Humility: What is it anyway?

Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest for your souls. (Matt. 11:29.)

People, even those who are pious and devout, tend to concentrate on externals, and that which is easily defined and understood. Regarding sin and virtue, we often are mindful of more cut and dry obligations while ignoring the more internal, hard-to-define sins. One may be very strict regarding observance of the Sabbath, while at the very same engaging in far more subtle sins offending against charity and humility with scarcely a thought. If we miss Mass, offend against purity or cheated on taxes, we generally know when we have crossed the line and sinned, or if we have been virtuous and resisted temptation. But how about humility? How can we ever be sure that we have been humble? What is humility in practical terms?

How important is this elusive virtue of humility? Many saints tell us that it is the cornerstone of any spiritual life. They tell us it is the portal to all other virtues and we cannot go to heaven without it.

Whatever humility is, we need it!

IN Paradise there are many Saints who never gave alms on earth: their poverty justified them. There are many Saints who never mortified their bodies by fasting, or wearing hair shirts: their bodily infirmities excused them. There are many Saints too who were not virgins: their vocation was otherwise. But in Paradise there is no Saint who was not humble.

1. God banished Angels from Heaven for their pride; therefore how can we pretend to enter therein, if we do not keep ourselves in a state of humility? Without humility, says St. Peter Damian, [Serm. 45] not even the Virgin Mary herself with her incomparable virginity could have entered into the glory of Christ, and we ought to be convinced of this truth that, though destitute of some of the other virtues, we may yet be saved, but never without humility. There are people who flatter themselves that they have done much by preserving unsullied chastity, and truly chastity is a beautiful adornment; but as the angelic St. Thomas says: "Speaking absolutely, humility excels virginity." [4 dist. qu. xxxiii, art. 3 ad 6; et 22, qu. clxi, art. 5] (Humility of Heart Thoughts and Sentiments on Humility Part 1, Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo, reprinted by Tan Books and Publishers, Charlotte, NC.)

St. Augustine says: "No one can deny this truth, that humility is essential to all those who wish to be saved. "No one reaches the kingdom of Heaven except by humility." [Lib. de Salut. cap. xxxii]

So we see that to reach Heaven one must be humble. The vice opposing humility - pride - was the sin that turned those beautiful angels into devils. What an enormous sin pride is! Fr. Cajetan presents a sobering thought: even those who have maintained purity are in danger of flattering themselves and offending against humility. Even the great St. Therese of Liseux realized how truly grounded we must be to attain humility and how susceptible we are to the sin of pride:

Yet, Lord, you know my weakness. Each morning I take up my resolution to practice humility and, by evening, I realise I have still committed many failings of pride.

Seeing this, I am tempted to discouragement.

However, as I well know, discouragement is also an act of pride! And so, O my God, what I want to do is to base all my hope on you alone. You can do all things, so be pleased to bring to birth in my soul the virtue I am looking for. And to obtain this grace from your infinite mercy, I will say repeatedly: «O Jesus, meek and humble of heart: make my heart gentle and humble as yours! - St. Therese of Liseux »

Humility, what is it, anyway?

And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled: and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted (Matt. 23:12.)

We are not doing wrong or being prideful by seeking excellence. However, we must do it God's way and not our own. The one who exalts himself shall be humbled. Our strength is not in ourselves. We may "fly high" for a short time, but ultimately if we rely on our own devices, we shall fail, even if it seems to the world that we succeed. However, if we seek excellence by the power of God, we shall be successful, even though it seems to the world that we fail. It is foolish to confide solely in our own powers, but we may reach for even greater things than we could imagine by trusting in the power of God.

Jesus Christ exhorts us toward humility because humility orders our priorities correctly. Humility removes the obstacle to spiritual growth because when man relies on God, man will have as his main goal spiritual and eternal things. The worldly man eventually is weighed down to the earth because he tends to concentrate all, or the greater part of his efforts to becoming great in worldly things, disregarding the eternal. The person who relies on God is blessed; as he looks upward, he is lifted up to consider heavenly, eternal things. Humility is not the greatest virtue, per se, but it opens the door and makes the other virtues, including Faith, Hope and Charity possible. Humility is that narrow gate by which we are to gain virtue and gain eternal life.

Humility makes it possible, for by humility we learn to rely on God. We do what is necessary, seeking supernatural help to love Him more deeply and love our neighbor who we often find unlovable. Humility causes us to realize that we must cry out to God, beg God, pray night and day for that which will draw us to Him. Without Him, as Jesus tells us, we can do nothing. (John 15:5). WITH Jesus though, we can do all things. As St. Paul says, "I can do all things in Christ Who strengthens me." (Philip. 4:13.) And again: "'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." (2 Cor. 12:9). So the true path to success is by having great confidence in the power of God to strengthen our actions, rather than to rely solely on our own devices.

How do we practice humility? First of all, we must examine and consider two things: [1] who we are; and [2] who God is. If we do this regularly, practicing humility will become much easier. "Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised." (Ps. 47:1) On the other hand, as David the psalmist says after a self-examination:

Wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me of my sin.
For I acknowledge my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.
Against Thee alone have I sinned and done evil in Thy sight;
For behold, I was conceived in sin, and in sin my mother conceived me;
For behold, Thou hast loved truth, and the uncertain and hidden things of Thy wisdom Thou hast shown me. (Ps. 50:4-8).

This is the truth: that we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But as David further prays to the Lord, there is joy is acknowledging our sinfulness:

"Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed. Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness, and the bones Thou hath crushed shall rejoice. (Ps. 50:9-10.)

We have barely scratched the surface, but we have made a start. Let us study the saints: they are our models of humility. Let us apply ourselves to its practice and pray to the Lord for understanding. We can spend a lifetime in the school of humility and still have much to learn. Let us remember every day what we are ... and Who God is. We are wonderful creatures, but we attain our potential by considering our lowliness, trusting in God, and then we may reach for the heavens: for he who humbles himself shall be exalted.

Hymn by St. Bernard of Clairvaux: Jesu Dulcis Memoria

One more post to honor today's saint: one of the beautiful hymns composed by St. Bernard of Clairvaux in a Gregorian chant setting.

I found an English version that is beautiful ... the translator took some "poetic license" but nonetheless, it remains very reverently done and the singer has a voice of angelic beauty.

Please enjoy and prayerfully consider Christ's passion and Eucharistic presence, which our saint honored so well.



Jesu Dulcis Memoria
(English Translation)

Jesus, the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills the breast!
Yet sweeter far Thy face to see
And in Thy Presence rest.

No voice can sing, no heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find,
A sweeter sound than Jesus' Name,
The Savior of mankind.

O hope of every contrite heart!
O joy of all the meek!
To those who fall, how kind Thou art!
How good to those who seek!

But what to those who find? Ah! this
Nor tongue nor pen can show
The love of Jesus, what it is,
None but His loved ones know.

Jesus! our only hope be Thou,
As Thou our prize shalt be;
In Thee be all our glory now,
And through eternity. Amen.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux : Active Comtemplative, Giant Among Men

Today is the feast day of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. St. Bernard was a Doctor of the Church, a distinction granted to only 33 saints in 2,000 years. His devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary was a source of inspiration to many, and was instrumental in the development of devotion to Our Lady. Bernard will be ever known for both his great contemplative insight and his apostolic efforts in spreading the faith and fighting schism in the Church.

St. Bernard, like few others, understood and practiced the love of God and man to an extraordinary degree. The Holy Spirit taught him love's two main objectives:
[1] love of God, whose goodness demands the love of the reflective soul; and
[2] love of man whose misery excites our charity. (The Liturgical Year Time after Pentecost, Book IV p. 433. Reprinted by Marian House, Powers Lake, ND 1983.)

St. Bernard followed the Apostolic pattern set by the Holy Spirit for those who have done His bidding since the time of the Old Testament prophets. As Moses wandered the desert, the Holy Spirit prepared him for his work through fasting and prayer. St. John the Baptist, and even Our Lord Himself retreated to the desert to prepare them for their ministry. Similarly, St. Bernard learned the ways of the Lord in prayer, solitude and self-renunciation before doing the Lord's work.

During his active life, Bernard pined for the life of solitude where he could spend his days contemplating God, but the Holy Spirit had another plan in mind. His reputation for learning and sanctity had spread over all of Europe and throughout the Church. He was the confidant of popes and bishops and settled the disputes of kings and princes. While some men dream of the type of influence and power St. Bernard had, Bernard could only lament that these demands on his time. The troubles of the Church and the world left him burdened by the anxiety and cares of "the crowd of discordant applicants" and with no time left to pray.

St. Bernard lamented the corruption within the Church and the appointment of unworthy Bishops. Through Bernard, the Lord successfully opened the hearts of prominent bishops who became true shepherds of God's people through his holy influence.

Bernard was one of the great contemplatives in Church history. His spirit soared to the heights of heaven, as can be seen in his sermons and writings. Yet Bernard's influence throughout Europe and the Church was astounding, and almost paradoxically was one of the most active saints of all time, spreading the influence of the Faith, theology and Christian aestheticism, making great contributions to Western Civilization. As such, he is surely a saint for our times.

In our day, where earthly pragmatism holds sway over the hearts of men and people rarely find time to pray, the life of St. Bernard shows us that we truly have no excuse. There are many forces tugging at us, and many influences telling us that action is what is necessary. Of course, it is, but for our lives to be as God wants them, in order for our action to flower, in order to gather treasure "where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal" (Matt. 6:20) we need the soil of Christian discipline and the water of prayer.

For most of us, our lives cannot possible reflect except in some small way that of Bernard, but we can follow his example. We busy ourselves with so many things, and it is true that we must attend to the matters of this world. Yet, how much happier we will be, how far more fulfilling our efforts if we too in some small way enter the desert in spirit with St. Bernard, and emerge to do God's will. Let us take the time to contemplate, and just as importantly, let us approach all our action with two ends firmly in the front of our minds: firstly, to act in love of God Who is all-deserving; and secondly to act in love of our neighbor who needs our love and kindness. Let us be sure that our actions always meet those two charitable ends to all those whom our actions affect.

Let us close with the famous "Memorare" prayer to Our Lady, composed by St. Bernard.

Memorare to the Blessed Virgin Mary
REMEMBER, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly to thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, pray for us!

Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven

Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array? (Can. 6:9)

Of the many feast days of Our Lady on the Liturgical Calendar, the Feast of the Assumption is my favorite. The very thought of it animates my mind with so many vivid images, scripture passages and sentiments. It inspires me in good times and in dark times, with holy joy, confidence and hope in that Lord Who gave us such a wonderful Mother. Mary is in Heaven, yet walks with us on earth, guiding and protecting her children. Jesus, as he was dying, gave us Mary as our mother in the person of His beloved disciple, John. He said to Mary: "Woman, behold thy son" and to John, "Behold thy Mother." As if to look at each one of us from the vantage point of the Cross represented in the person of John, He merely says: "Behold thy Mother." He does not use the personal pronoun "you", nor does He say "Son, behold thy Mother" because Jesus was not speaking to John alone. Jesus on the Cross saw each and every one of us, and gave His Mother to us all."

The Fathers traditionally ascribe this short passage at once to both the Church, and to the Blessed Virgin Mary. As I ponder the meaning of the feast, it is the very first verse which enters my mind. These few words so abound with meaning, that it stuns me still as I meditate on it:

Fair as the moon ...
Bright as the sun ...
Terrible as an army set in battle array!

This beautiful passage says so much about Our Lady's role. Indeed, it is a concise summary of Mary's work throughout salvation history:

Fair as the moon
Mary is presented in Scripture to us as "fair as the moon." She is a calm, quiet and steady light. She does not overpower: the focus must remain on her Son until His reign is established. She appears regularly in the Gospels, though always in a complementary role, as she always does pointing and leading all toward her Son.

She speaks to us the beautiful words of the Magnificat of the solemn mystery of our own redemption: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He Who is mighty has done great things for me." (Luke 1:46.) She presents her child to the prophet Simeon; her soul grieving and tears in her eyes as that faithful man tells of the future of her Son, and that "her own heart, a sword shall pierce" so that the hearts of many shall be revealed." (Luke 2:35.) At the Wedding Feast at Cana, she tells us firmly, yet quietly as she whispers to the chief waiter: "Do whatever He tells you." (John 2:5.) With solemn dignity and her heart united with her Son's, suffering as one, she follows Him on the Bloody trail to Calvary to offer Him as a sacrifice to the Eternal Father, and to unite her Immaculate Heart with His. (John 19:26.) Though she gave birth to her Son in a miraculous way without the usual pains of childbirth, she wailed in pain at the birth of the Church (Rev. 12:2) and at our spiritual birth, which occurs on Calvary. At the Ascension of her Son, and the Descent of the Holy Ghost on Pentecost Sunday, again she is there, this time to support her new family, the Church.

Bright as the Sun

And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. (Rev. 12:1)

In later times, her Son's holy doctrine preached throughout the continents, to the ends of the earth, her Spouse, the Holy Spirit deigned to present her to us, as the woman clothed with the sun.

In 1531, Our Lady appeared to a pious peasant man, St. Juan Diego and gave to the Mexican people, and all the peoples of the Americas the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, where she appeared as "arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars" (Rev, 12:1.) The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was not painted by any human hand and the symbolism is amazing. We will come back to Our Lady of Guadalupe in a future post. Through Our Lady of Guadalupe, the diabolical human sacrifice of the Aztecs was halted, and a deluge of Mexican people entered the Church. Let us pray for a similar miracle in our own day, so that the dignity of human life defended by Our Lady will soon be restored!

On December 8, 1854, Bl. Pius IX in the constitution Ineffabilis Deus defined the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, that "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin." That is, God, from all eternity, deemed it appropriate that His mother should remain free of sin from the first moment of her existence, so as to become the pure vessel which would contain the sacred Humanity of her Son. We as Catholics know that Mary, like all of us, utterly depends on the merits of Jesus Christ gained for us on Calvary for her salvation. Since God is eternal, the application of the future merits of Jesus could be applied to Our Lady prior to His coming to earth. Catholics everywhere looked up in admiration at one of Mary's great prerogatives, which reflected the great glory of our God, for only He could fashion for Himself such a splendid being. As William Wordsworth later would state "our fallen nature's solitary boast." One alone remained always faithful and she is our Mother!

Four short years later, on Thursday, 25 March 1858, Our Lady ratified this privilege, defined by Pius IX. The seer, St. Bernadette of Lourdes asked the Lady who appeared to her:

"Would you be so kind as to tell me who you are?"

The Lady responded back:

"I am the Immaculate Conception."

Ever since, Our Lady has ratified her prerogative and her love for each of us through the many miracles of cures and miracles of conversions that occur there to this day.

In 1950, the Venerable Pope Pius XII solemnly defined the doctrine we celebrate today:

By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.

This is a doctrine common to both Catholic and Orthodox, the Orthodox generally believing that Our Lady died, and after three days, her tomb found empty because her body had been assumed into heaven. Again, in 1950 the Church received the great confirmation of her children's long held belief that Mary was raised from the dead, and assumed into Heaven by her divine Son.

Terrible as an Army Set in Battle Array

I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. (Gen. 3:15.)

This was the prophecy to the Serpent in the Garden of Eden after our first parents fell. As St. Bernard said: "Christ crushed the serpent's head by his death, suffering himself to be wounded in the heel. His Blessed Mother crushed him likewise, by her co-operation in the mystery of the Incarnation; and by rejecting, with horror, the very first suggestions of the enemy, to commit even the smallest sin." (St. Bernard, ser. 2, on Missus est.)

At the end of time, Our Lady will participate in Satan's final defeat. She has been given authority by her Son, and has at her command the heavenly hosts. She sends her angels to minister to us, and they take their honor in doing her bidding. She may, at her pleasure, send a host of angels to protect and defend us in our battle against the devil, the flesh and the world.

In 1917, Our Lady appeared again to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. She gave a most astounding message to the whole Church predicting a weakening of faith and Russia's spread of error throughout the world. The Miracle of the Sun ratifying the apparition is equally astounding, having been predicted beforehand by the children as to occur on October 13, 1917. The miracle came as foretold, and was witnessed by many tens of thousands, believer and non-believer alike. Accounts of the miracle were even reported in the daily newspapers, though they were controlled by the anti-clerical Freemasons, staunch enemies of the Catholic Church. As the miracle unfolded before the astonished throngs, people thought that the end of the world was at hand. The sun seemed to spin uncontrollably toward earth, and made its way back to the sky. Suddenly, the torrential rains of the day ceased, the sun shone and the people were miraculously dry. Such a miracle had never been reported in the annals of mankind, neither before nor since.

After the prophecy of so many calamities that would befall the world and the Church, she comforted her children:

In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.

The Blessed Virgin told the seer Jacinta that God desired His triumph to come through her: “Tell all the world that great graces come through the Immaculate Heart of Mary” and “that God has entrusted to the Immaculate Heart the peace and conversion of the world!”

St. Louis de Montfort, the great apostle of Mary tells us: "What Lucifer lost by pride, Mary won by humility. What Eve ruined and lost by disobedience Mary saved by obedience. By obeying the serpent, Eve ruined her children as well as herself and delivered them up to him. Mary by her perfect fidelity to God saved her children with herself and consecrated them to his divine majesty." (True Devotion to Mary, para. 53.)

Montfort further tells us:

But Mary's power over the evil spirits will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lie in wait for her heel, that is, for her humble servants and her poor children whom she will rouse to fight against him. In the eyes of the world they will be little and poor and, like the heel, lowly in the eyes of all, down-trodden and crushed as is the heel by the other parts of the body. But in compensation for this they will be rich in God's graces, which will be abundantly bestowed on them by Mary. They will be great and exalted before God in holiness. They will be superior to all creatures by their great zeal and so strongly will they be supported by divine assistance that, in union with Mary, they will crush the head of Satan with their heel, that is, their humility, and bring victory to Jesus Christ. (Ibid. Para. 54.)

So much more could be said, for as the saints say, "Of Mary there is never enough." Mary, fair as the moon, splendid as the sun, terrible as an army in battle array. She is our Mother. As a final note, I would like to remember with gratitude on this Assumption Day, those brave men, priests of God, who would tirelessly spread the love of Mary. They could not speak of Our Lady without a tear coming to their eyes. I recall my departed uncle who had likewise a tender love of Mary, and to whom I truly owe a debt of gratitude, for I was privileged to follow his example, at least in this. I appreciate what these men went through. I knew the world's reaction to their tenderheartedness, the ridicule and petty jealousy they were subjected to by lesser men.

These were true men of God, who honored their Mother and defended her honor, sometime at great cost. How the world pines for such men who valiantly defend their women. For, it is necessary to man to his sense of nobility and worth to defend his lady from harm. Likewise, the role of woman is no less to preserve true civilization in the world, and prevent our descent into barbarity.

As at Lepanto, when Mary led the forces of Christianity to victory against the barbarians, as the Virgin of Guadalupe single-handedly halted the abomination of human sacrifice, she will once again guide us against the spiritual and physical forces aligned against us. She can and will win the victory, it has been promised since the time of our first parents. We need only cooperate and ask.

To all of you, rejoice because today, our mother, our advocate the sweet Virgin Mary is assumed into Heaven and crowned amid joy and celebration of the Heavenly Hosts. May the Blessed Mother hold you in her arms. May she assist you in your own quest to gain an imperishable crown in Heaven. God bless you all.

St. John Vianney, the Cure of Ars

Lacking the time, but feeling the need to honor our great saint, let me just post a few quotes from this most humble of men, but a spiritual giant. He had limited natural abilities ... he only got through seminary and ordained after many failures and only by the most incredible determination. He had a difficult time learning the most elementary Latin, built up his lowly parish in a dirt poor village in France in the aftermath of the French Revolution, combatting spiritual ignorance and apathy of breathtaking proportions. As such he is surely a saint for our day in that regard.

St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney fought spiritual battles against the dark forces with an iron will, but most importantly with the armor of God. He had faith, patience and trust. He was such a formidable opponent, that the devil was consigned to say of him that if there were twelve holy persons on the earth like the Cure of Ars, Satan would be crushed.

The Cure of Ars practically lived in the confessional, spending up to 18 hours a day there! People would travel under severe hardship from all around just to go to him for confession. Through him, God showed us all the power of that sacrament.

Quotes from our saint:

If we could comprehend all the good things contained in Holy Communion, nothing more would be wanting to content the heart of man. The miser would run no more after his treasures, or the ambitious after glory; each would shake off the dust of the earth, leave the world, and fly away towards heaven.

I throw myself at the foot of the Tabernacle like a dog at the foot of his Master.

When we go before the Blessed Sacrament, let us open our heart; our good God will open His. We shall go to Him; He will come to us; the one to ask, the other to receive. It will be like a breath from one to the other.

We will either accuse ourselves or excuse ourselves.

Only after the Last Judgment will Mary get any rest; from now until then, she is much too busy with her children.

To serve the Queen of Heaven is already to reign there, and to live under her commands is more than to govern.

We salute thee, O servant of God and Our Lady. St. John Vianney, Cure of Ars, pray for us!

Sorrow and the Real Presence of Jesus

Let the day perish wherein I was born,
and the night in which it was said: A man child is conceived.


Let that day be turned into darkness,
let not God regard it from above, and let not the light shine upon it. (Job 3:3,4.)

My days have passed more swiftly
than the web is cut by the weaver, and are consumed without any hope.
Remember that my life is but wind,
and my eyes shall not return to see good things. (Id. 6:6,7.)

Behold there is no help for me in myself,
and my familiar friends also are departed from me.
He that taketh away mercy from his friend, forsaketh the fear of the Lord.
My brethren have passed by me,
as the torrent that passeth swiftly in the valleys. (Id. 6:12-15.)

Psalm 42

Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy:
deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.

For thou art God my strength: why hast thou cast me off?
and why do I go sorrowful whilst the enemy afflicteth me?

Send forth thy light and thy truth:
they have conducted me, and brought me unto thy holy hill, and into thy tabernacles.

And I will go in to the altar of God: to God who giveth joy to my youth.

To thee, O God my God, I will give praise upon the harp: why art thou sad, O my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me?

Hope in God, for I will still give praise to him:
the salvation of my countenance, and my God.

*****************
Suffering can be frightfully overwhelming and consuming. We are frightened, we are alone, we feel that our sorrow will have no end. At times it is our constant companion and we find no escape. There are so many occasions to cause us suffering. Our own faults and weaknesses by which we offend God and those we love. Sickness, unemployment, infidelity and betrayal, death of a loved one ... the list is truly endless and we can never go for very long in this life without a good measure of sorrow.

Even our earthly joys often contain the seed of dreadful suffering. The joy we receive from a relationship with a dear friend will some day end. You will one day be separated by sickness, death or countless other ways. Anyone who has a tender heart has suffered this most cruel hardship by which we are separated from that very person who was a cause for so much joy. Today, broken families cause incalculable grief to so many. Perhaps there is a falling out with a dear friend. This can be filled with exquisite regret as we remember how we failed our friend or how they failed us. All the good, all the joy we experienced before seems poisoned and we suffer great disillusionment, the sting of rebuke or indifference along with the heartache of separation.

Can there be anything more sad than a mother losing her child? Occasionally, even routine day to day living can exact the most crushing heartache, what can we say about a mother's broken heart? Where can she go for consolation? "A voice has been heard in Rama, weeping, and great lamentation: Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not." (Jeremiah 31:15; Matthew 2:18.)

Why is it that we must endure so much suffering? Truly it is a mystery. We are stunned at the many crosses that Jesus lays across our backs, and wonder: Why must this be? We wonder how much more we will endure. What will be the straw that breaks the camel's back? Yet, faith tells us there is a purpose. One of the wonderful things about the Catholic Faith is that we know that suffering has a purpose and it is not meaningless: far from it! There is strength in weakness! There is joy in sorrow!

Our Lord uses the weak and despised to bring about His victory! St. Paul tells in in Colossians 1:24:

"I fill up the things that are lacking to the sufferings of
Christ in my flesh, for His body, which is the Church."

What? What could be lacking to the sufferings of Christ? Nothing really in the sense that the redemptive suffering of Christ was sufficient to redeem 10,000 worlds. What our suffering does do is to make us participants in our salvation and the salvation of others. As holy mother Church teaches us, we need to cooperate by patiently bearing the trials that God sends us, because in order to gain heaven, we must become Christ-like. In a very real sense our acceptance of suffering removes obstacles to our becoming like Jesus and gaining merit for ourselves. By our suffering, we can give a great gift to our neighbor: we gain for them through Christ many graces. We give joy to the angels by our suffering done well for others, since as Jesus tells us, heaven rejoices over the conversion of even one sinner. (Luke 15:7.)

This is all well and good, but when we are overwhelmed by sorrow, how can we suffer well? It is all we can do to just keep going. Naturally speaking, sorrow and sadness are destructive to our being. They sap the life-energy right out of us. But supernaturally, Jesus uses what the world despises - suffering, and through it transforms sadness into joy. St. Peter Julian Eymard, the great apostle of the Eucharist, tells us that we receive our consolation and strength in the reception of Holy Communion. According to Eymard, we receive spiritual joy to combat our feelings of sorrow every time we receive Holy Communion with devotion and in the state of grace. In fact, he tells us that we usually receive the joy that comes with forgiveness from the Sacrament of Penance when we next receive Communion. Jesus gives us reprieve and a rest from our broken heart for a while when we receive Holy Communion. He also gives us strength to endure trials after the glow fades until that time when His consolation comes to us again.

The Eucharist is the key to enduring our sadness. It gives us strength and comfort. Not only does it lessen that burden of sadness, it gives us greater merit and graces for ourselves and those for whom we pray. We should visit Jesus in the Holy Eucharist outside of Mass too. If we can find a perpetual adoration chapel, we gain great comfort for spending time in His presence. Even if we are so distraught that we cannot pray, just being in the presence of Christ is a great blessing, and will result in our comfort if we persevere:

But you are in a state of temptation and of sadness; everything rebels in you; everything induces you to leave your adoration under the pretext that you are offending God, and that you are dishonoring rather than serving him. Do not listen to that insidious temptation; you adore him by resisting, by being loyal to him against yourself. No, no, you are not displeasing him. You are bringing joy to the Master who is looking on and who permitted Satan to upset you. He expects you to honor him by remaining with Him to the last minute of the time you were to devote to him. (St. Peter Julian Eymard, The Eymard Library - Adoration in Spirit and in Truth).

Take courage in your suffering. There are those of us who pray for you and share your sorrow and are carrying their crosses right beside you. The Blessed Virgin Mary, who watched her most innocent dear Son die on the Cross knows your sorrow. She shares your burden. She walks by your side. She loves you, and though you do not see it, she carries you in her arms, caresses you and comforts you. Look up, you are her son! You are her daughter! She is there to wipe away your tears. She loves you more than you can know.

Spend time with her Son. Receive Him and embrace Him in Holy Communion and pray in His presence when you can. You will see, He will comfort you and give you strength. Jesus will tell you: "Your sorrow My son, your tears My daughter, they are the seeds of great joy. Good things are coming to you. You must suffer your Good Friday to experience your Easter." God bless you!

Be Merciful to Me, a Sinner

Speak of God from the heart.

Take care, then, never to speak of God, or those things which concern Him, in a merely formal, conventional manner; but with earnestness and devotion, avoiding the affected way in which some professedly religious people are perpetually interlarding their conversation with pious words and sayings, after a most unseasonable and unthinking manner. Too often they imagine that they really are themselves as pious as their words, which probably is not the case."
From Introduction to a Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales Part III Chapter 26, as appears in The Catholic Faithful blog

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:10-14.)

The Just man falleth seven times daily, but rises. The sinner allows his sin to defeat him.

For a righteous man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked are overthrown by calamity. (Proverbs 24:16.)

***
In the following, I write for those who tend TOWARD piety, those who are basically good and decent people.

There are so many pitfalls and landmines that Satan sets for us. We need to:
[1] pray;
[2] examine ourselves; and
[3] find a good confessor.

We can do this. We can set aside time to pray, examine ourself with candor and scour the city and countryside far and wide to find a good confessor. If we feel that we are "holy" then we feel that we are "not like the rest of men." When we feel we are holy is precisely when we need to redouble our efforts to seek out that major fault which Jesus wants us to conquer. Many of us who aspire to follow Christ have a tendency to subtly exalt ourselves above others without even realizing it.

Have you ever met a man who claims God's guidance at every moment in his life? Given man's fallen nature, perhaps the Lord would allow us a bit of skepticism about such a claim. I had to smile when I read the line quoted above "Too often they imagine that they really are themselves as pious as their words, which probably is not the case." Have I ever spoke so that my conversation fits St. Francis's gentle rebuke? Most definitely. The paradox of holiness is that one sure way to know if one is not holy is that if he fancies that he is holy. St. Francis de Sales must have been a wonderful man: perhaps we may consider him the patron Saint of common sense. If he were speaking today of our conversation about God, he might say "Keep it real."

Christianity is full of paradox: to be born to life, one must die to sin, Christ uses the weak to conquer the strong, and one must admit one's sinfulness in order to attain holiness. Holiness is to grow in virtue and deny sin, this is surely true. Yet, as it says in Proverbs, the just man falls but rises up again while the sinner falls and is defeated.

Holiness is not about being perfect, it is about becoming perfect - at least for most of us. It is all about getting up, dusting ourselves off and crying to the Lord "Be merciful to me, a sinner." I have the most fervent hope that I will continue to admit my fault, and be among these who once more pick up their cross to follow the Lord. If we speak of Jesus to others, it does not mean that we ourselves do not fall. One must not wait until one has become perfect before imparting knowledge of God's Word to others. We are all in some way called to do this, and we must do it now while we are still imperfect.

There are a few saints who were holy from the time they were born or at least very young. We Catholics believe that the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived without sin (through the anticipation of Christ's merits) St. John the Baptist was sanctified in the womb as his mother Elizabeth heard the voice of Mary, the Mother of God. (Luke 1:41.) As St. Joseph was destined to be the foster father of Jesus, certain traditions tell us that he was preserved in holiness from a young age.

On the other hand, the annals of mankind chronicle a long list of saints who fell, sometimes into the most dreadful sins, and picked themselves up. The Bible is full of them as well as Christian tradition. We have Moses, David, Mary Magdalene, St. Peter, the first pope who denied his Lord three times, Paul, Augustine, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Francis of Assisi, the list goes on and on. The Just Man begs mercy of God and moves up on the road to holiness.

As creatures tainted by original and actual sin, we often waiver. The Lord may give us a grace or an insight, but yet we are weak and we fall. We pick ourselves up. If our weaknesses gets the better of us and we allow ourselves to fall, we must quickly get up. Over and over again. We must resist temptation, but never give up if we fall.

Has our brother fallen? Facing the same frailty, we must all help one another. Perhaps one brother is weaker in one area than we are. We are to bear our brother's weakness, because it is only the grace of God that prevents us from committing most heinous crimes far worse than those we criticize. If we rebuke our brother or sister we must do so with kindness and gentleness, since we are all under the same sentence of death to which our sins condemn us. We are bound to put the most favorable and kind interpretation on our brother's actions. We are all on the same journey, and suffer from the same weakness. Christ Himself commands this. If we truly love each other, if we really do see Christ in everyone, we will treat our fallen brethren with the same charity we would like to be treated. Otherwise - quite frankly - everything we say is just so much hot air - they become the meaningless pious words St. Francis speaks about.

IF I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. (1 Cor. 13:1.)

The good news in all this is that Jesus Christ is all-love and all-mercy. If others hate us and malign us, Jesus loves us and waits patiently to forgive us our sins and embrace us once more if we repent. If the world is aligned against us, it matters not. Jesus is everything, and Jesus Christ longs to forgive us and embrace us as soon as we repent. His father looks for us, His prodigal children and anxiously awaits our return. When we awake from our stupor and decide to return, the Father greets us with an embrace. As in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, while we are still a long way off, the Father filled with compassion for us runs to us, throws His arms around us and kisses us. (Luke 15:20.) What a wonderful God we have! What a wonderful Father we have! Our Father, Who art in Heaven!