Daily Progress
1. Every day of our lives should be a further
step towards perfection. Holiness should be our goal in life. If we set
before ourselves any illusory targets at which to aim, we are making a
serious mistake and shall have cause in the end to appreciate the truth
of the prophet's warning: “You have sowed much and brought in little.”
(Agg. 1:6) Jesus Christ, moreover, has given us this commandment: “You
are to be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt. 5:48)
The ideal is high, certainly, and it is impossible for human resources,
but Jesus assures us that nothing is impossible with God. (Cf. Luke
18:27) We can do nothing without God's help, but with His grace we can
do everything. “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” (Phil.
4:13)
Naturally, we cannot hope to accomplish everything in one
day. We should desire to reach the highest possible level of perfection
and ought not to be discouraged by the many difficulties which we are
sure to encounter on the way. But it would be presumptuous to expect to
achieve perfection in a single moment.
The road to sanctity is
long and arduous. It is essential to stride this path resolutely and
with complete confidence in God. We should go forward with enthusiasm,
not depending on our own poor resources, but on divine grace.
This is a matter of life and death, and here we speak of eternal life.
If we cease to advance and fall into indolence and inactivity, God will
leave us to ourselves and we shall be lost. A man who is not advancing
in the spiritual life must lose ground sooner or later, because he is
not obeying the command of Jesus Christ.
2. There are two ways in
which we should make constant daily progress. The first is in the
removal of our defects and imperfections. As “The Imitation of Christ”
insists, we should soon become holy if we were to conquer at least one
sin every year. It is opportune at this stage to ask ourselves how many
years we have already spent on earth. During these years how many
personal defects can we claim to have remedied? Perhaps there was a time
when we were better than we are now. If we have wasted time and have
abused our Creator's gifts and favours, we should humble ourselves and
do penance before God.
Finally, we should resolve to do our best
to remedy at least one defect every day. We should select first of all
whatever imperfection we know to be the most dangerous. This will be
difficult and even heroic work, but it is very necessary. We must work
on our own character as a sculptor works on a block of marble,
hammering, cutting, and chiselling patiently and perseveringly. With the
help of God we shall be successful. Even as the Saints succeeded, so we
shall succeed if we depend on God's grace and make the necessary
sacrifices.
3. The second way in which we should make daily
spiritual progress is by adorning our soul with virtues. When we have
cleansed our soul of the scars of sin, there still remains the positive
task of adorning it with Christian virtues. We should begin by acquiring
the virtue of humility, which is the foundation of the entire spiritual
life. One can never be too humble. It is difficult to become humble and
it involves lifelong renunciation and sacrifice.
Once we have
acquired this virtue, however, the sunshine and dew of divine grace
cause others to spring up beside it. It will be easier then to advance
day by day nearer to perfection.
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