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-The Life and Times of Jesus the
Messiah,
by Alfred Edersheim, Vol. 1, p. 258
In writing about his
own country, France, the great Catholic philosopher-journalist Marcel
Clement, wrote the following which could well apply to our own country
in terms of the tragic influence exerted by legislators, educators and
Media elites:
France is in a state of
serious decadence, and this has been imposed by laws, by educational
establishments, by the transmission by radio and television of items
in which misconduct, grossness and contempt for the body are
increasingly emphasized. The fear of reminding people that God is Love
and that the faithful and fruitful love of spouses is blessed, has
affected even the churches, where for years the social aspect of the
Gospel has been emphasized. What has been overlooked is that, if the
majority of a people do not accept moral uprightness as the norm,
social problems will become even more acute, and social collapse will
be the eventual result.
If the family is no
longer held in honor, this is due in no small measure to the effects
of the law and the influence of the culture. Easy divorce, generalized
concubinage, legalized abortion, homosexuality recognized and
celebrated, the condom proposed as the guarantor of safe sex, the
population decline camouflaged, virginity ridiculed, fidelity
discouraged, genuine married life no longer to be found in books and
TV screens, or the example of public figures...such is the invisible
background to [the activities secular governments are engaged in].
The moral corruption
and decadence described by Edersheim and Clement is all too evident in
this part of the world. As Pope John Paul II has repeatedly warned,
unless this process is reversed, what awaits us is the total collapse
of the social order, and a descent from a civilized way of life into
barbarism. In one of his 1998 addresses to American Bishops on their
ad limina visits to the See of Peter, the Pope specifically
referred to "a new spiritual crisis" the signs of which are already
ominous. He warned that "a new era of barbarism" rather than the
long-hoped-for new "springtime for Christianity" could well follow
this "century of tears".
Some author whom I
cannot recall has well said that is it the saints of God who keep the
right hand of God from destroying a faithless people worshipping - as
of old - at the altar of pagan gods and seeking (like the inhabitants
of Sodom and Gomorrah) every possible pleasure and self-indulgence, no
matter how base and unworthy of a human being they may be. The
spiritual man, par excellence, is, of course, the saint. It is the
saint who is the bearer and manifestation of Catholic spirituality.
The saint lives in God and speaks about Him in both word and deed. He
or she manifests the radiance and splendor of Christ and the
resurrected Christ's Victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil
- all three of which seek the ruination of the human person "made in
the image and likeness of God." The holiness of God, the Blessed
Trinity, is embodied in the person of a saint such as St. Maria
Goretti, and it is important to stress that the saints of the Church
of God are not merely good people or dull moralists who make sanctity
unattractive, or simply those who are good natured. Rather the saint
is the person who has responded to the grace of God, is faithful to
Christ's teachings, and who submits to and acts upon the guidance of
the Holy Spirit within the soul. Each saint is a marvelous work of the
Holy Trinity, and it has always been acknowledged by all the faithful
that
"the mystery of the
Blessed Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and of
Christian life. God alone can make it known to us by revealing Himself
as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." (CCC, 261)
As for the Church
itself, it exists to lead man to what the Greek Fathers of the Church
termed "theosis" (i.e., divinization-i.e., to communion and union with
God, the Blessed Trinity), and we can simply say the work of the
Church is to "make saints". And in this "process" of [...]
sanctification of fallen human nature, it is clear from the dicta of
Divine Revelation that Catholic spirituality is Christ-centered
since Christ is our Redeemer and Savior and it is His grace won for us
on the Cross which is "divinizing" and salvific. Holiness is simply
being like Christ. Thereby we mean that Jesus Christ is the pattern
for us to follow. The more we become like Him, the more holy we are.
This stands to reason since Christ is God, and a person is only as
holy as he is conformed to Jesus, who was perfect in every human
virtue because, though man, He was also God. Time and again, He bade
us become like Him. "Learn of Me, for I am meed and humble of
heart...I, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash
each other's feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy
what I have done to you...I give you a new commandment. Love one
another just as I have loved you." This is the formula of sanctity:
study the conduct of Christ and strive to do the same. If one does,
and insofar as he does, one becomes holy. Already, one can perhaps
glimpse something of the holiness of St. Maria Goretti whose love of
God led her to pray for and to forgive her murderer Alessandro
Serenelli. Even as she struggled with her attacker, she was to repeat,
"Alessandro...I forgive you." When the priest at her deathbed
inquired, "Maria, Jesus died while forgiving the penitent thief at his
side; do you forgive with all your heart your attacker and murderer?"
she answered, "Yes! Yes! For the love of Jesus, I forgive him, and I
want him to be with me in Heaven." Interestingly, the priest who gave
her the final Anointing of the Sick and Holy Communion (the Archpriest
Signori) had himself forgiven another murderer, the murderer of his
father.
Catholic spirituality
is also Holy Trinity-centered, since Christ is always united with the
Father and the Holy Spirit. Our Christological life ("life in Christ")
cannot be separated or be independent of the Trinitarian. We cannot
consider Christ apart from the Holy Trinity, since Christ is the
Second Person of the Holy Trinity, and is united by nature with the
Father and the Holy Spirit. The salvation of man is a common activity
of the Trinitarian God. The works of Christ and the work of the Holy
Spirit are not two different things. Christ became man by the good
will of the Father and by the cooperation of the Holy Spirit who
proceeds from the Father and the Son, and that the Holy Spirit forms
Christ in our hearts, and thus God the Father is glorified. The
Christ-life is lived through the power of the Holy Spirit who works
through the Sacraments instituted by Our Lord.
The entire Christian
life is a union with the Holy Trinity, and it is to be noted that all
the Sacraments which are the vehicles of God's sanctifying grace are
[...] spirituality is also Eucharistic since it is in partaking of the
Lord's Body and Blood that we enter into the closest union with Our
Blessed Lord Himself, and thereby with the other Persons of the Holy
Trinity, since again, Christ is always united with the Father and the
Holy Spirit. Catholic spirituality is also Marian and this too is
exemplified in the life of St. Maria Goretti whose mother Assunta, the
first mother in the history of the Catholic Church to be present for
the formal canonization of her own child, was asked, "What did you do
to rear a saint in your home?" Her answer was simply, "I taught my
dear Maria to love God and to love our Blessed Mother." That was it,
and that was enough. These few brief words are the answer to the
sincere and anxious mothers and fathers of our confused and turbulent
times who face the difficult task of rearing those who are not only
their own children, but also children of God and children of the
Mother of all the redeemed. Their primary and essential obligation
towards their God-given offspring is to teach them, both by word and
example, to love God with all their strength, and to love the Blessed
Mother of God who is also Mother of the Church. If they fail in this,
their children will amount to little or nothing as "co-workers with
God" and will do little or nothing really worthwhile for God or for
men.
It is interesting that
the Gospel for St. Maria Gorettt's Feastday (July 6) is that of John
12:24-26, wherein we read:
"Amen, amen, I say
to you, unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it
remains alone. But if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. He who
loves his life, loses it; and he who hates his life in this world,
keeps it unto life everlasting. If anyone serves Me, My Father will
honor him."
Martyred at the age of
12, St. Maria Goretti is now in the glory of Heaven, honored by the
Father. She sees the Triune God "face to face" in the company of all
the Angels and Saints, having received the reward of the Blessed (i.e.
those who keep the Commandments, who follow the Lamb of God in all
innocence and purity, and having lived in this life as an image of Him
who was the Immaculate Lamb of God, Jesus Christ). Her shrine at
Nettuno under the care of the Passionist Fathers (which I had the
pleasure of visiting some years ago) has brought forth much fruit as a
place of prayer and meditation and center of spirituality. Along with
millions of others, Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II have visited
this shrine to pray before the relics of a young virgin Saint who
continues to inspire young people to live truly Christian lives and to
abhor sins of impurity which cause the spiritual death of the soul.
Psalm 118 rightly speaks of those who are: "Blessed because their
conduct is blameless, who walk in the way of the Lord" and are
characterized [...] for the Lord and obedience to His commandments.
The same Psalm also speaks of the trials and tribulations and
persecutions which await those who are devoted to the love of God and
His Holy will: "The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I pay heed
to and obey Thy commandments." Those who, like St. Maria Goretti,
would live the life of the Beatitudes, invariably will be confronted
by the godless philosophy of today's secularists.
All we have to do is
place the 8 Beatitudes in one column and the 8 corresponding attitudes
of our culture in another column, and compare the two. Where Christ
advocates poverty, the world despises the poor and canonizes the rich.
Where Christ praises gentleness, the world belittles meekness and
extols those who succeed by crushing anyone that stands in the way.
Where Christ encourages mourning and sorrow for sin, the world revels
in pleasure and the noise of empty laughter. Where Christ promises joy
only to those who seek justice and holiness, the world offers
satisfaction in the enjoyment of sin. Where Christ bids us forgive and
show mercy to those who have offended us, the world seeks vengeance
and its law courts are filled with demands for retribution. Where
Christ blesses those who are pure of heart, the world scoffs at
chastity and makes a god of sex. Where Christ tells the peaceful that
they shall be rewarded, the world teaches just the opposite in
constant rebellion and violence and massive preparation for war. And
where Christ teaches the incredible doctrine of accepting persecution
and resignation to God's will, the world dreads nothing more than
criticism and rejection, and human respect, which means acceptance by
society is the moral norm." (Holiness in the Church, by Fr.
John Hardon, S.J., pp.34-35)
St. Maria Goretti was
able to live the life of the Beatitudes even as a child because her
peasant parents though terribly poor and lacking formal education were
profoundly Christian. Their child had been baptized in the Name of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and they had taught their
child to love God, to converse with God in prayer, to adore Christ in
the Blessed Sacrament, and to be devoted to Our Blessed Mother, she
who is "full of grace" and the beloved Spouse of the Holy Spirit. The
crucifix in their simple home was a constant reminder to all of what
the Son of God had endured for them, and why. Like St. Maria Goretti
children today must be taught by their parents to love and to be
faithful to the greatest of all prayers-the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass. It is during this most important hour of the week that the
faithful, young and old, offer God the sacrifice of atonement through
which they, like the child martyr Maria, learn how to offer their
bodies to God as holy and pleasing victims (Secret Prayer of Mass on
her Feast). Children must be instructed to love and to make frequent
use of the Sacrament of Penance and the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
In the former as in the latter, they will receive the same strength to
defend and preserve that purity of body and soul which God abundantly
bestowed upon His handmaiden St. Maria Goretti. We read in the Letter
of St. Paul that he had asked his Corinthian converts, "Do you not
know that you are God's temple, and that God's Spirit dwells in you?"
(1 Cor 3:16; cf.6:19). St. Maria Goretti knew that wonderful truth.
Her brief life can be
the subject of countless lessons and commentary, including discussion
of Christ's abhorrence of sin, an abhorrence reflected in the lives of
His Saints. On the last day, the gentle Savior of the world will
pronounce on unrepentant sinners the following judgment: "Go away from
Me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the
devil and his angels."
Human language could
not be more terrifying, and God wants us to be terrified at the
prospect of eternal fire as the recompense for unforgiven, because
unrepented sin. Christ's abhorrence of sin is thus perfectly revealed
in the Final Judgment and no amount of rhetoric or theological
speculation can remove the simple truth of our faith. God hates sin.
Certainly He loves the sinner and is divinely merciful toward the
humble who acknowledge their sinfulness. But a day will come when
mercy will cease and divine justice will take over. The lesson for us
is clear. If we are to imitate Christ in His abhorrence of sin we must
abhor it. Nothing less. When we abhor something, we hate it, loathe
it, we detest it. To abhor is to stay away from, to have a feeling of
revulsion toward what we abhor.
This gives us room for
a long, long pause. Let us examine our hearts and ask ourselves how
sincerely we can say that we truly abhor what we know, on faith, is
sinful and that God wants us to eradicate from our lives. The measure
of our abhorrence of sin is the index of our imitation of Christ (Holiness
in the Church by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J., page 59).
In the Blessed
Trinity's plan of salvation the sanctification of souls is
particularly appropriated to the Holy Spirit. This is not surprising
given the fact that He is the Divine Person Who proceeds from the
Father and the Son as their Eternal Love and thus fittingly represents
the whole Blessed Trinity Who is Love. "Of the Holy Spirit...we say,
that He Himself comes to us with grace, He gives us Himself in grace,
and that He really and essentially, in an unspeakably intimate manner,
dwells in us by grace" (Scheeben). In commenting upon the words of Our
Lord, "I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate to
be with you always," Pope John Paul II notes:
These words express the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit as inner guest in people's hearts: in
the heart of anyone among all the souls belonging to Christ who
welcomes the Spirit. The Father and the Son too come to "take up
residence" in these souls (Jn. 14:23). Therefore the whole Trinity is
present in them, but, since this is a spiritual presence, that
presence refers in a most direct way to the Person of the Holy Spirit.
(General Audience, 9/26/90).
The Catechism of the
Catholic Church reminds us:
Through his grace, the
Holy Spirit is the first to awaken faith in us and [in baptism] to
communicate to us the new [divine] life, which is 'to know the Father
and the one whom He has sent, Jesus Christ'. (Jn. 17:3; CCC, #684).
Let us again recall
that the three Persons of the Holy Trinity are everywhere present
together. When Our Lord says, "I and the Father are one," He means
exactly that. He is also one with the Holy Spirit in the divine
essence. He instructs us that their common life goes on in our souls
and in the Blessed Sacrament and in heaven. In heaven, the Angels and
the Blessed spend their eternity in the beatitude of that life of the
Trinity. That is the fulfillment of the life of grace, the beatific
vision, which is begun on earth in the souls of the faithful by
sanctifying grace. It blossoms in us when we cooperate with the graces
first received in baptism. As theologians have stressed, the
possession of sanctifying grace is "the beginning of glory in us".
Moreover, the realization - the clear awareness - of the indwelling of
the Trinity in our souls is indeed one of the greatest favors the
Christian can receive in this life.
In conclusion, I would
like to emphasize that her life of "faith, hope and charity," the love
of God and family and neighbor and even of her murderer Serenelli,
which St. Maria Goretti exhibited to the admiration of all the
faithful since her martyrdom - was assuredly the manifestation of the
activity of the Triune God of Love in her. In the Opening Prayer of
the Mass on her Feastday, the Father in the Trinity (from whom the Son
is begotten and from whom the Holy Spirit proceeds through the Son) is
thus fittingly invoked:
Father,
Source of innocence and lover of chastity,
You gave Saint Maria Goretti the privilege of offering her life in
witness to Christ. As You gave her the crown of martyrdom, let her
prayers keep us faithful to Your teaching. |
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