A Sacrifice Acceptable to the Lord
The second sorrowful mystery of the Rosary calls us to meditate on Christ being scourged at the pillar. As I've prayed the various mysteries of the Rosary over the years, it has taken quite some time for me to grasp the supposed fruit of reflecting on this event in the Lord's life: a spirit mortification. I am hardly known for espousing a giddy approach to fasting, and I'm still warming up to the idea of sacrificing my body for something other than an athletic feat. So, I continually ask the Lord to reveal to me the way(s) in which I can grow in such a disposition, and it seems that He has done so today.
As I reflected again on this mystery earlier today, I was led to a poignant understanding. Rather than focusing on acts of fasting and prayers of penance, the spirit of mortification that God wants to develop in me ought to be centered on a death to self that really transforms this prideful and stubborn soul. It is no coincidence that the very word, mortification, itself comes directly from the Latin word for death. Now, perhaps, I can approach acts of personal sacrifice from an altogether new and more fruitful angle.
Somehow, faithful Christians have arrived at the conclusion that simple prayers after short confessions, and two days of fasting annually, are the extent of necessary mortification and penance. That is far from what was revealed by Christ and taught by the Church. In Luke's gospel account, Jesus told a parable of a Pharisee and a tax collector. The former lauded his outwardly righteous actions, such as fasting and significant tithing, and sneered at others who could not or would not do the same. The latter "would not even lift up his eyes to heaven," and would only beat his breast while begging for God's mercy (Lk. 18:9-14). Jesus summed up his teaching by stating that the man who begged for mercy was actually the one in right relationship with the Lord. Transformation of heart is always what God desires from us instead of self-righteous patronization.
The Gospel of Mark provides another example, wherein a scribe asked Jesus about the greatest commandment. The Lord's reply came in two parts, the two halves of the Shema, the great prayer of Israel from the book of Deuteronomy. The scribe responded again and stated that true love of God and neighbor was worth "much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." With that, the Messiah announced that this man was "not far from the kingdom of God" (Mk. 12:28-34). So, it is not maintaining the prescribed rituals that draws us near to the Almighty and keeps us there. Rather, it is total love of Him that does so, and which leads us to love our neighbors in action.
The leaders of the early Church knew this also, and they wrote it into the teaching letters that make up the canon of the New Testament. St. Peter, the Vicar of Christ after the Ascension, wrote to his flock and exhorted them to "offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God," thus becoming a priestly people (1 Pt. 2:5). In the same letter, he went on to teach that outward appearances were of little consequence, "but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious" (1 Pt. 3:3-4). Put together, these two passages reveal an important teaching of Christianity in its infancy: God is more concerned with what is in a person's heart than with the outward actions that he or she commits.
Along with St. Peter, another New Testament writer taught the primacy of interior disposition. Early in his letter to the Romans, St. Paul wrote that Gentiles could receive a "real circumcision [which] is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal" (Rom. 2:29). Later in that text, the Apostle reminded his audience that transformation and renewal of mind was the starting point for presenting their bodies "as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God" (Rom. 12:1-2). See, from the very beginning, the message of the Church was meant to transform minds and hearts first, and then to see that actions followed suit.
Still today, the Catholic Church makes this distinction clearly. Paragraph 1430 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church expresses it this way:
Do not misunderstand. The rituals and the prescribed days and methods of fasting are still vitally important. However, they cannot be effective in bringing us closer to the Divine if we do not have the right disposition while completing them. Instead of thinking that ritual actions will lead us close to God, we must realize that total love of God will cause us to see sacrifices in their proper light. A person who loves God above all, and his neighbor for God's sake, will choose to die to himself because that is what God calls him to do.
Thus, it is clear that a spirit of mortification is nothing other than a death to self, a death such as that taught by Jesus and recorded in Luke 9:23-27. In order to show that we are truly His disciples, we must die to ourselves each day through acts of charity, generosity, and humility. More than likely, these actions won't even be noticeable to others around us, but they will be more powerful that way. After much time and practice in such quiet sacrifices, then we will begin to exercise the Church's prescribed fasts without complaint and duplicity. Let us pray for God's grace to mortify our minds and hearts, so that the mortification of our bodies will also be acceptable to Him!
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| Flagellation of Christ by Peter Paul Rubens |
Somehow, faithful Christians have arrived at the conclusion that simple prayers after short confessions, and two days of fasting annually, are the extent of necessary mortification and penance. That is far from what was revealed by Christ and taught by the Church. In Luke's gospel account, Jesus told a parable of a Pharisee and a tax collector. The former lauded his outwardly righteous actions, such as fasting and significant tithing, and sneered at others who could not or would not do the same. The latter "would not even lift up his eyes to heaven," and would only beat his breast while begging for God's mercy (Lk. 18:9-14). Jesus summed up his teaching by stating that the man who begged for mercy was actually the one in right relationship with the Lord. Transformation of heart is always what God desires from us instead of self-righteous patronization.
The Gospel of Mark provides another example, wherein a scribe asked Jesus about the greatest commandment. The Lord's reply came in two parts, the two halves of the Shema, the great prayer of Israel from the book of Deuteronomy. The scribe responded again and stated that true love of God and neighbor was worth "much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." With that, the Messiah announced that this man was "not far from the kingdom of God" (Mk. 12:28-34). So, it is not maintaining the prescribed rituals that draws us near to the Almighty and keeps us there. Rather, it is total love of Him that does so, and which leads us to love our neighbors in action.
The leaders of the early Church knew this also, and they wrote it into the teaching letters that make up the canon of the New Testament. St. Peter, the Vicar of Christ after the Ascension, wrote to his flock and exhorted them to "offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God," thus becoming a priestly people (1 Pt. 2:5). In the same letter, he went on to teach that outward appearances were of little consequence, "but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious" (1 Pt. 3:3-4). Put together, these two passages reveal an important teaching of Christianity in its infancy: God is more concerned with what is in a person's heart than with the outward actions that he or she commits.
Along with St. Peter, another New Testament writer taught the primacy of interior disposition. Early in his letter to the Romans, St. Paul wrote that Gentiles could receive a "real circumcision [which] is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal" (Rom. 2:29). Later in that text, the Apostle reminded his audience that transformation and renewal of mind was the starting point for presenting their bodies "as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God" (Rom. 12:1-2). See, from the very beginning, the message of the Church was meant to transform minds and hearts first, and then to see that actions followed suit.
Still today, the Catholic Church makes this distinction clearly. Paragraph 1430 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church expresses it this way:
Jesus' call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, "sackcloth and ashes," fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion. Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance.God must first transform our hearts so that we love Him above all else, and so that we love others for His sake. Only then will we undertake practices of sacrifice and mortification with love and joy. Only then will such practices bear fruit in our lives and in the lives of others.
Do not misunderstand. The rituals and the prescribed days and methods of fasting are still vitally important. However, they cannot be effective in bringing us closer to the Divine if we do not have the right disposition while completing them. Instead of thinking that ritual actions will lead us close to God, we must realize that total love of God will cause us to see sacrifices in their proper light. A person who loves God above all, and his neighbor for God's sake, will choose to die to himself because that is what God calls him to do.
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| "For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it" (Lk. 9:24) |
