Inevitably, we can’t count how many saints both the canonized
saints and all the uncanonized saints as well in heaven. The saints come from
various nations, and races. And though they have different personalities
and backgrounds, there has to
be some kind of unique characteristic that’s common to all of them. In this
writing, I want to show the unique characteristics of the saints, especially
the canonized saints that had been presented by each member of the 5th degree of Seminary of the Sacred Heart of
Pineleng-Manado-Indonesia. Specifically, in this writing I present the characteristics of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius of
Loyola, St. Augustine of Hippo, and St. Francis de Sales. They have their own
unique spirituality. We have discussed
together about the conscipious pedagogues of any saints for the
formation of priesthood.
By
this this writing, I just focus on the characteristics of the saints. There are
some similarities in their way to make the relation with God and fellow
brothers and sister. But inevitably, there are also several differences in
their way to put into practices their spesific spirituality. Briefly, in this
writting I want to show the way of life; the way to get the fullness of life,
holiness, and wholeness of the saints.
I.
The
Definition about the Term Saint
Before
describing at length about the comparison of each saint, let us see first about
the definition of the term “saint” in the Catholics tradition. A saint was one
who was in heaven with Lord who could intercede for the needs of the earthly
church and respond to those needs, and merited public honor and cultic
recognation by the church. Every saint served a paradigmatic figures for those
who wished to follow the life of Christ. Besides a saint was the model of
religious behaviour and as reliable guides for those who undertook the
spiritual path. In short, a saint was our most our conscipicious pedagogues in
following Christ and model for undertaking our spiritual path. [1]
As everybody knows that in early church the term
“saint” was used as a synonim for the faithful. Then it began to be applied
more particurlarly to the martyrs. By the sixt century, the word has become a
title of honor applied almost exclusively to those dead whose public veneration
was approved by the church. [2]
II.
A Brief
Biography of Each Saint
A.
St.
Francis of Assisi
St.
Francis of Assisi was born at Assisi in Umbria, in 1181 or 1182 and
died there 3 October, 1226. His father, Pietro Bernardone, was
a wealthy Assisian cloth merchant. His mother, Donna Pica
belonged to a noble family of Provence (France).
At baptism the saint received the name of Giovanni or John. Then
his father altered to Francesco, through fondness it would seem
for France, whither business had led him at the time of his
son's birth. Other reason is because his mother is from France.
He was
not very studious, and his literary education remained incomplete. At his
youth, he led an extravagant
lifestyle, throwing expensive parties for his friends and dressing in the
finest silk fashions brought back from France by his father. Briefly,
he spent money lavishly.
At the
age of twenty, Francis went out with the townsmen
to fight the Perugians.
Unfortunatelly,The Assisians were defeated on this occasion. In 1205 he set out again to gain fame by fighting
against the forces of the Holy Roman Emperor. But God had different plans for
the rich young man. Encamped at Spoleto the night before battle, Francis had a
dream in which the Lord spoke to him. He turned back from combat, and soon
began to follow Christ. Not long after his return to Assisi, he
prayed before an ancient crucifix in the forsaken
wayside chapel of St. Damian's. At the time he heard a
voice saying: "Go, Francis,
and repair my house, which as you see is falling into ruin."
Francis went to his father's shop, impulsively bundled together a load of
coloured drapery, and mounting his horse hastened to Foligno, then a mart
of some importance, and there sold both horse and stuff to procure the money
needful for the restoration of St. Damian's. He came back to the chapel of St.
Damian to meet the poor priest who officiated there. But the
priest refused to receive the money from
Francis because he knew that the money was “stolen” by Francis. Because of his behaviour, then Francis was followed by a
hooting rabble, pelted with mud and stones, and otherwise mocked as
a madman. Finally, he was dragged home by his father, beaten, bound,
and locked in a dark closet. Freed by
his mother during Bernardone's absence, Francis returned at once to St.
Damian's, where he found a shelter with the officiating priest. Eventually, Francis stripped himself of the
very clothes he wore, and gave them to his father, saying: "Hitherto
I have called you my father on earth; henceforth I desire to say only 'Our
Father who art in Heaven."
St. Augustine was born in
354 in the municipium of
Thagaste (now Souk Ahras, Algeria)
in Roman Africa. His mother, Monica, was a devout Christian;
his father Patricius was a Pagan who converted to Christianity on his deathbed.
At the age of 17, Augustine went to Carthage to
continue his education inrhetoric.
Augustine left the church to follow the Manichaean religion. As a
youth Augustine lived a hedonistic lifestyle
for a time, associating with young men who boasted of their sexual exploits
with women and men in order to gain acceptance. It was during this period that
he uttered his famous prayer, "Grant me chastity and
continence, but not yet." (da mihi castitatem et
continentiam, sed noli modo).
In the summer of 386, after having heard and been
inspired and moved by the story of Placianus's and his friends' first reading
of the life of Saint Anthony of the Desert, Augustine converted to Christianity. His conversion
was prompted by a childlike voice he heard telling him to "take up and
read" (Latin: tolle,
lege), which he took as a
divine command to open the Bible and read the first thing he saw. Augustine
read from Paul's Epistle to the Romans chapter
13, verses 13 and 14, to wit: Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering
and wantonness, not in strife and envying, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof. He later
wrote an account of his conversion his very transformation, as Paul described –
in his Confessions (Latin: Confessiones), which has since become a must-read classic of
Christian theology. Ambrose baptized Augustine on Easter Vigil in
387 in Milan.
Saint Francis was born at
Thorens, in the Duchy of Savoy, on August 21, 1567. He was baptized the
following day in the Parish Church of Thorens, with the name of Francis
Bonaventure. His father, François de Saless de Boisy, and his mother, Françoise
de Sionnaz, belonged to old Savoyard aristocratic families. The future saint
was the eldest of six brothers. During his life he chose St. Francis of Assisi
to be his patron saint. The room where he was born was called “St. Francis’s
Room,” because there was an image of the “Poverello” preaching to the birds and
fishes.
His parents intended that Francis become a lawyer, enter politics, and carry on the family line and power. He studied at La Roche and Annecy in France,taught by Jesuits. Attended the Collège de Clermont in Paris, France at age 12. In his early teens, Francis began to
believe in pre-destination, and was so afraid that he was pre-emptorily
condemned to Hell that he became ill and eventually was confined to bed.
However, in January 1587 at the Church of Saint Stephen, he overcame the
crisis, decided that whatever God had in store for him was for the best, and
dedicated his life to God.
Studied law and theology at the University of Padua, Italy, and earned a doctorate in both fields. He
returned home, and found a position as Senate advocate. It was at this point that he received a message
telling him to “Leave all and follow Me.” He took this as a call to the priesthood, a move his family fiercely opposed, especially
when he refused a marriage that had been arranged for him. However, he pursued
a devoted prayer life, and his gentle ways won over the family.
In 1593 he was appointed provost of the diocese of Geneva, Switzerland, a stronghold ofCalvinists. Preacher, writer and spiritual director in the district of Chablais.
His simple, clear explanations of Catholic doctrine, and his gentle way with everyone, brought many back to the Roman Church. He even used sign language in order to bring the
message to the deaf, leading to his patronage of deaf people.
D.
St.
Ignatius of Loyola[5]
St. Ignatius Loyola was born in 1491 in
Azpeitia in the Basque province of Guipuzcoa in northern Spai. He was one of 13 children of a family of minor
nobility in northern Spain. As a young man Ignatius Loyola was inflamed by
the ideals of courtly love and knighthood and dreamed of doing great deeds. At
the age of sixteen years he was sent to serve as a page to Juan Velazquez, the
treasurer of the kingdom of Castile. As a member of the Velazquez household, he
was frequently at court and developed a taste for all it presented, especially
the ladies. He was much addicted to gambling, very contentious, and not above
engaging in swordplay on occasion.
But in 1521 Ignatius was gravely wounded in a
battle with the French. While recuperating, Ignatius Loyola experienced a
conversion. During the long weeks of his recuperation, he was extremely bored
and asked for some romance novels to pass the time. Luckily there were none in
the castle of Loyola, but there was a copy of the life of Christ and a book on
the saints. Reading the lives of Jesus and the saints made Ignatius happy and
aroused desires to do great things. Ignatius realized that these feelings were
clues to God’s direction for him. Not only was this experience the beginning of
his conversion, it was also the beginning of spiritual discernment, or discernment
of spirits, which is associated with Ignatius and described in his Spiritual
Exercises. Over the years, Ignatius became expert in the art of spiritual direction. He collected his insights, prayers, and
suggestions in his book the Spiritual
Exercises, one of the most influential books on the spiritual life
ever written. With a small group of friends, Ignatius Loyola founded the
Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits. Ignatius conceived the Jesuits as
“contemplatives in action.” This also describes the many Christians who have
been touched by Ignatian spirituality.
III.
The
Spirituality of the Saints
After following this course, I get several points
about the similarities of each saints (St. Francis of Assisi, St. Augustine,
St. Iganatius of Loyola, and St. Francis de Sales) in their spirituality.
What’s this unique characteristic common to every saint? The unique characteristic common to every saint
is not any one of these: intelligence, good looks, wealth, and worldly
success. For me several points below are the common things to all
of saints. These points are the basic things to develope spiritual aspect and
to reach the fullness of life.
A. The
Spirit of Responding God’s Call and Leaving the
Comfort Zone
When God called, they answered. For some it was
taking a chance on a new way of life.
Like Abraham in the Old Testament, saints responded to the graces that
were given to them and had a great zeal of leaving the old habit and
ideal. For example the life of St.
Augustine of Hippo. At the youth, Augustine lived a hedonistic lifestyle
for a time, associating with young men who boasted of their sexual exploits
with women and men in order to gain acceptance. Augustine began an affair with
a young woman in Carthage at the age of 19. In the summer of 386, Augustine
converted to Christianity. Augustine inspired by Paul's Epistle to the Romans chapter 13, verses 13 and 14. For Augustine, the way to God requires the
spirit of refusal of wordly desires. It means leaving the comfort zones. We are
in wander to God with Christ. The incarnation of Jesus is the main capital for human beings, because
Jesus Himself is the way for us. So don’t seek other way. Only through the way
of Christ, we can arrive and meet God. For Augustine, asceticism is the way of life especially in order to
leave the desire of carnal, sexual lust. [6]
St.
Francis of Assisi and St. Ignatius of Loyola also left their old habit and
ideal. We know that St. Francis at his yout spent money lavishly, throwing expensive parties
for his friends and dressing in the finest silk fashions brought back from
France by his father and
had the ideal of wordly things, such as popularity as an army. St. Francis of
Assisi took part as an army with his townsmen
to fight the Perugians. He also ever
set out again to gain fame by fighting against the
forces of the Holy Roman Emperor. But eventually, he repented after experiencing a vision.[7] From
wordly ideal, he then followed Jesus Christ. Francis is described thus by
Thomas of Celano, his first biographer:
“He withdrew for a while from the bustle and the business of the world and tried to establish Jesus Christ dwelling within himself … There was a certain grotto near the city…when he came out again to his companion, he was so exhausted with the strain, that one person seemed to have entered, and another to have come out.”[8]
For Francis
of Assisi, Christ suffices always and all things to God. He alone is the object
of the Father’s good pleasure. No one please to the Father, except in Him and
through Him. This is, for Francis of Assisi, the supreme reason for his
devotion to Christ and his efforts to be conformed to Him.
The ideal for reaching popularity by becoming an
army also lived up by St. Ignatius of
Loyola. Ignatius of Loyola was much addicted to gambling, very
contentious, and not above engaging in swordplay and taking delight in the exercise of arms on
occasion at his youth. It is commonly
assumed that Ignatius was a soldier or knight. [9] But in
1521 Ignatius was gravely wounded in a battle with the French. While
recuperating, Ignatius Loyola experienced a conversion especially by reading
the lives of Jesus and the saints. By this activity, he felt satisfied. He
realized that these feelings were clues to God’s direction for him. The more he
read, the more he considered the exploits of the saints worth imitating. Not
only was this experience the beginning of his conversion, it was also the
beginning of spiritual discernment, or discernment of spirits. He left the
castle in March of 1522. He proceeded to the Benedictine shrine of Our Lady of
Montserrat, made a general confession, and knelt all night in vigil before Our
Lady's altar, following the rites of chivalry. He left his sword and knife at
the altar, went out and gave away all his fine clothes to a poor man, and
dressed himself in rough clothes with sandals and a staff.
How
about St. Francis de Sales? He also responded the call of God in an unique way.
His ideal is to be a priest. This ideal was
fiercely opposed by his family, especially when he refused a marriage that had been arranged for him. His biggest concern on being ordained that he had
to have his lovely curly gold hair cut off. And his preaching left the
listeners thinking he was making fun of him. Others reported to the bishop that this noble-turned- priest was conceited and controlling. [10] During
the time of the Protestant reformation and just over the
mountains from where Francis lived was Switzerland -- Calvinist territory. Francis decided that he
should lead an expedition to convert the 60,000 Calvinists back to Catholicism.
For three years, he trudged through the countryside, had doors slammed in his
face and rocks thrown at him. No one would listen to him, no one would even
open their door. So Francis found a way to get under the door. He wrote out his
sermons, copied them by hand, and slipped them under the doors.
B.
The Saints are Filled with the
Love of God and Love of Human Beings
To be a saint is not of great deeds they performed, but because of
the love of God and neighbor that drove them.[11] So we can say that a saint is someone who
loves God above all things and loves his neighbor with that same love —
with a holy, deep, persevering love.
Although the saints may be different in many ways,
they are always generous in loving God and others. The saints I mention above
didn’t only give the concept of love. They lived up what they said. For
example: about the concept of love, St. Francis of Assisi defines in the following manner: “we may love Thee with all our heart,
thinking unceasingly on Thee (this ‘thought’ not being a discursive
ratiocination, but a direct, intuitive and synthetic ‘recollection’ of the
heart); with all our mind, directing towards Thee all our intentions and
seeking Thine honor in all things (volitive attitude); with all our strength,
putting all the powers of the soul, and the sentiments (sensible faculties) of
the body in the service of Thy love and of nothing else (synthesis of all
possible human attitudes); and so that we may likewise love our neighbors as
ourselves, drawing them all, as far as we are able, towards Thy love, rejoicing
in the good which they enjoy, and having compassion in their misfortunes, as if
they were our own, and causing no offence whatsoever to anyone."
St. Francis of Assisi didn’t just make a good
concept about love of God and love to neighbors, but he also put into practice
what he said. St. Francis of Assisi discovered his own identity
through encountering the crucified Christ, that is, he discovered his own
woundedness in the image of the crucified man. This self-knowledge enabled him
to go out to the poor and sick. Because
of the mystery of Christ and the embrace of God’s compassionate love in the
wounded Christ, St. Francis of Assisi grew spiritually as a person, finding his true
self to be a relational self. The deeper he grew in relationship with Christ,
the deeper he grew in relationship with others. St. Francis of Assisi even lived as a poor to
serve the poor. That,s why he was known in his radical poverty.
St.
Augustine also speaks about love. He makes a distinction between loving someone
“in ourselves” and loving someone “in God.” I.76-80 [25-26]). [12] Here is
Augustine’s famous definition of love: “By love I mean the impulse of one’s mind to
enjoy God on His own account and to enjoy oneself and one’s neighbor on account
of God. … What love does to benefit itself is self-interest, and what it does
to benefit a neighbor is known as kindness. And here self-interest comes
first, because nobody can do good to another out of resources which he does not
possess. The more the realm of lust is destroyed, the more the realm of
love is increased”. (Augustine, On
Christian Teaching, 3.37-38).
From the description above we see the beautiful
concept of love according to St. Augustine. He also put into practice about
what he said. Augustine worked tirelessly
in trying to convince the people of Hippo to convert to Christianity. For me
this was the real action of love of God and to others. He emphasised that if we love our neighbor for the sake of
the benefit of the neighbor means we participate in God’s love. [13]
St.
Ignatius of Loyola believed love is expressed in deeds
characterized by mutual communication and self-giving. When two people love
each other they share their personal concerns, listen to each other, ask favors
or seek advice from each other. They share what they have. Ultimately, they
share their very selves with each other. According to St. Ignatius, God’s love
for us and our love for God operates on the same principle of mutual exchange.
God so loves us that he dwells with us and in us in Jesus. This story of God’s
love culminates in Jesus’ kingdom, ministry, death, and resurrection.
We are invited to enter into this story so as to
experience God’s love in our own lives. Our response takes the form of growing
gratitude, devotion to Christ, and loving service. Listening to the story of
God’s love, entering into it and responding to it, fosters an ever deepening
exchange of love between God and the person making the Exercises. The goal is
to foster the “motive of pure love in the constant service of God our Lord”
which enables us to “love and serve his Divine Majesty in everything.” St.
Ignatius of Loyola actively involved in teaching catechism to children,
directing adults in the Spiritual Exercises,
and working among the poor and in hospitals, would for the most part sacrifice
of love until his death. As soon as Ignatius was converted he began “to help
souls”. The neighbor was the whole world to the saint. “Go”, he used to say
religious whom he was sending far away:” Go,
set the whole world on fire”. In 1547 he said to the students of Coimbra: “You must extend your charitiy to all
men...believing each one to be worth the life and blood he cost Jesus Christ.”
St. Francis de Sales in the “ Treatise on the Love
of God” expressed his opinion about love. “All is for love, in love, to love
and of love in the holy Church”, he declares in the first pages of his
“Treatise on the Love of God.” His
humanism and deep insights into human nature attract anyone who wants to tread
the path of holiness. His personal touch and his capacity for intimacy
attracted many to seek his guidance. He kept in touch with them personally or
through letters. He helped them to live the Gospel in the ordinary events of
everyday life.
The starting point of all holiness for St. Francis
de Sales is the love of God. Devotion that is true and loving presupposes love
of God, rather it is nothing else that true love of God. It does not mean that
the love of one’s neighbor is neglected because there are no two loves, but one
single love which from God flows into every human person. Love of neighbor is
the natural corollary of the love of God. Intense flames of divine love
motivates, energizes daily human activity –leads to good works and good deeds.[14]
C. Saints
are Men of Prayer.
According to St. Augustine, we need not pray for
what we need because God already knows what we need before we even ask.
Instead, we ought to pray, he suggests, to increase our desire for God, and so
that we might be able to receive what He is preparing to give us.
"The deeper our faith, the
stronger our hope, the greater our desire, the larger will be our capacity to
receive the gift, which is very great indeed. .... The more fervent the desire,
the more worthy will be its fruits. When the Apostle tells us: Pray without
ceasing (1 Thes5:16), he means
this: Desire unceasingly that life of happiness which is nothing if not
eternal, and ask it of him alone who is able to give it." (Letter 130). [15]
For Augustine, the
spirit of prayer became his personal dialoge with God. The spirit of his own
personal prayer bacame more intense when he prepared to be baptized in Cassiciacum. In the same
place, he developed the spirit of contemplative life. [16]The spirit
of prayer of St. Augustine of Hippo can be seen in his prayer to the sick. Prayer for the Sick: “Watch, O Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or
weep tonight, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend your sick
ones, O Lord Christ. Rest your weary ones. Bless your dying ones. Soothe your
suffering ones. Pity your afflicted ones. Shield your joyous ones. And for all
your love's sake. Amen”.[17]
For St. Francis de Sales, it is important to sustain a spiritual life
through prayer. It is said: ‘Prayer is the key of the day and
the lock of the night’. The focus that St. Francis de Sales gives is not on the
definition of prayer because his aim was to help people to grow in God’s love
through prayer. For him all the good movements of the will, proper interior
disposition and good thoughts are prayers. He says: “In it (prayer) occurs so
many interior movements that it is impossible to mention them all, not only
because of their quantity, but also because of their nature and quality, which
being spiritual, can only be extremely subtle and almost imperceptible to human
understanding.” Through prayer we come to know God’s will in our daily life.
St. Francis de Sales did not teach about the concept of prayer. He was a man who could pray at all times and in
all places. One can pray in the prison cells or in the chapel, traveling in a
bus or walking in the woods and even when one is engaged in doing some serious
work. These prayers need not be formal prayers. In any circumstance one can at
least think a holy thought, say ejaculatory prayers, become aware of the
all-pervading presence of God or at least do what one does with love.[18]
A Prayer of St. Francis
de Sales is about Be
at Peace. “Do not look forward in fear to
the changes of life; rather look to them with full hope as they arise. God,
whose very own you are, will deliver you from out of them. He has kept you
hitherto, and He will lead you safely through all things; and when you cannot
stand it, God will bury you in his arms.Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;
the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you then
and everyday. He will either shield you from suffering, or will give you
unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace,and put aside all anxious thoughts
and imagination.”[19]
St. Ignatius of Loyola also was the man of prayer. Especially in experience at Manresa we can find some point of his idea about prayer. He spent hours each day in prayer and also worked in a hospice. It was while here that the ideas for what are now known as the Spiritual Exercises began to take shape.The experience in Manresa enabled Ignatius to find God in all things. This grace, finding God in all things, is one of the central characteristics of Jesuit spirituality.Ignatius himself never wrote in the rules of the Jesuits that there should be any fixed time for prayer. Actually, by finding God in all things, all times are times of prayer. He did not, of course, exclude formal prayer, but he differed from other founders regarding the imposition of definite times or duration of prayer. One of the reasons some opposed the formation of the Society of Jesus was that Ignatius proposed doing away with the chanting of the Divine Office in choir. This was a radical departure from custom, because until this time, every religious order was held to the recitation of the office in common. For Ignatius, such recitation meant that the type of activity envisioned for the Society would be hindered. He also regards the participation in liturgical worship as important activity. In his third rule For thinking with the Church, He writes:
“ We ought to
praise the frequent hearing of Mass, the singing of hymns, psalmody, and long
prayer wheter in the church or outside; likewise the hours arranged at fixed
times for the whole Divine Office, for every kind of prayer, and for the
canonical hours (355)”[20]
St. Ignatius of Loyola also regarded devotion to
the Sacred Heart as the most virile of devotions. This devotion must be “the
essence of Christianity.” Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament came long before
devotion to the Sacred Heart. Besides, devotion to Our Lady
as important thing. In his eyes, to be Christ’s knight was also to be Mary’s knight. It was
with a vigil of arms before her statue in the chapel of Montserrat that he
began his new life.
St.
Francis of Assisi also regarded prayer as the source of strength in faith. God was his refuge on whom he could cast all of his
cares and burdens. He was completely dependent
on the Lord, and he understood that progress in God’s service was futile
without prayer. Bonaventure witnesses about
the life of Francis of Assisi: “Prayer was his sure refuge in everything he did; he
never relied on his own efforts, but put his trust in God’s loving providence and cast the burden of his
cares on him in insistent prayer. He was convinced that the grace of prayer was something a
religious should long for above all else. No one, he declared, could make progress in God’s service without it”. [21]
Near the end of his life, Francis went up Mount La
Verna to pray and to reflect on the Passion
of Christ, and he prayed and meditated for three weeks straight. He desired to
share in Christ’s sufferings, and the result of his prayers was
the appearance of the stigmata on his body, the marks which resembled the wounds caused by the nails
and spear on the Crucified Christ.
IV.
Conclusion
I find all of the saints have
their own emphasis on the spirituality they lived up. St. Ignatius of Loyola
proposes the most generous love of God to souls of good will, that is, to those
seeking perfection “in whatever state or manner of life He leads them to
choose”. This is the purest love; it is an unceasing search for “His greatest
glory”. Thus it leads to most exact
obedience in “following” and in closely “imitating” the Divine Redeemer. By
means of prayer and examinations of conscience, “consideration” and “examens of
foresight” souls are saved from imperceptible deviations, hasty enthusiasms,
and all the risks these entail. By retreats, made as far as possble at regular
intervals, the soul is given an opportunity for self-appraisal, and if there be
need, for change and a new start.
St. Francis de Sales emphasis on
Confession and Communion, vocal prayer and the examen of conscience, like the
whole spiritual life must tend to become a perpetual interior prayer. The
effort of the heart to be united in love
to the God of Love must never come to an end.
For St. Francis of Assisi, Christ
is all foundation and crown, door and key, way and goal, truth and life. So
absolute a fidelity to revelation, attested to its inception in its consistent
development in its strict observance,
leads to a resulst that is distinctively and really its own even though
hidden from human eyes. “God Forbid”, the Fransiscan can repeat in the words of
the Apostle Paul, in words of his own father Francis, in the words of his
masters, God Forbid, that I ever glory in
aught else than in Jesus, my crucified Lord. To Him be honor, glory, love
eternally. Amen.
Augustine
taught that the eternal fate of the soul is determined at death, and that purgatorial fires
of the intermediate state purify only those that died in communion with
the Church.
Separated
from their unique thinking and spirituality, we can conclude that:
§ The spiritual journey depends on
the spirit of leaving the comfort zones personally and brave to respond the
call of God. All the saints have lived
up it. There are many kinds of comfort zones especially in a tune with the
wordly desires-for example: the desire to be a famous person. They were able to
build up the spirit of detachment from wordly things. We know that St.
Augustine was a brilliant man. He did acknowledge, however, that all he knew
was as nothing compared to the infinite wisdom of God. St. Francis of Assi and
St. Francis de Sales were brave to
choose their own ideal of life to be the servant of God and lived in the spirit
of simplicity although they were from
“the have” family. St. Ignatius also lived the same spirit. He left his
previous ideal to be a famous person. All of that point out the spirit of
kenosis and live only for God and to serve others. Therefore, his ideal is
God’s greater glory. His order has taken this formula, for God’s greater glory,
ad majorem Dei gloriam for its motto.
§ To leave old habit and to respond
the call of God needs the spirit of
discerment. I believe that those saints are the master in discerment. From
their biography, we see how they discern before follow Jesus more closely. By
their spirit in discerment, eventually they can enjoy and love their choice to
follow Jesus. By following Jesus after passing the process of discerment
enables the saints to deal
joyfully, peacefully even in the midst of life’s trials and difficulties.
Of course, what makes it possible for them to do this is because of their
fidelity and union with Jesus Christ, the One who would never betray.
They know that they have nothing in this world, even considering what they
had. The fidelity to Christ is the fruit of their true discerment at the
beginning of their choice to follow Jesus.
§ The
spirituality of each saint is very unique. They are different in concept. But
they are same as the man of God, man for
others and man of prayer. As the
man of God derivede from their ideal in knowing Jesus more deeply, loving Him
more dearly, and follow Him more closely. The differences of concept of love
and prayer and the way of life of each saint must be seen as the beautiful
heritage for us. The faithful can bail out the inspiration from each saint as
the man of God, man for others and man of prayer.
§ None of
the saints saw prayer as a waste of time or as an activity for only the weak or
naive. And the most important thing is the interconnection between the life of prayer and the spirit of love to God
and to others. The key to love of God was prayer. "By turning your eyes on God in meditation, your
whole soul will be filled with God.
Begin all your prayers in the presence of God." (St. Francis de Sales).
§ The Holiness and wholeness demand constant effort,
but it is possible for everyone because rather than a human effort it is first
and foremost a gift of God. Holiness is a gift from
God.
§ The spiritual journey requires neither
extraordinary actions or works nor the possession of exceptional
charisms. Those are not required to be holy. First of all, it is
necessary to listen to Jesus and to follow him without losing heart when faced
by difficulties. Like the grain of wheat buried in the earth — those who trust and love Him sincerely
accept dying to themselves. Indeed he knows that whoever seeks to keep
his life for himself loses it. Whoever gives himself loses himself and in
this very way finds life.
§ The
saints show to us that all forms of holiness can be reached in
different paths of life. It always passes through the way of the Cross.
It always goes through this way of self denial. All the saints above
history experienced physical and emotional suffering which has graced them to
let go of themselves in egoism in order to embrace the greater Life in Jesus.
The saint, moreover, through much personal struggle, realized that every cross
which came their way brought a physical death—but yielded to an even greater
spiritual Resurrection. As St. Ignatius of Loyola lost his physical prowess for
worldly war, as a canon ball shattered his legs, he gained graced spiritual insight into the
glory of the virtuous life through convalescence, and 'forced’ reading of the
saints. His temporary physical cross led to new spiritual (and physical)
Resurrection in the Life of Christ Jesus.[22]
§ Last but not the least, we must remember that Jesus is the main reason for our spiritual
journey is such as an
expression of the prayer of Ignatius at the end of the Spiritual Exercise: “Take, Lord, receive all my liberty, my
memory, my intellect and all my will – all that I have and possess. You have
given it to me: to you, Lord, I return it! All is yours, dispose of it
according to your will. Give me your love and grace, for this is enough for me.”
The Bibliography
BOOKS:
Bonaventure, “Major
Life of St. Francis,” in St. Francis of Assisi: Writings and Early
Biographies: English Omnibus of the Sources for the Life of St. Francis, edited
by
Boullaye Pinard De La, “Ignatian Spirituality” in Some Schooles of Catholic Spirituality,
Jean Gautier (ed). Paris, Tournai, Rome, New York: Desclee Company, 1959.
Cunningham, Lawrence. “Saint” in The New Dictionary of Theology, Joseph A. Komonchak, Cs.
Wilmington, Delaware: Michael Glazier, Inc, 1979.
Heuken, A. Spiritulitas
Kristiani: Pemekaran Hidup Rihani Selama Dua Puluh Abad. Jakarta: Yayasan
Cipta Loka Caraka, 2002.
Ivers, Edward F.X . “Saint” in Collier’s Encyclopedia Vol 17. New York: PF Collier &
Son Corporation, 1957.
Marion A. (ed).
St Francis of Assisi: writings and early biographies. English omnibus
of the sources for the life of St Francis.
Franciscan Herald Press, Chicago.
1973.
INTERNET:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo, downloaded at 1st May 2014.
http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-francis-de-sales/, downloaded at 1st May 2014.
http://norprov.org/spirituality/lifeofignatius.htm, downloaded at 1st May 2014.
http://www.deacondigest.com/home/st_ignatius_of_loyola_and_ignatian_spirituality, downloaded at 1st May 2014.
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=51
, downloaded at 1st May 2014.
http://theophilogue.com/tag/love-of-god-in-st-augustine/, downloaded
at 1st May 2014.
http://www.fransalians.com/spirituality.html, downloaded at 1st May 2014.
http://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/mission/campusministry/spirituality/resources/spirituality/restlesshearts/prayers.html, downloaded at 1st May 2014.
http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=92, downloaded at 1st May 2014.
http://www.nwt.org/desales.htm, downloaded at 1st May 2014.
http://www.examiner.com/article/three-things-common-to-all-saints, downloade at 1st May 2014.
[1]Lawrence
Cunningham, “Saint” in The New Dictionary
of Theology, Joseph A. Komonchak, Cs (Wilmington, Delaware: Michael
Glazier, Inc, 1979), p. 925-929.
[2]Cfr. Edward F.X
Ivers, “Saint” in Collier’s Encyclopedia
Vol 17 (New York: PF Collier & Son Corporation, 1957), p. 260.
[6]A. Heuken, Spiritulitas Kristiani: Pemekaran Hidup Rohani
Selama Dua Puluh Abad (Jakarta: Yayasan Cipta Loka Caraka, 2002), p. 69-70.
[7] From the experience of Francis of
Assisi we can say that a saint had human flaws and faults.
Francis of Assisi misunderstood his own vision. When St. Francis was told to rebuild
the Church, he thought it meant the local church building. It is interesting
and amusing to note that Jesus did not clarify the request for him until after
he had exerted a lot of sweat and energy repairing an old church.
[8]1 Celano 6. See
Habig, Marion A. (ed): St Francis of Assisi: writings and early biographies.
English omnibus of the sources for the life of St Francis, Franciscan
Herald Press, Chicago, 1973.
[9]http://www.deacondigest.com/home/st_ignatius_of_loyola_and_ignatian_spirituality, downloaded at 1st
May 2014.
[10]http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=51
, downloaded at 1st May 2014.
[11]Cfr.1 Corinthians 13:1-3). They have chosen God above all others and
made a definite commitment to God. They are obsessed by goodness and by God. In
the First Letter of John (4:20) we read: “If
anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever
does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
“
[13] A. Heuken, Spiritulitas Kristiani: Pemekaran Hidup
Rohani Selama Dua Puluh Abad, p. 70.
[16] A. Heuken, Spiritulitas Kristiani: Pemekaran Hidup
Rohani Selama Dua Puluh Abad, p. 71.
[20]Cited by Pinard De
La Boullaye, “Ignatian Spirituality” in
Some Schooles of Catholic Spirituality, Jean Gautier (ed) (Paris, Tournai,
Rome, New York: Desclee Company, 1959), p. 227.
[21] Bonaventure, “Major Life of St.
Francis,” in St. Francis of Assisi: Writings and Early Biographies: English
Omnibus of the Sources for the Life of St. Francis, edited by Marion A.
Habig, 3rd Edition (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1973), hlm. 705.
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