Christ's Utter Lack of Selfishness

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich." ~2 Cor. 8:9

A few days ago, while praying the Rosary, I became completely dumbstruck at Jesus's total and complete lack of selfishness. There is nothing - and I mean, nothing - that our Lord holds back for Himself. I remember the twinge of jealousy I felt as a child when my mom turned her attention from me to a friend; and yet, Jesus freely entrusts His Mother to each member of His Church (John 19:26-27; Rev. 12:17). Even more momentous, the only begotten Son of the Father invites us into the intimacy of the Divine Family: "No one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (Matt. 11:27); "Go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father" (John 20:17). Our Lord won't even keep His own Flesh and Blood for Himself, but gives them to us as supernatural food and drink! 

Bask in the Lord Jesus's generosity. Be overwhelmed by His love for you.

Then turn to this truth that was at the center of Pope St. John Paul II's teaching: "Man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for his own sake, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of self" (Gaudium et Spes, No. 24). Jesus invites us to love as He loves. That is our call. That is the goal of our lives - to fully image the Son. No, to be empowered by the Son to bravely pour ourselves out, holding nothing in reserve. To say that is difficult is an understatement; constantly calling out for grace and cooperating with it is painful...but in it one finds the beauty of the Crucified. This is why we Catholics never tire of looking at the lives of God's saints - we see the victory of Christ's unselfish love in the lives of people just like ourselves, and it inspires us to let go of our security blankets and give ourselves away just a little bit more.

God can do it in us. He did it in the life of the young mother, Chiara Petrillo; and just this morning I discovered that He had done it in the life of another young mother right here in my own city of St. Louis. I invite you to read her story and keep her family in your prayers - pray both for their comforting and for God's continual grace that they be able to imitate her, as she imitated Christ (1 Cor. 11:1).

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." ~John 15:12

A Good Reminder

I was walking this morning, thinking about the passing of Brennan Manning and all of the awesome stories he shared regarding God's radical love for us.  I think, and I think Brennan would agree with me, that parenthood gives us a unique entry point into the way God "feels" about us.  Being a dad has helped me wrap my mind around (at least a little better) the truth that God loves us each of us infinitely.  Having two kids has taught me the way that loving one with every fiber of my being does not make me incapable of loving the other with every fiber of my being - love is not a quantity that gets burned up.  It has taught me that discipline/punishment is not the opposite of love, but an expression of it.  And it is incredibly precious to God when he sees us loving one another. God's love is tender.  (It's good to read 1 Cor.13 every now and then.)

It also amazes me to realize how my parenthood is a pale reflection of God's Fatherhood.  Where my ability to love my children is limited by my creaturehood, His is not; He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent!  He is not tainted by sin.  His love is always perfect - perfectly wise and just.

Guest Author, St. Bernard of Clairvaux

I was surprised by how easy he was to book for this gig!  St. Bernard comes to us this morning from the Liturgy of the Hours, where his twelfth century sermon on the Song of Songs serves as Second Reading.  Bernard's words on Christ's love for us and His Sacred Heart were too powerful for me to not pass along.  (And in a happy coincidence, I was just reading about the Song of Songs as I lay in bed last night, enjoying Christopher West's Fill These Hearts.)  So without further ado, St Bernard:

Where can the weak find a place of firm security and peace, except in the wounds of the Savior? Indeed, the more secure is my place there, the more he can do to help me. The world rages, the flesh is heavy, and the devil lays his snares, but I do not fall, for my feet are planted on firm rock. I may have sinned gravely. My conscience would be distressed, but it would not be in turmoil, for I would recall the wounds of the Lord: he was wounded for our iniquities. What sin is there so deadly that it cannot be pardoned by the death of Christ? And so if I bear in mind this strong, effective remedy, I can never again be terrified by the malignancy of sin.

Surely the man who said: My sin is too great to merit pardon, was wrong. He was speaking as though he were not a member of Christ and had no share in his merits, so that he could claim them as his own, as a member of the body can claim what belongs to the head. As for me, what can I appropriate that I lack from the heart of the Lord who abounds in mercy? They pierced his hands and feet and opened his side with a spear. Through the openings of these wounds I may drink honey from the rock and oil from the hardest stone: that is, I may taste and see that the Lord is sweet.

He was thinking thoughts of peace, and I did not know it, for who knows the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? But the piercing nail has become a key to unlock the door, that I may see the good will of the Lord. And what can I see as I look through the hole? Both the nail and the wound cry out that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. The sword pierced his soul and came close to his heart, so that he might be able to feel compassion for me in my weaknesses.

Through these sacred wounds we can see the secret of his heart, the great mystery of love, the sincerity of his mercy with which he visited us from on high. Where have your love, your mercy, your compassion shone out more luminously than in your wounds, sweet, gentle Lord of mercy? More mercy than this no one has than that he lay down his life for those who are doomed to death.

My merit comes from his mercy; for I do not lack merit so long as he does not lack pity. And if the Lord’s mercies are many, then I am rich in merits. For even if I am aware of many sins, what does it matter? Where sin abounded grace has overflowed. And if the Lord’s mercies are from all ages for ever, I too will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever. Will I not sing of my own righteousness? No, Lord, I shall be mindful only of your justice. Yet that too is my own; for God has made you my righteousness.

Bottom Line

I was praying while driving back to the house this afternoon - feeling down about events this past year. "God, this can't be Your will...Well, it's obviously Your will to allow it...so I guess passing through this IS Your will...But when are You going to set things right?" And suddenly the "ground" under me was a bit more solid. Because if it is within His will, then there isn't failure; it's not the end of the story. He didn't give me any indication how or when He would bring something of value out of this; but the realization that this was within His permissive will made a difference.

The second movement in my prayer had to do with the thoughts that have come to me repeatedly these past weeks: "Give up. Stop struggling like this. Why do you 'stay'?" And the answer that came from within, very matter-of-factly, was "Because He wants me to." No emotion to it, no passion in it. At the deepest part of me though, there He is. He is my reason for being...I love Him. And its not flowery; there's no sweetness right now. But there is commitment - there is Love. I feel frazzled and so self-centered with all my concerns, but somehow the Holy Spirit has managed to plant this seed deep down, to lay this foundation. Isn't this exactly what St. Paul wrote about though? "The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit" (Romans 5:5). What MERCY - God enabling us to Love Him! If He hadn't, a weak heart like mine would have given out long ago.

My prayer for us in this new year - "God, let this foundation You laid in us through Baptism endure. Clear away whatever we've built on it that isn't of You. Let us have the peace of trusting in You, trusting in this good future You have planned."