Reflection for Thursday of Advent 1
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| House built on rock |
Thursday
of Advent week 1
Can this be right? That to even those who know the
Lord and have exercised miraculous gifts, the Lord might say, “I never knew
you; depart from me, you evildoers.” Surely something is wrong here in the
translation?
The reason our Lord warns us in this way is that we
have a tremendous capacity for self-deception. We might think we know the Lord,
but we might well have deceived ourselves. So how can we know that we are the
Lord’s?
Well we are apt to see miraculous gifts as proof
that we are on God’s side. Surely if someone is exorcising demons or doing
other might acts in the name of the Lord, that person is on the way to
salvation? We might seek signs in the world that suggest that we are going the
right way.
In fact that may not be the case, as the Lord warns
us. We draw closer to the Lord through grace. According to Catholic teaching
there is a distinction made between sanctifying grace and the graces we might
call charismatic. Particular charismatic graces are for the building up of the
whole Church but are not necessarily signs that we are close to God and truly
know Him! Sanctifying grace alone makes us
fit for heaven. Sacramental grace is grace proper to each of the Sacraments and
sanctifies us. Charismatic gifts are not for our own sanctification, they are
for the whole Church in order to build the Church up and to save souls.
Grace is not something we can feel. Grace is of the
supernatural order. Because of this, we cannot tell through our feelings
whether or not we are growing in grace. So the question then is how do we know
we are growing in sanctification?
There is only one sure test. The answer is given by
our Lord in the gospel today: “he who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven.” Sanctifying grace is manifested through conforming our will to the
Father’s will. We conform our will to the Father’s will through knowing our
Lord Jesus Christ (in prayer, sacraments, and Holy Scripture) and, most
importantly, by obeying Him. This, and only this, will reveal to us that we are
growing in sanctifying grace.
So the Lord invites us to build our house on the
rock, which is listening to our Lord Jesus Christ and obeying Him.
Fr Ian
