A Sunday Thought to Start the Week Off Right
This past week we discussed "giving back" and "paying it forward." These are variations of the general desire many of us have to "do good." Such a desire is, in and of itself, good. But we also saw how and why, in the end, we have a duty to give back and/or pay forward. This doesn't diminish our good intentions, but it gives such intentions a context: We should do good for others because, in the end, they do good for us. (If you're not sure about this, our previous two posts explain it in greater detail.)
But even if we understand our obligation to do good, it's important that we kick this up another notch: All good comes from God. Combining this with an understanding of our obligation to do good will help us to go about our charitable endeavors without taking undue credit. In the end, we're just doing what we're supposed to do.
The point here isn't to minimize or lessen the value of our efforts to help others, to give back to those who gave to us, or to "pay for" the good done for us by doing good for others (paying it forward). It's simply to see things as they really are. We might remember the two "great" commandments here: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, with they whole soul, with thy whole mind...Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. When we follow these commandments generously, without constraint, with pure intention, we're simply living as our Father created us to live.
We are, in other words, living our lives according to God's Will.
Now, with all that in mind, maybe we can kick this up yet another notch. Hey, it's Sunday, so we should have at least a couple of minutes for a few more lofty religious thoughts, right? So here's something from the great spiritual writer, Father Jean de Caussade, S.J., +1751. Father is known for his spiritual works that focused on the idea of "abandonment" to God's Will. Let's take a few minutes this Sunday to read and meditate on these words Father penned back in the 18th century - as true today as they were then. If you read them carefully, you'll gain not only a better understanding of how to live according to God's will, but simple, practical suggestions on just how to go about doing it in our daily lives.
“With regard to those souls who have acquired the habit of avoiding all deliberate faults, and of fulfilling faithfully all the duties of their state, all perfection is contained in the exercise of a continual abandonment to all the arrangements of divine providence whether exterior or interior, at present or in the future. A single ‘fiat,’ or, as St. Francis of Sales said, ‘Yes, my heavenly Father, yes, always yes,’ said and reiterated by the habitual disposition of the heart without even the necessity of pronouncing it interiorly, is the short and straight path to the highest perfection, because it is a continual union with the holy and adorable will of God.
“To arrive so far it is not necessary to make a great deal of fuss, only two things are necessary: First, to be profoundly persuaded that nothing takes place in this world either spiritually or physically, that God does not will, or at least, permit; therefore we ought no less to submit to the permissions of God in things that do not depend upon us, than to His absolute will. Second, believe firmly that everything that God wills or permits will, according to the purpose of an all-powerful and paternal providence, turn always to the advantage of those who practice this submission. Resting on this two-fold assurance let us remain firm and immovable in our adhesion to all that God pleases to ordain in our regard. Let us acquiesce in advance in a spirit of humility, love and sacrifice, to all the imaginable decrees of His providence, let us assure Him that we shall be satisfied with all that contents Him. It is not always possible for us, doubtless, to feel this satisfaction in the inferior part of our soul, but we will, at least, keep it in the higher part of the spirit, in that highest point of the will, as St. Francis of Sales puts it; it will then be all the more meritorious… You do well to give yourself up entirely and almost solely to the excellent practice of an absolute abandonment to the will of God. In this lies for you all perfection, this is the straight path leading most quickly and surely to a profound and unchangeable peace; it is also a secure safeguard to preserve this peace in the depths of the soul even in the midst of the most violent storms…The more we become accustomed to these thoughts, the more settled will be our peace; and the fixed determination to seek God only, and to unite our will to His, is, in the best sense of the word, that ‘goodwill’ to which peace has been promised. How can created things trouble a soul which neither desires nor fears them? Let us endeavor to arrive at this state and then our peace will be firmly established.”
Happy Sunday!
But even if we understand our obligation to do good, it's important that we kick this up another notch: All good comes from God. Combining this with an understanding of our obligation to do good will help us to go about our charitable endeavors without taking undue credit. In the end, we're just doing what we're supposed to do.
The point here isn't to minimize or lessen the value of our efforts to help others, to give back to those who gave to us, or to "pay for" the good done for us by doing good for others (paying it forward). It's simply to see things as they really are. We might remember the two "great" commandments here: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, with they whole soul, with thy whole mind...Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. When we follow these commandments generously, without constraint, with pure intention, we're simply living as our Father created us to live.
We are, in other words, living our lives according to God's Will.
Now, with all that in mind, maybe we can kick this up yet another notch. Hey, it's Sunday, so we should have at least a couple of minutes for a few more lofty religious thoughts, right? So here's something from the great spiritual writer, Father Jean de Caussade, S.J., +1751. Father is known for his spiritual works that focused on the idea of "abandonment" to God's Will. Let's take a few minutes this Sunday to read and meditate on these words Father penned back in the 18th century - as true today as they were then. If you read them carefully, you'll gain not only a better understanding of how to live according to God's will, but simple, practical suggestions on just how to go about doing it in our daily lives.
“With regard to those souls who have acquired the habit of avoiding all deliberate faults, and of fulfilling faithfully all the duties of their state, all perfection is contained in the exercise of a continual abandonment to all the arrangements of divine providence whether exterior or interior, at present or in the future. A single ‘fiat,’ or, as St. Francis of Sales said, ‘Yes, my heavenly Father, yes, always yes,’ said and reiterated by the habitual disposition of the heart without even the necessity of pronouncing it interiorly, is the short and straight path to the highest perfection, because it is a continual union with the holy and adorable will of God.
“To arrive so far it is not necessary to make a great deal of fuss, only two things are necessary: First, to be profoundly persuaded that nothing takes place in this world either spiritually or physically, that God does not will, or at least, permit; therefore we ought no less to submit to the permissions of God in things that do not depend upon us, than to His absolute will. Second, believe firmly that everything that God wills or permits will, according to the purpose of an all-powerful and paternal providence, turn always to the advantage of those who practice this submission. Resting on this two-fold assurance let us remain firm and immovable in our adhesion to all that God pleases to ordain in our regard. Let us acquiesce in advance in a spirit of humility, love and sacrifice, to all the imaginable decrees of His providence, let us assure Him that we shall be satisfied with all that contents Him. It is not always possible for us, doubtless, to feel this satisfaction in the inferior part of our soul, but we will, at least, keep it in the higher part of the spirit, in that highest point of the will, as St. Francis of Sales puts it; it will then be all the more meritorious… You do well to give yourself up entirely and almost solely to the excellent practice of an absolute abandonment to the will of God. In this lies for you all perfection, this is the straight path leading most quickly and surely to a profound and unchangeable peace; it is also a secure safeguard to preserve this peace in the depths of the soul even in the midst of the most violent storms…The more we become accustomed to these thoughts, the more settled will be our peace; and the fixed determination to seek God only, and to unite our will to His, is, in the best sense of the word, that ‘goodwill’ to which peace has been promised. How can created things trouble a soul which neither desires nor fears them? Let us endeavor to arrive at this state and then our peace will be firmly established.”
Happy Sunday!
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