Spirit of the World: Day Twelve

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Day twelve at Fish Eaters.

Day twelve at The Catholic Company.

The twelve days end with another reading from Imitation of Christ. It tells us how we might find faults in ourselves (including an examination of the faults of others which may be in ourselves). We must make an effort to overcome our faults. How much effort should we make to remove our faults, which may lead us to sin? How important is it to avoid even small sins? St. John Henry Newman writes:

The Catholic Church holds it better for the sun and moon to drop from heaven, for the earth to fail, and for all the many millions on it to die of starvation in extremest agony, as far as temporal affliction goes, than that one soul, I will not say, should be lost, but should commit one single venial sin, should tell one wilful untruth, or should steal one poor farthing without excuse.

But this is not merely a negative exercise, avoiding fault and sin, but there is a positive direction in all this: "and keep in mind the image of the Crucified. Even though you may have walked for many years on the pathway to God, you may well be ashamed if, with the image of Christ before you, you do not try to make yourself still more like Him." It's not merely a rejection of the world, but it's also an embrace of Christ and his passion.

And embracing his passion may well be more than an abstract idea. "The more violence you do to yourself, the more progress you will make." This is not necessarily about physical mortification (although it could be). No one is so humble that he can't whip his pride.

And this is a good bridge for what is to follow in the devotion. The spirit of the world is contrasted with the Spirit of Christ. In trials and temptations, failure and vice is contrasted with strength and virtue. Sin and death is contrasted with supernatural life. The choice is between the spirit of the world and the devil or sanctity and Jesus, our end.