"I have loved you with an everlasting love...And I know the plans I have for you says the Lord"
Jeremiah:29-31
The Leaven of Grace
Grace is a principle of life. Final glorification has flowed from the love of the Father and has been bestowed upon the baptized by the Holy Spirit. The person has been sealed by the indwelling of the Spirit who now gives the baptized a new direction and a new mind, the “mind which is in Christ Jesus.” The Holy Eucharist is precisely this new mind. Jesus said, I am the living Bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this Bread he shall live forever, and the Bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. In the Eucharist is realized the whole essence and meaning of creation, of the redemption and of the return to the Father. Here is realized the whole essence of Christianity: “God is made Man in order that man might become God.” This means that the kernel of our spiritual life shines forth in this most intimate reunion with God. “Man becomes by grace what God is by nature.” This is what we mean, as I’ve stated several times, by man’s deification or his theosis. It is indeed the divinization of the whole human being and the realization of immortality that God grants us in the reception of the Body and Blood of Christ…. Because of this union with Christ the Christian becomes fully alive with the Holy Spirit, and with the infinite power of the Love that breathes life wherever it enters. The measure of our communication in this Life is the measure of our possession of it. The Christian now knows with certainty that the anointing of the Good News of Christ cannot be done by words alone. Verbalization about his faith will not convince anyone. His faith is a life. Life must be lived, and its radiation gives life. The sign of credibility, especially in our own days, can only be acts which are not done simply to project some kind of good image, but which proceed from an interior conviction which inspires heroism in the service of others. Holy Communion, which is Christ himself—living, teaching, inspiring—becomes this fire which sustains the Christian in such a life. Archbishop Joseph M. Raya Genuine Humility is difficult to develop and St Benedict addresses how we grow in this virtue through our relationships; How we relate to God, ourselves, others, and to our superiors. His Prescription for purging us of pride or other faults is through the "ladder of humility" which goes against much of what we are taught in Western culture.
Gratefully, we have the example of our savior Jesus Christ who through his kenosis or self emptying gives us a model of authentic humility. St Paul talks about this in Phil 2:1-10 "do nothing from selfish ambition but in humility count others more significant than yourselves . Let each of you look not only to his interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus... who emptied himself and took the form of a slave..." St Augustine calls humility the foundation of all the virtues and the most important one to cultivate in our heart. Pope Francis also has some tough words of advice on how to develop this virtue. "Humility can only take root in the heart through humiliations. Without them, there is no humility or holiness. If you are unable to suffer and offer up a few humiliations, you are not humble and you are not on the path to holiness. The holiness that God bestows on his Church comes through the humiliation of his Son. He is the way. Humiliation makes you resemble Jesus; it is an unavoidable aspect of the imitation of Christ. " Ouch, that hurts doesn’t it! But it can give us some peace to know that in difficult situations and humiliation we resemble God’s Beloved son. It doesn’t mean we seek out these situations, but to know that when It does happen we can be at peace. Our Humiliation is not in vain because it brings us closer to Christ. I think silence was one of the original attractions I had to the Benedictine way of life and The desire to cultivate inner silence. I can't say that I'm great at it but the desire to be is.. Our culture has become even more violent with noise. The churning of perpetual news reports, political machines and poisonous social media. I do at times wish that Christians would exercise some temperance in regards to these Outlets.
The book of James speaks of the tongue as a raging fire. And in Saint Benedict's rule he quotes proverbs "in much speaking you will not avoid sin" and "death and life are in the power of the tongue". I see the Benedictine virtue of "listening" with the ear of the heart" as connected to our speech and silence. What are we listening to? What are we taking in with our eyes and ears that eventually rests in our heart and effects our speech? Does this effect how we see and hear our brothers and sisters? These are questions I ask myself often.. |
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I'm not really a writer, but it's on my long list of aspirations to become one. The first on the list is to become a great Saint! My hope is to share knowledge and inspiration as we walk together during our pilgrim journey on earth and guide each other, hand in hand to the gates of Heaven... If you for find this website helpful please consider making a donation today! Archives
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