143: How to Emerge from a Lukewarm Spiritual Life

Recently I gave a talk on this subject, daring to address it for the first time from a completely different perspective, to the surprise of many as a result. To cut to the chase I said: if you want to end your lukewarm Spiritual Life, devote more attention to the way you deal and manage your work life. Of course this applies to everybody – to those who don't work, who can't work – with everyone being invited to make themselves busy, because “idleness is the mother of all vices”. It is important not to create empty moments in your day, because the Devil takes advantage of them, finds space in you and starts to tempt you: thoughts start to go around in circles in your mind – and this tends to be dangerous and unhealthy.

Now, to return to the point: to pay greater attention to the way you commit to work and the quality of the way you deal with your work in a committed way, with attention to detail, accuracy, and quality.

First of all work takes up a large proportion of our day – one third! We can't neglect or discard a third of our existence.

Then too, we can't create a dichotomy between on the one hand “Work” and on the other hand our “Spiritual Life”. Work is not essentially a burden imposed on us so that we can earn our living or a duty we can't escape from. As John Paul II used to say: work makes us realise ourselves in life. Therefore, we can't just live with the mental attitude: “I am waiting until I finish work in order to breath and do what I would like to do” be it hobbies, other business, rest, prayer. This would resemble a schizophrenic way of dealing with work and life. On the contrary there is a deep unity in our day and in our business-life. We can't exclude work from the values of our day, and even worse, we can't split our spiritual life into two parts: “alien pagan business” (i.e. work) and “holy activities” (i.e. prayer, spiritual life). Of course I am not going as far as some to state: “work is prayer/worship”, but I am highlighting the fact that it is still the same “you” who works, who deals with others, who has a place in the world and society through your work. If work has little or no meaning for you, or even if it is seen as a burden, it is important to “work on” that issue because it is destructive, it doesn't create deep peace in you, and leads to a feeling of being unsettled, unsatisfied and frustrated. A significantly large part of your energy is involved, then, in something that is damaging you. Is this good? Can this contribute to a good and healthy Spiritual Life? Does this please God?

The situation is exacerbated by unemployment, for how then can we find fulfilment in some form of work, even be it voluntary work? How can we see God present during those daily eight or more hours? This is the challenge and one of the first steps that will help us to emerge from a lukewarm Spiritual Life.

Of prime importance in this light is Order. A disorganised person in daily life often creates a disorganised spiritual life. The goal is not to have random virtues, but to practise them in an organised way. One can have excellent virtues but if they are managed badly, great damage can result.

Thus the effort we make to create an image of ourselves for the world, to take our place in it, to grow, is of utmost importance. When the young rich man asked Jesus what he was supposed to do in order to gain Eternal Life, the Lord did not immediately reply to him: “come and follow me.” No! He started by assessing the human foundations of the young man's Call, when he asked the latter whether he had fulfilled Moses' commandments? Let us for a moment consider the hypothesis that the answer was “no”, and that this gentleman was not working, or better still, was not happy in his work life. Granted, nobody admits that “work” is always an enjoyable experience, free of stress, and effort! There is no reward without the necessary effort, although of course, one can adjust effort/energy, time, quality and outcome, to see if it is worth it, in order to employ most efficiently one's talents, capacity, expertise, and so on.

But here, in my humble view, within a serious and committed spiritual life, what matters is to focus on our work and a place where God is as well. Work is not an empty space where God is absent. God is not waiting for us outside of our Work-Space only. He is waiting for us during our work time. This is why doing high quality work is important. Negligence, random acts and careless behaviour in work cannot expect a good spiritual life to result.

Surprisingly enough, however, God pays attention to this. Just pause for a moment and think of it: you are the same person in the eyes of God when you pray and when you work. Can you deceive yourself? Can you fake it? Can you deceive God? Impossible! You are the same person, here, there and everywhere. You can't have a double standard: wanting God, wanting on the one hand a good Spiritual Life and have on the other an average quality or standard of work.

Let me take a very simple example: a few years ago I was teaching a young man a way of doing Lectio Divina based on the daily readings of the Mass. He said that he understood, and promised that he would start to practise it. I met him on a regular basis for a few months and checked on his practice of it. He said that he was doing it as I had explained it to him. I never ventured into asking for more details – in hindsight that was an error as we will see. A few years later both of us were involved in doing some cleaning. After having done his part, I asked him whether he had cleaned a particular area, to which he replied in the affirmative. By pure luck, I happened to be passing through the area he had cleaned and to my utter surprise it had not been done properly – or at least, with the thoroughness I had expected. I have to admit this was a big lesson in my life – not to rely on the simple reply: “yes I did it.” I thought bitterly that his answer at odd times was always “ yes, I have done it.” So, I wondered, was his Lectio Divina done in the same way in which he had cleaned that area? This was deeply thought-provoking.

Let us return to the point about work: if you are good at certain things, and you have proved you can do them, then you are handed more important matters to deal with. The Kingdom of God is the most important thing in life, and it is not offered immediately but is preceded by a period of preparation. This is why the Lord himself says: 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with little things; I will put you in charge of greater things.” (Matthew 25:21)

Of course you might be outraged by what I say, and you might extrapolate and apply what I am saying and deduce and conclude differently. But if we try humbly to apply that to ourselves, I am sure we can benefit and emerge from a lukewarm Spiritual Life. I would simply say: why do we expect the Lord to help us exit from a lukewarm lethargic Spiritual Life while we continue to be lukewarm in our work?

To the lay eye they seem unrelated, but I hope you might reconsider it and start to see that the very opposite is true.

God promised the Land to Abraham and swore to give it to him. But in fact, it took more than 400 years to realise this. First and foremost, God wanted Abraham's children to work, become active, commit to daily life and to their society, even if they were in a foreign land (Egypt), living amongst pagans (Egyptians)..; it is only then that He started to make things happen, and with his Arm, he saved them and brought them to a different land.

Let us now explore a question/objection here: can a Committed Spiritual Life help a disorganised person put some order in his or her life?

Let me reword that objection/question: can a Spiritual Life, i.e. a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus play a role in mending my life and getting back an ordered life, attentive to detail and conscientious at work? Of course yes, the Grace of God can help: we read about powerful conversions where a person who was leading a very bad life, came to discover the Lord and started by His Grace to change and become better, cleaner, more organised, committed in society and work.

Think of any big sinner (just for the sake of having a clear picture before us) who is struck by the Grace of God... led by it, arising from his mud, and starting to lead a good life. Think of the Prodigal son, who wasn't leading an orderly life, and still was struck by the Grace of God, came back to himself, thought of his error, changed direction, prayed, asked for forgiveness and started his way back home. It must be said that one can re-start this way.

But the question I was addressing during my talk and the audience hearing it were different. They were Christians, whom, at a certain point in past years, had started to lead a committed christian life, a good Spiritual Life, but with the business of life they had got to a lukewarm point.

Think of the third soil of the Parable of the Sower: we are talking here about “good” Christians, who to a certain extent are committed, but still, the business and concerns of life have become so strong as to be compared to the spikes or thorns capable of suffocating the Word of God in them... so that they have reached a lukewarm state in their spiritual life.

To their utter surprise, I brought them back to consider their work place and not to investigate their Spiritual Life! Maybe Spiritual Life meant an escape to them? Maybe Work was lived as a dichotomy?

Let us remember that God is very present during our work time and sees how we work... In conclusion therefore, the message here is: the way we deal with work directly affects our Spiritual Life.

Please don't hesitate to have a look at a closely related post: The Duties of my State (please click here).

49: Setting up the foundations of Spiritual Life

Should we start the formation in Spiritual Life with the "First Level Course", or by an Introductory Course, laying the foundations of Spiritual Life?

I would like to point out to the fact that not all christians are "ready" for the "First level Course" teaching (please click here to see the Syllabus of the first level course: Initiation into Spiritual Life)). Normally people should go first through a previous teaching: The Foundations of Spiritual Life. Exactly like saint Teresa of Avila went through them, in the three first Mansions of the Interior Castle (In fact the teaching of the First Level Course starts at the Fourth Mansions).

What fosters this thought is what the Lord himself did with the Rich Young man:  when he asked for "Eternal life", Jesus didn't immediately direct him toward "perfection", i.e. toward "following Him" (He didn't call him). Strangely (but wisely) He first checked up if the "foundations" are ready, strong and sound: "did you practice the Commandments?" He said to the young man. I still do believe that we can and have to check if the "foundational structure" of the persons who want to follow the First Level Course is "completed". Because if before the right time one starts to give the "Pearls" of the Fourth Mansions, one can just later throw them and go ("Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." (Mt 7:6)) .

In order to ensure that the "foundations" are sound, we may have to work a little bit with the First and the Third parts of the Catechism, or just take the Three first Mansions of Teresa of Avila's book: The Interior Castle.

Question: Reading what you have just said again and again I have just been thinking if it would not be better to focus completely on the Catechism for a semester and work on giving the “Pearls” the following semester? I know you prefer not to change anything for now but surely there can be no harm in strengthening the foundations first so that people can be more receptive to the more “advanced” material.

Answer: Setting up the foundations for Spiritual Life doesn't mean that God the Father and Jesus are not present and active right from the Beginning of the Journey. We won't ask people to become "Jewish" first, then, when they fulfil the Commandments, we turn them toward Jesus.

We only have to accept that in Christian Life we have like two phases: 1- Before the "Second conversion" and 2- After the "Second conversion".

Note: The "Second conversion" is to receive Jesus' call to follow Him from Closer. It means that as an adult, I do discover the "personal relationship" with Jesus, feel His Call, and decide, by His Grace to follow Him... (The "first conversion" is to become Christian.)

* Theresa of Avila in the Journey she offers us toward Perfection (Union with Jesus), sets 7 steps. The first one is to enter in the Castle (to enter in ourselves, in our interior. Jesus lives in our centre and often we are outside of ourselves)). The Fourth step, is to enter in the "Personal Relationship with Jesus"; she calls it "the supernatural", and she means by that that the way the Holy Spirit is communicating Himself to us is new, more powerful, direct and personal. But you need to notice that all the book is written to her nuns. Technically, any nun should be placed after the Fourth Step. Strangely, when she writes to them, she does go through the 3 first steps: 1- people who are out of the Castle, 2- people who enter in the first mansions (that are still quite dirty) in the Castle and 3- People who put some order in their christian life.

* Saint John the Evangelist does the same. Before receiving Jesus' Body (John 6) and embarking with Him (passing the sea, John 6), there are 3 fundamental Signs:

1- Cana of Galilee, 2- Healing the son of the officer (and the officer) 3- Healing the paralysed man (38 years of paralysis). So, from the beginning, Jesus and Mary are present.. From the beginning (even if nobody knows yet who is Jesus) Jesus performs miracles, heals, prepares the human being to follow Him (there are levels of depths in "following Jesus").

Laying down the foundations of Spiritual Life, we have to understand that we can't just drop Jesus and Mary. Of course, technically, the modality in which the Holy Spirit acts is "softer", we call it the "general help of the grace of God". It is a preparative grace, to THE grace, which is "receiving the Holy Spirit Himself", THE grace of entering in a direct and personal relationship with Jesus.

* And if you go to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew (chapters 5 through 7), you have the whole Trinity present: the Son (chapter 5), the Father (chapter 6) and the Holy Spirit (chapter 7). Of course the action of the Trinity will develop and mature later, with the Parables, and then with the Passion of Jesus, but still, the Trinity is right from the beginning, and the Grace of Jesus is mentioned right from the beginning. We can't set two types of Baptisms (even if the people who lived in Jesus time had John the Baptist who opened the way, and then Jesus), one would be the "first conversion", more like a Jewish Christian life, and the "second conversion": meeting Jesus.

Instinctively, I would respect the fact that saint Matthew, saint John and saint Teresa of Avila chose to put everything right from the beginning.

In one word, this means: I wouldn't drop the teaching of the First level Course for the sake of laying down the foundations for Spiritual Life. I would do both, together, in parallel (combined), in order not to deprive anybody from the Grace of Jesus and the precious knowledge that there is plenty to come... "grace upon grace".

I hope this helps

44: The rich young man / Perfection

The rich young man

“- Now someone approached him and said, "Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?"

- He answered him: "Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."

- He asked him: "Which ones?"

- And Jesus replied: " 'You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness;
honour your father and your mother'; and 'you shall love your neighbour as yourself.'"

- The young man said to him: "All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?"

- Jesus said to him: "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to (the) poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.” (Mt 19:16-22)

This passage from the Gospel is fundamental. We already addressed it in "Spirituality 23: Fortitude and sacred…" you may come back to it. And now, let us continue to deepen it.

Why this text is important for us Christians? It is important because it places us at the exact junction (or line, or threshold) between the “First Covenant”, and the “New Covenant”, between “being Jewish” and “being Christian”, “following Moses” and “following Jesus”. In doing so, it helps us see the exact difference between the two “economies”*. Otherwise, if we don’t see the difference, why are we Christians?

Note: “economy” is a theological expression that means the way God is dealing with us, the means He gives us. For instance we can say: “the Economy of God in the Old Testament”.

This great text helps us avoiding “being Christian” only by name. Indeed the great risk for us Christians is to become lazy, which means to become technically “Jewish”, not using Christ’s Salvation, and the Holy Spirit.

The difference between the two Covenants, the two Economies, is huge, and should be huge as well practically in our life.

This text of saint Matthew helps us as well learn the possible differences between “Christianity” (real alive Christianity) and any other religion. So hopefully one can live by this difference, taking advantage of it, and living it to the fullest. Otherwise, why being Christians? We might as well adhere to any other religion.

Some people might think that this text is offering us Christians two ways of “being Christian” and therefore creates two categories of Christians:

1- the normal plain people, who live by the Moses Commandments and

2- the people who hear the “call for Perfection” and follow Jesus from closer (consecrated people).

This means that the first lot are still following Jesus but not from close. In fact, for centuries, we made two classes of Christians: the ones who are called to perfection, to holiness, who follow Jesus from close and “the rest of the crowd”, who follow Jesus, but from a certain distance, people who will just have the chance, last minute, to jump into paradise when they’ll die. Saved only by an inch. As if God was calling some, and others no! As if some are born with more muscles, so they can reach Perfection, and others are doomed right from the start!

Of course this duality, this dual vision is wrong, and, thank God, the Holy Spirit, talked to us, through the Council Vatican II and reminded us that the Perfection that Jesus is bringing us, that Holiness, is for everybody. Everybody is invited to Holiness, it is not for an "elite"!

This text of saint Matthew is not the only text that addresses the difference between being Jewish and being Christian, or, if you prefer: between from one hand being “lazy Christian”, a Christian who doesn’t use all the goodness of Christianity and the Gift of God, and from the other hand being a real Christian.

The first one is not mystic, and the second is definitely mystic.

The Apostles, right from the beginning, felt the urge to clarify the difference, because they saw the richness that Jesus is bringing, and they saw that many seemed to follow Christ but didn’t get to experience these richnesses. Remember in the book of the Acts when saint Paul met people who were following Jesus, who heard of John the Baptist but didn’t receive the Holy Spirit. Here is the text:

“Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John's baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.” (Acts 19:1-6)

So the Apostles felt the need to clarify that huge risk of living a Christian life only by name, and not having the experience of the Holy Spirit.

Saint Mathew, for instance, built his Sermon on the Mount explaining how each Person of the Trinity enters in our life, influences it and changes it (the Son (chapter 5), the Father (chapter 6), the Holy Spirit (chapter 7), see this Blog). If you take the second part of chapter 5, you’ll see that it is structures in a way to show the clear difference between Moses Law and Jesus Law. “They said to you” (this refers to Moses) and “I say to you”, this is Jesus.

The difference between what each one says is simply huge: it is the difference between "what is possible to practice with our own strength" (Moses Law), and "what is impossible to do with our own strength" (Jesus Law). "Not to kill" is ok, it is possible not to kill. But not to think badly or speak badly about our brothers, this requires a total change of the engine (the soul, the heart). This is why Jesus came: to take away that old heart of stone, and put another one, a heart of flesh (see Ez 36:26). He can do that. And this will then allow Perfection to happen.

We can’t separate that Gospel of the rich young man, from that second part of chapter 5 of Matthew, with it’s 5 injunctions: “I say to you…”.

Saint Paul as well, in both his letters to the Romans and to the Galatians addresses the central issue of the difference between the “Law of Moses” and the “Law of Jesus”. He calls the latter one: Faith. And what is Faith for saint Paul? Opening your heart to receive what you don’t deserve: the love and the salvation of Jesus on the Cross. In other words: the Holy Spirit who can act in you and change you.

John as well, in his Gospel, offers a whole journey of transformation - through 6 signs + the Big one (the Cross) - that will allow us the reach the union with Jesus (experience his Resurrection, and receive his Holy Spirit).

So when Matthew (and the other parallel accounts in Mark and Luke) tells us about this encounter between Jesus and this young man, he is not just telling us a minor detail. He is addressing a central point that each Christian should study and understand.

Note: when Jesus replies to the young man, he doesn’t immediately jump into the “great things” (like the Perfection of the Law He is bringing, and leaving everything and following Him), He just starts from the beginning: “did you follow what Moses said?” In other words, in order to “start to follow Jesus” one has to be prepared, one has to be ready for it, and has to have fulfilled the requirements.

Hummm! It is not “either Moses or Jesus”. It is “Moses, then, greater than Moses: the Perfection of Moses: Jesus”.

Jesus is the one who makes, in Him, everything alive.

23: “Fortitude” and “Sacred Threshold”

Yesterday I was at Mass, and, in his homily, the priest commented on saint Thomas More. It is always very poignant to see any human being, young or old, going through trials and ordeals with strength. 'Martyrdom' and 'the way to martyrdom' are something fascinating and emotional. Well I speak for myself at least.

Martyrdom is the highest grace one can receive in a lifetime, it is as well the highest rank in holiness. The closest to Christ himself, THE MARTYR par excellence!

Experience, knowledge and discernment tell us that we can see and understand “martyrdom” in a human way, as if it was a matter of personal strength. A bit like an athlete (and the image is used by saint Paul see Acts 20:24; Gal 2:2; Ph 3,12-14; 1^st Tim 4:7; 1Tm 4:8; 1^stCo 9:24-27) who prepares himself for years and years. Olympics are close now and remind us of the values of “effort”, “perseverance”, “professionalism”, “achievement”, and hopefully the “Gold medal”.

We can read and interpret the Strength we observe in the Martyr as “something of another class”.

Pope John XXIII once said that when he read for the first time saint Thérèse's writings ("The Story of a soul") he felt he was reading not the story of the “little Flower of Lisieux” but the story of “a steel bar”. Her own sister, Céline, the one who became Sister Geneviève, said that the most prominent “virtue” in Thérèse was: “Fortitude” (la Force).

Hummm, that leaves us no better informed.

Saint Teresa of Avila speaks a lot about “determination”. Remember her famous expression “determinada determinación” (determined determination). She mentions how this steel determination is important in order to grow in spiritual life. She even dares to say that the trials the “contemplative” people (read: monks, cloistered nuns) face are infinitely greater than the ones the “active” ones face. Would you believe it? How many times I heard people saying: "ah these nuns, how happy life they lead – the cloistered ones!" "They are always so smiling!" Do they know that these “refined metals” are prepared in a very though “melting pot”?

I do read as well these words of Jesus: “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force” (Mt 11,12).

What is this "violence"? what is the “Violence” required in order to “enter the kingdom”? A “violence” that will make us cross the threshold of the “kingdom”. I remember as well that there is a “threshold”, a “door”, a “narrow door”: “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:20) I hope you'll remember that the righteousness of the Pharisees in putting into practice Moses' Law was already impressive and very “athletic”: see how saint Paul describes himself as “Pharisee, son of Pharisees” (Acts 23:6), “being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers” (Gal 1:14).

What is this sacred “threshold”?

We need to become like children in order to enter in the “kingdom”; to go through the eye of the needle. Mt 18:13: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”.

To change, and become like little children, is an adult choice. The most difficult. We don't have toward God the trust and the capacity of abandonment that a child has. We lost it while going through teenage time, and early adulthood. The tough world of adults made us tough. But, in fact, it is a weakness, not a strength. Not being able to make a total act of trust, of abandonment and not being able of entrusting ourselves to God, this is a sign of weakness. Wouldn't you agree?

When Jesus puts clearly, in black and white, the conditions to follow Him, we feel we reach a dead end. Remember the rich young man: (well, if you look carefully, we are all “rich” and “young”, at least “rich” by our desires) Jesus shows him the “threshold”: “Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." (Mk 10:21)

What happens to the young man?
“At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.” 

It doesn't stop here, what comes after is the most enlightening teaching ever: “Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again: “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”” This is his way to say: it is simply impossible. “The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”

“difficult” or “impossible”?

At this junction one has to pay great attention. It is not “difficult” to enter the kingdom, it is simply “impossible”. Our last richness we have to sell is our “ego” (being attached to oneself). Can we get rid of this huge mountain? Move it? Remove it? The reaction of the disciples is really a huge light that crosses the whole Gospel, because the threshold, the entrance door, that allows us to enter in the Trinity, is simply crossing the whole Gospel. It is a central matter in Jesus' teaching on “how to enter the kingdom”.

“who then (with these conditions) can be saved”, who can enter the kingdom? Who can have that Strength, that Fortitude, these “muscles”, that training that would allow him to enter the kingdom?

I LOVE Jesus' answer: “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.””

The day we understand that Christianity is not only “an amazing religion” (as Gandhi said it, and many others from other religions who read the Sermon on the Mount for instance), “with very high ideal” (think of: “love your enemy”, “pray for him/her”, and “do them good”), not only “a very difficult religion”, but simply an “impossible religion” to put into practice, then we start to become Christians.

It is simply “impossible” to become Christian, to be Christian! I mean by that: it is impossible for our own forces to live really by the Sermon on the Mount (read Matthew 5-7). Don't dream of that, don't fool yourself. If you say it is “difficult”, then your understanding of “Fortitude”, “the Fortitude of the saints”, “the Fortitude of the Martyrs” is not there yet, you are not getting it. You just see it humanly.

Do we see the conditions to “enter the kingdom” AS they are? Do we give them some “make up”, or “paint brushing”, or “photoshop retouch” in order to adapt them to us, to our aesthetic views or to our understanding? Do we see that they are not only “tough”, “difficult” but mostly and simply: impossible to us, to our own forces? Do we see the difference between : “difficult” and “impossible”?

- “difficult” means: that with “a lot of effort, perseverance, and inner strength” we will get there. “difficult” means as well sometimes, in our popular understanding of holiness that some are “born saints” (some think of that about saints, like P Pio) and others not.

- “impossible” means what? “impossible” means that one needs to let go, one needs to decide, with a virile strength, to rely on God (like a child) and ask for His Holy Spirit: because He wants to give us His Holy Spirit.

“Ask you'll receive”. We know that “proverb” very well. These are not just an English Proverb, they are Jesus' words, they open us the Kingdom, they help us, as adults, “become like children”. It looks very simple, “too simple” that we are not used to it. We prefer to pay our own bills, with our own money, earned by the sweat of our own brow. We don't know that “new language” of “asking in order to receive”. It is so alien to us, that it costs us an arm and a leg to get to do it, and to transform it into a new habit. We prefer to deserve what we receive. We are not used to “free things”, not used to “receive freely”, and less to “ask for it”, yes, just “ask for it”. Heaven is right above our head, but is might be closed from years. We can't imagine it that close and in fact: opened, wide opened, waiting for us to just: ask.

Are we decided and determined for the “impossible” religion?

Or, are we still fooling ourselves with a “fantastic religion”... that is really never put into practice? It is not by going to Church every Sunday that we become Catholic, or remain Catholic. So sorry to say that. It requires simply the whole Gospel to be put into practice, it requires the “impossible religion”, the fantastic but impossible “conditions of Christ” to become reality in us. Are we ready for that challenge? Let us just go back to the fundamentals: Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapters 5 through to 7.

One more step

- What is the most difficult task Jesus' disciples had to go through during their lives?

- To follow Jesus in His Passion.

The strong, generous, fervent Peter, the one who was ready to die for Jesus (see John 13), didn't really make it (see John 18). The strongest person on earth in this very tough, dark, dramatic moment is simply a woman: Mary, the mother of Jesus, his first disciple, the New Eve.

“Mary, give us your heart, your docile heart, so we can “ask and receive”, so we can be docile to Jesus, to His impossible words. You are the one who believed that all what He says is possible to God, that if Jesus-God says something it is totally possible, by the Holy Spirit, to put it into practice. Mary, show us the Way, transform, with your prayers for us, the “heart of stone” into a “heart of flesh”, at the image of yours, you the Archetype of the Disciple, the Mother of the Martyr, Martyr yourself in your Heart. Then, learning to be docile, like you, we'll be filled by the Holy Spirit, the Love of God, and then we'll be able to follow Jesus, as you did, with Fortitude.”