Mary has requested that the daily message be given each day to the world. It is read nightly at the prayer service from her Image Building in Clearwater, Florida, U.S.A. This is according to her request. All attempts will be made to publish this daily message to the world at 11 p.m. Eastern time, U.S.A.We acknowledge that the final authority regarding these messages rests with the Holy See of Rome. |
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A Prayer for Intimacy with the Lamb, the Bridegroom of the Soul
Oh Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, come and act on my soul most intimately. I surrender myself, as I ask for the grace to let go, to just be as I exist in You and You act most intimately on my soul. You are the Initiator. I am the soul waiting Your favors as You act in me. I love You. I adore You. I worship You. Come and possess my soul with Your Divine Grace, as I experience You most intimately.
Messenger: Include Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center in 6:20 prayers.
Messenger: Please pray for 5 urgent intentions!
Messenger: Please pray for the healing of Father Carter through the intercession of Our Lady of Clearwater.
Messenger: God, we thank You for the Movement, Shepherds of Christ.
God, we thank You for these revelations.
God, we thank You for the writings of our founder and the messages.
God, we thank You for Your gifts to us and for life and for heaven.
God, we thank You for each other, please help our weary souls.
God, please help us.
In the ceremony of Christian funerals it begins: "In the waters of baptism Name died with Christ and rose with him to new life, may he/she now share with him eternal glory."
In Baptism we receive a great gift of new life in Him.
Baptism is so important to the soul.
This theme is to help us understand more our new life in Him.
Life in Him-this is a treasure.
This is a gift to be thankful for to have the Father, Son and Holy Spirit live is us.
We are studying Christian life and how we live it.
Our object is to establish a comprehensive view of what is necessary for the maintenance and development of full Christian living.
Response to God's Love is a book written by Fr. Carter and used as a text book for about 16 years at Xavier University. He taught there for over 30 years. He has authored some 17 books and written six years of priestly newsletters which have been circulated around the world.
Jesus desires this section to be included. This book is so important to Jesus. You will have greater insights into the Divine Mysteries if you read slowly as Jesus requests and pray for vision and grace. Oh God, thank You for this great work.
The moment Fr. Carter took his pen in hand God was giving the world a great body of knowledge to help renew the Church and the world.
Fr. Carter has spiritually directed all of us through his writings and Jesus has directed him his whole life to help renew the Church and the world.
St. Claude de la Colombiere, St. Margaret Mary, St. Francis, St. Clare, St. Ignatius and St. Xavier intercede for us, especially for the Jesuits to help us do this work to help bring about the Reign of the Sacred Heart and triumph of Mary's Heart.
Messenger: In the study of Theme II - Concept of the Christian Life - it is necessary to read the following material.
Response to God's Love - Chapter 1, 2, 3
Pain and the Joy - Chapter 1
Mother at Our Side - Chapters 1 and 2
This material can be found at the end.
This is an outline from Father Carter's
class.
It is not complete - it is only an outline.
Theme II - The Concept of the Christian Life
Five different views of the Christian life
One basic reality includes the other four
Talking about the Christian life from five different perspectives
What follows will be these 5 perspectives
A. The Christian life considered as response to God's love
B. The Christian life considered as participation in God's
life
C. The Christian life considered as elevation of human nature
D. The Christian life considered as the Christ-life
E. The Christian life considered as life in the Holy Spirit
Also: Mary's role in the Christian life
Note: In Theme II we consider The Concept of the Christian Life. Everyday we repeated the basic outline. This Theme was taught over several days.
On November 19 the message considered section A.
On November 20 the message considered sections B - E.
On November 21 the message considered Mary's role in the Christian life.
On November 22 we conclude with much of the information given on the Christian life.
November 22 can be studied for a more comprehensive study.
Brief outline of the Concept of the Christian Life
I. Introduction
II. Concept of the Christian life
A. The Christian life considered as response to God's love
1) God first loved us
2) Our response to God's love
3) Connection between the three loves
B. Christian life as participation in God's life
2 Peter 1: 3-7
Creation - reflection of God
Existence
Life of vegetation
Life of sensation
Life of rationality
Baptism
C. The Christian life considered as elevation of human nature
Supernatural
1) Elevation - new life in Him through Baptism
2) 1 Corinthians 10: 31
D. The Christian life considered as the Christ-life
1) Romans 6: 1-11
2 Corinthians 4: 7-11
Nature as a principal of operation
2) The New life at Baptism gives us a new nature
3) The Christic-self.
Galatians 2: 19-24
John 15: 11-17
E. The Christian life considered as life in the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 2: 6-16
Also: Mary's role in the Christian life
We conclude with the entire information on Theme II, The Concept of the Christian Life
A. The Christian life considered as response to God's love
1) God's love for us (GOD FIRST LOVED US)
a) John 3:16
John 3:16
For this is how God loved the world:
he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him
may not perish
but may have eternal life.
God first loved us!!!
Incarnation - Son of God took flesh
Human nature of Jesus belongs to a divine person
Jesus has everything our human nature has -
a human body a human soul a human intellect a human will human senses b) The Heart of Jesus is a symbol of His love for us
God loves me as an individual
c) Galatians 2: 19-21
Galatians 2: 19-21
In fact, through the Law I am dead to the Law so that I can be alive to God. I have been crucified with Christ and yet I am alive; yet it is no longer I, but Christ living in me. The life that I am now living, subject to the limitation of human nature, I am living in faith, faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not setting aside God’s grace as of no value; it is merely that if saving justice comes through the Law, Christ died needlessly.
Jesus has loved me.
Jesus has died for me.
Jesus knew me by name when he died for me.
The Son of Man gave his life for me, in that agonizing crucifixion.
Jesus personally loves me.
This love of Jesus for us calls for our response.
2) Our response to God's love
Matthew 22: 34-40
Matthew 22: 34-40
The greatest commandment of all
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to put him to the test, one of them put a further question, ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets too.’
Christianity is a religion of love.
God overwhelmingly loves us and He wants our response to Him.
3) Connection between the three loves
From Response to God's Love p. 91 and I quote here:
"HERE, THEN, WE SEE THE PROFOUND INTERACTION BETWEEN THE THREE AWARENESSES AND LOVES—AWARENESS AND LOVE OF GOD, SELF, AND NEIGHBOR."
a) Genesis 1: 26-27
Genesis 1: 26-27
God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the ground.’
God created man in the image of himself,
in the image of God he created him,
male and female he created them.
b) 1 John 4: 19-21
1 John 4: 19-21
Let us love, then,
because he first loved us.
Anyone who says ‘I love God’
and hates his brother,
is a liar,
since whoever does not love the brother
whom he can see
cannot love God whom he has not seen.
Indeed this is the commandment
we have received from him,
that whoever loves God,
must also love his brother.
God loves His creation. If we live a God-like existence we must love what He creates. We have been created and redeemed by God's love.
We must love our brothers. We do not have to like their actions, but we must love them because they are creatures of God.
And so I quote from Chapter 8 in Fr. Carter's book, Response to God's Love.
Excerpt from Response to God's Love, Chapter 8, by Father Edward Carter, S.J.
To authentically encounter others we must be properly aware of who they really are; we must, in short, be able to penetrate beyond surface appearances, which may or may not be appealing to us, and contact others in their core existence. When we are truly in touch with others at the core of their beings, we are simultaneously aware of their awesome dignity. We are conscious that these persons are created and redeemed by God in his love. Fortified with this proper awareness, we are thus in a position to relate to them as we should.
In order to be in touch with the inner self of others, we must be aware of or in touch with our own inner or true self. This awareness, in turn, is an awareness that our self is likewise made in the image of God, that it has been divinized in Christ and is to be oriented toward God and neighbor. Here, then, we see the profound interaction between the three awarenesses and loves—awareness and love of God, self, and neighbor. As Christians, consequently, we should have a maturing sense of how our existence is, in varied ways, profoundly interlinked with the existence of others. This feeling of union with others is not limited to those we directly encounter, but, in some sense, is directed to all members of the human family.
Let us now consider some of the main attitudes that the Christian should maintain and develop in his or her dealings with others. We will build upon the very basic attitude we have already mentioned—that we must always try to be aware of the true self of others, the self that has been created and redeemed by God's love. This awareness, in turn, calls forth our own love for them.
c) Matthew 25: 31-46
Matthew 25: 31-46
The Last Judgement
‘When the Son of man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All nations will be assembled before him and he will separate people one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right hand, "Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take as your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome, lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me." Then the upright will say to him in reply, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome, lacking clothes and clothe you? When did we find you sick or in prison and go to see you?" And the King will answer, "In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me." Then he will say to those on his left hand, "Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you never gave me food, I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink, I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, lacking clothes and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me." Then it will be their turn to ask, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or lacking clothes, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?" Then he will answer, "In truth I tell you, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me." And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the upright to eternal life.’
Feeding the hungry includes telling others about God. Telling others about our Church and the Eucharist is feeding the hungry.
We are really hating ourselves when we do not love our neighbor.
In order to inherit eternal life we must love God, our neighbor and ourselves.
1 John 4: 21
1 John 4: 21
Indeed this is the commandment
we have received from him,
that whoever loves God,
must also love his brother.
Matthew 22: 37-38
Matthew 22: 37-38
Jesus said to him, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment.
Therefore we conclude with this comment following the scripture 1 John 4: 21 and Matthew 22: 37-38.
God first loved us. He loves us overwhelmingly and He wants our loving response to Him. We must love God, ourselves and others, we must love all three, truly love as God desires.
This book written by Fr. Carter, Response to God's Love, helps Christians to develop their loving response to God's love. This book written by Father Carter will help us love as a Christian in our everyday lives responding to God's love.
God first loved us.
The study of this material and the scripture quotes will help us understand how God first loved us and how we are to respond to our God with deep love for Him.
B. Christian life as participation in God's life
2 Peter 1: 3-7
2 Peter 1: 3-7
The generosity of God
By his divine power, he has lavished on us all the things we need for life and for true devotion, through the knowledge of him who has called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these, the greatest and priceless promises have been lavished on us, that through them you should share the divine nature and escape the corruption rife in the world through disordered passion. With this in view, do your utmost to support your faith with goodness, goodness with understanding, understanding with self–control, self–control with perseverance, perseverance with devotion, devotion with kindness to the brothers, and kindness to the brothers with love.
The triune God creates
Creation does not become God
God is perfect
He cannot gain anything
He cannot lose anything
Creation - reflection of God
- reflection of his existence
Existence - a rock reflects God by the fact it exists
Life of vegetation - a tree
- higher reflection of God's life
Life of sensation - a dog (seeing, feeling, smelling, etc.)
Life of rationality - human person - intellect
- knowing
- will
Man reflects God
God is a Being Who knows and wills
A person has this ability in a finite way
In Baptism a soul receives an added sharing in His life
A sharing above that, of our human nature
C. The Christian life considered as elevation of human nature
Response to God's love as elevation of human nature
In Baptism a person receives a higher elevation in God's life
The human person receives a new sharing in God's life
Super natural - above and beyond human nature
- life of Baptism
- life of grace
- Christ life
1) Elevation - new life in Him
God is triune - human intellect by itself can never arrive at that truth
WILL - LOVE
2) 1 Corinthians 10: 31
1 Corinthians 10: 31
Whatever you eat, then, or drink, and whatever else you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Our life is permeated to a new level in Christ through baptism
Our intellectual capacity is elevated
We have a new power of knowing through Baptism. FAITH IS PARTICIPATION IN GOD'S KNOWING
LIFE of BAPTISM permeates all of human nature
D. The Christian life considered as the Christ-life
1) Scripture
a) Romans 6: 1-11
Romans 6: 1-11
Baptism
What should we say then? Should we remain in sin so that grace may be given the more fully? Out of the question! We have died to sin; how could we go on living in it? You cannot have forgotten that all of us, when we were baptised into Christ Jesus, were baptised into his death. So by our baptism into his death we were buried with him, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glorious power, we too should begin living a new life. If we have been joined to him by dying a death like his, so we shall be by a resurrection like his; realising that our former self was crucified with him, so that the self which belonged to sin should be destroyed and we should be freed from the slavery of sin. Someone who has died, of course, no longer has to answer for sin. But we believe that, if we died with Christ, then we shall live with him too. We know that Christ has been raised from the dead and will never die again. Death has no power over him any more. For by dying, he is dead to sin once and for all, and now the life that he lives is life with God. In the same way, you must see yourselves as being dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.
b) 2 Corinthians 4: 7-11
2 Corinthians 4: 7-11
The hardships and hopes of the apostolate
But we hold this treasure in pots of earthenware, so that the immensity of the power is God’s and not our own. We are subjected to every kind of hardship, but never distressed; we see no way out but we never despair; we are pursued but never cut off; knocked down, but still have some life in us; always we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus, too, may be visible in our body. Indeed, while we are still alive, we are continually being handed over to death, for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus, too, may be visible in our mortal flesh.
c) nature - pattern
- structure
Nature is a principal of operation
Everything must respect its nature
A fish cannot come out of water and live
We must respect our nature to grow and live
2) The new life at Baptism gives us a new nature - a capacity to know and to love which we do not have without Baptism
We can do Christlike activities through the virtues of faith, hope and love, and others
3) The Christic-self
-We have a personal relationship with Jesus
- Galatians 2: 19-24
Galatians 2: 19-24
In fact, through the Law I am dead to the Law so that I can be alive to God. I have been crucified with Christ and yet I am alive; yet it is no longer I, but Christ living in me. The life that I am now living, subject to the limitation of human nature, I am living in faith, faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not setting aside God’s grace as of no value; it is merely that if saving justice comes through the Law, Christ died needlessly.
- Jesus has a personal unique love for me
- Christ is the mediator between God and man -
Jesus says quote -
"No one can come to the Father except through me"
John 15: 11-17
John 15: 11-17
I have told you this
so that my own joy may be in you
and your joy be complete.
This is my commandment:
love one another,
as I have loved you.
No one can have greater love
than to lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends,
if you do what I command you.
I shall no longer call you servants,
because a servant does not know
the master’s business;
I call you friends,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
You did not choose me,
no, I chose you;
and I commissioned you
to go out and to bear fruit,
fruit that will last;
so that the Father will give you
anything you ask him in my name.
My command to you
is to love one another.
My personal relationship with Jesus takes into account my personal uniqueness.
We can study the The Christian's Personal Uniqueness in Chapter 2 of Response to God's Love.
I am in the process of becoming, this is discussed in Chapter 3 of Response to God's Love.
Like a baby coming out of the womb, the baby develops intellectually. We develop more every day in our spiritual life to be more in His image and likeness if we stay rooted in Him.
E. The Christian life considered as life in the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 2: 6-16
1 Corinthians 2: 6-16
But still, to those who have reached maturity, we do talk of a wisdom, not, it is true, a philosophy of this age or of the rulers of this age, who will not last long now. It is of the mysterious wisdom of God that we talk, the wisdom that was hidden, which God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began. None of the rulers of the age recognised it; for if they had recognised it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but it is as scripture says: What no eye has seen and no ear has heard, what the mind of man cannot visualise; all that God has prepared for those who love him; to us, though, God has given revelation through the Spirit, for the Spirit explores the depths of everything, even the depths of God. After all, is there anyone who knows the qualities of anyone except his own spirit, within him; and in the same way, nobody knows the qualities of God except the Spirit of God. Now, the Spirit we have received is not the spirit of the world but God’s own Spirit, so that we may understand the lavish gifts God has given us. And these are what we speak of, not in the terms learnt from human philosophy, but in terms learnt from the Spirit, fitting spiritual language to spiritual things. The natural person has no room for the gifts of God’s Spirit; to him they are folly; he cannot recognise them, because their value can be assessed only in the Spirit. The spiritual person, on the other hand, can assess the value of everything, and that person’s value cannot be assessed by anybody else. For: who has ever known the mind of the Lord? Who has ever been his adviser? But we are those who have the mind of Christ.
The spirit of the person within knows the person.
Other people can know a lot about us, but nobody knows me as I know myself in the depth of my being.
With regard to knowledge of God, the Spirit of God knows God.
The Holy Spirit teaches us about LIFE, about divine life.
We live a God-like life. We must listen to the Spirit.
The Spirit teaches us about the God-like life.
We live our lives after Baptism with this elevated human nature. We want to always remain in the state of grace.
We want to be filled with His grace, His life.
ALSO: Mary's role in the Christian life
1) Read the text that follows in Mother at Our Side
2) John 19:25-27
John 19: 25-27
Jesus and his mother
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
3) Mary's role in the Christian life
4 aspects of Mary's role in God's plan
a) Mother of Christ
b) Our spiritual Mother
c) Mother of the Church
d) Church's model
Mary is Mother of our Christ life.
We are formed more and more in our spiritual life in Mary's Immaculate Heart, the spiritual womb.
We are formed more and more in the image and likeness of Jesus through the workings of the Holy Spirit.
We praise Mary.
We honor Mary.
We love Mary as our Mother.
We do not worship Mary, we worship God.
Mary realizes her greatness, but she is totally humble.
John 2: 5
His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’
Mary always takes us to her Son.
The Heart of Mary is the symbol of her love for us.
In the litany it says, "Mother of divine grace."
In summary, we go to the Father through and with Christ in the Holy Spirit with the assistance of Mary our spiritual Mother.
Excerpt from Response to God's Love, by Father Edward Carter, S.J.
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The Mystery of Christ and |
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Etymologically, the word mystery basically means that which is secret or hidden. It was used in a religiously technical sense even before Christianity. Mystery was used, for example, to designate certain religious rites of pagan Hellenism, secret rites that were closed to outsiders unless they had been properly initiated into them. In relation to Egyptian hermeticism, the word mystery was applied to initiation into secret religious ideas or doctrines. In reference to Christianity, God himself is the ultimate mystery. Radically, God is completely other and transcendent, hidden from man in his inner life, unless he chooses to reveal himself. Let us briefly look at this inner life of God. |
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The Father, in a perfect act of self-expression, in a perfect act of
knowing, generates his son. The Son, the Word, is, then,
the immanent expression of God's
fullness, the reflection of the Father. Likewise, from all eternity, the Father and the
Son bring forth the Holy Spirit in a perfect act of loving.
At the destined moment in human history, God's self-expression, the
Word, immersed himself into man's world. God's inner self-expression now had also become
God's outer self-expression. Consequently, the mystery of God becomes the mystery of
Christ. In Christ, God tells us about himself, about his inner life, about his plan of
creation and redemption. He tells us how Father, Son, and Holy Spirit desire to dwell
within us in the most intimate fashion, how they wish to share with us their own life
through grace. All this he has accomplished and does accomplish through Christ. St. Paul
tells us: "I became a minister of this Church through the commission God gave me to
preach among you his word in its fullness, that mystery hidden from ages and generations
past but now revealed to his holy ones. God has willed to make known to them the glory
beyond price which this mystery brings to the Gentiles—the mystery of Christ in you,
your hope of glory. This is the Christ we proclaim while we admonish all men and teach
them in the full measure of wisdom, hoping to make every man complete in Christ" (Col
1:25-28).
The Christian life, then, is rooted in the great event of the
Incarnation. We must, consequently, always focus our gaze upon Christ, realizing that
everything the Father wishes to tell us has been summed up in the life of Jesus of
Nazareth. It only remains for us, then, to fathom ever more deeply the inexhaustible truth
of the Word Incarnate: "In times past, God spoke in fragmentary and varied ways to
our fathers through the prophets; in this, the final age, he has spoken to us through his
Son, whom he has made heir of all things and through whom he first created the
universe" (Heb 1:1-2).
What was the condition of man and his world at the time of Christ's
coming? In some ways, people were much the same as we are today. There were those who were
just being born into this world of human drama; there were those who, in death, were
leaving it, some of whom had grasped but little of life's meaning. There were those who
were healthy and vigorous; there were those who were sick and lame. Some especially felt
the burdens, the grief, the suffering of the human condition; others were ebullient and
desired all the pleasures that life could provide. There was some good being accomplished:
there was Rome, for example, with her genius for government and architecture; there was
Athens with her philosophers, writers, sculptors, and artists. The moral condition of
those times, however, was at a very low ebb. What St. Paul tells us concerning the time
that immediately followed Christ's earthly existence certainly could also be applied to
the time of his entrance into the world. It is, in short, an ugly picture that Paul
depicts for us (Rm 1:22-32).
Into such a depraved condition of mankind Jesus entered, with a full
and generous heart, to lead man from the depths of sinfulness to the vibrant richness of a
new life in himself. Through his enfleshment, this Christ had become the focal point of
all history. The authentic hopes and dreams of the human family, now so deeply
overshadowed by the ugliness of sin, came converging upon this Christ. He would gather
them up in himself, give them a new luster and brilliance and dynamism, and would lead the
human race back to the Father in the Spirit.
Christ came, then, for a double purpose, or rather for a single purpose
that has two facets. He was radically to release us from the dominion of sin and elevate
us to a new level of existence. This life that Christ has given us is not a type of
superstructure that is erected atop man's human existence. Although nature and grace are
distinct, they do not lie side by side as separate entities; rather, grace permeates
nature. The Christian is one graced person. In his entirety he has been raised up, caught
up, into a deeper form of life in Christ Jesus. Nothing that is authentically human has
been excluded from this new existence. Whatever is really human in the life of the
Christian is meant to be an expression of the Christ-life. The simple but deep joys of
family life, the wonderment at nature's beauty, the kiss that unites lovers, the warm
embrace of a mother for her child, the agony of crucial decision making, the success or
frustration that is experienced in one's work, the joy of being well received by others,
and the heartache of being misunderstood—all these human experiences are intended to
be caught up in Christ and made more deeply human because of him. As Karl Rahner has put
it: "The basic and ultimate thrust of Christian life consists not so much in the fact
that a Christian is a special instance of mankind in general, but rather in the fact that
a Christian is simply man as he is. But he is a person who accepts without reservations
the whole of concrete human life with all of its adventures, its absurdities, and its
incomprehensibilities" (Foundations of Christian Faith, p. 402).
Christ has come, then, not to destroy
anything that is authentically human, but to perfect it by leading it to a graced
fulfillment. This is the meaning of the Incarnation. The more God-like we become through
Christ, the more human we become.
As Christians, then, we live in Christ. We have been incorporated into
his life, into the mystery of Christ. The mystery of Christ is the Christ event,
that is, all the happenings or events of Christ's life, death, and resurrection. We may
speak, consequently, not only of the total, unified mystery of Christ, but also of the
individual events or mysteries. Christ's mysteries of death and resurrection are central
and, in some way, they contain all the other mysteries; but these other mysteries or
events also have their own importance.
The mysteries or events of Christ are not mere past events; they are
still dynamically present in the glorified Christ. How is this so? The mysteries of Christ
have a twofold aspect: one dimension is historical and, therefore, limited by time; the
other dimension is eternal, perennially and actually present in Christ. Let us first
consider the historical, temporal aspect of Christ's mysteries. In assuming a human
nature, the Son subjected himself to the historical dimension of man's existence. In other
words, the actions that Christ performed on earth, through his human nature, were limited
by temporal historicity. The temporal historicity of these acts cannot be
re-enacted—not even sacramentally in the liturgy. To do so would require that God
reproduce a past act now precisely as past, which is a contradiction
in terms.
There is, then, the temporal, not-to-be repeated dimension of Christ's
mysteries. These mysteries, however, possess another aspect, namely, an eternal and
perennially dynamic aspect. Jesus, although he has a divine nature and a human nature, is
only one person—and that is a divine person. The consequence of this fact is
demonstrated in reference to the acts that Christ performed as man. Although they were
enacted through Jesus' human nature, these acts are attributed to the divine person and
share, as much as a human act can, in the eternity of the divine person who is above the
historical, temporal limitations of earthly existence. These events of Jesus' historical
existence endure, then, eternally in the glorified Christ, and they endure for a purpose,
that is, the mysteries of Christ perennially endure in him so that we might assimilate
them. We are thus saved and sanctified by entering into the mystery of Christ,
assimilating it, and reproducing it in our own lives according to our particular
vocations, graces, and historical exigencies. There is only one manner of life that the
Father holds before us, and it is patterned after the existence of his incarnate Son.
By reliving and reincarnating the mysteries of Christ, we are not only
accomplishing our own redemption, but assisting in the continued application of Christ's
redemption to all mankind. The Incarnation continues for all time. Christ, of course, is
the one who fundamentally continues the Incarnation; but he enlists our help. The world no
longer sees Jesus, no longer is able to reach out and touch him. We are the ones who now,
in some way, make Christ visible and tangible. In union with the invisible, glorified
Christ, and depending upon him as our source of strength, we continue the Incarnation in
its visible and temporal dimensions. The fact that, at times, we do this poorly because of
our human weakness and sinfulness does not change the great privilege and responsibility
that is ours: we do, in fact, help continue the Incarnation. We are the Body of Christ. We
must strive ever more perfectly to reincarnate the mystery and mysteries of Christ.
The Christian is initiated into the mystery of Christ, into his or her
role of prolonging the Incarnation, through baptism. In the words of St. Paul: "Are
you not aware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
Through baptism into his death we were buried with him, so that, just as Christ was raised
from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live a new life" (Rm 6:3-5).
It is not sufficient, however, that we be incorporated into Christ and
his mysteries through baptism. All forms of life require nourishment; so too, our life in
Christ must be continually nourished; we must continually keep in contact with Christ and
his mysteries. How can we continually encounter Christ? There are various ways. We contact
Christ in a special manner through the liturgy—above all, in the Eucharistic liturgy.
Here the entire course of salvation history, as centered in Jesus, is sacramentally
renewed and continued. Through this Eucharistic encounter we become more deeply
incorporated into Christ and his mysteries.
The reading of Scripture provides another special opportunity for
encounter with Jesus. This is true for both the Old and New Testaments; the Old Testament
prefigures the New Testament and leads to it. It is obvious, however, that we meet Christ
especially through the pages of the New Testament. How true it is to say that not to be
familiar with Scripture is not to know Christ properly.
There is yet another way in which we encounter the mysteries of Christ;
we make renewed contact with Jesus and his mysteries as these are present within ourselves
and others. The mysteries of Christ that are to be relived by us are structured into our
life of grace. One of the best ways, then, to encounter the mysteries of Christ is to
experience them personally in our own Christian living. To personally relive the mysteries
of Christ is to more perfectly understand them; what is more, this deeper penetration of
their truth allows for their still greater assimilation in our lives. To see the truth of
Christ, the Christ-event, reincarnated to a marked degree in another person—is a
wonderful gift from God. To see the selflessness of Jesus, his love, his kindness, his
willingness to suffer and endure the difficult, his joy and peace despite the pain and
anguish of life—to see all this reflected in the lives of at least some of the people
we meet is indeed a significant encounter with Christ.
Common to the various ways of properly encountering Jesus and his
mysteries is a certain degree of prayerful reflection. Our encounter with the mystery of
Christ in the liturgy, in Scripture, in ourselves, and in others will not be all that it
should be without this kind of reflection. The light of prayer enables us to see more
perfectly how the mysteries of Jesus are to be assimilated. The strength of prayer
provides us with a greater determination to live a more Christ-like existence.
We live out our assimilation to Christ in an atmosphere of love.
Indeed, the life that Jesus has given us is centered in love; it has its origins in the
mysterious love of God, his agape, through which he achieves his self-communication to us.
In the words of St. John's gospel:
|
Yes, God so loved the world —Jn 3:16. |
Our new life in Christ has arisen out of God's fathomless love, and,
what is more, its entire dynamism breathes love. The Incarnate Word himself has taught us
this. On our behalf, Christ, as man, has perfectly opened himself to the Father's love; he
has then responded to the Father in love. In relation to men, Jesus has loved completely
from the depths of his being, pouring himself out in a life of selfless service, a
self-giving that drew from him life's breath itself so that he could say he
loved—without reserve and to the end. Thus forever was etched upon the pages of man's
history—indelibly and so deeply—the love of Jesus for mankind. In this very
greatness and depth of Christ's love for us, he was also opening himself to our love, for
he can enter the human heart only if there is a response of love that encounters his own.
Consequently, Jesus is the sacrament—the visible sign—of the great dimensions of
Christian love. Christians are the persons who receive God's love and respond with their
own love; Christians also love their fellow human beings as themselves and, in turn, open
themselves to receive others' love.
Christ, in his descent into human flesh, has established a milieu of
love. The life he came to give can flourish only in the framework of love. Indeed, we can
summarize the meaning of the Christian life by stating that it is a response to God's
love—a love that God freely gives to us without conditions or qualifications. Love is
the beginning and the end. The main truth that we must comprehend is that the redemptive
incarnation was wrought by God's love to raise us, in turn, to a deeper level of loving.
Our further penetration into the mystery of the Incarnation can take place only in love.
Incarnate love can only be understood and participated in more fully through our own life
of love.
Another characteristic of our assimilation to the mystery of Christ is
its personalism. There were numerous possibilities open to God, given his decision to
redeem the human race. He actually chose, however, to accomplish our redemption in the
most personalistic way; he communicated himself to us through the personal enfleshment of
his Son. This means that God was giving himself to us through the warmth, the kindness,
the strength, the gentleness, and the selflessness that emanated from the incarnate person
of Christ. It was truly the incarnate, personal acts of Christ that redeemed us—his
work and relaxation, his joy, his friendships, his love for Mary and Joseph, the training
of the apostles, his concern for the most abject of those he encountered, his fatigue, his
agony and death, and his resurrection. Our redemption was truly personalistic.
Moreover the personalism of the Incarnation continues. In union with
Christ, we are called upon to help him continue his Incarnation in its visible, earthly
dimension. Only one framework is available to us according to which we can help further
the Incarnation—our personal lives, that is to say, our lives as individuals united
as a people, the People of God. The human condition as we experience it—joyfully and
painfully, too—also provides the soil for our participation in the continued
Incarnation. Redemption continues to take place not when we try to remove ourselves from
the human condition, but when we strive to live an authentically human life that is more
and more in Christ. It is by living truly personalistic lives—that is, lives
springing forth from the greatness of the person as created and redeemed by God, lives
that do not flinch from the human condition—that redemption continues to be made
visible to this world.
Christian personalism centers in our personal relationships with God
and others, and again, Christ shows the way. Through
the Word made flesh, the life of the
Trinity has incarnationally manifested itself to mankind. The life of the Trinity centers
in the personal relationships between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; but God's life is also
his love gone out to the human race. The Incarnation projects this Trinitarian life into
the temporal sphere. Jesus has come to tell us about Trinitarian life, to give us a share
in it, to teach us that through grace we share in God's life—a life of
relationships—by entering into deepened personal relationships with God and other
persons. Redemption that is received and contributed to is the experience of these
relationships. In other words, as Jesus has told us, the Christian life is summed up in
love of God and neighbor. Out of these personalized love relationships flow many things;
for example, redemption continued is the loving abandonment to the love of God that
despite possible fear, allows a person to accomplish things that are totally beyond his or
her natural courage. Or again, redemption continued is loving those who are afar off whom
I will never see or know, but whom I know are my brothers and my sisters and whom my work
and prayer can reach out and touch. Or again, redemption continued is the Christian hope
and trust that allows man and woman to take the risk of the mutual self-giving that is
marriage. Or again, redemption continued is the black person who continues to relate to
his or her white neighbors in faith, hope, and love despite temptations to hatred and
bitterness. Or again, redemption continued is the ecstasy and the agony of loving and
being loved. Truly, the Incarnation visibly continued is our Christian faith, hope, and
love made alive in our personal relationships with God and man.
In our assimilation to the mystery of Christ, then, we learn about love
and the personalistic. We also learn a further truth—the value of the material, the
tangible, in God's plan of redemption. The Incarnation established a set pattern for the
redemption of the world, that is, redemption taken both objectively (the historical,
salvific life of Christ) and subjectively (the redemption as applied to mankind). Christ
redeemed the world through his humanity, which was a created and, in part, a tangible
reality. As Jesus' humanity was indispensable for accomplishing the objective redemption,
so also created things are necessary for continuing the subjective redemption. An
outstanding example of this occurs in the Eucharistic liturgy, for bread and
wine—material, tangible realities—are the central focus of the liturgical rite
as they are changed into Christ's body and blood.
In assuming a human nature, then, Jesus
has united to himself not only mankind, but also the material world. Not only the human
spirit, but also the human body and the material world have been given a new dignity
because of the Incarnation and enter so vitally into the Incarnation continued. Once for
all let us lay aside the influence of Manichaeism, Gnosticism, and similar false teachings
that denigrate that which is material. It is obvious that we do not always properly use
material creation; at such times, we have failed to relate to material creation according
to God's will. Let us remember, then, that Christ, in elevating the material to a new
dignity, has accomplished this partially through that aspect of the Incarnation that is
the cross—a dimension of the Incarnation that, along with its other aspects, must
also be present in our encounter with the material. We must realize that such elements as
Christian self-discipline and renunciation must find a place in our lives if we are to use
material creation according to God's designs.
There are numberless applications of the value of the material, the
visible, the tangible, in our Christ-lives: there is, for example, the warm, receptive
smile of a friend and the reading of Scripture and the physical love of husband and wife
and the exhilarating refreshment of a day at the seashore and God's loveliness that is
reflected in a little child—and, of course, the list could continue on. The
fundamental principle, however, is the same in all cases:—the human nature of Jesus,
something that has been created and is in part material, has reached out and touched all
these other things and experiences that are part of life in a material world. When we
properly relate to them, they become for us extensions of the Incarnation. They are the
redemptive Incarnation applied to us; in addition, they are opportunities for us to assist
Christ in continuing his Incarnation for others.
The Incarnation, as we have briefly pointed out, was and is a rich and
varied event. The truths that accompany Christ's descent into our world are numerous and
capable of not only originally elevating us to a new life, but also constantly leading us
to a deeper, richer, and more vibrant participation in that life. This is why Christ came
to live in our midst—to give us life in abundance:
The Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Of his fullness
we have all had a share—
love following upon love.
—Jn 1:14-16
(End of Excerpt from Response to God's Love)
Excerpt from Response to God's Love, by Father Edward Carter, S.J.
2
The Christian's Personal
Uniqueness
Obviously, we all assimilate the mystery of Christ in basically the same way. There are, however, significant differences in how each person puts on Christ that result from the uniqueness of each individual. Each person is a unique expression of God's creative love. Each person can truthfully say that there has never before been anyone like himself or herself, there is now no one like him or her, and there never will be.
The personal uniqueness of each human being increases in proportion to one's assimilation to Jesus. That is to say, the more I put on Christ, the more I lose myself in Christ, the more I become myself. This is true because grace perfects nature, and, consequently, the more I grow in grace, the more perfect all dimensions of my person become—and this includes uniqueness. We see, then, how fallacious is the reasoning of those who think that the more they give themselves to the practice of religion, the more their personalities will be subdued. Actually, the opposite is true—the more one grows in Christ, the more his or her unique personality emerges in all its attractiveness.
As I grow in the realization of my own uniqueness, I should also grow in developing a sense of self-identity and self-acceptance. If God in his tremendous love for me has created the uniqueness that I am, should I not rejoice in who I am and avoid morbidly comparing myself to others? Should I not have a healthy self-image? Of course, self-acceptance does not mean self-complacency. Honest self-reflection will always reveal to me that there are weaknesses that must be further curbed and strengths that must be further developed.
As God gives each person his or her uniqueness, he attaches to it a unique mission or role that is to be accomplished. Cardinal Newman tells us: "Everyone who breathes, high and low, educated and ignorant, young and old, man and woman, has a mission, has a work. We are not sent into this world for nothing; we are not born at random. . . . God sees every one of us; He creates every soul, He lodges it in a body, one by one, for a purpose. He needs, He deigns to need, every one of us" (Discourses Addressed to Mixed Congregations, pp. 111-112).
Because of the uniqueness of each Christian's existence, he or she presents Christ with a unique opportunity. Each Christian has the vocation to offer Christ his or her humanity so that Jesus can re-incarnate himself in a new way. Jesus wants to continue his redemptive work through the not-to-be-repeated newness that is each Christian's uniqueness. To the extent that an individual Christian offers his or her humanity to Jesus, he or she has a unique opportunity to continue the redemption—an opportunity that no one else can offer him or her. Likewise, to the extent that an individual Christian fails to offer his or her humanity to Christ, Jesus loses the opportunity that is this Christian's uniqueness.
Each of us, consequently, no matter what his or her occupation or status in life might be, has both the great privilege and the great responsibility to properly utilize his or her life according to God's Christic design. No one else can fulfill your unique mission, and, in turn, you cannot accomplish the unique mission of another. At times we can become somewhat fearful or anxious about the task that God has entrusted to us as we more deeply realize what it demands. We can feel the same reluctance that Jeremiah the prophet voiced when Yahweh called him:
The word of the LORD came to me thus:
"Before I formed you in the womb I
knew you,
before you were born I dedicated
you,
a prophet to the nations I appointed
you."
"Ah, LORD GOD!" I said,
"I know not how to speak; I am too
young."
But the LORD answered me,
"Say not, 'I am too young.'
To whomever I send you, you shall
go;
Whatever I command you, you shall
speak.
Have no fear before them,
because I am with you to deliver
you, says the LORD."
—Jer 1:4-8Jeremiah initially shrank back from the mission that God was giving him. He complained that he was not capable of accomplishing it. God answered him, however, and told Jeremiah that he was perfectly capable of fulfilling his appointed role, for he, Yahweh, would be with Jeremiah. God would work through Jeremiah, and Jeremiah, for his part, was to be open to God, allowing Yahweh to work through him according to the divine will.
We, too, can be guilty of reacting to God's call in the same way that Jeremiah had originally reacted. This can happen as God calls one to a basic state of life. Once a person is within a fundamental vocation, one can be tempted to resist God's call to higher things, to a more complete accomplishment of his or her mission, and to a greater Christian maturity. When so tempted, a person must control his or her fears and trustingly give himself or herself to God's will. Only then will the person become convinced that God never requests anything without granting abundant grace to accomplish his design, and that, moreover, to answer God's call as consistently as possible is the only true path to peace, happiness, and fulfillment, despite the pain that is necessarily involved.
We are aided in remaining faithful to the unique role in life that God has given us if we strive to remain aware of the great value that one life has to Christ, to the Church, and to the world. History tells us of the great difference that just one life can have regarding Christ's work; there are outstanding examples from all walks of life. Surely the Church has been enriched, and countless lay people have been inspired because of the life of a man named Thomas More. He was a layman who realized the deepest meaning of life—and he did not fail to confront the true purpose of human existence, even when that confrontation meant sacrificing his life for what he believed. Surely this life—the one life of St. Thomas More—has made a difference. In our own times, we have been enriched and inspired by an outstanding lay witness—the beloved Dorothy Day. What an inspiration she has been! Surely her life, though it was only one life, made a difference—and such a great difference. There are, too, the examples of men and women who have established religious orders and congregations. Surely the life of each of them has made an overwhelming contribution toward a better Church and a better world. Consider also the life of Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, a person from a peasant background who eventually came to be called Pope John XXIII. Surely the world is so much better for Pope John's having given it his love, kindness, joy, and constant concern. Of course one life does make a difference.
At this point, however, many will object that the above examples highlight the lives of persons who have achieved outstanding recognition in the external order of things and have commanded great public attention. People who voice this objection often say that their own lives are so mundane, so hidden, so incapable of making headlines. Surely, they continue, this rather too ordinary kind of life makes little difference to Christ, to the Church, and to the world. Surely it does not much matter whether a person living this kind of existence fulfills his or her God-given mission. At first glance, many of us would tend to agree with this reasoning, a reasoning that is really the exact opposite temptation of what we considered when we likened ourselves to Jeremiah. In that context there was a question of being tempted to do nothing because we feared the greatness to which we were called; in the present context, however, it is a question of being tempted to do nothing because we think we really have nothing to contribute. Yet, as we begin to reflect in mature faith, we soon see the fallacy of this objection. We realize that great external accomplishments or a life that attracts public attention do not, in and of themselves, make that life great and truly worthwhile. If a Christian life that is characterized by notable external achievement is truly great and meaningful for mankind, we know that it is so because the external achievement has sprung forth from an attitude of deep faith, hope, and love. This, then, is the ultimate answer to the above objection—every Christian's life, no matter how ordinary it might be in its external framework, can be tremendously important and can make an outstanding contribution toward the work of ongoing redemption as long as it is increasingly consistent with God's will.
God's ways are not always our ways, and his thoughts are not always our thoughts. God can take a life that seems so ordinary, so prosaic, so uneventful, and achieve wonders with it as long as the person is striving to fulfill his or her role in life according to God's designs. We cannot, then, use the ordinariness of our lives as an excuse for not making our existence truly great, truly significant for both Christ and humanity—a life that truly makes a difference. Karl Rahner has advice for us when the ordinariness of our lives tempts us to think that our existence is unimportant and almost useless: "Let us take a good look at Jesus who had the courage to lead an apparently useless life for thirty years. We should ask him for the grace to give us to understand what his hidden life means for our religious existence" (Spiritual Exercises, p. 160). Notice that Rahner describes the first thirty years of Jesus' life as "apparently useless." In reality, of course, Christ's very ordinary existence at Nazareth was not actually useless but was, on the contrary, tremendously important—it was part of his redemptive effort. No, it is not the ordinary setting of our lives that is an obstacle to our making a unique and important contribution to the cause of Christ. The real obstacle, if we allow it, is our failure to relate to life's ordinariness as God intends.
The realization of the greatness of our own lives, however, must be balanced with a realization of the limitations that are attached to that greatness. We are finite creatures who have various limitations that emanate from our finitude. A sense of limitations, then, should accompany the fulfillment of our mission in life.
What are some of these limitations? First, it is important to realize there are false limitations—limitations that need not be—as opposed to inevitable limitations—limitations that spring forth from the fact that we are finite creatures who are immersed in the human condition. An example of a false limitation is demonstrated by the person who succumbs to the temptation of wanting to be someone else. This person looks at the physical and intellectual gifts of one person, the pleasing personality of another, and so forth and so on, and convinces himself or herself, that, if only he or she were endowed with such qualities, well, yes, then it would be possible to really accomplish something with his or her life. In other words, the person fails to accept himself or herself as God has made him or her. This person fails to accept his or her God-given uniqueness and wastes precious time looking at what he or she does not have, rather than appreciating that with which God has actually endowed him or her. Such a person must accept himself or herself, once and for all, in his or her fundamental uniqueness. Moreover, this person must develop the gifts, strengths, and capacities of his or her uniqueness and strive to control its weaknesses as much as possible. He or she should also realize that only by accepting his or her uniqueness as coming from God's creative love and constantly striving to allow that same love to bring his or her uniqueness to fulfillment will he or she achieve ultimate peace and happiness. Then, and only then, can a person properly make his or her contribution to continued redemption.
Surrounding our uniqueness, then, are limitations that need not be; similarly, there are also limitations that are inevitable. We possess certain talents, for example, but present circumstances do not allow us to exercise these talents here and now. Even at those times when we can exercise our talents, we often feel limited because we realize that we have only a certain amount of energy; that there are only a certain number of concrete opportunities and a certain amount of time for us to use our talents. At other times we feel limited because the persons we are trying to serve are hostile to our efforts and shut themselves off from what we desire to so generously offer.
These, then, are some examples of limitations we can experience in our efforts to fulfill our mission. To balance the realization of the greatness of our call with the realization that we will be variously limited—sometimes painfully so—in our striving to implement our mission is as necessary as it is challenging.
Each Christian, therefore, because of his or her personal uniqueness, has a unique mission to fulfill in helping continue the work of Jesus. Each Christian is given the opportunity to contribute as he or she receives the call from God, and, obviously, there are varying degrees according to which a Christian may respond or not respond to God's call. There are, first, those who hardly respond at all, who seem to be barely Christian. They may have faith, but it is a dead faith, for they refuse to be guided by God even in serious matters. They want to be complete masters of their own existence; the less they have to think about God, the better. Originally, some of these people may have been given a call to magnificent Christian greatness in this or that state of life. They may have turned a deaf ear to true greatness, however, and determined to be makers of their own self-conceived greatness; their concept of greatness may never have transcended the limits of space and time—they may have thought and acted as if their temporal existence would extend forever.
Second, there are other Christians who essentially respond to God, but not as completely as possible. Their lives seem to be an average mixture of both continuing faithfulness to God and occasional disloyalty to him; periodically they accomplish much good, but they also mix in a considerable degree of mediocrity. They do, however, seem to be basically sincere Christians who do, in fact, promote the work of Christ and essentially fulfill their roles in life.
And finally, there are those Christians who initially answer God's call and continue to answer it in an eminently generous manner. They develop their uniqueness marvelously and become forceful shapers of the world's Christic destiny. Their good actions are deeply etched into the human process, although they may well be hidden from public acclaim. Because of them and their actions, the world's goodness is enhanced, and mankind has come considerably closer to fulfilling its temporal and eternal destinies.
Today's Church needs more of this type of Christian. The Church and the world in which she is situated are experiencing a time of crisis—perhaps the most critical time of all history, for at what other time in human history could life as we know it on this earth end so suddenly in a nuclear holocaust? Yet, although we live in an age of special crisis that has tremendous and numerous problems, we also live in an age of great opportunity. God, for his part, always provides for the needs of both the Church and the world in which the Church is meant to serve. Surely, in this age of great need and opportunity, God will not fail to call Christians of all vocations to completely and eminently dedicate themselves to the task at hand. We should pray that everyone will respond according to their own uniqueness and make their own special contribution to the work of Christ.
(End of Excerpt from Response to God's Love)
Excerpt from Response to God’s Love, by Father Edward Carter, S.J.
3
Our incorporation into the mystery of Christ at baptism initiates us into a life that God intends to develop into full maturity. Our life in Christ as guided by the Spirit is not a static given, a life that is received in baptism and then simply clung to. It is not a life that we are merely to avoid losing through serious sin. Rather, it is our task to develop this life through a process of evolutionary growth. God has truly placed us in a situation of becoming. Our personal uniqueness is meant to gradually unfold into its full stature in Christ as we increasingly fulfill God's will in deepening faith, hope, and love.
For each individual, the process of becoming is intertwined with God's plan of growth for all creation. To understand the individual Christian's situation as one of process, of becoming, it is obviously helpful, then, to realize that he or she is part of a larger picture of becoming. Consequently, let us consider three aspects—the world, the Church, and the individual Christian—all of which are in a state of becoming.
The swirling pace of today's rapidly changing world is unavoidably evident. If we were tempted to think all this change might be an illusion, however, there are statistics to assure us that today's world is indeed undergoing change—or process—at a phenomenal rate. Some of these statistics include the following: Before the year 1500, Europe published 1000 books per year; by 1950, the rate had swelled to 120,000 per year; by the mid-1960s the overall world figure was 1000 titles per day. This affords us some idea of the vast knowledge explosion that has characterized our times and, indeed, is one of the most important influences in our fast-changing society. The following is another statistic: A period of 5000 years elapsed between the first shoeing of a horse by a blacksmith and the first guiding by an engineer of a different kind of horse—the iron horse, or locomotive; only 170 years elapsed, however, between that first locomotive engineer and the first jet pilot who shattered the sound barrier. These are a few of the numerous statistics that could be cited to demonstrate that our world is in rapid process.
The Church herself attests to a world in a state of profound becoming. Vatican II has stated: "Today, the human race is passing through a new stage of its history. Profound and rapid changes are spreading by degrees around the whole world" (The Church in the Modern World, No. 4); and, "Thus, the human race has passed from a rather static concept of reality to a more dynamic, evolutionary one" (No. 5).
God has called mankind to collaborate with him in the unfolding of creation. The fact that God has placed a creative urge deep within mankind is evidenced by the myriad achievements of the human race in the areas of science and technology, the humanities, art and culture, government, and so forth. Men and women constantly surpass themselves in what they are capable of achieving. Not too many years ago, landing a man on the moon was not even considered a serious possibility; now, however, it is just as possible as a jet flight to Paris. Contemporary mankind's capacity to develop the material world and other aspects of the temporal order is such that it staggers the imagination and makes one almost dizzy in an attempt to keep abreast of the latest advances.
This evolutionary process of the world, and the human capacity to increase its almost torrid pace, cannot be questioned. The fact that this capacity is a God-given talent likewise cannot be questioned. What can be questioned, however, is whether contemporary men and women will properly use this gift and thereby assist the temporal order to evolve to the authentic good of all mankind.
Today's Christian must take inspiration from the following words of Scripture:
Jesus replied, "Scripture has it:
'Not on bread alone is man to live
but on every utterance that comes
from the mouth of God.' "
—Mt 4:4
Jesus reminds us that we must keep material progress in proper perspective. The material universe is a gift from God that is intended to serve men and women in the quest for their temporal and eternal destiny, a destiny that is centered in mankind's spiritual nature. To say this is not to falsely dichotomize humanity or to deny the bodily dimension; it is merely to insist that the total person is meant to be controlled by his or her spirit and, from this spiritual nature, is actuated to be—and to become—what the Creator has designed.Human history is replete with examples of how men and women have, at times, abused material progress. An ungodly desire for the material has been the cause of unjust wars, murders, thefts, cheating in business, and the destruction of families by greed. The list could be extended, of course, but one final observation is sufficient, namely, that men and women have often allowed the inordinate desire for material gain to quench their innate desire for spiritual values. As often as men and women have done so, they have sold their souls for swine husks.
Christians can be a force in properly shaping the temporal order in its state of becoming. By carrying Christian principles into the marketplace, Christians can help correctly direct the material world in its evolution. Christians cannot afford to be thwarted by temptations such as, "What's the use? What difference does it make what I do or don't do?" The contemporary examples of certain groups or individuals who have had a profound influence on society by bringing to light injustices and deficiencies in the present structure of things have become legion. What is more, the efforts of these groups and/or individuals in actually achieving a change for the better is also a matter of record. Likewise, each Christian, in some way or another, can also be effective if he or she is willing to pay the price. The fact that his or her influence may often remain a very hidden one does not make it less effective.
The Christian, in fact, has a duty to help properly shape the temporal order in its process of becoming. The Christian also has a duty to witness to the ultimate point of destiny toward which this process is evolving—the omega point who is Jesus himself, the center and culmination of all human history. Through the Christian's proper encounter with the world in process, he or she is supposed to be a reminder, as Christ himself was, of the world's ultimate outcome in its evolutionary thrust. This final point of the world's development will be the entrance of the temporal order into the eternal age of things; the world will be swept up by Christ in his second coming and will remain, for all eternity, in the transformation that it will receive at this parousia.
In giving this particular kind of witness to the world in process, the committed Christian is a reminder, however silent, that, despite mankind's greatest genius, the secular order cannot develop into a Utopia on earth. People have so often had the false expectation that a secular city can be established that will amount to a heaven on earth. So long as people persist in such unrealistic expectations, they will be disappointed. It is interesting to speculate whether those who are living today, surrounded by the material comforts and advantages of an incredibly advanced technological age, are really any happier than those who had lived in ages when these material advantages were absent. If present material progress has not brought men and women closer to God and to one another, then it surely has not made them authentically happier. Yes, the temporal order is surely meant to evolve for the sake of our greater happiness; however, the temporal order can only evolve properly and thus achieve its true purpose, if it refuses to be closed in upon itself in an attitude of absolute autonomy. Rather, the temporal order can only achieve its true purpose if it opens up in evolutionary process to its God and to the God-intended completion of its evolution that is in the eternal order of things.
As we turn our attention to the Church, we again encounter the reality of becoming. In the post-Vatican II Church, we are all well aware of a Church that is in process, a Church that is reaching out toward that which is yet to be achieved, toward that more perfect realization of the ideal that Jesus has delineated for it. The Church is a mustard seed that is meant to gradually evolve into that full stature which Christ intends: "He proposed still another parable: 'The reign of God is like a mustard seed which someone took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest seed of all, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants' " (Mt. 13:31-32).
The concept of the Church as a pilgrim Church is closely allied with the idea of the Church in the process of becoming. The pilgrim Church is the fulfillment of God's people from Old Testament times. Under the leadership of Moses, the Jewish people traveled through the desert toward the Promised Land. The journey was, however, not always a smooth one; there were sufferings, both physical and spiritual, as well as numerous infidelities against God—which, occasionally, were extremely flagrant violations of his covenant law. Good prevailed, however, sufficiently for the promised goal to be achieved.
God's people of New Testament times are also on the way; their Promised Land is the heavenly Jerusalem. The distance thus far traveled, however, presents a mixed picture. There has been a dark and ugly aspect of the Church's history; there have been jealousies, for example, as well as power politics in high places, and material greed; disloyal popes, bishops, and priests; laity who have, in numerous ways, betrayed the name of Jesus in the marketplace; apathy and a lack of concern for the world's problems.
This evil dimension of the Church's history would be tragically disheartening if there were not a brighter side, but, through the grace of God, the good in the Church has been more powerful than the evil. There have been numerous martyrs who are definite proof that Jesus' love for an individual, and that individual's love for Him, can take such deep possession of the person that death, even a death that might be exacted through the most horrendous torments, can be deemed a privilege and even eagerly embraced as the passageway to complete and eternal union with Christ. There have also been many men and women of all vocations who wholeheartedly dedicated themselves to Christ and lovingly gave themselves in service to mankind. It is true that the good they accomplished was supported by both Christ's love and others' love for them, yet it was not always easy. Disappointments, misunderstandings, periods of agonizing suffering—these were also indelibly woven into the accounts of their lives.
The Church cannot content herself with the good that her members have accomplished. The Church is still in the process of becoming; she is still a participant in an ongoing pilgrimage. Her members must have a spirit of openness, a venturesome attitude; they can never afford to settle down in a posture of self-satisfaction. There is still so much good yet to be accomplished. But how is it to be accomplished?
We cannot be sure of all the future possibilities for achieving the work that Jesus has entrusted to the Church. Not too long ago, for example, how many would have thought that the principle of collegiality would today be such a dynamic element in the Church? That it is so is evidenced in many ways—through synods of bishops; priests' senates; diocesan councils composed of laity, religious, and priests; parish councils; and a more democratic process at work in religious orders and congregations. This is not to say that the principle of collegiality is being implemented in a perfect way; however, it is apparent that, relatively speaking, the Church has made giant strides toward the ideal. As for projecting into the future, however, we must be aware that there may be completely new experiences for which the Spirit is preparing us. We cannot, therefore, harbor a too static view of the Church. We should not think that the more unchangeable the Church is, the better she serves her purpose. There are both unchangeable and changeable dimensions of the Church. While we loyally hold true to the unchangeable aspects, we must at the same time give proper attention to the changeable dimensions. To do otherwise would actually be to refuse to be open to the Spirit in a proper fullness. A Church in the process of becoming—a pilgrim Church—must, then, balance her concern for both the changeless and the changing aspects of her existence. Only in this way can she be both stable and flexible enough to properly serve her own members and the entire human race.
In discussing both the world and the Church in a process of becoming, much has already been said about the individual Christian's state of becoming, because the Christian's life is inevitably caught up in the world's and the Church's existence. It is well, at this point, to more directly consider the individual Christian as a person who is in the process of growth, of becoming more what God destines him or her to be.
We are meant to be in a continuing process of becoming through a deeper radicalization of faith, hope, and love. True, one dimension of the grace-life is the fact that it is a stable given. It is not, however, a static given. We have to thrust toward that which is yet to be achieved. We are meant to be in a process of becoming the "more."
Full maturity in Christ is not suddenly achieved. Even after a relative maturity is attained, this maturity can always take deeper root. This gradual achievement in spiritual maturity can be viewed as a process of self-encounter, a process whereby we gain the proper, graced self-control amid many struggles. It is a becoming through an encounter with the true self, through a gradual achievement of that self-identity and uniqueness that God intends. This becoming is achieved through a path of progress that is not always perfectly upward: there is the reaching out for good, but also the succumbing to evil; there is the discovery of strengths and talents, but also the painful awareness of weaknesses and limitations. There are, in short, successes and failures. There is joy—sometimes intense joy—over what is achieved in personal growth; however, there are also periods of discouragement—sometimes moments of near despair—because further growth seems impossible. All this happens because the process of becoming has inherent within it a constant newness that is linked to a certain sameness. We are always the same persons, but always different persons, too.
Moreover, the process of becoming through a proper encounter with the true self takes place not in a vacuum, but rather, within the framework of an encounter with the material world, with human persons, and with God. The encounter with the material world—and, indeed, with the entire temporal order—is meant to be characterized by a correct use of creation, by periodic renunciation, and by a spirit of creativity. The correct use of material things enables the person to grow by respecting the fact that the bodily aspect of his or her being has situated him or her in a material world that is meant to serve the person's needs. The fact that persons are in part material beings means that one aspect of God's plan for men and women intends that they grow, that is to say, that they become, through the proper encounter with, or use of, the material.
As long as men and women are on this earth, there will always be in them both a sinful tendency and a thrust toward good, and, consequently, they do not always properly relate to the material. For an individual to achieve a correct use of material things and other temporal values, he or she must periodically renounce them. At times, becoming means not becoming in a certain way, not encountering this thing or this value.
Also, the material and temporal order offers wide possibilities for individual creative instincts. By shaping the raw stuff of creation through the various uses of one's creative forces, a person can become that which he or she was not. The imprint of one's creative image where it did not previously exist is a reflection of a certain development, or becoming, within the individual person.
As significant as the encounter with the material world may be, however, it is obviously not as important as the encounter with human persons. God intends that so much of our spiritual growth occur as a result of our proper encounter with others. So much of our growth toward mature personhood occurs in the give-and-take of personal encounter. Until rather recent years, spiritual teaching placed a great emphasis upon the correct performance of certain practices. That appeal, however, did not always properly emphasize the fact that those practices were important only to the extent that they deepened the Christian's personal relationship with God and his or her fellow men and women.
The selflessness that is required for authentic relationship to the other readily points out why encounter with persons is such an important contributing factor to true becoming. The Christian life is primarily a going out of ourselves to God and to human persons. This transcendence of self is not always easily achieved, however, precisely because it involves a process of overcoming the strong thrust of selfishness. Although going out of self to God is obviously the primordial relationship for the Christian, it is interesting to note that, through the words of Scripture, God tells us that our relationship to our neighbor is the criterion by which we are to judge our love for him:
If anyone says, "My love is fixed on God,"
yet hates his brother,
he is a liar.
One who has no love for the brother
he has seen
cannot love the God he has not seen.
—1 Jn 4:20Going out to others, serving them, being for them, and loving them is a dynamic process. There is no set pattern that can perfectly serve all this. Surely there are certain established Christian principles and truths that govern our encountering and serving others; however, these truths have a certain flexibility built into them so that they can be assimilated to meet the particular situations of unique individuals. Our encounters with others—whether it be a case of relating to a partner in marriage or to a friend or to those who are recipients of our service or whatever—give proof to each of us, according to his or her own experience, that there can be no question of a static pattern of behavior to govern personal relationships. There is always the new, the unexpected, the surprising, or the significant change in behavior that must be considered along with the more stable elements that comprise personal encounter. Becoming by going out to the other truly is a dynamic process.
If an individual person grows toward Christian maturity through a proper encounter with material creation and other facets of the temporal order, as well as through encounters with others, individuals must especially grow, or become, through an encounter with God. Growth through encounters with both material creation and other persons is rooted in our maturing through the relationship with the great source of all becoming—namely, God himself. He himself is infinite being, and he constantly wants to communicate himself to us so that, drawing from his infinite source of life, we might become more what we are meant to be—more of what he desires that we become.
God draws us on to greater fulfillment according to the pattern of Christ's example and teaching. There is no other way according to which we progress to spiritual maturity. There is no Christian perfection that we can acquire, no possible development of our Christian personalities unless it occurs through Christ Jesus. The Spirit, however, does not superimpose this pattern of Christ upon us in an artificial way. The Spirit does not shape us according to the image of Christ without deep concern for our uniqueness; we are all different, and the Spirit supremely respects this fact. Furthermore, if the Spirit is of such an attitude, so must we be; we must not box ourselves in, all trying to fit into the exact same mold and maintaining that this is necessary because we must all follow the same Christ. The pattern of Christ is the creation of an infinitely wise God. He has arranged that the one pattern of Christ is also a pattern that has as many possibilities for unique assimilation as there are individual persons.
We all follow the one and same Christ and we must all have an attitude of complete openness, of expectancy concerning the unpredictable, an attitude that will allow the Spirit to lead us according to his way of forming us in the image of Christ. At times we might have a too minutely preconceived idea of how we will become in Christ and we are, therefore, somewhat rigid about the whole process. Although the following of Christ is basically the same for all, how can we be sure what particular path of imitation—mapped out in rather complete detail—the Spirit has prepared for each of us? We can certainly be tempted to think that we know with considerable certainty the way in which our becoming in Christ should logically evolve. We must learn, however, to balance an attitude of stability that is rooted in a certain way of life, a certain way of following Christ, with a spiritual freedom that makes us really open to what the Spirit wants of us, however surprising, novel, or unusual this may seem.
(End of Excerpt from Response to God's Love)
Through Him, With Him and In Him
Excerpt from The Pain and the Joy, by Father Edward Carter, S.J.
1
Jesus and the Christian
We are currently witnessing a resurgence of interest in popular psychology. Psychology books for popular audiences have flooded the market in recent years. Of course, this proliferation of psychological literature is commensurate with readers' demands for such material, and such, signifies that there are numerous individuals interested in a more complete understanding of the workings of the human psyche. People want to learn how to cope more successfully with emotional problems, how to relate with others in a more mature and satisfying fashion, how to develop into fulfilled individuals.
As contemporary Christians, we are obviously exposed to the influence of these publications, but we must take a balanced attitude toward this literature. On the one hand, we realize that psychology can certainly tell us much that is true and helpful concerning the behavior of the human person. On the other hand, we should realize that a certain portion of psychological literature is either indifferent or even hostile toward religion.
Even when we assimilate what is good from psychology concerning the human person and human behavior, we must still realize we do not possess the entire truth regarding the human personality. As Christians, however, we do have a source which gives us the ultimate truth concerning what it means to be human. This source is Christ Himself; Jesus is the supreme personality theorist. He is the one, who, by His teaching and example, tells us what human life is really all about, how we must think and act if we are to satisfy that consistent yearning for fulfillment and happiness which is etched deeply within the human heart.
Jesus leads us to personality fulfillment, not by removing us from the human condition, but by teaching us how properly to live within it. Sometimes we are tempted to think that the best way to be a good Christian would be to withdraw as much as possible from earthly concerns. We think how peaceful it would be to dwell alone with God in our own kind of hermitage, and allow the world with all its worries, anxieties, and temptations to pass us by. In moments of clear reflection, however, we realize this is an unrealistic kind of thinking, thinking which does not correspond to Christ's redemptive plan (indeed, even the cloistered contemplative must properly encounter the human situation).
Jesus redeemed us within the framework of the human condition. Jesus' enfleshment placed Him within the world of the human, and He accepted the implications of His manhood. He lived His humanity to the fullest by always doing His Father's will with love. He lived a full human life not only when it was pleasant to do so, but also when this meant being nailed to a cross in excruciating agony.
All of Jesus' human acts contributed to His redemptive effort: His relationships with Mary, Joseph, and others; His taking meals with friends; His gathering the little children to Himself in warm embrace; His healing of the sick; His thrilling to nature's beauty; the sufferings of His passion and death. Yes, these and all His other human acts redeemed us.
As Jesus objectively redeemed us within the framework of the human condition, so in like manner we subjectively participate in redemption. We live the life Jesus came to give by experiencing humanity according to God's will. We are saved, not by fleeing from it, but by embracing it according to God's designs.
As Jesus did before us, we also must accept the human experience not only at those times when life rewards us with joy, success, enthusiasm, and the beauty and tenderness of life. When we experience failure or misunderstanding, when we taste the bitterness of human existence, when life seems all too much for us, when anguish and intense suffering make even one day seem endless—at these times also we must affirm our being human. In this way we are saved. In this way we help others be saved. In this way we follow Jesus, who is both God and man.
If we are to live the human condition properly, we must live it according to the vision of Christ. Indeed, Jesus came to give us a new vision. As we are drawn into the Jesus experience by God's merciful love, we are graced with a new way of looking at things. We must allow this vision to consistently shape the way we view persons, places, things, and events.
It is not always easy to live according to the vision of Christ. There is much in the world which is opposed to the teaching of Jesus. If we do not take the proper precautions, the false views of the world can gradually blur the vision Jesus has granted us.
A worldly false view, for instance, tells us that we are successful only if we are successful in the external order of things. Christ's view tells us that we are really successful only if we live according to His Father's will.
A worldly false view tells us that the more material things we possess, the more fortunate we are. Christ's view tells us that material things are worthwhile in proportion to their helping us live the life He came to give us, and that we must exercise a constant vigilance lest material possessions become an end in themselves rather than a legitimate means to a noble goal.
A worldly false view presents a hedonistic pursuit of pleasure and an avoidance of suffering at all costs as an ideal to be pursued. Christ's view assigns pleasure its legitimate place within God's plan for human existence, but simultaneously reminds us that suffering is also a part of the human condition, and we must take up our cross daily and follow Him.
A worldly view uses others in a manipulative fashion, telling those who would listen, to use others for the attainment of selfish goals. Christ's view reminds us that each person is made in the image of God, possesses a priceless dignity, and should be loved accordingly.
A worldly view has no time for meditation and contemplation, considering such exercises a waste of time—the occupation of pious individuals who lack the shrewdness and toughness to accomplish successfully in the arena of worldly competition. Christ's view persistently reminds us that prayerful communication with our transcendent God is necessary for a truly human existence.
Christ's view of reality must affect not only the intellectual aspect of our being, but must permeate our entire persons, if indeed we are to be mature Christian personalities. In this regard we can make a distinction between a notional assent and an existential assent regarding our acceptance of Christ's vision. With a merely notional assent our intellects do indeed accept Christ's truth. But this notional assent does not influence our entire persons in a consistent, dynamic fashion. We believe in Christ and His teaching, but there are numerous areas of our existence which do not, in a consistent fashion, come under the influence of Christ's truth.
With an existential assent, on the other hand, we assent to the truth of Christ, not merely in the intellectual dimension of our personalities, but with our entire being. Through a proper asceticism and a life of meditation and contemplation, we allow the truth of Christ to more and more penetrate through the ugly layers of the errant self to the vibrant realms of the true self in the center of our personalities. This existential assent to the truth of Christ, is what allows our true personalities to emerge and to influence what we think, say, and do. Faith, hope, and love more and more exercise their purgative, illuminative, and transforming effects upon our personalities, and, consequently, the words of St. Paul increasingly have meaning for us:
. . .yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me;
insofar as I now live in the flesh, live by faith
in the Son of God who has loved me and given
himself up for me. (Gal. 2:20).As Christians then, we are called to transformation in Christ. This obviously entails a friendship with Jesus, one which becomes increasingly close.
Friendship is a process of self-liberation. As I give myself to another in friendship, I am aided in the process of escape from my false self. I am aided in the process of achieving true self-identity. The facade of the false self more and more recedes through the dynamics of friendship. Why is this? When another receives me in friendship, that other receives me as I am. The friend loves me in my good points, loves me despite my bad points. In the warmth of this receptive love, I am encouraged to be and to become my authentic self. I do not have to project a false self in the hope that such an image might be more acceptable to the other. Rather, I am encouraged to take the risk of being my true self, since I know the other will not reject me. Actually, my true self is more attractive to the friend and to others precisely because it is my authentic self—the self God destines me to be, possessing the personal uniqueness with which God has permeated my being.
Friendship, therefore, increases my freedom—the freedom to be my real self. The deeper an authentic friendship, the more I am encouraged by the other's love to be and to become. I am encouraged to exercise my talents and to develop them to ever greater heights in the loving service of God and others.
If friendship with a human person increases my growth potential, what are we to say about friendship with Jesus? There is no comparison. Jesus offers me such magnificent opportunities for growth. The more I am aware of Jesus' tremendous and personal love for me, the more secure I feel in developing my real self.
Being accepted by Jesus as a friend should radically change my life. As Jesus has given Himself entirely to me, so I should give myself entirely to Him. This deep and intense friendship accomplishes my ongoing conversion, my transformation. This friend Jesus, through the strength and tenderness of His love, gradually and increasingly draws me out of my selfish traits. He gradually makes me freer to really be. He increasingly assists me in allowing my Christic, Trinitarian self to emerge more and more in expressions of love for God and neighbor.
As I share the pleasant experiences of life with this friend Jesus, He enhances their joy. Being loved and accepted by others, enjoying the challenge and success of work, experiencing simple joys as well as moments of overwhelming happiness, drinking in the breathless beauties of nature—these and all such experiences take on deeper meaning in the presence of Jesus.
As I share the difficult aspects of human life with Jesus, He lessens their burden. If Jesus is my friend, should I ever capitulate to discouragement. If Jesus is my friend, should a sense of failure ever extinguish my determination to struggle on? If Jesus is my friend, is there any cross I can claim is too heavy? If Jesus is my friend, can I ever allow suffering to make me bitter?
As I strive to grow into a mature Christian, this friend Jesus is profoundly present to me. He is strong, tender, understanding, gentle, loving. He sympathizes, encourages, challenges, inspires. He leads, but does not force. He admonishes us when we are wrong, but He does not reject us. He is overjoyed at our good deeds, yet gently but firmly reminds us that there is still much to accomplish as He guides us in the Spirit to the Father. Jesus is the perfect friend. He is your friend, and my friend.
An excellent way to grow in our relationship with Jesus is through devotion to His Sacred Heart. Christ shows us His Heart as symbol of His love. In His great love for us He asks for our love in return. Can we refuse? Can we refuse this Christ who, out of love for us, experienced the piercing of His Heart on a hill called Calvary? Christ gave Himself entirely. Nailed to the wood of a cross, He poured out His life. Christ did this for love of us—for you, and for me.
As Jesus gives Himself so completely to us, it is entirely fitting that we make a return gift. It is entirely proper that we give ourselves, out of love, to Him. This total gift of self is called "consecration." Consecration to the Heart of Christ is the gift of ourselves and all of our faculties to Christ. We in effect say, "Jesus, take me whole and entire. Out of love I give myself entirely to You. Live in and through me. In love You have given Yourself completely to me. In love I give myself completely to You."
To aid us in living out our consecration to the Heart of Christ we should also consecrate ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. At Fatima Our Lady revealed that Jesus desires that devotion to the Immaculate Heart exist together with devotion to His own Heart. Our Lady of Fatima promised the great gift of salvation to all those who practice devotion to her Immaculate Heart. The highest form of such devotion is consecration to Mary the Immaculate Heart.
Through this consecration we give ourselves entirely to Mary so that she may lead us ever closer to the Heart of her Son. Consecration to the Immaculate Heart, then, is a great help in the living out of our consecration to the Heart of Christ in an ever progressive way.
All we shall say in the following pages has a relationship to living out this consecration to the Heart of Christ and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Christ and Mary—how much they love us! They reveal their Hearts as symbols of this love. They ask for our love in return. They invite us to live within their Hearts. If we accept their invitation, we experience love and peace despite the painful aspects of life. We experience security. We experience joy and happiness. Yes, Christ and Mary invite us to live within their Hearts in order that such a life may be ours. Who can refuse their invitation?
(End of Excerpt from The Pain and the Joy)
one
Mother Of Christ
Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus." . . .But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. . . ." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." (Lk. 1:30-38).
"The Blessed Virgin was eternally predestined, in conjunction with the Incarnation of the Divine Word, to be the Mother of God. By decree of divine Providence, she served on earth as the loving mother of the divine Redeemer, an associate of unique nobility, and the Lord's humble handmaid. She conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ. She presented Him to the Father in the temple, and was united with Him in suffering as He died on the cross. In an utterly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Savior's work of restoring supernatural life to souls." (Vatican II).1
The above words of Scripture and of the Second Vatican Council tell us of a most awesome truth—that Mary truly is the Mother of Jesus, that she truly is the Mother of God.
To speak of Mary, then, is to speak of Christ. Mary's entire life was centered on Christ. No human has ever followed Christ as closely as has Mary. Mary's spiritual life was perfectly centered in Jesus as she went with Christ to the Father in the Holy Spirit.
As the words of Vatican II tell us, Mary cooperated with Jesus in His redemptive effort. Throughout much of the time she was physically present to Him. At those times when she was not at His side, she was united with Him through a profound spiritual union. She was totally dedicated to Him and to His cause. She was His first and perfect disciple. She loved Him with a devotion and an intensity beyond our full comprehension.All of Mary's other God-given gifts flow from her divine motherhood—from the fact that she is the Mother of Jesus. Her Immaculate Conception, her fullness of grace, her freedom from actual sin, her perpetual virginity, her bodily Assumption into Heaven—these and all her other gifts flow from her divine maternity.
One of these gifts not yet mentioned is her role as our spiritual mother. Yes, because Mary is the Mother of Christ, she is also our mother. This is a marvelous and most consoling reality upon which to further reflect.
two
Mother At Our Side
Standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple there whom He loved, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold, your son." Then He said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." (Jn. 19:25-27).
"In an utterly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Savior's work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace." (Vatican II).2
Mary is the Mother of Jesus. She is also our Mother. The above words of Scripture and of the Second Vatican Council attest to this.Jesus has given us Mary as our spiritual mother. As He hung upon the cross, Jesus told John to look upon Mary as his mother, this John who represents all of us. In His moment of deepest anguish and suffering, Jesus was thinking of us. As the indescribable physical pain racked His body from head to toe, as the unfathomable spiritual anguish penetrated to the depths of His Heart, Jesus was thinking of us. If we allow this scene to penetrate into our hearts, if we take the time to contemplate the depth of Jesus' and Mary's love for us as Their Hearts were pierced with grief, we are truly overwhelmed with the magnificent greatness and tenderness of the scene. Jesus was proclaiming Mary to be Mother of the Redemption. He was telling us that Mary is Mother to all peoples.
The fact that Mary is our mother, the fact that she has such a powerful role to play in our salvation in no way detracts from the mediatorship of Christ. Vatican II states:
"We have but one Mediator, as we know from the words of the Apostle: "For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself as ransom for all." (1 Tim. 2:5-6). The maternal duty of Mary toward men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power. For all the saving influences of the Blessed Virgin on men originate, not from some inner necessity, but from the divine pleasure. They flow forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rest on His mediation, depend entirely on it, and draw all their power from it. In no way do they impede the immediate union of the faithful with Christ. Rather they foster this union."3
In saying that Mary is our spiritual mother, we are saying that Mary is the mother of our Christ-life. What is this life? Can we define it?
At Baptism the Persons of the Trinity communicate so intimately to us that, as a result, they leave their imprint or image upon us. This Trinitarian image is our life of sanctifying grace. This life of grace is a created participation in God's life, and since this gift of grace is mediated by Christ in His humanity, this Trinitarian image also has a Christic aspect. Christ as man has shown us how to live a God-like existence. He has shown us how to live the life of grace. This life of grace we possess allows us to enjoy the special presence of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Truly, the divine Persons dwell within us.
Whether we refer to this life as the Christ-life, the life of grace, life in the Holy Spirit, or by other names, we are referring to one and the same reality. This reality, again, is the Christic, Trinitarian image given us through the Trinitarian communication.
St. Paul speaks of our life of grace in terms of our being baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus (Rom. 6:1-11). Again, Jesus mediates our life of grace. He has shown us how to live a Christ-like existence. Since Jesus' paschal mystery of death-resurrection sums up His own human existence, so it sums up our own. This is what St. Paul is telling us. Paul tells us that we live our life of Baptism, our life of grace, by continually dying and rising with Jesus—rising to a greater share in Christ's resurrection. Indeed, we live resurrection now and hereafter. Living death-resurrection involves all of our Christian activities. While not giving an all-inclusive list, we do include the following: the reading of Scripture, prayer, the performance of daily duties, the doing of penance, making sacrifices, our jobs, periods of rest and relaxation, sharing meals with loved ones, reception of the sacraments, and, especially, participation in the Eucharist which is both sacrifice and sacrament.This is our glorious existence made possible by God's great love for us and a major truth of this glorious existence is the fact that Jesus has given us Mary as our spiritual mother. Mary is the Mother of our Christ-life. In her loving, maternal role, she cooperates with the Holy Spirit in forming Christ in us. Pope John Paul II tells us:
"The Church knows and teaches that all the saving influences of the Blessed Virgin on mankind originate from the divine pleasure. . .This saving influence is sustained by the Holy Spirit, Who, just as He overshadowed the Virgin Mary when He began in her the divine motherhood, in a similar way constantly sustains her solicitude for the brothers and sisters of her Son.''4
Mary our mother is ever with us, guiding us, teaching us, caring for us, protecting us, loving us. With her maternal assistance we go to the Father through and with Christ in the Holy Spirit.
Mary nourishes our growth in Christ with a very tender and specialized love for each of us. She regards each of us as a precious, unique individual. John Paul II again speaks to us:
"Of the essence of motherhood is the fact that it concerns the person. Motherhood always establishes a unique and unrepeatable relationship between two people: between mother and child and between child and mother. Even when the same woman is the mother of many children, her personal relationship with each one of them is of the very essence of motherhood. For each child is generated in a unique and unrepeatable way, and this is true both for the mother and for the child."4
The Holy Father then applies these ideas to Mary and us:
"It can be said that motherhood in the order of grace preserves the analogy with what in the order of nature characterizes the union between mother and child. In the light of this fact it becomes easier to understand why in Christ's testament on Golgotha, His Mother's new motherhood is expressed in the singular, in reference to one man. Behold, your son."5
This is the awesome and consoling truth—you and I are very precious to Mary. She loves us much more than we can ever fathom. It is our great privilege and responsibility to love her in return. She asks for this love, she asks for our trust. As we give our love and trust to our mother, she wants us to come to her at all times and in all circumstances.
Are we sorrowful, anxious, troubled? Let us go to Mary our mother and ask her to console us. Let us ask her for the grace to handle our sorrow, our anxieties, our troubles properly—according to God's will. In this way our suffering will bring us closer to Christ as it simultaneously allows us to contribute to the ongoing Christianization of the world.
Are we joyful, happy, basking in the glow of a goal successfully accomplished? Let us go to Mary and ask her to help us handle our joy, our happiness, our success as God intends. Let us petition her not to allow our joy to make us forgetful of God, our God Who is the source of all true joy, success, and happiness.
Are we finding it particularly difficult to follow Christ in the here-and-now? In child-like trust we can approach our mother. Let us ask her for the grace to realize that the following of Christ is not always easy—that at times being a follower of Christ challenges our courage in a special way. We can also ask Mary to help us realize that even at such difficult times, Christ's grace makes our burden relatively light. Jesus has told us:
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light. (Mt.11:28-30).
Are we finding it is particularly easy to follow Christ in the here-and-now? Let us go to Mary and ask her for the grace to remain humble. Let us beseech Mary to keep us from being inflated with pride, and ask her to help us realize that without Jesus we can do nothing.
Mary, then, asks for our complete trust. She wants us always to seek shelter under her maternal mantle. She invites us to come to her in all circumstances—whether it be in joy or sorrow, success or failure, laughter or tears. Mary wants us to share in her maternal wisdom so that we may understand how to use our various experiences to come closer to God in Christ. Sharing our lives with Mary in this fashion, and on a consistent basis, requires that we love her, that we trust her, that we surrender ourselves to her maternal love.
Help us, Mother Mary, to probe ever more deeply into the depths of your love for us. Help us to realize more and more that to be loved by you is to experience a sweetness, a warmth, a tenderness, a serenity, a security, which makes us cry out, "O Mother, how good and loving you are!"
Notes
The Documents of Vatican II (New York: The America Press, 1966), Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, No. 61.
Ibid., No. 62.
Ibid., No. 60.
Pope John Paul II, The Mother of the Redeemer (Redemptoris Mater) (Washington: United States Catholic Conference, 1987), No. 38.
Ibid., No. 45.
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and the sheep do not belong to him, abandons the sheep as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and runs away, and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep; he runs away because he is only a hired man and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep. (Jn 10:11-151)
The Good Shepherd gave His life so that we may have life and have it in abundance. In this issue we offer an overview of the life Jesus came to give. We begin by presenting a brief sketch of the spiritual life. This will be followed by content which speaks in a more detailed manner about the various dimensions of the spiritual life -- our life in Christ.
A Sketch of the Spiritual Life
The Christian life is rooted in the great event of the Incarnation. We must consequently always focus our gaze upon Christ, realizing that the Father has spoken to us in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. It only remains for us, then, to strive to understand with greater insight the inexhaustible truth of the Word Incarnate (Heb 1:1-2).
What was the condition of the human race at the time of Christ’s coming? In some ways, people were much the same as we are today. There were those just being born into this world of human drama. There were those who, in death, were leaving it, some of whom had grasped but little of life’s meaning. There were those who were healthy and vigorous. There were those who were sick and lame. Some especially felt the burdens, the grief, the suffering of the human condition. Others were ebullient and desired all the pleasures life could provide. There was some good being accomplished. Immorality, however, was rampant. What St. Paul tells us concerning the time that immediately followed Christ’s existence certainly could also be applied to the time of His entrance into the world. It is, in short, an ugly picture that St. Paul depicts for us (Rom 1:22-32).
Into such a depraved condition Jesus entered, with a full and generous Heart, to lead the human race from the depths of sinfulness to the vibrant richness of a new life in Himself. Through His enfleshment, this Christ became the focal point of all history. The authentic hopes and dreams of the human family, now so overshadowed by the ugliness of sin, came converging upon this Christ. He would gather them up in Himself, give them a new luster and brilliance and dynamism, and would lead the human family back to the Father in the Holy Spirit.
Christ was radically to release us from the dominion of sin and elevate us to a new level of existence. This life Christ has given us is not a type of superstructure which is erected atop human existence. Although nature and grace are distinct, they do not lie side by side as separate entities. Rather, grace permeates nature. The Christian is one graced person. The Christian is one who has been raised up, caught up, into a deeper form of life in Christ Jesus. Nothing that is authentically human in the life of the Christian has been excluded from this new existence. Whatever is really human in the life of the Christian is meant to be an expression of the Christ-life. The simple but deep joys of family life, the wonderment at nature’s beauty, the warm embrace of a mother for her child, the agony of crucial decision making, the success or frustration that is experienced in one’s work, the joy of being well received by others, and the heartache of being misunderstood—all these experiences are intended to be caught up in Christ and made more deeply human because of Him.
Jesus has come, then, not to destroy anything that is authentically human, but to perfect it by leading it to a graced fulfillment. The more God-like we become through Christ, the more human we become.
We, through our incorporation into Christ which occurs at Baptism, are meant to relive the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In doing so, we are not only accomplishing our own salvation, but we are assisting in the salvation of others also. The Incarnation continues all the time. Christ, or course, is the one Who fundamentally continues the Incarnation. But He enlists our help. The world no longer sees Jesus, no longer is able to reach out and touch Him. We are the ones who now, in some way, make Christ visible and tangible. In union with the invisible, glorified Christ, and depending on Him as our source of life, we continue the Incarnation in its visible and temporal dimensions. This is our great privilege. This is our great responsibility.
The Christian is initiated into the mystery of Christ, into his or her role in prolonging the Incarnation, through Baptism (Rom 6:3-4).
It is not sufficient, however, that we be incorporated into Christ through Baptism. All forms of life require nourishment. So, too, our life in Christ must be continually nourished. How can we continually keep in contact with Christ? There are various ways as we live our life within the Church. We contact Christ in a most special way through the liturgy, above all in the Eucharistic liturgy. Through our most special and most personal meeting with Jesus in the Mass, we are more deeply incorporated into Christ. Also, we should remember that all the sacraments make up part of the Church’s liturgy.
The reading of Scripture provides another special opportunity for meeting Jesus. This is true for both Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament prefigures the New Testament and leads to it. It is obvious, however, that we meet Christ especially in the pages of the New Testament. How true it is to say that not to be familiar with Scripture is not to know Jesus properly. We should resolve to read from Scripture daily.
We also meet Jesus in our interaction with others. Everyone we meet, everyone we serve, is in the image of Jesus. We have to take the means to grow in this awareness. If I truly believe that everyone has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, how should I treat everyone?
These, then, are some of the ways we keep in contact with Jesus. Common to the various ways of meeting Jesus is a certain degree of prayerful reflection. Our contact with Jesus in the liturgy, in Scripture, and in our interaction with others, and so forth, will not be all that it should be unless we are persons of prayer. The light and strength of prayer enables us to keep in contact with Jesus as we should.
We live out our Christ-life in an atmosphere of love. Indeed, the life Jesus has given us is centered in love. It has its origins in the mysterious love of God (Jn 3:16).
Our new life in Jesus has arisen out of God’s fathomless love. Christ, in His descent into human flesh, has established a milieu of love. The life He came to give can flourish only in the framework of love. Indeed, we can summarize the meaning of the Christian life by stating that it is our loving response to God’s love. The pierced Heart of Jesus, this Heart which shed its last drop of blood in the greatest love for each one of us, is the symbol of God’s tremendous love for us. Christ’s Heart also calls us to respond by giving ourselves in love to God and neighbor. Yes, Jesus invites us to respond to God’s love by giving ourselves in love to Him in an ever closer union. The more closely we are united to Him, the greater is our capacity to love God and neighbor. The more closely we are united with Jesus, the more closely He unites us to the Father in the Holy Spirit, with Mary our Mother at our side.
The spiritual life, the life of holiness, begins at Baptism. Archbishop Luis Martinez says:
"When we are born we are endowed by God with all we need for our human life, a complete organism, and a soul with the full range of faculties. Of course they are not all developed from birth, but we have them then as the source of everything we are going to need in life. And thus it is also in the spiritual order. When someone is baptized, he receives in all its fullness that supernatural world which the Christian carries within his soul. He receives grace, which is a participation of the nature of God; the theological virtues, which put him in immediate contact with the divine; the moral virtues, which serve to regulate and order all his life; and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the divine, mysterious receivers for picking up the Spirit’s inspirations and movements."2
Another author states: "The Three Divine Persons inhabit the sanctuary of our soul, taking their delight in enriching it with supernatural gifts and in communicating to us a Godlike life, similar to theirs, called the life of grace.
"All life, however, implies a threefold element: a vital principle that is, so to speak, the source of life itself; faculties which give the power to elicit vital acts; and lastly, the acts themselves which are but its development and which minister to its growth. In the supernatural order, God living within us produces the same elements. He first communicates to us habitual grace (the life of sanctifying grace) which plays the part of a vital supernatural principle. This principle deifies, as it were, the very substance of the soul and makes it capable, though in a remote way, of enjoying the Beatific Vision and of performing the acts that lead to it.
"Out of this grace spring the infused virtues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit which perfect our faculties and endow us with the immediate power of performing Godlike, supernatural, meritorious acts.
"In order to stir these faculties into action, He give us actual graces which enlighten our mind, strengthen our will, and aid us both to act supernaturally and to increase the measure of habitual grace that has been granted to us.
"Although this life of grace is entirely distinct from our natural life it is not merely superimposed on the latter. It penetrates it through and through, transforms it and makes it divine. It assimilates whatever is good in our nature, our education and our habits. It perfects and supernaturalizes all these various elements, directing them toward the last end, that is toward the possession of God through the Beatific Vision and its resultant life." 3
Our being in the state of sanctifying of grace and the special indwelling of the Persons of the Trinity within us always exist together. We cannot have the one without the other. Our life of grace, which is a sharing in Trinitarian life, allows us to know and love Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in a most intimate fashion. Through grace we are in the image of the Trinity, and we enjoy special relationships with the Divine Persons.
Again, we listen to the words of Archbishop Martinez as he speaks about our relationships with the Divine Persons:
"Love, we have said, is the foundation of devotion to the Holy Spirit, as it is also the foundation of Christian perfection. But love as a reflection of God, as His own image, is something that encloses within its simplicity a boundless wealth and a variety of forms. Who can fathom the depths of love?
"Human love in all its manifestations is admirably in harmony with the love of charity; it is confident in filial love, trusting in friendship, sweet and fruitful in the love of husband and wife, disinterested and tender in the love of a mother. Our love of God must include all these forms of human love; every fiber of our heart must vibrate when the harmonious and full canticle of love bursts forth from it. But since God is one in essence and triune in Persons, our love for Him takes on a particular aspect accordingly as it is directed to each one of the divine Persons.
"Our love for the Father is tender and confident like that of children; eager to glorify Him as His only-begotten Son taught us to do by word and example. Love for the Father is the intense desire to have His will fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven. Our love for the Son, who willed to become flesh for us, is characterized by the tendency to union with Him and transformation into Him; by imitation of His example, participation in His life, and the sharing of His sufferings and His Cross. The Eucharist, mystery of love, of sorrow, and of union, reveals the characteristics of this love.
"Love for the Holy Spirit also has its special character, which we should study in order completely to understand devotion to Him. We have explained how the Holy Spirit loves us, how He moves us like a divine breath that draws us to the bosom of God, like a sacred fire that transforms us into fire, like a divine artist who forms Jesus in us. Surely, then, our love for the Holy Spirit should be marked by loving docility, by full surrender, and by a constant fidelity that permits us to be moved, directed, and transformed by His sanctifying action.
"Our love for the Father tends to glorify Him; our love for the Son, to transform ourselves into Him; our love for the Holy Spirit, to let ourselves be possessed and moved by Him."4
The spiritual life centers in Christ. Here are words from the Jerusalem Catecheses: "When we were baptized into Christ and clothed ourselves in him, we were transformed into the likeness of the Son of God. Having destined us to be his adopted sons, God gave us a likeness to Christ in his glory, and living as we do in communion with Christ, God’s anointed, we ourselves are rightly called ‘the anointed ones.’ " 5
Msgr. Robert Guste says: "Ideal Catholics held up to us by the Church are the saints. As you read their lives, what do you notice? One after the other, they were men and women who had a deep, personal relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ. Their hearts were on fire with love for Him..." 6
When we are baptized we are incorporated into Christ’s paschal mystery of death and resurrection. St. Paul speaks of this marvelous union with Jesus: You cannot have forgotten that all of us, when we were baptised into Christ Jesus, were baptised into his death. So by our baptism into his death we were buried with him, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glorious power, we too should begin living a new life. (Rm 6:3-4).
Christ has structured the Christian life by the way He lived, died, and rose from the dead. It is obvious, then, as Paul tells us above, that the pattern of death-resurrection must be at the heart of the Church’s life. Individually and collectively, we continually die with Christ so that we may continually rise with Him. Thus we pass over in a process of ongoing religious transition to a greater participation in Christ’s resurrection. It is true that our participation in Christ’s resurrection will reach its completion only in eternity. Nevertheless, we begin the life of resurrection here upon the earth, in the here and now of human life, in the midst of joy and pain; in the experience of success and failure, in the sweat of our brow, in the enjoyment of God’s gifts. As Christians, we should have a sense of dynamic growth concerning our here and now life of resurrection.
We cannot maintain the life of resurrection or grow in it without a willingness to suffer. This does not mean that we need to feel overwhelmed and heavily burdened in our lives. The greater portion of suffering for most Christians seems to be an accumulation of ordinary hardships, difficulties, and pains. At times, however, deep suffering, even suffering of agonizing proportions, can enter into one’s life. Whether the sufferings one encounters are of either the more ordinary variety or the more rare and extreme type, Christians must convince themselves that to relate properly to the cross is to grow in resurrection, and growth in resurrection means we will also have an increased capacity to help give resurrection to others.
We are meant to share in all of the mysteries of Christ here below—we are meant to relive them in our own lives. And all of these mysteries are directed to the crowning mystery of Jesus, His resurrection: "As the Church is ever re-enacting, during all the ages, the life story of her Divine Spouse—undergoing in the Mystical Body what He suffered in His Natural Body, so it must be too, in some measure, for every individual Christian that lives in real unity with Christ. It was thus that the saints understood the life of the Divine Master. They not merely contemplated it, they lived it. This was the source of the immense sympathy they were capable of experiencing for Him in His different states. They felt in a certain measure what He felt, and what is true of Our Lord’s life considered as a whole must be true in no imperfect or limited manner of that which was the supreme and crowning mystery in that life—namely, the Resurrection. This must be, not merely a fact in Christian history, but a phase of Christian experience …We do not readily perceive that, in God’s plan, not only the Cross, but the Risen Life that followed it, is meant to be part of our terrestrial existence. Christ did not pass from the Cross straight to heaven. The Christian is not meant to do so either. In the case of Jesus the Cross preceded, prepared and prefaced a risen life on earth. In the case of the Christian the Cross is meant to play a somewhat similar role—that is, to be the prelude to a risen life, even here below.
"The Cross cannot be completely understood except it is viewed in the full light of the Resurrection. It is the latter, not the former, that is the ultimate mystery for us…The Cross is a means, not an end; it finds its explanation only in the empty tomb; it is an entrance into life, not a mode of death. Any death that enters into God’s plan must necessarily issue forth in life. If He lays upon us the necessity of dying it is in order that we may live…In order that we may live as we ought, our rebellious nature must be crucified. Crucifixion always remains the only mode of salvation.
"God sends trials and crosses simply to deaden in us the activity of the forces that make for the decay of the spiritual life, in order that that spiritual life may develop and expand unimpeded. According as the life of perverse nature ebbs away from us on our cross united with Christ’s, the Divine Life that God has placed in all whom He has called begins to make itself more manifest and to display increased vigour and vitality…It is to that Resurrection, that life in death, that God directs all the circumstances of our life—it is the object He aims at in His dealing with us." 7
In his above words, Fr. Edward Leen, C.S.Sp., speaks about a special episode of our participation in the resurrection of Jesus. He speaks of our Christ-life, our life of grace, in the highly developed state. We should all strive for this state. We must realize, however, that all those who live in the state of grace are, in an essential way, living the life of resurrection. They are alive in Christ Jesus.
The following words of St. John Eudes remind us of the glorious goal the Christian is called to: the most intimate union with Jesus.
"I ask you to consider that our Lord Jesus Christ is your true head and that you are a member of his body. He belongs to you as the head belongs to the body. All that is his is yours: breath, heart, body, soul and all his faculties. All of these you must use as if they belonged to you, so that in serving him you may give him praise, love and glory. You belong to him as a member belongs to the head. This is why he earnestly desires you to serve and glorify the Father by using all your faculties as if they were his.
"He belongs to you, but more than that, he longs to be in you, living and ruling in you, as the head lives and rules in the body. He desires that whatever is in him may live and rule in you: his breath in your breath, his heart in your heart, all the faculties of his soul in the faculties of your soul...
"You belong to the Son of God, but more than that, you ought to be in him as the members are in the head. All that is in you must be incorporated into him. You must receive life from him and be ruled by him. There will be no true life for you except in him, for he is the one source of true life. Apart from him you will find only death and destruction. Let him be the only source of your movements, of the actions and the strength of your life.
"Finally, you are one with Jesus as the body is one with the head. You must, then, have one breath with him, one soul, one life, one will, one mind, one heart. And he must be your breath, heart, love, life, your all. These great gifts in the follower of Christ originate from baptism. They are increased and strengthened through confirmation and by making good use of other graces that are given by God. Through the holy eucharist they are brought to perfection." 8
St. Ignatius of Antioch was deeply consumed with love for Jesus: "At last I am well on the way to being a disciple. May nothing, seen or unseen, fascinate me, so that I may happily make my way to Jesus Christ! Fire, cross, struggles with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of limbs, crunching of the whole body, cruel tortures inflicted by the devil—let them come upon me, provided only I make my way to Jesus Christ."9
Cardinal Newman tells us: "Everyone who breathes, high and low, educated and ignorant, young and old, man and woman, has a mission, has a work. We are not born at random... God sees every one of us; He creates every soul, He lodges it in a body, one by one, for a purpose. He needs, He deigns to need, every one of us."10
Because of the uniqueness of each Christian's existence, he or she presents Christ with a unique opportunity. Each Christian has the vocation to offer Christ his or her humanity so that Jesus can live in that individual in a special way. This Jesus is Priest, Prophet and King. To the extent that an individual Christian offers his or her humanity to Jesus, that person has an unique opportunity to help to continue the work of the redemption--an opportunity that no one else can fulfill. Likewise, to the extent that an individual fails to offer his or her humanity to Christ, Jesus loses the opportunity to continue His redemptive work according to that person's uniqueness.
Concerning the prophetic or teaching office of Christ, each of us has the ever-present opportunity of witnessing to the truth of Christ by the way we live. Mother Teresa gives a striking example of this. She says: "I received a letter from a wealthy Brazilian man. He assured me that he had lost his faith -- not just his faith in God but his faith in humanity as well. He was fed up with his situation and everything around him. He only thought about suicide.
"One day, walking on a busy street downtown, he saw a television set in a store window. The program was about our Home for the Dying in Calcutta, and it showed our Sisters taking care of the sick and the dying.
"The man confessed that when he saw that, he felt the urge to kneel and pray, after many years of not ever kneeling or praying.
"From that day on, he recovered his faith in God and in humanity, and he was convinced that God still loves him."11
St. Paul, one who loved Jesus so deeply, has left us these words: "But we hold this treasure in pots of earthenware, so that the immensity of the power is God’s and not our own. We are subjected to every kind of hardship, but never distressed; we see no way out but we never despair; we are pursued but never cut off; knocked down, but still have some life in us; always we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus, too, may be visible in our body. Indeed, while we are still alive, we are continually being handed over to death, for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus, too, may be visible in our mortal flesh." (2 Cor 4:7-11).
Here are words from St. Claude La Columbière, one of the great apostles of devotion to the Heart of Christ. Speaking to Jesus, Claude says:
You share my burdens,
You take them upon yourself.
You listen to me fondly when I tell you my
troubles.
You never fail to lighten them.
I find You at all times and in all places.
You never leave me.
I will always find You wherever I go.
Old age or misfortune will not cause You to
abandon me.
You will never be closer to me than
When all seems to go against me.
No matter how miserable I may be,
You will never cease to be my friend.
You tolerate my faults with admirable
patience.
You are always ready to come to me, if I so
desire it.
Jesus, may I die praising you!
May I die loving you!
May I die for the love of you.12
"God is faithful to His eternal plan even when man, under the impulse of the evil one (see Wisdom 2:24) and carried away by his own pride, abuses the freedom given to him in order to love and generously seek what is good, and (instead) refuses to obey his Lord and Father. God is faithful even when man, instead of responding with love to God’s love, opposes Him and treats Him like a rival, deluding himself and relying on his own power, with the resulting break of relationship with the One who created him. In spite of this transgression on man’s part, God remains faithful in love.
"It is certainly true that the story of the Garden of Eden makes us think about the tragic consequences of rejecting the Father, which becomes evident in man’s inner disorder and in the breakdown of harmony between man and woman, brother and brother (see Genesis 3:12 ff; 4:1-16). Also significant is the Gospel parable of the two brothers (the parable of the ‘prodigal son’; see Luke 15:11-32) who, in different ways, distance themselves from their father and cause a rift between them. Refusal of God’s fatherly love and of His loving gifts is always at the root of humanity’s divisions.
"But we know that God…like the father in the parable (of the prodigal son), does not close His heart to any of His children. He waits for them, looks for them, goes to meet them at the place where the refusal of communion imprisons them in isolation and division. He calls them to gather about His table in the joy of the feast of forgiveness and reconciliation.
"This initiative on God’s part is made concrete and manifest in the redemptive act of Christ, which radiates through the world by means of the ministry of the Church." 13
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you,’ and, after saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.’ (Jn 20:19-21).
The world needs peace. Individual nations need peace and families need peace. The Church needs peace. Each of us individually needs peace. We must work for peace through prayer, fasting, and other Christ-like activities.
And just what do we mean by peace? St. Augustine says peace is the tranquility of order. God has put order into His creation and this order must be respected and promoted if peace is to prevail. To the extent that the human family lives according to God’s will—lives according to the order or the plan God has established for creation—to that extent does peace exist in the various segments of human society. To the extent there are violations of God’s plan, of His will, to that extent peace is absent.
If we are to be instruments of peace, we ourselves must be at peace. Our personal peace is that tranquility of order which results from our doing God’s will. The more we are united through love with God in the doing of His will, the more we experience peace.
Sometimes the sense of peace we experience is so strong that we can "feel" it pulsating throughout our being. These are periods of what we may call the experience of extraordinary peace. This type of peace usually is not an everyday occurrence.
Most of the time we live immersed in a more subdued kind of peace which results from our daily attempts to do God’s will in love. It is that peace which is a welcome and sustaining companion as we walk the path of everyday life with its usual assortments of joys and disappointments, successes and failures, laughter and tears.
Occasionally, very deep suffering may enter our lives. It is during these times that we need special determination to preserve ourselves in a basic peace of spirit despite the very significant pain. One may wonder how a person can be at peace amidst the experience of great suffering. St. Francis de Sales in one of his writings—and I have not been able to locate the exact place—offers an analogy which I think is very helpful. He asks us to picture an ocean body of water at the time of a violent storm. The surface of the water becomes extremely turbulent. Francis asks us, as we use our imagination, to descend beneath the surface of the water into its depth. What do we find? The more deeply one descends away from the turbulent surface, the calmer the water becomes. Likewise, says the saint and doctor of the Church, should it be with us during times of profound suffering. Although the surface of the spirit may be very agitated, one can still maintain basic peace of spirit by going deep down to one’s center where God is more directly experienced. Here the person experiences a calm, a basic peace, although the suffering remains.
If we are trying to do God’s will in love, God intends us to be at peace. The more we conform to God’s will, the more we are living according to the order He intends for us. In turn, the more our lives are in harmony with the order established by God, the more we experience peace—peace being the tranquility of order. The more we ourselves live in this manner, the more fit instruments we become for promoting God’s order and consequent peace throughout the various segments of society.
St. Dominic was an outstanding witness to the peace of the Lord: "Dominic possessed such great integrity and was so strongly motivated by divine love, that without doubt he proved to be a bearer of honor and grace. He was a man of great equanimity, except when moved to compassion and mercy. And since a joyful heart animates the face, he displayed the peaceful composure of a spiritual man in the kindness he manifested outwardly and by the cheerfulness of his countenance."14
Shortly before he was to die from cancer, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin left us these inspiring words about peace: "It is the first day of November, and fall is giving way to winter. Soon the trees will lose the vibrant colors of their leaves and snow will cover the ground. The earth will shut down, and people will race to and from their destinations bundled up for warmth. Chicago winters are harsh. It is a time of dying.
"But we know that spring will soon come with all its new life and wonder.
"It is quite clear that I will not be alive in the spring. But I will soon experience new life in a different way…
"What I would like to leave behind is a simple prayer that each of you may find what I have found—God’s special gift to us all: the gift of peace. When we are at peace, we find the freedom to be most fully who we are, even in the worst of times. We let go of what is non-essential and embrace what is essential. We empty ourselves so that God may more fully work within us. And we become instruments in the hands of the Lord."15
St. Teresa of Avila, one of the three women doctors of the Church, tells us how the spiritual life is summed up in loving conformity to the Father’s will:
"All that the beginner in prayer has to do -- and you must not forget this, for it is very important -- is to labor and to be resolute and prepare himself with all possible diligence to bring his will in conformity with the will of God. As I shall say later, you may be quite sure that this comprises the very greatest perfection which can be attained on the spiritual road."16
Again she states: "...love consists ... in the firmness of our determination to try to please God in everything." 17
The late Archbishop Luis M. Martinez of Mexico strikingly speaks of the ongoing cooperation of Mary with the Holy Spirit regarding the reproduction of Jesus within us: "Christian life is the reproduction of Jesus in souls…
"Now, how will this mystical reproduction be brought about in souls? In the same way in which Jesus was brought into the world, for God gives a wonderful mark of unity to all His works. Divine acts have a wealth of variety because they are the work of omnipotence; nevertheless, a most perfect unity always shines forth from them because they are the fruit of wisdom; and this divine contrast of unity and variety stamps the works of God with sublime and unutterable beauty.
"In His miraculous birth, Jesus was the fruit of heaven and earth…The Holy Spirit conveyed the divine fruitfulness of the Father to Mary, and the virginal soil brought forth in an ineffable manner our most loving Savior, the divine Seed, as the prophets called Him…
"That is the way He is reproduced in souls. He is always the fruit of heaven and earth.
"Two artisans must concur in the work that is at once God’s masterpiece and humanity’s supreme product: the Holy Spirit and the most holy Virgin Mary. Two sanctifiers are necessary to souls, the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, for they are the only ones who can reproduce Christ.
"Undoubtedly, the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary sanctify us in different ways. The first is the Sanctifier by essence; because He is God, who is infinite sanctity; because He is the personal Love that completes, so to speak, the sanctity of God, consummating His life and His unity, and it belongs to Him to communicate to souls the mystery of that sanctity. The Virgin Mary, for her part, is the co-operator, the indispensable instrument in and by God’s design. From Mary’s maternal relation to the human body of Christ is derived her relation to His Mystical Body which is being formed through all the centuries until the end of time, when it will be lifted up to the heavens, beautiful, splendid, complete, and glorious.
"These two, then, the Holy Spirit and Mary, are the indispensable artificers of Jesus, the indispensable sanctifiers of souls. Any saint in heaven can co-operate in the sanctification of a soul, but his co-operation is not necessary, not profound, not constant: while the co-operation of these two artisans of Jesus of whom we have just been speaking is so necessary that without it souls are not sanctified (and this by the actual design of Providence), and so intimate that it reaches to the very depths of our soul. For the Holy Spirit pours charity into our heart, makes a habitation of our soul, and directs our spiritual life by means of His gifts. The Virgin Mary has the efficacious influence of Mediatrix in the most profound and delicate operations of grace in our souls. And, finally, the action of the Holy Spirit and the co-operation of the most holy Virgin Mary are constant; without them, not one single character of Jesus would be traced on our souls, no virtue grow, no gift be developed, no grace increased, no bond of union with God be strengthened in the rich flowering of the spiritual life.
"Such is the place that the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary have in the order of sanctification. Therefore, Christian piety should put these two artisans of Christ in their true place, making devotion to them something necessary, profound, and constant." 18
Scripture quotations are taken from The New Jerusalem Bible, Doubleday.
Archbishop Luis M. Martinez, The Sanctifier, Pauline Books and Media, pp. 124-125.
Adolphe Janquery, S.S., The Spiritual Life, Desclee & Co., p. 18
Archbishop Martinez, op. cit., pp. 67-68,
Jerusalem Catecheses, as in The Liturgy of the Hours, Catholic Book Publishing Co., Vol. II, p. 608.
Msgr. Robert Guste, The Gift of the Church, Queenship Publications, pp. 22-23.
Edward Leen, In the Likeness of Christ, Sheed and Ward, pp. 290-300.
St. John Eudes, from a treatise on the Admirable Heart of Jesus, as in The Liturgy of the Hours, Catholic Book Publishing Co., Vol. IV, pp. 1331-32.
St. Ignatius of Antioch, "Ignatius to the Romans," as in The Treasury of Catholic Wisdom, Ignatius Press., p. 14.
John Henry Cardinal Newman, Discourses Addressed to Mixed Congregations, Longmans, Green and Co., pp. 111-112.
Mother Teresa, In My Own Words, Liguori Publications, p. 44.
St. Claude de la Columbiere, as published by Apostleship of Prayer, Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus.
Pope John Paul II, as in Celebrate 2000!, Servant Publications, pp. 140-141.
"From the Various Writings of the History of the Order of Preachers," as in The Liturgy of the Hours, Catholic Book Publishing Co., Vol lV, p. 1302.
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, The Gift of Peace, Loyola University Press, pp. 151-153.
St Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle, translated by E. Allison Peers, Doubleday and Co., "Second Mansions", p. 51.
Ibid., "Fourth Mansions", p. 76.
Archbishop Luis M. Martinez, The Sanctifier, op. cit. pp. 5-7.
A Rosary for Healing or for Someone with Cancer.
On one Hail Mary bead or as many as you desire, say: (this is given for Fr. Carter, you can replace your loved one's name).
May God heal Fr. Carter through the intercession of Our Lady of Clearwater in union with the Mass and all the Masses being celebrated around the world.
Pray the Hail Mary or Hail Mary's then pray this after the Hail Mary.
May the cancer be uprooted and thrown into the sea.
We believe with all our hearts.
After the Glory Be— pray the following petition.
May Fr. Carter be healed through the intercession of Our Lady of Clearwater if it be the holy will of God.
Note: You can look at Mary on the image rosary while you pray this rosary.
Note: The above section can be printed out from a PDF file, and you can pray the rosary looking at the pictures.
Messenger: CAN YOU HELP US BY GIVING US ROSARIES FOR THE SCHOOLS REQUESTING THEM?
Mary speaks: PLEASE MAKE WALTER'S ROSARIES. THE SCHOOLS WANT ROSARIES AND THERE ARE NOT ANY ROSARIES LEFT.
Messenger: Rosary in Clearwater, Florida - December 5, 2000.
Messenger: ALL APOSTLES THAT CAN COME ON DECEMBER 17, 2000 TO FLORIDA - 4TH ANNIVERSARY OF MARY'S APPARITION ON THE BUILDING IN CLEARWATER, FLORIDA.
Messenger: Mary wants the Red Rosary Book printed. It will cost $12,000 - $14,000 to get them reprinted.
Messenger: Pray for Perry.
Prayer List for apostles for interior use in the Movement. Pray hourly.
Spread the Blood of Jesus on everyone, consecrate their hearts, cast the devil out, pray for coming of the Holy Spirit in a special way for all people involved on this list.
Pray Father Carter is healed through Our Lady of Clearwater.
Pray for Father Carter's doctors.
Please pray for one new very important intention.
Pray for all involved in buying the building.
Pray for designated priests, Fr. Mike, Fr. Smith, Fr. Ken, all priests involved in the Imprimaturs
translations including all bishops. Pray for Fr. Joe, Bishop Ed, Fr. Don, Father at
Tuesday Masses, Fr. Tom, Fr. Bill, all priests involved with Walter, Fr. Hagee and special
priests.
Pray for Father's sister Merle, for all of us servants, handmaids, apostles and vocations
to all 7 categories.
Pray for the elections.
Pray for an audience with the Pope.
Pray for all Jesuits involved, all those over us. Pray for the 4 urgent intentions.
Pray for the rights to the books.
Pray for the process of getting Father's books on the Internet.
Pray for money to reprint the books.
Pray for the Imprimatur on the Priestly Newsletter Book II.
Pray we can send it to all bishops and Jesuits.
Pray for Perry and family and discernment.
Pray for all sub-centers and all out-of-state rosaries.
Pray for the sisters' mailing, nursing home mailing, bus mailing.
Pray for Rosary Factory.
Pray for Genevieve's daughter and Sheila's mom and Jerry's dad, Bernice's daughter.
Pray for Paul and Joan discernment.
Pray for all book covers.
Pray for B & M and Tina and Terry, all printing jobs, companies involved.
Pray for 5th, the 13th, the 17th.
Pray for the Internet team and the daily messages.
Pray for building up of Morrow, Ohio, Dale, Indiana, other sub-centers.
Pray for the Holy Spirit Center and all involved.
Pray for all our families, children in school, college mailing.
Pray for lots of rosary makers and rosaries for the schools.
Pray for funds and grace.
Pray for Paul C., Margaret Mary, Steve and Sheila, Monica, Angie, Marian, Cathy, Joe,
Nick, Mary, Emily, Joe, Doris, Glaci, Dunkers, Joan R., Morgan, Mark, Walter, Janice, Mike
A., Margaret, Ron, and Harold.
Pray for Fred doing the paper and all involved in priestly "start-up".
Please pray for all Shepherds of Christ children.
Pray for Victor's son, Michael.
(Please copy and pass out to family and friends.)
Mary's
Message from the Rosary of August 27, 1996Mary speaks: I stood beneath the cross of my Son, and my Heart was in such pain for I saw Him before my eyes. I saw Him covered with blood. I saw Him die. My Heart, my children, my Heart to watch my Son, but my Heart, my Heart, how I suffered for my little children of the world that give in to this world and give up the love of my Son. O my little children of light, I give you this message. Carry this light into the darkness for your Mother Mary, for I stood beneath the cross and I cried. I cried for the little ones. I cried for the young ones, the ones that do not care and will lose their souls. How do I make you see for you will not listen to me? What can I do? I come. I appear. I beg. I plead. I give you these gifts from my Son, and you reject me. I do not deliver messages very often anymore for I have been ignored. The message is the same. You do not read the messages I have given to you. Please help me. Help the little children. I appear. I appear. I appear, and I am ignored. I stood beneath the cross, and I cried. I cried, and my Heart was in such anguish for my little children, for I am searching for them this day as I searched for the Child Jesus. Please, please help me. I cannot hold back the hand of my Son any longer. I am Mary, your Mother. I ask you to help my children. You are my children of light.
Song: O Lady of Light, shining so bright, be with us this day, guiding our way, O Lady, O Lady of Light.
Mary speaks: I appear to you as Our Mother of Sorrows.
(End of Mary's Message)
MY VALENTINE FOR JESUS AND MARY
AND THE WORLDI _________________ give my heart to
You Jesus and Mary on this day
_________________
I promise to help spread the devotion to
the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
Q: How has our love for each other helped us to grow in love for others?
Copyright
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