A
brief outline of some means of seeking holiness in our day to day life, in
response to a comment.
We are all seeking holiness, but we are
all broken by sin; we are all disabled children of God seeking healing; all
folk afflicted with rough edges cutting into one another. It is because we are
all in the same boat that we cannot judge the holiness of others, only their acts;
and even then, only so as to keep them doing what is holy and avoiding what is
evil. There are five fundamentals I would suggest to souls seeking holiness.
First,
we must attend to the foundation of our interior life: prayer. We must be resolute and disciplined in
our prayer; we need a quiet, undisturbed time and place, at the same time every
day so that our conscience can nudge us
when our prayer is omitted, as hunger prompts the body to eat. People around
us should know this is God’s time, which is not to be disturbed. Mental Prayer
before the Blessed Sacrament, using of our own words, and time spent in silence
so God can talk to our heart, is essential, along with the powerful set prayers
of the Holy Rosary and Divine Office.
Second,
we should make time each day for the reading of scripture and the spiritual
works of the saints and Doctors of the
Church; this will build our understanding
of the spiritual life and enable us to negotiate it more profitably. The
Office of Readings is a good source of both.
Third,
we must remain faithful to the teaching of the Church; this
will keep our souls in the Truth
which sets us free from bondage to self. Church teaching is the teaching of
Christ since the Church speaks with the voice of Christ (Lk.10v16) Who is the Truth (Jn.14v6), and who is the
same yesterday, today and forever (Heb.13v8).
Fourth,
we must remain faithful to the Mass (Heb.10v25) so as to keep the soul filled with grace and faithful to the Lord. Confession,
by which we assess our spiritual state and seek restoration in holiness so as
to be fit to receive Holy Communion, is important even when we are not
conscious of mortal sin. Confession facilitates regular self-appraisal in the
context of God’s mercy and brings us a grace that helps us to resist sin in the
future. Spiritual Direction can aid us in preparing for Confession, but it is
not the same thing.
Fifth,
we should attend (or celebrate) reverent liturgy so
as to dispose ourselves to encountering the majesty of God and practice
humility before His Glory, rather than seek our own affirmation and emotional
uplift.
We do these fundamental things so as to
keep our souls safe and holy. Meanwhile we must model to one another the
virtues of personal humility and generosity by giving time and energy to the
care and needs of others (active charity towards those in need, upon which we
shall be judged cf. Matt. 25v34-45).
To overcome a particular vice we can
practice the opposite virtue; to ‘act the part’ so as to build the habit. I
have heard this referred to as “fake it to make it”, but it is really about
building new habits. The goodness of our lives will help call back the
wandering sheep that have strayed from Christ’s true fold, and call in those
who seek out the good.
Since we are the Mystical Body of
Christ we must advise and instruct each other in all wisdom (Col.3v16) advising
one another to pray, receive the sacraments, do good and avoid evil. Our
spiritual reading promotes the ability to do this well.
We should make sure we know what the Church teaches and why, so that we can give an account of our hope (1.Pet.3v15); that way we do not preach
but witness; we don’t say “you
can’t do that” but “I couldn’t do
that because...” This informs without enforcing, since it owns for ourselves
the behaviours we are trying to encourage in others.
We should fast and do penance for our own
sins and for those of the world; small sacrifices will not draw attention, such
as not having that extra cup of tea; giving up the sugar in one cup of coffee; not
going out for a smoke on our break time; saying the Rosary instead of switching
on the TV, but they will be seen and used by God.
We must ensure we surround ourselves
with friends who inspire us to be the best we can be, and avoid those friendships
that bring us down to the lower common denominators of society: “Choose your friends carefully; you always
become what they are in order to fit in”.
We will still limp along; but even when
we are limping we are moving, and that can be affirmed in others (and by others)
so as to encourage the soul. No soul
should be left despondent; we must always remind one another that God rewards
our efforts, not our achievements: “God saw their efforts to change and He
relented” (Jonah 3v10; cf. Matthew 12v41). It is a change of heart the Lord
is seeking; by His grace He inspires the desire for this change and empowers us
to make changes in our behaviours. By such a change we will be at peace with
ourselves, at peace with others and supremely, at peace with God. The fact that
we do not overcome all our faults keeps us coming back to God for grace and
reliant upon Him, and begging for His grace.
To avoid despondency we should be careful not to mistake our
on-going weaknesses for serious sin which entails, to some degree or another,
an act of the will. We should also remind ourselves that the greatest sin
forgiven will be the greatest tribute to God’s mercy and love, and the greatest
sinner saved the greatest victory of grace. No sin is too great or too terrible
to be forgiven, for nothing can be greater than God; nothing can outstretch the
infinite healer to whom no wound is beyond healing. Indeed the greater the sin;
the more festering its wound, the greater the right we have to His healing. The
medicine of penance and the struggle to change may be a lifetime’s work, but until
we take our final breath, each of us is, as the saying goes, a work in
progress.
I think the Imitation of Christ is a good start and the sayings of Padre Pio too are very helpful.
ReplyDeleteNice holy pictures around the house counter the reigning culture outside.