Of what might we be envious?

 

Admonition 8.   Of Avoiding The Sin Of Envy.   The Apostle affirms that “no man can say the Lord Jesus but by the Holy Ghost,”1   And “there is none that doth good, no not one.”2   Whosoever, therefore, envies his brother on account of the good which the Lord says or does in him, commits a sin akin to blasphemy, because he envies the Most High Himself who says and does all that is good.

Once more let us reflect; of what might we be envious?   Francis and Paul are talking about people who work miracles, as Francis himself did.   They teach that it is only through the power of Christ working through them that they do miraculous things.   If anyone envies another because they can work miracles, then they envy the one who works through that one who is our Lord Jesus Christ.   This says Francis is blasphemy because when we envy God we would be gods ourselves.

1 I Cor. 12 : 3 2 Ps 52: 4

 

Of Avoiding The Sin Of Envy.

 

Admonition 8.     The Apostle affirms that “no man can say the Lord Jesus but by the Holy Ghost,”1   And “there is none that doth good, no not one.”2   Whosoever, therefore, envies his brother on account of the good which the Lord says or does in him, commits a sin akin to blasphemy, because he envies the Most High Himself who says and does all that is good.

Of Avoiding the sin of Envy,     of the spiteful words we associate with it when someone has done something we wanted to do or something was given to someone other than to ourselves.   Avoiding being envious or jealous of or spiteful towards seems a passive act to me, rather I hope I would act by shunning such emotions by actively pushing them away from me.   Francis records that St. Paul wrote that unless one possessed the holy Spirit one could not confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.   The Psalmist wrote that no one can do good deeds by themselves.   So, two things here - belonging to, acknowledging, the Lordship of Christ, happens only when we have God’s Spirit within us.   When we have God’s Spirit within us we understand that God is responsible for any good we do because God uses our body’s to work through because God has no physical form.   Since we can do nothing good it is a sin to envy what God does through another because that is envying God.

1 I Cor. 12 : 3 2 Ps 52: 4

 

Of The Imitation Of The Lord.

 

Admonition 6.     Let us all, brothers, consider the Good Shepherd who to save His sheep bore the suffering of the Cross.   (“’HE WHO follows Me, walks not in darkness,’ says the Lord 1  By these words of Christ we are advised to imitate His life and habits, if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all blindness of heart. Let our chief effort, therefore, be to study the life of Jesus Christ.” Thomas à Kempis)       The sheep of the Lord followed Him in tribulation and persecution and shame, in hunger and thirst, in infirmity and temptations and in all other ways;2 and for these things they have received everlasting life from the Lord.             Wherefore it is a great shame for us, the servants of God, that, whereas the Saints have practised works, we should expect to receive honor and glory for reading and preaching the same.

Whenever I read this Admonition I think of Thomas à Kempis, (1380-1471) and his Imitation of Christ.(see beside)         Francis came before him ( Yet it was Thomas who first inspired me, he came first for me) and may have inspired him in some way.   Francis, in a similar manner to our reading of Thomas, exhorts his brothers to follow Christ in every way, everywhere, whereby receiving from Him, everlasting Life.     Francis details this and records that imitating Christ involves all manner of deprivation and suffering.   When have we been in dire straits in one way or another and have not offered it for the glory of God and his Christ?       And I always find it amusing here, where Francis says that it is a great shame for us to expect ‘glory’ just by reading of and preaching about their deeds. Mayhap a little like myself who attempts to preach Christ via the words of the Saints rather than from my own experience and from the Scriptures.

1 John 8:12 & Book 1, The first chapter: Imitating Christ and despising all vanities on earth. 2. See John 10:11, Heb. 12: 2, John 10:4, Rom. 8:35

 

That No One Should Glory Save In The Cross Of The Lord

 

Admonition 5   Consider, O man, how great the excellence in which the Lord has placed you because He has created and formed you to the image of His beloved Son according to the body and to His own likeness according to the spirit.1 And all the creatures that are under heaven serve and know and obey their Creator in their own way better than you And even the demons did not crucify Him, but you together with them crucified Him and still crucify Him by taking delight in vices and sins. Wherefore then can you glory?   For if you were so clever and wise that you possessed all science, and if you knew how to interpret every form of language and to investigate heavenly things minutely, you could not glory in all this, because one demon has known more of heavenly things and still knows more of earthly things than all men, although there may be some man who has received from the Lord a special knowledge of sovereign wisdom.   In like manner, if you were handsomer and richer than all others, and even if you could work wonders and put the demons to flight, all these things are hurtful to you and in nowise belong to you, and in them you cannot glory; that, however, in which we may glory is in our infirmities,2 and in bearing daily the holy cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Aside (As I read the Admonition for today I am struck by its likeness to the rhythm or beat of St. Paul’s prose, (as in Douay –Rheims) even in English, the similar stresses and unstressed words that carry us along within his teachings.)   Francis says ‘Consider O man, how great the excellence in which the Lord has placed you…’ Francis seems to build us up to take the fall of our disobedience, our presumption; because all other creatures serve, know and obey their creator, (after the manner of each kind in its capacity to know and love God) better than we do.   Our Father created us to be ‘a little lower than the angels crowned us with glory and honour and set us over all other beings, (Psalm 8:5) yet, in our service of God we fall from this position of trust.   I will leave us with some words by the Writer to the Hebrews:-   26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose you, shall he be thought worthy, who has trodden underfoot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant, with which he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and has done despite to the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him that has said, Vengeance belongs to me, I will recompense, said the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

 

Admonition 25

 

Admonition   25

Of True Love. Blessed is that brother who would love his brother as much when he is ill and not able to assist him as he loves him when he is well and able to assist him. Blessed is the brother who would love and fear his brother as much when he is far from him as he would when with him, and who would not say anything about him behind his back that he could not with charity say in his presence. (Robinson)

We might write about the virtue of constancy in loving, what I will ask is this: Is there any circumstance wherein love, or the highest positive regard for a brother or sister would cease, or be withdrawn (by us)?

 

Day 1 Admonition 1a

 

Of the Lord’s Body:   The Lord Jesus said to His disciples: “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.   No man comes to the Father, but by Me. If you had known Me you would, without doubt, have known My Father also: and from now on you shall know Him, and you have seen Him.   Philip said to Him: Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him: Have I been so long a time with you and have you not known Me? Philip, they that see Me, see the Father also.   How can you say, Show us the Father?” The Father “lives in inaccessible light,” and “God is a spirit,” and “no human has seen God at any time.” Because God is a spirit, it is only by the spirit that He can be seen, for “it is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing.”

Returning again to the 1st of the month it is our pleasure to contemplate St Francis teachings to his brothers concerning the Eucharist.   When we receive the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ in the substance and form of bread and wine, we may not give a thought to what we are truly doing when we receive Jesus in our hands or on our tongue.   A most blessed thing that we do over and over again, such that there may always be someone in the Body somewhere in the world receiving Him who so loved us that he gave Himself for us.   St John the Evangelist teaches us that we cannot reach God unless we daily follow Jesus, reading his words keeping His commandments receiving him often in the Form of bread and wine.   When we receive the Eucharist we are present at the Altar of the Cross during that one and only sacrifice, we stand in the Spirit with the women at the foot of the cross, present with our Lord in the time of His death.   From where we receive Him unto eternal life. How grave a sin it is to deny anyone this opportunity.

 

St. Francis's Reflection on the Eucharist

 

Let every one be struck with fear,
let the whole world tremble,
and let the heavens exult
when Christ the Son of the Living God,
is present on the altar in the hands of a priest!
O wonderful loftiness and stupendous dignity!
O sublime humility!
O humble sublimity!
The Lord of the universe,
God and the Son of God,
so humbles Himself
that for our salvation
He hides Himself
under an ordinary piece of bread!
Brothers, look at the humility of God,
and pour out your hearts before him!
Humble yourselves
that you may be exalted by Him!
Hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves,
that He who gives Himself totally to you
May receive you totally!

Amen.