“Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want? What are you seeking?” -cf Jn 1:38
Life was never intended to be this way. Somehow, somehow, we know this “in our bones”. We do. It wasn’t. God knows of its imperfections. Surely, He does. He, Whom no mystery can confound, no secret lie unknown, no heart escape His glance. We were never meant to suffer in the way we do. However, even in the Great Easter Prayer-Song, the Exsultet, it says:
“Our birth would have been no gain,
had we not been Redeemed.
O wonder of Your humble care for us!
O love, O charity beyond all telling,
to ransom a slave you gave away Your Son!
O truly necessary sin of Adam,
destroyed completely by the Death of Christ!
O happy fault
that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!
For the saved-by-His-love, there is the pilgrimage back, to the original intent. To living with Him in the garden; the new heavens, the new earth, the new Jerusalem, forever, where every tear will be wiped away.
St Thomas Aquinas knew this correct answer when he responded to the crucified Master’s query, “What do you want?”
“Non nisi te, Domine!” Nothing but You, Lord!!! Nothing…but You!!! Best answer. Best.
“When placed in the presence of greatness, we tend to feel our own inadequacies. Perfect things make us feel uncomfortable. They tend to highlight our failings in a way that nothing else can. A counterfeit or replicated piece of art always looks worse when placed next to the original. The original possesses a certain form that the derivatives can only imperfectly reflect. Or, an athlete or artist always looks their worst when compared with the greatest in their field. For us human beings, we tend to have one of two types of reactions when we meet someone who is higher than us in some regard. One tendency is to tear them down. We seek to advertise flaws so that we can feel comfortable in our own lower position. The opposite tendency is to honor them and hold them up as an exemplar for ourselves and others. We find some sense of comfort and encouragement that there are people who live at a higher standard than ourselves.
Recently, I watched Into Great Silence with a group from my Summer ministry. This documentary film about Carthusian monks is remarkable for both its lack of speaking and its emphasis on the mundane aspects of Carthusian life. Afterwards, some of the members of the group shared their thoughts on the film. One woman in particular mentioned that she appreciated the fact that there were some people who were able to live that way. For some reason, the simple fact that men were able to live such an austere life ordered towards God gave her a sense of comfort. While strange at first, there is something about a purer and higher form of life that can provide comfort for the rest of us. Our lives may pull us in a multitude of directions, but simply knowing that there are some who live a life purely directed towards God is a consoling thought.
Rather than just making us feel our own imperfections, a purer form of life can show us the meaning of the workaday. We like to know that someone, somewhere, is able to live at an elevated level. There is a beauty present that captivates us. Works of art are rarely shunned for their perfection, but rather prominently displayed and enjoyed. While few of us would be capable of creating our own artistic masterpieces, the work nonetheless possesses something that all of us can enjoy. We can find comfort in the midst of the elevated. Few people will ever find themselves agitated when standing in the midst of a great cathedral.
In the Church, saints are often elevated and honored because of their purity of life. We find examples that God’s action within human lives can raise them to a supernatural state. Throughout history, Christians have found comfort in reading lives of the saints and asking for their intercession. Their purity is something that we seek for ourselves. But the lives of the saints are also a reminder that someone, somewhere, at sometime, was able to live at a higher level. Even while we ourselves are imperfect and tarnished, it is comforting to know that God can, and has, made men whole and pure again. We seek this same end.”
Love, let us seek Him, passionately,
Matthew
Summa Catechetica, "Neque enim quaero intelligere ut credam, sed credo ut intelligam." – St Anselm, "“Si comprehendus, non est Deus.” -St Augustine, "Let your religion be less of a theory, and more of a love affair." -G.K. Chesterton, “When we pray we speak to God; but when we read, God speaks to us.” -St Jerome, "As the reading of bad books fills the mind with worldly and poisonous sentiments; so, on the other hand, the reading of pious works fills the soul with holy thoughts and good desires." -St. Alphonsus Liguori, "And above all, be on your guard not to want to get anything done by force, because God has given free will to everyone and wants to force no one, but only proposes, invites and counsels." –St. Angela Merici, “Yet such are the pity and compassion of this Lord of ours, so desirous is He that we should seek Him and enjoy His company, that in one way or another He never ceases calling us to Him . . . God here speaks to souls through words uttered by pious people, by sermons or good books, and in many other such ways.” —St. Teresa of Avila, "I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men and women who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold and what they do not, and who know their creed so well that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it. I want an intelligent, well-instructed laity… I wish you to enlarge your knowledge, to cultivate your reason, to get an insight into the relation of truth to truth, to learn to view things as they are, to understand how faith and reason stand to each other, what are the bases and principles of Catholicism, and where lie the main inconsistences and absurdities of the Protestant theory.” (St. John Henry Newman, “Duties of Catholics Towards the Protestant View,” Lectures on the Present Position of Catholics in England), "We cannot always have access to a spiritual Father for counsel in our actions and in our doubts, but reading will abundantly supply his place by giving us directions to escape the illusions of the devil and of our own self-love, and at the same time to submit to the divine will.” —St. Alphonsus Ligouri, "The harm that comes to souls from the lack of reading holy books makes me shudder . . . What power spiritual reading has to lead to a change of course, and to make even worldly people enter into the way of perfection." –St. Padre Pio, "Screens may grab our attention, but books change our lives!" – Word on Fire, "Reading has made many saints!" -St Josemaría Escrivá, "Do you pray? You speak to the Bridegroom. Do you read? He speaks to you." —St. Jerome, from his Letter 22 to Eustochium, "Encounter, not confrontation; attraction, not promotion; dialogue, not debate." -cf Pope Francis, "God here speaks to souls through…good books“ – St Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle, "You will not see anyone who is really striving after his advancement who is not given to spiritual reading. And as to him who neglects it, the fact will soon be observed by his progress.” -St Athanasius, "To convert someone, go and take them by the hand and guide them." -St Thomas Aquinas, OP. 1 saint ruins ALL the cynicism in Hell & on Earth. “When we pray we talk to God; when we read God talks to us…All spiritual growth comes from reading and reflection.” -St Isidore of Seville, “Also in some meditations today I earnestly asked our Lord to watch over my compositions that they might do me no harm through the enmity or imprudence of any man or my own; that He would have them as His own and employ or not employ them as He should see fit. And this I believe is heard.” -GM Hopkins, SJ, "Only God knows the good that can come about by reading one good Catholic book." — St. John Bosco, "Why don't you try explaining it to them?" – cf St Peter Canisius, SJ, Doctor of the Church, Doctor of the Catechism, "Already I was coming to appreciate that often apologetics consists of offering theological eye glasses of varying prescriptions to an inquirer. Only one prescription will give him clear sight; all the others will give him at best indistinct sight. What you want him to see—some particular truth of the Faith—will remain fuzzy to him until you come across theological eye glasses that precisely compensate for his particular defect of vision." -Karl Keating, "The more perfectly we know God, the more perfectly we love Him." -St Thomas Aquinas, OP, ST, I-II,67,6 ad 3, “But always when I was without a book, my soul would at once become disturbed, and my thoughts wandered." —St. Teresa of Avila, "Let those who think I have said too little and those who think I have said too much, forgive me; and let those who think I have said just enough thank God with me." –St. Augustine, "Without good books and spiritual reading, it will be morally impossible to save our souls." —St. Alphonsus Liguori "Never read books you aren't sure about. . . even supposing that these bad books are very well written from a literary point of view. Let me ask you this: Would you drink something you knew was poisoned just because it was offered to you in a golden cup?" -St. John Bosco " To teach in order to lead others to faith is the task of every preacher and of each believer." —St. Thomas Aquinas, OP. "Prayer purifies us, reading instructs us. Both are good when both are possible. Otherwise, prayer is better than reading." –St. Isidore of Seville “The aid of spiritual books is for you a necessity.… You, who are in the midst of battle, must protect yourself with the buckler of holy thoughts drawn from good books.” -St. John Chrysostom
