This book, the secret diary of Elisabeth, is a beautiful
love story. None of her friends, or even
her husband, knew how deeply she loved, until her husband read (and published)
this diary --- upon her death. And as a
result of her words, (and her prayers,) he later became a priest. This story reminds one of how St. Monica must
have prayed for St. Augustine, but she lived to see his conversion. And it reminds us to NEVER give up; prayer
can move mountains --- surely it can change a heart.
Elisabeth, although very well-to-do, did not live
boisterously. She wrote how she felt it “my
duty to my dear husband … above all, to be extremely reserved concerning
matters of faith, which are still veiled to him. Let him see the fruit but not the sap … only
on those lines, I think, must I hope for the conversion and sanctity of my dear
companion of my life, my beloved Felix.”
What humility!
She loved the goodness of her friends, and prayed for their
spiritual and physical well-being, yet over and over thanked God for them, as
they are. She trusted. Here are some of her thoughts:
·
My God and my Savior, I consecrate to Thee my
future, my words, my actions, and all the good works I can ever do, begging
that I may be used in Thy service to make Thee known and loved. March
10, 1905
·
This is the resolve of this meditation: silence in regard to my trials, silence about
my interior life and what God has done unceasingly for me. I believe it is my duty in waiting the divine
hour to preach Jesus Christ only through my prayers, my sufferings, and my
example.
·
If I can fruitfully show him a little of what is
in my heart, that must at least be a rare event, done with careful thought,
performed in all gentleness.
·
I must be all things to all men, occupied only
with others’ griefs, not saddening or troubling anyone around me with mine.
·
And now, O Lord, with all my soul I say the
sorrowful words: “I thirst.” I thirst
for the peace Thou alone canst give…. I thirst for light, to know, to see, to
possess, as we shall see and possess in eternity. I thirst for life, the only Life, full and
eternal. O my God, I thirst for Thee!
·
What good is confiding one’s pains, miseries,
and regrets to those to whom one cannot say at the end: “Pray for me”?
·
Prayer to Ask of God the Virtue of Hope: My God, who hast allowed us human hopes, but
who alone bestowest Christian and supernatural hope, grant, I beseech Thee, by
Thy grace, this virtue to my soul, to the souls of all I love, and to all Christian
souls. Let it enlighten and transform
our lives, our suffering, and even our death, and let it uphold in us, through
the disappointment and sadness of each day, an inner strength and unalterable
serenity.
- -
- - - - - - - -
After reading the above book, I
read a somewhat similar one next (God seems to arrange these things in an order
so I can fully appreciate the depths of the matter). In A Severe Mercy, Sheldon Vanauken writes of
his love story, and of his dear Davy.
Atheists, in love, they “raised The Shining Barrier against creeping separateness
… against a world of indecencies and decaying standards, the mockers of love,
and above all, we would be us-centered,
not self-centered.” They vowed nothing
would come between their love. They
vowed to not have children, and to not let careers come between them. And they made many other vows and goals, like
sailing around the world on their own Grey
Goose --- which they did.
And Christianity? “Could there be more to it? Maybe I ought to have another look at
it. Some day. Just to be --- well, intellectually honest.” But, “Of course, Christianity wasn’t
true. And Davy was amused and a bit
mocking, when I told her about it. We
laughed together.” But later they went to Oxford to teach,
together, and were much surprised to find most of their friends Christian,
their intelligent friends --- but “that didn’t make sense.” And they made friends with C. S. Lewis, and
exchanged many letters, on their love, on God, and the logical and sensible
choice to believe, with Sheldon in particular coming to believe that it really
was a choice, to believe (or not) in God.
And, in part to let nothing tear down their Shining Barrier uniting them
against the world, he chose to believe, as his beloved Davy had come to do.
And that belief supported him
strongly, as Davy sickened and died.
I read A Severe Mercy as I was
participating in the Alpha Program at my local church. I believe the first 100 pages of this book
are a great example of how people alien to religion can logically come to
choose Christianity, and believe it true.
And, as with Elisabeth, I saw how God can work, slowly and deliberately,
with little help from us, if we just trust and, like St. Monica, persevere.
No comments:
Post a Comment