| |
| Spirituality |
| | “Our spirituality must be profoundly marked by the four aspects of the mystery of the Incarnation:
- Its origin,
- Its natures,
- The union of its natures,
- Its purpose.
The Origin of the Incarnation: We must have a profound and radical devotion to the Most Holy Trinity, the active principle of the Incarnation, and to the Persons to whom it is attributed: the Father, insofar as He is principle of the Son —“I came not of my own accord, but he sent me” (Jn 8:42); and to the Holy Spirit as He is the personal Love from which all divine works proceed—by the power of the Holy Spirit. From this we also derive the primacy of spiritual things in all our thoughts, feelings and actions, since ´God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure` (Phil 2:13). The teaching of the Incarnate Word about this is clear: ´Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well` (Mt 6:33). Also deriving from this is a total abandonment to the will of God following the example of the Virgin Mary: ´I am the handmaid of the Lord: let it be done to me according to your word` (Lk 1:38).
The natures: Human and Divine: We desire to live the virtues of transcendence intensely: faith, hope and charity, in order ´to be the salt…to be the light` (Mt 5:13ff) so as not to be of the world (cf. Jn 17:16). We desire to intensely live the virtues of self-denial: humilty, justice, sacrifice, poverty, pain, obedience, merciful love…-in one word, to take up the cross.
The Union of the Natures: The center of our life must be Jesus Christ, true God and true man, who unites both natures in His one, unique, divine person; for in truth we profess that ´the Word was made flesh` (Jn 1:14) and He is the ´one mediator between God and men` (1 Tim 2:5), and that He is the Only One who has the words of eternal life (cf. Jn 6:68). He is the resulting person of the Incarnation. In a particular way our devotion to Jesus Christ must manifest itself in the mystery of the Incarnation; (and) in His second humiliation in the mystery of the Passion—the supreme priestly act—that, by contrast, makes us admire the profound “Kenosis” of the Incarnation all the more… Intimately united to ´the mystery of our religion which was manifested in the flesh` (1 Tim 3:16), and therefore united to our love, are the three white things of the Church: the Eucharist, which prolongs the Incarnation under the species of bread and wine by the action of the Catholic priesthood; the Most Holy Virgin Mary, who gave her ´yes` so that from her flesh and blood the Word would become flesh; and the Pope, the incarnate presence of the Truth, the Will and the Sanctity of Christ.
The Purpose of the Incarnation: In Christ we want to seek the glory of God and the integral well-being of man. By introducing his first-born Son into the world, the Father manifested his glory: ´We have beheld his glory` (Jn 1:14) and in everything we want to have a righteous intention: ´whatever you do, do all to the glory of God` (1 Cor 10:31)” (Constiturions, 8-15).
|
|
| |
| |
| |
|
