26 THE EUCHARISTIC LETTER
Not to be overlong in explaining my thoughts, our dear Institute ought to be all humility, and ought to profess in all things, to cherish and to choose what is the most humble; and it is in this way that the smallest, deepest and selfless humility is manifest. And so it must be all modesty, all gentleness, all candour and simplicity, wholly interior, spiritually alive. In a word, it must be completely empty of self, detached from everything.
At this moment in the Eucharistic Letter, Father Medaille hopes that the Little Designers will have come to a clearer understanding of the spiritual interiority and intent of this movement and are now feeling ready to profess, cherish and choose this as a definitive way of life. Humility will be its foundation. All the other virtues - modesty, gentleness, candour and simplicity - are the overflowing manifestation of spiritually alive persons.
In any healthy spiritual life, that has the genuine potential for growth, for interiority, for leading to a mystical life… there must necessarily be that passage through a ‘dark night’ of struggle and suffering, as the false and wounded ego-self is being diminished and purged. It is necessary to be mindful that there will be occasions along our paschal journey that cause us, in our human relationships, to undergo some radical self -emptying.
There is a spiritual necessity for this being stripped of everything that is false and illusory and created by the ego self: our arrogance, our pride, our need to control. The lure to power and self-importance, being first, being right - all these need to be swallowed up in the transformative process God is accomplishing in the depths of the soul. All this will usually be accomplished through very real and concrete painful situations, unique to each person. Humility is embracing the truth of who we really are – dear children of God and that is enough!
This purgation is how we pass through ‘our spiritualization process’ and come to the full blossoming of our true selves. With time, we recognize the ‘pure diamond self’ (Merton’s image for the true self) shining in all its radiance within us. God makes it all happen – over the years – by our receptivity and cooperation with grace. Now, living more and more in our true self, we find humility, simplicity and gentleness abide. Father Medaille encourages us throughout the Eucharistic Letter to become these mystic souls. Aspire always to this pure love of God, and at the same time, be willing to undergo the purgations. Our daily mantra might be: “Empty me and fill me with your great love.” Abide here.
Are you awake to the flow of grace within you?
Comments
Thank you for your comments. So much taken in!
dear children of God and
that is enough!"
Today,I see that this is enlightenment.