Only What's Done for Christ Will Last

In the readings that lead up to the end of the church year we find graphic and awe inspiring descriptions of the end of the world. They tell of a time of great tribulation and cosmic unrest. They powerfully remind us that the world as we know it is passing away and that there will be a time of reckoning and judgment. The persons to be judged are the dead, small and great; young and old, low and high, poor and rich. No one will be considered so insignificant as to be lacking in talents to account for; and no one will be so great, as to opt out of giving an account of them. These images are sobering and daunting because they bring us face-to-face with our own mortality, something that we keep trying to ignore. They remind us that our time is limited and that we will be held accountable for how we used the time allotted us. However, while facing the stark reality of judgment, we also need to recall this comment attributed to St. John of the Cross, “In the evening of life, we will be judged by love alone.”

"In the evening of life, we will be judged by love alone."

God, Who is Love, will test the purity of our love. He will look into our hearts, as into a mirror trying to find a reflection of Himself. When we find ourselves face-to-face with God, He will not ask us how wealthy we are, or how educated we are, or how prominent we are. When we stand before the throne of judgment, God will ask us how much we loved others and how much we poured ourselves out in the service of the poor. God will ask us how much we sought to understand and comprehend the hearts of our brothers and sister so as to encourage them to become the best selves they could be. As we stand before the Flame of Divine Love we will be judged by love, and the measure of our love will decide the measure of our happiness. In the presence of the consuming fire of Divine Love, we will either be transformed by love or consumed by it. Standing before the Throne of the Lamb, we shall know as we are known.

At present, we are poor reflections of Divine Love. We are short-sighted and our vision is fuzzy. Recall how Saint Paul put it. “For now we see indistinctly as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now my knowledge is partial, but then it will be complete even as I am known completely” (1 Cor. 13:12). In the light of Truth, we shall be set free from all that binds us and we shall grow from glory to glory for all eternity. A heart that will not grow in love will be torn asunder by it. Those who grow in love will be perfected by it. Our great concern must be that when the Lord comes, He will find us open to Love and receptive of its cleansing Flame. I will close with this beautiful poem written by C.T. Studd.

Only one life ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last

“Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life’s busy way; Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done; Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgment seat; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy will to cleave; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears; Each with its days I must fulfill, living for self or in His will; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score; When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep; Faithful and true what e’er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn; Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne; Only one life, “twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say, “Thy will be done”; And when at last I’ll hear the call, I know I’ll say “’twas worth it all”; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. ”

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

The Thicket of Suffering and Saint John of the Cross

Saint John of the Cross by Francisco de Zurbarán, 1656

Though holy doctors have uncovered many mysteries and wonders, and devout souls have understood them in this earthly condition of ours, yet the greater part still remains to be unfolded by them, and even to be understood by them.

We must then dig deeply in Christ. He is like a rich mine with many pockets containing treasures: however deep we dig we will never find their end or their limit. Indeed, in every pocket new seams of fresh riches are discovered on all sides.

For this reason the apostle Paul said of Christ: In him are hidden all the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God. The soul cannot enter into these treasures, nor attain them, unless it first crosses into and enters the thicket of suffering, enduring interior and exterior labors, and unless it first receives from God very many blessings in the intellect and in the senses, and has undergone long spiritual training.

All these are lesser things, disposing the soul for the lofty sanctuary of the knowledge of the mysteries of Christ: this is the highest wisdom attainable in this life.

Would that men might come at last to see that it is quite impossible to reach the thicket of the riches and wisdom of God except by first entering the thicket of much suffering, in such a way that the soul finds there its consolation and desire. The soul that longs for divine wisdom chooses first, and in truth, to enter the thicket of the cross.

Saint Paul therefore urges the Ephesians not to grow weary in the midst of tribulations, but to be steadfast and rooted and grounded in love, so that they may know with all the saints the breadth, the length, the height and the depth – to know what is beyond knowledge, the love of Christ, so as to be filled with all the fullness of God.

The gate that gives entry into these riches of his wisdom is the cross; because it is a narrow gate, while many seek the joys that can be gained through it, it is given to few to desire to pass through it. (Saint John of the Cross, from his Spiritual Canticle, written amid the great suffering of his imprisonment by fellow friars who did not want his reform to progress.)

Saint John of the Cross, whose feast day is December 14, wrote these powerful words while imprisoned in a 6’ x 10’ cell for trying to bring reform to the male branch of the Carmelite Order while St. Teresa of Avila was simultaneously reforming the female branch. John was a deeply spiritual and highly intellectual man who has subsequently be named a Doctor of the Church. Yet here in this prison, where he never received a change of clothes, he was lashed at least weekly before the Carmelite friars, forced to read his breviary by the light coming through a hole into the adjoining room, and fed a diet of water, scraps, and occasional salt fish. He lived like this for over eight months until he managed to escape through a window. He was able to compose this Canticle and other poems because the friar who was guarding his cell used to pass him paper.

Everything that John seemed to know about his faith was put to the test in this inhumane prison. It would have been bad enough to be condemned and maltreated by unbelievers, but to have friars of your own congregation abuse you must have been exceptionally difficult to accept. Yet here John realized the great value of suffering and would come to say that it is not enough to accept suffering but we must also embrace it as the greatest good because it is the only way to attain to the riches and wisdom of God.

Popular movies and books often have a similar theme. The hero or heroine must pass through tremendous trials and suffering until emerging stronger, wiser, and mature. We have seen this happen in our lives, time and again. But we do not often recognize the thicket of suffering when we are caught in it.

Blackthorn Thicket

What is a thicket? It’s a place of tangled briers, shrubs, weeds, and trees penetrable only by the smallest and most humble of creatures—snakes, rabbits, squirrels, mice, chipmunks, moles. These little and helpless creatures run into the thicket to escape danger because larger animals including predators cannot follow them into the tangled mess of undergrowth. There is a famous line in both the fairy tale and the movie Bambi where the mother deer tells her fawn Bambi to run for the thicket as there he will be safe. She never makes it. She falls dead to the hunters.

Saint John of the Cross knew that only the humblest of humanity can take refuge in the thicket of suffering. Only the smallest in their own estimation can emerge unscathed. Like Bambi, we must enter the thicket in order to be safe from the dangers of the world. If we do this, and can embrace the cross, in fact, run to the cross, we will find that this thicket will open out into a great meadow of spiritual delight. If we haven’t come to this meadow yet in our spiritual journey, then perhaps we need to be on the lookout for the thicket. It may be closer than we think.

(Inspired by Fr. David Engo, FBM, in his homily on the Thicket of Suffering, December 14, 2013)