Читать книгу Everyday Holiness - Carolyn Humphreys - Страница 8

What opens the eyes of the heart and the ears of the soul? It is faith. Faith opens all eyes to see the wondrous love of God. Benedict XVI wrote: “Faith is foremost a personal, intimate encounter with Jesus. . . . It is in this way that we learn to know him better, to love him, and to follow him more and more.” Church bells, sacred hymns, or a priest’s homily are among the many ways to hear the call to faith. Deep faith is a profound respect and love for the truths of Jesus and his Church. This occurs when faith moves beyond superficial devotions, a cultural label, or rote reception of the sacraments. Faith is the most beautiful gift from God, and the most demanding.

If we are not rooted in faith, the strong winds of modern thinking will scatter us asunder. At times, it seems we are so buffeted by confusion, conflict and contradiction that we do not know what is happening. Many aspects of society hide the importance of God from humanity. There is so much activity, so many attractive new age programs, changing morals, popular movements and useless talk, noise and stimulation. What a challenge contemporary culture offers those of us who appreciate the sacred.

People have lost the ability to sit down and be quiet. The beauty of faith gently calls individuals away from the rapid pace and negative pull of society. An overactive contemporary life is a warning to sit down and ponder the prayer attributed to Cardinal Richard Cushing of Boston (1895–1968). Stillness begets an appreciation for the wonders of faith.

Slow me down, Lord.

Ease the pounding of my heart

By the quieting of my mind.

Steady my hurried pace

With a vision of the eternal reach of time.

Give me, amid the confusion of the day,

The calmness of the everlasting hills.

Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles

With the soothing music of the singing streams

That live in my memory.

Help me to know the magical, restoring power of sleep.

Teach me the art of taking minute vacations—

Of slowing down to look at a flower,

To chat with a friend, to pat a dog,

To read a few lines from a good book. . . .

Remind me that there is more to life

Than increasing its speed.

Let me look upward into the branches

Of the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong

Because it grew slowly and well.

Slow me down, Lord,

And inspire me to send my roots deep

Into the soil of life’s enduring values

That I may grow toward the stars

Of my greater destiny.

Faith is a gift, always a gift. Many people do not open this gift. Their greatest poverty is not knowing God. With the help of grace from the Holy Spirit, we respond to this gift with every choice we make each day of our lives. How do our choices reflect our belief in God? How does our lifestyle resonate with the attributes of Jesus? We must live what we profess.

To state views assertively, with forethought and grace, and to support human rights without infringing on the rights of others are sure signs of being steadfast in faith. Saying things others want to hear or being a people pleaser does not fit into the teachings of Jesus. When an individual lives the teachings of Jesus well, she receives so much more than she gives.

Another steadfast sign of faith is to be a promise keeper. Marianne, a young wife and mother, planned to make a retreat. She promised three friends she would give them a ride to this retreat. These women were filled with joyful anticipation. However, a few days before the retreat, Marianne received an invitation to meet Mother Teresa, and it was on the same weekend as the retreat. Marianne had really wanted to meet a “living saint” ever since she was a young girl. She felt conflicted. However, she knew she had made a commitment and that a promise is a dreadful thing to break. She prayed and declined the invitation.

In the quiet of the retreat chapel Marianne realized that there were saints all around her. Her retreat companions looked normal; there was nothing outstanding about them. However, there was an unexplained peace and joy radiating from these women. Was this intangible something sanctity? We are reminded by Anthony of Padua: “The saints are like the stars. In his providence, Christ conceals them in a hidden place that they may not shine before others when they might wish to do so. Yet, they are always ready to exchange the quiet of contemplation for the works of mercy as soon as they perceive in their hearts the invitation of Christ.”

Faith is lived with an upright heart and hard work. In other words, to believe in Jesus is to do what he commands. Faith is ever watchful. We watch what we say: Is it necessary? Is it true? Is it kind? Augustine, a bishop and Doctor of the Church, advises us: “Do not rejoice in earthly reality, rejoice in Christ, rejoice in his word, rejoice in his law. . . . There will be peace and tranquility in the Christian heart, but only as long as our faith is watchful; if, however, our faith sleeps, we are in danger.”

Pilgrim’s Progress

God’s faithful pilgrims make the love and goodness of God visible on earth. The holiness in their lifestyle counteracts and diminishes the power of sin and evil. Belief in God is a serious, sacred trust that grows stronger as long as there is growth in holiness. Faith is the prime motivator that gives witness to God in words, action and conduct. The best response to God and his love is an increase in faith. Faith is actualized by prayer, participating in the liturgy, receiving the sacraments, living a virtuous life and serving others. Faith filled decisions and actions stir up the desire to continually seek the Triune God and abide by his word. We live our faith through the teachings of our religion, a sound and sturdy guide. Living the tenants of religion goes hand in hand with respecting others for their religion beliefs.

I grew up in a very Protestant area. The majority of the populace belonged to a Lutheran sect that was at best wary and at worse downright bigoted when it came to Catholics. There was no parochial school attached to our little mission church so we few Catholic kids merged with our Lutheran neighbors on buses, bikes or on foot each day to make our way to the public school. Most days you couldn’t tell a Catholic from a Lutheran, but when Lent came along the distinctions became noticeable. The Catholics were recognizable by the black smudge of ashes on their foreheads. The Catholic kids generally didn’t eat candy during the week but instead hoarded it away for consumption on Sunday which didn’t count as a day of Lent. The Catholics could not eat meat on Friday during Lent and here’s where egg salad sandwiches take on significance.

Two mothers were assigned to provide a lunch for our classroom parties throughout the year. These parties were always on a Friday afternoon when our eagerness to be free for the weekend pretty much obliterated any possibility of learning. Since kids are always hungry, the lunches were pretty substantial—not just a snack. It seems there was always a party or two during Lent and typically the room mothers would have been of the Lutheran faith. Even though their church did not require abstinence from meat on Fridays, they never forgot that the little Catholic kids would need special consideration and they went to the extra effort of providing egg salad for us so that we would not be left out when the plate of sandwiches was passed. It was a kindness that I have never forgotten.4

Head and Heart

John of the Cross advises: “Faith lies beyond all understanding, taste, feeling, and imagining that one has. However impressive may be one’s knowledge or feeling of God, that knowledge or feeling will have no resemblance to God and amounts to very little. To attain union with God, a person should neither advance by understanding, nor by support of one’s own experience, but by belief in God’s being.” Faith declares what the senses do not perceive. We believe what we do not see and in the end we will be rewarded by what we have believed. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” (John 20:29). David Spangle tells us: “Faith, to me, is the capacity to be open to the intangible, invisible domains of life. It is the ability to be comfortable in the presence of mystery. It is the willingness to go where the senses cannot always take us, to appreciate and be open to the realm of energy and spirit. Faith creates an open space in which the unexpected, the unpredicted, and often the most essential can appear and become known.”

When Christians pass through the door of faith, they enter the highest realm of their existence: the spiritual life with the Triune God as described in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. God is our Father who created us. Jesus is his son who shows us the way to the Father. The Holy Spirit helps us along this way. And at the end of this earthly sojourn we enter into eternal life. Faith forms a heart into a sanctuary because it is the dwelling place of the Holy Trinity. We can visit this sanctuary and see the fire of faith still burning. These little visits can keep our lamp of faith alight when we are working, studying, eating or resting.

It is more important to believe than to understand. Too much conversation can dilute the mysteries of faith. Excessive explanation can reduce the richness in the symbols of faith. If someone stops to explain the why behind the lighting of the candles at Mass, when this is taking place, it stops the graceful flow of this ritual. To reverently complete the ritual and trust that the ritual will give its own teaching, will not disturb the beauty of the moment. An explanation can be given after Mass. Talking about something cannot take the place of living it. Faith is more authentic when it is the key to life, rather than the subject for dialogue.

Thomas Merton tells us, “Ultimately, faith is the only key to the universe. The final meaning of human existence, and the answers to the questions on which all our happiness depends cannot be found in any other way.” When faith matures, questions about Christian beliefs are replaced with a wonderment in the mystery of God and the beauty of his truth. A sense of awe replaces a relentless search for that which is unknown or not understood. New manifestations of the mystery of God are not seen as a source of pride but as a deepening in humility. The truths of faith are beyond human cognition and will only be fully understood in heaven. The limits of knowledge are not roadblocks to knowing God better. Intellectual ability can become a source of pride. Rationalization justifies thoughts and conduct through human reasoning alone. Therefore, it can lead to justifying erroneous thinking, producing good reasons to do bad things, or good reasons for not doing good things we are supposed to do. Mature faith is not based on great intelligence or noteworthy scholarship. It is based on assiduous prayer and belief in the truths and mystery of the Triune God.

Over a hundred years ago, a university student was walking through a quiet park. He saw an elderly man sitting on a bench alone and sat down next to him. The elderly man was praying the rosary, moving the beads with his fingers. “Sir, do you still believe in such outdated things?” asked the student of the old man. “Yes, I do. Do you not?” asked the man. The student burst out laughing and said, “I do not believe in such silly things. Take my advice. Throw the rosary away and learn what science has to say.” “Science? I do not understand this science. Perhaps you can explain it to me.” The student saw that the man was deeply moved. So to avoid hurting the feelings of this man he said: “Please give me your address and I will send you some literature.” The man fumbled in the inside pocket of his coat and gave the student his visiting card. On glancing at the card, the student bowed his head and became silent. On the card he read: Louis Pasteur, Director of the Institute of Scientific Research, Paris.

Faith rises above the limits of that which is known and into the realms where intelligence cannot go. Loving God is greater than knowledge about God because God’s love is greater than what we are able to know. It seems incomplete to describe Jesus within the boundaries of human thoughts, culture and language. Metaphors and allegories fall short. Letting loose of attempts to explain God assists in surrendering to his tremendous mystery. Angela of Foligno, a thirteenth-century Franciscan Italian mystic wrote: “I have known with certitude that the more one has a sense of God the less one can speak of God. The more one has the feeling of infinity and the ineffable the more one lacks words for it.” Faith elevates a Christian to greater goodness and helps maintain a pristine soul. There is no love or hope without faith. Faith is the root of good works, which flowers in love through the fruit of action. Indeed, faith in the Catholic tradition is the keystone for a very good life.

Faith of our fathers living still,

In spite of dungeon, fire and sword;

O how our hearts beat high with joy

Whenever we hear that glorious word:

Faith of our fathers, holy faith,

We will be true to thee till death.

Our fathers chained in prisons dark,

Were still in heart and conscious free,

And blest would be their children’s fate,

If they, like them, should die for thee:

Faith of our fathers holy faith,

We will be true to thee till death.

Faith of our fathers! We will love

Both friend and foe in all our strife;

And preach thee, too, as love knows how,

By kindly words and virtuous life:

Faith of our fathers, holy faith,

We will be true to thee till death.

~Frederick William Faber

(1814–1863)

Twilight Times

The gift of faith includes mystery, which is so necessary when seeking God in positive or negative life situations. To focus on the light of God’s truth and the hope of heaven while walking through the shadows is an enormous blessing. Faith reassures us that God is with us even when we walk through a seemingly trackless wasteland. When out of sorts for one reason or another, there is peace in the fact that this shall pass. Faith is an energizer that strives to uniquely reflect the image and likeness of God in all of life’s circumstances. When we ponder his love and mercy, how little we know! Thinking about his greatness and majesty keeps the concerns of life in their proper perspective.

“Faith is a gift from God allowing us to enter peacefully into the dark night which faces every one of us at one time or another. Faith is at peace, and full of light. Faith celebrates the very warp and woof of one’s existence. Faith considers that its precariousness and its finiteness are but the womb in which it abides, moving toward the plenitude and fullness of the eternity which it desires and believes in and which revelation opens to it.” So wrote Catherine de Hueck Doherty. Faith is a stronghold when suffering shakes up our lives. With faith, there is a certain peace in suffering because faith deepens love and unites our personal suffering with Jesus’ suffering. Grace keeps us moving along the bumpy road of life. God is not responsible for adverse events along this road. His goodness is found through these events when they teach us humility, forgiveness and repentance. How sweet are the ways of faith. With our significant faults we repeatedly sin and fall. Nevertheless, we take Jesus’ hand and get up quickly. We are forgiven and Jesus continues to inspire and guide us. We are not discouraged and continue to try to live as good Christians again and again and again.

Faith is the sanctuary of peace on a wayfarer’s journey. In his book He Leadeth Me, Walter Ciszek, SJ, wrote:

Only by a lively faith can a man learn to live in peace among the tensions of this world, secure in his ability (with God’s help) to weather the crises of life, whenever they come and whatever they may be, for he knows that God is with him. In the midst of suffering or failure, or even sin, when he feels lost or overwhelmed by danger or temptation, his faith still reminds him of God. By faith he has learned to lift himself above the circumstances of this life and to keep his eyes fixed upon God, from whom he expects the grace and the help he needs, no matter how unworthy he may feel. Faith, then, is the fulcrum of our moral and spiritual balance. The problems of evil or of sin, of injustice, of sufferings, even of death, cannot upset the man of faith or shake his trust and confidence in God. His powerlessness to solve such problems will not be a cause of despair or despondency for him, no matter how strong his concern and anxiety may be for himself and for those around him. At the core of his being there exists an unshakable confidence that God will provide, in the mysterious ways of his own Divine Providence.5

In divine faith, the one believed is God. In human faith, the ones believed are persons. It is sometimes challenging to accept the word of another in honesty and in truth. Thomas Aquinas wrote: “Someone may object that it is foolish to believe what he cannot see. . . . Yet, life in this world would be altogether impossible if we were to believe only what we can see. How can we live without believing others? How is a man to believe that his father is so and so? Hence man finds it necessary to believe others in matters that he cannot know perfectly on his own.”

Faith and its necessary sacrifices are an essential part of love within families, between friends and in the Church. As trust and faith in God is strengthened, it increases trust and faith in others (within reason). It provides a foundation for accepting others, which includes those we do not understand (our children) or like (our neighbor, supervisor or in law).

Holy Surprise

A life of faith can be ignited from a small grace such as a quiet reading of the Twenty-Third Psalm, a beautiful sunset or something someone said. On rare occasions, it can be ignited by an extraordinary occurrence and lead to unimaginable places. In the beginning of his book The Waters of Siloe, Thomas Merton relates this story:

It is late at night. Most of the Paris cafes have closed their doors and pulled down their shutters and locked them to the sidewalk. Lights are reflected brightly in the wet, empty pavement. A taxi stops to let off a passenger and moves away again, its red tail light disappearing around the corner.

The man who has just alighted follows a bellboy through the whirling door into the lobby of one of the big Paris hotels. His suitcase is bright with labels that spell out the names of hotels that existed in the big European cities before World War II. But the man is not a tourist. You can see that he is a businessman, and an important one. This is not the kind of hotel that is patronized by mere voyageurs de commerce. He is a Frenchman, and he walks through the lobby like a man who is used to stopping at the best hotels. He pauses for a moment, fumbling for some change, and the bellboy goes ahead of him to the elevator.

The traveler is suddenly aware that someone is looking at him. He turns around. It is a woman, and to his astonishment she is dressed in the habit of a nun. If he knew anything about the habits worn by the different religious orders, he would recognize the white cloak and brown robe as belonging to the Discalced Carmelites. But what on earth would a man in his position know about Discalced Carmelites? He is far too important and too busy to worry his head about nuns and religious orders—or about churches for that matter, although he occasionally goes to Mass as a matter of form.

The most surprising thing of all is that the nun is smiling, and she is smiling at him. She is a young sister, with a bright, intelligent French face, full of the candor of a child, full of good sense, and her smile is a smile of frank, undisguised friendship. The traveler instinctively brings his hand to his hat, then turns away and hastens to the desk, assuring himself that he does not know any nuns. As he is signing the register he cannot help glancing back over his shoulder. The nun is gone. Putting down the pen, he asks the clerk, “Who was that nun that just passed by?” “I beg your pardon monsieur. What was that you said?” “That nun, who was she anyway? The one that just went by and smiled at me.” The clerk arches his eyebrows. “You are mistaken, monsieur. A nun, in a hotel, at this time of night? Nuns don’t go wandering around town, smiling at men!” “I know they don’t. That is why I would like you to explain the fact that one came up and smiled at me just now, here in this lobby.” The clerk shrugs: “Monsieur, you are the only person that has come in or gone out in the last half hour.”

Not long after, the traveler who saw that nun in the Paris hotel was no longer an important French industrialist, and he did know something about religious habits. In fact, he was wearing one. It was brown: a brown robe, with a brown scapular over it, and a thick leather belt buckled about the waist. His head was shaved and he had grown a beard. And he wore a grimy apron to protect his robe from axle grease. He was lying on his back underneath a partly disemboweled tractor. There was a wrench in his hand and black smudges all around his eyes where he had been wiping the sweat with the back of his greasy hands. He was a lay brother in the most strictly enclosed, the poorest, the most laborious, and one of the most austere orders in the Church. He had become a Trappist in a southern French abbey.6

God No Matter What

In the grand scale, life is not as serious as people think it to be. Life is holy and valuable in its ordinariness as long as folks are forthright and define themselves by faith rather than by successes and accomplishments. The things that diminish Christian identity also diminish insights, creativity and energy. The way individuals relate to God has a distinct connection with the way they respect others. The dignity they display toward others and themselves reflects the respect they have for God.

We strive to live by faith no matter what happens in life. Faith is believing in that which is unseen, and is the foundation for a sound self-image so basic to life. It is the light that guides our days when our days are like nights and nothing makes sense. It sustains a sense of security amid all the ambiguities of life. Yet, faith can be difficult. In her book Sister Wendy on Prayer, Sister Wendy Beckett gives us this illustration to help us along: “The holiest person I know has never had the slightest interior intimation that God exists. All she gets back from her prayer is doubt and darkness. She experiences a terrible fear that her life with God is all imagination, that there is no God, that living as a nun is a mockery. With this agonizing sense of her own personal weakness and her own absolute absence of felt certainty, she chooses. She chooses to believe. She chooses to act in accordance with that belief, which means in practice a life of heroic charity. This woman—and others like her, because she is not alone in this heroism—is giving to God the real sacrifice of faith. This woman chooses to love God and to serve him and to believe in him, even if she gets noting back. It is a glory to know that she exists and that there are others like her.”

Mary is the unsurpassed example of a faith-filled person. She shows that with God nothing is impossible. She welcomed the angel Gabriel’s message. “Be it done unto me according to your word” is a response to say each day of our lives. All through the circumstances and events of her life, Mary continued to say “yes.” Her faith never wavered. She shows all people how to know and love Jesus better. She helps everyone understand Jesus who cannot be contained or limited by human definitions. She shows people how to pray by opening their minds and hearts to the power of the Holy Spirit. In order to be students in her school of faith, it is mandatory to deeply understand the need for silence, recollection and how to live and grow in faith by being responsive to the mystery of God in ordinary life. Mary walks ahead of us as we walk through the dark confusion of our time. The light from her lantern of faith helps us see situations with trust in the Lord. She is forever reassuring that Divine Presence is always with us. Mary is the best of all role models there is to show everyone the myriad of beauties along the road of holiness and most of all, the magnificent beauty of her son.

Mary, help of Christians,

Hasten to our aide:

Pray for us in sickness

To your Son who died:

He who healed the lepers

Will not fail to heed

You, his honored mother,

Bearer of our need.

Mary, help of Christians,

Hear our urgent pleas

For your wounded children,

Broken and diseased:

He who bled to heal us

Will not fail to heed

You, beloved mother

Bearer of our need.

~Magnificat magazine, February 2011

4. Pat Nyquist, OSB, in Spirit & Life magazine (Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, Tucson, AZ), March/April 2007.

5. Ciszek, He Leadeth Me, 186.

6. Merton, Waters of Siloe, 13–14.