Smorgasbord #86
Esto Vir | Sacred Heart | The Fulfillment of All Desire, Part II
Esto Vir
Yesterday was St. Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer’s feast day, and I will never forget the first quote from Camino that my friend Ivan showed me. It goes like this: Don't say, "That's the way I am–it's my character." It's your lack of character. Esto vir!–Be a man! So, yeah, he was a no-nonsense kind of priest. If you think you need to grow in humility —and really, we all do —pick up a copy of Camino and read a paragraph a day. It’s like a spoonful of cod liver oil for your soul.
Even though St. Josemaria is a straight shooter, if you watch him interact with the members of Opus Dei, you can see how fatherly he was to his spiritual children. What has drawn me to him is this concept of sanctifying our work. Whatever we do, we can offer it to God as a sacrifice that is pleasing to Him. A kind of Benedictine Ora et Labora that turns work into prayer.
He also stressed the importance of us, the laity, in the building of the kingdom of God; something that the Second Vatican Council emphasized with the Universal Call to Holiness. We don’t have to be priests or religious to be holy, and we can integrate our spiritual and professional lives. We are, after all, just one person. Why would we compartmentalize our professional self from our spiritual one?
Whenever I’m done complaining about how things are not going my way, I immediately have St. Josemaria’s words in my head: Esto Vir! It’s a call to action, to be the best version of myself, or at least that’s how I interpret it. It’s about doing what you ought to do, not what you would like to do. I get to use my God-given talents to earn a salary and provide for my family. And I can turn those efforts into a prayer, an offering to God. Let’s sanctify the world by rolling up our sleeves and getting our hands dirty!
Sacred Heart
June is dedicated to devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Pius XII's definition of devotion to the Sacred Heart from his 1956 encyclical Haurietis Aquas (You will draw waters) says: Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by its very nature is a worship of the love with which God, through Jesus, loves us, and at the same time, an exercise of our love by which we are related to God and to other men.
About three years ago, I began reading Heart of the Redeemer by Timothy T. O'Donnell, S.T.D., and took some notes on it. Since today is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, it seems fitting to share some of these. The first chapter of the book opens with the question, "What is meant by the heart"? Here are some ideas I found interesting:
Karl Rahner, SJ, describes the heart as a primal word used to designate the whole man.
The human heart is a natural symbol for what is most intimate and most personal in man. Ladislaus Boros, SJ, stresses the universality of the physical heart of man as a symbol of his intimate personality or center.
The heart is the spiritual center of man's soul, the core of all volitional, emotional, and intellectual activity.
In Hebrew, the word for heart (leb, lebab) signifies the interior life of a person. Leb and lebab occur over 858 times in the Old Testament alone.
According to Malatesta and Solano's The Heart of Christ and The Heart of Man, there are approximately sixteen Old Testament references to the heart of God.
The word heart is used 113 times in the Psalms.
The General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours allows for an "accommodated application" of scripture to the Heart of Christ. It also states that the person who prays the Psalms in the Liturgy of the Hours prays not so much in his own person as in the name of the Church, and, in fact, in the person of Christ himself.
Additionally, there are the Messianic Psalms, which contain explicit references to the heart of the Messiah, as confirmed by Jesus Himself and the apostles in the New Testament.
In Confessions, St. Augustine employs the phrase "cor ad cor loquitur" as a prescribed method of prayer, referring to a "heart to heart" conversation with God. I say today is a good day to open up our hearts to Jesus Christ, true God and true man. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine!
The Fulfillment of All Desire, Part II
As I mentioned last week, I’ll be sharing my notes on Ralph Martin’s The Fulfillment of All Desire. Last week, I mentioned the three stages of spiritual growth: purgative, illuminative, and unitive. Let’s start exploring the purgative stage.
Lukewarmness is not a state pleasing to the Lord (see Rev. 3:15-16). People in this situation may be stuck “serving two masters” or be unaware of what the call to holiness involves, and may not make much progress on the spiritual journey. The Lord often gives grace to people in this situation to awaken them to a fervent Christian Life. Exhibit A: Teresa of Avila.
Teresa joined the Carmelite Convent of the Incarnation in Avila when she was twenty. This convent was not particularly strict, and after many years, she settled into a routine compromised with wordliness and vanity, which blocked further progress. Teresa’s awakening came when she was almost forty, after reading Saint Augustine’s Confessions. At age fifty-seven, she experienced the “spiritual marriage” she describes in the seventh mansion. She died worn out from her labors at age sixty-seven.
What hindered Saint Teresa’s progress? She mentions four obstacles she had to overcome. First, carelessness about sin. The priests she was going to for confession said venial sin was no sin at all, and mortal sin was venial. It wasn’t until she encountered a Dominican priest that she was enlightened about the true nature of sin. A proper knowledge and abhorrence of sin are necessary to make progress. Second, not avoiding the near occasions of sin. We should practice detachment from people, places, or situations that may lead us to sin, asking God for wisdom to identify those situations that weaken our resolve to resist sin. Third, self-reliance. Having the humility to know that without God, we can do nothing. With simplicity and humility, we will achieve everything: fiat voluntas tua! (Your will be done). Fourth, not valuing the graces of God. We must practice responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit right away.
God uses everything to prepare us for conversion. Just look at Saint Augustine’s conversion. His mother, Saint Monica, tirelessly prayed for him. After reading the Roman philosopher Cicero, he became convinced that happiness was found in the truth rather than in physical pleasures. The power of the personal testimonies of Simplicianus and Victorinus, who had converted to Christianity, pushed him closer to conversion. His friend Ponticianus told him about Saint Anthony of the Desert, and after reading Athanasius’ Life of Anthony, Saint Augustine was filled with holy love and sobering shame. After he had run out of excuses, he heard a voice in the garden saying, “Pick up and read! Pick up and read!” The words from Romans 13:13-14 were the last push he needed. Three years passed from the time Augustine arrived in Milan to the time he was baptized.
The biblical worldview of the saints is the framework used by the doctors of the Church cited in this book to emphasize the seriousness of the situation of the human race apart from Christ, the reality of heaven and hell, and the urgent necessity to order one’s life as much as possible to the following of Jesus–right now.
Human life is continually evaluated in the light of eternity. What we believe and how we behave in this life determines our eternal destinies. In The Dialogue of Saint Catherine of Siena, God the Father himself tells her about the four torments of hell. First, souls are deprived of seeing God. This is so painful for them that if they could, they would choose the sight of God with the fire and excruciating torments, rather than the freedom from their pains without seeing Him. Second, ceaseless regret and agonizing about what has been lost. Their conscience gnaws at them constantly. Third, the demonic vision (opposite of the beatific vision) of the source of evil itself, which intensifies all torments. Their suffering is even worse because they see the devil as he really is, more horrible than the human heart can imagine. Fourth, ceaseless burning of an immaterial fire that has as many forms as the forms of sins that were committed.
Sobering, right? Tune in next week for the next installment of this series.
Peregrino is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Sobremesa
Isn’t it crazy that we have video footage of canonized saints?
Have you enthroned your home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus?
If it took Teresa of Avila twenty years in the convent to get serious about her faith, then there is hope for the rest of us, right? (No disrespect, St. Teresa. Love you, bye!)
What a way to end the post, lol! No shade though, because I was left to do some sobering reflection.
1) Yes, and we'll get even more media of saints as we go on!
2) I'm currently at a cafe, but I'll have to look over my prayer corner and see if I even have an image.
3) I can totally see her giving you a snarky response, but I don't think she'd be truly offended. Saints, they're just like us! :D
1. Absolutely. It’s also amazing to think that there are future canonized saints alive on earth /right now/.
2. We have images of the Sacred Heart, but I don’t think we’ve ever enthroned our home officially.
3. Absolutely, but we can’t wait until tomorrow to make it start happening.