Читать книгу Everyday Holiness - Carolyn Humphreys - Страница 7

He was handsome, fun loving, courageous and engaging, an athlete and an outdoorsman. A popular picture of him as a young adult reveals the strong young man wearing mountain climbing gear, leaning on a long ice axe, with one foot resting sturdily on a rock. He wrote to a friend: “With every passing day I fall madly in love with the mountains, their fascination attracts me.” Born into a prominent Italian family, he distinguished himself as a member of the Alpine Club and conquered several of Italy’s highest peaks. He relished the challenge of testing his physical limits, but always had time to help his fellow hikers. He slowed down to walk with them on their mountain hikes and helped to carry their supplies. A month before his death, he climbed a high peak with friends. He later wrote at the bottom of a photo of that ascent: “Toward the top.” This short phrase symbolized his way of life. Pier Giorgio Frassati always sought out challenges that carried him beyond himself to become the best he could be. He incorporated prayer and meditation into his daily life and mountain treks. He lived out his Catholic faith with fervent devotion and became a member of the Lay Dominicans. He spoke out on political issues, rejoiced in his love for music and art, and cared for the sick and the poor. On July 4, 1925, Pier Giorgio Frassati died from polio at age twenty-four. Today, young adult Catholics around the world perpetuate Pier’s beautiful spirit of service by sponsoring hikes, service projects, and prayer gatherings in his honor. John Paul II beatified him on May 20, 1990.

Pier Giorgio demonstrates that a true Catholic Christian spiritual journey is a noble adventure. His legacy beckons all people of God and pilgrims of faith, to climb the rugged mountain of holiness. What does this mean? Mysterious and obscure in the modern world, holiness begins with perceiving the whole reality of life within the reality of God’s love for us. It is not a topic for mere theological speculation, but rather a conviction to be lived. We live it through our individual uniqueness and our Catholic response to the various circumstances in our lives.

At first, the desire for holiness may be an unrecognized yearning, a searching for truth or a striving to be good. We experience a nameless hunger for something more than the world has to offer: The recognition of holiness is revealed when we discover that our only destiny is God, the way to God is Christ, and Christ is our ultimate holiness. The erudite Edith Stein offers insight about this nameless hunger: “God is truth. All who seek truth seek God whether this is clear to them or not.”

The call to holiness can astound us. Who me? You have to be kidding! Nevertheless, there is a longing for God, whether we are consciously aware of it or not. Carl Jung said, “Bidden or not bidden, God is present.” This longing becomes more prominent when worldly pursuits disappoint, or when persons or things let us down. We wonder, “Is that all there is?” If we truthfully answer this question, our longing for God takes us from the many detours promising instant happiness to the singular direction of eternal true joy. If we fail to find an attraction to God, it is not because God has failed to provide it. It is due to our shortsightedness, a failure to look beyond immediate circumstances to God’s broader plan. It is easy to believe that security and happiness exist apart from God. But, in the long run, don’t we find that many of the things we chase after are either elusive or unsatisfying? Pier Giorgio found the importance of God and lived this greatest discovery. He challenges us to do the same.

The Sun Begins to Rise

Holiness makes its first quiet dawn into a new day with the realization that there is something more to life than career, success, social status, physical pleasures, material comforts or other worldly gains. A new beginning, a different orientation to life, begins to shine. Something inexplicable nags at our subconscious. Something deeper, more satisfying than what the world offers. Our curiosity is piqued. We begin to seek satisfaction in nature and service, rather than in self-serving pursuits. One does not immediately recognize the truth that true happiness cannot be found apart from God, but the early light of dawn will begin to illuminate that fact. True authenticity is only found in God. God loves each individual more than anyone else possibly could. He desires what is best for us, and by far the best for us is to grow in holiness.

The following story shows how nature revealed a remarkable scene that changed a person’s life:

There was a man who lived on the Great Blasker island off the coast of Kerry, Ireland, who worked from dawn to dusk every day of the week. He owned a small flock of sheep. He was short of help, and his family being young, he had no time to check his sheep except on Sundays. So, instead of going across to the mainland to attend Mass with the other islanders, he would take his stick and his dog and go up the hill to check on his sheep. It wasn’t that he had no faith. . . . It was just that he was a stubborn man who always did what suited himself.

His wife often tried to get him to change his ways. She told him that he was not setting a good example for his children. Why couldn’t he check on his sheep after returning from Mass, as his neighbors did? But he ignored her.

One Sunday, when all the islanders had gone to Dunquin to Mass, he went up the hill as usual. Since the wind was from the south, he went to the north side of the island, expecting to find the sheep there. But there wasn’t a sheep to be found. Puzzled, he then went to the south side, and to his surprise found the sheep there. He was amazed to see them gathered into one spot, a marvelous beam of light shining down on them through a break in the clouds.

This simple scene made a deep impression on him. The result was that the following Sunday, he was the first to arrive on the pier to get the boat to Dunquin for Mass. And he never again missed Mass on a Sunday.1

Living holiness is unique, affects every part of a person, and influences one’s outlook on life. An individual builds a friendship with God through prayer, the teachings and traditions of religion, in sacraments and sacramentals, worship and praise, rites and rituals, study, labor, leisure, rest, saint watching and works of service. Friendship with God is noticeable in everything a person does. The beauty of a holy life is the most powerful influence in this world. Someone said sanctity is the highest level of maturity.

The journey to holiness is usually a slow and steady process, with few, if any, extraordinary mystical events. It does not take place outside, above or alongside other areas of life. It is the very essence of one’s being, similar to the tranquility of a home where the soul thrives and the Triune God dwells. The author of The Cloud of Unknowing encourages: “If you wish to keep growing you must nourish in your heart the lively longing for God. Though this loving desire is certainly God’s gift, it is up to you to nurture it.” Jesus alone satisfies the deep yearnings of the heart. The quest for Jesus should never end. Often an individual finds him, and then loses him only to find him again at a deeper, more intimate level. That very process leads to holiness.

The spiritual journey does not elevate a person above humanity or distinguish him as a singularly sacred being. Of course, there are always a few “bright light” saints who radiate God’s goodness for the world to see, but most Christians are meant to be little flames of light, shining the love of Christ throughout daily routines, neither being oracles of wisdom nor fountains of advice. However, when a Christian has the opportunity to witness to Jesus, he or she is prepared. Because Christians can pray everywhere, they should try to be holy everywhere, refraining from talk and behavior that is crude, profane or disrespectful. To be holy is to take a stand against the evils in society.

We ponder the words of Benedict XVI: “And only where God is seen does life truly begin. Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is. We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary. There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know him and to speak to others of our friendship with him.” In holiness, we remain perpetually in awe of Jesus Christ.

To be attentive to holiness, is to bond to that which lasts forever. Time and death cannot take it away. God is the creator of all that is good. The eternal realm is closer to the temporal realm than we can imagine. However, it is important to keep one’s head out of the clouds. The Jesuit William Dych wrote, “The more one keeps both feet solidly on the ground, the better one can find God. To try to keep one foot in heaven and one foot on earth is to run the risk of being painfully pulled apart.” Grace is a necessity for travel along the holiness trail, for getting to heaven and for helping others to get to heaven. When our feet are firmly planted on the ground, we can more easily see how everything is interwoven and connected to God. We are interdependent on each other.

Once upon a time, a little girl was lost in a large wheat field. The wheat was taller than she was. Her parents called in the neighbors to help find her, but all was in vain. Although they shouted and searched, they could not find the little girl. Finally, on the third day, the father said to the townspeople, “Let us all join hands and go through the field in a line.” In no time, the child was found. Behind the plan was a common purpose. The child had to be found. The father gathered all the people who were willing to help. No one said, “I must tend to my crops,” or “I have too many things to do.” The neighbors immediately stopped whatever they were doing in order to pursue a greater good. They dropped their own ideas about how to find the little girl. They joined together and through a unified effort, found the lost child. God’s mercy and love were made real by the neighbors.

No Two Alike

The saints are all around, in statues and pictures, in names of islands, cities, health care and educational institutions, and streets. The saints are very necessary as intercessors, as friends, as inspirations, as unique springs of wisdom and as the best models to follow. If God’s bright white light was refracted into an innumerable array of colors, each saint would be represented by a few of those colors. Each color stands for something of God’s attributes. Jesus invaded the life of each saint and to Jesus the saint said, “Welcome!”

Who among the saints would be a good friend for me? Pier Giorgio and John Paul II were rugged mountain climbers. However, the spiritual quest does not necessarily require immense strength, high energy or great vigor. Holiness is not confined to a station in life or specific personality traits. Goodness springs from all ambitions if a person continually asks for God’s guidance and trusts in his providence. There were many saints who had poor health, among them Gemma Galgani, Bernadette Soubirous, and Faustina Kowalska. Paul of the Cross said, “Truly sickness is a great God given grace. It makes us discover who we are.” Bearing illness or bad situations patiently can well be factors that make a person a saint. One can begin to find God in circumstances that are anything but favorable. People have connected with the divine in a prison or hospital as well as in a library or an open field. There is a wide and wonderful variety of saints, over ten thousand of them canonized, from Adelaide, a queen, to Zita, a servant. And there will be more to come.

No two saints are alike. Similar to flowers in the field, they are all different in color, size, shape and aroma. A dearly beloved saint, Therese of Lisieux, reflects: “In the world of souls, the living garden of the Lord, it pleases him to create great saints, who may be compared with the lilies or the rose; but he has also created little ones, who must be content to be daisies or violets.” Augustine’s life shows how it doesn’t matter what one’s past has been. He was a heretic who lived with a woman for fifteen years and fathered her son. He had a conversion experience and went on to become a most influential philosopher, theologian and doctor of the Church. Catherine of Genoa’s husband was unfaithful and ill-tempered. He squandered their money to bankruptcy. Catherine endured and cared for the poor. Her husband saw the error of his ways, had a conversion and helped Catherine with her work with the destitute. Her writings, especially about purgatory, are insightful and comforting. Thomas More was a husband, father, lawyer, statesman and held a high governmental office. He had immense moral and religious courage. When he said no to the king he was beheaded. Benedict Joseph Labre was God’s hobo. He was a misfit, vagabond, and in the world’s terms a strange character and a failure. He had no one but God. He gave what little he had to others and spent much time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. He died homeless, on the streets of Rome at age thirty-five, most likely of malnutrition. When he died the people of Rome chanted, “E Morto il Santo,” the saint is dead.

In her “Act of Oblation to Merciful Love,” Therese of Lisieux wrote, “I desire, in a word, to be a saint, but I feel my helplessness and I beg you O my God to be yourself my sanctity!” She encourages us to be unafraid: “If you wish to be a saint, it is not hard. Have one aim, to please Jesus. . . . Love him who is love itself.”

God calls a person to sainthood through his own unique design. John Ayscough said: “Every saint is a little looking glass of God; a facet of the jewel which constitutes the Catholic Church.” Striving to be a saint is not all peaches and cream.

If we were saints, we wouldn’t have it easier, nor would we have special privileges, nor receive special gifts. The saints did not have it as easy as we would like to believe. They were men and women just as we are. They didn’t live in greenhouses, isolated from temptation and sin. Otherwise their sanctity would have no special merit. They lived in the world as we do, and still served God in an extraordinary way. They loved the world: the aroma of a flower, the charm of an attractive animal, the confidence of little children, the friendship of mature men and women, and still won eternal life. They knew guilt and experienced the false way which the human heart travels. Still they asked for forgiveness. They fell, and committed the same mistakes. Yet they rose again and again and thanked God who gave them the strength to do so. They also had bodies. They experienced within themselves the humbling weakness and inadequacy of human nature. Still they never forgot that they were children of God. The world was the workshop of their lives, but they never lost sight of the goal of their earthly pilgrimage—eternity.2

Shining for All

God’s love shines in us and through us to others. The intensity of our light is a good measure of our love for Jesus and his Church. Holiness is dynamic, with a myriad of expressions that may change throughout one’s lifetime. Great deeds do not necessarily mean advancement on the holy trail. This is usually made in small steps toward the holy, sometimes so small they can’t even be seen. Stronger fidelity to God occurs when holiness shakes up the self satisfaction we can often develop toward our behavior and actions. Negative self discoveries can lead to positive change. Holiness is a clarion call that moves an individual from comfort and complacency to a yearning that cannot be fully satisfied and a search that is unceasing. Cursory religious practices deepen into communion with a God who is mystery. Images of God become ever changing, ever growing, until they finally disappear into God who is beyond all imaginative boundaries. Holiness is far from dull and boring! Rather, it keeps an individual ever watchful for the next good step, thus moving ever closer to God.

Holiness pushes us ahead, even though we may not have a clue regarding where we are going. Thomas Merton prayed:

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.3

This prayer illustrates how the pursuit of holiness is a journey from a known, limited landscape to an unknown, endless terrain. Moving forward begins to broaden a previously limited notion of who we think God is and what he expects of us. His eternal realm suddenly shines before and around us. We are guided by John Paul II: “Life, long or short, is a journey toward paradise. There is our fatherland. There is our real home. There is our appointment. Jesus is waiting for us in paradise. Never forget this supreme and consoling truth.”

Truths of God transform lives. His burning light melts facades, masks, and pretenses and illuminates the true self. Sinfulness and powerlessness cause a person to be more dependent on God. Vices, anxieties, uncertainties and sins are faced without self-pity or discouragement, confident that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28). Although holiness has no simple definition, there is a reassuring constant. Every time we fall into sin, we must get up. Fall a thousand times, get up a thousand times is no small statement. Yes, holy people sin, but by the grace of God they get up, dust themselves off and try to do better. Sin has a strong tie with an enlarged ego. An increased ability to transcend self is a release from self-absorption. As we loosen our grasp on fulfilling our potential or actualizing ourselves, it frees us to discover the ingredients for spiritual growth in all of life’s circumstances. By integrating the elements of spiritual development, a person develops an unpretentious transparency, an unobtrusive demeanor and an indisputable trust in Divine Providence.

Abiding in Jesus

In order to grow in holiness an individual must be firmly rooted in Jesus, the fruit of all holiness. “Abide in me and me in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me” (John 15:4). The more we see his light within us, the more we understand how central he is. He is the source that gives meaning and value to the many and diverse experiences in our lives, the rock on which we build our principles and practices, the inspiration from which we make our decisions and the singular star that guides our lives.

Come, be my guiding light, dear Lord,

A lamp unto my feet.

That I may ever follow you,

No other pathway seek.

To serve you with my heart and mind

In all I say and do.

And try to lead someone who’s lost

To find their way to you.

May I give words that will uplift

Where hearts are sad today.

And may I not be slow to help

the needy on life’s way.

To be thy faithful servant, Lord,

each day that dawns anew.

For heaven is the goal I seek

When earthly days are through.

And when my life draws to a close,

The hour, the day unknown.

Come, be my guiding light, dear Lord

And take me to thy home.

~Kay Hoffman

Quiet Places

Excessive busyness obstructs the ability to see who we are really meant to be. We barely know ourselves. Modern life often races past what is beautiful and life enhancing. When finding ourselves in this mode, it is imperative to slow down, pause, be still, be silent and listen. How is God helping us, leading us, blessing us? With help from God and others, we can work through all the unnecessary chaos. Esther de Waal wrote: “Unless I am silent, I shall not hear God, and until I hear God I shall not come to know God. Silence asks me to watch and wait and listen, to be like Mary in readiness to receive the Word. If I have any respect for God, I shall try to find a time, however short, for silence. Without it I have not much hope of establishing that relationship with God of hearing and responding which is going to help me root the whole of my life in prayer.” Only in silence is the potential for holiness realized.

“Be still and know that I am God,” the psalmist says. Silence and stillness whets the appetite for seeing the splendor of God’s work in ourselves and, more importantly, in our souls. The soul has been called the fairest work of God. It is a haven for his loving, living flame, his Triune presence. The greatest sadness is souls so encrusted with sin that they are dead to the indwelling of the Triune God or to the exquisiteness of the soul. Silence and stillness are opportunities to become reacquainted with our soul. How beautiful she can be if we tend to her with great love. Silence and stillness are unfolding treasures that help to pass beyond rushing around in the outer realities of self-absorbed pursuits to roaming around in the inner reality of the soul. In this inner reality holiness reminders may take form in one’s mind. When a siren is heard a Hail Mary is said for the people involved. A cross near the phone is a reminder to speak kindly to the caller, even bothersome telemarketers. A rosary held in the hand may well alleviate frustration and worry. Gazing at a holy picture or a religious statue may defuse an altercation or help with a tedious task. Repeating the names of Jesus, Mary and Joseph or saying the chaplet of mercy can lessen stress during a diagnostic test or while waiting in a doctor’s office. Saying “All for Jesus” while doing unpleasant duties is a worthy custom. It was a custom for students in Catholic grade schools to write JMJ, for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, at the top of their papers. People have received personal letters with DV written at the end of a sentence. DV means Deo Volente or God willing. DOM can also be an inscription, Deo Optimo Maximo, or to God, the best and greatest. The motto of the Jesuits can be noticed in many places: AMDG, Ad majorem Dei Gloriam, for the greater glory of God, or to strive to give God more glory by doing what is most pleasing to him. John Paul II frequently used the phrase “Praised be Jesus Christ!” These helps toward holiness are also reminders of divine assistance when temporal concerns seem to block the existence of heaven.

Holiness is simply a closer walk with Jesus. To walk with him is to discover our best selves. We live our best selves when we turn from negative thoughts, feelings and actions and face what is true, beautiful, good and life-giving. Finding our best selves in God develops a better communication with others. How we talk to others often reflects how we talk to God.

Communication with God is not a series of lofty thoughts, exalted insights, profound answers or deep consolations. It is much more than that. It is a deep surrender to our Creator, which allows God to tenderly embrace us. God opens hearts as spring opens beautiful flowers. In stillness and silence the flowers open, and so it is. At last, our heart has a small understanding about the splendor of our soul. Padre Pio gives us nourishment for our souls: “Prayer is the best weapon we have; it is a key that opens God’s heart. You must speak to Jesus, not only with your lips, but also with your heart; actually, on certain occasions, you should speak with only your heart.”

Be born in us Incarnate Love!

Take our flesh and blood and give us your humanity,

take our eyes and give us your vision,

take our minds and give us your pure thought,

take our feet and set them in your path,

take our hands and fold them in your prayer,

take our hearts and give us your will to love.

~Caryll Houselander

To Reflect and to Witness

Bernard of Clairvaux said over a thousand years ago that action and contemplation are very close companions. They live together in the same house on equal terms. William Barclay, the scripture scholar, commented that the more one reads of the lives and works of dedicated men and women, the more one sees that they possessed two great qualities . . . the ability to work selflessly and the patience to wait in silence. In action and contemplation there is a blend in our lives: a rhythm of doing and resting, speaking and listening, giving and receiving. Prayer and quiet can increase our desire to spread the message and goodness of Jesus through our actions.

If we give appropriate time to “be” in our contemplative dimension, we have a better chance of being more attentive to “do” in the service of others. This is a marriage between the inner joy of listening to God and the outer joy of being his witness in the marketplace. Contemplation and action create a healthy tension. As we breathe in so must we breathe out.

A well-balanced Christian life naturally evolves into greater intimacy with God. How does this happen? Gradually the distance from him decreases because we become liberated from ourselves. Me is replaced by God. Catherine of Genoa once said, “My me is God, nor do I know my selfhood save in him.” She had it right. “What can I do for God” becomes less important than “how can I ‘be’ in God.” To “be” is to rest in God and quietly look at Jesus. A kinship in belonging to God takes place. It is refreshing. By loosening our grip on our own concerns, we become more accepting of the actions of God. We move from cognition about God to availability to God. Availability lets our doing take care of itself. There will always be things to do for God. We do what we can and disappear. We do not rest on our laurels, or wait for some goodness in return, but move on. A deeper settling into the realization that God loves us in a personal and infinite way is a sound sign of intimacy with God.

The touchstone of our journey into holiness is an unquestioning “yes” to Jesus’ gentle inquiry, “Do you love me?” Our yes to God’s love determines our ability to give and receive love. This affects people who touch the surface of our lives and those who are deep in our hearts. There is no journey in holiness without love. Saying yes to God provides strength to go beyond ourselves. We seek to see everything in God’s love. When we view the world with eyes of love, it becomes rich and beautiful because we see it as opportunities for love.

The Apostle Paul said of Christ: “In Christ dwells all treasures and wisdom.” John of the Cross offers a thought-provoking addition: “There is much to fathom in Christ for he is like an abundant mine with many recesses of treasures, so that however deep individuals go, they never reach the bottom, but rather in every recess find new veins with new richness everywhere.”

Blessed are those who travel on the road of holiness, for it leads to Jesus. Indeed, it is a high road, but it is also the best road. So come, let us be on our way!

Christ, be near at either hand,

Christ, behind, before me stand.

Christ, with me where e’er I go,

Christ around, above, below.

Christ, be in my heart and mind.

Christ within my soul enshrined.

Christ control my wayward heart,

Christ, abide and ne’er depart.

Christ, my life and only way,

Christ my lantern, night and day.

Christ be my unchanging friend,

Guide and shepherd to the end.

~Irish folk song

1. Flor McCarthy, SDB, “Without a Vision the People Perish,” Spirituality, July/August 2006.

2. Kelly, Women before God, 169.

3. Quoted from, I Have Seen What I Was Looking For. Thomas Merton (1915–1968) was an American convert. At the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, he was a Trappist monk, priest, hermit, poet, and prolific writer. His autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, was translated into over fifteen languages.