CHRIST IN THE HOME
http://www.ewtn.com/library/FAMILY/CHRISTH1.TXT
BY RAOUL PLUS, S.J.
a Translation from the French
FREDERICK PUSTET CO., INC. Publishers NEW YORK AND
CINCINNATI
Nihil Obstat:
JOHN M. A. FEARNS, S.T.D., Censor Librorum
Imprimatur:
+FRANCIS CARDINAL SPELLMAN,
Archbishop of New York
New York, June 19, 1951
INTRODUCTORY READINGS
THE SAINT OF MODERN TIMES
FORMERLY when people dreamed of sanctity or even of the interior
life, they aspired to one thing only--to get away from the world, to
go off to the desert, or at least to the priesthood or the religious
state. To become a saint in the world, to acquire a true and profound
union with God in the world, to exercise oneself in the practice of
complete abnegation, and to pursue perfection in the world seemed
scarcely possible.
People are beginning to realize better that there is such a thing as
sanctity in the world.
We honor those who follow a priestly vocation or a consecrated life
in religion. They have chosen the better part which will not be taken
from them.
But are we to conclude therefore that the laity, because they live in
the world, because they have entered the married state, must be
content with a cheaper view of perfection? Must assume that the
practice of the highest virtues is not for them? That they may not
aspire to divine union and the secret joys of a valiant fidelity
inspired by love?
Fortunately there are many who realize the falsity of such a
conclusion. Saint Francis de Sales challenged the laity to strive for
high sanctity.
"The world of today longs to contemplate the saint of modern times
who will take his place beside the ancient and venerable figures of
our history," observes Rademacher, the author of "Religion and Life."
"It demands the saintly man of the world who unites harmoniously in
his personality all the aspects of a noble humanism established on
correct values, entirely impregnated with a living faith, a strong
love of God, and a supple, joyous participation in the life of the
Church.... There ought to be even now on this earth a type of saintly
employee, saintly merchant, saintly industrialist, saintly peasant,
saintly wife, saintly woman of Christian culture and refinement. The
saint's role in the world today is to be the pioneer of the new
family, of the new State, of the new Society, of the new humanity, of
the Kingdom of God which is always new."
No profession is of itself an obstacle to holiness. No state of life
is an obstacle; and marriage, if rightly understood, not only demands
holiness but leads those who fulfill all its requirements to true sanctity.
In trying to picture what the saint of the next centuries should be,
Foerster, a Protestant author, did not hesitate to write: "Just as in
former times the saint was characterized by his courage to confess
his faith and die a martyr, since he held faith to be his highest
ideal for which he must be willing to suffer; just as the saint of
the Middle Ages and even of our own day, has been characterized by
virginity, since then and now, and especially in our times, it
requires a struggle to conquer many temptations to preserve personal
purity; so perhaps the saint of the centuries to come will be the
perfect wife or husband, since the vital ideal for which we should
willingly suffer today is the sacredness of marriage."
There is much truth in these words. It may be though that the age of
martyrs is not so far distant as the author would have us believe.
And consecrated virginity, thank God, continues to hold a strong
appeal for many souls. But is Foerster not pathetically correct in
stating that saints in married life, in conjugal fidelity, are a
crying need of our age to counteract the attacks on the family and
notably the attacks on the indissolubility of marriage?
What thirst consumes me as I begin this book of spiritual readings?
Is it the thirst for sanctity? How far am I willing to go?
Let me gauge the measure of my desire, of my sincerity.
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Lord, may everything we do begin with Your inspiration and continue
with Your help,
so that all our prayers and works may begin in You and by You be happily ended.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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on your Mobile <*}}}><
<*}}}>< <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/wordpress/>Half the Kingdom!
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<*}}}>< <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Half the Kingdom! Main Site
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Kingdom! By the by <*}}}><
Lord, may everything we do begin with Your inspiration and continue
with Your help,
so that all our prayers and works may begin in You and by You be happily ended.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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