October 1st Fast

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JMJ

"And if the good God wants you weak and helpless like a child...do you believe that you will have less merit? ...Agree to stumble at every step therefore, even to fall, to carry your cross weakly, to love your helplessness. Your soul will draw more profit from it than if, carried by grace, you would accomplish with enthusiasm heroic actions that would fill your soul with personal satisfaction and pride."

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

How ironic that in a society where sin is celebrated, flaws are disdained. Failings are never admitted, the public persona of perfection maintained at all costs.  Pride in one's accomplishments is preserved and promoted through both digital and traditional means. Misdeeds are forever shoved in the closet, or excused by blaming uncontrollable circumstances. One may scoff at public figures who eschew humble confessions, but how often does he reflect on the defensive tactics used to hide personal vulnerabilities?

Why does man cringe from humiliation? Perhaps it is because he has deceived himself (consciously or not) into believing that he is incapable of failure or embarrassment. The word "humility" has the same root as the word for earth and ground:"humus".  Humiliations should remind man of his origin for he "is dust and unto dust [he] shall return".  One's defeats should not surprise him, but rather affirm for him that he is mortal and not divine.  Humiliations can either keep one grounded in the truth of his weakness and his need for God's grace; or moments of embarrassment can turn one to anger and resentment, believing others are responsible for the revelation of his shortcomings.

If one struggles to hide his feelings, clinging to an image he has desperately striven to preserve, the results will only be frustration and anxiety. Yet, man does himself a great disservice if he does not reflect on the possibility that God has allowed these mortifying moments of failure to surface in order to invite one to greater trust in Himself.  The more one accepts and confesses to humiliations, the stronger his dependence on God will be, for through his acknowledged weakness, he eagerly admits his need for His Redeemer, and rests in the security and consolation of God's tender love for him. Just like any parent who treasures his child's reliance and trust, Our Father cherishes His child all the more as he relinquishes his stubborn hold on imagined independence, and clings to His Merciful Heart with devotion and gratitude.

September 3rd Fast

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JMJ

"One time I was traveling and far from home and lonely, and I awoke in the night almost on the verge of weeping with a sense of futility, of being unloved and unwanted. And suddenly the thought came to me of my importance as a daughter of God, a daughter of a king, and I felt a sureness of God's love and at the same time a conviction that one of the greatest injustices. . . which one can do to God, is to distrust His love, not realize His love. God so loved me that He gave His only begotten Son.  If a mother will forget her children never will I forget you. Such tenderness. And with such complete, ingratitude we forget the Father and His love!"

Dorothy Day

The consequences of original sin are witnessed and felt daily by the inheritors of that punishment.  One of the most grievous afflictions that burden the descendants of Adam and Eve is the tainted understanding of love. From the moment that Adam betrayed Eve in his neglect to guard the garden and Eve selfishly sought to persuade Adam to join in her sin, the hearts of mankind were stripped of the knowledge  of unconditional love, as evidenced by how the first couple cowered in terror as they heard God calling for them.  Man regains some of his lost innocence when he is baptized but still must endure a world overshadowed by concupiscence.  A natural trust that exists from childhood will one day be sadly shattered when he realizes that others do not love him as they ought.

A selfish passion that parades as love divides man and wife, parent and child, friend from friend. But it also muddles one's knowledge of what sincere love is.  Cynicism can easily set in, and rash judgment often accompanies it.  This is a temptation that takes much courage to reject, but it is a battle that is necessary for the good of his soul.  For if he settles for the world's false version of love, he not only excuses himself from the challenge of living a life of total gift of self, but he also may deny himself the happiness of knowing that there is One who truly loves him and can satisfy him.  The cynic easily forgets the Father's love, and so misses his opportunity to rest in that love, to feel certain in the knowledge and certainty of it, to be hopeful of everlasting happiness abiding in it.  The love of the Father is ennobling and tender, sweet and secure.   As Padre Pio said:

"How is it possible that the fountain of living water which issues from the divine heart should be far from a soul that rushes to it like a thirsty deer? I therefore urge you in the charity of Christ to make sure you calm your anxiety by drinking at the fountain of divine love, which you must do in faith and trust, by humility and submission to God's will."