Vol 8 Issue 31 ~ Editor: Rev. Fr. Courtney Edward Krier
August 1, 2015 ~ St Peter in Chains

1. Baptism: Means of Salvation (27)
2. Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
3. St Alphonsus Ligouri
4. Christ in the Home (2)
5. Articles and notices

Dear Reader:

As the minions of the Prince of this World are upset over the killing of Cecil the lion, the kangaroo courts here in the United States of America are blocking exposure of the horrible murder of babies by Cecile (head of Planned Parenthood of AntiChrist) for the pleasure of the Dr Jekylls and Mr Hydes in society. The young ladies who have risen up to defend the innocent have become Joan of Arcs since the male leaders have become entangled in the questions of PC and can’t decide who to support for fear of losing their earthly possessions and careers. I know one candidate from the East Coast excused himself from his moral obligation lest he not win the next election since it was more important to retain his seat than oppose viciousness. One must admit that Catholics deserve their faith be taken away since they have no need of it and hide their faith, as an embarrassing old garment, in the back closet—not realizing the preciousness of that ancient faith if the minions of the Prince of this World are doing everything to steal that faith from them—for it can obtain eternal life. Unfortunately, like Joan of Arc, these young ladies will be betrayed and handed over by the very women they are fighting for: Mothers—because too many women would rather have bloody money than blessed children. If you happen to meet some of these courageous young ladies, thank them for standing up for you in the fight against the subjugating forces of injustice and iniquity.

As always, enjoy the readings and commentaries provided for your benefit.—The Editor

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Baptism

Means of Salvation

Preparation for Grace

Introduction (c)

Justification, Righteousness and Sanctifying Grace

Having covered Faith in the last section, the next topic will be that of justification. Justification is the same as sanctification in as much as you cannot have one without the other. It is like the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist: even though one divides the Holy Eucharist into Sacrament and Sacrifice, there is not one without the other. You cannot have the Holy Eucharist without the Sacrifice and you cannot have the Sacrifice with the Sacrament (the consumption of the Body and Blood of Christ).

Justification is the translation from that condition in which man is born as the son of the first Adam into the state of grace and adoption among the children of God through the second Adam, Jesus Christ, our Saviour  (translatio ab eo statu, in quo homo nascitur filius primi Adae, in statum gratiae et adoptionis filiorum Dei per secundum Adam Jesus Christum Salvatorem nostrum; D 796) This definition from the Council of Trent was decreed during the Sixth Session on January 13, 1547. The Council took the words of Saint Paul to the Colossians: Who [The Father] hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins (1:13-14); and also Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Romans: For you have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear; but you have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba, Father (8:15).

Since the topic of justification (salvation) in the Old Testament was covered amply in earlier sections, there will not be a detailed outline presented again, but here justification will presented as that which has pertinence to those living in the New Testament. Some may associate justification as an Old Testament word or as a Protestant concept. That it comes from the Old Testament was explained (CTN 302, 4b) while acknowledging that Saint Paul, in Romans 1:17, Galations 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38, was repeating the words of Habacuc 2:4:the just shall live in his faith. The Protestants insist on this word justificationsince they reject the word sanctification.

An attempt will be made here to present the controversy of justification in the New Testament and patience may be asked of the reader, for a proper understanding, as has been the goal of these writings, not only differentiates what is Catholic teaching, but influences the whole life of the believing Catholic.

Already, as has also been noted, Saint Paul was both instructing the converts from Judaism and Paganism as also opposing those who were trying to Judaize the Christian communities. Today a Jew is a Jew, not because of faith, but because of birth (not even circumcision is required). It is the end result of stressing “works” which, leaving out faith, departs then from salvation. But, there were also those in the very beginning who also looked at faith, and therefore rejected works completely, most claiming support of St. Paul. St. Peter writes in his Second Epistle against those who would hold faith in Christ but not practice the morality that conforms to that faith:

[Fly] the corruption of that concupiscence which is in the world. And you, employing all care, minister in your faith, virtue; and in virtue, knowledge; And in knowledge, abstinence; and in abstinence, patience; and in patience, godliness; And in godliness, love of brotherhood; and in love of brotherhood, charity. For if these things be with you and abound, they will make you to be neither empty nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he that hath not these things with him, is blind, and groping, having forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore, brethren, labour the more, that by good works you may make sure your calling and election. For doing these things, you shall not sin at any time. (2 Peter 4-10)

For he sees that the source is private interpretation of Scripture (v. 20) and the misinterpretation of Saint Paul in which are certain things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction (3:16).

St. James’ Epistle (which Luther called a “straw epistle” in his first preface to his biblical translation in 1522 since it contradicted his solafideism) is found to also opposing those who take St Paul’s writing as absolution from good works:

What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but hath not works? Shall faith be able to save him? And if a brother or sister be naked, and want daily food: And one of you say to them: Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; yet give them not those things that are necessary for the body, what shall it profit? So faith also, if it have not works, is dead in itself. But some man will say: Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without works; and I will shew thee, by works, my faith. Thou believest that there is one God. Thou dost well: the devils also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, offering up Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou, that faith did co-operate with his works; and by works faith was made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled, saying: Abraham believed God, and it was reputed to him to justice, and he was called the friend of God. Do you see that by works a man is justified; and not by faith only? And in like manner also Rahab the harlot, was not she justified by works, receiving the messengers, and sending them out another way? For even as the body without the spirit is dead; so also faith without works is dead.(James 2:14-26)

Saint Jude has already warned the faithful before Saint Peter (who expands Jude’s admonition) against those who claimed freedom from the Law in virtue of the Redemption:

Dearly beloved, taking all care to write unto you concerning your common salvation, I was under a necessity to write unto you: to beseech you to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. For certain men are secretly entered in, (who were written of long ago unto this judgment,) ungodly men, turning the grace of our Lord God into riotousness, and denying the only sovereign Ruler, and our Lord Jesus Christ. I will therefore admonish you, though ye once knew all things, that Jesus, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, did afterwards destroy them that believed not [cf. Num. 14:1-36]; And the angels who kept not their principality, but forsook their own habitation, he hath reserved under darkness in everlasting chains, unto the judgment of the great day. As Sodom and Gomorrha, and the neighbouring cities, in like manner, having given themselves to fornication, and going after other flesh, were made an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire. In like manner these men also defile the flesh, and despise dominion, and blaspheme majesty. (Jude 3-8)

Finally, Saint John also took up the battle against the Nicolaites (as the antinomians were called in Asia Minor) and Gnostics (those who held salvation was obtained by knowledge alone) as is read in the Apocalypse:

But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaites, which I also hate. He, that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches: To him, that overcometh, I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of my God. . . . And to the angel of the church of Pergamus write: These things, saith he, that hath the sharp two edged sword: I know where thou dwellest, where the seat of Satan is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith. Even in those days when Antipas was my faithful witness, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. But I have against thee a few things: because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat, and to commit fornication: So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaites. In like manner do penance: if not, I will come to thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. (Apoc. 6-7, 12-16)

These antinomians (against the laws of the Old and New Testament, or the moral laws), who looked at justification as an external act that did not have an internal effect on the soul (grace), held the belief that as good works do not promote salvation, so neither do evil works hinder it and as justified Christians, they are incapable of losing their spiritual holiness, justification, and final salvation by any act of disobedience to, or even by any direct violation of the law of God. (CE, Antinomians)

As Peter, in his Epistle, exalts Paul, there was not a controversy between the Apostles in the doctrine of Justification (as there was with the rite of circumcision and eating certain meat); rather, all the Apostles were in agreement in opposition to those who would reject the necessity of works. Even Paul, writing to the Corinthians, says faith is nothing without works, that is, a living faith which is expressed in charity:

If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 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: whether prophecies shall be made void, or tongues shall cease, or knowledge shall be destroyed. (1 Cor. 13:1-8)

Thomas Aquinas, in his Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians, writes regarding verse 2:

If, I say, I had all the above pertaining to the perfection of the intellect, and have not charity, through which the intellect is perfected, I am nothing, according to the order of grace, about which it says in Eph (2:10): “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” Hence Ez (28:19) says against someone: “You have come to a dreadful end, and shall be no more forever.” This occurs on account of a lack of charity, however, its use is not good. Hence it says above (8:1): “Knowledge puffs up, but charity builds up.” (766)

Previously, in Chapter 6, he already spoke of their evil works, adding:

Know you not that the unjust shall not possess the kingdom of God? Do not err: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor liers with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, shall possess the kingdom of God. And such some of you were; but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Spirit of our God. (9-11)

And he stresses a life of charity in Galatians, noting that not living the law, summed up in Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, there is no justification:

For you, brethren, have been called unto liberty: only make not liberty an occasion to the flesh, but by charity of the spirit serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if you bite and devour one another; take heed you be not consumed one of another. I say then, walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the spirit: and the spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary one to another: so that you do not the things that you would. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury, Idolatry, witchcrafts, enmities, contentions, emulations, wraths, quarrels, dissensions, sects, Envies, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like. Of the which I foretell you, as I have foretold to you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, Mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity. Against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’ s, have crucified their flesh, with the vices and concupiscences. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (13-25) 

These sects that would reject Apostolic teaching from the beginning and had been condemned by the Apostles would continue under the guise of various forms and admixtures of Gnosticism, Manichaeanism and Antinomianism such as the Montanists, Paulicians, Cathari, Albigensians, Waldensians and, those coming after the Reformation, the Anabaptists. [It may be remembered that Jorge Bergoglio recently went to the Waldensian sect in Turin to apologize.]

(To be continued)

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Week of Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Benedict Baur, O.S.B. 

“The Spirit worketh in us”

1. “God worketh all in all” (Epistle). God’s grace is the foundation of Christian humility. “By the grace of God, I am what I am; and His grace in me hath not been void, but I have labored more abundantly than all they; yet not I, but the grace of God with me” (I Cor. 15: 10). What is the Apostle by himself? He calls himself “one born out of due time,” unworthy of the vocation of an apostle of Christ. “For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God” (I Cor. 15:9). God gives His grace to the humble of heart: to the publican, who repentantly strikes his breast, to those men who, like St. Paul, think little of themselves. God works great wonders in a humble heart.
2. It is “God who worketh in you, both to will and to accomplish, according to His good will” (Phil. 2:13). For sin we are sufficient in ourselves, for our whole nature was inclined to evil once it had been weakened through original sin. Our reason lacks clear vision in many important questions if light from above is not given to it through the channels of grace. Our will is paralyzed, weakened, and inclined to evil. The passions pervert the spirit, dragging it all too often down to their own level; concupiscence has an uncanny power over the imagination, the thoughts, the instincts, and the inclinations of man. So man is self-sufficient for sinning, but not for avoiding and conquering sin. He is equally unable to perform works of supernatural value, works that please God. We are not “sufficient to think anything of ourselves as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God” (II Cor. 3:5). We are unable to work anything at all supernaturally good, for it is “God who worketh all in all.” If He does not awaken and stir our will, we never shall be able to perform even the slightest good work. His spirit must move and direct our will; the first impulse, the very beginning of every good work and action, is not from ourselves, but is the result of God’s grace and mercy towards us. The right will must be given to us by God. “What hast thou that thou hast not received? And if thou hast received, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?” (I Cor. 4:7.) It is God who worketh all in all; we are entirely impotent and helpless by ourselves.

It is “God who worketh all in all.” He works at the beginning, during the performance, and at the completion of the work. Every act of ours receives its existence, measure, direction, and duration from God. Where He is not present, there are no good works. Our actions are determined by God in two ways: God ordains them and inspires us to perform them; God’s action gives our actions duration and value. Our activity can neither precede God’s activity nor continue without it, being in every respect dependent upon Him. If we perform good works, God has given us not only the will to do this particular good work, but also the power to accomplish it. This grace has in no way been merited by us. How, therefore, can we ever boast of the good we have done? Can we justly ascribe it to our own powers? How can we extol our own work as if we had done anything good by our own power? “God worketh all in all.” “No flesh should glory in His sight” (I Cor. 1:29). If the Lord must give us the will as well as the power to do good, if “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy” (Rom. 9: 16), how can we in any way rely on our own will and strength? With the Apostle we must confess humbly and gratefully: “By the grace of God, I am what I am” (I Cor. 15: 10).

3. “Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it. It is vain for you to rise before light” (Ps. 126: 1 f.) It is God’s work that matters. If He is not the coworker, the work of man is in vain; without God it is without blessing and fruit. “It is vain for you to rise before light,” preferring to act and work first before He starts with His work. Actions that are the work of man’s spirit and powers and are not moved by God’s grace, actions that are not dependent on His will and work, will be without fruit.

“He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” This is the secret of true piety. If we humbly submit ourselves to God’s will, we have started on the right path. “Rise ye after you have sitten” (Ps. 126:2). First of all we must sit, rest, accept wholeheartedly God’s working within our souls; then we must rise and work with the power of God’s help. With His help we are confident that we can accomplish all things. “To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul; in Thee, O my God, I put my trust” (Offertory).

PRAYER

O God, who dost manifest Thy almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity; increase Thy mercy towards us, that we, seeking the way of Thy promises, may be made partakers of Thy heavenly treasures. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

True prayer

1. The Gospel shows us two men praying in the Temple. One of them begins thus: “O God, I give Thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men. . . . I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I possess.” The other stands afar off, and “would not so much as lift up his eyes towards heaven.” He strikes his breast, saying: “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” The one boastfully asserts that there is nothing he must pray for. Sufficient in himself, he remains within himself, expecting to receive everything from himself and believing himself able to fulfill all his needs by himself. The other man prays, going outside of himself; he opens his heart that God may give him something, thus lifting himself beyond his self to God.
2. “To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul; in Thee, O my God, I put my trust” (Offertory). When we pray we go outside of ourselves, lifting our heart towards God. But who can lift us towards Him, unless He does so Himself? Of our own power we are unable to escape from ourselves. As long as we rely on ourselves, like the Pharisee in the Temple, we are unable” to transcend our own being; we remain within ourselves, excluding the influence of God’s grace. With such pride we cannot truly pray: “To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul.” Pride does not pray; only humility prays, because it does not feel sufficient in itself. Abandoning itself, humility professes its dependence on God. Thus it can truly say: “To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul.” He who speaks in such a way receives nothing from himself; but he receives everything from God. All that he has received he returns to God without retaining anything for himself or ascribing anything to his own powers. Having nothing of himself, keeping nothing for himself, he admits that he has received everything he possesses from God and for God. He can truly say: “To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul.” This is a genuine prayer to God and denotes a true union with Him. It requires the giving up of one’s self in order to adhere to God, in order to will and love only what God wills and what is pleasing to Him. Such an attitude of mind is founded on humility.

“In Thee, O my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed” (Offertory); that is, I shall be heard. “When I cried to the Lord, He heard my voice, from them that draw near to me” (Introit) Genuine and humble prayer is always accepted by God. “He that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Gospel). Such is a fundamental law of the spiritual life. The word of the Baptist will always be true: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). In the measure we go outside of ourselves in prayer, God enters into our souls, filling us with His gifts and graces. The more we renounce ourselves in prayer, the more we grow in love for God. The more we decrease, the more He increases within us until that day when, humility and self-renunciation having become perfect, everything we are is from God and for God. Genuine prayer enlarges our hearts, enabling us to receive all the gifts of God, even God Himself. When He is within us, He will be also for us; and “if God be for us, who is against us?” (Rom. 8:31.) “When I cried to the Lord, He heard my voice, from them that draw near to me; and He humbled them, who is before all ages, and remains forever” (Introit).

3. The publican prayed and went down to his house justified. Such is the power of genuine, humble prayer. We experience this power of prayer all the more intimately when we unite our prayers with those of the praying Church. Through liturgical prayers we increase our power, we renounce our individuality and enter into communion with the praying Church. “To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul” in union with the praying Church. Then it can be truly said of us: “This man went down to his house justified.”

We shall pray well and fruitfully to the extent to which we humbly forget ourselves and renounce our own will and desires. Sometimes we feel unhappy if we do not obtain what we desire and pray for. It is our pride and self-will that is wounded. Our prayer, however, will be all the better and more efficacious the more humbly we acknowledge our failures and our weakness and let the Lord direct our ways as He pleases. Only of the man who sincerely prays with humility did the Lord say: “This man went down to his house justified.”

PRAYER

O God, who does manifest Thy almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity; increase Thy mercy towards us, that we, seeking the way of Thy promises, may be made partakers of Thy heavenly treasures. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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AUGUST 2

St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori, Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church

1. St Alphonsus is one of the most prominent figures in the Church of the eighteenth century; he stands out as a messenger of God in that period of rationalism, freethinking and unbelief. Armed with a plenitude of the spirit and strength from above, he was able to awaken and fortify the religious life of his time. Born in 1696 of a noble family in Naples, he was so richly talented that he obtained his doctorate of law at seventeen. Practicing law, he won many cases. Once, however, he overlooked an important word in the minutes of a trial, and when his opponent pointed out that he had used a wrong word he gave up law for good.

In spite of his father’s opposition, Alphonsus then entered the clerical state and was ordained at the age of thirty. Simple sermons and pity for the poor characterized the apostolic career he now inaugurated. At length, after mature deliberation, much prayer and seeking of advice, he founded the “Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer,” or “Redemptorists,” in 1749. It was to be their task to go out in the spirit of the gospel to preach missions in both city and country, leading souls to Christ by instruction. As superior of the Congregation, Alphonsus was always at the disposal of his subjects. In his learned works, he took up the fight in behalf of the sound doctrine of the Church against Jansenism and the laxity of the time. In obedience to Pope Clement XIII he accepted consecration as bishop of St. Agatha, near Naples, in 1762. In spite of age and infirmity he devoted himself to the new task with tireless energy. After several vain requests for release from this office, he finally gained the consent of Pope Pius VI in 1775. He then returned to the Redemptorist house at Pagani and lived, patient and cheerful to the last, amid severe ailments of various kinds. His death occurred on August 1, 1784. In 1839 he was canonized, and in 1871, the title of Doctor of the Church was conferred upon him. On his feast the liturgy has him declare: “Gracious comfort, Lord, is the memory of thy just dealings in times long past: I am shaken when I see wrong-doers abandoning thy law” (Gradual). His divine mission is expressed in the words: “God sent him to convert a nation, and sweep away foul traces of sin: he kept his heart steadfastly fixed on the Lord, a bulwark of piety in days when sinners abounded” (Alleluia verse).

2. “The spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has anointed me and sent me out to preach the gospel to the poor and to restore the broken-hearted” (Introit). These words of the prophet Isaias (61: 1, 2), which our Lord applied to Himself (cf. Luke: 4: 18), the liturgy puts into the mouth of St. Alphonsus. Prompted by the Spirit of God, this famed lawyer and nobleman devoted himself to the “least of the brethren,” the ignorant, uncultured, neglected. He prepared them for the sacraments, comforted them and advised them, visited their sick, and in general, helped wherever he could. The Saint was particularly fond of the poor country people of the Kingdom of Naples; he even visited the half-savage goatherds in the remote gorges of Sorrento and on the cliffs of Amalfi. Everywhere he brought blessings and led the erring back to God. It was for the instruction of these simple ones that he founded his Congregation. As bishop, St. Alphonsus opened missions in all parts of his diocese, preached every Sunday, and held instructions in Christian doctrine. He compiled a special catechism for the common people and wrote a number of treatises to deepen Christian faith and life among the people. Truly, as the Introit say, the Spirit of the Lord was upon him.

“The soldier on service, if he would please the captain who enlisted him, will refuse to be entangled in the business of daily life” (Epistle). This passage may be taken as an allusion to that moment in the courtroom when Alphonsus, pale with horror on account of his error, cried out: “Deceitful world, now I recognize you for what you are! I should rather be the lowest servant in the Church than the first lord in the courtroom.” With that he left the room; his father and relatives saw their high hopes destroyed; they opposed his determination to enter the service of the Church with every means at their disposal. Alphonsus gave only one answer: “God is calling me and I must obey.” The whole circle of his acquaintances ridiculed this idea, certain that he had suddenly lost his mind; but he calmly went his way, seeking only God.

Naturally Alphonsus had to worry about many things as a superior and bishop; he had to listen to the requests and complaints of his men; he had to provide for the education of novices and for the material needs of the Congregation; he had to treat with officials about all manner of things; he had to carryon a vast correspondence. Yet all these duties did not hinder him from fostering an interior life in himself and from considering the will and honor of God in every circumstance. Above all things he was concerned about perfectly conforming his will to the will of God; that really characterizes his spirit to perfection: he wanted to please Him alone to whom he was consecrated as priest, religious, and bishop. St. Alphonsus, in a word, took his “share of hardship . . . like a good soldier of Christ Jesus,” driven by that love of Christ which made him want to become all things to all men, and to consume all his strength in this cause.

3. St. Alphonsus wrote: “All holiness consists in loving God. All love of God expresses itself in fulfilling the divine will, that is, in complete conformity with God’s will.” It is his conviction that “it is better and safer to act with the intention of doing God’s will than with the intention of giving glory to God; for this is the proper means of avoiding all the snares of self-love. Very often, in pretending to give glory to God, we are really seeking our own will. When we fulfill the will of God and do what is most pleasing to Him, we cannot be deceived. Let us be convinced that the greatest honor we can render to God is to do His will.”

Collect: O God, who didst kindle in Thy blessed confessor bishop Alphonsus Mary a burning zeal for souls, and by his means didst cause Thy Church to bring forth a new offspring, we pray that we may learn from his wholesome teaching and be strengthened by his example to make our way, despite all obstacles, into Thy presence. Amen. 

CHRIST IN THE HOME

BY RAOUL PLUS, S.J.

(1951)

FANTASY OR SACRED DUTY

IN his interesting book, “Man the Unknown,” Alexis Carrel makes this statement:

“Each individual is set by the conditions of his development upon the road which will lead him either to the solitary mountains or to the mud of the swamps where humanity contents itself.”

If not rightly understood, this statement might imply that, by a sort of pre-established harmony over which we have no control, we are inevitably directed in spite of ourselves either toward the heights or toward the lowlands.

It could be that because of inherited tendencies, family traditions, examples we may have witnessed, or the training we have received, we are more strongly drawn either to laziness or to generosity. However, everyone has the duty on his own responsibility to make himself what he ought to be. The problem of salvation and the degree of sanctity to be attained is essentially an individual problem. We save ourselves or we damn ourselves; we conquer ourselves or we let ourselves be conquered—these are all personal verbs.

“Everyone has the duty,” that is the reality. It is not a matter of satisfying a fantasy, a more or less poetic taste for the heights. So much the better if the heights tempt me! So much the worse for me if I am the prey of a positive spirit of low ideals. I do not have to strive for the Christian ideal simply because of a certain forceful subjective attraction. No, I have an obligation to strive for it and this obligation springs from the Gospel command, a command given to all, Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Am I perhaps too much in the habit of seeing in the Gospel only the restrictions it imposes upon me? Of viewing religion from the negative side? I must accustom myself to consider the Gospel from the positive aspect—the call to sanctity. The capital problem for the Christian who wants to be a real Christian is not the problem of sin but the problem of perfection.

Not to fall back!

Much more and much better—to rise.

In the “Journal of Salavin” by George Duhamel, Salavin laments in self-disgust, “How can one resign himself to being only what one is and how try to be other than what one is.” Then he declares:

“After some indefinite time, I am going to go away.”

“And where are you going?”

“Nowhere.”

Evading—when it should be a matter of ascending.

For me as a Christian, the road is known. I know where to go. And the instructions are clear. Someone expressed them in three points:

1. To commit this year the least number of sins possible.
2. To acquire this year the most virtues possible.
3. To do to others the most good possible.

Here is a program that will not only avoid the abyss but lead to the heights.

MY PERSONAL VOCATION

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