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Letters of Fr. General |
All Saints Day 2007 |
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The extraordinariness of the ordinary |
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Dearest Confreres, May the Lord bless us and make us really saints. On the first day of November we celebrate in one single feast together with the canonized saints the feast of all the just ones of all languages, races, and nations whose names are written in the Book of life (cf. Rev. 20:21). Let us give honor and glory to the divine master and the great model of perfection, Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit is proclaimed “the Holy One”. Let us give praise to him who has loved the Church as his spouse, and gave his whole self for it in order to sanctify it and render it more glorious in his presence at the end (cf. Divinus perfectionis magister). As followers of Christ and sharers of the divine life rendered to us through baptism, we are indeed saints; therefore, with the help of God, we must maintain and steadily improve in our life the holiness that we received (cf. LG, 40). Let us look at the saints of heaven and let us recall their examples to ourselves, imploring through their merits, the benefits of God. The exemplar that is closer to us is that of our beloved Founder, who invites us to make ours the divine cry of salvation: At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you (2 Cor 6:2). This hope expressed in the Bible is gladly welcomed by Fr. Justin; he implores from the Divine Trinity the perennial sense of all that exists. O my God and my All! O my Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I believe and adore you in your eternity and immensity, and I beg you to grant me the perception of the eternal and infinite in every one of my actions, and in every moment of my life! (Opere vol. 2, p. 43). For the Vocationist, there is no such a thing as monotony, nor repetitions! All things are new and can be made anew. Our life is a continuous opening of ourselves to new horizons, new discoveries of new beauty; it is an infinite enjoyment of ever more precious treasures, an untiring ascent to new peaks, an uninterrupted assimilation of deeper truths, a life of relations that are ever more intimate and transforming. Nothing is routine, ordinary or common; nothing is insignificant. I believe that you order all things, angels and men, every event and creature, so that they may be ministers and instruments of your work, messengers of your love! (Opere vol., 2, p. 58). At the beginning of the spiritual diary of Fr. Justin, dated precisely Sept. 15-17, 1913, we can find this precious teaching: As the least things are the finality of the same and sole voluntary act of God with which he created heaven and earth, so also the least and ordinary actions (the way we see them) are objects of the same divine approval as those acts that are rare, epical and heroic. Only what is alien to the divine will is evil, because the only good, in itself and outside of itself, is the divine will; in fact, evil is the privation of good. God is equally God in creating a leaf of grass for the nourishment of an insect as in creating a paradise for the blessedness of the saints; in the same way, the soul acts in an equally divine manner when procuring food for the body as well as when receiving God in holy communion, if these acts conform themselves to the will of God, that has required that both be done. The more an action conforms itself to the divine will, the more it becomes heroic and holy, if done constantly and accordingly to all actual graces. A Vocationist must not stop at the superficial level, at the mere appearance of persons and things. He tries to see all things from the point of view of God and wants to see them in the way God sees them; therefore, he wants to discover, appreciate and enjoy the extraordinariness of every person, thing and event. Henceforth, our life must be a continuous discovering and admiration of new wonders, new beauties, new values, new truths and new goodness. Throughout the universe there is no ray of beauty, goodness or harmony which is not but a shadow, a reflection, a sign of you! Glory and love to you forever! Every flower, every star, every heart is but the flower, the star and heart that our spirit made for you! Glory and love to you forever! (Opere vol. 2, p. 133). In the Vocationist culture, we greet every guardian angel of every person we meet. We leave, between us and every person with whom we talk, a space for the Lord; we see in every person the possible future saint. Let us appreciate and love in every person the image and likeness of God-Trinity. These attitudes and practices elevate us to the supernatural level, and they fill us with a sense of optimism; they make us respect, esteem and love every human being. As usual, I quote the words of Fr. Justin in my letters paraphrasing some of his prayers. In the Justinian language One of our benefactors, Vincenzo Visceglia, used to tell us: Pay attention to every single cent because, accumulating them, dollars will come by themselves. If we translate this saying in the spiritual life, we may say: Pay attention to every little thing because greater things will then just happen! The accumulation of little things will surely constitute bigger things. Referring himself to little things, to those that fill our day, Fr. Justin uses often these words: Every atom and instant of mine, every act and state of my being. An atom is an infinitely minute body, once considered indivisible, which comprises a nucleus at the center formed by protons, neutrons and various electrons. It is not visible to a human eye; it is not tangible nor can it be perceived by our senses. But all those things that we see, touch and perceive are an intricate accumulation of atoms. It is clear therefore that we cannot have the whole body without having its various parts that comprise the whole. An instant is the least period of time; a moment that easily escapes away, without giving us opportunity to realize something. Our life in fact is nothing but a continuous chain of instants, one after the other. I cannot live, enjoy and take profit of my time neglecting its every single instant. Our life is a continuous series of many instants. An instant may seem negligible, but take note that in just an instant our life may come to a stop. An Act is an action that reveals sentiments and activate some of our faculties. In fact, our life is a continuous chain of acts, gestures, attitudes and signs. Our every action may seem insignificant or negligible only because we do so many of them. Nevertheless, every act may be a definite turning point in our life. A State is a condition, a way of existence, of being; it is something that is permanent. We may say that a state is a continuous chain of acts inasmuch as it is indeed the repetition of acts which together creates a permanent condition. In the light of these terminologies, we can understand better the expression that is constantly repeated by Fr. Justin: man is limited and successive. When our limits keep stretching we become bigger, ever adding new dimensions, and, in case of action, when one is followed by another, we have an ascensional ladder and progressivity. Just reading any of the prayers of Fr. Justin – for example, Intentions of love – we see how Fr. Justin guides us to holiness, keeping attention to those little and ordinary things within a brief period of time. Sanctifying our most ordinary actions in this world and, as possible, for the most brief moment of time – instant per instant –will surely help us arrive to holiness. In this line of thought we can read and be able to understand the prayer: Today I want to become a saint! O my God and my all! I want and intend that every atom and instant, every act and state of mine may be all glory of yours, …may all be love of you … may all be your will…directly, explicitly and most intensively (Devotional, p. 1165). O Lord, God-Trinity, present and operating in all things, in every fact and in every circumstance, grant us a vision of faith, always more alive and operating in charity, so that in everything, we may be able to encounter you, and to be in contact with you. (Ibid., 1114). What an unhappiness, what a disgrace, what a ruin if just a single atom of ours or an instant of ours would not be all entirely for you (Diary of Fr. Justin, May 1919)! Everything is great Oh , how I wish and desire to adequately glorify you and see you glorified in every look, word, breath and motion; in every act of memory, intellect, will and imagination; in every movement of mine and of all beings! (Opere, vol. 2, pp. 61-62) Everything is great if seen in the light of God-Trinity, if put in relation with God himself, inasmuch as he is the first cause of all and works and acts in all things. I will ponder then the wonders of your law, which are the wonders of beauty, sweetness, greatness and harmony (Opere, vol. 2. p. 84). How many wonderful things are there in every act and state, atom and instant! Why should I then be caught by monotony and melancholy? It is necessary then that I should comprehend the greatness of the dignity, responsibility and of the consequences of every minute part of my human act. Every human act, done anywhere in the world and by any member of the mystical body of Christ, has its repercussion in the militant, suffering and triumphant Church, in heaven and here on earth in the communion of saints. In the ordinariness of our actions, we must not ignore or underestimate the greatness of prayer, of the sacraments, of the holy Mass and communion, of practices of Christian virtues, of the divine inspirations, of the divine In-dwelling, and of every relation to persons, which elevate our every act to the supernatural and universal level. It follows then that I must and I want to do all things with the most pious and intense attention, with the most universal and holiest intentions, in the most saintly and integral dispositions. I intend with the grace of God to sanctify every part of my body and every action of my senses through mortification and modesty, as grain of incense in the sacred fire. With the help of the grace of God, I will sanctify every part of my body and every action of my life with prayers, with the practice of the holy presence of God in union with Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The ever higher thought and desire of sanctifying everything and the sense of greatness in all things are in themselves already signs of the grace of God; in this way, what I consider ordinary becomes extraordinary, what I consider natural becomes supernatural for the glory of the blessed Trinity (cf. Devozionale I, p. 711 e Opere, Vol 2, pp. 226-27). “Oh adorable Trinity, with your grace we intend - and for this we beg you - to recognize and contemplate always more and in a better way your presence in every thing, person, event, to adore you in your divine perfections, to continue your missions, to serve your action, to cooperate to your divine works and to bring all souls and make them capable of establishing themselves and progressing in this supernatural life. Oh adorable Trinity, with your grace we intend – and for this we beg you – to recognize and to contemplate always more and in a better way your ideas and to embrace them, in every person, thing and event, to recognize and contemplate your glory by fixing our eyes on it, your divine will by obeying it, your love by corresponding to it, your gift by repaying it, and to bring all souls in this ongoing, progressing growth in this divine good (Dev. I, p. 823)”. Grant me that all my actions and my entire life, all my hours and days may be filled with hymns of divine praises for you, and may be a canticle of praise for you, in order to stimulate always more in myself and in others the act of glorying you evermore (Opere, vol 3, 28). As the least things are the object of the same volition of God with which he created heaven and earth, so also the least and ordinary actions (the way we see them) are objects of the same approval of God as are those rare, epical and heroic acts. I want to become a saint Holiness does not consist in extraordinary works nor in some mystical events, but rather in doing in a better way the ordinary things of each day. St. Therese of the Child Jesus teaches us the holiness in a little way: “to love oneself and be loved”. Fr. Justin teaches us to be saints sacramentalizing every thing; elevating everything to the supernatural level, doing anything for the love of God, being aware of his presence and his grace in our every action. The glory of God requires that I may be holy, in every hour and moment; God’s divine love wants it and his salvific will imposes it. My duty and my joy of sanctifying myself cannot be postponed; it is urgent to realize it today, hic et nunc, here and now. The extraordinariness of the ordinary consists in seeing and enjoying every act, thing or event like a veil through which the Lord reveals his desire to me, and works for my sanctification. Every internal and external thing, may it be object of internal or of external sense, may it be property of the faculty of the body or of the mind, is a veil – like the veil of the Eucharist – which hides the Lord’s presence. Every sound and color, every line, every accidence and substance, every thing in its entirety is a host in which the Lord reveals himself, in which he gives himself, and acts in the soul with all his ever diffusive kindness (Agende 20-10-1931). All creation, in daylight, proclaims that the Lord loves you, and, when shrouded in darkness, it is telling you: “Behold, the Lord comes!” (Opere, vol 2, p. 39) The work of creation which finds its fulfillment in the work of redemption brings the soul to the work of sanctification. The creation and the redemption are works already accomplished by God. The works of sanctification instead is still in the making under the influence of the Holy Spirit. I simply receive the act of creation and redemption though with gratitude; in order to taste and actualize in me the work of sanctification, my cooperation is needed. In the work of sanctification of the soul, the biblical phrase “Let us make man into our image and likeness” still continues. The salvific will of God expressed in this first creating phrase requires that I may enter in this divine plural, in this divine present, in this divine work. My task in this sanctification process of myself, consists indeed in making perfect, every day and every hour, my image and likeness of God-Trinity, so that I may be able to show always more and always better the divine exemplar. The sanctification of the soul consists in imitating Christ, in making it an alter Christus. As in the incarnation, my sanctification takes place through the work of the Holy Spirit and of the blessed Virgin Mary in the house of Nazareth, in the holy catholic Church. As a chosen soul, in order to sanctify myself, I must accept and live integrally the entire Gospel. Since the mission of the Holy Spirit continues through the sanctification of the soul, I will open and abandon myself to his actions as inspirator of the minds, consoler of the hearts and sanctifier of the souls. To him I entrust myself, and in him I trust. Today, I want to be saint paying all the debts of punishment, cancelling all the stains of my sin, eradicating all the seeds of evil present in my soul. Today, I want to be a saint entering in the flow of graces of inspirations, biddings, and heavenly movements, leaving myself fascinated always more in circulation of divine life that wants to transport all souls to the union with God. Today, I want to be a saint, enriching me of all the treasures of the merits of Jesus Christ, adorning myself with all the splendor of the virtues of Jesus, becoming always more an ever alive image and likeness of my God. Today, I want to be a saint making sure that every action of mine may be a perfect cult to the Trinity, done in union with Jesus sacrifice, as an act of communion with the most holy Trinity, with the holy Family in the holy Church. (Cfr. Dev. I, p. 443-44) I want and I must transform all my hours into hours of prayer; every creature and very event must become for me a reason for direct conversation with you. Only those moments spent in direct communication with you are worthy to be lived (Opere, vol 2, p. 38). Our extraordinariness in the ordinary consists in understanding, seeing and enjoying every atom and instant, every act and state, event and circumstance, as emanation, revelation of the work and the love of God for us. Only those moments spent in direct communication with you are worthy to be lived (Opere, vol 2, p. 37). For the charity of our neighbor When one finds himself in front of any person, or of any gesture, act, or even the most ordinary encounter, the Vocationist sees them – and really wants to see them – as something extraordinary, something that renders every person, every act, every encounter, every event unique and extraordinary. The extraordinariness of each person, event or thing, or every encounter produces satisfaction, esteem and love of all beyond the appearances. With your grace, I intend and desire to see, embrace and follow the divine will of your love in every event that comes from you; O my Lord, grant this gift to me and to everyone, at every moment, as you granted it to Mary and Joseph. With your grace, I intend and desire to see, honor, love and serve the guardian angels, patron saints, the blessed Mother and st. Joseph, in every person, and to be united in love with these blessed ones. With your grace, I intend and desire that each and every action of mine be always and completely an act of supernatural perfection, of very intense union and love, glorifying you indwelling in my soul and in my brothers (Opere, vol,. 2, pp. 60-61). In the eyes of faith, with my mind and heart, I unite myself to God-Trinity in loving, esteeming and desiring every soul, seeing in each one of them the creating, redeeming and sanctifying work of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. I want to see each soul in the way God sees it; I want to esteem it as the Trinity esteems it; I want to be delighted in every soul in the way the Trinity is delighted in them. Even in its exterior characteristic, I want to have for each soul all the reverence and gentleness that the Lord has for each one of them, because he himself makes me feel an intuition of how each of them is dear to him. With the heart of Mary and of Jesus himself, I want to love them and sacrifice all of myself in order to consecrate them to God’s divine love. With Jesus-Host and like Jesus-Host, I want to give and unite myself to the souls in order to glorify the blessed Trinity who dwells in them through grace. What a wonderful reality, wonder of wonders! I see, greet and embrace in every human being all the souls of the present, of the past and of the future; in them I exercise the possibility of knowing, loving and serving God, which, by uniting the souls to himself, he also unites them to me. I see in each soul an ever distinct and variedly beautiful, sweet and lovable image and likeness of the Lord God. I see in each soul the work of God the creator, the redeemer and the sanctifier; the object of the continuous divine action; the final result of grace, virtues and gifts of God. Oh! How I desire, in the vision of glory, to consider in each confrere the way the angels, the blessed Mother and God himself consider them to be! I really want to see that particular divine image and likeness which renders each soul unique, distinct and exclusive in the universe of souls. I believe and see in every soul, a saint. Even under the outer layer of evil, I respect and venerate the possible future saint. I love and adore you, O my Lord God, in each of my brothers (see Devozionale, pp. 1039-1041). From the past to the future through the present The past is never divine, because there is no past in you; the future is never divine, because there is no future in you. Only the present is divine, because it is always true, “I am who I am” (Opere vol. 2, 108). The present is always and solely that fleeing instant which follows the past but constructs the future. The present lasts for an instant and after, it becomes part of the past. Since the present lasts only an instant if I squander or waste it, I squander and lose that connection between the past and the future. If the future is not connected and sustained by the present, it will become empty, incapable of sustaining itself. Is it this, that St. Augustine wanted to tell us saying: timeo Deum transeuntem? He who doesn’t want to live the present doesn’t appreciate the past nor does he construct the future. The Vita Consecrata reminds us: You don’t have only a glorious history to be remembered and be recounted, but a glorious history to be constructed. Take a look at the future where the Holy Spirit is projecting in order to do great things with you (VC n. 110). O how I should concentrate myself completely in the divine present, so that I may do everything with the greatest possible perfection of nature and grace, in the most faithful imitation and intimate union with you, O my God and my All! (Opere vol 2, p. 108) Every day ( every moment) may be a day (a moment) of life and grace, a day (a moment) of progress and victory, as were the days of Joseph and Mary (Ibid., 128) For every present moment, the Lord wants to grant me benefits for all the eternity. A lost moment will be lost forever. Those things that I might have done in that moment can no more be done. Fr. Justin, in fact, makes us pray for the fruitfulness of every instant of our time, of every atom of our body and of every act of our faculty: Grant that we may leave on earth, after us and in our place, as many sources of supernatural well-being as are the atoms in our body, the seconds in time, the actions of our senses, and many more! (Ibid., 129). Conclusion The capacity to discover and admire, to see and taste, to appreciate and to value the wonders and greatness, the beauty and the sweetness, the complexity and the simplicity of the divine mystery that is present and operating in every atom and instant, in every act and state, in every living creature and non-living things, in every event and circumstance enriches our life and projects it into the immensity and infinity of God himself. O the greatness of the creation! you are but a pale reflection of the greatness of your Creator! With Metastasio, everyone of us must say: Anywhere I look, wherever I turn my head, I see you O immense God; in your work, I admire you, I recognize you present in me! May all our life be an eternal canticle of thanksgiving; may all that surrounds us, all those that we can see and touch, all those that we live and what we think of, may be a motive of elevation and thanksgiving. Let us then pray with Fr. Justin: Space and time open to me the book of nature, I understand it. Every element, every phenomenon, every law is an act of infinite love for me! Thank you, Lord, for every patch of sky, for every ray of light, for every twinkle of a star, for the myriad of color, for the harmony of sounds, for all this panoramic beauty. Thank you for every caress of the sunrise, for every kiss of the flowers, for the warmth of fire, for the refreshment of water, for the sweetness of flavors, for every wafting of perfume. Thank you for the rest through sleep, for the services of animals, for every well-being of life, for the affection of every friend, for the tenderness of every mother, for every passionate and good impulse. Thank you for every ray of genius, every law of reason, every pang of conscience, will power, human achievement, idealistic enthusiasm. Thank you for the sweat of labor, the bitterness of every tear, the ferocity of every storm, the dawn of childhood, the sunrise of youth, the noontime of life, the twilight of death, the shadow of night. Thank you, Lord, for having made all things, natural gifts, a very expressive sign and clear indication of supernatural things and gifts! Thank you, Lord, for the fact that you wanted that your grace does not suppress nature, but should elevate it innately to a level of higher truth and beauty, love and sweetness. May the saints and angels open for me the book of your grace, and, may they read and explain to my soul the divine Scriptures and Christian Tradition, through the voice of the infallible Magisterium of the Church. Thanks, my brother, for all you’ve done and will do for the service of the divine vocations, for the promotion of the universal sanctification, for the apostolate of the divine union, for the expansion of the kingdom of God on earth and for the good of our beloved Congregation. Continue to be and be really a fountain of encouragement, inspiration, and support, always, for me and for those you meet on your way. Sanctify the present moment and never leave for tomorrow what you can do today, and seeing all your actions as cooperation to the work of the universal sanctification. With all the saints of heaven, purgatory and here on earth, I cordially greet, embrace, and bless you in the loving relation of God-Trinity. Always at your service, Father Louis M. Caputo, S.D.V. |
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