If we were to tell a dying person: ‘Your last moment is drawing near; all is ending for you in this world; but take comfort -- you have borne an important part; you have held ... the highest posts ... in your profession; ... won a great name among the learned; your works and writings will keep your name alive.’
Would it give him any comfort? He would say-- “What will all this avail me in eternity?” A dying celebrity said-- “I have been president in the largest companies; ... a popular and much applauded teacher. All this is ‘nothing’ to me now. I have kept my faith and ‘that is something’; it is the only thing that consoles me now.”
The greatest comfort, then, on our deathbeds is the knowledge that we have been true to our faith; that we have been crucified with Jesus to the world and to ourselves by constant mortification.
If I were to die now, should I find comfort in reviewing the past? A dying good man is not in fear and sorrow at the thought of leaving the fair things of this world; but only on account of his past sins.
But what reassurance and peace we can find in those other words of the Holy Spirit -- ‘Thou overlooked the sins of men for the sake of repentance!’ The memory of having expiated by mortification the insult which sin is to God, of having paid off many debts owing to divine justice by means of penance, will also comfort us.
St Hilarion was thus preserved from the fear of death: ‘What, my soul, thou hast carried the cross for seventy years, and now dost thou fear to leave the world to appear before God?’
When death draws near and desiring to share the calm trust of the saints, even those whose lives had not always been spotless, we should imitate their penance especially during this precious time of Lent. Let us be in earnest and not defer it to the hour of sickness or the time of old age.
“While you are in health, you can perform many works of satisfaction; but you know not what you will be able to do when sickness overtakes you.” (Thomas à Kempis, “Imitation of Christ”) When the laborer joyfully gathers in a rich harvest, all his past labor is forgotten. The joy and satisfaction of the result far outweigh his former trouble and privation.
This signals the joy and happiness which the penitent and mortified person will feel when he begins to reap the fruits of all the austerities of life. He receives the reward promised by our Lord to those who renounce all worldly pleasures to bear the cross after him.
St Peter of Alcantara gave some idea of it when he appeared in glory to St Teresa, and said, ‘O blissful penance, which has purchased for me so great a reward!’
Thoughts like these bring us courage and strength to live and persevere till death in doing penance.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp140-142
Interior life is expressed in deeds
The Christian’s interior life, if genuine, is accompanied by fruits such as practical deeds of service to others. “The danger of deeds done without interior life has been emphasized, but we should also underline the danger of an interior life, if such could exist, without deeds.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Letter”, 6 May 1945, 44) We must live by faith and use whatever available means always.
We cannot wait for the ideal moment, which might never come, to start doing apostolate. We must not wait for everything to be just right in order to work for God.
Our present actions should show the love in our heart. God will multiply and bless our efforts, puny though they may be, in answer to his demands. And we will be filled with gratitude and admiration.
If our interior life is genuine, our conversation with God in prayer and the Sacraments should continually overflow in works of mercy (catechism classes, advice to the ill-informed, visiting the sick or aged, etc.) and in deeds of apostolate. Interior life which is not expressed in deeds fades away and dies.
As our intimacy with Christ increases, it is logical that our work, our character, our readiness to undergo sacrifice will all improve. So also will our way of dealing with others, aided by the virtues of social harmony -- understanding, cordiality, optimism, order, friendliness. Love to survive and grow, must express itself in [good] deeds.
Ref: Cf Francis Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 3:447-8
Activism
Interior life means living with God’s vision, seeing our apostolic task from his viewpoint. Apostolic fruit cannot be lasting when a Christian falls prey to ‘activism’, the tendency to be ‘doing things’, to rush around, without the support of a deep prayer life. In the end, the furious activity is sterile and ineffective, clear sign of a lack of rectitude of intention.
A purely human activity without any supernatural context could be the consequence of ambition, a desire to attract attention. There is the danger of ‘activism’ -- of multipying deeds which, though good ‘per se’, have no interior life to support them. St Bernard and many others called such works “accursed occupations”. (cf J D Chautard, “The Soul of the Apostolate”, p69)
But the lack of real fruit in our apostolate can arise also from ‘passivity’, when deeds of love are absent. And if activism is bad and sterile, passivity is deadly, for it can make us think that we love God because we perform works of piety. Such pious acts are done but not perfectly since they do not lead to good actions.
Genuine love of God is seen in an apostolate carried out with tenacity. And if our Lord were to find us passive, content to perform pious practices without the accompanying cheerful and constant apostolate, then perhaps he might say to us in our heart: ‘More deeds, please, and fewer excuses.’
Can we present the ripe fruit God is looking for, practical results attained by a willing spirit of sacrifice? He approaches us with a hunger and a thirst for souls.
In spiritual direction we learn to distinguish between what could be activism (where we must pray more) and what could be lack of initiative (to ‘get moving’ more).
The Blessed Virgin Mary will teach us to act so that our interior life, our desire to love God, will never become a producer of worthless foliage like the fig tree.
Ref: Cf Francis Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 3:448-451
• Our Lady of the Forests at Porto, in Portugal. This image was found again in a forest where it had been hidden by Queen Matilda, wife of Alphonsus I. — Joannes Barrius, lib. de Rebus Interamnensibus, c. 12. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• “Nossa Senhora das florestas” / Our Lady of the Forests. (Porto, Portugal, 12th Century; Britain, 1419). Triptych Our Lady of the Forests. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Our Lady of Forests (Porto, Portugal). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
• Our Lady of the Forests, Porto, Portugal,12th Century; and Britain, 1419. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)
• “Madonna da Costantinopoli” Society. Bitritto (Bari). (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
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