Homily 30 January 2005 By Fr. Hathaway FSSP Mater Dei Latin Mass Community
Sexagesima Sunday
On Love Thinks No Evil
St. Paul writes, “Love thinks no evil; rejoices not in iniquity, but
rejoices in the truth,” which St. Alphonsus explains, “Those who love
Jesus Christ want nothing but what Jesus Christ wants.”
Those who love Jesus Christ want nothing but what Jesus Christ
wants.
It is a sign of love to want what the one we love wants. Thus,
the true lover of God wants what God wants and hates what God
hates. Moreover, the perfection of our soul is in exact
proportion to the degree we will God’s good pleasure. Again, the
more conformed we are to God’s will, the holier we become; the less we
pursue God’s will, the further we go from God. St. Alphonsus says
if we want to be saints we must “never follow our will, but only the
will of God.”
How might we desire God’s will in all things? St. Alphonsus gives
us three items of advice.
First, we must pray earnestly that God grant us the grace to embrace
whatever is pleasing to Jesus Christ, regardless of our natural likes,
dislikes, or any human respect.
Second, we should look for opportunities to increase in our souls a
certain indifference to everything but God’s will.
This holy indifference to all but God’s will is much needed in our own
day. Too often I hear the St. Augustine’s quip, “Love and do what
you will” to justify all manner of sin. A woman was shacked up
with a man. Feeling in love but guilty too, she asked the priest
whether her situation was okay as they really loved each other.
The priest said, “Follow your heart.”
Without a holy indifference to all things but God’s will such advice
as, “follow your heart” will only harden the heart in self-seeking;
such could even be blasphemy, if we come to believe that God somehow
condones shacking up if “we really love each other.”
Third, after prayer and holy indifference, we will do well to remember
that God will one day crown our efforts. St. Alphonsus says our
dear Savior will repay us for every good thought we have of pleasing
Him, for every trial patiently embraced so as to conform to His holy
will.
After providing aids to desire God’s will in all things, St. Alphonsus
explains how we should give our wills to God i.e, entirely,
unreservedly, and constantly.
St. Alphonsus says many read a spiritual book then desire locutions and
ecstasies, or become zealous to do great things for God’s honor,
however, when the time arrives to practice a Christian virtue, they
fail. Indeed, how often do we say one moment, “Oh my dear God, I
want only what you want,” and a moment later, when adversity strikes,
we moan that life is too hard or that God doesn’t like me.
St. Alphonsus says most people resemble weather vanes. They are
cheerful and meek when conditions are right; bitter, impatient, and sad
in a changed wind. St. Alphonsus observes that these will not
become saints… because these people don’t understand that in a fallen
world there will always be more adversity than prosperity… and so,
unless they see God’s will under both good and bad circumstances, they
will always be more unhappy than happy.
If our will is united to God’s will, by seeing His guiding hand in all
things, then we will be calm in all storms. This is end, St.
Alphonsus warns us against busying ourselves with too many tasks, but
to find solace in doing more perfectly what we understand to be God’s
pleasure. Indeed, he tells us we should prefer small
tasks of our vocation to the greatest or more noteworthy because too
often self love is more manifest in noteworthy enterprises.
Those who love Jesus Christ want nothing but what Jesus Christ
wants.
St. Alphonsus says many live a spirituality after their own bent.
The melancholic lives like a hermit; the choleric seeks mortifications;
the naturally generous excel in almsgiving; others visit shrines and
therein place all their holiness. St. Alphonsus cautions us to be
wary of leading a life following even the good points of our natural
temperament. Unless we are careful to love God’s will in all
things, we may only love His will in what corresponds to the good
qualities of our temperament. In following our natural bent too
rigorously we serve more self than God.
This conviction inspired blessed Henry Suso to say, “I would rather be
a vile insect crawling on the ground by the will of God, than a seraph
in heaven by my own will.
The Savior speaks of some who will come to Him at the judgment, “On
that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your
name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds in the power
of your name?” (Mt7:22) What is our Savior’s
response?, “I never knew you. Go away from me, you evil
doers.” St. Alphonsus explains this passage in reference of those
who preferred tasks which suited their temperament above the will of
God. He also says this more involves priests who toil to save
others but neglect their own spiritual life.
To sum up the spiritual life, St. Alphonsus says perfection consists in
true contempt of self (hating what is not of God in us); mortifying our
wayward appetites; and in conforming our will to God. Anyone who
neglects these things is straying from the path.
Indeed, St. Teresa says the best proof that we are pleasing God is
evident when we peacefully resign ourselves to God when stressed.
Embracing the cross is never easy, but it is a sure road to pleasing
God. Ven. John Avila says, “One blessed be God said in adversity
is worth more than six thousand acts of thanksgiving said in
prosperity.”
We must resign ourselves to distress permitted by God directly e.g.,
sickness, lack of talent, accidental losses; but also indirectly,
persecutions, thefts, insults… because in the end all things come from
God.
Finally, we must ask for God’s help. We must not some pray that
things go our way, that our spiritual life be lived with consolations
and delights, but that God give us the strength to understand God’s
will and carry it out.
In fine, to want what Jesus wants, in all circumstances, is hard
work. It is only possible by constant and earnest prayer, by
practicing a certain indifference to all but God’s pleasure, by
thinking upon the crown which awaits those who now can only long to be
with God forever.
After “Love thinks no evil,” St. Paul writes, “love bears al things”
which St. Alphonsus explains, “Those who love Jesus Christ bear all
things for Jesus Christ, especially illness, poverty, contempt.”
This will be our next topic.