Reflection #20
Blessed Is He who Is
Faithful to God in Adversity
The fidelity of soldiers is proved, not indeed in repose, but in action. This earth for us is a battlefield where everyone has to fight and conquer in order to be saved; if he does not conquer, he is lost forever. Therefore said holy Job: "All the days in which I am in warfare, I expect until my change come." (Job 14:14). Job suffered in struggling with ever so many enemies, but he comforted himself with the hope that, conquering and rising again after death, he would change his state. Of this change St. Paul spoke and rejoiced, saying: "The dead shall rise again incorruptible, and we shall be changed." (I Corinthians 15:52). Our state is changed in Heaven, which is a place of no more toil, but of rest; not of fear, but of security; not of sadness or weariness, but of gladness and joy eternal. With the hope then of such great joy, let us animate ourselves to fight until death and never give ourselves up conquered to our enemies, "until our change come," until our struggle is ended and we possess a blessed eternity.
"The patient man shall bear for a time, and afterwards joy shall be restored to him." (Ecclesiasticus 1:29). Blessed is who suffers for God in this life; he suffers "for a time," but his joy will be eternal in the country of the Blessed. Thus will end the persecutions; the temptations will end; the infirmities, the annoyances and all the miseries of this life will end; and God will give us a life of complete happiness, which shall never end. Now is the time for pruning the vine and for cutting off everything which hinders us on our way towards the promised land of Heaven. "The time of pruning is come." (Canticle of Canticles 2:12). But cutting off causes pain, so that we have need of patience; and then "afterwards joy shall be restored," when the more we have suffered, the more shall we be filled with consolations. God is faithful! And to him who suffers with resignation on earth for His love's sake, He promises that He Himself will be his reward, a reward infinitely greater than all our suffering: "I am thy protector and thy reward exceeding great." (Genesis 15:1).
Meanwhile, before we receive the crown of eternal life, the Lord wills that we should be tried by temptations. "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been proved, he shall receive the crown of life, which God hath promised to them that love Him." (James 1:12). Blessed then is he who is faithful to God when suffering adversity. Some people think they are beloved of God when all their temporal affairs go prosperously and they have no troubles; but they are mistaken, because God does not try the patience and faithfulness of His servants by prosperity, but by adversity, in order to give them that crown which fades not away, as all crowns of this earth do fade away. This shall be a crown of eternal glory, as St. Peter writes: "You shall receive a never-fading crown of glory. " (I Peter 5:4). To whom, then, is this crown promised? St. James says: "God has promised it to them that love Him." (James 1:12). God has promised it again and again to those who love Him, because divine love will make us fight with courage and win the victory.
To love God we must also love humility. The Word of God says, "Gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation." (Ecclesiasticus 2:5). It is in humiliations that Saints are discovered, for there is made known whether they are gold or lead. Such a one is considered a saint; but when he receives an injury from another, he is entirely disturbed; he complains of it to everyone; he says he will make him repent of it. What does this show? It is a sign that he is not gold, but lead. The Lord says, "In thy humiliation keep patience." (Ecclesiasticus 2:4). The proud man, whatever humiliation he receives, considers it a great injustice, and therefore cannot endure it; the humble man on the contrary, accounting himself deserving of every evil treatment, suffers all with patience. Let him who has committed one mortal sin cast a glance upon the Hell which he has deserved, and thus will he suffer with patience every contempt and every pain.
Let us then love God; let us be humble; and whatever we do, let us do it, not to please ourselves, but only to please God. O accursed self-love, which intrudes itself into all our works! Even in our spiritual exercises, in meditation, in works of penance, and in all our pious works, it goes seeking its own interests. Few are the devout souls who do not fall into this defect: "Who shall find a valiant woman? Far and from the uttermost coasts is the price of her." (Proverbs 31:10). Where shall we find a soul so valiant that, despoiled of every passion and of all self-interest, it continues to love Jesus Christ in the midst of slights, pains, desolations of spirit and the annoyances of life? Solomon says that such souls are gems of great price; they come from the farthest ends of the world and therefore are most rare. (Proverbs 31:10 ff).
O my crucified Jesus, I am one of those who, even in my devotions, have been seeking my own pleasure and my own satisfaction; entirely unlike to Thee, who through love of me, hast led a life of tribulations, deprived of every alleviation. Give me Thy help, since from this day forward I will seek only Thy pleasure and Thy glory. I wish to love Thee without any interested motive; but I am weak, Thou must give me the strength to accomplish it. Behold me, I am Thine; dispose of me as it pleases Thee; make me love Thee, and I ask for nothing more.
O Mary, my Mother, obtain for me faithfulness to God through thy intercession.
[Excepted from 'Devout Reflections and Meditations' by St. Alphonsus Liguori] (Public domain)
"The patient man shall bear for a time, and afterwards joy shall be restored to him." (Ecclesiasticus 1:29). Blessed is who suffers for God in this life; he suffers "for a time," but his joy will be eternal in the country of the Blessed. Thus will end the persecutions; the temptations will end; the infirmities, the annoyances and all the miseries of this life will end; and God will give us a life of complete happiness, which shall never end. Now is the time for pruning the vine and for cutting off everything which hinders us on our way towards the promised land of Heaven. "The time of pruning is come." (Canticle of Canticles 2:12). But cutting off causes pain, so that we have need of patience; and then "afterwards joy shall be restored," when the more we have suffered, the more shall we be filled with consolations. God is faithful! And to him who suffers with resignation on earth for His love's sake, He promises that He Himself will be his reward, a reward infinitely greater than all our suffering: "I am thy protector and thy reward exceeding great." (Genesis 15:1).
Meanwhile, before we receive the crown of eternal life, the Lord wills that we should be tried by temptations. "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been proved, he shall receive the crown of life, which God hath promised to them that love Him." (James 1:12). Blessed then is he who is faithful to God when suffering adversity. Some people think they are beloved of God when all their temporal affairs go prosperously and they have no troubles; but they are mistaken, because God does not try the patience and faithfulness of His servants by prosperity, but by adversity, in order to give them that crown which fades not away, as all crowns of this earth do fade away. This shall be a crown of eternal glory, as St. Peter writes: "You shall receive a never-fading crown of glory. " (I Peter 5:4). To whom, then, is this crown promised? St. James says: "God has promised it to them that love Him." (James 1:12). God has promised it again and again to those who love Him, because divine love will make us fight with courage and win the victory.
To love God we must also love humility. The Word of God says, "Gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation." (Ecclesiasticus 2:5). It is in humiliations that Saints are discovered, for there is made known whether they are gold or lead. Such a one is considered a saint; but when he receives an injury from another, he is entirely disturbed; he complains of it to everyone; he says he will make him repent of it. What does this show? It is a sign that he is not gold, but lead. The Lord says, "In thy humiliation keep patience." (Ecclesiasticus 2:4). The proud man, whatever humiliation he receives, considers it a great injustice, and therefore cannot endure it; the humble man on the contrary, accounting himself deserving of every evil treatment, suffers all with patience. Let him who has committed one mortal sin cast a glance upon the Hell which he has deserved, and thus will he suffer with patience every contempt and every pain.
Let us then love God; let us be humble; and whatever we do, let us do it, not to please ourselves, but only to please God. O accursed self-love, which intrudes itself into all our works! Even in our spiritual exercises, in meditation, in works of penance, and in all our pious works, it goes seeking its own interests. Few are the devout souls who do not fall into this defect: "Who shall find a valiant woman? Far and from the uttermost coasts is the price of her." (Proverbs 31:10). Where shall we find a soul so valiant that, despoiled of every passion and of all self-interest, it continues to love Jesus Christ in the midst of slights, pains, desolations of spirit and the annoyances of life? Solomon says that such souls are gems of great price; they come from the farthest ends of the world and therefore are most rare. (Proverbs 31:10 ff).
O my crucified Jesus, I am one of those who, even in my devotions, have been seeking my own pleasure and my own satisfaction; entirely unlike to Thee, who through love of me, hast led a life of tribulations, deprived of every alleviation. Give me Thy help, since from this day forward I will seek only Thy pleasure and Thy glory. I wish to love Thee without any interested motive; but I am weak, Thou must give me the strength to accomplish it. Behold me, I am Thine; dispose of me as it pleases Thee; make me love Thee, and I ask for nothing more.
O Mary, my Mother, obtain for me faithfulness to God through thy intercession.
[Excepted from 'Devout Reflections and Meditations' by St. Alphonsus Liguori] (Public domain)
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