MARY, THE MODEL OF PERFECT OBEDIENCE, IN THE MYSTERY OF THE
PURIFICATION.
LET us consider in this meditation how our adorable Saviour and His
Most Holy Mother united perfect obedience to profound humility.
Our Lord preferred the death of the Cross rather than fail in
obedience. 'Jesus Christ,' says the great Apostle, 'was obedient unto
death, even to the death of the Cross'--_Factus obediens usque ad
mortem, mortem autem crucis_. And what signal obedience did not Mary
exercise at the death of her Son, the only object of her heart's
affection! She stood firm and constant at the foot of the Cross,
pierced with the sword of sorrow, perfectly resigned to the Will of
the Eternal Father. All the actions of Our Divine Saviour were
regulated by obedience, as He Himself declared, saying: 'I am come not
to do My Will, but the Will of Him that sent Me'--_Descendi de coelo
non ut faciam voluntatem meam sed voluntatem ejus qui miset Me_. Thus
He teaches us that the Will of His Heavenly Father was the sole guide
of all His thoughts. Notice Our Lady's life, and you will always see
her obedient. So highly did she esteem this virtue of obedience, that
she obeyed the command to espouse St. Joseph, although she was bound
by a vow of virginity. She always persevered in the practice of this
virtue, and as the mystery of the Purification shows us, she presented
herself in the Temple, that she might observe the Law she was not
bound to observe. Thus her obedience was the more precious as it was
voluntary. Indeed, this is the only virtue that she has recommended to
the practice of mankind. The Gospel tells us that when she spoke to
the attendants at the marriage of Cana, she said to them: 'Whatsoever
He shall say to you, do'--_Quodcumque dixerit vobis facite_. Here she
teaches the practice of holy obedience, which is inseparable from the
virtue of humility, because it springs from this virtue. Only those
who are truly humble subject themselves to the Will of God.
Our Lady had no fear of being disobedient, because she was not obliged
to obey the Law, but she shunned its very shadow. Many would have
misunderstood her conduct, if she had not gone to the Temple to offer
her Divine Son and perform the ceremony of her Purification. She
would, therefore, remove all suspicion of disobedience, and at the
same time teach us not merely to avoid sin, but also its very
appearance, and the occasions which may expose us to it. Let us learn,
also, not to be satisfied with the testimony of our conscience alone,
but to try to remove from others every occasion of thinking ill of us
and of our actions.
The example of Our Saviour and of His Most Holy Mother should animate
us to submit not only in those things that are commanded us, but in
those that are merely of counsel, that we may thus become more dear to
the Divine Goodness. O God! is it then so great a work to subject
ourselves to obedience, when for this alone we have been sent into the
world, and when the Supreme King, to Whom all things should be
subject, practised it?
We must learn then from the example of our adorable Saviour and of His
Most Holy Mother, to be docile, pliable, and easily ruled, not only
for a certain time, and in some actions, but even unto death. But two
fundamental conditions of this virtue of Obedience must be observed.
These are--firstly, that to obey perfectly we must love God Who
commands; and secondly, we must love the action that is commanded. All
the faults committed against obedience proceed from the want of one of
these conditions. Many love the thing commanded, but not God Who
commands it. For instance, some will perform their devotions, not out
of obedience to the Will of God, but on account of the consolation
they experience in this exercise. In this there is nothing but
self-love; and it will be perceptible by the repugnance, or discontent,
which is felt in the performance of those observances that are not
according to our inclinations. In this case, it is plain that it is
not God Whom we love, but only the thing that He commands. If we loved
God Who commands, our hearts would be indifferent as to our
occupation, because in all we should be equally sure to find the Will
of God.
Others will love God Who commands, but not the action commanded. These
will say: I know very well that it is the Will of God that I should do
this or that, but I feel so great a repugnance, that I cannot resolve
to do it, and were I to strive to obey, the person who, in the name of
God, desires me to perform the action, enjoins it so ungraciously, as
to rob me of all the satisfaction I might experience in an act of
obedience.
The source of all our difficulties is that we obey readily only when
our superiors accommodate themselves to our natural inclinations. On
all other occasions, the smallest obligations appear to us difficult
and disagreeable. It is therefore evident that we do not regard God
Who commands us through another, but we look at the person who speaks
to us in His Name, to see how he is clothed so to speak; that is to
say, we look only at his external deportment. O God! what a mistake!
We ought to submit to the Will of God in obedience, without any
exception, and from whatever quarter the order may come; and not only
love God Who commands, but also the thing that is commanded; _taking
the command and placing it upon our heads_--that is, in our inmost
heart, to execute it with all fidelity and sincere goodwill.