One Thing Necessary

(Part of the Church Militant Training Series. This follows from the post: Semper Fi)

The “one thing necessary” constitutes the basis for the interior life and consists in hearing the word of God and living by it. In the story of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42), we first see that, amazingly, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity was sitting right in their living room. Now, Martha is busy with the good and noble duties of hospitality, while Mary sits at the feet of Jesus, her eyes locked on his Holy Face, while she hangs on His every word. Mary is actually in adoration, soaking in everything our Lord wants to give her. I like to say that she is Mary-nating – soaking in the outpouring of God’s graces. When Martha objects to Mary’s lack of activity, Jesus says that Martha remains anxious and upset about many things, while Mary chose the better portion; the “one thing necessary.”

A current example of this is seen in the Martha-like busy-ness in our modern liturgies, that comes at the cost of a more Mary-like contemplative way of worshipping, which has always been the distinctive way Catholics worshipped, until recent decades. The unintended consequence of this frenetic kind of worship has been an epidemic of disconnection from the divine, which has facilitated the modern epidemic of spiritual sloth.

Pope Benedict XVI said, “The Heart open to God, purified by contemplation of God, is stronger than guns and weapons of every kind.” This is the key to Pope John Paul II’s Master Plan. We need to halt our busy-ness and begin, afresh, to spend time contemplating the Holy Face of Jesus in adoration, as we soak in everything he wishes to give us. This is the Divine Life that knows, “I can do nothing without him” (John 15:5) and, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13).

Fr. Robert Barron puts it this way:

“What is eternal life? What does it mean to be saved? What does it mean to get to heaven? It means to participate to the fullest degree possible in the very life of God. It means conformity to love. It means surrendering to the grace of God and then allowing that grace to invade every aspect of your life, so that grace flows through you and into the wider world. That’s what it means to be saved. That’s what it means to be in the embrace of God. To be living God’s life” (Fr. Robert Barron, The Narrow Gate).

Here is Christ’s summons to Divine Life, a life that brings us the deepest, most all-embracing joy:

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you obey my commands, you will abide in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and abide in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” (John 15:9-14)

Everything in the religious order – Sacraments, teaching, scripture, moral discipline, preaching, etc. – is meant to bring us to this state of being, to this Divine connection. Jesus calls it “abiding.” The Latin for this is “maneo,” which means, “to remain” or “to stay” or “to endure” (or like the Marine Corps’ “Semper Fi”). A modern slang may be, “stick with me” or “hang in there with me.” Or, as he instructed St. Faustina to tell our modern world: “Trust in me!” This Divine connection, this conformity to love, this participation in the Divine Life of God is the very power of the Holy Spirit and is referred to as “being in a state of grace.”

While modernized Catholics have all but completely forgotten the necessity of supernatural grace, our ancestors could not conceive of life without it. “Grace,” wrote Thomas a Kempis, “is the mistress of truth, the light of the heart, the comforter of affliction, the banisher of sorrow, the expeller of fears, the matrix of devotion, the producer of tears. What am I without it but a piece of dry wood and an unprofitable stock, fit for nothing but to be cast away.”

Do you want this power, energy, life, purpose, and strength? Well, you have to stand near him. You have to be around what he breathes forth: The Holy Spirit. So, if you want the power of the Holy Spirit, you have to declare the Lordship of Jesus Christ and you need to be near him as he breathes out this power, which is Divine Love. You must abide in him. Like Mary, you must look him in the eye – Face to Face – and love Him.

(Church Militant Training Series continues with next post)