(My sharing on the 7th station of the Way of the Cross)
MY DEAR friend, confidant and editor, Maybelle, shared with me the story of Fr. Romero of El Salvador who was just canonized last October 14, 2018. He was shot while celebrating Mass. He was offering the Sacrifice of Christ and literally the sacrifice of his own life on the Altar, as he was killed. How many of us will be martyred like Father Romero? Very few, I believe.
In this meditation of the seventh station, where Jesus falls the second time, Father Vic emphasized that Jesus is both God and man. As man, He experienced all human feelings of tiredness, loneliness, and pain. The weight of the cross brought Jesus down a second time. We, on the other hand, are brought down by the lures of the world that enslave us and cause us to sin. But, Jesus’ death and suffering redeemed us from our enslavement to sin.
Father Vic stressed that we live in this world, but we are not of this world. It is in this world where we can be holy and serve God. God uses this world as an instrument where we can sanctify ourselves. We do not need to enclose ourselves in a convent, or become hermits living in the mountains to become holy. Father says that wherever we are in this world can be our Altar of Holiness.
Therefore, it is better to fall, while carrying and embracing our cross in this world, than to let go of it. God’s fall lifted us up as He rose again and embraced His cross. We can live our daily lives offering our falls, and our little sacrifices/crosses, unnoticed and unthanked; carrying out our daily ordinary duties lovingly, for love of God and man. Saint Josemaria Escriva espouses sanctity in the middle of the world, where we make holy the things of the world.
Indeed, some Christians may be called to DIE for their faith as martyrs, like Father Romero did, but like Saint Josemaria said, all of us are called to LIVE our faith and become saints. One is as heroic as the other.
Therefore, we are invited to seek Christ in everything we do, actively and passively. We ought to offer all that we do for a supernatural motive - that is for love of God and man.
My dearest SunStar readers,
I realize that the inspiration I received from the different meditations of Father Vic during our three-day silent retreat are all overlapping and seem to point to the same thing. We are all called to be holy... to be saints in the middle of the world. How? By closely following Jesus; giving the best of ourselves in everything we do, carrying out our daily duties with the spirit of service, love, order, serenity and excellence. Offering our hidden sacrifices lovingly, like a selfless mother works at home, for the love of her family.
In the kitchen. At the clinic. In the classroom. At the parlor. In the office. At home. At work. At play. Wherever we are in this world, whatever our vocation is, can be our Altar of Holiness.
What do we offer in this altar? Every act of love and sacrifice, no matter how little. The best effort in everything we do. The best of ourselves, even if we sometimes think so little of who we are. We also offer our struggles, sins and weaknesses, and surrender them all to God. I believe that these could be some of the simple ingredients in the making of a saint. Sounds too easy? I don’t agree. But, with God, nothing is impossible. Let’s light up our altars with our daily offerings.