Novena Reflection
By Kay Parlor
Holiness – Excerpts from Magnificat, 6/08, Holiness, Louis Lavelle © 2008 by Magnificat USA LLC
“The mark of holiness is to lay bare to us the relation between two worlds, the material and the spiritual….The saint stands at the frontier of the two worlds. In the midst of the visible world he (she) is a witness to the invisible – to something which is present in the deep life of all of us, but which the visible world hides or reveals according to the way we look at things. It is necessary that the saints should live among us, that they should be subject, like us, to all the wretchedness of our human condition, and that they should even seem to be overwhelmed by it; for in this way they teach us to be indifferent to all the glory of the world, proving to us in a striking manner that our true good lies elsewhere. The essence of holiness often manifests itself most clearly in the frustration the saint endures, in the pain which is inflicted on him, or which he inflicts on himself, in torture or in martyrdom….Not all saints are called to be martyrs. Yet our imagination needs these great examples as a measure of the distance there is between holiness and success. Holiness is the supreme success in the spiritual order; it is indifferent to worldly success and indeed despises it.”
Reflection:
Maybe it’s “an American thing”, but I always want big results, even when I feel I am doing God’s will. In the mission of promoting the call to holiness, we are often met with blank stares (lack of awareness), unread spiritual gems (lack of interest), empty seats (worldly busy-ness), etc. I’d be less than truthful if I said that I never battle against frustration or discouragement.
As I was reading the excerpt above, I was reminded of two of the ‘seed parables’ that appear in Mark’s gospel. (Mk. 4:26-32) Familiar to everyone is the mustard seed, that, though the smallest (seemingly insignificant) yields an enormous tree. The other parable teaches about the farmer who plants the seed and continues to go on about his life as normal--sleeping and rising day after day--while the seed grows, sprouts, and matures.
It is often like that in our apostolate also. Perhaps we are just one or two people, meeting to pray together or share Scripture, but Our Lord can use those small beginnings to work mightily! Sowing tiny “seeds” of love, hope, joy, confidence, etc. wherever we are can often flourish while we go about our business. St. Paul reminds us that “it is God who gives the growth!” (1Cor. 3:7) How liberating those words are to me—I just need to do my small part and leave the results to Him!
By Kay Parlor
Holiness – Excerpts from Magnificat, 6/08, Holiness, Louis Lavelle © 2008 by Magnificat USA LLC
“The mark of holiness is to lay bare to us the relation between two worlds, the material and the spiritual….The saint stands at the frontier of the two worlds. In the midst of the visible world he (she) is a witness to the invisible – to something which is present in the deep life of all of us, but which the visible world hides or reveals according to the way we look at things. It is necessary that the saints should live among us, that they should be subject, like us, to all the wretchedness of our human condition, and that they should even seem to be overwhelmed by it; for in this way they teach us to be indifferent to all the glory of the world, proving to us in a striking manner that our true good lies elsewhere. The essence of holiness often manifests itself most clearly in the frustration the saint endures, in the pain which is inflicted on him, or which he inflicts on himself, in torture or in martyrdom….Not all saints are called to be martyrs. Yet our imagination needs these great examples as a measure of the distance there is between holiness and success. Holiness is the supreme success in the spiritual order; it is indifferent to worldly success and indeed despises it.”
Reflection:
Maybe it’s “an American thing”, but I always want big results, even when I feel I am doing God’s will. In the mission of promoting the call to holiness, we are often met with blank stares (lack of awareness), unread spiritual gems (lack of interest), empty seats (worldly busy-ness), etc. I’d be less than truthful if I said that I never battle against frustration or discouragement.
As I was reading the excerpt above, I was reminded of two of the ‘seed parables’ that appear in Mark’s gospel. (Mk. 4:26-32) Familiar to everyone is the mustard seed, that, though the smallest (seemingly insignificant) yields an enormous tree. The other parable teaches about the farmer who plants the seed and continues to go on about his life as normal--sleeping and rising day after day--while the seed grows, sprouts, and matures.
It is often like that in our apostolate also. Perhaps we are just one or two people, meeting to pray together or share Scripture, but Our Lord can use those small beginnings to work mightily! Sowing tiny “seeds” of love, hope, joy, confidence, etc. wherever we are can often flourish while we go about our business. St. Paul reminds us that “it is God who gives the growth!” (1Cor. 3:7) How liberating those words are to me—I just need to do my small part and leave the results to Him!
No comments:
Post a Comment