Preparation for death/XXXIV. CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF GOD
CONSIDERATION XXXIV
Conformity to the Will of God
"In His pleasure is life." Ps. xxx. 5.
First Point.
ALL our salvation and all our perfection, consist in loving God. " He that loveth not . . . . abideth in death." (i S. John iii. 14.) " Charity, which is the bond of perfectness." (Col. iii. 14.) But the perfection of love consists, then, in the uniformity of our will with the Divine will. Since this is the chief effect of love, according to S. Dionysius, to unite the wills of those who love, so that they have but one heart and one will. So therefore our repentances, our communions, our alms-deeds, please God in proportion as they correspond with the Divine will, since otherwise they are not virtues but defects, and worthy of correction.
It was principally to teach us this truth by His example, that our Blessed Lord came down from heaven. Mark what He said on coming into the world, as the Apostle writes, " Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldst not, but a Body hast thou prepared Me. . . . Then said I, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God." (Heb, x. 5,7) " Thou, My Father, hast refused the victims offered by men, Thou willed that I should sacrifice to Thee by death that Body which Thou hast given Me. Behold Me ready to do Thy will." And this He expressed frequently, saying, " I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me." (S. John vi. 38.) And by this He desires that we should know His great love to His Father, when we see that He died in obedience to His will. " But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave Me commandment, even so I do." (S. John xiv. 31.) He says afterwards, that He acknowledges for His own, those alone, who do the Divine will. " Whosoever shall do the will of My Father Which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother." (S. Matt. xii. 50.) This, then, is the one scope and desire of all the saints in all their works the fulfilment of the Divine will. Henry Suso said, " I would much rather be the vilest worm on earth, according to the will of God, than a seraph according to my own." S. Teresa wrote, "All that he ought to try to procure, who exercises himself in prayer, is to conform his own to the Divine will, and he may be assured that in this conformation the highest perfection consists; he who most aims at such conformity, will receive from God the choicest gifts, and will make most progress in the spiritual life." The blessed in heaven, love God perfectly from their entire conformity to the Divine will. Hence it was that our Blessed Lord taught us ta pray, that by us " Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." (S. Matt. vi. 10.) He who performs the Divine will, becomes a man after the Lord's "own heart," just as the Lord called David, " I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after Mine own heart, which shall fulfil all My will." (Acts xiii. 22.) And why? Because David was always prepared to follow the Divine will " O God, my heart is ready, my heart is ready." (Ps. cviii. i.) And He desired nothing further of the Lord than that he might be taught to do His will, " Teach me to do the thing that pleaseth Thee." (Ps. cxliii. 10.)
Oh, of what great value is the act of perfect resignation to the will of God. It is sufficient in itself to make a saint. Whilst S. Paul was persecuting the Church, our Blessed Lord appeared to him, enlightened him, and converted him; the Saint immediately desired to do the Divine will: " Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" (Acts ix. 6.) And then our Lord said at once, "He is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles (Acts ix, 15.) He who fasts, gives alms, mortifies himself for God, gives Him a part of himself - but he who gives God his will, gives Him his entire self, and this is that whole which God demands of us the heart, that is, the will. " My son, give me thine heart." (Prov. xxiii. 26.) To fulfil the Divine will, in short, is the aim of all our desires, devotions, meditations, communions it expresses the scope of all our prayers the seeking for grace, that we may follow all that God would have us do; the asking for light and strength, to conform ourselves in all things to His will, but especially in the embracing of these things which are opposed to our self love, as Venerable Avila said, that a single " Blessed be God," for things contrary to us, was of more avail than an infinity of thanksgiving for such things as please us.
Affections and Prayers.
Oh, my God! my entire ruin in time past has been through my being unwilling to conform myself to Thy holy will. I hate and abjure many times, those days and moments in which, by doing my own will, I have opposed Thine, O God of my soul. Now I give it all to Thee; receive it, O my Lord, and bind it so closely to Thy love that it may never be able again to rebel against Thee. I love Thee, Infinite Goodness, and for the love that I bear Thee I offer myself wholly to Thee. Dispose of me, and of all that belongs to me, as it may please Thee, so that I in all things may resign myself to Thy holy will. Free me from the disgrace of having done that which was contrary to Thy will, and then do with me as Thou wilt Eternal Father, hear me, for the love of Jesus Christ. My Jesus, hear me through the merits of Thy Passion.
Second Point.
We must conform ourselves to the will of God, not only in things contrary to us which come directly from God, such as loss of health desolation of spirit, loss of relatives or possessions, but even in those ills which come from Hun indirectly, such as slanders, slights, injustices, and all other kinds of persecution And we should remember, that when we are injured by any one in our goods or our honour, that God does not will the sin of him who injures us, but that He rightly wills our poverty and our humiliation. It is certain that whatever happens, does so by the Divine will. " I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil." (Isa. xlv. 7.) The Preacher had said before, " Prosperity and adversity, life and death, poverty and riches, come of the Lord." (Ecclus. xi. 14.) In short, all things come from God, those that are good and those that are evil.
We call them evil, since we think and make them evil to us; but if we would accept them with resignation as coming from the hands of God, they would become to us, not evils, but blessings. The jewels which makes the crown of the saints so rich, are the tribulations, accepted from God, considering that all things came from His hands.
The holy Job, when he was told that the Sabeans had seized his goods, replied, " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away." (Job i. 21.) He did not say that the Lord gave me these goods, and the Sabeans have taken them away; but " the Lord hath taken away;" and therefore Job blessed Him, considering, that all had happened after His will: " Blessed be the Name of the Lord." (Job i. 21.) The holy martyrs, Epictetus and Ato, when they were tortured with iron hooks and burning torches, only said, " Lord, fulfil Thy will in us!" When dying, these were their last words, " Be Thou blessed, O Eternal God, since Thou hast given us grace to fulfil Thy good pleasure."
This should be our frame of mind when adverse things befall us. Let us accept them all from the Divine hand, not only with patience, but with readiness, after the example of the Apostles, who " departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name." (Acts v. 41.) And what greater happiness can there be, than to endure some cross, and to know that by embracing it, we give pleasure to God?
If we desire, then, to live in uninterrupted peace, let us strive from henceforth to embrace the Divine will, saying ever of all things which may happen to us, " Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight." (S. Matt. xi. 26.) O Lord, so hath it pleased Thee; so let it be. To this end we should direct all our meditations, communions, and prayers, ever imploring God that He would conform us to His will. Let us offer ourselves to Him, saying always, " My God, behold us! do with us as pleaseth Thee.
Affections and Prayers.
Oh, my Divine King! my beloved Redeemer, come Thou and reign from this day forward alone in my soul, and take entire possession of my will, since I desire nothing more, than to will as Thou willest. My Jesus, in the time past I have so often displeased Thee by opposing myself to Thy holy will, this thought gives me greater pain than if I had suffered every kind of punishment. I repent of it; it makes me sorry in my whole heart. I have deserved punishment. I do not refuse, but I accept it. Save me only from the punishment, of being deprived of Thy love, and then do with me as Thou pleasest. I love Thee, my dear Redeemer; I love Thee, my God; and because I love, I desire to do all things as Thou wilt. O Will of God Thou art my love. O Blood of my Jesus, Thou art my hope; through Thee I hope to be henceforth united to the Divine will. This will shall be my guide, my desire, my love, and my peace in which I desire ever to live and rest. " I will lay me down in peace, and take my rest." (Ps. iv. 9.) I will ever say, in all things that may happen to me, "My God, Thou hast thus willed, and so I will. My God, I will only as Thou hast willed; in me ever let "Thy will be done in me." (S. Matt. vi. 10.) My Jesus, by Thy merits grant me grace that I may ever repeat this sweet saying of love "Thy will be done."
Third Point.
He who is united to the Divine will, enjoys even in this life, perpetual peace. " There shall no evil happen to the just." (Prov. xii. 21.) Yes; since the mind cannot have a greater contentment, than to see its every wish fulfilled, and if it does not will otherwise than the will of God, it has whatever it wishes for, since whatever happens does so, entirely by the will of God. Resigned souls, says Salvian, if they are humbled, have what they desire; if they suffer poverty, they wish to be poor; in short, they will all things just as they happen, and therefore they lead a blessed life. Let come what will, cold or heat, or loss, or persecution, or sickness, or death, he who is united to God's will says, "I wish for this." He who rests upon the Divine will, and who is pleased with whatsoever the Lord may do, is like one placed above the clouds, who sees the tempests roll with so great rage below: but they do not touch him, neither hurt nor disturb him. It is of this peace that the Apostle says that it "passeth all understanding," (Phil. iv. 7,) which exceeds all the joys of the world, and is moreover such firm peace, that it allows of no change. " The discourse of a godly man is always with wisdom; but a fool changeth as the moon." (Ecclus. xxvii. 11.) The fool, that is to say, the sinner, "is changed as the moon;" he increases today, he lessens tomorrow; today he laughs, tomorrow he cries; today he is bright and altogether cheerful, tomorrow he is afflicted and morose; in short, he changes as things prosperous or adverse happen to him. But the righteous, like the sun, is ever equal and uniform in his tranquillity in all things that may happen, for his peace rests in his conforming himself to the Divine will.
We cannot fail to feel, in the inferior part of our soul, some stings from adverse things; but in the superior part, peace will ever reign, when our will is united with that of God. " Your joy no man taketh from you." (S. John xvi. 22.) But how great is the foolishness of those who resist the will of God, since what He wills must without fail be fulfilled. " Who hath resisted His will?" (Rom. ix. 19.) Whence these miserable ones have to suffer indeed the cross, but without fruit and without peace. "Who hath hardened himself against Him, and hath prospered?" (Job ix. 4.)
What else does God will, if not your good? " This is the will of God, even your sanctification." (i Thess. iv. 3.) He wills to see us holy, by seeing us happy in this life, and blessed in the next. Let us consider that all the crosses which come to us from God " work together for good." (Rom. viii. 28.) Punishments even are not sent for our destruction, but that we may amend, and thus gain eternal happiness. God so loves us, that He not only desires, but is solicitous of the salvation of each one of us. " The Lord careth for me." (Ps. xl. 20.) And what will the Lord deny us, for, on our behalf He has given His Son Himself. " He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things?" (Rom. viii. 32.) Let us then always abandon ourselves into the hands of that God, Who ever has concern in our good whilst we are in this life; " Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you." (i S. Pet. v. 7.) Let us say with the sacred Spouse, " I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine." (Cant. vi. 2.) My Beloved thinks of my good, and I desire to think of nought, but how I may please Him, and be uniting myself to His holy will. The Abbot Nilus says that we should never pray that God would do as we wish, but that we may do as He wills.
He who so acts, will lead a happy life, will die a holy death; and he who dies, wholly resigned to the Divine will, leaves behind him a moral certainty of his salvation. He who has not in life been united to the Divine will, cannot be so in death, and will not be saved. Let us endeavour, then, to render ourselves familiar with certain passages of Holy Scripture, which may help ever to keep us united with the Divine will. " Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" (Acts ix. 6.) Tell me, O Lord, what Thou wiliest me to do, that I may do it with all my will. " Behold the handmaid of the Lord." (S. Luke i. 38.) Save me, O Lord, and then do with me as pleaseth Thee; I am Thine I am no longer my own. When any more considerable trouble happens to us, let us say, at once, " Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight." (S. Matt. xi. 26.) So let it be, my God, as it pleases Thee. In addition to these, hold as sweet, the third petition of the Lord's Prayer, " Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." (S. Matt. vi. 10.) Let us say it often with affection, and repeat it many times over. Happy are we, if we live and die, saying, " Thy will be done."
Affections and Prayers.
O Jesus, my Redeemer, Thou didst consume Thy life on the Cross in an agony of grief, to render Thyself the cause of my salvation; have pity then on me, and save me; and suffer not that soul, redeemed by Thee at so great a price, and by so much love, to hate Thee for ever in hell. Thou art not able to do more than oblige me to love Thee; and this Thou gavest me to understand when, before the death on Calvary, Thou saidst those loving words, " It is finished." (S. John xix. 30.) But how have I since, recognised Thy love? For the time past, I can say truly that I have done nothing, save offend Thee, and oblige Thee to hate me. I thank Thee for having borne with me with so much patience, and for now giving me time to remedy my ingratitude, and to love Thee before I die. Yes, I desire to love Thee, and to do everything that may please Thee; and I give to Thee, my will, my liberty, all that I have. I sacrifice to Thee from this time, my life; and I accept that death which Thou mayest send me, with all its pains and its attendant circumstances. I unite this sacrifice, from this time, with that great sacrifice which Thou, my Jesus, didst make for me, of Thy life upon the Cross. I desire to die that I may obey Thy will. Ah, through the merits of Thy Passion, grant me grace, that I may be in life ever resigned to Thy ordering of events; and when death shall come, grant that I may embrace it with a like submission to Thy holy good pleasure. I am willing to die, my Jesus, to please Thee; I would die saying, " Thy will be done."