The Cross Walk: Self-Sacrifice, Part 5
Resignation to the Divine Will: As we undertake The Cross Walk through Self-Sacrifice, the most central task and transformation is the spiritual movement from the supremacy of my will to uniformity to God’s will and growth in Prayer. The Saints unanimously define uniformity to the Will of God as a chief indicator of spiritual growth, holiness and perfection. “Uniformity” essential means “one form”.
Listen once again to the wise counsel of Dom Lorenzo Scupoli: “There is one thing always in your power, and this to offer to God your will and desire to no longer to will anything of yourself. For as soon as you have this freedom and are detached on all sides (which you can be always and everywhere, when occupied or not), you will enjoy tranquility and peace. (p.199).” Of course Scupoli notes that we are always permitted to exercise proper prudence and diligence in providing for necessities one’s duty and station in life are in accordance to God’s will.
Saint Alphonsus de Ligouri - the great saint of God’s will wrote a brochure entitled “Uniformity to God’s Will” and he notes wisely: “Charity is the bond of perfection…The principle effect of love is to so unite the wills of those who love each other so as to make them will the same things.” Therefore, resignation to the will of God is not about the fear of a slave but the deep desire of the beloved. Love and sacrifice go hand in hand - they are mutually dependent upon each other. Paul’s great chapter of love in 1 Corinthians 13 is the language of self-sacrifice as he gives us a wonderful picture of the Love of God in Christ - “It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Of course, Jesus embodies this dimension perfectly and is our great author and perfecter, who in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest states, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will. (Matthew 26:39)” We see Jesus inviting Peter into this same path - that is, the path of love and resignation to the will of God - during that post resurrection event when Jesus meets the apostles on the shore. The apostles were out fishing and Jesus directed them to cast their nets on the other side. John told Peter that it was Jesus, and Peter immediately dove into the sea and swam 100 yards to shore! Jesus was waiting for them with fish on the fire. After a while, Jesus restores Peter from his denial of Him three times during His passion by asking Peter three times if he really loved Him. After Peter’s third affirmation of his love for Jesus, Jesus informs Peter “…but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” John states “He said this signifying by what kind of death he [Peter] would glorify God.” John says that Jesus after this remark said to Peter, “Follow me.” Here is The Cross Walk: deny, sacrifice, give. Resignation and love at work!
Saint Teresa advises: “All that the beginner in prayer has to do - and you must not forget this, for it is very important - is to labour and be resolute and prepare himself with all possible diligence to bring his will into conformity with the will of God. As I shall say later, you may be quite sure that this comprises the very greatest perfection which can be attained on the spiritual road.”
Surrender: When we hear this word, we can immediately think of the word “surrender” within the context of a battle or contest. Here, surrender means to loose, be defeated, give up. I can also see Surender as a giving up of control, power or security. Yet, within the spiritual life, “surrender” is to be taken in a liturgical sense; in other words, what is offered as an act of faith, worship or sacred service.
I remarked early that we confuse “giving up” with “surrender”. When I give something up, I may retain a certain disposition of grudgingly being compliant. Rather, surrender as a way of worshipping God and offering something to His service comes with a disposition of joy. Joy is often one of the key dispositions of God’s saints. In light of this understanding of Surrender, I can offer my gifts to God to be used in His Kingdom and for His Church. I can offer as an act worship, an act of charity towards my neighbor. I can allowing my joy to bear witness to that hope which does not disappointment and that peace that the world can not give.
We can surrender the positive and the negative, our joys and sorrows, our trials and tribulations up to God as an offering, an act of faith, service and worship of Him. We surrender to give God glory and to seek His good pleasure. As we surrender, our lives (in the words of Saint Ignaius of Loyola) become “more” - magis - more free, more loving, more peaceful. How? Because we become more of what God desires and wants. Desiring and Surrendering become more and more a single, integrated movement of the spiritual life. As we desire God more, we want to surrender more to Him; and the more we surrender to God, the more we desire Him;, and on and on and on!
Our Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, is our great resource and model in surrendering and self-sacrifice. Sharing in her beloved Jesus’ mission, we see throughout His life, death, resurrection and ascension Mary’s ever-expanding “yes’ which she offered at the Annunciation. Each “yes” she gave was a surrender. We encounter Mary’s beautiful surrender in our devotion to her Seven Sorrows - each a self-sacrifice, each a surrender: encounter with the prophet Simeon in the Temple and the sword that will pierce her heart; her flight into Egypt to escape Herod’s murderous plot; her searching for Jesus in the Temple; her meeting Jesus as He carried His cross to Calvary; her own martyrdom as she stood by Jesus as He hung on the Cross; her witnessing His side being pierced by a lance; and her witnessing Him placed in the tomb.
Mortification: Part of what we have been involved with during this formation offering is building what I will call our Lexicon of Catholic Spirituality. In other words, we are increasing our vocabulary and gaining knowledge about some key terms - a vocabulary that once was second nature and organic to our DNA. Yet, given that we live in a post-Christian era and how much of the older lands or nations of the Catholic faith breathe the thin vipers of what remains of the influence of the Catholic faith, we must reintroduce ourselves to this rich treasury of the Church. A word like “mortification” is one such exampled.
“Mortification” comes from the Latin more or mort meaning “death” and mortificare meaning “to kill or subdue” so that “mortify” means “to put to death”. Within the Catholic spiritual life, mortification is an important training exercise and discipline of ascesis (“training”). On one hand, this is a process of dying to something or rather putting to death some attachment, sin, vice, imperfection, etc.. On the other hand, mortification is also a process of bringing to life; namely, greater love, maturity of faith, purity and more.
Saint Paul introduces mortification in several of his epistles:
“For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death (thantos) the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:13
“Put to death (nekro), then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry.” Colossians 3:5
“Now those who belong to Christ [Jesus] have crucified (staurow) their flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.” Galatians 5:24-25
So we see Paul employing three different words to emphasize “mortification”:
staurow: impale on a cross, extinguish, crucify
thantos: to kill, become dead, put to death, mortify
nekro: to deaden, be dead, mortify, subdue
How mortification needs to manifest itself is greatly determined first and foremost by God’s particular will and design for each soul; secondly in light of one’s temperament; and thirdly depending upon one’s spiritual maturation through the Purgative, Illuminative and to a lesser extent Unitive paths.
Saint Therese of Lisieux’s “Little Way”. Saint Therese really struggled with mortification and sought God’s grace and assistance. She embarked upon what she referred to as “The Little Way” - utilizing daily, simple and ordinary opportunities to practice mortification.
“My mortifications consisted in breaking my will, always so ready to impose itself on others, in holding back a reply, in rendering little service without any recognition, in not leaning my back against a support when seated, etc., etc. It was through the practice of these nothings that I prepared myself to become the fiancee of Jesus.”
In light of Saint Therese’s personal sharing, we see how through the spiritual practice or discipline of mortification, we come to be faithful in the small things and in the small ways - what Saint Therese refers to as “these nothings”.
Let’s conclude with these rich insights again from Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Mandolin, O.C.D., Divine Intimacy, Meditation #92 on “Corporal Mortification”:
“God certainly gives His grace to overcome our evil tendencies; but we must use our own efforts, which consist in voluntary mortification…The purpose of corporal mortification is not to inflict pain and privation on the body for the pleasure of making it suffer, but to discipline and control all its tendencies which are contrary to the life of grace….We must curve ourselves in order to avoid falls; we must prune the useless or harmful branches in order to avoid deviation; we must direct toward good the forces, which left to themselves, might lead us into sin. For these reasons mortification, although it is not an end to itself nor the principal element in the Christian life, occupies a fundamental place in it and is an absolutely indispensable towards attaining the spiritual life. No one can escape the law without closing off all access to eternal salvation, to sanctity.”
Fr. Gabriel offers sound guidance as he draws upon the wisdom of the saints. It is import to highlight his remark that mortification is “not to inflict pain and privation on the body” (1) as the body will rebel against that which is contrary and especially abusive to its natural purpose and end and (2) to take “pleasure in making it suffer” is evidence of disorder. Rather, mortification helps us to bring into proper order the God created goodness of our drives and needs towards their proper end - glory of God and union with Him. Hence, Fr. Gabriel draws upon analogies of guiding or steering; pruning and directing.
