Part one (9): Perfection of Submission and Christian Obedience

Xxiv. Perfection of Submission and Christian Obedience

Not only did our Lord Jesus Christ do everything His Father willed, and submit to Him and to all things for love of Him, but He also found all His contentment, His happiness, His paradise in doing so: Meus cibus est, ut faciam voluntatem ejus qui misit me: "My meat," He said, "is to do the will of him that sent me" (John 4, 34). In other words, I find nothing more desirable, nor more delightful than to do the will of my Father." In the performance of everything that He did, He took infinite satisfaction, because it was His Father's will. He found His joy and happiness according to the spirit in the sufferings He bore, because they were His Father's good pleasure. And so, speaking of the day of His passion and death, the Holy Ghost calls i t the "day of the joy of his heart" (Cant. 3, 11). He likewise found peace and satisfaction of soul in all the things He saw happen and destined to happen in the world, since in all things He considered nothing but His Father's most adorable will.

So also, in so far as you are Christians, who ought to be invested with the sentiments and dispositions of your Head, you should not only submit to God and to all things for love of God, but you should also find all your satisfaction and your paradise in so doing. It is in this that the highest perfection of Christian submission consists. This is our prayer each day to God as we say: Fiat voluntas tua, sicut i n coelo, et in terra: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaved' (Matt. 6, io). For the saints in heaven, the accomplishment of the will of God is so completely adequate to give them felicity and heavenly bliss, that many of them, even beholding their dearest loved ones punished in hell, must rejoice in the manifestation of God's eternal justice. This is possible because the saints are completely one with God and have no choice or understanding of things other than His Holy will. God, however, wills that His justice be carried out upon these wretches who have fully deserved it, and He finds infinite satisfaction in the effects of His justice, just as He does in the works of His mercy. Therefore, the saints also find satisfaction in them:

Laetabitur justus cum viderit vindictam; manus suas lavabit in sanguine peccatoris: "The just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge; he shall wash his hands in the blood of the sinner" (Ps. 57, 11). Thus you must seek all your joy in the effects of the divine will, since you ought to strive to do that will on earth as it is done in heaven.

There are two reasons why you are bound to do this:

1. Since you are created only to glorify God, and God's glory is your last end, it follows that all your joy should spring from God's glory, and, therefore, from all the effects of His divine will, because they all operate for His greater glory.

2. Since Our Lord has told you that it is His divine wish for you to be one with Him and with His Father, it follows that you should be of but one mind and sentiment with Him, just as are the blessed i n heaven. You must, consequently, find all your joy, your blessedness and your heaven in that very same think which is the heaven and blessedness of the saints, the most Blessed Virgin, the Son of God and the Eternal Father.

Now the saints, the most Blessed Virgin, the Son of God and the Eternal Father take pleasure and find heaven in all things, because they see God's will in all things. God takes infinite satisfaction and joy in all that He wills or permits, and in all His works: Laetabitur > Dominus in operibus suis (Ps. 103, 31). He would not be God if He were not infinitely satisfied with everything that He does. So true is this, that He i s just as much pleased with the enforcement of divine justice He inflicted upon the damned, as with the effects Of providential goodness lavished upon the blessed. Holy Scripture says: "As the Lord rejoiced upon you before doing good to you, so he shall rejoice destroying and bringing you to nought" (Deut. 28, 6 3 ) . Hence also, you must find all your joy and your heaven in all that is willed, or permitted or worked by God, and in all things in general, excepting in sin, which you must detest and abhor; yet you must adore and bless Pod's permission and the ordering of His justice, which by a just judgment permits that, as punishment for one sin, the sinner may fall into another.

Thus, by Our Lord's grace, you have a means of being always satisfied in life and of possessing heaven on earth. You would indeed be

very hard to please, if you were not satisfied with what satisfies God, the angels and the saints, who rejoice, not so much in their own great glory as in the accomplishment of God's will in them-that is, in the fact that God derives pleasure and contentment from glorifying His faithful servants. Nor do you have any cause for complaint if you are in the paradise of the Mother of God, the Son of God and the Eternal Father.

Xxv. Practice of Perfect Christian Submission

If, then, you desire to possess a real heaven on earth, pray that Jesus may fill you with these holy dispositions of perfect submission to all that He divinely wills. In order to do your own share and cooperate with Him, try not only to submit to God in all things, but also to submit to Him with joy and satisfaction.

When performing any action, try to perform it not only for love of Our Lord, but out of so much love for Him that all your satisfaction, your joy and your heaven consist in performing it, simply because it i s an act of love of Him, and because it is His will and His good pleasure that you should do it.

When anything happens to you against your will and contrary to your hopes, take satisfaction in i t , because it is God's will. If anything is favorable to your will or your plans, be glad, not because your wish has come true, but God's will has been accomplished.

In all that happens in the world, see only God's will and permission. In view of the fact that He takes pleasure in all that He wills, whether absolutely or permissively, and that all things ever accrue to His gain, and that He ever draws forth greater glory from everything, you must detest the sins committed against Him, in the events of daily life and be pleased with the things in which He takes His good pleasure.

I do not say that you should derive sensible pleasure and joy from all that you do or suffer, or from all that happens in the world, for that is possible only to the blessed. But I am here speaking of joy and satisfaction of the spirit and of the will, which you may easily obtain, with the help of Our Lord's grace, since all you have to do is to say: "My God, if it be pleasing to Thee, I desire for Thy love to take all

my pleasure in willing, doing or suffering this or that, because it is Thy will and pleases Thee." Thus you will obtain satisfaction of your mind and will in all things. Furthermore, a frequent repetition of this practice will diminish and destroy whatever pain and natural distaste you may happen to feel, in various situations, and will help you to enjoy sweetness and satisfaction, even of the senses, in cases where you found bitterness and pain before.

To familiarize yourself with this practice, acquire the habit of lifting up your heart to Jesus, on the occasion of everything you see happen in the world and say to Him:

"0 Jesus, it is Thee Who dost ordain, or permit these things, and Thou dost will all things with an infinite satisfaction. 0 my God, I give myself to Thee; may it please Thee to make me one with Thee i n spirit, will and disposition. Make me will all that Thou dost will and make me will it as Thou dost, contentedly. May I find all my joy and heavenly bliss in all that Thou dost will or do." With regard to things that arouse repugnance and distaste in you, say:

"0 Jesus, in spite of all my repugnance and the contrariness of my self-will and self-love, I desire to suffer this pain or affliction for love of Thee. I desire to suffer it with so much love for Thee, as to find in it all my joy and heavenly bliss, because it is Thy holy will." Concerning things which give you consolation and satisfaction, say:

"0 Jesus, I am glad this has turned out as it has (or else, I desire to do this act) not merely because it has turned out in a way that is pleasing to me (or because it gives me satisfaction to perform this act), but because it is Thy will and Thy pleasure that it should happen thus (or that I should do what I am about to do)." In so doing, you will begin to enjoy heaven even in this world. You will taste perpetual peace and contentment. You will perform your actions as God performs His own, even as Jesus Christ our Lord performed His, when He was on earth, in a spirit of joy and contentment. This is the true joy He asked of His Father for you on the eve of His death, in these words: Ut habeant gaudium meum impletum

in semetipsis. "That they may have my joy filled in themselves" (John 17, 13).

Here, then, is the supreme perfection of Christian submissiveness and of pure love of God, for the highest degree of divine love consists in doing, suffering and accepting all things for the love of God, with joy and contentedness. Anyone who makes a holy use of all the things that occur in the world, who will suffer with these dispositions all the trials that come upon him and perform his actions in this spirit of submission, will give God more glory and satisfaction, will make more progress, in one day, in the paths of His love, than he would do in his whole life by following any other course.

Xxvi. Christian Charity

When the Son of God tells you, in His Gospel, that the first and greatest commandment is to love God with your whole heart and your whole soul and with all your strength, it is with good reason that He went on to declare that the second commandment, by which you are obliged to love your neighbor as yourself, i s like unto the first. For the love of God and of your neighbor cannot be separated. These are not two different loves, but a single, uniform love. And you are bound to love your neighbor with the same affection and with the same love with which you love God, because you should love your fellow men not in and for themselves, but in and for God. Briefly, it is God Himself that you should love in your neighbor.

Jesus loves you in this way. He loves you in and for His Heavenly Father, or rather He loves His Father in you, and He wants you to love one another as He loves you. "This," He says, "is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you (John 15, 12).

This, then, is what constitutes Christian charity: to love one another as Jesus loves you. So great i s His love for you that He gives you all that He has, His riches, His own self; and He devotes all the powers of His wisdom and goodness to doing good to,you. So exceedingly great is His charity toward you that, for a great length of time and with very much gentleness and patience, He tolerates your defects. He is the first to seek you out when you have offended Him. He seems almost to prefer your comforts, pleasures and interests to His

own, since, during His earthly life, He subjected Himself to every form of trouble, sorrow and suffering to deliver you from affliction and make you happy. He has, in a word, so much love for you that He devotes to you His whole life, His soul, His time, His eternity, His divinity and His humanity-all that He is, all that He has and all that He can do. In His thoughts, His words, and His actions He is all charity and love for you.

This is the standard and model of Christian charity. This is what He asks of you, when He commands you to love One another as He loves you. This is how you ought to love one another, acting towards your neighbor as Jesus did to you, according to the power He gives you.

To excite and urge yourself to love your fellow men with true charity consider your neighbor as existing in God and God in him. I mean, look upon him as a being who has come forth from God's Heart and His goodness; as a being participating in God, created to return to God, to be one day ensconced in the bosom of God to glorify God eternally, and as a creature in which God will, indeed, be eternally glorified, either through mercy or through justice. Consider your neighbor as the object of the love of God, no matter what his condition may be: for God loves everything He has created, even the devils, in so far as they are His creatures and He does not hate anything that He has made. Sin alone He holds in abhorrence and sin was not made by Him. Your neighbor is an individual who has sprung from the same principle as yourself, a child of the same Father, created for the same end, belonging to the same Lord, redeemed at the same price, the infinitely Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. See in him a member of the same Head, Christ, and of the same body, the Church of Christ, nourished by the same food, the precious body and blood of Jesus Christ. Consequently you should be of one mind, one soul, and one heart with him.

You must also regard your neighbor as the temple of the living God, bearing in himself the image of the Blessed Trinity and the character of Jesus Christ. He is part of Jesus Christ, bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh. See him as one for whom Jesus labored and suffered so much, spent so much precious effort and time, and gave His

blood and His life. Finally, consider him as one recommended to you, by Jesus, as His own equal: for He said that whatsoever you should do to the least of His little ones, that is, of those who believe in Him, He would consider it as done to Himself (Matt. 25, 40). Oh, if you only pondered and thoroughly thought out the importance of these truths, what charity, what respect, what honor you would entertain for one another! How you would fear to offend against unity and Christian charity, whether in thoughts, words or deeds! What would you not do, what would you not suffer for one another! How charitably and patiently would you bear with the faults of others, and excuse them! With what gentleness, modesty and restraint would you converse one with another! How careful would you be to "please your neighbor unto good, to edification" as St. Paul says (Rom. 15, 2). 0 Jesus, God of love and charity, impress these truths and these dispositions upon our minds and our hearts.

Xxvii. Practice of Christian Charity

If you desire to live in the spirit of Christian charity, which is nothing else but a continuation and fulfilment of the charity of Jesus, you must frequently exercise yourself in the following practices.

Adore Jesus, who is all charity. Bless Him for all the glory He gave to His Father by His continual acts of charity. Ask Him to forgive all the failings of which you have ever been guilty, with respect to this virtue, praying Him to offer His charity to His Father for you, as reparation for these failings. Give yourself to Him, begging Him to destroy all that is contrary to charity, in your thoughts, words and actions, and to cause His own most perfect charity to live and reign in you.

Often ponder these beautiful words of St. Paul: "Charity is patient, is kind: charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely; is not puffed up; is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never falleth away" (1 Cor. 13, 4-8).

Adore Jesus who pronounces these words by the lips of St. Paul. Offer yourself to Him, with the firm purpose of making this living

charity a real part of your life. Beg the All-loving Christ to give you grace for that purpose.

Whenever you render a service to another person, and in all the actions you perform for others, whether as a duty or out of charity, lift up your heart to Jesus and say to Him:

"0 Jesus, I desire to perform this action, if it please Thee, in honor of and together with Thy charity towards this person, and for love of Thyself, Whom I desire to see and serve in him." When necessity demands that you give your body some rest, nourishment or refreshments, do so with this same intention, looking upon your health, your life and your body not as belonging to yourself but as one of Christ's members, according to St. Paul, as something pertaining to Jesus, Corpus autem Domino, "The body for the Lord" (I Cor. 6, 13), which you must, consequently, protect and nourish not for yourself but for Jesus, in so far as your body is necessary for His service. And imitate St. Gertrude i n remembering, in this connection, the fact that Our Lord said whatever was done to the least of His little ones, would be done to Him (Matt. 25, 40).

When you greet someone, or show him respect, greet and respect him. as the temple and image of God and as a member of Jesus Christ.

Where an occasion presents itself for polite conversation, or an exchange of compliments, do not allow your lips to utter friendly words that do not come from your heart. There exists the following difference between Christian souls and worldly souls, namely, that, while they both make use of the same compliments and polite phrases that are customary when one meets a friend or goes visiting, the Christian utters them from his heart, while the worldling has them only On his lips, and speaks them in a spirit of falsehood and simulated friendliness.

I do not say that it is necessary for your mind to be always alert and busy at the task of forming these thoughts and intentions every time you meet somebody, or say a word or two in courteous greeting, o r lend a helping hand even though that would be a good thing. But at least have the general intention of doing all things, always, in

this spirit of Christ's charity; and try to renew the intention before God, when He brings the thought to your mind.

Whenever another person arouses in you any distaste or aversion, or feelings of envy, be sure to renounce them vigorously, at once, and dash them down at the feet of Our Lord, asking Him to eliminate these sensations and fill you with His divine charity. Be sure to make interior acts of charity towards that person, in the following terms:

"0 Jesus, I desire to love this person for love of Thee. Yes, my Saviour, I want to love him with m y whole heart, together with and in honor of Thy charity towards Him. And I offer myself to Thee to do and suffer whatever Thou dost please, for that person." Moreover, make the effort to speak to him and to perform some external acts of charity towards him, and do not stop until you have utterly wiped out, within yourself, this feeling of aversion and antipathy.

If you have been offended, or have offended another, do not wait for him to seek you out, but remember that our Lord said: If therefore thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember that thy brother bath anything against thee; leave there thy offering before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother" (Matt. 5, 23- 24). So, to do honor to the fact that He was the first to seek you out, He Who i s so bountiful and generous in favors to you, Who receives from you nothing but hurts and offenses, and to obey these words of His, go and find the one you have offended or who has offended you, and be reconciled with him, disposing yourself to talk to him in a spirit of forgiveness, gentleness, peace and humility.

If unfavorable remarks about someone else are made in your presence, disregard them; change the subject if possible, in a prudent and tactful way trying to manage it so that nothing further will be said; i f the conversation goes on, it would be better to keep quiet and evince no awareness of or interest in the subject.

Pray to Our Lord, especially, to implant in your heart charity and warm affection for the poor, strangers, widows and orphans. Consider such as these to be persons recommended to you by your greatest friend, Jesus Christ, who in Holy Scripture very Often and very emphatically recommends them to you as deserving all the atten-

tion you would give to Him in person. With this in mind, then, be kind in speaking to them, treat them charitably and give them all the help you can.