[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

One must burn with love

By

Father Mark

 on December 23, 2012 7:32 AM | 

Image of Mother Mectilde: detail of a painting attributed to Philippe de Champaigne, Monastery of Mas-Grenier.

I am continuing my translation of Mother Mectilde's conference for the Vigil of Christmas 1694. She emphasizes that the Incarnation is God's gratuitous expression of love for each and every human being. Christus natus est pro nobis. The pro nobis (for us) that the liturgy sings must be brought to bear upon each one. One who hasn't grasped that the Word became flesh for me cannot rightly understand what the Church means when she sings that Christ is born for us.

God Did for Me Alone What He Did for All

As I have told you, God, having within Himself everything that could make Him happy, had no need of His creatures, and these can add nothing to His felicity. He could not have given us a greater sign of His love, as Saint John says, "God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son." (John 3:16) And it can be said that in giving us His Son, He gave us all that what dearest and most precious to Him.

Let us, then, immerse ourselves in profound sentiments of gratitude towards the Eternal Father for the grand gift He offers us today. But, so as to penetrate better into the grace of the mystery and enter into a true gratitude, it is necessary, dear sisters, that each one of you make it your own and strive, with all her capacity, to think of the goodness of a God who, by His birth, comes to give Himself to us. Say then to yourselves: -- God did for me alone what He did for all. Be persuaded of this, because it is really true. In making the mystery your own in this way, it will make much more of an impression on your spirit and will dilate your heart to love God, inflaming it with love of Him. Is it, in effect, ever possible to believe without being set all ablaze with love for a God who is so good, who has done all these things for us> How? God loves me, and shall I not love Him? It is impossible. One must burn with love.

When One Feels Nothing

Somebody may say to me: -- But one does not always have so much ardour, nor a love that is felt --. This is true, but we must not fall into sadness if we are not feeling a sensible love. just as we must not refuse it when God grants it. Believe me, go to God with naturalness, in all simplicity, just as little children go to their papa, without scruple; don't be so fearful. Take what is given to you: if there are sensible feelings of love for Our Lord, so much the better: you shall be set all aflame by the desire to love Him. Receive everything and refuse nothing, not to satisfy your self-love or permit it to claim such sentiments by living them too sentimentally, but only to receive them from Our Lord so that they may produce in us the effect that He wants.

Desiring Nothing but the Reign of His Good Pleasure Within You

At the same time, when He makes you suffer a more painful disposition, darkness, dryness, incapacity, etc., receive it all equally and be indifferent to whatever state [you find yourself in], content with what God gives you, refusing nothing, and desiring nothing but the reign of His good pleasure within you, which reign will not be established except by your own destruction.

Things So Prodigious and Incomprehensible to the Human Mind

De Condren, noting that on the loveliest feasts and in the celebration of great mysteries, one often finds oneself in darkness and in interior dryness, asks why this is so. He responds, observing that our human reason wants to penetrate into the mystery in order to understand it, but because the mystery surpasses the capacities of reason, it does not succeed in going there. This is what produces our darknesses. We never, therefore, enter into the mysteries except by pure faith. Let us leave aside our reasoning and our own mind: they are not worthy, they are too material to conceive what is above the sensible; let us not even heed them. Follow with simplicity the spirit of faith that illumines and makes us believe things so prodigious and incomprehensible to the human mind.

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

From Beggar to Benefactor

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Father Barry O’Toole, LC

Luke 1: 39-45

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary´s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, you know the reality of my life and how much I need your grace. I believe that you love me and desire the best for me. I, too, want to respond to your love, and thus, with humility, I ask for your sanctifying grace. As I contemplate the wonders you worked in Mary’s and Elizabeth’s lives, I desire to imitate their attitudes and convictions, so that you will be able to transform my life.

Petition: Lord, make me an instrument of your grace and peace.

1. Right to the Doorstep: After receiving God’s messenger into her life, Mary then becomes God’s messenger to her cousin Elizabeth. In such a short time Mary has learned so much from her Son. She delivers Christ right to Elizabeth’s doorstep and knocks. Without Elizabeth’s consent, Mary can go no farther. Elizabeth comprehends in an instant that this is more than a courtesy visit. Her child, John the Baptist, helps her to understand as he leaps for joy upon hearing Mary’s voice and perceiving Christ’s presence. Elizabeth allows them to enter her house, and Mary and Jesus begin to transform this family’s life. John and Elizabeth are filled with the Holy Spirit, and Elizabeth immediately becomes an apostle and prophet of God.

2. The Cooperation of Man and God: Mary is always willing to help because she is so humble. Despite the fact that she is also pregnant, she doesn’t hesitate to perform small acts of charity and help with the ordinary chores around the house. However, Mary was also an instrument of the Holy Spirit as she went about her work, and, as with Elizabeth, the Holy Spirit was able to touch the hearts of others and to bring about their transformation by instilling sanctifying grace. Have I achieved a degree of holiness that I might also become an effective instrument of God for those around me?

3. The Spontaneous Magnificat: The presence of God in Mary’s and Elizabeth’s souls can be seen in two ways. First, they both glorify God for the marvelous things he is doing in their lives: Elizabeth praises Mary for having brought the Savior into her life and for filling her child with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. Mary, in turn, praises God in the beautiful prayer of the Magnificat. Second, both Elizabeth and Mary become the first witnesses of the arrival of the Messiah. Every true encounter with Christ necessarily leads us to become his apostles. Have I, too, encountered Christ through prayer, the sacraments and service to my neighbor? Have I helped others to experience God’s loving presence in their lives?

Conversation with Christ: Lord, during this time of prayer, I want to enter into a deeper relationship with you. I want to experience your loving presence in the daily activities of my life. As Christmas Day approaches, I want to grow in my love for you. I want to share this love with others by imitating your meekness and humility. Please, do not pass by me this Christmas without granting me at least this grace. Transform this plea, the supplication of this beggar, into the treasure of a benefactor for others.

Resolution: Today, I will strive to share my experience of God with at least one person I meet.