God's Will ~ Alphonsus

Perfection is founded entirely on the love of God: [i]“Charity is the bond of
Perfection[/i] (Colossians 3:14);” and perfect love of God means the
complete union of our will with God’s: [i]“The principal effect of love is so to
unite the wills of those who love each other as to make them will the same
things[/i] (St. Denis Areop. De Div. Nom. c. 4.).” It follows then, that the
more one unites his will with the divine will, the greater will be his love of
God. Mortification, meditation, receiving Holy Communion, acts of
fraternal charity are all certainly pleasing to God — but only when they are
in accordance with his will. When they do not accord with God’s will, he
not only finds no pleasure in them, but he even rejects them utterly and
punishes them.

To illustrate: — A man has two servants. One works unremittingly all day
long — but according to his own devices; the other, conceivably, works
less, but he does do what he is told. This latter of course is going to find
favor in the eyes of his master; the other will not. Now, in applying this
example, we may ask: Why should we perform actions for God’s glory if
they are not going to be acceptable to him? God does not want sacrifices,
the prophet Samuel told King Saul, but he does want obedience to his will:

“Doth the Lord desire holocausts and victims, and not rather that the
voice of the Lord should be obeyed? For obedience is better than
sacrifices; and to hearken, rather than to offer the fat of rams.
Because it is like the sin of witchcraft to rebel; and like the crime of
idolatry to refuse to obey (1 Kings 15:22, 23).”

The man who follows his own will independently of God’s, is guilty of a
kind of idolatry. Instead of adoring God’s will, he, in a certain sense,
adores his own.

The greatest glory we can give to God is to do his will in everything. Our
Redeemer came on earth to glorify his heavenly Father and to teach us by
his example how to do the same. St. Paul represents him saying to his
eternal Father:

“Sacrifice and oblation thou wouldst not: But a body thou hast fitted
to me . . . Then said I: Behold I come to do thy will, O God
(Habakkuk 10:5-7).”

Thou hast refused the victims offered thee by man; thou dost will that I
sacrifice my body to thee. Behold me ready to do thy will.
Our Lord frequently declared that he had come on earth not to do his own
will, but solely that of his Father:

“I came down from heaven, not to do my own will,
but the will of him that sent me (John 6:38).”

He spoke in the same strain in the garden when he went forth to meet his
enemies who had come to seize him and to lead him to death:

“But that the world may know that I love the Father: and as the Father
hath given me commandment, so do I; arise and let us go hence
(John 14:31).”

Furthermore, he said he would recognize as his brother, him who would do
his will:

“Whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven,
he is my brother (Matthew 12:50).”

To do God’s will — this was the goal upon which the saints constantly
fixed their gaze. They were fully persuaded that in this consists the entire
perfection of the soul. Blessed Henry Suso used to say: “It is not God’s
will that we should abound in spiritual delights, but that in all things we
should submit to his holy will (Bl.H. Suso L 2, c. 4.).’’ “Those who give
themselves to prayer,” says St. Teresa, “should concentrate solely on this:
the conformity of their wills with the divine will. They should be convinced
that this constitutes their highest perfection. The more fully they practice
this, the greater the gifts they will receive from God, and the greater the
progress they will make in the interior life (St. Teresa, Obras 4:27, 28.)” A
certain Dominican nun was vouchsafed a vision of heaven one day. She
recognized there some persons she had known during their mortal life on
earth. It was told her these souls were raised to the sublime heights of the
seraphs on account of the uniformity of their wills with that of God’s during
their lifetime here on earth. Blessed Henry Suso, mentioned above, said of
himself: “I would rather be the vilest worm on earth by God’s will, than be
a seraph by my own (Suso, Serm. 2. (Opera Colon Agrip.)).’’

During our sojourn in this world, we should learn from the saints now in
heaven, how to love God. The pure and perfect love of God they enjoy
there, consists in uniting themselves perfectly to his will. It would be the
greatest delight of the seraphs to pile up sand on the seashore or to pull
weeds in a garden for all eternity, if they found out such was God’s will.
Our Lord himself teaches us to ask to do the will of God on earth as the
saints do it in heaven: [i]“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven[/i]
(Matthew 6:10).”

Because David fulfilled all his wishes, God called him a man after his own
heart:

“I have found David . . . a man according to my own heart,
who shall do all my wills (Acts 13:22).”

David was always ready to embrace the divine will, as he frequently
protested: [i]“My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready[/i] (Psalm 56:8).”
He asked God for one thing alone — to teach him to do his will: [i]“Teach me
to do thy will[/i] (Psalm 143:10).”

A single act of uniformity with the divine will suffices to make a saint.
Behold while Saul was persecuting the Church, God enlightened him and
converted him. What does Saul do? What does he say? Nothing else but to
offer himself to do God’s will: [i]“Lord, what wilt thou have me to do[/i] (Acts
9:6)?” In return the Lord calls him a vessel of election and an apostle of the
gentiles: [i]“This man is to me a vessel of election, to carry my name before
the gentiles[/i] (Suso, Serm. 2. (Opera Colon Agrip.)).” Absolutely true —
because he who gives his will to God, gives him everything. He who gives
his goods in alms, his blood in scourgings, his food in fasting, gives God
what he [i]has[/i]. But he who gives God his will, gives himself, gives
everything he [i]is[/i]. Such a one can say: “Though I am poor, Lord, I give thee
all I possess; but when I say I give thee my will, I have nothing left to give
thee.” This is just what God does require of us: [i]“My son, give me thy heart[/i]
(Proverbs 23:26).” St. Augustine’s comment is: “There is nothing more
pleasing we can offer God than to say to him: ‘Possess thyself of us’ (St.
August. in Psalm 131:3.).’’ We cannot offer God anything more
pleasing than to say: Take us, Lord, we give thee our entire will. Only let us
know thy will and we will carry it out.

If we would completely rejoice the heart of God, let us strive in all things to
conform ourselves to his divine will. Let us not only strive to conform
ourselves, but also to unite ourselves to whatever dispositions God makes
of us. [i]Conformity[/i] signifies that we join our wills to the will of God.
[i]Uniformity[/i] means more — it means that we make one will of God’s will
and ours, so that we will only what God wills; that God’s will alone, is our
will. This is the summit of perfection and to it we should always aspire; this
should be the goal of all our works, desires, meditations and prayers.

ALPHONSUS DE LIGOURI

Crsschk,

A timely reminder, thanks.

Does God seek the 'service' of Mary or Martha?

Does God smile upon obedience or sacrifice?

Obey, to obey God's will, one must first know Him.

It struck differently to hear it shortened;

[i]“Whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother[/i]"

This as well;

” Absolutely true —because he who gives his will to God, gives him everything. He who gives his goods in alms, his blood in scourgings, his food in fasting, gives God what he [i][b]has.[/b][/i] But he who gives God his will, gives himself, gives everything he [b][i]is[/i][/b]. Such a one can say: “Though I am poor, Lord, I give thee all I possess; but when I say I give thee my will, I have nothing left to give thee.” This is just what God does require of us: [i]“My son, give me thy heart[/i] (Proverbs 23:26).”

[i] I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.[/i] Psa 40:8

"To wit, in obeying the law; in submitting to all the trials appointed to me" ~ Albert Barnes

[i]Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.[/i] Heb 10:7

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

[i]The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.[/i]

And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, [i]This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.[/i] Luk 4:16-21

Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. Heb 10:9

[i]Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.[/i] Psa 40:6-8

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Phi 2:7,8

[b]Phi 2:8 - And being found in fashion as a man[/b],.... Not that he had only the show and appearance of a man, but he was really a man; for "as" here, denotes not merely the likeness of a thing, but the thing itself, as in Mat_14:5, ως here, answers to the Hebrew f2ë, which is sometimes by the Jews (k) said to be כף הדמיון, and signifies likeness, and sometimes כף האמתות, and designs truth and reality; which is the sense in which the particle is to be taken here: though he was seen and looked upon as a mere man, and therefore charged with blasphemy when he asserted himself to be the Son of God, he was more than a man; and yet found and known by men in common to be no more than a man, than just such a man as other men are; and so far is true, that his scheme, his habit, his fashion, his form, were like that of other men; though he was not begotten as man, but conceived in an extraordinary manner by the power of the Holy Ghost, yet he lay nine months in his mother's womb, as the human foetus ordinarily does; he was born as children are, was wrapped in swaddling bands when born, as an infant is; grew in stature by degrees, as men do; the shape and size of his body were like other men's, and he was subject to the same infirmities, as hunger, thirst, weariness, pain, grief, sorrow, and death itself, as follows:

[b]he humbled himself[/b]: by becoming man, and by various outward actions in his life; as subjection to his parents, working at the trade of a carpenter, conversing with the meanest of men, washing his disciples' feet, &c. and the whole of his deportment both to God and man, his compliance with his Father's will, though disagreeable to flesh and blood, his behaviour towards his enemies, and his forbearance of his disciples, showed him to be of a meek and humble spirit; he humbled himself both to God and man:

[b]and became obedient unto death[/b], or "until death"; for he was obedient from the cradle to the cross, to God, to men, to his earthly parents, and to magistrates; he was obedient to the ceremonial law, to circumcision, the passover, &c. to the moral law, to all the precepts of it, which he punctually fulfilled; and to the penalty of it, death, which he voluntarily and cheerfully bore, in the room and stead of his people:

[b]even the death of the cross[/b]; which was both painful and shameful; it was an accursed one, and showed that he bore the curse of the law, and was made a curse for us: this was a punishment usually inflicted on servants, and is called a servile punishment (l); and such was the form which he took, when he was found in fashion as a man: this is now the great instance of humility the apostle gives, as a pattern of it to the saints, and it is a matchless and unparalleled one,
~John Gill

[i]Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. [/i] Mat 7:21

[i]Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.[/i] Psa 143:10

[i]And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.[/i] Luk 11:2

[i]For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.[/i] Mat 12:50

[i]And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.[/i] Joh 8:29

I delight to do thy will, O my God

[i]“To those that love God, all things work together unto good"[/i] Romans 8:28

Those who love God are always happy, because their whole happiness is to
fulfill, even in adversity, the will of God. Afflictions do not mar their
serenity, because by accepting misfortune, they know they give pleasure to
their beloved Lord: “[i]Whatever shall befall the just man, it shall not make
him sad[/i]" (Proverbs 12:21). Indeed, what can be more satisfactory to a
person than to experience the fulfillment of all his desires? This is the happy
lot of the man who wills only what God wills, because everything that
happens, save sin, happens through the will of God.

There is a story to this effect in the “Lives of the Fathers” about a farmer
whose crops were more plentiful than those of his neighbors. On being
asked how this happened with such unvarying regularity, he said he was
not surprised because he always had the kind of weather he wanted. He was
asked to explain. He said: “It is so because I want whatever kind of weather
God wants, and because I do, he gives me the harvests I want (Vitae
Patrum. Exact citation unknown).’’ If souls resigned to God’s will are
humiliated, says Salvian (St. Salvian. De Gubern. Dei. Bk 1. no. 2.), they
want to be humiliated; if they are poor, they want to be poor; in short,
whatever happens is acceptable to them, hence they are truly at peace in this life.

In cold and heat, in rain and wind, the soul united to God says: “I want
it to be warm, to be cold, windy, to rain, because God wills it.”
This is the beautiful freedom of the sons of God, and it is worth vastly more
than all the rank and distinction of blood and birth, more than all the
kingdoms in the world. This is the abiding peace which, in the experience
of the saints, “surpasseth all understanding" (Philippians 4:7). It
surpasses all pleasures rising from gratification of the senses, from social
gatherings, banquets and other worldly amusements; vain and deceiving as
they are, they captivate the senses for the time being, but bring no lasting
contentment; rather they afflict man in the depth of his soul where alone true
peace can reside.

Solomon, who tasted to satiety all the pleasures of the world and found
them bitter, voiced his disillusionment thus: “[i]But this also is vanity and
vexation of spirit[/i]" (Ecclesiastes 4:16). “[i]A fool,[/i]” says the Holy Spirit, “[i]is
changed as the moon; but a holy man continueth in wisdom as the sun[/i]"
(Eccus. 27:12). The fool, that is, the sinner, is as changeable as the moon,
which today waxes and tomorrow wanes; today he laughs, tomorrow he
cries; today he is meek as a lamb, tomorrow cross as a bear. Why? Because
his peace of mind depends on the prosperity or the adversity he meets; he
changes with the changes in the things that happen to him. The just man is
like the sun, constant in his serenity, no matter what betides him. His
calmness of soul is founded on his union with the will of God; hence he
enjoys unruffled peace. This is the peace promised by the angel of the
Nativity: “[i]And on earth, peace to men of good will (Luke 2:14)[/i].” Who
are these “men of good will” if not those whose wills are united to the
infinitely good and perfect will of God?

[i]“The good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God"[/i] Romans 12:2

By uniting themselves to the divine will, the saints have enjoyed paradise by
anticipation in this life. Accustoming themselves to receive all things from
the hands of God, says St. Dorotheus (St. Doroth. Doctrina 7:4 & 6.) the
men of old maintained continual serenity of soul. St. Mary Magdalene of
Pazzi derived such consolation at hearing the words “will of God,” that she
usually fell into an ecstasy of love (Puccine, Vita. Part. 1. chap 59.). The
instances of jangling irritation that are bound to arise will not fail to make
surface impact on the senses. This however will be experienced only in the
inferior part of the soul; in the superior part will reign peace and tranquillity
as long as our will remains united with God’s. Our Lord assured his
apostles: “[i]Your joy no man shall take from you . . . Your joy shall be full"[/i]
(John 16:22 & 24). He who unites his will to God’s experiences a full
and lasting joy: full, because he has what he wants, as was explained above;
lasting, because no one can take his joy from him, since no one can prevent
what God wills from happening.

The devout Father John Tauler (Tauler, Serm. De Fest. page 473 foll.)
relates this personal experience: For years he had prayed God to send him
someone who would teach him the real spiritual life. One day, at prayer, he
heard a voice saying: “Go to such and such a church and you will have the
answer to your prayers.” He went and at the door of the church he found a
beggar, barefooted and in rags. He greeted the mendicant saying: “Good
day, my friend.”

“Thank you, sir, for your kind wishes, but I do not recall ever
having had a ‘bad’ day.”

“Then God has certainly given you a very happy life.”

“That is very true, sir. I have never been unhappy. In saying this I am not
making any rash statement either. This is the reason: When I have nothing
to eat, I give thanks to God; when it rains or snows, I bless God’s
providence; when someone insults me, drives me away, or otherwise
mistreats me, I give glory to God. I said I’ve never had an unhappy day,
and it’s the truth, because I am accustomed to will unreservedly what God
wills. Whatever happens to me, sweet or bitter, I gladly receive from his
hands as what is best for me. Hence my unvarying happiness.”

“Where did you find God?”
“I found him where I left creatures.”
“Who are you anyway?”
“I am a king.”
“And where is your kingdom?”
“In my soul, where everything is in good order; where the passions
obey reason, and reason obeys God.”
“How have you come to such a state of perfection?”

“By silence. I practice silence towards men, while I cultivate the
habit of speaking with God. Conversing with God is the way I
found and maintain my peace of soul.”

Union with God brought this poor beggar to the very heights of perfection.
In his poverty he was richer than the mightiest monarch; in his sufferings,
he was vastly happier than worldlings amid their worldly delights.

Alfonso M. de Liguori