TO LIVE A LIFE OF CONTENTMENT

Bro. John Paul Rasay, SDB

August 31, 2010

DB SERMONETTE

TO LIVE A LIFE OF CONTENTMENT

To live a life of contentment… what does it really mean?

On a personal note, I see contentment as a state of satisfaction – a state wherein a person has reached his/her highest goal. And the highest goal, which we speak of, would have to be the ultimate end of a person’s life. There can be no greater end but a person’s happiness. And this is what it really means to be contented. Contentment equates itself in the attainment of happiness. To live contented is to live a happy life. Contentment is Happiness.

However, it is easier said than done. Many factors block us from living a contented life. Our weakness inclines us to desire – to desire for things, to desire for comfort. And when things don’t work out according to how we want them to proceed, we complain. Maybe this is the reason why happiness is such a difficult state to gain?

The question now is… how do we achieve contentment?

Reading an article in the web on contentment, I stumbled upon T. Pierce Brown, a Christian writer. He said that to live a life of contentment “… is to learn how to be able to live independent of everything but to be dependent on God.”

Nowadays, as I look at how people go about their daily lives, it’s as if they are the one’s running the show. People have become self-centered – they indulge themselves with their desire. And as their desires accumulate and as they do not get what they want, they result succumbed to discontentment eliminating the opportunity for happiness.

To live a life of contentment is to live it in God… it is to place all our trust in God. It is believing that His grace is enough to empower us in our daily lives.

As I reflect upon the real value of contentment, I ask myself… am I really living a life of contentment? Have I really placed my life in the hands of God?

I’ve been a Salesian for about a year and a half now... and for the year and a half as a Salesian, I have been plagued with inner struggles – inner struggles that uncovered how weak I am…many a times, I desire for things, I choose comfort for sacrifice, I complain about a lot of things – the food, the schedule, the games, the movie, the work. I’m discontented with a lot of things… this may be the reason why I’m not totally happy with my life. I haven’t placed all my trust in Him. In the silence of my heart, I know the struggles have exposed my incapacity to confront it alone. And I know that I only have God to cling to.

Despite my superficial love of God, He gives off Himself without restriction. In moments of difficulties, He empowers me with courage, patience, and perseverance. In moments of sadness, He liberates me with love and mercy.

It’s embarrassing to admit that even now, I couldn’t say out loud that I have a strong bond with God… the love is there but it is not enough; I still find my connection with Him quite inadequate. But it is my greatest consolation to be certain of one thing… that He will never stop assuring me of His love until I realize that He is everything that I need in life.

When asked why I chose to be a Salesian, it is simply because of my great admiration for Don Bosco. He was genuinely happy and optimistic, and his genuine happiness inspires me to follow his way of life – that one can attain holiness in genuine happiness. In one way or another, this may be because his life was genuinely that of contentment. Even at an early age, he knew what was important in life – to live for the love of God. Though his life was defined by hardships and struggles, he knew God was with Him – all the way. Maybe this is why he had so much trust in Divine Providence? He had nothing but he was able to build a home for the poor youth of Turin. Maybe this is why he dedicated himself in proclaiming the love of God esp. to the young so that they may in turn live a life of contentment in God… that in life God is the only one that matters.

For now, my life is a far cry of what it really means to live in contentment. But I’m full of hope… that the day would come when I would be able to proclaim to the world that I truly Love the Lord without inhibitions – and perhaps, even to the point of martyrdom. When this day comes, it would be an honor to say that I have lived a life of contentment.

I’d like to end with this quote from the Bible,

1 Timothy 6:6 – “… godliness with contentment is great gain.”

St. John Bosco

Pray For Us!

MARY’S FHM: Model of our Consecration

Br Dennis G. Maleon, SDB

Commemoration of Mary Help of Christians

August 24, 2010 @DBPN Chapel

MARY’S FHM: Model of our Consecration

The word “model” has been defined by so many dictonaries published in our times. Merriam Webster would define it as a “structural design,” “a miniature representation,” “a pattern or something to be made.” Other dictionaries defined it as “one who is employed to display clothes or merchandise, as in a fashion show, in a photograph or on a television.” Yet we know that the word “model” is much more inspiring as far as the definition is concerned. A model is a person worthy of imitation. A model is someone who is perfect and therefore serves as a pattern or standard for others to follow. Tonight, let us turn our gaze to our Blessed Virgin Mary as the examplar of consecrated life. A Model for us to imitate.

What makes a person consecrated? As we have learned in the novitiate, consecrated persons profess the evangelical counsels of chastity, obedience, and poverty. Second, consecrated persons follow Christ more closely under the action of the Holy Spirit. They follow more closely than those who do not profess the vows. Here, the word “more” means a radical following of Christ. All of us, baptized Chritians, are called to follow Christ but some people have the grace to follow His footsteps and lifestyle more than others. Not everyone recieves this special grace. We can count ourselves as one who has received this under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Lastly, consecrated persons dedicate themselves totally to God, whom they love most of all. Only those who receive this special grace to such a total self-giving to God become consecrated person. By our vow of obedience, chastity, and poverty, our love of God is total and it is for life.

How is Mary our model of consecrated life? Let me point out three virtues of our Blessed Mother on how is she our model of consecrated life. Mary’s FHM: Faith, Humility, and Meaning of sacrifice.

Faith. Faith is the absolute basis of consecrated life, and Mary had this faith. At the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel told her, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call him Jesus “(Lk. 1:28 & 31). Mary believed what she heard about Jesus that He will be the Son of the Most High God. At the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth, she was greeted by Elizabeth, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy” (Lk 1:42-44). Then Elizabeth exclaimed, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Lk 1:45). Our blessed Mother believed in the promise that she would conceive the Son of God, that she was to become the Mother of the Lord. She really believed it. Mary’s faith in the divinity of Christ is model for us as consecrated persons. If we have faith like our Blessed Mother, everything in the consecrated life makes sense. We give up marriage and the legitimate joys of being with someone because we believe that Jesus did this for us, and for me. We give up material possessions because we believe that Jesus became poor and lived a life of poverty before us and out of love for us. We give up the independent use of our free will and give our obedience to another human being because we believe that Jesus became obedient even up to death.

Humility. If faith is the core of our consecrated life, humilty is the language of consecrated life. And Mary spoke this laguage during her entire life on earth. Our Blessed Mother is our model of humble submission to the will of God. She humbly accepted the will of God. At every stage in her life, she lived out what she said at the Annunciation, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk. 1:38). Humility was the pattern of Mary’s consecrated life and how I wish it will also the pattern as we live our consecrated life. We surrender our will to the demands of consecrated life because we know that another person did it before us, Our Blessed Mother. We did not stand up for our own rights because we had the example of Mary to inspire us. Mary’s total and constant surrender to the divine will in selfless humility is the model for us to imitate.

Meaning of Sacrifice. If faith is the core of our consecrated life, humilty is the language of consecrated life; sacrifice is the atmosphere of consecrated life. Mary’s whole life was a life of sacrifice. She not only submitted to the will of God but she endured the will of God by her loving sacrifice. Because of her great love for Jesus, Mary made a life-long sacrifice. A true consecrated life is a life that knows the difference between pleasure and joy. Pleasure is what the world has to offer its followers. Joy is what Christ promises His followers. Consecrated life is meant to be a life of joy, true loy, joy in spirit, joy in the Lord.

Mary’s faith, humility, and sacrifice are the standards by which we as consecrated persons must live and live to the full. In the apostolic exhortation of Pope John Paul II, “Vita Consecrata,” he wrote a short article regarding on Mary as a model of consecration and discipleship. At the end of that article we are reminded to have a filial relationship to Mary. This filial relationship is the royal road to fidelity to one’s vocation and a most effective help for advancing in that vocation and in living it fully.

Let me end with a prayer. In the silence of our hearts, let us pray for one another that we may grow in faith, humity, and in sacrifice as we live each day our vocation as a consecrated person.

“Mary, Mother of God, your life of consecration is the model of our consecrated life. It is the standard for us to follow. It is the norm for us to imitate. Obtain for us from your Son, the light to believe that he is our God. Obtain for us the humility, like you, to always tell God, “Let it be done to me according to your will.” Above all, obtain for us the strength to forego the pleasure of this world so that like you, we may enjoy the intimacy of God’s loving embrace – in time and for all eternity. Amen” (Fr John A. Hardon, SJ)

Mary, Help of Christians

Pray for us!