Our family circle-Second meditation on the Little Way

Media

Part of The Little Apostle of the Mountain Province

Title: Our family circle-Second meditation on the Little Way
Language: English
Year: 1940
Rights
Fulltext: 68 -UT OMNES UNUM SINTIOur Faniily Circle Second Meditation on the "Little Way" To Call God: My Father I. St. Theresa of the Child J eiUS said, or better sang in a poem, that her Heaven was to feel in her the image and likeness of God who created her, to keep herself always in His presence, to call Him her Father, and to be His child. Safe in His divine arms, she feared not the stonn raging roundabout; total surrender was her law, and to rest near her Father's Heart was her Heaven on earth. "lt is so sweet to call the good God our FATHER!" she exclaimed on her bed of suffering. These comforting thoughts of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus were the echo of Jesus' words, which ever were the greatest consolation of His Apostles and of all those who ·believed in Him and followed Him. Read slowly and with great piety these quotations from theGospels: "And he (the Father) that sent me, is with me, and he hath not left me alone ... " (John 8, 29). "Now the servant abideth not in the house for ever; but the son abideth for ever." (John 8, 35). "Son, thou art always with me .. and ali I have is thine." (Luke .. 15, 31). "When you pray, say: Father .. hallowed be thy name ... " (Luke, 11, 2). "That you may be the children - UT OMNES UNUM SlNT!- 69 of your Father who is in heaven ... " (Mt. 5, 45). "Thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee." (Mt. 6, 4). "Your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences." (Mt. 6, 14). "One is your Father, who is in heaven." (Mt. 23, 9). "I ascend to my Father and to your Father." (John, 20, 17). "But as many as received him, he gave them power to be made the sons of God. .. " (John, l, 12). "For the Spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God." (Rom. 8, 16). "Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ... who hath predestined us unto the adoption of children through Jesus Christ ... " (Eph. l, 3, 5). "Behold what manner of charity the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and should be the sons of God." (1 John 3, 1). II. It is one of the most consoling truths of our holy religion that Baptism, in regenerating us, has communicated to us the divine life and has made us the children of God. "Behold says St. John, "what manner of charity the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called and should be the sons of God." "This idea of divine sonship is the basis of our relations with God in the law of grace. The Gospel is saturated with it from the beginning to the end. Our Lord returns to it continually. When He speaks of God, whether it be to His Apostles in private or before the multitude, He gives Him no other name than that of Father. Thus in St. Matthew, in the Sermon of the Mount alone, the expression occurs sixteen times. At the Last Supper, chapter 14-17 of St. John, Jesus uses 48 times the sweet name of "Father." "Holy Church has not failed to notice this touching fact, and at the Pater of the Mass she takes care to point out that if she dares to use the name of Father in speaking of God, it is because 'God Himself has given her this saving precept and taught her to do it.' This it is, she declares, which inspires her with the courage to say, 'Our Father who art in Heaven,' etc. "It is then not justifiable to doubt it. God offers Himself to us as the Father of the great Christian family, and He wills that every one of us, not only in prayer, but in every circumstance, shall look upon ourselves as His children and behave as such." (The Little Way of Spiritual Childhood, by Rev. Q. Martin). III. With St. Theresa of the Child Jesus we rejoice in our divine kinship and exclaim "How sweet it is to call the good God our FATHER!" But, may we not rest assured that it :s equally sweet for God to be called: Father? Already through His Prophet 70 - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - Jeremias God said to His chosen people: "Thou shalt call me Father ... " And to us, His regenerated children through Baptism, to us, who have received through our faith in Jesus Christ the power to be made the sons of God, is He not more insistent urging us to call Him by the sweet. name of Father? That Jesus never ceased giving this sweet name to God, is a sufficient proof that God is much pleased by being called Father, especially when we hear our Saviour say to His followers: "I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also." We may well admit that one of the reasons of Saint Theresa's exceptional glorification was this: because she taught little souls to call God their Father, the Father has overwhelmed her with the abundance of His graces. And, therefore, there is not the least doubt that the more aff ectionately we call God "Our Father," the more He will be inclined to look upon us with fatherly benevolence, surround us with His Fatherly care, and make us feel the incomparable glory and happiness of being His beloved children. IV. What healing consolation we feel in our contrite hearts when we pronounce the words which Jesus has put in the month of the prodigal son: "I will rise, and will go to my father, and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee!" Our heart thrills with joy in submitting ourselves to God's Holy Will, if we have Jesus' words on our lips: "Yea, Father; for so hath it seemed good in thy sight." "Our sufferings, trials and temptations ever fail to overcome us if, with Jesus, we fall on our knees and pray: "Father, if it be possible, Jet this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." Feelings of deep emotion, of gratitude, confidence and love, well up in our heart when we hear Jesus pray for us at the Last Supper: "That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one . " mus ... 0, Jesus! we thank Thee with all our heart for having taught us that God is Thy Father and our Father. It was impossible to give us a greater consolation and honor. We, poor little ones, we are the children of God, the Almighty God, the Creator of Heaven and earth!...No human creature would ever have dared to think of such a sublime privilege-it was needed for Thee to come upon earth and to reveal it to us in the unmistakable way Thou hast done it. Only eternity is long enough to thank Thee for it! We feel ourselves gently forced to lift our eyes on high and to pray to our Heavenly Father. Lord Jesus, Thou hast taught us this prayer, Thy prayer, the unique prayer to Thine and our Father. - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - 71 Lord Jesus, pray with us: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name: Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread: and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation: but deliver us from evil. Amen. Novena of "Last Resort" (Saturday, July 6, to Sunday, July 14) GENERAL INTENTIONS Crusade of prayer to restore peace in the world. We pray for peace, true peace, based on justice and charity, and not for the victory of any worldly power. We pray for the victory of the Catholic Church, the persecuted Catholic Church. "That the enemies of the Church be humiliated." To mention the Church's leading enemies in one breath: Atheism, Neo-paganism, and Freemasonry. These have corrupted the mind of the peoples, of which the now universal cinflict is the natural result. To these must be opp:>se:l true Christianity with its divine principles of justice and charity. True peace comes from God, given to individuals, families, governments and nations of good will True peace lies in submission to the will of our Crea tor expressed to mankind through divine revelation. "Lord Jesus Christ, \Vho didst say to Thy Apostles: Peace I leave you, my peace I give unto you; look not upon our sins, but upon the faith of Thy Church; and grant her that peace and unity which is agreeable to Thy will: Who livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen." ---We can no more ask prayers for more cate::hists in the Mountain Province; the present sad condition is such that we are obliged to ask prayers to keep the catechists, schools and dormitories we have today. We have to ask the prayers of the members of Our Family Circle that the good God, through the intercession of The Little Flower of Jesus, to whom The Little Apostle and El Misionero and the Christianization of the Mountain Province are intru3ted, may save them from utter ruin. They are in imminent danger right now. SPECIAL INTENTIONS We have never felt so much the need of prayer, of united prayer, than in these days. The pangs of sorrow and fear overwhelm us, oppress our whole being. The day of tomorrow does not promise much good; the horizon is dark, and black clouds of despdr menace us from the sky. We are in need of a greater faith, of a stronger hope, ofagreaterfaith,ofaconfidence. We need consolation, we need tokens of sympathy and love: charity should come back home. Yes, we are in trouble, and long for relief from too much evil surrounding us. Where to find this relief? In God. in Jesus, in prayer. "Come ye all to Me .... ! Let us