St. Mary of the Assumption

Maple Park, Illinois

October 2018 Parish & Liturgical Calendars

 

This week I want to share and reflect on some of the wisdom of the saints.  We Catholics have a wonderful heritage of intellectual and spiritual wisdom which is often unrealized by lay Catholics (and sometimes by some of the clergy!) who have not had the opportunity or perhaps the desire to come to know our heritage.  That may seem unimportant, but can sometimes impede the growth of our faith.  So here are a few examples that might trigger your interest in our heritage.

St. Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits has a saying that has become famous over the years: pray as if everything depends upon God, work as if everything depends upon you.  This saying reminds us first of all that our talents and accomplishments are rooted in the gifts that God has given us.  When someone praises us for something we are able to do, we should realize (whether we say it outwardly or not) that we did not order anything from God when he created us with the cooperation of our parents; we came into this world as unique persons and were gifted with various talents. Moreover, St. Ignatius’ words also remind us that we have been given the gift of free will to develop those talents.  If you, for example, have a talent for playing musical instruments, the Lord asks that you develop that talent and use it for the common good.  I always remember something I heard when I used to play baseball as a young man: “the saddest words about someone who has great ability, but does not turn out to be very good because he didn’t work at it, are `he had great potential.’”  So, with whatever ability or talent the Lord has given you, “pray like everything depends on God, then put your nose to the grindstone and get to work.”

St. Vincent of Lerins, a priest of the fifth century, spoke about the development of doctrine in the Church: Development means that each thing expands to be itself, while alteration means that a thing is changed from one thing into another. ...  The religion of souls should follow the law of development of bodies.  Though bodies develop and unfold their component parts with the passing of the years, they always remain what they were.  There is a great difference between the flower of childhood and the maturity of age, but those who become old are the very same people who once were young. … There is nothing new in old age that was not already latent in childhood.  During our lifetime we experienced one of the great times of development in the Church: Vatican II and the half-century following it.  There have been many reactions to changes in the Church after Vatican II, both positive and negative, but I think the words of St. Vincent of Lerins can help us evaluate the changes by asking: which changes seem to lead the Church away from its basic identity, and which changes are deepening our understanding and living out of that basic identity?  Not always an easy answer, but I think a good starting point.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, 17 ^th century Sister of the Visitation, said about prayer: Are you making no progress in prayer?  Then you need only offer God the prayers which the Savior has poured out for us in the sacrament of the altar.  Offer God his fervent love in reparation for your sluggishness.  Many of us find at times that we are dissatisfied with our prayer life.  Our prayer may seem very dry, or we’re constantly distracted, and so forth.  Perhaps St. Margaret Mary’s words can help us at those times.

These are only three examples of the great heritage of the Catholic Church.  We don’t need to look to non-Catholic religious communities and traditions for wisdom (although sometimes they can be helpful).  The Catholic Church has a vast treasure of wisdom … thanks be to God!  And isn’t it wonderful that we can access so much that is good through the internet, in spite of the fact that the internet also contains much that can be harmful.  Let’s use it for good rather than evil, for the honor of God rather than for the work of the devil.