A 21st Sunday after Pentecost Thought to Start the Week Off Right
In the traditional liturgical calendar we celebrated the feast of Christ the King last Sunday. In the new calendar, that won't come until the Sunday before Advent - the last Sunday of "Ordinary Time." As we've been following the traditional calendar throughout this year, we should have focused our thoughts on the celebration of Christ the King last week, right? But we're not. We're not because we've also been following that wonderful work, The Inner Life of the Soul, written at the beginning of the 20th century, as it follows each Sunday of the liturgical year. And the fact is, the feast of Christ this King was not established until 1925 by Pope Pius XI, after this work was published.
However, as we'll see, the theme of Christ as King just happens to run through today's entry for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost. Coincidence? I suppose. Then again, perhaps the writer was inspired in a way he could not fathom at the time. God works in mysterious ways.
And so today's entry introduces the concept of "nobility" - a word you don't often hear in our "democratic" world. After some examples of individuals who behaved nobly in the past, the author attempts to define "Christian nobility."
"I suppose the real test of Christian nobility lies in this; - the making of God, and nothing less than God, the centre and sun, the actual standard of our lives."
Having thrown down this gauntlet at our feet, lest we waver in our contemplation of such a standard, we're reminded:
"That is what our dear Lord did from the first moment of His human life; there was the keynote of His human existence, His watchword: 'Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God!' He loved His spotless Mother with indescribably tender affection; He loved each soul He died for, with a love no tongue can tell; but His love for God Almighty was beyond all else, and His being was laid in absolute devotion at God's throne...most glad loyalty was given, distinctly and magnificently, with full consent of every faculty of His perfect being, to the glory of the King of Kings."
Christ in His humanity placed God before all else. And with His example before us, we're called to the same Christian nobility. If it seems daunting at first, this placing of God before everything else; if we, with the knowledge of our imperfections cannot believe it possible to be so noble, we need only remember that the grace to do so will be ours for the asking. Perhaps we will not immediately, perfectly place God in the supremely exalted place of our lives. Likely, we will struggle against our fallen human nature throughout our lives. But our faith tells us we can ask for the grace we need, and that God will give it to us in sufficient measure. In this light, we raise our voices in hopeful petition:
"Oh, to be filled with such nobility of soul! It is a gift of the Holy Ghost, formed of piety, justice, and fortitude."
The Holy Spirit Himself gives us the grace to bear this nobility of soul. As we pray each day - "Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and enkindle in us the fire of Thy love..." - we open our hearts and minds to His promptings. We accept all that comes our way in a spirit of abandonment. Perhaps we pray this simple prayer before spending a few minutes in silent meditation:
In His mercy, He inspires in us those virtues of piety, justice, and fortitude that will instill this nobility of soul.
We need only to pray, only to ask: no matter our current state; no matter that we are sinners; no matter that we may find it difficult to imagine ourselves in such a noble state. The Holy Spirit will provide His gifts: the virtues of piety, justice, and fortitude. In our prayer of petition to Him, we express our piety. His justice allows us to see the people and events that surround us as they really are, and God as He really is. His fortitude compels us to abandon ourselves to God's will, to desire only to do His Will, in the face of any opposition or obstacles thrown at us every day.
With the light and strength of the Holy Spirit, we stand nobly before Our King in "the making of God, and nothing less than God, the centre and sun, the actual standard of our lives."
However, as we'll see, the theme of Christ as King just happens to run through today's entry for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost. Coincidence? I suppose. Then again, perhaps the writer was inspired in a way he could not fathom at the time. God works in mysterious ways.
And so today's entry introduces the concept of "nobility" - a word you don't often hear in our "democratic" world. After some examples of individuals who behaved nobly in the past, the author attempts to define "Christian nobility."
"I suppose the real test of Christian nobility lies in this; - the making of God, and nothing less than God, the centre and sun, the actual standard of our lives."
Having thrown down this gauntlet at our feet, lest we waver in our contemplation of such a standard, we're reminded:
"That is what our dear Lord did from the first moment of His human life; there was the keynote of His human existence, His watchword: 'Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God!' He loved His spotless Mother with indescribably tender affection; He loved each soul He died for, with a love no tongue can tell; but His love for God Almighty was beyond all else, and His being was laid in absolute devotion at God's throne...most glad loyalty was given, distinctly and magnificently, with full consent of every faculty of His perfect being, to the glory of the King of Kings."
Christ in His humanity placed God before all else. And with His example before us, we're called to the same Christian nobility. If it seems daunting at first, this placing of God before everything else; if we, with the knowledge of our imperfections cannot believe it possible to be so noble, we need only remember that the grace to do so will be ours for the asking. Perhaps we will not immediately, perfectly place God in the supremely exalted place of our lives. Likely, we will struggle against our fallen human nature throughout our lives. But our faith tells us we can ask for the grace we need, and that God will give it to us in sufficient measure. In this light, we raise our voices in hopeful petition:
"Oh, to be filled with such nobility of soul! It is a gift of the Holy Ghost, formed of piety, justice, and fortitude."
The Holy Spirit Himself gives us the grace to bear this nobility of soul. As we pray each day - "Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and enkindle in us the fire of Thy love..." - we open our hearts and minds to His promptings. We accept all that comes our way in a spirit of abandonment. Perhaps we pray this simple prayer before spending a few minutes in silent meditation:
O Holy Spirit! Soul of my soul I adore Thee.
Enlighten, guide, strengthen and console me.
Tell me what I ought to do.
Command me to do it.
I promise to accept whatever Though permittest to befall me.
Only show me what is Thy will.
In His mercy, He inspires in us those virtues of piety, justice, and fortitude that will instill this nobility of soul.
We need only to pray, only to ask: no matter our current state; no matter that we are sinners; no matter that we may find it difficult to imagine ourselves in such a noble state. The Holy Spirit will provide His gifts: the virtues of piety, justice, and fortitude. In our prayer of petition to Him, we express our piety. His justice allows us to see the people and events that surround us as they really are, and God as He really is. His fortitude compels us to abandon ourselves to God's will, to desire only to do His Will, in the face of any opposition or obstacles thrown at us every day.
With the light and strength of the Holy Spirit, we stand nobly before Our King in "the making of God, and nothing less than God, the centre and sun, the actual standard of our lives."
Happy Sunday!
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