Ijournal entry 050117 #17. May, month of Blessed Mary. Truffles, The Rule of Bendict. Quotes from The Living Pyx of Jesus, Pelligrini, St. John Eudes, Catechism of Catholic Church, and St. Louis De Montfort. Article: "Praise", by Cameron Richard. "The Hope That Banishes Fear", from book: "When God is Silent, by Luis Martinez. Video presentation: "God is Merciful", by Marino Restrepo.
"May is the month of Mary; devotion to the Blessed Mother throughout May originated in Rome in the 18th century to counter immorality and infidelity among students at a college there. It has spread through most of the Latin Church now. Because the North American holiday of Mother's Day falls in May, Catholics take this time to recall and try to emulate Mary's role as mother. Therefore devotion to Mary in the month of May focuses both on Mary as a role model for Christian mothers, and Mary's ever lasting chastity and purity, and her fidelity to God's will"
Info from this site:
http://www.aquinasandmore.com/catholic-articles/monthly-dedications-of-the-church-year/article/184
Info from this site:
http://www.aquinasandmore.com/catholic-articles/monthly-dedications-of-the-church-year/article/184
The Rule of St. Benedict
"Just as there is an evil zeal of bitterness which separates from God and leads to hell, so is there a good zeal which separates from evil and leads to God and life everlasting. Let monks, therefore, exercise this zeal with the most fervent love. Let them, that is, in honour prefer one another. Let them bear with the greatest patience one another’s infirmities, whether of body or character. Let them vie in paying obedience to one another. Let none follow what seems good for himself, but rather what is good for another. Let them practise fraternal charity with all purity. Let them fear and love God. Let them love their abbot with a sincere and humble charity. Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ; and may he bring us all alike to life everlasting"
MC= If everyone is looking out 100% for each other rather than self, each will receive and lose nothing from giving. Seems the rule is rooted in scripture so evening should be on the same page whether professed or not.
"Just as there is an evil zeal of bitterness which separates from God and leads to hell, so is there a good zeal which separates from evil and leads to God and life everlasting. Let monks, therefore, exercise this zeal with the most fervent love. Let them, that is, in honour prefer one another. Let them bear with the greatest patience one another’s infirmities, whether of body or character. Let them vie in paying obedience to one another. Let none follow what seems good for himself, but rather what is good for another. Let them practise fraternal charity with all purity. Let them fear and love God. Let them love their abbot with a sincere and humble charity. Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ; and may he bring us all alike to life everlasting"
MC= If everyone is looking out 100% for each other rather than self, each will receive and lose nothing from giving. Seems the rule is rooted in scripture so evening should be on the same page whether professed or not.
Romans 12: 9-13 "Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality" |
🔵 "Thank God, there still remains one sanctuary, the sacredness of which no earthly power may violate… It is the sanctuary of the human heart. It needs no fixed place for its confines, no stated time for the opening of its gates, no particular hour of silence for its prayer. A thought, a word, a moment of reflection, and by faith and by love, the soul is within the blessed refuge, and the gates are closed on the confusion of life with all its noise and tumult. It is secure against the bitterness and the pain of persecution, or hardship or trial, or hurt of body,or wound of earthly pride, or failure of worldly ambition, for there she is inviolable, sacred, impregnable in the fortress of her own spirit." From The Living Pyx of Jesus, Pelligrini
🎾 “Of all the divine perfections mirrored in the Sacred Heart of our Saviour, we should have a very special devotion to divine mercy.” By St. John Eudes
🌕 "But Jesus is God's Anointed in a unique way: the humanity the Son assumed was entirely anointed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit established him as "Christ." The Virgin Mary conceived Christ by the Holy Spirit who, through the angel, proclaimed him the Christ at his birth, and prompted Simeon to come to the temple to see the Christ of the Lord. The Spirit filled Christ and the power of the Spirit went out from him in his acts of healing and of saving. Finally, it was the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. Now, fully established as "Christ" in his humanity victorious over death, Jesus pours out the Holy Spirit abundantly until "the saints" constitute - in their union with the humanity of the Son of God - that perfect man "to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ": "the whole Christ," in St. Augustine's expression". From Catechism of Catholic Church 695 - 31-36
🌑"According to St. Bonaventure, all the angels in heaven unceasingly call out to her: "Holy, holy, holy Mary, Virgin Mother of God." They greet her countless times each day with the angelic greeting, "Hail, Mary", while prostrating themselves before her, begging her as a favour to honour them with one of her requests. According to St. Augustine, even St. Michael, though prince of all the heavenly court, is the most eager of all the angels to honour her and lead others to honour her. At all times he awaits the privilege of going at her word to the aid of one of her servants". By St. Louis De Montfort
🎾 “Of all the divine perfections mirrored in the Sacred Heart of our Saviour, we should have a very special devotion to divine mercy.” By St. John Eudes
🌕 "But Jesus is God's Anointed in a unique way: the humanity the Son assumed was entirely anointed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit established him as "Christ." The Virgin Mary conceived Christ by the Holy Spirit who, through the angel, proclaimed him the Christ at his birth, and prompted Simeon to come to the temple to see the Christ of the Lord. The Spirit filled Christ and the power of the Spirit went out from him in his acts of healing and of saving. Finally, it was the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. Now, fully established as "Christ" in his humanity victorious over death, Jesus pours out the Holy Spirit abundantly until "the saints" constitute - in their union with the humanity of the Son of God - that perfect man "to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ": "the whole Christ," in St. Augustine's expression". From Catechism of Catholic Church 695 - 31-36
🌑"According to St. Bonaventure, all the angels in heaven unceasingly call out to her: "Holy, holy, holy Mary, Virgin Mother of God." They greet her countless times each day with the angelic greeting, "Hail, Mary", while prostrating themselves before her, begging her as a favour to honour them with one of her requests. According to St. Augustine, even St. Michael, though prince of all the heavenly court, is the most eager of all the angels to honour her and lead others to honour her. At all times he awaits the privilege of going at her word to the aid of one of her servants". By St. Louis De Montfort
He is risen, Indeed He is risen, Alleluia! It turns out that Romans 8 is my spiritual chocolate treat for this Easter Season. It all started with Daphne being a vessel of the Holy Spirit on Easter Sunday. She sent an email and shared a scripture verse with me that caused a spiritual combustion.
After reading the verse she sent, thought it would be a good idea to read the complete chapter and see what verses the Holy Spirit would be giving as highlights to me. It seemed Romans 8-11-13 would be the happy Easter gift:
Reading further, an addition was Romans 8:24-25, because it jumpstarted my prayer regimen for the day.
:The first set of verses from Romans 8,11-13, turned out to be a confirmation for the next day's text mess and also provided a deeper realization about the resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead. My thoughts always were that it was the Father, but the Scripture made it clear that it was the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus. Of course, we know that all are equal in power as part of the one Godhead, but to distinguish the action of each person of the Holy Trinity, enhances my personal relationship with each, the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. This knowledge provides an opportunity to give thanks,praise and glory in a specific way. It was a delight to find info in the CCC, (Catechism of The Catholic Church) presented above as the third cheese and cracker, that enlightened me even more about the specialized and intriguing work of the Holy Spirit.
The second set of verses from Romans 8:32-34, in a way confirmed my comment to the text mess about Jesus having done it all. Here is a repeat of the text mess and my comments for someone who may not have read it:
The Catholic Company: “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:55 Alleluia! He is risen! This is da most joyous feast of da year. Christ's death &resurrection R da foundation of da Christian faith. Da churches R now filled wit Jesus' presence & wit His Light. They R no longer silent, as we join our voices & songs of praise wit da choirs in heaven. We're reminded of Christ's promise: "I will give U a joy which no 1 will take from U"
(MC=Happy Resurrection day 2 all. May da power that caused Jesus to rise & triumph over death, be UR's in abundance so dat u experience da victory in every area of ur life un 2 da glory of God. B it 4 U tough going, or B it easy, may God in His mighty power b ever @ ur side ushering in lil by lil da reign of da kingdom, designing a fabulous blueprint 4 da future glory of ur soul. Peace & good, topped wit da cherry of luv, happy day!)
Moving right along, on Easter Monday Sr. Anna Maria Parenzan, Mother General of the Daughters of St. Paul, in her post said the following:
"Easter is an event of overwhelming power. It is a proclamation of beauty, the forecast of a luminous life that irradiates grace: Jesus is risen–he is alive!–and we can meet the Living One as he was met by the women who came to his tomb at dawn on the third day. Let us allow ourselves to be pervaded by the spell of the resurrection, by the allure of the risen Christ, and let us exclaim with the Apostle Thomas, who touched his pierced side:
The second set of verses from Romans 8:32-34, in a way confirmed my comment to the text mess about Jesus having done it all. Here is a repeat of the text mess and my comments for someone who may not have read it:
The Catholic Company: “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:55 Alleluia! He is risen! This is da most joyous feast of da year. Christ's death &resurrection R da foundation of da Christian faith. Da churches R now filled wit Jesus' presence & wit His Light. They R no longer silent, as we join our voices & songs of praise wit da choirs in heaven. We're reminded of Christ's promise: "I will give U a joy which no 1 will take from U"
(MC=Happy Resurrection day 2 all. May da power that caused Jesus to rise & triumph over death, be UR's in abundance so dat u experience da victory in every area of ur life un 2 da glory of God. B it 4 U tough going, or B it easy, may God in His mighty power b ever @ ur side ushering in lil by lil da reign of da kingdom, designing a fabulous blueprint 4 da future glory of ur soul. Peace & good, topped wit da cherry of luv, happy day!)
Moving right along, on Easter Monday Sr. Anna Maria Parenzan, Mother General of the Daughters of St. Paul, in her post said the following:
"Easter is an event of overwhelming power. It is a proclamation of beauty, the forecast of a luminous life that irradiates grace: Jesus is risen–he is alive!–and we can meet the Living One as he was met by the women who came to his tomb at dawn on the third day. Let us allow ourselves to be pervaded by the spell of the resurrection, by the allure of the risen Christ, and let us exclaim with the Apostle Thomas, who touched his pierced side:
(MC= My favorite church season, luv, luv, dat power which is able to raise the God-Man from da dead, and which is aIso ours as heirs. We are called to be one with God, unbelievable, so incredible, but true. Da Risen Lord, yes, He has done it all, Alleluia)
My goodness, the momentum continues, really it does , now it is Romans 8:30 that is shining like a diamond.
My goodness, the momentum continues, really it does , now it is Romans 8:30 that is shining like a diamond.
When we were walking the churches for Good Friday, it was at St. Mary's church where Fr. Seelos is buried that there were prayer teams to pray over people. The guy who prayed over me was led to tell me to read from the book of John, it happened to be the first chapter. He said: "do you know why you were are here? Well, didn't ask, but wasn't sure what he was specifically referring to. Did he mean life on earth, being at the church, or what? But his answer to me was that the call was there to point out Jesus like St. John the Baptist did. Well reading verse 30 of Romans 8, made me so happy. For whatever the call is, if the dominos keep falling as they should in the right direction, then it's to experience justification, and then glorification. It all comes from God: being predestined, called, justified, then glorified. Our part is to respond to grace and be docile to how the Holy Spirit leads and sustains us. What can be greater than to see on this Resurrection Sunday? It's really getting spiritually hot, hot, hot in here, alleluia, alleluia, and alleluia!
No Need to retreat while the getting is good. It's now time take a good look at verses 16-18:
No Need to retreat while the getting is good. It's now time take a good look at verses 16-18:
Romans 8:16-18 "The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us" |
These verses were to give an amen to my comments about the power which is able to raise the God-Man from the dead belonging to Christ Jesus and to us as well.
To close out, verses 35 and 37 of Romans 8 solidifies hope and demonstrates that love triumphs:
To close out, verses 35 and 37 of Romans 8 solidifies hope and demonstrates that love triumphs:
Truly Romans 8 was an experience of scripture you might term "off the chain", or fantastic, wonderful good. Yes Lord, thank you so,much for your word, which brings life and light in power to anyone who might open up the door and let you in to sup with them.
"Praise", by Cameron Richard
Info from this site:
tennisforjesus.blogspot.com
"A friend just showed me this cartoon and I thought it was really good...
Info from this site:
tennisforjesus.blogspot.com
"A friend just showed me this cartoon and I thought it was really good...
it really does put things in perspective and I kinda relate a lot to this. The question shouldn't be 'why' when tough things happen but 'how' can I glorify God through my situation. God allows all things for good and for His glory... like when Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and unfairly imprisoned for so long. He couldn't see the purpose for the agony he was going through but God knew the whole picture and used Joseph's suffering to save his people. I want to be like Paul who rejoices in the Lord through his sufferings, confident that they are accomplishing good and furthering the Gospel. Praise is so important and I think that through it, we can better see ourselves and tune our hearts to be more like God's. For me, praising God through every situation allows me to become more aware of my own self-righteousness, self-pity and pride. I can release these things to God and praising Him tunes me in to His guidance. When I face struggles, I want to be able to say, "God I don't want you to remove this problem until You've done all You want to do through it, in me and in others."
"The Hope That Banishes Fear", from the book: "When God is Silent, by Luis Martinez
Info from this site: http://catholicexchange.com/hope-banishes-fear-2?mc_cid=6ddaed2a8d&mc_eid=13f85f01ef
Info from this site: http://catholicexchange.com/hope-banishes-fear-2?mc_cid=6ddaed2a8d&mc_eid=13f85f01ef
"Our frailty and our diffidence never cease to make objections. We are so inclined to mistrust. To be anxious seems to us so natural a thing that often we try to withdraw from the peace that God has given us. We wonder if it can be an illusion; we scrutinize to see whether we may not have reason to be disturbed. Perhaps it occurs to us to say, “How is it possible to live in peace, without uneasiness, in this sad exile, so far from our blessed Fatherland, exposed to the loss of our happiness forever? Could the Israelites live without worry when they were wandering over the desolate sands of the desert, so far from the Promised Land and so exposed to the possibility of never reaching that land overflowing with milk and honey?”
There are at least two justifiable motives for anxiety. First, will that happy day ever come in which the intense yearning of my soul for close union with God will be satisfied? Or shall I remain like Moses, contemplating the Promised Land from Mount Nebo, without ever setting foot thereon?” A second apparently legitimate reason for anxiety is this: If God loves me, if I am in His arms, from this viewpoint I should have no fear; but my frailty and my malice, which daily become more evident to me, will they not draw me away from the holy security of divine love? It is true that Jesus carries me in His arms, but do I not have the unfortunate prerogative of extricating myself? Jesus certainly loves me, but shall I also love Him? Shall I be faithful?
Do both of these causes of anxiety exist in reality? No. At first sight, they seem warranted, but our Lord placed in our soul some gifts so rich (we might even say divine) that they of themselves establish us in peace. One of these gifts is the divine virtue of hope, a heavenly virtue, yet a forgotten virtue. How few souls, even among those consecrated to God, give this neglected virtue the importance that it deserves! Practical-minded, we are preoccupied with more human virtues, more in touch with earth: mortification, humility, obedience. Some persons look upon hope as an impractical virtue, almost useless; at least they know neither when nor how to practice it. Nevertheless, hope is an eminently practical virtue; it is the virtue that drives far from our heart the specter of discouragement, the most frequent dangerous temptation in the spiritual life. As the inseparable companion of suffering, it confirms and strengthens peace in our soul.
Another motive of uneasiness is the preoccupation with the question of our attaining the divine union in the world and everlasting happiness in the next. In support of our fears, we hasten to quote certain scriptural passages, such as St. Peter’s admonition to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Solicitude is not synonymous with fear, not even the fear of God. The gift of the fear of God, the beginning of wisdom, is not a servile fear; it is a filial fear, the fear of the soul lest it lose its Beloved; it is a form of love. Evidently, such a fear is perfectly compatible with peace; we may say that it is one of the foundations of peace.
We can be sure that we shall attain union with God and eternal happiness, because we have God’s promise, and the promises of God are realities. Abraham received magnificent promises from God, and strange as it seems, none was to be fulfilled for four hundred years after the patriarch’s time. Nevertheless, those divine promises filled his life with peace and consolation; his strong faith and hope gave him to understand that a promise of God is a reality. Aware of man’s insincerity and limitations, we do not always place credence in human promises. God’s promise is reality. I have absolute certainty that what God has promised me will be fulfilled, because Heaven and earth shall pass away but God’s word shall never pass, because His name, as Scripture states, is Faithful and True. God has promised us eternal happiness, and to enable us to support the divine weight of that promise, He placed in our hearts the virtue of hope.
Divine hope is not like earthly hope. The latter is subject to disappointment, for however strong our security, it can either be realized or not realized. Who is the fortunate person who has seen all his hopes fulfilled in this world? But the theological virtue of hope is not subject to disappointment; it gives us the holy, invincible certainty that we shall obtain what God has promised. St. Thomas, whose authority is indisputable in the Church, poses a problem when treating of this virtue of hope: If someone receives a revelation that he is to be condemned, what should he do? The saint does not hesitate to answer: Let him not believe it, because such a revelation would be opposed to the virtue of hope, and even if an angel from Heaven brought the message, the certainty given me by the divine virtue of hope is above all the angels of Heaven. God has promised me eternal blessedness; that promise is as good as actual possession, for I enclose it within the confines of my impregnable hope. I do not base my hope on my liberty, so weak and fickle, nor on my limited strength, but upon the promise of God, His omnipotence, and His goodness.
Yet, someone may object that God has promised beatitude under such and such conditions. The conditions may be reduced to a single one, which was proclaimed by the angels at Bethlehem: “Peace on earth to men of good will.” They did not say “to men of character,” nor “to men of genius,” nor “to men of good deeds,” nor “to men of great virtue,” but “to men of good will.” When St. Thomas Aquinas’s sister asked him how to obtain salvation, he answered her with one phrase: “Will it.” Nothing more is necessary. The promises of God demand from us only this one condition: Will it! Do we not sometimes have inward experience of the good will the angels heralded in Bethlehem? It is true that our will is weak and vacillating, but the angels promised peace not to men of energetic, constant, or strong will, but to men of good will. Believe me, it takes a lot for a man to be damned — so much so, that at times I cannot explain the mystery to myself. It is not because I have no experience of man’s malice and ingratitude, nor because sin seems to me a rare occurrence. Therefore, hope gives us peace.
The virtue of hope has another important function in this life. Hope is the inseparable companion of suffering; suffering without hope is a bitter, insupportable burden. Suffering is sometimes debilitating, oppressive, crushing. It crushed Jesus Himself, the very strength of Heaven. Did He not feel overwhelmed that night in Gethsemane? Did He not sweat blood? Was He not in agony? Did He not feel the weariness and sadness of death? Did He not exclaim, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me”? And if suffering overwhelmed Jesus, why should it not crush our frailty? In the midst of our sufferings, we need something that will succor us in our weakness mercy, which struggles with the sinner until the final instant of life and support us in our wretchedness — something that, without blunting the pain, will make us see joy and happiness in the future and thus make us capable of persevering endurance.
Jesus Christ, as St. Paul teaches, foresaw the divine joy of glorifying the Father and the joy of making us happy, and because that joy was set before Him, He endured the Cross. The Cross is so beautiful, so fruitful, so very precious! But no one can support just the Cross alone. We can endure present suffering only so far as we can foresee future joy. It was thus that Jesus endured the Cross: “Jesus . . . for the joy that was set before Him, endured the Cross, despising the shame.” Therefore, hope, which holds out to us sweet joy and complete happiness, is the inseparable companion of sorrow. Suffering without hope is a sad, desolate experience; suffering with hope is a wonderful combination.
Permit me to make a comparison that, although rather prosaic, seems suitable for clarifying my thought. Just as physicians blend certain substances so that one may counteract the effect of the other in the resultant medicine, so Jesus has made a happy combination of pain and hope. Suffering is the potent medicine of the spiritual life, hope is added to pain, and, with this combination, we can travel in peace over the dismal desert of this world with eyes and heart fixed on the promised land of eternity. Let us note that hope gives us not only the assurance of beatitude, but also the certainty of all graces for our sanctification.
Sometimes we say to God, “Lord, I promise you such and such a thing, provided You give me Your grace.” Again, “If our Lord grants me His grace, I shall do this or that.” It seems to me a kind of spiritual pleonasm to place this condition, “If He gives me His grace,” because such a thing is not conditional but absolute. I have at hand the graces necessary for my salvation, because I have at hand the divine promise. Never will God’s grace be lacking to me, because God is faithful and has promised to give me all that I need for my soul’s salvation. Of course, if I begin to desire something that God has not promised, I must include the condition, “If God wants it, if God gives me His grace. But shall I correspond with God’s grace? Shall I not be unfaithful? This is the last stand of the diffident and the discouraged. I am sure that God has promised me beatitude and that He has put into my hands the necessary graces, but shall I correspond? Shall I preserve until the end the good will that I now possess?
To destroy this last doubt of the mistrustful, I offer two invulnerable points.The first point is that fidelity itself is a gift of God; He is able to give it to me, and Scripture assures me that He does. St. Paul declares that God gives “both the will to do it and the accomplishment of that will.” Since the will depends upon Him, it is not subject to the vicissitudes and the velleities of poor human frailty. Therefore, I hold fast to hope; I possess my soul in peace. Shall I persevere in the will to be faithful? Lord, into Your hands I place both my will and my fidelity. I hope from You not only Your promised graces but also the will which that promise includes.
Still another objection may need to be settled. Although my frailty is great and my amazing gift of liberty may snatch me from God’s arms to cast me down the slope that leads to the abyss, I know that God loves me sufficiently either not to allow this or, if He should permit it, to come to look for me. He will descend with His love and His omnipotence along the slope that leads to destruction and He will take me in His arms, and like a good shepherd, He will place me upon His shoulders and bring me back to the fold. No, I do not fear my weakness, for as St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus said, “I know upon what I am relying in the love and the mercy of my Savior.” If we understood these consoling truths, if we exercised and developed the virtue of hope within our own hearts, we would be established in peace, and the specter of distrust would disappear".
There are at least two justifiable motives for anxiety. First, will that happy day ever come in which the intense yearning of my soul for close union with God will be satisfied? Or shall I remain like Moses, contemplating the Promised Land from Mount Nebo, without ever setting foot thereon?” A second apparently legitimate reason for anxiety is this: If God loves me, if I am in His arms, from this viewpoint I should have no fear; but my frailty and my malice, which daily become more evident to me, will they not draw me away from the holy security of divine love? It is true that Jesus carries me in His arms, but do I not have the unfortunate prerogative of extricating myself? Jesus certainly loves me, but shall I also love Him? Shall I be faithful?
Do both of these causes of anxiety exist in reality? No. At first sight, they seem warranted, but our Lord placed in our soul some gifts so rich (we might even say divine) that they of themselves establish us in peace. One of these gifts is the divine virtue of hope, a heavenly virtue, yet a forgotten virtue. How few souls, even among those consecrated to God, give this neglected virtue the importance that it deserves! Practical-minded, we are preoccupied with more human virtues, more in touch with earth: mortification, humility, obedience. Some persons look upon hope as an impractical virtue, almost useless; at least they know neither when nor how to practice it. Nevertheless, hope is an eminently practical virtue; it is the virtue that drives far from our heart the specter of discouragement, the most frequent dangerous temptation in the spiritual life. As the inseparable companion of suffering, it confirms and strengthens peace in our soul.
Another motive of uneasiness is the preoccupation with the question of our attaining the divine union in the world and everlasting happiness in the next. In support of our fears, we hasten to quote certain scriptural passages, such as St. Peter’s admonition to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Solicitude is not synonymous with fear, not even the fear of God. The gift of the fear of God, the beginning of wisdom, is not a servile fear; it is a filial fear, the fear of the soul lest it lose its Beloved; it is a form of love. Evidently, such a fear is perfectly compatible with peace; we may say that it is one of the foundations of peace.
We can be sure that we shall attain union with God and eternal happiness, because we have God’s promise, and the promises of God are realities. Abraham received magnificent promises from God, and strange as it seems, none was to be fulfilled for four hundred years after the patriarch’s time. Nevertheless, those divine promises filled his life with peace and consolation; his strong faith and hope gave him to understand that a promise of God is a reality. Aware of man’s insincerity and limitations, we do not always place credence in human promises. God’s promise is reality. I have absolute certainty that what God has promised me will be fulfilled, because Heaven and earth shall pass away but God’s word shall never pass, because His name, as Scripture states, is Faithful and True. God has promised us eternal happiness, and to enable us to support the divine weight of that promise, He placed in our hearts the virtue of hope.
Divine hope is not like earthly hope. The latter is subject to disappointment, for however strong our security, it can either be realized or not realized. Who is the fortunate person who has seen all his hopes fulfilled in this world? But the theological virtue of hope is not subject to disappointment; it gives us the holy, invincible certainty that we shall obtain what God has promised. St. Thomas, whose authority is indisputable in the Church, poses a problem when treating of this virtue of hope: If someone receives a revelation that he is to be condemned, what should he do? The saint does not hesitate to answer: Let him not believe it, because such a revelation would be opposed to the virtue of hope, and even if an angel from Heaven brought the message, the certainty given me by the divine virtue of hope is above all the angels of Heaven. God has promised me eternal blessedness; that promise is as good as actual possession, for I enclose it within the confines of my impregnable hope. I do not base my hope on my liberty, so weak and fickle, nor on my limited strength, but upon the promise of God, His omnipotence, and His goodness.
Yet, someone may object that God has promised beatitude under such and such conditions. The conditions may be reduced to a single one, which was proclaimed by the angels at Bethlehem: “Peace on earth to men of good will.” They did not say “to men of character,” nor “to men of genius,” nor “to men of good deeds,” nor “to men of great virtue,” but “to men of good will.” When St. Thomas Aquinas’s sister asked him how to obtain salvation, he answered her with one phrase: “Will it.” Nothing more is necessary. The promises of God demand from us only this one condition: Will it! Do we not sometimes have inward experience of the good will the angels heralded in Bethlehem? It is true that our will is weak and vacillating, but the angels promised peace not to men of energetic, constant, or strong will, but to men of good will. Believe me, it takes a lot for a man to be damned — so much so, that at times I cannot explain the mystery to myself. It is not because I have no experience of man’s malice and ingratitude, nor because sin seems to me a rare occurrence. Therefore, hope gives us peace.
The virtue of hope has another important function in this life. Hope is the inseparable companion of suffering; suffering without hope is a bitter, insupportable burden. Suffering is sometimes debilitating, oppressive, crushing. It crushed Jesus Himself, the very strength of Heaven. Did He not feel overwhelmed that night in Gethsemane? Did He not sweat blood? Was He not in agony? Did He not feel the weariness and sadness of death? Did He not exclaim, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me”? And if suffering overwhelmed Jesus, why should it not crush our frailty? In the midst of our sufferings, we need something that will succor us in our weakness mercy, which struggles with the sinner until the final instant of life and support us in our wretchedness — something that, without blunting the pain, will make us see joy and happiness in the future and thus make us capable of persevering endurance.
Jesus Christ, as St. Paul teaches, foresaw the divine joy of glorifying the Father and the joy of making us happy, and because that joy was set before Him, He endured the Cross. The Cross is so beautiful, so fruitful, so very precious! But no one can support just the Cross alone. We can endure present suffering only so far as we can foresee future joy. It was thus that Jesus endured the Cross: “Jesus . . . for the joy that was set before Him, endured the Cross, despising the shame.” Therefore, hope, which holds out to us sweet joy and complete happiness, is the inseparable companion of sorrow. Suffering without hope is a sad, desolate experience; suffering with hope is a wonderful combination.
Permit me to make a comparison that, although rather prosaic, seems suitable for clarifying my thought. Just as physicians blend certain substances so that one may counteract the effect of the other in the resultant medicine, so Jesus has made a happy combination of pain and hope. Suffering is the potent medicine of the spiritual life, hope is added to pain, and, with this combination, we can travel in peace over the dismal desert of this world with eyes and heart fixed on the promised land of eternity. Let us note that hope gives us not only the assurance of beatitude, but also the certainty of all graces for our sanctification.
Sometimes we say to God, “Lord, I promise you such and such a thing, provided You give me Your grace.” Again, “If our Lord grants me His grace, I shall do this or that.” It seems to me a kind of spiritual pleonasm to place this condition, “If He gives me His grace,” because such a thing is not conditional but absolute. I have at hand the graces necessary for my salvation, because I have at hand the divine promise. Never will God’s grace be lacking to me, because God is faithful and has promised to give me all that I need for my soul’s salvation. Of course, if I begin to desire something that God has not promised, I must include the condition, “If God wants it, if God gives me His grace. But shall I correspond with God’s grace? Shall I not be unfaithful? This is the last stand of the diffident and the discouraged. I am sure that God has promised me beatitude and that He has put into my hands the necessary graces, but shall I correspond? Shall I preserve until the end the good will that I now possess?
To destroy this last doubt of the mistrustful, I offer two invulnerable points.The first point is that fidelity itself is a gift of God; He is able to give it to me, and Scripture assures me that He does. St. Paul declares that God gives “both the will to do it and the accomplishment of that will.” Since the will depends upon Him, it is not subject to the vicissitudes and the velleities of poor human frailty. Therefore, I hold fast to hope; I possess my soul in peace. Shall I persevere in the will to be faithful? Lord, into Your hands I place both my will and my fidelity. I hope from You not only Your promised graces but also the will which that promise includes.
Still another objection may need to be settled. Although my frailty is great and my amazing gift of liberty may snatch me from God’s arms to cast me down the slope that leads to the abyss, I know that God loves me sufficiently either not to allow this or, if He should permit it, to come to look for me. He will descend with His love and His omnipotence along the slope that leads to destruction and He will take me in His arms, and like a good shepherd, He will place me upon His shoulders and bring me back to the fold. No, I do not fear my weakness, for as St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus said, “I know upon what I am relying in the love and the mercy of my Savior.” If we understood these consoling truths, if we exercised and developed the virtue of hope within our own hearts, we would be established in peace, and the specter of distrust would disappear".
Video presentation: "God is merciful", by Marino Restrepo
Link to YouTube video:
youtu.be/gKphZpMbHVc
Link to YouTube video:
youtu.be/gKphZpMbHVc