Week Beginning November 27, 2022
Seven Lamps of Sanctification
The Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs us: “This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity–this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed–is called ‘heaven.’ Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness” (CCC 1024). In order to achieve this end, we must die in God’s grace and friendship and either be perfectly purified (CCC 1023) or undergo purification after death (CCC 1030). Holiness is necessary to enter the joy of heaven (CCC 1030), and all Christians are called to holiness (CCC 2013).
So, how do we answer our call to holiness? Pope Benedict XVI explains that we can only become holy by sharing in God’s holiness:
“The answer is clear. A holy life is not primarily the result of our efforts, of our actions, because it is God, the three times Holy (cf. Isaiah 6:3) who sanctifies us, it is the Holy Spirit’s action that enlivens us from within, it is the very life of the Risen Christ that is communicated to us and that transforms us.”
He continues by observing that Christian holiness is “charity lived to the full” (1 John 4:16):
“But if charity, like a good seed, is to grow and fructify in the soul, each of the faithful must willingly hear the word of God and carry out his will with deeds, with the help of his grace. He must frequently receive the sacraments, chiefly the Eucharist, and take part in the holy liturgy; he must constantly apply himself to prayer, self-denial, active brotherly service and the exercise all the virtues.”
Therefore, our holiness depends upon both God’s gifts to us and our cooperation with those gifts. Through the grace of God, we engage lovingly in our relationship with Him and others using the virtues to light our pathway to becoming a saint. Pope Saint John XXIII refers to the “seven lamps of sanctification” as the seven virtues that illuminate Christian life. These virtues are the four cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance elevated and perfected by the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity.
Saints enjoy the fullness of God’s life in heaven after living lives of heroic virtue on earth, offering their lives for others, or being martyred for the faith. Through their exemplary imitation of Christ, they become excellent role models and powerful intercessors for the faithful on Earth.
Our communion of saints includes those who are canonized and those who are not yet canonized. These “simple saints,” as Pope Benedict XVI calls them, are “ordinary people, so to speak, without visible heroism but in their everyday goodness I see the truth of faith.” Pope Francis lauds our “saints next door,” who “in those parents who raise their children with immense love, in those men and women who work hard to support their families, in the sick, in elderly religious who never lose their smile” demonstrate daily patience and resolve.
Look toward the canonized saints and these simple saints next door as models of virtue and heavenly friends from God. Learn from their examples, their stories, their witness, and their encouragement. Remember them in your prayers, and ask for their intercession to help you discern and persevere in your vocation.
While Saint Paul teaches us about the diversity of our gifts from God (Ephesians 4:7-16), the Second Vatican Council elaborates on how we can use our unique talents in conjunction with one another to build the Kingdom of God. Any role we fill in society can be treated like a vocation when we are called to offer our service lovingly as part of His divine plan. Pope Benedict XVI encourages us to embrace our parts “as small pieces in the great mosaic of holiness that God continues to create in history, so that the face of Christ may shine out in the fullness of its splendor.”
Do not despair if you do not feel worthy to enter the Heavenly Kingdom. That is truly a sign that you are on the right path. Saint Augustine asserts: “If you ask me what the essential thing in the religion and discipline of Jesus Christ is, I shall reply: first, humility; second, humility; and third, humility.” In a vision, Jesus told Saint Catherine of Siena:
“Do you know, daughter, who you are and who I am? If you know these two things you have beatitude in your grasp. You are she who is not, and I AM HE WHO IS. Let your soul but become penetrated with this truth, and the Enemy can never lead you astray; you will never be caught in any snare of his, nor ever transgress any commandment of mine; you will have set your feet on the royal road which leads to the fullness of grace, and truth, and light.”
Plant your feet on that royal road, and trust that the Almighty God, who destines us for salvation, will guide your journey. Saint Thérèse of Lisieux illustrates how “Perfection consists in doing His will, in being what He wills us to be.” She notes:
“I understand how all the flowers He has created are beautiful, how the splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the Lily do not take away the perfume of the little violet or the delightful simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty, and the fields would no longer be decked out with little wild flowers.”
This week, embrace the beautiful flower that you are in the garden of souls. Keep your lamps of sanctification trimmed, so that the virtues can help you blossom into your full potential and illuminate your path toward becoming a saint.
Week Beginning November 20, 2022
Charity
“If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
~ 1 Corinthians 13
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that “Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God” (CCC 1822). As a virtue, charity is not merely a passive feeling or an emotion, but an unconditional and sacrificial form of love. This highest form of love, often described using the Greek word agápē, is a selfless act of the will. It is the fatherly love God has for us and our reciprocal love for Him; it is our love for our neighbors as if they were extensions of ourselves. This supernatural virtue of love purifies and raises our will so that we favor loving God above all others and above all worldly goods. It orders our priorities so that everything we do points back to God. Similarly, charity transforms all of the virtues by determining this holy end toward which they also aim.
Albert the Great explains: “It is by the path of love, which is charity, that God draws near to man and man to God. But where charity is not found, God cannot dwell. If, then, we possess charity, we possess God, for ‘God is Charity’ (1 John 4:8).” Saint Thomas Aquinas states that the material object of charity is God Himself, and the formal object of charity is God as beloved–as our first and best friend. It is important to note that on our own, we are incapable and unworthy of this friendship with God. We are able to love, because God loves us first. Only through His grace are we capable of experiencing this divine love and friendship; only through His grace are we made more like the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son as their mutual love. “Charity unites us to God,” says Pope Saint Clement I. “There is nothing mean in charity, nothing arrogant. Charity knows no schism, does not rebel, does all things in concord. In charity all the elect of God have been made perfect.”
In addition to holding charity in our hearts, we must also put it into action. Saint Ignatius of Loyola tells us, “Love is shown more by deeds than by words.” Saint Augustine elaborates: “What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.” Charity gives meaning to all of our good works by offering them for the Kingdom of God. Pope Saint Gregory the Great adds: “The proof of love is in the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.”
Charity, which is the willing of another’s good, is distinct from kindness, which is the desire to relieve one’s suffering. Tough love occurs when the loving thing to do does not at first seem like the kind thing to do. A loving father allows us to make mistakes for the sake of learning. He offers us frank correction for our protection. Just as God the Father permits some suffering for our greater good, we engage in long-term loving actions over short-term kindness when it is beneficial to others.
Exercised internally, charity produces joy, peace, and mercy. It helps us comprehend the fulfillment of beatitude. Exercised externally, charity is displayed through beneficence, alms giving, and fraternal correction. Sins against charity generally stem from the hatred of God but also arise when we are moved by an inordinate desire or fear. Sins against the joy of charity include sloth and envy, against the peace of charity include discord, contention, schism, war, strife, and sedition, and against the beneficence of charity include scandal.
Although the day will come when we no longer need faith and hope, charity endures forever. When we reap our eternal reward, the friendship with God we started on Earth will grow perfectly and exponentially in Heaven.
The gift of the Holy Spirit that enhances charity is wisdom. The gift of wisdom, separate from the intellectual excellence attained through the virtue of wisdom, enables us to see God as the sovereign good and final end. Through supernatural wisdom, we can judge and govern human actions according to divine principles, thus willing the proper order for our lives.
When we view the theological virtues as parts of a plant, charity is the fragrant flower that crowns the top. The hidden potential within the plant blooms to reveal its full splendor and thereafter spreads its seeds of love. Likewise, Saint Teresa of Calcutta encourages us to blossom: “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” Saint Augustine observes, “Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.”
Love is not always easy and can leave us feeling vulnerable. We take a risk when we choose to open ourselves to a selfless love. When we pour out our love and give ourselves to others, charity flows back to us and reinforces our image in the likeness of God. In such a way, we receive back the gift we give away.
This week, think about how you express charity in your thoughts, words, and actions. Do you approach others with compassion and understanding? Do you try to empathize with their struggles? Do you show forgiveness and mercy when you are wronged? Are you loving even when it seems to be unkind? Think also about your special gifts. How can you use your talents to spread your seeds of love?
Are you being a good friend to God? Are you trying to resist sin and live in a way that is pleasing to Him? Do you spend enough of the hours He has given to you in worship, prayer, study, thanksgiving, and adoration? The Venerable Servant of God Fulton Sheen reminds us: “The greatest love story of all time is contained in a tiny white host.”
This Thanksgiving, let us be particularly grateful for all of the charity in our lives. Best wishes to you and your loved ones for a blessed holiday.
Week Beginning November 13, 2022
Hope
“Do not look forward in fear to the changes in life; rather, look to them with full hope that as they arise, God, whose very own you are, will lead you safely through all things; and when you cannot stand it, God will carry you in His arms.
Do not fear what may happen tomorrow; the same understanding Father who cares for you today will take care of you then and every day. He will either shield you from suffering or will give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.”
~ Saint Francis de Sales
In general terms, hope is the desire of a future good that is arduous and difficult to obtain, combined with the expectation that obtaining it is possible but not guaranteed. We desire most earthly goods through natural hope, which is an emotion of the sensitive appetite. Pope Benedict XVI explains, “We need the greater and lesser hopes that keep us going day by day. But these are not enough without the great hope, which must surpass everything else. This great hope can only be God.”
As a theological virtue, God is both the great hope we wish to attain and the means necessary to achieve eternal happiness with Him. Through the grace of God, the infused virtue of hope elevates the rational appetite of our will, enabling us to place all of our trust in His divine goodness.
The theological virtue of hope originates in the hope of Abraham, is rooted in the revelation of God, is founded on the Paschal Mystery, and looks to Christ as the pioneer who goes before us and presents our humanity as a pleasing sacrifice on our behalf. Hope is expressed and nourished through prayer, encourages us to grow in faith, inspires our generous response to the offer of beatitude, opens our hearts to mercy and healing through Reconciliation, purifies us by orienting our lives toward the Kingdom of heaven, and motivates us to intercede for the dead. Hope instills a graced confidence that enables us to trust the perfection and permanence of what we cannot see, to stay the course when we do not understand, and to rely entirely on Him for help amidst our human insufficiency and inability. It sustains us during times of trial and abandonment, fortifies us to withstand temptations against vigilance and perseverance, and protects us from discouragement. It preserves us from selfishness and fills us with joy by directing our focus outward, thus uniting us in charity with our neighbors and God. Certainly, “hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Romans 5:5).
When we consider the theological virtues as parts of a blossoming flower, hope is the stem of the plant. It is the virtue that carries us upward from our roots of faith. It is the trusted path leading toward the beautiful bloom of charity.
More commonly, hope is referred to as the “anchor of the soul, sure and firm” (Hebrews 6:19). The anchor keeps us from drifting off; it stabilizes us during turbulent times. Saint Augustine explains, “by fixing our hope up above, we have set it like an anchor on firm ground, able to hold against any of the stormy waves of this world, not by our own strength but by that of the one in whom this anchor of our hope has been fixed. Having caused us to hope, after all, He will not disappoint us, but will in due course give us the reality in exchange for the hope.” Saint Bede the Venerable says, “Unfurl the sails, and let God steer us where He will.”
As with faith, there is no need for hope in heaven. Those saved souls already partake in the beatific vision. The damned no longer hope, because the possibility of entering heaven is lost for them.
Hope can be destroyed by perpetration of sin or absence of faith. The vices contrary to hope rest in the extremes of despair and presumption. Despair is the refusal to strive for union with God. It arises from a sadness with the divine good when we perceive the promises of God are inaccessible or impossible to fulfill. Presumption assumes that heaven is guaranteed without any good works and human cooperation with grace. The hopeful Christian trusts in the mean.
The gift of the Holy Spirit associated with hope is fear of the Lord. In its initial stages, this servile fear is a fear of God’s punishments. In its mature stages, this filial or chaste fear is a fear of offending God in any way. Fear perfects hope by imparting a supernatural sensitivity into our souls that determines what helps and hinders our pursuit of God and directs us accordingly.
Those of us who hope to be made worthy of the promises of Christ are sometimes thought to be chasing imaginary dreams or attempting to escape reality. Conversely, those with their sights set on heaven are raised to serve the Kingdom for the benefit of society. Pursuing holiness gives us the grace to help perfect temporal matters. Only when we put God first are we able to recognize and achieve the greatest good. We organize our lives by prioritizing our hopes. Do your actions reflect your priority to hope in God?
This week, think about how God has graced your life with hope. Has this hope changed your perspective of the world? As we approach Advent, consider how can you make a small personal sacrifice to provide hope–natural or theological–to someone in need. How can you inspire hope in others?
On the contrary, if you are feeling hopeless, anxious, or empty, your “help is in the name of the Lord” (Psalm 124:8). Consider making a heartfelt confession. The Sacrament of Reconciliation can aid in restoring the virtues. Let prayer be your lifeline. Open yourself up to receiving God’s gifts, let Christ heal your soul, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. Pray for hope, knowing that when the night is the darkest, the light of hope shines the brightest. Listen to Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina when he says, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayers.”
