Called to a Life of Sacrifice

20. A way of acting different from yours

October 13, 1973

Anniversary of the final apparition at Fatima

“Do not be concerned about the spread of the Marian Movement of Priests. Let Me act; trust in Me. Offer Me your prayers and sufferings for this intention. Do not look at the results: my way of acting and of evaluating is so different from yours.

You do not have to be numerous, but you must be holy.
And I will lead you all to great holiness, if you all truly entrust yourselves completely to Me.”

Some Thoughts:

We are continually being called to a life of sacrifice.

Luke 9:23 : And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

 

This process of becoming less of us and more of Him, as stated in John 3:30 is sacrificial to its core. It is indeed by God’s grace that we are even able to contemplate such a thing, never mind accomplish it, but it requires our cooperation. Our heart, which is our will, must be in it.

 

In Conformity to the Will of God, St. Alphonsus de Ligouri says,  “The essence of perfection is to embrace the will of God in all things, prosperous or adverse. In prosperity, even sinners find it easy to unite themselves to the divine will; but it takes saints to unite themselves to God’s will when things go wrong and are painful to self-love. Our conduct in such instances is the measure of our love of God. St. John of Avila used to say: “One ‘Blessed be God’ in times of adversity, is worth more than a thousand acts of gratitude in times of prosperity.”

 

This ‘dying to self’ naturally occurs as we unite our wills with His. The detachment process can indeed be experienced as immensely painful at first, but there is indescribable freedom and unimaginable joy that comes with it.  Where we can truly appreciate and be apart of all that is true, beautiful and good.

Catechism of the Catholic Church:

2015 The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle.68 Spiritual progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes:

He who climbs never stops going from beginning to beginning, through beginnings that have no end. He never stops desiring what he already knows.

 

691368 The Eucharist is also the sacrifice of the Church. the Church which is the Body of Christ participates in the offering of her Head. With him, she herself is offered whole and entire. She unites herself to his intercessionwith the Father for all men. In the Eucharist the sacrifice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his Body. the lives of the faithful, their praise, sufferings, prayer, and work, are united with those of Christ and with his total offering, and so acquire a new value. Christ’s sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generations of Christians to be united with his offering.