(Note: This post is a little lengthy, perhaps requiring a couple of days to read it. If you scroll to the end, I have posted some prayers from St. Augustine that you might desire to incorporate into your daily prayers.)
And I will vindicate
the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and
which you have profaned among them; and the nations will know that I am the
Lord, says the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.
For I will take you from the nations,
and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. I will
sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your
uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit
I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and
give you a heart of flesh. And I will
put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful
to observe my ordinances. You shall
dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and
I will be your God.[1]
This
another of those passages which I would read through, and go on. However, when the Church makes it one of our
readings, it causes me to pause, thinking, “What is the importance of this
passage to the Church and to us as individuals?”
As for the
Church, it is pretty simple: God is going to make his Church holy and without
blemish. When we realize that, then
these words stand out: which has been
profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. We are God’s children; and, as is common with
children, many times they don’t realize when they are wrong; they need others
telling them what is improper. Some will
try to please their parents and teachers and attempt to change; others are
rebellious and don’t really care, caring only for doing what they desire to
do. This is how we are to our
Father.
Every time
we pray the Our Father, we pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven.” Too often, we just recite this
without desiring that it be done. In
Baptism, we are baptized into our Lord Jesus Christ. Because he is divine, that means we are also
baptized into his divinity. Because we
are baptized into his divinity, this must make us desire to be as he is. This we do in our prayers during the Mass, in
our private prayers, and in the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of
Reconciliation and the Eucharist. When
this is not our desire, we are profaning his Name. In this instance, we are endangering our very
souls. We also profane his Name each
time we sin, although it is our desire to be transformed into his image. Concupiscence still abides in us, causing us
to sin. We fight this concupiscence by
picking up our crosses daily and following him.
Jesus endured pain while carrying his cross; we must endure pain also.
However, in
his vindicating the holiness of his great name, he must make it where we know that it is him doing it, not
ourselves. Many times when we overcome
an obstacle, we think we are the ones who have overcome it, giving ourselves
the credit. This is pride. We are taking credit for what God has done. We often see this pride exhibiting itself
when we utilize the word “I”—not every time, but many times. With the utilization of the word “I,” we
also—as I stated in another posting—exhibit that we are “sitting in the seat of
gods.” We need to think about the words
coming out of our mouths instead of spewing out words with no control. God is going to vindicate his name, making it
known to us as individuals and to others that he is the One doing the vindicating. The culmination of this will be the Second
Advent.
St. Clement
tells us that disobedience causes God’s name to be He states: “Therefore, brethren, let us now
at length repent; let us be sober unto what is good; for we are full of much
folly and wickedness. Let us blot out
from us our former sins; and, repenting from the soul, let us be saved; and let
us not become men-pleasers, nor let us desire to please only one another, but
also the men that are without (outside of God’s grace), by our righteousness,
that the Name be not blasphemed on account of us. For the Lord also says, ‘Continually, My name
is blasphemed among all the Gentiles’ (cf. Is 52:5), and again, ‘Woe to him on
account of whom My name is blasphemed.’ Wherein is it blasphemed? In your not doing what I desire” (Footnote
from transcript: This sentence is not part of the citation, but an explanation,
the words being used as if spoken by God).[2]
St. John
Chrysostom, commenting upon this passage, for
the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, says: “See
again another double accusation. For
they not only commit insolence themselves, but even induce others to do so. What then is the use of your teaching when you
teach not your own selves?”[3] Concupiscence causes us to point the finger
at our neighbor, unconsciously “looking down our noses” at them while we do
similar things. St. Paul teaches us: Therefore, you have no excuse, O man,
whoever you are, when you judge another; for in passing judgment upon him you
condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls
upon those who do such things. Do you
suppose, O man, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them
yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume upon the riches of his
kindness and forbearance and patience? Do
you not know that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But by your hard and impenitent heart you are
storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment
will be revealed. For he will render to
every man according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek
for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those
who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be
wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being
who does evil … for God shows no partiality.[4] Hence, we need to be taking advantage of the
Mass and the Sacraments, especially—as stated previously—the Sacraments of
Reconciliation and the Eucharist.
From St.
Irenaeus of Lyons, we are enlightened: “‘All flesh shall be humbled, and the
Lord alone shall be exalted in the highest’ (cf. Is 2:17). It is thus indicated that, after His passion
and ascension, God shall cast down under His feet all who were opposed to Him,
and He shall be exalted above all, and there shall be no one who can be
justified or compared to Him.”[5] To make this applicable to us as Catholics,
being in the Church, we should see “all flesh” as pertaining to the sins we are
committing as a result of concupiscence. Because we are continually confessing,
repenting, and partaking of the Eucharist, we are being humbled, our sins
slowly deteriorating, because of our desire and prayers. Because all disobedience blasphemes the holy
name of God, when we do sin, let us do as Tertullian says: … “Let it be
blasphemed in the observance, not the overstepping, of discipline; while we are
being approved, not while we are being reprobated."[6]
For I will take you from the nations, and
gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. I will
sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your
uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit
I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and
give you a heart of flesh. And I will
put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful
to observe my ordinances. You shall
dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and
I will be your God.[7] I am going to go out on a limb and say that
everyone believes they have a good heart.
If I am incorrect saying “every,” then I think I would be correct in
saying “most.” However, we are not the
judge, the Authority, of whether we have a good heart or not. God is the Authority. St. Pope John Paull II states: “Only God can
answer the question about the good, because he is the Good. But God has already given an answer to this
question: he did so by creating man and
ordering him with wisdom and love to his final end, through the law which
is inscribed in his heart (cf. Rom
2:15), the “natural law.”[8] This is prior to the Fall. Although we may think that sinning is
natural, it is not. It is not natural
because it was not put into us by God.
Therefore, God is going to vindicate his holy name by giving us new
hearts, obedient hearts. We know that
this is accomplished in the Sacrament of Baptism. However, we also see that we still sin,
disobey.
In the
Catechism, “Baptism” is defined: “The first of the seven sacraments, and the ‘door’
which gives access to the other sacraments. Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of
forgiveness of sins because it unites us with Christ, who died for our sins and
rose for our justification. Baptism, Confirmation,
and Eucharist constitute the “sacraments of initiation” by which a believer
receives the remission of original and personal sin, begins (emphasis added) a new life in Christ and the Holy Spirit,
and is incorporated into the Church, the Body of Christ.”[9] There is no doubt that that all our sins are
washed away in Baptism. Nevertheless,
this is not a “license” that we may, thereafter, sin without repercussion. Paragraph 978 states: “When we made our first
profession of faith while receiving the holy Baptism that cleansed us, the
forgiveness we received then was so full and complete that there remained in us
absolutely nothing left to efface, neither original sin nor offenses committed
by our own will, nor was there left any penalty to suffer in order to expiate
them.… Yet the grace of Baptism delivers no one from all the weakness of
nature. On the contrary, we must still
combat the movements of concupiscence that never cease leading us into evil.”[10] This is why I believe that what takes place
immediately in eternity is played out painstakingly slowly in time. There must be a growth, a progression, which
can be seen in our frequent visits to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and,
especially the Eucharist. It is also
shown through our prayers in the Mass.
Now, there
are many—Catholic and Protestant alike—who believe they are “saved” because
they choose Christ. That is not entirely
correct. If they were to say that they
were saved, are being saved, and will be saved because of their cooperation with
the grace of God, they would be correct.
Our passage distinctly tells us that God is doing the vindicating.
St.
Augustine teaches us that the grace by which the stony heart is removed is not
preceded by good deserts, but by evil ones.
If the initiation of salvation is by humanity, that would be a good
desert, a good act, a good work. The
saint tells us: “In another passage, also, by the same prophet (Ezekiel), God,
in the clearest language, shows us that it is not owing to any good merits on
the part of men, but for His own name’s sake, that He does these things. This is His language: ‘This I do, O house of
Israel”—many manuscripts have It is not
for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of
my holy name[11]--"but
for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen [wherever]
you went. And I will sanctify my great
name, which was profaned among the heathen, which you have profaned in the
midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord
God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen and
gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle you with clean water, and
you shall be clean. From all your own
filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you’.”[12] We still see many of this present in
ourselves; therefore, we know that the Lord is going to complete this
cleansing. This is our hope—not a
wishful thinking, but a concrete thing. This will occur as long as this is our desire,
not our presumption.
The saint
continues: “‘A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put
within you; and the stony heart shall be taken away out of your flesh, and I
will give you a heart of flesh. And I
will put my Spirit within you, and will cause you to walk in my statutes, and you
shall keep my judgments, and do them.’ Now, who is so blind as not to see, and who so
stone-like as not to feel, that this grace is not given according to the merits
of a good will when the Lord declares and testifies, ‘It is I, O house of
Israel, who do this, but for my holy name’s sake’? Now, why did He say, ‘It is I that do it, but
for my holy name’s sake,’ were it not that they should not think that it was
owing to their own good merits that these things were happening…? But there were not only no good merits of
theirs, but the Lord shows that evil ones actually preceded, for He says, ‘But
for my holy name’s sake, which ye have
profaned among the heathen.’ Who can
fail to observe how dreadful is the evil of profaning the Lord’s own holy name?
And yet, for the sake of this very name
of mine, says He, which you have profaned, I, even I, will make you good, but
not for your own sakes; and, as He adds, ‘I will sanctify my great name which
was profaned among the heathen, which you have profaned in the midst of them.’ He says that He sanctifies His name, which He
had already declared to be holy. Therefore, this is just what we pray for in
the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Hollowed be Thy name.’ We ask for the hallowing among men of that
which is in itself undoubtedly always holy. Then it follows, ‘And the heathen shall know
that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you.’ Although, then, He is Himself always holy, He
is, nevertheless, sanctified in those on whom He bestows His grace, by taking
from them that stony heart by which they profaned the name of the Lord.”[13] Hence, we believe that God has taken our
stony heart from us in Baptism, is slowly removing that stony heart now, and
will remove it completely in the future, thereby making his name hallow in us.
That our
disobedience of our God is due to the pride within us, the saint makes clear: “
For that very pride has so stopped the ears of their heart
that they do not hear, ‘For what have you that you did not receive’ (cf. 1 Co
4:7). They do not hear, ‘Without me, you
can do nothing’ (cf. Jn 15:5); they do not hear, ‘Love is of God’ (1 Jn 4:7);
they do not hear, ‘God has dealt the measure of faith’ (cf. Ro 12:3); they do
not hear, ‘The Spirit breaths where it will’ (cf. Jn 3:8); and, ‘They who are
led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God’ (cf. Ro 8:14); they do not
hear, ‘No one can come unto me unless it were given him of my Father’ (cf. Jn
6:65); they do not hear what Esdras writes, ‘Blessed is the Lord of our
fathers, who has put into the heart of the king to glorify His house which is
in Jerusalem’ (cf. 1 Esdras 8:25); they do not hear what the Lord says by
Jeremiah, ‘And I will put my fear into their heart, that they depart not from
me; and I will visit them to make them good’ (cf. Jer 32:40-41); and especially
that word by Ezekiel, the prophet, where God fully shows that He is induced by
no good deservings of men to make them good, that is, obedient to His commands,
but rather that He repays to them good for evil by doing this for His own sake
and not for theirs. For He says, ‘These
things says the Lord God: I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but
for mine own holy name’s sake, which has been profaned among the nations.”[14]
It is upon
these promises that we rest our hope, which are accomplished through the works
of our Lord Jesus Christ and his Death and Resurrection. From Paragraphs 1817 and 1818 the Catechism,
we are enlightened: “Hope is the
theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as
our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our
own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. ‘Let us hold
fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is
faithful’ (cf. He 10:23). ‘The Holy
Spirit … he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that
we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life’
(cf. Titus 3:6-7). The virtue of hope
responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of
every man; it takes up the hopes that inspire men’s activities and purifies
them so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps man from
discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his
heart in expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from
selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity.”[15] It is to this hope that St. Cyril of
Jerusalem speaks:
“The Lord
will wash away the filth of His sons and daughters by the spirit of judgment
and the spirit of burning (cf. Is 4:4). He will pour upon you clean water and you
shall be cleansed from all your sins (cf. Ez 36:25). Choiring angels shall encircle you, chanting:
Who is it that comes up all white and leaning upon her beloved’ (cf. Cant. 8:5)?
For the soul that was formerly a slave
has now accounted her Lord as her kinsman, and He, acknowledging her sincere
purpose, will answer: ‘Ah, you are beautiful my beloved; ah, you are beautiful!’
… Your teeth are like a flock of ewes to be shorn’ (cf. Cant 4:1-2)—a sincere
confession is a spiritual shearing; and further: ‘all of them big with twins’
(cf. Cant 4:1-2), signifying the twofold grace, either that perfected by water
and the Spirit or that announced in the Old and in the New Testament. God grant that all of you, your course of
fasting finished, mindful of the teaching, fruitful in good works, standing
blameless before the spiritual Bridegroom, may obtain the remission of your
sins from God, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory forever and ever.”[16]
St. Irenaeus
of Lyons reaffirms this hope when he says: “‘Behold, I make new things which
shall now arise, and you shall know it; and I will make a way in the desert,
and rivers in a dry land, to give drink to my chosen people, my people whom I
have acquired, that they may show forth my praise’ (cf. Is 43:19-21) plainly
announce[s] that liberty which distinguishes the new covenant and the new wine
which is put into new bottles (cf. Mt 9:17), [that is], the faith which is in
Christ, by which He has proclaimed the way of righteousness sprung up in the
desert, and the streams of the Holy Spirit in a dry land, to give water to the
elect people of God, whom He has acquired, that they might show forth His
praise, but not that they might blaspheme Him who made these things, that is,
God.”[17]
This
blaspheming of God, the pride within us tells us that we have the strength and
ability to not do this. St. Augustine
tells us otherwise: “[People] think that they know something great when they
assert that ‘God would not command what He knew could not be done by man.’ Who can be ignorant of this: But God commands
some things which we cannot do in order that we may know what we ought to ask
of Him. For this is faith itself, which
obtains by prayer what the law commands. He, indeed, who said, ‘If you will, you shall
keep the commandments,’ did in the same book of Ecclesiasticus afterwards say, ‘Who
shall give a watch before my mouth and a seal of wisdom upon my lips, that I
fall not suddenly thereby, and that my tongue destroy me not’ (cf. Eccl. 22:27).’ The law had long ago said to him, “You shall
not covet’ (cf. Ex. 20:17). Let him then
only will and do what he is bidden”—the saint speaking sarcastically—"because,
if he has the will, he shall keep the commandments. Why, therefore, does he afterwards say, ‘Turn
away from me concupiscence’ (cf. Eccl. 23:5)? Against luxury, too, how many commandments has
God enjoined! Let a man observe them;
because, if he will, he may keep the commandments”—speaking, once again,
sarcastically. “But what means that cry
to God, ‘Let not the greediness of the belly nor lust of the flesh take hold on
me!’ (cf. Eccl. 23:6)? It is certain
that we keep the commandments if we will; but, because the will is prepared by
the Lord, we must ask of Him for such a force of will as suffices to make us
act by the willing. It is certain that
it is we that will when we will, but
it is He who makes us will what is good, of whom it is said (as he has just now
expressed it), ‘The will is prepared by the Lord (cf. Pro. 37:23). Of the same Lord, it is said, ‘The steps of a
man are ordered by the Lord, and his way does He will’ (cf. Ps 37:23). Of the same Lord, again, it is said, ‘It is
God who works in you, even to will’ (cf. Phil. 2:13). It is certain that it is we that act when we
act; but it is He who makes us act, by applying efficacious powers to our will,
who has said, ‘I will make you to walk in my statutes, and to observe my
judgments, and to do them’ (cf. Ez 36:27). When he says, ‘I will make you … to do them,’
what else does He say in fact than, ‘I will take away from you your heart of
stone’ (cf. Ez 11:19 and 36:26), from which used to arise your inability to
act, ‘and I will give you a heart of flesh’ (cf. Ez. 36:26), in order that you
may act? And what does this promise
amount to but this: I will remove your hard heart, out of which you did not act,
and I will give you an obedient heart, out of which you shall act? It is He who causes us to act, to whom the
human suppliant says, ‘Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth’ (Ps 141:3). That is to say: Make or enable me, O Lord, to
set a watch before my mouth—a benefit which he had already obtained from God
who thus described its influence: ‘I set a watch upon my mouth’ (cf. Ps 39:1).”[18]
The saint
continues in his explanation: “What is that which Esther, the queen, prays when
she says, ‘Give me eloquent speech in my mouth, and enlighten my words in the
sight of the lion, and turn his heart to hatred of him that fights against us’
(cf. Esther 14:13)? How does she say
such things as these in her prayer to God if God does not work His will in
men’s hearts? …
The divine Scripture testifies that God fulfilled what she
had asked for by working in the heart of the king nothing other than the will
by which he commanded, and it was done as the queen had asked of him. And, now, God had heard her that it should be
done, who changed the heart of the king by a most secret and efficacious power
before he had heard the address of the woman beseeching him, and molded it from
indignation to mildness—that is, from the will to hurt to the will to favor—according
to that word of the apostle, “God works in you to will also.”[19]
If you
listen to people, we blame God if he works his will in us, and then we blame
God when he doesn’t work his will in us, e.g. “Why would God allow….?” God did give us a free will, and he does not
force us against our will. St. Augustine
touches upon this: “Lest, however, it should be thought that men themselves in
this matter do nothing by free will, it is said in the Psalm, ‘Harden not your
hearts (cf. Ps 95:8),’ and in Ezekiel himself, ‘Cast away from you all your
transgressions which you have impiously committed against me, and make you a
new heart and a new spirit, and keep all my commandments… We should remember that it is He who says, ‘Turn
and live, to whom it is said in prayer, ‘Turn us again, O God’ (cf. Ps.
80:3). We should remember that He says, ‘Cast
away from you all your transgressions,’ when it is even He who justifies the
ungodly. We should remember that He
says, ‘Make you a new heart and a new spirit,’ who also promises, ‘I will give
you a new heart, and a new spirit will I put within you.’ How is it, then, that He who says, ‘Make you,’
also says, ‘I will give you’? Why does
He command if He is to give? Why does He
give if man is to make, except it be that He gives what He commands when He
helps him to obey whom He commands? There
is, however, always within us a free will—but it is not always good, for it is
either free from righteousness when it serves sin—and then it is evil—or else
it is free from sin when it serves righteousness—and then it is good.”[20] It is not that God allows. God is Just; therefore, Justice will prevail
in the end. It has to because,
otherwise, God would not be Just, would not be Holy.
Why are
both in God’s hands: that what he commands as well as that what he offers? St. Augustine explains: “For He is asked to
give what He commands. Believers ask
that their faith may be increased. They
ask on behalf of those who do not believe that faith may be given to them. Therefore, both in its increase and in its
beginnings, faith is the gift of God. But
it is said thus: ‘If you believe, you shall be saved,’ in the same way that it
is said, ‘If by the Spirit you shall mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall
live’ (cf. Ro 8:13). For, in this case
also, of these two things one is required; the other is offered. It is said, ‘If by the Spirit you shall
mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live.’ Therefore, that we mortify the deeds of the
flesh is required; but that we may live is offered. Is it, then, fitting for us to say that to
mortify the deeds of the flesh is not a gift of God, and not to confess it to
be a gift of God, because we hear it required of us, with the offer of life as
a reward if we shall do it?”[21] It is necessary that both be in God’s hands—because
of the pride within us. God needs to
command us because he is God; and he needs us to know that we are unable to
accomplish what he commands unless he gives us the grace and strength to do it.
We must be
watchful in this and not become presumptuous.
When we hear of his commandments, we must at once begin by praying for
his help. After praying, we then begin
to obey—with baby steps. Most often, God
does not at once make us obey perfectly, but gives us strength bit by bit. The more we pray, the more he helps. The
righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith.22] Jesus gives us warning: To him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from
him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.[23]
In sum, we
need to take heed to God’s word. When we
hear God speaking of sin, wickedness, and pending punishment, we need to be as
Elijah, and say, “It is enough; now, O
Lord, take away my life; for I am no better than my fathers.”[24] The life we are speaking of is the life of
sin. We are asking God to vindicate his
holy Name in us. We need to be mindful
of the concupiscence within us and not just wave it off as because it is
something all have and, therefor, is no concern. Jesus’ words are stern: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his
cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever
loses his life for my sake will find it.”[25] The “life” our Lord is referring to here is
our life of sinning. He who does not take his cross and follow me
is not worthy of me.[26] This entails suffering; therefore, we need
God’s help. “Lord, kill the sin in me,
and grant me the grace to endure it.”
We should
not pray for ourselves only, but should pray for the Church and the entirety of
humanity. The prophet, Daniel, gives us
a great example. He was a holy man;
nevertheless, he saw the concupiscence within him and considered himself the
same as his forefathers and brethren: Ah,
Lord, great and awesome God, you who keep your covenant and show mercy toward
those who love you and keep your commandments and your precepts! We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we
have rebelled and turned from your commandments and your laws. We have not obeyed your servants the prophets,
who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our ancestors, and all the
people of the land. Justice, O Lord, is on your side; we are shamefaced even to
this day: the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel, near
and far, in all the lands to which you have scattered them because of their
treachery toward you. O Lord, we are
ashamed, like our kings, our princes, and our ancestors, for having sinned
against you. But to the Lord, our God,
belong compassion and forgiveness, though we rebelled against him and did not
hear the voice of the Lord, our God, by walking in his laws given through his
servants the prophets. The curse and the
oath written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, were poured out over us
for our sins, because all Israel transgressed your law and turned aside,
refusing to hear your voice. He
fulfilled the words he spoke against us and against those who ruled us, by
bringing upon us an evil—no evil so great has happened under heaven as happened
in Jerusalem. As it is written in the
law of Moses, this evil has come upon us. We did not appease the Lord, our God, by
turning back from our wickedness and acting according to your truth, so the
Lord kept watch over the evil and brought it upon us. The Lord, our God, is just in all that he has
done: we did not listen to his voice. “Now,
Lord, our God, who led your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand,
and made a name for yourself even to this day, we have sinned, we are guilty. Lord, in keeping with all your just deeds, let
your anger and your wrath be turned away from your city Jerusalem, your holy
mountain. On account of our sins and the
crimes of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people have become the reproach of
all our neighbors. Now, our God, hear
the prayer and petition of your servant; and for your own sake, Lord, let your
face shine upon your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, my God, and listen; open your eyes
and look upon our desolate city upon which your name is invoked. When we present our petition before you, we
rely not on our just deeds, but on your great mercy. Lord, hear! Lord, pardon! Lord, be attentive and act without delay, for
your own sake, my God, because your name is invoked upon your city and your
people!”[27] The Church is Jerusalem, and our bishops and
priests are our leaders. Let us not
condemn them, but pray for them. Let us
look at the Church, the Mass, and the Sacraments with more reverence, for they
are the avenues our Lord has constructed for us to be healed and to intercede
for the entirety of humanity. God will
vindicate his holy Name, and have mercy upon us.
The
following are some of St. Augustine’s prayers that may be helpful:
Breathe in me O
Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen.
Act in me O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen.
Give me yourself, O
my God, give yourself to me. Behold I love you, and if my love is too weak a
thing, grant me to love you more strongly. I cannot measure my love to know how
much it falls short of being sufficient, but let my soul hasten to your embrace
and never be turned away until it is hidden in the secret shelter of your
presence. This only do I know, that it is not good for me when you are not with
me, when you are only outside me. I want you in my very self. All the plenty in
the world which is not my God is utter want. Amen.
Holy Spirit,
powerful Consoler, sacred Bond of the Father and the Son, Hope of the
afflicted, descend into my heart and establish in it your loving dominion.
Enkindle in my tepid soul the fire of your Love so that I may be wholly subject
to you. We believe that when you dwell in us, you also prepare a dwelling for
the Father and the Son. Deign, therefore, to come to me, Consoler of abandoned
souls, and Protector of the needy. Help the afflicted, strengthen the weak, and
support the wavering. Come and purify me. Let no evil desire take possession of
me. You love the humble and resist the proud. Come to me, glory of the living,
and hope of the dying. Lead me by your grace that I may always be pleasing to
you. Amen.
Too late have I
loved you, O Beauty so ancient, O Beauty so new. Too late have I loved
you! You were within me but I was outside myself, and there I sought you!
In my weakness I ran after the beauty of the things you have made. You were
with me, and I was not with you. The things you have made kept me from you -
the things which would have no being unless they existed in you! You have
called, you have cried, and you have pierced my deafness. You have radiated
forth, you have shined out brightly, and you have dispelled my blindness. You
have sent forth your fragrance, and I have breathed it in, and I long for you.
I have tasted you, and I hunger and thirst for you. You have touched me, and I
ardently desire your peace.
O Lord my God, I
believe in you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Insofar as I can, insofar as you
have given me the power, I have sought you. I became weary and I labored.
O Lord my God, my sole hope, help me to believe and never to cease seeking you.
Grant that I may always and ardently seek out your countenance. Give me the
strength to seek you, for you help me to find you, and you have more and more
given me the hope of finding you. Here I am before you with my firmness
and my infirmity. Preserve the first and heal the second. Here I am before you
with my strength and my ignorance. Where you have opened the door to me,
welcome me at the entrance; where you have closed the door to me, open to my
cry; enable me to remember you, to understand you, and to love you. Amen.
Lord Jesus, let me
know myself and know You, and desire nothing save only You.
Let me hate myself and love You.
Let me do everything for the sake of You.
Let me humble myself and exalt You.
Let me think of nothing except You.
Let me die to myself and live in You.
Let me accept whatever happens as from You.
Let me banish self and follow You, and ever desire to follow You.
Let me fly from myself and take refuge in You,
That I may deserve to be defended by You.
Let me fear for myself.
Let me fear You, and let me be among those who are chosen by You.
Let me distrust myself and put my trust in You.
Let me be willing to obey for the sake of You.
Let me cling to nothing save only to You,
And let me be poor because of You.
Look upon me, that I may love You.
Call me that I may see You, and forever enjoy You. Amen.
Let me hate myself and love You.
Let me do everything for the sake of You.
Let me humble myself and exalt You.
Let me think of nothing except You.
Let me die to myself and live in You.
Let me accept whatever happens as from You.
Let me banish self and follow You, and ever desire to follow You.
Let me fly from myself and take refuge in You,
That I may deserve to be defended by You.
Let me fear for myself.
Let me fear You, and let me be among those who are chosen by You.
Let me distrust myself and put my trust in You.
Let me be willing to obey for the sake of You.
Let me cling to nothing save only to You,
And let me be poor because of You.
Look upon me, that I may love You.
Call me that I may see You, and forever enjoy You. Amen.
For your mercies'
sake, O Lord my God, tell me what you are to me. Say to my soul: "I am
your salvation." So speak that I may hear, O Lord; my heart is listening;
open it that it may hear you, and say to my soul: "I am your
salvation." After hearing this word, may I come in haste to take hold of
you. Hide not your face from me. Let me see your face even if I die, lest I die
with longing to see it. The house of my soul is too small to receive you; let
it be enlarged by you. It is all in ruins; do you repair it. There are things
in it - I confess and I know - that must offend your sight. But who shall
cleanse it? Or to what others besides you shall I cry out? From my secret sins
cleanse me, O Lord, and from those of others spare your servant. Amen.
Watch, O Lord, with
those who wake, or watch, or weep tonight, and give your angels charge over
those who sleep. Tend your sick ones, O Lord Christ. Rest your weary ones.
Bless your dying ones. Soothe your suffering ones. Pity your afflicted ones.
Shield your joyous ones. And for all your love's sake. Amen.
My God, let me know
and love you, so that I may find my happiness in you. Since I cannot fully
achieve this on earth, help me to improve daily until I may do so to the full
Enable me to know you ever more on earth, so that I may know you perfectly in
heaven. Enable me to love you ever more on earth, so that I may love you
perfectly in heave. In that way my joy may be great on earth, and perfect with
you in heaven. O God of truth, grant me the happiness of heaven so that my joy
may be full in accord with your promise. In the meantime, let my mind dwell on
that happiness, my tongue speak of it, my heart pine for it, my mouth pronounce
it, my soul hunger for it, my flesh thirst for it, and my entire being desire
it until I enter through death in the joy of my Lord forever. Amen.[28]
[1] Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain), The Holy Bible:
Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, (New York: National
Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, 1994), Eze 36:23–28.
[2] Pseudo-Clement of Rome, Fathers of the Third and Fourth Centuries: Lactantius, Venantius,
Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, Homily,
and Liturgies, 1886, 7, 520–521.
[3] John Chrysostom, The Homilies of S.
John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, on the Epistle of St. Paul the
Apostle to the Romans, A Library of Fathers of the Holy Catholic
Church, (Oxford; London: John Henry Parker; J. G. F. and J. Rivington, 1841),
75.
[4] Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain), The Holy Bible:
Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, (New York: National
Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, 1994), Ro 2:1–11.
[5] Irenaeus of Lyons, The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, 1885, 1, 510.
[6] Tertullian, Latin
Christianity: Its Founder, Tertullian, 1885, 3, 69.
[7] Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain), The Holy Bible:
Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, (New York: National
Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, 1994), Eze 36:23–28.
[8] John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor,
(Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1993).
[9] Catholic Church, Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 2nd Ed., (Washington, DC: United States
Catholic Conference, 2000), 867.
[10] Ibid., 255.
[11] Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain), The Holy Bible:
Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, (New York: National
Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, 1994), Eze 36:22.
[12] Augustine of Hippo, Saint Augustin: Anti-Pelagian Writings, 1887, 5, 456.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid., 422.
[15] Catholic Church, Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 2nd Ed., (Washington, DC: United States
Catholic Conference, 2000), 447.
[16] Cyril of Jerusalem, The Works of Saint
Cyril of Jerusalem, ed. Roy Joseph Deferrari, The Fathers of the
Church, (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1969),
61:117–118.
[17] Irenaeus of Lyons, The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, 1885, 1,
510–511.
[18] Augustine of Hippo, Saint Augustin: Anti-Pelagian Writings, 1887, 5, 457.
[19] Ibid., 389.
[20] Ibid., 456.
[21] Ibid., 508.
[22] Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain), The Holy Bible:
Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, (New York: National
Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, 1994), Ro 1:17.
[23] Ibid., Mt 13:12.
[24] Ibid., 1 Ki 19:4.
[25] Ibid., Mt 16:24–25.
[26] Ibid., Mt 10:38.
[27] New American Bible,
Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops, 2011), Da 9:4–19.
