Day 30. Three Week Review
That's it, three. Uno, dos, tres. No substitutions, exchanges or refunds.
Genie, Aladdin
We pause to look back and see the ground we’ve covered, or rather uncovered, in the third week of our Novena. By putting aside seeing, that is, natural observation and all that is evident through our sense perception, and relying more on hearing, which means listening in faith to God’s revelation in sacred Scripture and Tradition, we’ve been able to uncover the Cornerstones on which our pillars can be securely grounded. Modeled on Jesus, who is himself the Cornerstone and the example for how we should ground our lives, we identified those unshakable foundations. While they may appear to be glass they are in fact diamond - not fragile but formidable - the strongest of all stones. In the same way, we refused to dismiss these essential truths of our faith as “Sunday school answers” – pretty but impractical – and instead resolved to shift our pillars to stand on them.
The pillar that is our Sense of Self rests on the first diamond Cornerstone which is our identity as beloved daughters and sons of God. We first reflected on our human dignity. We recalled that we are made in the “image and likeness of God.” Then we proceeded to examine the significance of being God’s own children. We are heirs. Heirs with full access to the riches of God. Heirs to freedom — a freedom from evil and a freedom for excellence.
The second, but most central, Cornerstone is the Father’s love. The pillar that is Our Source of Love must rest in the Father’s love. We admitted that this is problematic to many. The absence of a good and loving natural father can damage our openness to receiving our Heavenly Father’s love. Yet we also considered the great healing that is available for this same reason. Finally, we saw the most profound proof, the greatest sign of the Father’s love in the cross of Jesus Christ. God’s love for us is most clearly demonstrated in his willingness to permit Jesus (who, it should be noted, freely chose to cooperate in the Father’s plan) to die in atonement for our sins. By his death, he reconciled us to God.
You may find a troubling question arises in the truths we’ve uncovered. “If the Father loves me,” you may ask, “and if His love is unconditional, why do I still have to work so hard not to go to hell?” Another angle on the same question might be: what father would fail to rescue his child from such a terrible fate if it were in his power to do so — especially a father who is all-powerful? It’s a difficult question.
Though the full answer is beyond the scope of this Novena (and my competence), I offer a few thoughts. Consider the great responsibility that goes with the gift of freedom. In his love for us, God has placed this astonishing power within us. As human persons, we possess the freedom to order our own lives; to use our gifts and abilities in whatever way we choose. This freedom includes the power, and it’s a staggering thought, to push God out of all or some part of our lives – even to reject Him and His salvation altogether.
In this small but significant way, God freely chooses to be under our authority. He allows us to make real choices in our lives. He is ready to help, but he’s not going to compel or coerce us. Such would be only the appearance of freedom. It would be as if God were a magical puppet master bringing his puppets to life but only giving them the illusion of choice while still pulling the strings. The Father doesn’t work that way. This freedom is real and therefore comes with real responsibility.
Freedom can be used for great good or for great evil. God will not override our freedom, but neither does he promise to protect us from the consequences of disobedience. He will warn against, admonish, and even punish our sinful choices, but he will never preempt us from making them. This puts on each of us a sobering obligation.
Many today demand their freedom of choice. But God is more concerned with our choice of freedom. As previously noted, every free choice either limits or expands our freedom; each one moves us closer to the goal of goodness or further away. Heaven is the ultimate domain of perfected human freedom. Hell is the absence, freely chosen, of freedom. Hell is a prison chosen by its inmates.
If this still disturbs you, if it still strikes you as unfair, consider again the cross. Can we look at Jesus Christ crucified and still ask, “Why doesn’t the Father do more to save us?” This is how highly God respects our freedom. Jesus came to offer his life as a way of reconciling sinful humanity, including you and me, to the Father. But it remains an invitation. He will not force us to do anything. We may accept the offer or turn it down, but not without consequences. It’s not merely “option A” or “option B.” If the consequences of your sin and my sin put Jesus on the cross, we should at least accept the fact that all such choices can have terrible and irreversible results. Yes, they can even result in our eternal separation from the Source of all goodness.
It is important to acknowledge such hard truths. But if we focus too much on the liabilities, we might miss the incredible possibilities. Our freedom can also be used for extraordinary goodness and beauty. Like a finely crafted musical instrument, your soul is still good despite any damage or neglect. We have been listening to the Word of God and through that word God is “tuning” us. Our freedom is found in cooperating with this process – especially through repentance and faith.
We yield to the master’s hand as he skillfully plucks the strings and rosins the bow. There will come a day when he takes up this magnificent instrument and plays a stirring and beautiful melody - one that has never been played before. We call this melody a vocation because it is the distinctive “voice” of the master played upon the unique strings of your human soul. No two are ever alike.
The process is slow, but we can be patient. Discovering God’s perfect will is worth the wait.
Novena Prayer
Jesus says: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Pier Giorgio responds: With violence you sow hatred, and you harvest its bad fruits. With charity, you sow peace among men – not the peace that the world gives, but the true peace that only faith in Jesus Christ can give us in common brotherhood.
Let us pray: Blessed Pier Giorgio, guide me in claiming my rightful inheritance as a child of God and heir of His Kingdom. Show me, by your own example, how to be slow to anger, and gentle in my dealings with others. Help me to show forth the peace of Christ by speaking words of peace, and by living a life of peace.
Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession in obtaining from God, Who is meek and humble of heart, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare. I confidently turn to you for help in my present need: (in your own words, ask for the Lord to lead you into greater freedom and self knowledge).
A Book of Prayers in Honor of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, by Rev. Timothy E. Deeter
Make it My Own
Daily Discernment Workbook
A QUOTE TO NOTE
1. Freedom and Responsibility
The objection against hell – that it contradicts God’s goodness – is often made by those who fail to appreciate the awesome gift and responsibility of human freedom. The following quotes from noted Catholic authors help us understand this.
Hell is the Consequence of Free Will.
Does hell not contradict a loving and omnipotent God? No, for hell is the consequence of free will. We freely choose hell for ourselves; God does not cast anyone into hell against his will. If a creature is really free to say yes or no to the Creator's offer of love and spiritual marriage, then it must be possible for the creature to say no. And that is what hell is, essentially. Free will, in turn, was created out of God's love. Therefore hell is a result of God's love. Everything is.
No sane person wants hell to exist. No sane person wants evil to exist. But hell is just evil eternalized. If there is evil and if there is eternity, there can be hell. If it is intellectually dishonest to disbelieve in evil just because it is shocking and uncomfortable, it is the same with hell. Reality has hard corners, surprises, and terrible dangers in it. We desperately need a true road map, not nice feelings, if we are to get home.
Peter Kreeft, Fundamentals of the Faith [1]
In my own words, how is the existence of hell compatible with God’s love?
Based on this quote, is it kindness or cruelty to tell people that “God would never send anybody to hell?” Why?
Two Kinds of Freedom.
There are two kinds of freedom: a first and a second. The second consists of being free to act in truth and goodness…. This is true freedom, but it presupposes the other, the primary freedom, which consists of my ability to accept God or to reject him. Fearful possibility, yet the gravity and dignity of human existence depends on it. God could not spare us the burden of this freedom. In order that it might exist, his own power had to be curtailed, for had he come to earth as the Omnipotent One, it would have been impossible to reject him (Cor. 8:9; Phil. 2:7). The first freedom is unnatural unless it is used as a springboard to the second….How unnatural it is alone we see from the price God paid for it; nevertheless it is essential.
From it comes the decision against Jesus: the second fall. A “Yes!” to God would have cancelled Adam’s sin; the “No!” sealed it afresh.
Romano Guardini, The Lord [2]
How is a decision against Jesus both a “free” and an “unfree” choice?
How is the choice to follow Christ a choice for freedom, even though it binds me to many rules and commitments?
MY FAITH BUILDERS
Today I conclude by prayerfully reflecting on this classic poem by Myra Brooks Welch
The Touch of the Master's Hand
'Twas battered and scarred,
And the auctioneer thought it
hardly worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin,
but he held it up with a smile.
"What am I bid, good people", he cried,
"Who starts the bidding for me?"
"One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?"
"Two dollars, who makes it three?"
"Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,"
But, No,
From the room far back a gray bearded man
Came forward and picked up the bow,
Then wiping the dust from the old violin
And tightening up the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet
As sweet as the angel sings.
The music ceased and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said "What now am I bid for this old violin?"
As he held it aloft with its' bow.
"One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?"
"Two thousand, Who makes it three?"
"Three thousand once, three thousand twice,
Going and gone", said he.
The audience cheered,
But some of them cried,
"We just don't understand."
"What changed its' worth?"
Swift came the reply.
"The Touch of the Masters Hand."
And many a man with life out of tune
All battered with bourbon and gin
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin
A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on.
He is going once, he is going twice,
He is going and almost gone.
But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the Touch of the Masters' Hand.
- Myra Brooks Welch
Conclude with
“Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be.
World without end, Amen.”
[0] lead quote - Aladdin, Walt Disney Pictures, 1992
[1] Peter Kreeft, Fundamentals of the Faith, Essays on Christian Apologetics, San Francisco, Ignatius Press, 1988, p. 58
[2] Romano Guardini, The Lord, tr. by Elinor Castendyk Briefs, Gateway Editions 2016 printing, Henry Regnery Co., Chicago, p. 247