Opening Prayer
I acknowledge that I was created for the very purpose of praising you eternally. I owe you a debt of endless love, for you raised me from the clay of nothingness to the dignity of a human soul so that I might move closer to you through the merit of righteousness.
Grant me the grace to praise you in adversity as much as in prosperity, for if I bless you only when things are well, I seek my own interest rather than you. Let no thought enter my mind that is not inspired by the debt of love I owe you.
Amen.
Matthew 13:24-30
24Another parable he proposed to them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seeds in his field. 25But while men were asleep, his enemy came and oversowed cockle among the wheat and went his way. 26And when the blade was sprung up, and had brought forth fruit, then appeared also the cockle. 27And the servants of the goodman of the house coming said to him: Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it cockle? 28And he said to them: An enemy hath done this. And the servants said to him: Wilt thou that we go and gather it up? 29And he said: No, lest perhaps gathering up the cockle, you root up the wheat also together with it. 30Suffer both to grow until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers: Gather up first the cockle, and bind it into bundles to burn, but the wheat gather ye into my barn.
St. Anselm
St. Anselm declares: “You were created to praise God eternally“. This is the clinical purpose of your creation. He differentiates between praising God for His gifts and praising Him “rightly” for Himself. If adversity keeps you from blessing him, you aren’t praising with your whole heart. The narrative of grace is that praise “yields the fruit of righteousness” in this life. We often treat worship as an “extra” for when we feel good. The “spiritual paper cuts” of daily frustration are the best times to seek nothing from him but himself. When we praise God with our tribute of love”, we prepare for the world to come.
The fundamental purpose of our existence is the eternal praise of God, a task set before us that yields the fruit of righteousness in this life and happiness in the next. St. Anselm teaches that if we only praise God in prosperity, we are seeking a good other than God Himself. True praise must be “wholehearted”, inspired by a desire that is independent of life’s circumstances and focused solely on the Creator’s endless love.
“You were created for the glory of your Creator… If prosperity charms you into blessing God, but adversity keeps you from blessing him, then you aren’t praising God with your whole heart.”
— St. Anselm
Mary and the Magisterium
The purpose of our existence is “eternal praise”. St. Anselm teaches that we owe a “debt of endless love” to our Creator. Mary fulfilled this “duty of delight” through unceasing thanksgiving. Whether in the prosperity of the Nativity or the adversity of the Cross, she praised God with her whole heart, seeking nothing from Him “but Himself”. Her life is the “fruit of righteousness” that points toward eternal happiness.
- Do I "desire nothing from God but Himself", or am I "seeking some good other than God"?
- How can I ensure that no "prosperity" seduces me away from my duty of praise?
Closing Prayer
You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, for You have created all things for Your praise.
Amen.
