Waskiewicz
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It is clear that the saints burned with a desire to save souls for Christ. Not only do we have an abundant source of quotes from them about what a great grace this is, but we can also see this as a distinguishing feature in many of their lives. Take for example a quote of St. John Chrysostom:
| Quote: | | Zeal for the salvation of souls is of so great a merit before God, that to give up all our goods to the poor, or to spend our whole life in the exercises of all sorts of austerities cannot equal the merit of it. There is no service more agreeable to God than this one. To employ one's life in this blessed labor is more pleasing to the Divine Majesty than to suffer martyrdom. Would you not feel happy if you could spend large sums of money in corporal works of mercy? But know that he who labors for the salvation of souls does far more; nay, the zeal of souls is of far greater merit before God . . . than the working of miracles. |
My question for you is how do you work in your life at growing this most exquisite zeal? What encourages you, what compels you, what enthralls you to the beautiful end of laboring for the salvation of souls? Is it the life of a particular saint, a book, a (supernatural) byproduct of prayer or meditation? And if you wish to add, what effects does it manifest in your life?
Parents, how are you working to instill this in the hearts of your children? How should we all enkindle this flame in others?
We have many a man filled with wise winged words on this forum. You know our Mother didn’t bestow the grace of understanding on you only for it to be hid under a bush. Please share your thoughts and help us little ones! :)
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There is only one thing to do here below: to love Jesus, to win souls for Him so that He may be loved.
The Little Flower
I will not offer to the Lord my God sacrifices which cost me nothing. I will pay the full price.
cf. 2 Kings 24:24
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| Posted Nov 2, 2011, 5:57 pm |
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Man of the West
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I may not have the sole and abiding answer to this all-important question, but I can share what has helped me in the past.
1. First of all, you must cultivate a profound love of Christ and his Church. All of our power comes from this love, which is Divine charity living in us. It is only natural that we will not have much success converting souls to Christ, if our own soul is not in love with Him. Prayer and study, study and prayer, will be our best allies here, and not some sui generis attempt to "act more spiritual." The sacramental and penitential path to virtue has the result of making you more choate, more substantial and real. You will never know how much this reality of yours impresses people, because they will hardly ever tell you, being slightly afraid of it and ashamed of their comparative unworthiness; but you will shine like a beacon in this wishy-washy world. Modesty, simplicity, and charity unfeigned are the weapons that pierce the hearts of mortals and put demons to flight.
2. Have heroes. They can be either real or fictional, living or dead, it does not matter. The point is not to model your life precisely after them, but to play in the same league as them. You must conceive of yourself as being in a state of war, and these mighty men of fearsome aspect are your comrades in arms.For some unthinkable reason, they have all befriended you and elected you to be a member of their company. Now in order to not let them down, in order to be worthy of the unmerited honor they have bestowed on you,you have to hold the gate. You will have misery multiplied upon misery, you would rather lose life itself than lose this honor. You would rather die in the company of these men, and with their approval, than live under any other conditions. I know of no better way to sum up the heroic life than that which is contained in the simple maxim, "Whenever you feel like quitting, DON'T!"
3. Ride off into the sunset. That means, do not stick around after the fact to see what good your work is doing, or else you will end up kibbitzing over matters that are not really within your control. You want to be a soldier for Christ, not some insufferable brood hen. Think of the knight Great Heart at the end of The Pilgrim's Progress. After destroying giants and demons and confronting every kind of evil, the only reward he sought was to go and bring more pilgrims to the Celestial City. (For the record, I find this one to be the most difficult to practice.)
In the last analysis, I believe that putting ourselves completely at the service of God is the only true path to zeal. Mortification, penance, and the painful emptying of ourselves necessarily follow upon any serious attempt to be "at the service of God," but this is the training regimen that purchases the victory, and in itself does more good than you will ever know in this life.
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Confronting modernity from the depths of the human spirit, in communion with Christ the King.
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| Posted Nov 2, 2011, 6:48 pm |
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