The following meditation is taken from the Second Letter of the Divine Apostle, Paul to the Corinthians (9:6-10) for the feast day of St. Laurence:
What can man claim in the sight of God? What do we possess that we have not received? One of the greatest lies of the contemporary world is that man is an autonomous being, free to do as he pleases who shapes his own path through applying his efforts single-mindedly.
The sole aim of life is union with Christ, where man animated by charity participates in the divine life through the mercy of God. He who cheerfully gives imitates the generosity of God, Who can never be outdone in dispersion of goodness. All that we impart to our brothers in purity of heart is returned to us, crowned in glory. To hand out alms with a sorrowful heart is a great insult to God, Who out of nothing formed you and has called you to share in the trinitarian life. Such a lack of love for your neighbour often finds its source in a deficiency of trust in the Lord. Why would you hold back goods from your needy brother if you trusted in the love of God Who would provide all your necessities? Love for your neighbour only finds its perfection in love for our Creator, the Source of all Love. In return, He does not fill the poor with perishable goods, but transmits the divine life. Not mere earthly sustenance, but eternal glory and joy. As Christians the model for our life should be our Divine Redeemer. What did Christ gain when He offered Himself as a ransom for our sins? Honour and glory? He had these things with the Father from all eternity. He had no need for creation yet wished for us to share in His life for all eternity. We may call our acts of love, sacrificial, selfless, however such deeds end in self-recovery. Christ gained nothing by His Oblation, except souls that would share His glory, but the Cross certainly cost Him something.
What we relinquish for our friend only passes through our hands. It is the Lord Who 'ministereth the seed', it is His goodness that allows such acts of kindness to be performed. By His grace, we are able to abound in all good works. He liberates our captive will so that we can be truly merciful and act like Him. He that 'soweth sparingly, shall also reap sparingly', so if we wish to receive abundant life, why do we only yield aspects of our current state? Why do we compartmentalise our devotion to the Lord? Love what Christ loved on the Cross and place your spirit in the Father's hands. He will never desert you.
What can man claim in the sight of God? What do we possess that we have not received? One of the greatest lies of the contemporary world is that man is an autonomous being, free to do as he pleases who shapes his own path through applying his efforts single-mindedly.
The sole aim of life is union with Christ, where man animated by charity participates in the divine life through the mercy of God. He who cheerfully gives imitates the generosity of God, Who can never be outdone in dispersion of goodness. All that we impart to our brothers in purity of heart is returned to us, crowned in glory. To hand out alms with a sorrowful heart is a great insult to God, Who out of nothing formed you and has called you to share in the trinitarian life. Such a lack of love for your neighbour often finds its source in a deficiency of trust in the Lord. Why would you hold back goods from your needy brother if you trusted in the love of God Who would provide all your necessities? Love for your neighbour only finds its perfection in love for our Creator, the Source of all Love. In return, He does not fill the poor with perishable goods, but transmits the divine life. Not mere earthly sustenance, but eternal glory and joy. As Christians the model for our life should be our Divine Redeemer. What did Christ gain when He offered Himself as a ransom for our sins? Honour and glory? He had these things with the Father from all eternity. He had no need for creation yet wished for us to share in His life for all eternity. We may call our acts of love, sacrificial, selfless, however such deeds end in self-recovery. Christ gained nothing by His Oblation, except souls that would share His glory, but the Cross certainly cost Him something.
What we relinquish for our friend only passes through our hands. It is the Lord Who 'ministereth the seed', it is His goodness that allows such acts of kindness to be performed. By His grace, we are able to abound in all good works. He liberates our captive will so that we can be truly merciful and act like Him. He that 'soweth sparingly, shall also reap sparingly', so if we wish to receive abundant life, why do we only yield aspects of our current state? Why do we compartmentalise our devotion to the Lord? Love what Christ loved on the Cross and place your spirit in the Father's hands. He will never desert you.
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