A Way of Life

It has been a busy week, duties took up most of my time, but it has been an interesting week both here in Ireland (we have a general election in a few weeks, so the politicians are out kissing babies and trying to avoid awkward issues), and internationally. Brexit is happening; Queen Elizabeth has given the royal assent to the Brexit Bill, the EU commission has given its consent and it goes to the EU parliament next week for approval. The US election has started in earnest. And, as usual, the world is going mad. I believe we are 100 seconds from Doomsday, or whatever that mock-up clock symbolizes. What harm; Maranatha, as we Christians say.

Looking at all of this, and at all the challenges of life, in context, we realize the wisdom and beauty of our faith. For one thing it offers us a way of hope and serenity as well as plotting out a way of life which will not only help us live today, but also look forward to what is to come and prepare for it. The Christian way is the way of life, not just life as we live it here on earth, but a way to life as we hope to have it in eternity - with God. St Paul in his wisdom gave his life over to Christ- he realized that was what baptism is all about - 'I live now, not I, but Christ lives in me' (Gal 2:20) and 'For me, to live is Christ' (Phil 1:21). The importance of living our Christian lives seems to be impressed on us more and more today as we see no real alternatives that can offer us happiness and significance.

Thoughts such as these exercise my mind of late, especially today on the feast of St Francis de Sales, a saint known for guiding souls on the Christian way and helping them discover how to live the life of devotion. He is, of course, famous for the book Introduction to the Devout Life, a marvelous primer on the spiritual life - if you have not read it, I would urge you to do so. When I was working in one parish we had a book club and the Devout Life was one of the works we read. When I introduced the book, I saw fearful looks on the faces of the members of the group - the work looked like it would be a nightmare to read and mind-achingly difficult to understand. However, as they jumped into it and bit off one morsel at a time and digested it, they loved it. For one thing, it spoke to them about their lives and how they could incorporate greater devotion into their daily living. As some of the members of the group were from a farming background, St Francis's continual references to animals and plants struck a chord.

St Francis de Sales urged a great devotional life for us Christians, but the thrust of his book is that the means of living that devotional life is different for all of us and is dictated by our state in life. 'The practice of devotion', he writes, 'must differ for the gentleman and the artisan, the servant and the prince, for widow, young girl or wife. Further, it must be adapted to their particular strength, circumstances and duties'. Wise words. We cannot all be monks or nuns, so the life of monks and nuns is not suited to laypeople going about their daily lives in the midst of the world running from one obligation to another. We can draw from the spirituality of monastic traditions, but it must be modified or recast to fit our state in life; as St Francis says, 'a devotion which conflicts with anyone's state of life is undoubtedly false'. 

Of course, one has to ask, what is devotion? St Francis uses the term in a broader sense, he does not mean particular prayers, rather, he says, 'devotion is nothing else than that spiritual agility and vivacity by which charity works in us, or we work by her aid, with alacrity and affection'. He warns that some people cover themselves with 'certain external actions' to make the world think they are devout, but the life of devotion is much deeper than this - it 'presupposes the love of God, and hence it is nothing less than the love of God'. In simple terms, then, St Francis's idea of devotion is a way of living our Christian life, being formed in virtue and holiness and advancing towards perfection. As he notes, 'When it [the soul] has arrived at that degree of perfection by which it not only makes us do well but also do this diligently, frequently, and readily, then it is called devotion'.

If you want to know more, please read the Introduction to the Devout Life, I think you will enjoy it and profit from it spiritually. On that, a friend of mine said to me a few days ago how few Catholics now read the classics of spirituality. There was a time when ordinary Catholics were reading the works of these spiritual masters and mistresses. We were talking about the foundation of the Legion of Mary and how its founder, Frank Duff, and first members had been reading and chatting about St Louis Marie de Monfort's True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin when the idea of what would become the Legion popped up. These were ordinary Catholics, many of them young women, having a conversation over a cup of tea. What do we talk about when sipping our tea or coffee? 

There is a whole host of great works out there to help us live the Christian way of life. In our Carmelite community we are committed to ongoing formation and each month we delve into the works of Carmelite spirituality and mysticism - we are trying to digest St John of the Cross' Spiritual Canticle at the moment; great stuff! So, perhaps today, in response to this post, if you do not do so already, you might consider having a look at some of these classics; St Francis de Sales's masterpiece might be a good place to start. For those of you who like a challenge and feel like jumping into St John of the Cross's Dark Night of the Soul, don't! If you start to drown it can be a nightmare for some poor priest to pull you out; never plunge into that without a lifejacket or having worked your way up to it. If you wish to start reading John, the Spiritual Canticle is where you might begin; after that, perhaps The Ascent of Mount Carmel; one has to pace oneself when it comes to our Carmelite father. Or perhaps you could also start with St John's most ardent disciple and great interpreter: St Therese of Lisieux. Her Story of a Soul is not pious pulp at all, rather the inner reflections of a strong-willed young woman who sought holiness and found it, not only in the Little Way, but in a Juanian experience of the Dark Night - she can ease you into it if you're really keen.