The penultimate post on perfection; again, from Garrigou-Lagrange:
THE NORMAL AND IMMEDIATE PRELUDE OF THE BEATIFIC VISION
If sanctifying grace is the seed of eternal life in us, what follows as a result? First of all, that sanctifying grace, called "the grace of the virtues and the gifts," is "much more excellent," as St. Thomas says,(13) than the graces gratis datae, like the gift of miracles, that of tongues, or prophecy which announces a contingent event. These graces are, so to speak, exterior; they give us signs of the divine life, but they are not themselves the divine life shared in us.
What the charismatics do not get--the interior life of grace is much more important than the exterior. The exterior follows the interior.
Now, it is from the grace of the virtues and the gifts received by all at baptism, and not from graces gratis datae and extraordinary graces that, as we have seen, the infused contemplation of the mysteries of faith proceeds. This contemplation is an act of living faith, illumined by the gifts of understanding and wisdom. It is not, therefore, an essentially extraordinary favor like prophecy or the gift of tongues, but is found in the normal way of sanctity.
This normal way of sanctity through contemplation is NOT a way of spoken or shared prayer, nor a way of merely actions, but a seeking of intense prayer.
The truth of this conclusion becomes even more apparent if we observe that sanctifying grace, being essentially ordained to eternal life, is likewise ordained to the normal and immediate prelude of the beatific vision. Is not this prelude precisely the eminent exercise of infused faith illumined by the gifts of wisdom and understanding, that is, the infused contemplation of the divine goodness and its radiation, together with perfect charity and the ardent desire for the beatific vision? On earth this ardent desire is found in its full perfection only in the transforming union. Therefore this union does not appear to be outside the normal way of sanctity, especially if one considers, not so much a given individual soul, but the human soul and, in it, sanctifying grace considered in itself, as the seed of glory.
The normal way...through sanctifying grace received in the sacraments of the Church.
The normal way...through sanctifying grace received in the sacraments of the Church.
The ardent desire for God is only too rare on earth, even in consecrated souls; and yet if there is a good to which the Christian should ardently aspire, evidently it is the eternal possession of God. To attain it, he should desire an ever deeper faith, a firmer confidence, a purer and stronger love of God, virtues which are found precisely in the transforming union.
Part of the process is the desire for the process. Value and intensity...our idols lie in our energies and focus. Each one of us needs to be humble and realize the obstacles to union with God, and say with St. Teresa that one wants more, the more which is God.
Thus this union appears, in profoundly humble and fully purified souls, as the immediate prelude of the beatific vision. There must, in fact, be some proportion between the intensity of the desire and the value of the good desired; in this case the value of the good being infinite, it could not be too greatly desired. Consequently it is not fitting that this infinite good should be granted to a soul that does not yet desire it ardently. The more purified the soul is, the more it aspires to the possession of God, and if at death the soul's desire is not as ardent as it should be, this is a sign that it needs additional purification, that of purgatory.
The need for purgatory is real and a gift, but it is not the ideal, and we cannot aim for that, but aim for heaven.
Part of the process is the desire for the process. Value and intensity...our idols lie in our energies and focus. Each one of us needs to be humble and realize the obstacles to union with God, and say with St. Teresa that one wants more, the more which is God.
Thus this union appears, in profoundly humble and fully purified souls, as the immediate prelude of the beatific vision. There must, in fact, be some proportion between the intensity of the desire and the value of the good desired; in this case the value of the good being infinite, it could not be too greatly desired. Consequently it is not fitting that this infinite good should be granted to a soul that does not yet desire it ardently. The more purified the soul is, the more it aspires to the possession of God, and if at death the soul's desire is not as ardent as it should be, this is a sign that it needs additional purification, that of purgatory.
The need for purgatory is real and a gift, but it is not the ideal, and we cannot aim for that, but aim for heaven.
The dogma of purgatory, then, throws a new light on the present question. Purgatory is a punishment which supposes a sin that could have been avoided and an insufficient satisfaction that could have been complete if we had better accepted the trials of the present life.
Do this..accept the trials of this life, please. These are the way to perfection. Today, for example, my glasses came in and the prescription is wrong. They have to be redone. I got bumped off the Internet regularly each day since Monday. And, a few days ago, some customer service people gave me the wrong information about my phone which ended up in me purchasing one which I cannot use as a dongle, when I was told it would. The company will not let me return it. Sufferings in addition to back pain and another illness have slowed me down to a snail's pace. God is purifying me big time and I say yes to all of this trivial and not so trivial suffering. If I complain, I step back into the wasteland of sin and discontent. No way!
It is certain that no one will be detained in purgatory except for sins he could have avoided or for negligence in making reparation for them.
Train your children to be holy....do not wait. Children can be saints. We can be saints.
Therefore normally we should, like the saints, undergo our purgatory in this life while meriting, while growing in love, instead of after death without meriting.
There is no merit in purgatory.
Do this..accept the trials of this life, please. These are the way to perfection. Today, for example, my glasses came in and the prescription is wrong. They have to be redone. I got bumped off the Internet regularly each day since Monday. And, a few days ago, some customer service people gave me the wrong information about my phone which ended up in me purchasing one which I cannot use as a dongle, when I was told it would. The company will not let me return it. Sufferings in addition to back pain and another illness have slowed me down to a snail's pace. God is purifying me big time and I say yes to all of this trivial and not so trivial suffering. If I complain, I step back into the wasteland of sin and discontent. No way!
It is certain that no one will be detained in purgatory except for sins he could have avoided or for negligence in making reparation for them.
Train your children to be holy....do not wait. Children can be saints. We can be saints.
Therefore normally we should, like the saints, undergo our purgatory in this life while meriting, while growing in love, instead of after death without meriting.
There is no merit in purgatory.
Therefore sanctifying grace, which is of itself ordained to eternal life, is also ordained to such perfection that the soul may receive the light of glory immediately after death without passing through purgatory. This disposition to enter heaven immediately after death supposes a complete purification, analogous at least to that of souls that are about to leave purgatory and have a very ardent desire for God. According to St. John of the Cross, this complete purification is normally found on earth only in those who have courageously endured the passive purifications of the senses and the spirit, which prepare the soul for intimate union with God.(14)
Suffering is a good, a grace given to us. Do not waste suffering. Count it all joy.
This reason confirms all that we have said and shows that the passive purifications are indeed in the normal way of sanctity, like the close union with God for which they prepare. Evident also is the degree of sanctity in question in the expression "the normal way of sanctity"; that sanctity is meant which permits the soul to enter heaven immediately after death.
Why should we aim so low; aim high, be in love with God. God can do in the lay life, what is done in Tyburn.
Suffering is a good, a grace given to us. Do not waste suffering. Count it all joy.
This reason confirms all that we have said and shows that the passive purifications are indeed in the normal way of sanctity, like the close union with God for which they prepare. Evident also is the degree of sanctity in question in the expression "the normal way of sanctity"; that sanctity is meant which permits the soul to enter heaven immediately after death.
Why should we aim so low; aim high, be in love with God. God can do in the lay life, what is done in Tyburn.
Such is, we believe, the teaching of St. John of the Cross, which admirably preserves and explains the traditional doctrine on this point, in particular that of the great spiritual writers who preceded him. To grasp the meaning and import of this teaching, souls must doubtless be considered not only as they are, but as they should be. Now, it is the work proper to spirituality to remind souls incessantly of what they should be that they may go beyond what they are.
Clergy, please teach this...please.
Clergy, please teach this...please.
This lofty doctrine also conforms perfectly to what St. Thomas tells us not only about the nature of grace, the seed of glory, but also about the beatitudes and the imitation of Jesus Christ,(15) the virtues of the purified soul,(16) the higher degree of humility,(17) patience,(18) the spirit of faith,(19) confidence in God, and charity.(20)
When the seminaries stopped teaching Thomas Aquinas, the rot set in.
When the seminaries stopped teaching Thomas Aquinas, the rot set in.
St. Thomas, St. Albert the Great, St. Bonaventure, and after them St. John of the Cross and St. Francis de Sales (21) found this teaching in the fathers who spoke of the relations of contemplation and perfect love, in St. Paul himself, and in the Gospel. St. Paul delights in saying: "That which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation [if it is well borne], worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory." (22) He gives us the ardent desire for it by reminding us that we have received the "pledge of the Spirit," (23) or the pledge and foretaste of eternal life. And our Lord Himself says to us: "If any man thirst, let him come to Me, and drink. . . . Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." (24) "He that hath My commandments and keepeth them; he it is that loveth Me. And he that loveth Me, shall be loved of My Father; and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him." (25)
Purity of heart is real, not poetry.
This secret manifestation of Christ to the faithful soul is truly the prelude of eternal life; it is found especially in the highest of the eight beatitudes: "Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers. . . . Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake." (26) These beatitudes are, says St. Thomas, the highest acts of the virtues and the gifts; there is in them "a kind of imperfect inchoation of future happiness." (27) Even here on earth, the fruits of these merits begin to appear, and they contain a savor of eternal life, or a foretaste of the joy of the elect.
To be clean of heart means that one has allowed God to purify one and one has a generous heart.
Be generous.
To be continued...
Purity of heart is real, not poetry.
This secret manifestation of Christ to the faithful soul is truly the prelude of eternal life; it is found especially in the highest of the eight beatitudes: "Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers. . . . Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake." (26) These beatitudes are, says St. Thomas, the highest acts of the virtues and the gifts; there is in them "a kind of imperfect inchoation of future happiness." (27) Even here on earth, the fruits of these merits begin to appear, and they contain a savor of eternal life, or a foretaste of the joy of the elect.
To be clean of heart means that one has allowed God to purify one and one has a generous heart.
Be generous.
To be continued...
