attained to the prayer of quiet and could well be called proficients; yet it is no exaggeration to say that, in respect to the apostolate, they are still beginners.


2. St. Teresa shows us a soul at the moment in which —in consequence of the charity which unites it to God— there is born in it the interior flame of the apostolate. Through love and abandonment, it has becomed so submissive to the will of God that “it neither knows nor desires anything save that God shall do with it what He wills”; and God who “takes it for His very own...seals it with His seal” and infuses into it a most lively sorrow for the sins of men and an ardent desire to immolate itself for their salvation (Int C V, 2). In this soul charity has increased to such a point as to enable it to renounce effectively its own will in order to conform itself in all things to the divine will. Even when confronted with difficult and unforeseen circumstances which require a great spirit of sacrifice it puts aside every natural repugnance and resentment, all personal views and desires, in order to adhere entirely to the divine will, whether this presents itself under the aspect of daily duties or by means of the external voice of obedience, the interior voice of the Holy Spirit, or even by the circumstances of life.

Then, when the soul is truly united to God by love, truly given to Him, God takes it and sends it forth in the service of the Church and souls. He wills to make use of it to realize His plan for the salvation and sanctification of humanity. Immense desires of the apostolate, in no wise comparable to those it had nourished before, awaken in the soul. It feels that it no longer belongs to itself, that its life is necessarily bound to that of the divine Redeemer, and that, in imitation of Him, it should dedicate its life to souls and let it be wholly consumed in their service. Even those who apparently live isolated from the world and from external contact with men—religious in their cloisters, contemplatives in hermitages and deserts—become eminently apostolic when they have reached this state. Their whole life of prayer and sacrifice is orientated toward one ideal : to make reparation for the sins of mankind, to save souls. Whereas contemplatives give vent to this apostolic zeal by redoubling their hidden immolation, active souls, given to exterior works, find in the interior flame blazing forth from their union with God the impulse, the strength, the support, the fecundity of their apostolate. Once again we must come to the conclusion that to the way to attain to the greatest apostolic efficacy is the solitary and silent way of union with God.


COLLOQUY

“O my God, how fervent and strong is the charity of a soul who is united with You by love! Those whom You have taken to Yourself in this way, cannot confine themselves to their personal advantage, and be satisfied with it. Nor would it suffice for them to go to heaven alone, but with solicitude and affection wholly celestial, and with utmost diligence, they endeavor to lead many others with them. Grant, O Lord, that my love for You may have this same effect on me” (cf. J.C.).

“O Lord, when once a soul is resolved to love You and has resigned itself into Your hands You will have nothing else save that it desire and seek to contribute to Your greater glory.

“Oh! the charity of those who truly love You! How little rest will they be able to take if they see they can do anything to help even one soul to make progress and love You better, or to give it some comfort or save it from some danger! How insupportable would their rest become for them!

“Even if I can do nothing for others by my actions, I can do a great deal by means of prayer, importuning You, O Lord, for the many souls the thought of whose ruin causes me such grief. I would lose my own comfort, and look upon it as well lost, for I am not thinking of my own pleasure but of how better to do Your will.

“O my God, as time goes on, my desires to do something for the good of some soul grows greater and greater, and I often feel like one who has a large amount of treasure in her charge and would like everyone to enjoy it, but whose hands are tied, so that she cannot distribute it.... Unable to contain myself any longer...I call upon You, O Lord, beseeching You to find me a means of gaining some soul for Your service” (T.J. F, 5-1).

349. APOSTOLIC MATURITY

PRESENCE OF GOD - Your love, O my God, matures my soul and renders it capable of giving itself fully to the service of souls.


MEDITATION

1. We may ask if the apostle can devote himself freely to the apostolate when he has reached the degree of union with God in which the flame of zeal bursts forth spontaneously. The fact is that, at this point, he cannot and should not evade the gift of self. Whether he is consecrated to contemplation or to action, whether he lives in the cloister or in the midst of the turmoil of the world, his life consists henceforth in giving himself unceasingly : in giving himself to God for the good of his neighbor, in giving himself to his neighbor for the glory of God. To stifle this tendency would be to retrogress and to impoverish his own spiritual life; the time has come when the soul should be enriched by the gift of self lived in the exercise of an intense apostolate, interior or exterior as the case may be. However, the saints teach that prudence is still necessary, and one must not cease to be vigilant, since to have received the interior grace of the apostolate does not signify that one has been confirmed in grace. St. Teresa says this expressly: “I have known people of a very high degree of spirituality who have reached this state, and whom, notwithstanding, the devil with great subtlety and craft, has won back to himself” (Int C V, 4). “How many are called by the Lord to the apostleship, as Judas was, and enjoy communion with Him...and afterwards, through their own fault, are lost!” (ibid., 3). Spontaneously one recalls the cry full of humility and distrust of self that burst forth from the heart of St. Paul, the Apostle who had been rapt to the third heaven: “Lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway” (1 Cor 9,27).

As long as we are on earth, we have reason to fear; we always have, alas, the sad possibility of not corresponding with grace, of separating ourselves, even in small things, from the will of God—and herein lies our ruin—thus, little by little we fall back. “Christian souls whom the Lord has brought to this point on your journey,” exclaims St. Teresa of Jesus, “I beseech you, for His sake, not to be negligent, but to withdraw from occasions of sin”; and she adds, “For this purpose [the downfall of an apostle] the devil will marshall all the powers of hell, for as I have often said, if he wins a single soul in this way, he will win a whole multitude” (Int C V, 4). On the contrary, if the apostle remains faithful to the grace of the apostolate, he will not only be an instrument for the salvation of many, but his own interior life will be deeply enriched.


2. In order not to be unfaithful to the grace of the apostolate, three cautions are particularly necessary. First of all, one must always have a jealous care for humility, defending oneself against the flattering voices of praise and success and confronting them with the picture of one’s misery, the poor figure so often made, as well as of one’s blunders and failures in the apostolate. If Lucifer—-a pure spirit—fell through pride, it is not unthinkable that an apostle, too, is subject to such a fall, being man and weighed down by
matter. Constant vigilance is necessary, then, to maintain intimate contact with God, for just as iron becomes red hot and glows only when it is in contact with fire, so the apostle radiates the divine light and warmth only if he keeps himself united to Him who is their only source.

Lastly, it is of the greatest importance to persevere in perfect detachment from one’s own will and judgment. In regard to this, St. John of the Cross warns us that “among the many wiles used by the devil to deceive spiritual persons, the most ordinary is that of deceiving them under an appearance of what is good, not under an appearance of what is evil: for he knows that if they recognize evil, they will scarcely touch it” (P, 10). Therefore, in order not to fall into his snares, the Saint warns us never to undertake any action “ however good and full of charity” (ibid., 11) it may seem to be, without the sanction of obedience.

This advice is good not only for religious but for all who work in the apostolate, because all should be submissive to ecclesiastical authority. For even if such a work, such an initiative, such a method of apostolate should obtain excellent results, from the moment that ecclesiastical authority does not approve of it, for whatever reason, the apostle should immediately renounce it, without criticism, complaint, or
murmuring, by which he might try to make his own point of view prevail. Protected by deep humility and sincere detachment, sustained by intimate union with God, the apostle can go through the paths of the world without fear for his spiritual life.


COLLOQUY

“O Lord, the souls who were closest to You, as were Your most holy Mother and Your glorious Apostles, were those who suffered and labored the most for You, giving themselves no rest.

“O my God, how little should the soul that lives closely united to You think about resting! How far it ought to be from wishing to be esteemed in anything! If it is occupied with You, as it is right it should be, it will forget itself; its whole thought will be concentrated upon finding ways to please You, and seeing in what things and in what ways it can show You its love. You teach me, O Lord, that this is the aim of prayer, and that union with You tends to this: to produce good works and good works alone.

“If I fix my eyes on You, my crucified Lord, everything will become easy to me. Since you have shown me Your love by doing and suffering such amazing things, why should I content myself with words alone? Oh! make me know how to give myself to You as Your slave, so that branded as such with Your sign, which is the sign of the Cross, You can sell me as a slave to the whole world. Let me see what it means to become truly spiritual.

“Unite me to You, O divine Strength, that I may share in Your strength as the saints shared in it, so that with great zeal, I may work for Your glory, and suffer and die for You, and thus win many souls for You” (Int C VII, 4).

341. SPIRITUAL PATERNITY AND MATERNITY

PRESENCE OF GOD - O my God, unite me to Yourself by a bond of fervent love; grant that by this union I may bring You many souls.


MEDITATION

1. God has bestowed on man the great honor of willing that he be His collaborator in a work which is proper to Himself, as God, which belongs essentially to Him alone, that is, the communication of life, and not only of natural life but of supernatural life also. On the natural level, which we may call the plan of creation, the fathers and mothers of families are His collaborators, having been entrusted with the high mission of communicating life to new human beings, of rearing and educating them for the glory of God. On the supernatural level, that of Redemption, God’s collaborators are all those who, by dedicating themselves to the apostolate, have an even more noble and vast mission, that of communicating to men the life of grace, without which they are unhappy creatures, and in a certain sense, are unable to attain eternal life. In his Encyclical Menti Nostrae, Pope Pius XII declares, “The priest is...the organ of the communication and increase of life in the Mystical Body of Christ. Far from losing the gift and the office of paternity because of his celibacy, the priest increases them immeasurably, since if he does not beget children for this passing life on earth, he begets them for that life which is heavenly and eternal.” In due proportion, the same can be said of every apostle; for the final end of the apostolate is precisely to engender souls to the supernatural life.

“My little children, of whom I am in labor again, until Christ be formed in you,” exclaimed St. Paul in a letter to the Galatians (4,19). Every apostle has an equal right to feel himself both father and mother of the souls for whom he sacrifices himself entirely—a paternity and a maternity which are a reflection of, or rather, a sharing in the paternity of God. In the natural order, God has arranged that fecundity, the source of life, should be the result of the union of two creatures. In the supernatural order also, fecundity is born of union, but of an immensely superior and wholly spiritual union: the union of the soul with God. The more a soul is united to God by love, the greater is its participation in His inexhaustible fecundity, which has for its end the communication of the divine life to men. Therefore, consecrated souls, who have renounced natural fecundity, have not impoverished and stifled their lives, condemning them to sterility; through their union with God, these souls have been raised to a paternity, to a maternity, of a far superior nature.


2. To be a father or mother of souls is not limited to those who work in the external apostolate; it extends also to those who have dedicated themselves to the contemplative life. Although completely separated from the world, St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus felt an ever increasing spiritual maternity grow in her heart, and in the solitude of Carmel she writes: “To be Your spouse, O Jesus, and by my union with You, to be the mother of souls!” (T.C.J. St, 13). This is the fundamental aspiration of her spirit, the ideal that attracted her, sustaining and urging her on to a life of continual and painful immolation. She is ever conscious that she must give herself, sacrifice herself for souls; like a loving mother she must be constantly at the complete disposal of her children. One day, seeing a novice sauntering listlessly to her work, the Saint teasingly reproved her: “Is that the way people hurry when they have children and are obliged to work to procure them food?” (T.C.J. C).

The earnest apostle, ever conscious of having children to nourish, realizes that he should spend his whole life for them, that he has to maintain them by his toil, his prayers, his weariness, and above all by his love. Precisely from love—from this same love which unites him to God—does he draw the strength to sacrifice himself for them, and draws even that spiritual fecundity by which he becomes God’s collaborator in communicating to them the life of grace. As love increases, union with God becomes deeper, and this, in turn, gives rise to greater fecundity and more power in communicating divine life to an immense number of souls. Who can estimate the extent of the spiritual paternity and maternity of the saints?

There is no interior life, no real sanctity which is not crowned with the aureole of spiritual paternity or maternity. But as in the natural realm, the mother brings forth her children in sorrow, so in the supernatural order, there is no paternity or maternity of souls without suffering. It was by dying on the Cross that Jesus brought us forth to divine life. From Him we learn that if we wish to share in His redemptive work, we must not fear either persecutions, or mockeries, or scourgings, or thorns, or nails, or the cross; we must be ready to give for souls all that we have and are, even our very life, that they may be nourished with our blood.


COLLOQUY

“O eternal Father, You cannot fail to know that poor sinners are Your creatures and belong to You by the supreme title of creation.

“O eternal Son, blessed King, You cannot deny that these wretched beings belong to You, since You gained them for Yourself by the incomparable title of Redemption. Listen to me, O most obedient Son, listen to me and show Yourself propitious to my prayers, because when I present myself to the eternal Father with the pledge of Your Blood and Your Passion in my hand, He cannot drive me far away from Him without first hearing my requests.


“Come to my aid, O eternal Holy Spirit! No matter how abominable these sinners may be by the enormity of their sins, they still belong to You, since You made them Yours by admitting them to a share in Your goodness.

“O Lord, my only comfort is to see souls converted to You; and for this alone I suffer patiently Your absence. If You do not grant me this comfort, what can I do? Do not drive me away, most merciful Lord!

“You are resolved and already disposed to hear me, since in Your compassionate glance toward me, I perceive, clothed with Your light, my spiritual sons and daughters, my brothers and sisters and all those whom I strive to win to You day by day. May they always remain faithful to You.

“O sovereign and eternal Father, I recommend to You my beloved children, whom You have confided to me; I beg of You to visit them with Your grace, to make them live as dead to the world that they may enjoy clear and perfect light, and be united among themselves with the sweet bond of charity. I pray You, O eternal Father, that none of them be taken from my hands, and I beg You to pardon us all our offenses. I offer and commend to You my beloved children, because they are my very soul” (St. Catherine of Siena).

342. MARTHA AND MARY

PRESENCE OF GOD - Grant, O Lord, that I may love You with the heart of Mary, while serving You with the devotedness of Martha.


MEDITATION

1. There are two great attractions in a soul which has given itself seriously to God: the attraction to solitary, silent prayer where, immersed in God, the soul listens to His voice, penetrates His mysteries, and above all unites itself more intimately with Him; and correspondingly, the attraction to the apostolate, to active, generous sacrifice for the salvation of souls. To recollect itself in God “the soul would like to flee from other people, and greatly envies those who live, or have lived, in deserts. On the other hand, it would like to plunge right into the heart of the world, to see if by doing this it could help one soul to praise God more” (T.J. Int C VI, 6). Such is the double movement of charity which, fusing the love of God and the love of neighbor into one and the same love, urges the soul equally to union with God and to the service of its neighbor. If one of these movements is lacking, charity will not be complete. The development of the interior life requires this double attraction which is both a sign and a means of progress; it is at the same time, a torment for the soul that has not yet found the just mean between the two tendencies. To which of the two will it give the preference? To action or to contemplation? In practice, the problem must be solved on the basis of the requirements and the duties of one’s state in life, the directions of obedience, and the particular circumstances permitted by God. A desire for contemplative prayer which distracts, or withdraws the soul from the fulfillment of duty would not be in conformity with the will of God; God has every right to
ask us to renounce such a desire, that He may send us to serve our neighbor.

Magdalen rejoiced when she finally found Jesus, her Risen Lord; she longed to remain at His feet, but He commanded her: “Go to My brethren” (Jn 20,17); and she, with docility, left Him to announce His Resurrection. On the other hand, the contrary is also true. Jesus said to His Apostles on their return from preaching: “Come apart into a desert place and rest a little” (Mk 6,31), thereby inviting them to suspend their apostolic activity and to reinvigorate their spirit in silence and in prayer, alone with Him. The best way, which steers a middle course deviating neither to right nor left, is always the way of duty, of the will of God, of interior inspiration, under the guidance of one who has the authority to direct the soul.


2. To harmonize interiorly this double attraction to the active apostolate and to union with God in prayer, there is need of a deeper solution, one which can come only from the interior. This solution consists in a greater progress in the interior life leading to an ever greater degree of love. Love is the only root from which blossom both action and contemplation; it is the only force which, nourishing these two activities simultaneously, finally succeeds in blending them into perfect harmony, thus enabling them to bear the best
fruit. Springing from the same stem of an advanced love, action and contemplation are fused only in perfect love.

Perfect charity makes the soul, while recollected in contemplation at the feet of the Lord, more operative and fruitful than ever for the good of others. “A very little of this pure love” (solitary love which flourishes in intimate contact with God) “is more precious in the sight of God and the soul, and of greater profit to the Church, even though the soul appear to be doing nothing, than are all other works together.... Therefore,” declares St. John of the Cross, “if any soul should have aught of this degree of solitary love, great wrong would be done to it and to the Church, if, even for a brief space, one should endeavor to busy it in active or outward affairs of however great moment” (SC 29,2.3).

In the regions of pure love, that is, of perfect charity, contemplation and the apostolate become identified; they complete and require one another. At this point, the contemplative soul is eminently apostolic. Its greatest activity for the benefit of its fellow men is precisely its solitary prayer, nourished by love, sacrifice and immolation. On the other hand, the soul occupied in apostolic works becomes, through perfect charity, more contemplative, more united to God than ever. Love has so fixed the soul in God that, even during work, its interior gaze is always turned toward Him, to nourish itself with His divine presence, to reflect in its own conduct His infinite perfections, and to govern itself at all times according to His good pleasure. Thus at the summit of the spiritual life, action and contemplation become fused in perfect unity and harmony. “Believe me,” wrote St. Teresa of Avila, “Martha and Mary must work together when they offer the Lord lodging, and must have Him ever with them, and they must not entertain Him badly and give Him nothing to eat...His food consists in our bringing Him souls, in every possible way, so that they may be saved and may praise Him forever” (T.J. Int C VII, 4). From this we can understand how all the great contemplatives were at the same time great apostles, and the great apostles, great contemplatives.


COLLOQUY


“O Lord, the desire to listen to Your divine Word, the need to be silent is sometimes so strong that I would wish not to know how to do anything else save to remain at Your feet, like Magdalen, in order to penetrate ever more deeply into that mystery of love which You came to reveal to us. But You teach me that if the soul never separates itself from You, it can always remain absorbed in contemplation, even though apparently it is carrying out Martha’s functions. In this way, O Lord, I intend and wish to exercise my apostolate: I shall radiate You, I shall give You to souls, provided I do not separate myself from You, O divine Source. Help me, sweet Master, to come very near You, to commune with Your Soul, to identify myself with all Your operations, and then to go forth like You to do the Father’s will.

“What a wonderful influence over souls has the apostle who never leaves the source of living waters! Grant me, O Lord, to be one of these. Then the spring of water will fill my soul and overflow it without danger of its becoming empty, for it will find itself in continual communication with You, the Infinite.

“My God, deign to invade all the faculties of my soul; grant that everything within me may become divine and marked with Your seal, so that I may be another Christ working for Your glory.

“Lord, how I long to labor for Your glory! I long to give myself entirely to You, to be serraded by Your divine life; be the life of my life, the soul of my soul, and grant that I may always remain under the influence of Your divine action ” (E.T. L).