The Importance of Mortification during the days of the Great Fast

Three important aspects of the Christian life: penance, mortification and reception of the Holy Sacraments

Brothers and sisters in Christ—

Normally, when the Lord Jesus is conveying the message of the Gospel to the people, He uses very simple terms that are readily understood by all.  The parables, for example, teach the very straightforward lessons regarding the Kingdom of God and life of the human soul.  By means of these parables the Lord conveys to us the entirety of the plan of salvation that He has come to accomplish.  Herein is the fullness of the Christian life in all three of its most important aspects: repentance, rooted in love of God, mortification and the reception of the sacraments.

The Lord’s cryptic expression

     But today, in the Gospel reading, the Lord Jesus says something particularly cryptic concerning St. Nathaniel’s destiny to “see greater things.” The Lord says to him: “You will see the heavens open, and the angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” This passage is very cryptic indeed, especially since the account of such a subsequent vision is not related in the Gospel According to St. John. 

Roots in the Old Testament

     Truly, in order to understand this passage, we need to hearken back two thousand years before the coming of Our Lord to the period of the Patriarchs.  At that time, the Patriarch Jacob, also known as Israel, the father of the twelve sons, whose descendants became the twelve tribes of God’s People, received a special revelation from God.  The Book of Genesis tells us that Jacob went to sleep at Bethel. In a dream, he saw a ladder that extended from Heaven to earth, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.  When Jacob woke from the dream, he named the place Beth-El (the House of God) and declared that it was the gate of Heaven. 

Christ is the Ladder: The union of Heaven and Earth, God and Human Beings

     This story from two thousand years before the time of Christ is fulfilled in Christ.  Christ Himself is the ladder joining Heaven and earth, on which the angels descend to bring the blessings of God, and on which they ascend in order to carry petitions of human beings.  In Christ, in other words, there is a perfect communion between Heaven and earth, between God and human beings.  This communion is realized in the life of the Church, for the Church is the Body of Christ. Nathaniel beholds the angels descending and ascending on the Body of Christ, the Church, through its threefold operation: the gospel of repentance, the life of mortification and the reception of the Sacraments.

Union through the Gospel of Repentance

     The gospel of repentance creates a new communion between Heaven and earth, as human beings are reconciled with the Father through turning to Christ in humility and love.  The word of God is so powerful in this operation that, whenever it is proclaimed it saves human beings from sin and death, and when it is proclaimed completely, it saves them completely.  All that a human being has to do in order to experience the saving work of Christ in His soul is to remember Christ, while if a human being wants to experience the salvation of Christ in its fullness, he must remember Christ, embrace the life of mortification to which the love of Christ calls him, and receive the sacraments. 

Union through a life of mortification

     The life of mortification continues the work of salvation that is begun in us by the message of the gospel. Mortification continues to bring together Heaven and earth in our regard. Once we have accepted the teaching of the gospel and repented of our sins, then we must mortify ourselves by prayer, fasting and almsgiving, as well as other good works.  We ought to bear in mind that performing works of mercy, both spiritual and corporal, for people we like (for our friends and relatives, for example) is not profitable for our salvation, or especially pleasing to God, since they merely fulfill natural impulses.  The more perfect works are those that are done for strangers, enemies and disagreeable people.  Mortification brings us closer to God by building virtue in us and destroying passions.  A good example is provided by a well-known story about St. Athanasius the Great.  A particular lady came to St. Athanasius and asked for his assistance in finding a widow in the community, whom she could live with and serve, and thus learn charity.  St. Athanasius found her an eligible widow, and the lady entered upon her service.  Not long after, the same lady returned to St. Athanasius, and said, “Why did you send me to such a gracious, kind and noble woman? She never complains or finds fault with anything. She is always patient and docile. How am I to learn virtue and save my soul without trial? How am I to learn charity when everything is so agreeable?” Then, the saint found a very cantankerous widow for the lady to serve, and she went to live in the widow’s house.  She served the widow for the rest of her life, learned great virtue, and became a saint.

Union through the reception of the Holy Sacraments

     The third aspect of the life of the Church is the reception of the sacraments.  It is through the sacraments that we acquire the identity of Christ.  It is through the communion of the sacraments that our repentance and mortification become valuable and acceptable to God, because they become united to the sufferings of the Son of God.  Reception of the sacraments completes the union of Heaven and earth in us, because, particularly in the Holy Eucharist, Christ Himself comes to dwell in our very souls.  It should surely make us shudder with horror when we consider the number of times that the Lord is received in Holy Communion without love and devotion. 

Great Lent—a time for a special effort in these three areas

     Heaven and earth are reconciled and joined in the Church, through repentance, mortification and the reception of the sacraments.  In this Lenten season, we should make a special effort in all these areas.