It’s that time of year when we make resolutions to shore up our health, our finances, our relationships. Why not do the same for your spiritual life in 2018?It only makes sense because our spiritual life is the foundation of our lives. And just like every house needs a strong foundation in order to survive the storms of life, so does our spiritual life. This strong foundation is what will make sure it can survive the constant onslaught of temptation to sin, to disbelief, to compromise with the world that we all face on a daily basis.
But this strong foundation is not made of external devotions, theology courses, or retreats. As good as these may be, when it comes to building a strong foundation, two important ingredients are needed:
Trust in God and distrust in self.
“ . . . Complete distrust of self, combined with utter trust in Him . . . are the two great props of the spiritual life,” writes Father Jean-Pierre de Caussade.
No one exemplified this truth better than St. Therese who described this concept with her trademark simplicity in a letter she wrote to her sister Celine in 1889:
“We would like to never fail. What an illusion! What does it matter, my Jesus, if I fall at every moment? I come to recognize by it how weak I am and that is gain for me. You see by that how little I am able to do and You will be more likely to carry me in your arms. If you do not do so, it is because you like to see me prostrate on the ground. Well, then, I am not going to worry, but I will always stretch our my suppliant arms toward you with great love. I cannot believe you would abandon me.”
St. Therese was as aware of both the infinite greatness and goodness of God as she was of her own weakness and tendency to evil. Basing her spiritual life on the combination of these two qualities became known as the Little Way of Spiritual Childhood and has since led millions to a closer walk with Jesus.
Although it sounds simple, building this foundation requires more work than you might think. It means we have to learn how to see ourselves for who we really are, weak and irresolute beings, which in turn forces us to acknowledge just how much we need God’s help. These are two things our pride does not like to admit.
“For although in ourselves we are nothing, we are too apt to overestimate our own abilities and to conclude falsely that we are of some importance,” writes Dom Lorenzo Scupoli in his masterpiece, The Spiritual Combat. “This vice springs from the corruption of our nature. But the more natural a thing is, the more difficult it is to be discovered.”
In other words, we have a tendency to believe we’re trusting in God rather than ourselves, but may be overlooking a million ways in which we’re doing the exact opposite.
For example, how many times have we struggled to overcome a temptation to overeat, to drink too much, vent on a pesty neighbor, watch prurient shows or movies, only to fail again and again? We confess the same recurring sins every month, determined to do better, but even with our best intentions, we keep falling.
Could it be that too much trust in ourselves, and not enough trust in God’s power to help us, is the culprit behind these repeated failures? Are we relying on ourselves, or that celestial powerhouse known as God’s grace?
Of course, we have to do our best to overcome these temptations, but we may be so focused on fixing it ourselves that we forget to ask God for His help.
The easiest way to discern just how much we’re trusting in ourselves rather than in God is to look at how we react after a fall. Are we appalled at ourselves, become harsh and scolding, feel discouraged?
As Father Scupoli writes, “If he yields to anger and despairs of advancing in the way of virtue, it is evident that he placed his confidence in himself and not in God. The greater the anxiety and despondence, the greater is the certainty of his guilt.”
Much like St. Therese said in her letter, when a person has a deep distrust of himself and great confidence in God, she is not at all surprised by a fall. She correctly attributes what has happened to her own weakness and lack of confidence in God, repents of her mistake, then runs straight to Jesus for help.
Father Scupoli recommends four means of acquiring distrust in self and trust in God:
First, we should meditate on our own weakness; not in a morbid way but with a calm realization that without divine assistance, we cannot accomplish anything but sin.
Second, we must beg God for this virtue. “Let us begin by acknowledging not only that we do not possess it, but that of ourselves we are utterly incapable of acquiring it.” But we must be careful to ask with firm confidence that we will indeed be heard in spite of having to wait “for as long as it pleases Divine Providence.”
Third, we must gradually accustom ourselves to distrust or own self, to dread the illusions of our mind, our tendency to sin and the number of temptations that continually assault us. We should calmly face this reality, not to breathe fear into ourselves, but to push us ever closer to God, our only hope.
Fourth, when we commit a fault, we should examine our conscience in order to discover where we’re most vulnerable. “God permits us to fall only that we may gain a deeper insight into ourselves . . . . Without this we cannot hope to obtain distrust of self which is rooted in humility and the knowledge of our own weakness.”
This year, before embarking on a new set of New Year’s resolutions, do the one thing necessary to make sure that this year they’ll stick – admit that you can’t do it without God!
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