Being a Christian requires effort! God does not sanctify lazy people.
When Father Rafael asked Father Henry to address everyone during the celebration of the pontifical approval of the Home of the Mother in Rome ten years ago, his response resonated with great force and simplicity:
HUMILITY, HUMILITY, HUMILITY.
Father Henry’s death has made me look back at all the moments in which I saw him live out, word for word, this great advice he gave us so many years ago. The undeniable fruits of his life and death give rise to valuable reflection on the spiritual life and the path to holiness.
Father Henry was an extraordinarily simple and humble man. Despite his impressive physical presence and the great power of speech within him, he knew how to remain unnoticed. He did not possess flashy talents or gifts. Sometimes this discouraged him. Studying was difficult for him, and he could be somewhat clumsy when it came to organizational tasks. He would get very nervous when entrusted with certain responsibilities and even suffered because of it. As a religious, he had to obey superiors who were younger and had fewer years as a Servant than he did; and sometimes this was in the presence of diocesan priests who did not practice obedience as we did. These things, though they may seem insignificant, were occasions for humility.
Beyond these small exterior clumsinesses or humiliations, he also carried an inner struggle against certain human and moral weaknesses.
Despite the difficulty, he always knew how to bow his head in humility and obey. Against his weaknesses and faults, he would throw himself into the arms of Jesus and Mary, trusting especially in the power of the Rosary and confession. Shortly after turning to them, he would always return with renewed energy and greater joy. Observing Father Henry, I am convinced of two things: that amid his struggles, he sanctified the souls of many and sanctified himself.
What a great consolation for mortals! Father Henry was not “perfect,” but I am convinced that he entered almost immediately to enjoy the face of the Lord. Loving God and the Virgin with a burning heart, trusting in them despite one’s own faults, and yearning to be with Them forever… isn’t that holiness?
Very often, Christian souls do not consider the prospect of truly becoming saints. Why? “Being holy is not for everyone. You just have to read the lives of the saints to see that they are too extraordinary and striking. I can’t do that… I’ve tried to do good, but I fail… I keep falling into the same sins and faults.”
To these excuses, we must first respond with the words of Jesus:
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
Being a Christian requires effort! God does not sanctify lazy people. On the other hand, these excuses imply a thought: since I still have defects, since I am not perfect, I cannot be holy. False!
In his book The Spiritual Combat, Lorenzo Scupoli conveys this idea, which can be summarized here: when a soul falls into some defect or sin, it is common to become angry or saddened at oneself. This is a clear sign of one’s pride. Who told you that you are already perfect and can no longer fall into sin? Arrogant! Our struggle, far from seeming “perfect,” is in humbling ourselves and calming our spirit in the face of these falls or defects, whether voluntary or not. This is our path to heaven.
Saint Mary of Jesus Crucified, a Lebanese Carmelite, writes:
“The Lord has shown me Hell and said to me: ‘In Hell, there are all kinds of virtues, but there is no humility; and in Heaven, there are all kinds of defects, but there is no pride.’”
That is, God forgives everything to a humble soul and does not value virtue that lacks humility. Do you see? The key to the spiritual battle is: humility, humility, humility. And if we have some defect to combat, all the better! Saint Mary calls it “the greatest of blessings.”
I understand that this path is not the one most people prefer. We want to feel strong in our own ability to resist temptation and achieve victory. But in doing so, we deceive ourselves, because we rely on our own strength, not on God’s.
It is not wrong to ask God to deliver us from certain sins or defects. We must firmly believe that the Lord has come to free us from the slavery of sin and of the devil. Therefore, we must apply the necessary means to leave a life of sin, such as examination of conscience, prayer, confession, and the Eucharist. But we must also remember that this is a grace from God, not the fruit of our own effort alone. Struggling and failing can be beneficial when it leads us to distrust ourselves and place all our trust in the Lord. We all know Saint Paul’s experience:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9)
To conclude, let us hear what Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque says to help us understand the path to holiness:
“After a general confession of all my criminal and perverse life, immediately after absolution, He showed me a garment which He called ‘of innocence,’ whiter than snow, and clothed me with it. And He said to me: ‘Behold, I take away forever the malice of your will, so that henceforth the faults you commit may serve to humble you and not to offend Me.’”
God’s work is not to make us some kind of flawless soldiers, but to form in us a pure and humble heart that does not know how to offend Him in anything. That is the path I believe Father Henry walked, and it is the path I will also strive to walk.
