Legitimate Human Longing

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Legitimate Human Longing

"Even though I grieve that I do not see you, I take some comfort in
my pain. I have no patience with that spurious "strength of character"
that puts up patiently with the absence of good things. Do we not all
long for the future Jerusalem?
I cannot refrain from this longing; I would be inhuman if I could.
Indeed, I derive some sweetness from my very lack of self-control. And
in this sweet yearning I seek some small consolation."
--St. Augustine-- Letter 27, 1

Prayer:
Lord, show me the way I must travel that I may see you.
--St. Augustine--Soliloquies 1, 1

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August 25th - St. Louis IX, King of France

The following text from the Book of Wisdom is habitually applied to St. Louis:

“Hear, therefore, ye kings, and understand; learn, ye that are judges
of the ends of the earth. Give ear, you that rule the people, and that
please yourself in the multitude of nations: For power is given you by
the Lord, and strength by the Most High, who will examine your works,
and search out your thoughts ...

“To you, therefore, O kings, these are my words, that you may learn
wisdom, and not fall from it. For they that have kept just things
justly, shall be justified: and they that have learned these things,
shall find what to answer.

"Covet ye, therefore, my words, and love them, and you shall have
instruction. Wisdom is glorious, and never fadeth away, and is easily
seen by them that love her, and is found by them that seek her”
(6:2-4; 10-12).


Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: (died 1995)

St. Louis was a wise King in the full sense of the word, because the
truly wise one is not the scientist who knows many facts, but the
saint.

What is wisdom? It is the fundamental virtue by which man knows the
most profound aspect of things, the ultimate reality of things. It is
the virtue that allows one to penetrate and understand not only this
or that subject, but the whole universe, the cosmos. It is wisdom that
permits one to understand the meaning of one’s own existence, the
meaning of human life in general, and the meaning of the ensemble of
other created things.

How does one understand the ultimate reality of things? It is to know
what the things are, what they represent, what they exist for. But
wisdom is not just to understand. It is to understand in order to lead
one’s life and order one’s actions in accordance with the answer one
finds to these questions.

There is, then, an opposition between the wise and the foolish
spirits. The foolish man is the one who is not concerned about these
things. He only wants to enjoy himself. He doesn’t want to know the
ultimate reason of things, the reality that is behind appearances. He
doesn’t want to adapt his life to principles. He just wants to enjoy a
good life. Not necessarily an immoral life, but a life where he
doesn’t have to think about anything profound. To live a life like
this is a complete absence of wisdom.

How many good ladies do you know who take reasonable care of their
family duties, assist at Mass, go to confession, receive Holy
Communion, but do not have wisdom? Certainly there are many. They do
all these good things, but afterwards they are immersed in their
little mediocre lives without any deep thought.

In his Treatise on Eternal Wisdom St. Louis de Montfort explains that
wisdom is a presupposition for the Faith. Without wisdom the Faith can
exist, but it lacks a foundation. Our Lady was the Seat of the Wisdom
and was always seeking to increase her knowledge, love and service of
God.

This virtue is demanded of kings, governors, and anyone who exercises
some form of power. A king without wisdom loses his people. When he
has wisdom, he saves his people, and is the glory of his people. For a
man without wisdom, power becomes an instrument of his perdition.

Hence, we can understand the magnificent eulogy Scriptures made of the
wise king. He leads peoples and things to their last end, which is
God. This is the ultimate meaning of his kingship.

What we admire in St. Louis, King of France, is the model of a wise
man placed on the throne to govern his kingdom.

We should ask him to give us the precious virtue of wisdom.

http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j036sdLouisKingofFrance2.htm


Saint Quote:
An explanation of how repentant sinners are to be freed from their
sins is given through the prophet Isaiah in the words: Wash yourselves
and be clean. Remove the evil from your souls; learn to do what is
right. Be just to the orphan, vindicate the widow. Come, let us reason
together, says the Lord. If your sins are like scarlet, I will make
them white as wool; if they are like crimson, I will make them white
as snow.
-- Saint Justin Martyr

Bible Quote:
And they sung to thy holy name, O Lord, and they praised with one
accord thy victorious hand. For wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb,
and made the tongues of infants eloquent. (Wisdom x. 20-21 )


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Rend your hearts,
not your garments,
and return to the Lord, your God.
For gracious and merciful, is He,
slow to anger,
rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.