We have seen the two major parts of Pope Benedict’s “New Evangelization.” The first part describes the Evangelizer. The second part contains the essential topics of Evangelization namely: conversion, the Kingdom of God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and lastly Eternal Life.
We have seen previously that the Evangelizer should be a contemplative or as someone who have a perfect love for the Word of God. That is a description of one who has the supernatural virtues of Faith and Charity. We, also, saw that looking around we see the absence of the contemplative spirit even among those who are described as canonically contemplatives. We are certain that there are contemplatives except that these are the types who love to live their hidden lives HIDDEN and it is next to impossible to find them and encourage them to Evangelize THE WORLD.” There is no need to encourage them because they are Evangelizing ….. in fact with the “New Evangelization”.
Since it is difficult to find true contemplatives Pope Benedict expects the Church today to be very small but purer. Can there be any way to increase the contemplatives so a little more can be saved? Yes. In fact the Holy Father is calling for Bishops, Priests, religious and parents (as he expressed in Milan) to be Evangelizers with the “New Evangelization.” But since we saw in the previous article that neither seminaries nor theological schools, neither books nor men can produce contemplatives but God alone, we are all faced by a tremendous prospect. That God could be looking for souls He could grace with the gift of contemplation out of His goodness. Those souls simply have to have the proper disposition.
What is this proper disposition? Obedience. Reacting to the uprising of priests from several European countries who were demanding for marriage among other things the Holy Father said that what they were demanding for would never make them happy. It is obedience that would make them happy. Most Catholics do not know that. Obedience, to have Faith, to have Wisdom, and to be Happy mean the same thing. This obedience is not the kind commonly known by all, like the obedience of a wife to her husband, of a religious to his/or superior, of a soldier to his commander or a driver to traffic lights. It is the obedience of Christ to His Father who said: I cam not to do my will but the will of my Father in heaven. The common concept of obedience is what religious know when they make their vow of obedience. And that is in the right direction but most of their concepts are defective or incomplete.
A clearer explanation of this obedience was given to us by Blessed John Cardinal Newman, a favorite author of Pope Benedict. The Holy Father, in fact, got his definitions from John Newman. This obedience is nor ordinary obedience. It is unknown in this world. That is why a God had to become man to teach us this kind of obedience. It is humanly unknowable and humanly unattainable. It is a work of God, really. St. Benedict described its root in his Holy Rule from whence John Newman got it and applying his development of doctrine improved on its explanation. Medieval theology described it as St. Benedict did. John Newman described it as “Love for Obedience.” That raised obedience to the Divine Level. No human ever described it. Only a God made man could demonstrate it with the words “I came not to my Will but the Will of My Father in heaven.” Only a God can know the Will of the Father in heaven. Only a God can do the Will. So how can an ordinary soul, like a parent practice ‘Love of Obedience’ and obey like the way Christ obeyed His Father. By obeying with Faith. Bishops, priest, nuns and parents should obey with Faith. That means obeying the commands of the Father in the Old Testament, obeying the commands of God the Son in the New Testament, obeying the commands of the Holy Spirit as expressed by the Catholic Church through her spokesmen the Pope……..and obeying just because they love to obey because they know that those commands are from God and, therefore, good for my soul, will give me wisdom and will make me happy. That is obeying because we love to obey knowing that those commands, even the mere hints of the Pope are commands of God for our spiritual welfare.
Christians are not slavish to obedience. We do not obey every Tom, Dick and Harry. We obey only God. And, therefore, before we obey (which is an act of the free will) our minds makes certain that the command is from God. That is a tall order that is why the love of obedience is a supernatural act. The natural thing for man is to disobey and obedience is the most nauseating thing for men to do. It was the sin of Lucifer and Adam and Eve. To obey like soldiers is easy. To obey because we love to obey can only be done by someone whom God had predestined to be a contemplative. We cannot be predestined but we can dispose ourselves by loving obedience so that God can predestine us.