XXV — JUSTICE AND RELIGION

Presence of God. — Grant, O Lord, that my whole life may be a continual act of homage to You.

Meditation

1 — The virtue of religion is that which inclines us to offer God the honor and worship due to Him. In this sense it is linked to the virtue of justice, whose demands, however, it cannot fully realize, but to which it seeks to draw as near as possible. Our religion becomes capable of honoring God in a manner worthy of Him only insofar as it participates in Christ’s religion, that is, insofar as it associates itself with the homages, adorations, praises, offerings that rise from his Heart to the heavenly Father. Jesus was the religious one par excellence in the sense that all his affections, his activity, his will were oriented to the Father’s glory and his service, so that his whole life was a continual act of worship, of religion. “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Lk. 2:49): this is the fundamental attitude of his spirit. Jesus, who in the secrecy of his heart unceasingly adores the Trinity; who so often also outwardly expressed his prayer by raising his eyes to heaven and invoking the Father; who spends much of the night in solitary colloquy with Him; who goes punctually to the temple of Jerusalem for all acts of external worship prescribed by law; who dies on the Cross to offer the Trinity a sacrifice worthy of It — tells us wherein the true virtue of religion consists. First of all, it is interior worship because “God is spirit, and those who adore Him must adore in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4:24); but it is also external worship because our whole being, and therefore also our body, must take part in the homages we owe God.

Religious, who by vows consecrate themselves totally to God’s service, realize to the highest degree the virtue of religion, on condition however that they live their commitments “in spirit and truth.” But even one not bound by vows must seek, in all actions, always to have in view God’s glory, honor, and service, and therefore must perform them so that they can be presented to Him as acts of homage, offering, sacrifice. Thus the virtue of religion, instead of concerning only the hours of prayer, comes to embrace our whole life, transforming it, in imitation of Jesus’ life and in union with it, into a continual act of homage to God.

Colloquy

“What shall I render You, O Lord, in return for all your gifts? Reason and natural instinct require that I give myself entirely to You, from whom I have received all that I am, and command me to love You with all my strength. But faith teaches me that I must love You still more, insofar as your gifts surpass my very self: for You have given me not only my own being, but also, by grace, your own.

“If already by reason of creation I owe myself entirely to You, what shall I add in return for my redemption? In creation You gave me myself; in redemption You gave Yourself to me, and by giving Yourself You restored me to myself. Given and restored, I owe myself to You in return for myself, and I owe myself twice. But what shall I be able to give You, O God, in return for Yourself? Even if I could give myself to You a thousand times, what am I in comparison with You?

“I will love You, O Lord, I will love You who are my strength, my support, my refuge, my deliverer. I will love You for your gifts and according to my measure, which will certainly be below the just measure, but not below my capacity to love You. Without doubt I shall know how to love You more when You deign to give me greater love, and yet I will never love You as much as You deserve. Your eyes have seen my imperfection, but in your book will be written those who do all they can, even if they cannot do all they ought” (St. Bernard).

“I invoke You, O almighty Father, by the charity of your almighty Son. Nor do I know what other intercessor I could find except this One, who made Himself punishment for our sins. I beg You through Him, Supreme Priest, true Pontiff and good Shepherd, who offered Himself in sacrifice, giving his life for his flock. I beg You through Him, who sits at your right hand and intercedes for us, that You grant me grace to bless and glorify You together with Him with much compunction of heart, with many tears, with much reverence.

“Behold my advocate with You, God the Father; behold the holy Victim pleasing to You, perfect, offered as sweet odor and accepted by You” (St. Augustine).