Sunday Within the Octave of the Ascension, May 12, 2013
Epistle, 1 Peter 4: 7-11 Gospel, John 15: 26, 27 & 16: 1-4
Jesus
told His Apostles that they would give testimony of him, and Acts 4: 33 tells us they
did just that: “And with great power did the Apostles give testimony of the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.” All of us are also required to give testimony of
Him, not by sermons and miracles like the Apostles did, but by the life we live
in imitation of Christ. We imitate Christ in our will, in our words, and in our
works.
When Jesus descended from heaven to
become one of us in all things but sin He sacrificed Himself to the will of His
Father. And He was obedient to His father even to His death on the Cross. King
David tells us in Psalm 39: 8, 9: “In the head of the book it is written of me that I
should do thy will: O my God, I have desired it . . . in the midst of my
heart.” When Christ became like one of us it was like He said, “It is Thy will,
Father, that I should be born in a desolate stable, that I should shed my blood
at the circumcision and flee before Herod into Egypt, that I should carry the
burdens of this life for 33 years, that I should be betrayed, spit upon, beaten
and scourged, crowned with thorns, nailed to a cross and suffer the most cruel
death, but I will it also, Father. I am ready to suffer all afflictions in
obedience to Thee.”
Are we ready to follow Christ in
this path? When we are hurt and disappointed a dozen times a day, can we say,
“My God, I will it”? When we meet poverty, when gossipers’ tongues hurt us,
when false friends deceive us, when we are sick, when our body pains us, can we
bear all this? Can we with great patience say, “My God, I will it also”? If we
can do that, then we are giving testimony of Christ, as He instructed us to do.
We can look around and see many
ambitious people, always eager to receive honors, recognition, dignities. We
see greedy people whose only thoughts are how to increase their wealth. How
many there are who think only of their pleasures, how many who seek revenge for
some wrong done to them. To live this kind of life is to live like a heathen,
giving testimony of Satan. It’s certainly not the testimony that Jesus, the
“author and finisher of our faith,” requested of us. (Hebrews 12: 2)
How do Jesus’ words serve as a model
for us? Look at what are called the Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross. To
His Father He prayed, “Father, forgive them” – words of forgiveness and
reconciliation. To the penitent thief: “This day thou shalt be with me in
paradise” words of a blessed and true promise. To His Blessed Mother, “Woman,
behold thy son,” and to John, the Apostle that He loved, “Behold thy mother” (John 19: 26) –
consoling words to each of them. In the moment of abandonment He cried out with
entire confidence in God, “”My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 37: 46) His desire
to suffer in the highest degree for our sake is proved to us by His cry, “I
thirst” (John 19: 28) and “It is consummated” (John
19: 30) When He had
completed his task He recommends His soul to His father, “Into thy hands I
commend my spirit.” (Luke 23: 46)
This is the model for our words, but
what kind of words do we hear in the houses of the powerful, in the halls of
learning, in our political assemblies. In the streets we meet with many sensual
pleasures, in the stores we find vanity, at home words are heard by innocent
children, words that poison their souls. Where do we not hear slander,
blasphemies, dirty conversations? Is this giving testimony of Christ? Do not
the heathen do this, who give testimony of Satan? Let us copy the Lamb of God
in all our words.
Now let’s consider the works of the
Lord. His life is a witness that He was perfect in practicing all the works
that He taught us to do. Consider the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5: He teaches us,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,” and He was poor and “had not where to lay His
head.” (Luke 9: 58). “Blessed are the meek,” and He forgives those who did
wrong to Him and He rewards the penitent. “Blessed are the sorrowful,” and He
atones for our sins with tears of blood. “Blessed are they who hunger and
thirst after justice,” and His food and drink was to do the will of His Father.
(John 4: 31-34) “Blessed are the merciful,” and He showered good deeds
upon His enemies. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and he made peace between God
and man. “Blessed are those who suffer persecution for justice sake,” and He
suffered persecution and hatred because of His teachings until His death. Many
still hate Him today.
And what about our works? Do we love
our bodies and our comforts too much? Do we hang onto the things of the world
so tightly that we are almost ashamed to call ourselves a Christian? Do we love
our sins and have we allowed them to become habits? Do we live like an
unreasoning animals, constantly pursuing pleasures and sensuality? Unhappy
heathens do the same, and give testimony of Satan. When we adopt the pleasures
and wealth of the world we also give testimony of Satan. It is no wonder that
unbelievers are not converted when they see Catholics who are worse than they
are!
In our lives let
us follow this model of living that Christ has given us. To do this is to
practice Christian perfection. If we wish to follow Him then we must reflect
every day and every night on His laws. Last week I spoke about how easy it is
to pray constantly, “All that is necessary is that through the day, when we are
busy with all the things we do, from time to time we think of God,” performing
acts of charity and prayer. It is just as easy to reflect day and night on the
laws of God, even as we go about our daily tasks. If we wish to follow Jesus we
must hold our sinful desires in check. We must not be overcome by adversity,
when everything is going wrong for us, nor should be we dazzled by happiness
when everything is going right.
It is our
job to practice the virtues of a Christian: Faith, Hope and Charity (which is
Love), also Prudence, Temperance, Justice and Courage (which is Fortitude), and
we are to practice them to such an excellent degree that even unbelievers will
admire them and come to understand that they are not able to reach such a high
degree of perfection without Jesus Christ.
St. Paul
urges us in 2 Corinthians 4: 10: “Always bearing about in our body the dying of
Jesus: that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodies.” All
those who see our modesty in dress, in speech and in actions will see that we
are not a Catholic in name only but Catholic in the way we live, that we follow
the Crucified One and that we are heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven. +++
(Thanks
to St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars, France)
We Celebrate the Traditional Tridentine Latin Mass
(Also Called The Most Beautiful Thing This Side of Heaven)
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