Knowing the Love of God by Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange O.P

Author:Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion, Christianity, Catholicism
Publisher: Lighthouse Catholic Media
Published: 2015-12-02T21:30:57+00:00

Chapter X

Obedience

Be obedient to the men who are called your masters in this world … as you are obedient to Christ—Ephesians 6:5; cf. Hebrews 13:28

The speech of the obedient will always be heard—Proverbs 21:28

Explain to me how to keep your precepts, that I may meditate on your marvels—Psalm 119:27

After having considered how the harmony between the body and external goods is reestablished here below by means of holy poverty, and how the harmony between soul and body is reestablished by holy chastity, it remains for us to see how holy obedience reestablishes the harmony between our soul and God, which was disturbed by sin.

This third disorder, which is called by Sacred Scripture “the pride of life,” is the love of absolute independence, the refusal to acknowledge an authority superior to ourselves. It is the gravest of all disorders, graver than concu­piscence of the eyes and of the flesh, graver than avarice and excessive love of riches and luxury. We are dealing, in fact, with a disturbance and perversion of the superior parts of the soul and its most elevated faculties, reason and will, which command all the rest. “The corruption of the best is the worst.” For the worst corruption is that which perverts the most exalted and profound that is in us. This is the spiritual disorder that exists in the Devil, who can know neither avarice nor lust, but who refuses to serve and obey God, insisting, “I will not serve!”

Such a love of absolute independence disturbs our judgment, hinders us in understanding our duty and perverts the will under the pretense of making us free, equal to God and independent like Him. This is, evidently, the great aim of the modern world which rebels against the Church. While it agrees to fight against avarice, seeking to better the lot of the poor and to repress its own coarser instincts, it wishes, nevertheless, to do all it does by itself, without the help of God. The world intends, mainly, to obey reason alone and not God.

Although the modern world may be described as ratio­nalistic, it disobeys reason rather than obey God. This pretended absolute independence pushes it into all types of slavery and the worst type of tyranny: that of rebellious passions and unjust laws passed without any recourse to conscience. Such legislation is aimed at the self-interest of the party in power, against which there remains no possibility of vindication since absolute and eternal justice is rejected, and the rights of God are repudiated!

General obedience to the commandments of God and His Church is the sole efficacious remedy for this anarchy and tyranny. Man must understand that God, being his Creator, has a sovereign right over him; he must understand that his intelligence and his will were created only to know, love, and serve God, and thus to obtain eternal life and supreme beatitude.

We must acknowledge, then, that the Lord is our Master and that it is our duty to obey Him. Besides, His law does not produce violence but proceeds from His love and produces love.

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