God’s sanctifying work in the soul is both mysterious and intimate. It does not rely on dramatic gestures, but unfolds quietly in the small, humble details of daily life—if only we allow Him to act without resistance.
God Take the Soul as His Personal Work
When a heart is given up to God without reserve, having renounced its own guidance, having cast itself blindly upon Him, God feels as it were a sense of obligation toward this heart; the sanctification of this soul becomes His personal affair. At once His power sets to work to perfect it.
Transformation by Divine Power Alone
In the hand of God, every creature is docile. He transforms the coldest heart into that of a Seraph. Without Him, natural talents avail nothing; with Him, faults are transformed into virtues. Without Him, science puffs up and destroys; with Him, ignorance is dispelled and gives place to learning. To make a saint, God needs only a heart of good will.
The drop of dew, the speck of dust, the insect hidden in the grass, present insoluble problems to the student. The thousands of microbes that people a drop of water, like the thousands of worlds which move in the immensity of the heavens, fill the reason with awe. The earth and the sea are full of marvels and full of problems. Man is to himself the greatest of mysteries. Who can explain the play of his interior and exterior senses, the movement of his spiritual faculties, the attractions and the aspirations of his heart? Who has analyzed the nature of the soul, spirit allied with matter?
The higher we go, the more do wonders multiply, the more does mystery enshroud and defy the reason.
God’s Marvelous Work in Souls
And what shall we say when we cross the threshold of the supernatural world? What shall we say when the world of souls displays its splendors to our eyes?
God is admirable in His Saints. He works upon each docile soul as if this one were alone in the world. He employs His infinite power in beautifying it. With the generosity and solicitude of a bridegroom, He chooses for it the most beautiful adornments; He embellishes it with the most attractive graces; He devotes long years to ornamenting and enriching it; then, charmed with the beauty of His own work, He cries in a tone of delight: Quam pulchra es, amica mea, quam pulchra es!—“How beautiful art thou, my love, how beautiful art thou!” (Cant. 4:1).
And each soul is a new world of marvels. God does not copy His own works. Among His masterpieces, there is not one that does not differ from the others. Stella a stella differt in claritate—“Star differs from star in glory.” (1 Cor. 15:41). God loves to multiply His wonders. He scatters them in profusion in the world of souls, where nothing seems too rich nor too beautiful.
And why should He stint Himself in the distribution of His gifts? Is He not the Omnipotent God? Are not upright souls His tenderly loved children?
The Hidden Sanctity of the Everyday
O my Soul, thou dost not understand the admirable manner in which God is perfecting thee. Thou seest in thy existence only a monotonous succession of insignificant acts, of little sacrifices, of commonplace occupations. It is thus that God forms in thee His adorable likeness. Great crosses, heroic actions, have an attraction for thee; thou seekest an occasion to immolate thy life in order to please God; and He does not deign to make use of this way.
It is not by mortification, nor by persecution from the wicked, that He wishes to sanctify thee at this moment; it is by conversation, by recreation, by repose, by the thousand details and actions of the daily life which obedience prescribes for thee.
At the moment that thou dost neglect a detail of thy holy rules, a little duty of state, perhaps God is engaged in giving thee a special additional beauty. Thy infidelity interferes with His action.
Thou desirest to help Him by finding new means of sanctification; thou delvest into the lives of the Saints; thou eagerly readest spiritual books. However, it is not this which sanctifies thee. It is the gift of thyself, effected at each moment by an act of generous love.
Your Way Is Not Another’s
The Saints had their ideal to attain; it is not thine. God traced out their way for them; this way is not for thee. Spiritual books instruct thee only when thou readest them under the direction of God. Aside from this, the lecture does not build up, it destroys; it does not unite thee to God, it draws thee away from Him; it does not teach, it excites only a vain curiosity; it does not guide, it leads astray.
Sanctity Surrounds You Now
My Soul, go not afar to seek for sanctity. It envelops thee. All creatures lead thee to it; all the events of life are filled with it; the air thou breathest is saturated with it. Open thy mouth, and draw in full breaths of sanctity. God’s eternal order for thee is communicated to thee at every moment by thy daily duties. Aside from that, there is for thee neither sanctity nor happiness. Accept this means, however contemptible may be the appearances under which sanctity is disguised. Receive it with joy; open both portals of the gateway of thy heart. It is the ambassador of God that comes. The equipage is very modest, mean in the eyes of the world. What matter? It is God who passes. What He brings to thee seems of little importance, perhaps contrary to thy reason, or at least to thy taste. What matter? It is the Divine Envoy, it is the Son of David who comes in the name of the Lord. Bless Him, spread thy garments before Him, prostrate thyself in the dust and adore Him. Together with all simple and upright hearts, cry out: Hosanna, Filio David; benedictus qui venit in Nomine Domini!—“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He Who cometh in the Name of the Lord!”
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This article is taken from a chapter in The Gift of Oneself: Surrendering Oneself to God as a Way of Life by The Reverend Joseph Schryvers, C.SS.R. which is available from TAN Books.
