192- When I Die, Can I go Directly to Heaven?

By H.T.

The first conversation regarding purgatory I had was with a priest in a confessional box.  I mentioned about going to heaven after death and was abruptly stopped by him telling me to be humble because I didn’t know if I would be going to heaven.  I forgot about it after leaving confession.  Strangely since then I have heard, in close succession, enough of the same view from other religious so as to give me concern.

Here are the reasons they gave to explain why no one should think they can go to heaven without first going to purgatory, followed by some reflections.

1. “No one is good enough so anyone who thinks she can go directly to heaven lacks humility.”

Is this real humility? What is humility? ‘Humility is Truth’ says St. Teresa of Avila. The Truth is that God has an earnest desire for us to reach for spiritual growth, i.e. fullness of love. The Truth is that we can’t reach it with our own efforts only. So, humility is to accept the truth and live by it.

People with this view as expressed above are (knowingly or unknowingly) far from being truly humble. False humility does exist! True humility lies in complete trust in God, His mercy, His love and most of all His Promise as it is.  These people doubt Him as a Heavenly Father who yearns to bring us to Him to the point of coming down from heaven to die for us.  This yearning, if reciprocated by the soul, enkindles such a fire of love that the soul becomes willing to give up all things to be with her Beloved.  God, seeing this, will do His part which she cannot do herself – He raises her to Himself. 

All Catholics know God is Love but do they actually understand the true depth of His love and its implications for their life?  Knowing is not enough.  It has to be received into the core of our hearts, and in fullness! 

What of our Holy Mother? She was to be the first and only human to carry God in her womb.  Was she lacking in humility when she said “yes” without doubt or hesitation?  Should she have said she was not good enough?  Her “yes” was not only total humble obedience, but a courage that stemmed from a formidable faith and trust in God that He could bring about a miracle that she couldn’t understand.

Sadly, some people place their own good works above the grace of God and believe in their own judgement rather than the wisdom of God.  Since they already judge themselves unworthy they have no need for God’s judgement.  They forget that none of us will ever be good enough to enter heaven.  Never ever by our own merits!  It has always only been one thing - the Grace of God.  

2. “God is so pure that no impurities should enter His kingdom.  Therefore one needs to be purified in purgatory first.”

As if the Fire of Love here on earth can’t purify us.

Some people believe their weaknesses/sins are above God’s goodness and purity!  To think that they have the power to somehow affect the purity of God and His kingdom by their impurity is actually quite an insult to the omnipotence of God.  Besides why does one need to wait to be purified in purgatory?  Can one not be purified in her earthly Christian life?  St. Therese of Lisieux puts it perfectly:

“Ah! since that day love penetrates me and surrounds me; this Merciful Love each moment renews and purifies me, leaving in my heart no trace of sin. No, I cannot fear Purgatory; I know that I do not merit even to enter with the Holy Souls into that place of expiation, but I know too that the fire of Love is more sanctifying than the fire of Purgatory, I know that Jesus cannot will needless suffering for us, and that He would not inspire me with the desires I feel if He were unwilling to fulfill them.” (St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Story of the Soul, Ms. A, 84)

Here is her humility: “I don’t (even) merit even to enter with the Holy Souls into that place of expiation”i.e. purgatory. But she doesn’t accept one half of the truth, she takes it entirely. “I know that the fire of Love is more sanctifying that the fire of Purgatory.”

Some might argue St. Therese is a saint therefore she’s different.  We are all called to be saints. She even offers her way to the weakest. So one needs to know: are we taking on board her little way or not!

Counting on Purgatory actually is a very bad solution because it prevents us from growing! The purification in Purgatory is not “meritorious”, it doesn’t allow us, our capacity to love, grow. While the Fire of Love here on earth makes us grow tremendously. So why accept to remain for the rest of eternity like dwarfs! This is really absurd and an insult to us and to God. Allowing the infinite growth of our capacity to love by the fire of love here on earth, is simply a “must” for whoever really understand what Purgatory is and what Purification is here on earth (for the latter, please see St. John of the Cross’ works). 

3. “Only the martyrs go directly to heaven.”   One lady was told by her priest that martyrs are the persecuted Christians in the Middle East because they die for their faith.  “In the West, we have no such opportunity.”

What is martyrdom?  Do people have to literally be shot or beheaded to become martyrs?  No genuine Christians should think they can escape martyrdom.  As true followers of Christ, aren’t we called to be martyrs in our daily lives?  Sacrificing our will and desires to do the will of God and to die to ourselves – this is martyrdom.  As union with Christ is our ultimate goal, martyrdom is the way to this union.  Now, if these people mean to say they aren’t willing to die to themselves – that is another matter.

Having the fullness of love in our heart is the key to understanding true Martyrdom! St. Paul says it: “if I gave my body to the flames and I don’t have Love, then it is in vain” (see 1 Co 13:3).

St. John of the Cross explains also that true martyrdom is realised by the growth of Love in us, until it reaches its perfection in us - it is not the fact itself of dying(see quote below). This is why the Church talks about “Perfection of Love” (Vatican II, Perfectae Caritatis).

“Let us take another example. A soul has great desires to be a martyr. It may happen that God answers him, saying: Thou shalt be a martyr. This will give him inwardly great comfort and confidence that he is to be martyred; yet it may come to pass that he dies not the death of a martyr, and notwithstanding this the promise may be true. Why, then, is it not fulfilled literally? Because it will be fulfilled, and is capable of being fulfilled, according to the most important and essential sense of that saying -- namely, in that God will have given that soul the love and the reward which belong essentially to a martyr; and thus in truth He gives to the soul that which it formally desired and that which He promised it. For the formal desire of the soul was, not that particular manner of death, but to do God a martyr's service, and to show its love for Him as a martyr does. For that manner of death is of no worth in itself without this love, the which love and the showing forth thereof and the reward belonging to the martyr may be given to it more perfectly by other means. So that, though it may not die like a martyr, the soul is well satisfied that it has been given that which it sired. For, when they are born of living love, such desires, and others like them, although they be not fulfilled in the way wherein they are described and understood, are fulfilled in another and a better way, and in a way which honours God more greatly than that which they might have asked. Wherefore David says: “The Lord has granted the poor their desire.” And in the Proverbs Divine Wisdom says: 'The just shall be given their desire.' Hence, then, since we see that many holy men have desired many particular things for God's sake, and that in this life their desires have not been granted them, it is a matter of faith that, as their desires were just and true, they have been fulfilled for them perfectly in the next life. Since this is truth, it would also be truth for God to promise it to them in this life, saying to them: Your desire shall be fulfilled; and for it not to be fulfilled in the way which they expected.”(St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel, 18,13)

Some even might argue that Martyrdom is not for everybody. Here is what Council Vatican II says about martyrdom:

“Since Jesus, the Son of God, manifested His charity by laying down His life for us, so too no one has greater love than he who lays down his life for Christ and His brothers.(230) From the earliest times, then, some Christians have been called upon—and some will always be called upon—to give the supreme testimony of this love to all men, but especially to persecutors. The Church, then, considers martyrdom as an exceptional gift and as the fullest proof of love. By martyrdom a disciple is transformed into an image of his Master by freely accepting death for the salvation of the world—as well as his conformity to Christ in the shedding of his blood. Though few are presented such an opportunity, nevertheless all must be prepared to confess Christ before men. They must be prepared to make this profession of faith even in the midst of persecutions, which will never be lacking to the Church, in following the way of the cross.” (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, 42) 

4. “Being in purgatory is being on the way to heaven.  One should be satisfied if he goes to purgatory.” 

In other words, as long as we are not in hell we are ok.  Why are we being told to aim for mediocrity then, when there’s something as supreme as heaven?  If one is satisfied only to go to purgatory, how will one be living one’s life?  This view takes away all motivation to live a meaningful spiritual life and certainly does not encourage growth.  How can man aspire to something he doesn’t believe is possible?  Christians are not called to be easily contented.  We are called to be ambitious, passionate and courageous in our quest for Him and His righteousness.  Jesus did not say, ‘as long as you don’t go to hell.’  He says ‘be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect’.   Be perfect like God?  Is this achievable in human terms?  Why instruct us with something so impossible?  Give God a sinner and He will make a saint out of him.  Desire and love Him with all our hearts, all our minds, all our strength and all our souls and He will perfect us.  With Him, comes heaven - not purgatory.

If God created us and saved us in order to reach the fullness of Love. Why do we want to disappoint Him? If somebody wants to give us a present and we refuse it, it is an offence! The same applies to God. St. John of the Cross says that is an offence to God not to aim for these heights!

When, at the age of seventeen St. Therese of the Child Jesus read St. John of the Cross she prayed to God to make all that she read a reality in her life!

Magnanimity is a real virtue. It is not opposed to humility, on the contrary, it leans on it. It is to accept wholeheartedly the greats things God has prepared for us and is calling us to receive. If we are God’s Children, how then do we understand the fact of being “called” to become his Children? 

5. “If one believes she’s going to heaven, then it’s a gift from God.  It’s not for everyone.”

What is their understanding of holiness then?  The Church teaches that we are all called to be saints and yet some religious claim that only some are gifted to believe they will get straight to heaven.  Not only is their view incorrect, it’s also dangerous because it implies that God chooses some and not others.  It portrays a God who plays favouritism and who is undependable, unreliable and difficult to please.  As for the ‘chosen few’, it feeds false pride.  Christ died for ALL.  Whatever He has He offers to ALL.  He stands by the door of every heart, knocking to enter.  First conversion is merely the start of a friendship with Christ.  When one opens her heart and Jesus enters to eat and drink, that’s a relationship that will lead to true love and eventually marriage.  Of course, when Jesus has entered into our hearts, we need to keep them clean as one would keep one’s home clean for a beloved guest.  If then some do not wish to do keep their hearts clean, then sure, it’s not for everyone, but we are then talking about people who don't want it rather than it not being offered to them.  

Here is the paradox: everybody agrees that we are all called to holiness. But when it comes to talk about holiness, real life holiness, everybody avoids the question, and come up with all sorts of statements of false humility, then end up by denuding of all meaning the idea that “all are called”. Even if the door and the path are narrow and that many (all) are called but only few are elected, we should believe in what Jesus came to offer us! Otherwise we offend Him, offend His love for us, and reveal that we don’t believe that He can make us saints! We still, then, silently and in practice, are agreeing that holiness is a man-made reality - which is totally false!

Furthermore, this verse ‘many are called but few are elected’, should not be taken literally that God will only elect a few! It means, rather, that though many are called, only a few truly reciprocate His love. Therefore instead of seeing it from a negative angle (few are elected) it’s a reminder that our active participation is absolutely necessary in order to be ‘the elected’; at the same time trusting God to do the rest.  This is a verse that offers great hope for us yet also places great responsibility on our side as it tells us that it is in fact our choice to be the elected or not. 

Christian Death According to St. John of the Cross 

“It should be known that the natural death of persons who have reached this state is far different in its cause and mode from the death of others, even though it is similar in natural circumstances. If the death of other people is caused by sickness or old age, the death of these persons is not so induced, in spite of their being sick or old; their soul is not wrested from them unless by some impetus and encounter of love far more sublime than previous ones; of greater power, and more valiant, since it tears through this veil and carries off the jewel, which is the soul.

The death of such persons is very gentle and very sweet, sweeter and more gentle than was their whole spiritual life on earth. For they die with the most sublime impulses and delightful encounters of love, resembling the swan whose song is much sweeter at the moment of death. Accordingly, David affirmed that the death of the saints is precious in the sight of the Lord [Ps. 116:15]. The soul's riches gather together here, and its rivers of love move on to enter the sea, for these rivers, because they are blocked, become so vast that they themselves resemble seas. The just one's first treasures, and last, are heaped together as company for the departure and going off to the kingdom, while praises are heard from the ends of the earth, which, as Isaiah says, are the glory of the just one [Is. 24:16].” (St. John of the Cross, Living Flame of Love, II,30)

The truth is the journey into union with Christ, spiritual marriage and finally Christian death is not an easy one, just as His coming to die for us shows true love requires huge sacrifices.  There are some Catholics (consecrated and lay) who do not wish to live a challenging spiritual life so they are happy to settle for a happy medium - purgatory.  It is indeed their right to choose not to be transformed by Christ but they have no right to tell others that going directly to heaven is not achievable.  It is not only cruel but a sin to destroy the faith and confidence of those who believe.

St. Paul wrote, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love; but the greatest of these is love.” 

On these three lie the success of spiritual life.  A love that would require a merciful act from the Holy Spirit to finally free the spirit from the broken heart of a yearning soul, in order for it to fly up hand in hand with the Him into eternal bliss.  What a happy death!  Such a love that is possible between God and His children is the power that shapes a mountain of unshakeable faith and hope and it is this that gives them the courage to say ‘Yes! I am going directly to heaven.’  Who dares challenge it? 

H.T.

124: St Teresa of Avila 3/16: Christ the Groom

When we read St Teresa's books we are struck by something very unusual : the way she treats the Lord is reminiscent of the way a Spanish married woman would have interacted with her husband four hundred years ago. The level of intimacy and bold directness she had with Christ is staggering. Of course throughout the past twenty centuries of Christianity the idea that Jesus is the Groom is not a novel one. He identifies himself in the Gospel with that title. It is true as well to say that we often understand this expression more in a symbolic way rather than literally. We never consider it as being something real. Furthermore, St Teresa's way of writing is very lively, oral, direct and wholesome, so that reading her is like being a secret observer of her real life dealings with the Lord. What do we notice then? We see clearly that Jesus is her Spouse and that “the Groom” is not a beautiful exalting symbol but her simple daily reality.

We can very easily measure how today such a reality is uncommon and disturbing. To be frank one has two choices: either to conclude that she must be becoming mentally deranged or there is an unknown dimension in our faith which we need to explore. Since she is a saint, however, and not just any saint - she is a 'Doctor of the Church' (which underlines the huge trust the Church puts in her teaching) - this brings us to the second choice. It must also be added that it is not an easy choice to enter into this new world she is offering us. To her, all that we invest in a human relationship has to be involved in our relationship with Christ, and becomes a daily reality. This part of our heart – this lower and very human part of our heart – is destined as well to be given to Christ and will have its full share of the Infinite Love of Christ. In fact, one gains the impression of having made a mistake for having dedicated this part of our hearts to a human being! She seems to say to us: 'even this heart which wants to love and be loved, just as in the dream of any adolescent's heart, is to be invested in our relationship with Christ, is invited to experience Christ's Love'. This is very difficult to swallow!

With this in mind, even if we can overcome the initial psychological difficulty, the fact remains that this is too good to be true! Let us acknowledge then, that what she offers in every page of her writings is a 'love story with Christ', the possibility of 'falling in love with Christ': she offers us the Love of our Life! Indeed, the journey of growth in Love that she offers us has as a goal to reach 'spiritual marriage' with Jesus! Therefore we are not faced with a marginal element of her teaching: it is the very core!

Another difficulty now arises. Imagine we can convey this message to a woman – it is far easier for a woman to fall in love with Christ than for a heterosexual man to do so – how would we explain this concept to a man, either consecrated or lay?! On the one hand all this is quite overwhelming, not too politically correct, and on the other hand it is like squaring the circle.

This question is profound and exhilarating, but it has also to be acknowledged, very delicate. As long as the human being has a heart and will continue to feel this desire that God put in him to love and be loved, this question will touch him profoundly. However, our heart is made by whom? How is it made? And for which goal? Here we are talking about the whole human heart, all the human emotions and not only this elevated part that we normally give to God. The 'lower' part of this heart is the one that spontaneously we give to another human being. But this side of our heart is an integral part of our entire heart!

Our heart is made by God. It is made 'in his image and likeness'! The erotic part of our heart is also made 'in his image and likeness'. Some would argue that it is made according to a human dimension in the image and likeness of another human being! Definitely this is not so.. this is not true. Not only do the saints claim it, but God's word first states it: 'you shall love your God [in whose image and likeness your heart is made] with all your heart..'. He didn't say: 'you will give half of your heart to God and the other half to a human love'! He said: 'all your heart'! Why? Because he is capable of filling 'all our heart', otherwise, he would not have made it clear. This teaching is at the very core of God's message to the human being.

The fact is that God, in order to love us more 'authentically', in order to dwell in us, to unite himself to us, took on human nature. St Teresa will often speak about Jesus' human nature (see her Autobiography Chapter 22 and Chapter 7 on the Sixth Mansions), Not only did he take on a human nature, but he even got much closer to us: he gave himself to each one of us on the Cross: body, heart, soul, spirit, divinity and continues to give himself to us in the Eucharist. Isn't that the total gift of oneself? - And what is the definition of marriage? - The mutual gift of the spouses. Who is our real Spouse? Isn't it the one who is capable of giving us everything and who already has done so? In this sense the groom par excellence is Jesus. There is no greater and more total a gift than his!

From the first generation of Christians, Christ has been followed by souls avid for this love! Let us remember Mary Magdalen! And after her all the virgins martyrs, Cecilia, Lucy, Agnes,... Some of them, in fact, stated it very clearly that Christ was their real Spouse. Let us contemplate in detail, then, all the people who followed Christ: monks and nuns, starting with St Antony the Great. This exclusive love for Christ is an approach that is in itself simple where the human being understands that his heart is an immense dwelling place, made in the image and likeness of God and that God only, Christ-The Groom, is capable of filling. They understood that a certain way of loving one's neighbour is idolatry because he then takes the unique place reserved for God! They understood well the First Commandment: 'you shall love your God with all your soul, all your strength, all your heart'. For greater clarity one could also add: 'with all your emotions'.

In this light choice is not an option: either one loves God this way, as the Saints loved Him, or one loves a human being [one's neighbour]. Let us notice that God offers us 'love' in a unique equation: on the one hand he invites us in the first commandment to love him with all our heart, and on the other hand he invites us to love our neighbour as ourselves. Following the logic of the First commandment one would think that if he or she gave all his heart to God, there is nothing left to 'love with' for one's neighbour! While the surprise is that he has to love his neighbour and to love him 'as himself'. The two commandments are like squaring the circle! It is God Himself who says that our heart is created in his image! It is God Himself who says that we have to love him 'with all our heart'! It is God Himself who says implicitly that only He can fill all our heart! God Himself spoke. He never mentioned half-measures!

Human marriage, in consequence, Christian Sacramental Marriage, is not a mere concession derived from the first commandment. The spouse can never take in our heart the place (all the place) that in it belongs to God. It is written nowhere that one can reduce the First Commandment! The First Commandment is an absolute that nobody can diminish or get rid of. No doubt, this looks like an insoluble question. It takes us out of our comfort zone because we can't lie to ourselves. But finding ways to interpret it, diluting it, or finding ways to get around it without confronting the challenge is cowardly and treasonable.

It is in this sense that after her 'second conversion', when Christ appeared to St Teresa, He was perceived as the Groom, the Spouse and a jealous one at that (remember when he says to her: I don't want you to speak to human beings anymore!). It is not a matter of a kind 'symbol' to console the celibate! Just the very opposite. But without a conversion, without God's grace it is impossible to discover this dimension in Christ. The only thing we can say is that this dimension exists and that it is not an unhealthy psychological deviation, but rather it is integral to the heart of the life of the human being as he was created by God and saved by him.

St Teresa goes on to tell us that this is a unique experience, where we discover that Christ is expert at showing us and making us feel that 'falling in love with him' is the only way forward, when He makes us discover that He is really above other “loves” - that, in fact, no human love can be compared to His. She seems to invite whoever has not yet undergone this experience to humbly to make this prayer:

“O Lord,

I have heard that you want to give yourself to me

like the real Spouse of my heart and of my life.

I have not experienced it yet,

but if you want to do so with me,

I leave the door of my heart ajar.”

What about men faced with this possible experience?

Within this question of having the experience of 'falling in love with Jesus' there is a subquestion: what about men? In fact, it is humanly speaking easier for a woman to fall in love with Christ than for a man! Here in a similar way the difficulty is huge!

In order to solve it, some will try to find solutions within a nuptial dimension with others: the Community, even Our Lady. But neither the Community nor Our Lady are what God wants to give us. The central question here in St Teresa's message concerns to 'fall in love with God'! Our heart is made in His very image and not in the image of the Community or Our Lady. Christ is the central object of our love according to St Teresa and He is at the same time God and man.

St Teresa only offers in an indirect way the answer to this difficulty. We will try to guess at it by reading between the lines of her writings. It will certainly become clearer when the last chapter of this book will be addressed.

Who, then, is the best disciple of Christ? Our Lady. She embodies in a perfect way both the feminine and the masculine dimension of every human being. So, there is no difficulty for a heterosexual man to contemplate Mary at the Annunciation and ask God to give him a heart like Mary's heart. He will be able to develop within himself that feminine side while perfectly remaining a man. God promises us this change, development and transformation: I will take away your heart of stone and put in its place a heart of flesh (See Ezekiel 36). This heart of flesh is this new heart capable of believing what we receive in Baptism, this heart is this marian feminine dimension of each and every disciple of Jesus, be he man or woman. In this sense, it is unavoidable for all of us who really want to follow Jesus till the end of our lives. Let us contemplate, for one, the manly Peter, a good man, generous, zealous: how does he follow Christ? On various occasions in fact we find the 'heart of stone' seems to be more active in him! During the last supper, for example, the 'heart of stone' is very much alive in him: he insists on wanting to follow Jesus his way, wanting to defend him, protect him, and even die for him. He does not yet really allow Mary's heart to envelop him totally, activating a deeper 'falling in Love' with Jesus. What is about to happen to him? He will hit the wall at full speed!

What, between the lines, St Teresa of Avila invites us to do in order to better understand this 'feminine dimension' is to contemplate Peter right after the Resurrection, when he will have to face Mary. She believed, hoped and waited for the Groom to Rise! She remained faithful to Jesus' Promise ('the Son of Man will Rise on the Third day') until the end. Peter says three times to a woman: woman I don't know Him! And now The Woman, the New Eve, the True Bride, the Wise Virgin, is about to teach Peter how to become a 'wise Virgin' as Jesus recommends (see Matthew 25:1-13). Peter goes through a radical about-face! Christ, by his Cross, broke Peter's heart of stone and gave him a heart that is made in the image of the first heart that comes out of his side: Mary's heart. This new heart is a 'heart of flesh', a heart where the feminine dimension is fully alive and alert.

St Teresa's answer to our question concerning men, consequently, is the following: it is necessary for men to allow Mary to develop within themselves in order to better follow Christ until the end. Isn't Mary's heart the best in the nuptial dimension? Isn't 'to fall in love with Christ' the only possibility given to us in Baptism - to fall madly, deeply in love with the Groom?

We can hear St Teresa saying: it seems to me that this works very well for men as well!

Let us stop here, gaze and ponder over the result, if such a deep change – like Peter's one after the Resurrection – were to spread more widely within the Church! We would love Jesus with greater power, deeper floods of love would flow from our heart, the erotic energy compressed in us finally finding a way to be elevated, purified, and then expressed! Trying to suppress our sexual tendencies and desire to love, is the worst error we can commit and the consequences are really ugly: it will backfire on us more forcibly. It is important to face and embrace the erotic dimension of the human being - men included - and to allow him or her to discover the absolute love of Christ-The-Groom. One would be able to see the powerful energy that would result; after all aren't mystics the most fruitful of people? They loved with all their heart. St Teresa's message, then, is clear to us. Chastity can only be preserved this way: accepting and learning to 'fall in love' with Christ and to count only on his grace and the intimacy with him. This is, furthermore, the great lesson of St Teresa's conversion (see previous chapter). This is why we need a more complete and clear teaching on the Prayer of the Heart in order to enter into intimacy with Christ and persevere in it.

102: Lectio divina in daily life 3: The greatest love

(continuation of "Spirituality 94")

b) The greatest love

Our growing responsibility

The more we advance in lectio, the more we are transformed into God and the more we realize that lectio’s aim is not to tell us what to do nor to answer precise questions. In a certain way, it has the function of revealing divine love to us and telling us how much Jesus loves us and thirsts for us. The question then arises: What should we do? And the answer is simple: Offer ourselves to him each day, by doing what we do with love and in search of the absolute. The most important thing is to love Jesus.

We all go through the process of discerning God’s will and trying to understand what we are to make of our lives. But, once again, we do not do lectio in the same way as someone would consult an oracle to find hopeful indicators for the future. We need to understand that our heart has its home in heaven whilst we are still dealing with human instruments. And it is right for us to seek His will; he loves us for doing so. However, he wants us to act and to make decisions freely. The Almighty draws on all men to spread his love, but he leaves each person free to act according to his/her capacity and decisions. He is calling us to Glory! We are responsible for our actions. If we want to serve him, let us do so by taking stock of our capacities and using them wisely.

How much energy are we prepared to spend in fighting for what we want? Would we go to the ends of the earth to obtain it? Does the Lord not inspire us with thoughts, dreams and desires? And what do we do with them? We have been baptized in Him and this new life gives us the right to believe that our thoughts and desires are immersed in Him. We often blame ourselves for our desires. But the more we desire, the more we will receive¹.

Childhood is past. We must now act like adults, by doing what we can and by doing it well. This means having self-confidence, using our capacities and will, giving assent and love. May our “yes” be “yes” and our “no” truly “no”. God will not make our decisions for us!

Let us see how the saints lived this kind of relationship with God; they will help us to understand what we may henceforth expect from lectio.

In a well-known passage from the Way of Perfection St. Teresa of Jesus reveals a surprising aspect of God to us: “He begins to make such a friend of the soul that not only does He restore its will to it but He gives it His own also. For, now that He is making a friend of it, He is glad to allow it to rule with Him, as we say, turn and turn about. So He does what the soul asks of Him, just as the soul does what He commands” (The Way of Perfection 32, 12).

In the writings of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus we read these words: “‘whatsoever you shall ask of my Father in my name, he will give it to you!’ I am therefore certain that you will fulfil my desires, I am certain of this, O my God! The more you want to give, the more you stimulate desire” (Prayers 6:2). Elsewhere she says: “He has always given me what I have desired, or rather he made me desire what he wanted to give me” (Manuscript C 31^b). We find this same kind of dynamic in the writings of St. John of the Cross: “The more a soul hopes for, the more it obtains” (Ascent II 7:2) and “the more He wants to give, the more he makes us desire” (Letter 15, 8 July 1589).

We are justified in asking whether, having reached an advanced stage in communion with God, we might not well find ourselves in a blind alley. That is to say: at the beginning we have the impression that lectio will give us precise indications for our lives; yet, the more we advance, the more we come to realize that we are left with the responsibility of making our own choices! So we seem to be in the dark, or at least this is what we think. And our thinking is both right and wrong. Our sense of responsibility grows, as we have said, and our experience is that God has made us his friends. Now, He says everything to His friends, who are henceforth the extension of his Body on earth, and who, as such, must chose and make the necessary decisions. He is no longer next to them to tell them what to do; but he is living and working in them, in such an imperceptible way that leaves one with the impression of being abandoned without any outside help coming from the Word of God in the form of indications as to what should be done. The Lord’s friend knows this, and he or she must henceforth act in his own name without being afraid to do so. He knows his friend, he was formed in his school; now the disciple is like his Master, and it is time for him to set out and walk on the water.

What is lectio’s contribution at this stage? Above all, it reminds us that Salvation depends on us. The Salvation obtained and accomplished on the cross is waiting for our collaboration so that it may be transmitted to others. Lectio always shows the piercing manner in which we were saved by Jesus’ human will and that this was decisive: “You gave me a body, and I said: Here I am, Lord, I am coming to do your will”. In the same way the disciple who receives the Word each day perceives that he is integrated into Christ’s humanity and has the duty of continuing his action for Salvation. Then lectio, without being an oracle of what should be done, continues to instruct the disciple, to enlighten him, confirming him along the way and above all reveals what is essential: the flame of Love and the Gift of self. Lectio is not a barrier that keeps the disciple from making mistakes, but it encourages him to make an offering of his life and to live in humility. The Gift of self and total offering: this is the fundamental aim. Lectio calls us to do this each and every day. It does not however promise infallibility; it always leads us back to humility and the recognition of the relativity of the human condition. It constantly refers to trust and abandonment. Total love then integrates itself in this flow of trust and abandonment, which permit the disciple to continually advance by way of new beginnings.

“No greater Love”

Love unequivocally leads the disciple to the summit of sharing in the Passion. The Word awakens him every morning, just as it does all the saints, serving to remind him of the heights of charity.

Toward the end of her life, St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus said that the Lord had revealed to her a totally new way of living in charity. Does this mean that she never practised it? No, of course not; but there are degrees and she tells us about her personal experience while always putting it in the light of the Word of God.

The science of charity, or of mankind’s salvation, is of a profound order into which the disciple is introduced. Since from this point on, he is oriented by Christ’s humanity, he is called to do what Christ did. Of, course, he remains a creature, and still differs greatly from the incarnate Word, however there is nevertheless a mystery into which the disciple is introduced. In the footsteps of his Master, and like him, and like St. Paul, he apportions the things lacking in the Passion of Christ in his flesh.

Lectio opens up new and unexpected depths in the Word of God. Let us take an example from the Gospel of John. This gospel draws us into a much deeper reading, in that of the first person, the Son of Man. Now, the reader, instead of meditating on the signs accomplished by Jesus to manifest his divinity, enters into the role of one to whom the mission is entrusted and who is called to follow his example. The depth is extraordinary, as is the responsibility in the face of the salvation of others.

Lectio, like the Holy Spirit, sends the one who listens to others, just as Jesus was sent for their salvation. “No man has greater love than this, to lay down his soul for those he loves²” (Jn 15:13).

(To be continued...)

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1 This is an idea dear to St. John of the Cross and St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus; we will develop this further later on.

2 Here “lay down” implies total gift, a mysterious receptiveness of the soul under the influence of the Holy Spirit in view of a saving action. There is another very similar expression: “to be given over into the hands of sinners” (Mk 14:41). One may gloss: “into the hands of sin”, since it is “his soul” that is being layed down and because sin primarily affects the soul! Likewise, the Spirit gives the Apostle to others like bread: “someone else will gird you, and take you where you do not want to go” (Jn 21:18).

38: The Spiritual Journey 11/11

With this final diagram (see below), you have the full picture of our christian journey. Baptism is a Divine Seed: Jesus in us. He needs to grow and reach His fulness, and pursue, through us, His Mission. The stages of growth of that seed are shown in this simple Diagram.

It took us 11 diagrams to move on, from

1- a static vision of Christianity, or better said: a "binary vision" ("on/off": I am in a "state of grace", or I am in a "state of sin"). Many people live their whole Christian life without even imagining the existence of something more. They just try to live their life, as "good christians", and it ends here. They just look forward to “be with God” only after death, as a recompense,

2- through an incomplete vision offered to all, setting the Union with Jesus as its goal, and then we die a little time after. One thinks that we can't reach higher than that, so we have nothing to do except just aspiring more and more to meet God (to die) and be with Him, during eternity,

3- to finally reach the complete vision, "offered to all" as well: a totally Christocentric Road (at the image of Christ's journey itself). An Ascent, of the Mountain (Jesus) and, with Him and in Him, a Descent.

As you can see, the journey is parted in two parts, putting a Cross in between, where the heart of the Cross (the meeting point of the two bars) coincides with the “Union with Jesus”.

Is that whole picture for all of us?

You might say: - “Objection: why would Jesus today want us to go through that second part of the journey? Well, He accomplished His Mission, and doesn't need us." You can then come up with plenty of quotes corroborating what you say.
- I am not the one who said: “there is no greater love than to give one's life to the others”. I am not the one who set the goal that hight.

If reaching the “Union with Jesus” means "experiencing something so amazing on earth", then reaching the fullness of Love (dying like Jesus), is something even "more amazing". If we consider the fact that Jesus is offering us on earth to be united with Him is an amazing sign of His love for us, and a great work He achieved on the Cross, it is certainly greater to see that He is still offering us something greater.

From the point of view of God, what is greater for Jesus: to "save us, and transform us", or "to make us with Him and in Him, saviours"? (certainly the latter)

Jesus Himself said: “you'll do greater things than the one I did” (John 14:12). “God is glorified in His saints”. The Glory that God receives from His saints, i.e. from "earth", is greater than the glory He receives from "heaven". It is still His glory that appears on earth. But it is greater to make of "a sinner" a "saviour with Him", transformed, purified, capable then of doing amazing things, than making a pure being (Jesus Himself) just Save.

Let us remember that our transformation gives God a greater Glory. Let us remember that transforming a sinner into a person capable of loving his brothers with the Love of God and dying for them, is much much greater manifestation of Jesus' Glory on earth. Again: it is always the same Jesus, and the same glory that work in His Saints. But God achieves much much more glory and victory this way.

So, let us, humbly accept our Vocation, in it's fulness, and let us accept to give God a greater Glory, here on earth, on the “earth” of our being.

“Amen, amen I say to you, if you believe in me, you will do the same things that I do. You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father.” (John 14:12)

Accepting the full picture

As you see, we needed 11 diagrams in order to be introduced to the complete vision of our "Christian journey". Do you think it would have been possible to show you the full vision from day one? Would you have been able to “see” the full picture from day one? to digest it? to understand it? And to simply accept it? I really would be very interested to know that. You know why? Because it is of the utmost important for the Church, for the salvation of our brothers to have from day one the full vision. It nourishes our act of Hope, the Theological act of Hope. Without hope, and without clear hope, our act of hope doesn't really work and doesn't really make us grow and walk toward the goal. The "Act of Hope" is the propeller of Christian life.
Each Christian should have a full understanding of the whole journey, in order to prepare himself for it. We need to nourish our act of hope correctly, so we are propelled correctly in Life.

We can't constantly claim that “we are all called to Holiness” and be sort of helpless when it comes to describe the goals, the means, the entire journey. Wouldn't you agree?

We need to find ways and means to help each christian to really know how great is his/her call, how amazing is the love of God that He not only wants to save us (unite us totally with His Son, through a journey of purification) but wants us to help Him, wants us to receive a greater and more powerful love: to love our brothers, working in their salvation, not with our poor vision/means, but with Him in Us, performing “greater things”.

Please do enrol in this complete vision, please do come and help us. Put your energy, put your enthusiasm at the service of the greatest cause of all: showing the Way.

(We continue the journey...)

35: The Spiritual Journey 9/11

The complete shape of our Spiritual Journey

Recapitulation

We are continuing the discovery of the shape of our Spiritual Journey, of our spiritual growth, the new goal and the new stages. The last diagram (8/11) showed us a new part in our spiritual journey. It showed us that the goal of Christian life is not just to reach the “union with God-Jesus” (reaching the top of the mountain). It showed us that, after reaching the Union with Jesus-God, we still have a lot to do, like the Son of God himself when He took flesh. He didn't jut incarnate, he went much further, He realised a mystical union with each one of us, and the final step in this “mystical union” was our Redemption realised during his Passion, especially during the Crucifixion, bringing us from “darkness” to “Light”. We know how much this cost Him.

This is then for us a “turning point”. Our Journey doesn't aim only toward “candies” it aims as well (at the image of Christ's journey) toward Redemption, trial, real love. Instead of aiming to a higher point (God, the very Nature of God, a final Union with the immensity of God, the Beatitude, the Eternal Happiness), we change the angle, and start to look down, and start to “study” the descent... a descent toward a more intense, grounded, serious love to our brothers. We will learn it from Christ, and He will come in us to live it! Pursuing His mission through us.

There is no greater love than to lay our soul, our life, for our brothers and sisters, says Jesus. My new Commandment is to do as I did: to love as I did. You can't do it just by yourself, you can do it only if you are transformed in Me and Me in you. Otherwise you can't bare it, its too heavy! When the disciple will be totally formed, he'll be like his Master (and not “greater than Him”: just seeking Beatitude, not wanting to follow his footsteps). Saint Paul says it: “I am offered like a libation” (2 Tm 4:6), and “I complete in my flesh what lacks in Jesus' Passion “for his Body””. All the Apostles went through martyrdom (even John who didn't die from it, went through it). The perseverance in the imitation of Jesus should reach its full realisation, reaching its end goal.

So, when we reach the Union with Him, we are like brought to the point of His Incarnation (when the Son of God takes flesh). We are ready to start the journey of collaborating with Him in the work of Redemption, or more precisely: we are ready to take our share in the application of the Redemption He acquired for each one of us on the Cross, in its application to the rest of the human beings, our brothers and sisters.

The work of “acquiring” Redemption depends totally on Him (because He is the only being who is in the same time God and man, therefore the only Redeemer), but the work of “application” depends on His Mystical Body, us. This is His choice and His will, out the of the mystery of His love for us. He wants us to work with him, to take our share in the work of salvation of our brothers and sisters (its application).

It is already a great love for us, His love that makes us be united with Him (reaching the top of the mountain). But there is even a greater love : to make us share His work of Redemption, so we can work on applying it to our brothers and sisters, and be part of the their salvation.

The full shape of our Journey

The full shape of our Journey is to complete both parts of the Journey: ascending, and descending. With this diagram, we can start from now to see the full shape of the journey: we start our ascent from the bottom of the mountain, we climb the Mountain (Christ himself), being purified by the Holy Spirit, step by step, until we reach the Union with Jesus, and then after a while we start our descent, attracted by the weight of Charity, heading toward a greater love of our brothers and sisters.

Again, going up we are following Jesus' journey in the Gospel, receiving the purification from Him, and going down, we are following Jesus' journey in the Gospel, but this time, He is in us and us in Him, giving Him to our brothers and sisters, participating in their growth, purification, reception of the Redemption realised by Christ.

The full shape of our Journey

Both ways we meet Jesus, His Mission and His Passion; we follow the same journey of His. The first part by receiving Jesus, and the second by rather giving Jesus to our brothers.

We are all invited to reach this great love:  “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)

(To be continued...)