Archbishop Luis Martinez on Union with Christ
Here are some excerpts from A. Martinez’s writings on transformation of the soul to union with God. I wish I could write it all out; but this is at least some of what he writes.
“How is this transformation to be accomplished? Everything in the soul must become divine; everything must be changed into the living image of Christ. The Word became hypostatically united to the most sacred humanity of Christ. Through the grace of the mystical union, the Word becomes united, in an ineffable manner, to the humanity of the consecrated soul. What does that Divine Word desire? He desires that His adopted manner be assimilated more and more to His personal humanity; that is, that the humanity of the beloved become the image of the humanity of Christ: in her [the beloved’s] soul, in her heart, in her character, and even in her flesh.
“The privileged person must be similar to Christ in her soul through a most elevated and most intimate union with the Word of God. A union already exists, but the Word asks for a more blessed union.
“The consecrated person must be similar to Christ in her [or his] heart. The heart of Christ is love and sorrow. His Sacred Heart, like all that He is, is white and ruddy, according to the words of the bride in the Song of Songs (5:10); white because it is the brightness of eternal light (Wis. 7:26), ruddy because it is crimsoned with His most precious blood. The heart of Christ is composed of love and of the sorrow which which His two great and consuming passions have produced: namely, the glory of God and the salvation of souls. This ought to be the heart of the espoused soul.
“She must also be like Christ in her character, which is meek and humble. ‘Learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart’ (Matt. 11:29). Her words, her actions, her deportment, her exterior conduct ought to breathe that charming humility and that heavenly meekness of Christ. And this ought to be to such an extent that men would discern Christ whenever they would approach her, since she would be diffusing the good odor of Christ on all sides and attracting everyone with the fragrance of her perfumes.
“Finally, the espoused soul must be similar to Christ in her flesh. ‘Continually we carry about in our bodies the dying of Jesus, so that in our bodies the life of Jesus may also be revealed. While we live we are constantly being delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our mortal flesh’ (II Cor. 4:10-ll). In this way she is akin to the afflicted body of Christ on earth until the day when she will be like His glorious body in heaven, according to that text of St. Paul: ‘We eagerly await the coming of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will give a new form to this lowly body of ours and remake it according to the pattern of His glorified body (Phil. 3:20-21).
“Only one phase of this transformation will be accomplished on earth: the transformation of sorrow, since earth is the place of sorrow. In heaven the most intimate union will be realized in joy. On earth the most intimate union is that of sorrow. This will be effected on earth. The other transformation will find its consummation in heaven. For this reason St. Teresa used to say: either to suffer in order to be united with Christ in the most intimate of unions on earth, which is the union of sorrow, or to die in order to be united with Christ in heaven in the most perfect union of everlasting joy.
“The privileged soul no longer has a will of her [his] own. She no longer has her own judgment. Her will is the will of the Beloved and her judgment is the judgment of the Spouse. What if she [he] is imperfect, lowly, nothing? She [he] should not fix her attention on that; her rule is the will of the Beloved, and nothing else. Does He call her? Let her be open to Him. Does He wish to accomplish marvels in her? Let her say to Him with love, and adoration and abandonment: ‘I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as You say (Luke 1:38).
“And we must not forget that wherever Christ is, He is formed by the Holy Spirit, and that wherever Christ is, He is also, and for the same reason, conceived in a certain manner by the Blessed Virgin Mary. Let the soul call upon that most tender Mother; let the soul invoke her that with her powerful intercession she may obtain the soul’s perfect transformation into Christ. The espoused soul ought to ask for this transformation. It is pleasing to God that we ask for and desire the very grace that He wishes to give us, especially when this grace is that of union, when the gift that we beseech is He Himself.
“Wherefore let the soul that is united with the Word ask with insistence from the Holy Spirit for this supreme grace, which is the highest degree of perfection and holiness, the ultimate degree of union and of love, the supreme degree of happiness.”
“How is this transformation to be accomplished? Everything in the soul must become divine; everything must be changed into the living image of Christ. The Word became hypostatically united to the most sacred humanity of Christ. Through the grace of the mystical union, the Word becomes united, in an ineffable manner, to the humanity of the consecrated soul. What does that Divine Word desire? He desires that His adopted manner be assimilated more and more to His personal humanity; that is, that the humanity of the beloved become the image of the humanity of Christ: in her [the beloved’s] soul, in her heart, in her character, and even in her flesh.
“The privileged person must be similar to Christ in her soul through a most elevated and most intimate union with the Word of God. A union already exists, but the Word asks for a more blessed union.
“The consecrated person must be similar to Christ in her [or his] heart. The heart of Christ is love and sorrow. His Sacred Heart, like all that He is, is white and ruddy, according to the words of the bride in the Song of Songs (5:10); white because it is the brightness of eternal light (Wis. 7:26), ruddy because it is crimsoned with His most precious blood. The heart of Christ is composed of love and of the sorrow which which His two great and consuming passions have produced: namely, the glory of God and the salvation of souls. This ought to be the heart of the espoused soul.
“She must also be like Christ in her character, which is meek and humble. ‘Learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart’ (Matt. 11:29). Her words, her actions, her deportment, her exterior conduct ought to breathe that charming humility and that heavenly meekness of Christ. And this ought to be to such an extent that men would discern Christ whenever they would approach her, since she would be diffusing the good odor of Christ on all sides and attracting everyone with the fragrance of her perfumes.
“Finally, the espoused soul must be similar to Christ in her flesh. ‘Continually we carry about in our bodies the dying of Jesus, so that in our bodies the life of Jesus may also be revealed. While we live we are constantly being delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our mortal flesh’ (II Cor. 4:10-ll). In this way she is akin to the afflicted body of Christ on earth until the day when she will be like His glorious body in heaven, according to that text of St. Paul: ‘We eagerly await the coming of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will give a new form to this lowly body of ours and remake it according to the pattern of His glorified body (Phil. 3:20-21).
“Only one phase of this transformation will be accomplished on earth: the transformation of sorrow, since earth is the place of sorrow. In heaven the most intimate union will be realized in joy. On earth the most intimate union is that of sorrow. This will be effected on earth. The other transformation will find its consummation in heaven. For this reason St. Teresa used to say: either to suffer in order to be united with Christ in the most intimate of unions on earth, which is the union of sorrow, or to die in order to be united with Christ in heaven in the most perfect union of everlasting joy.
“The privileged soul no longer has a will of her [his] own. She no longer has her own judgment. Her will is the will of the Beloved and her judgment is the judgment of the Spouse. What if she [he] is imperfect, lowly, nothing? She [he] should not fix her attention on that; her rule is the will of the Beloved, and nothing else. Does He call her? Let her be open to Him. Does He wish to accomplish marvels in her? Let her say to Him with love, and adoration and abandonment: ‘I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as You say (Luke 1:38).
“And we must not forget that wherever Christ is, He is formed by the Holy Spirit, and that wherever Christ is, He is also, and for the same reason, conceived in a certain manner by the Blessed Virgin Mary. Let the soul call upon that most tender Mother; let the soul invoke her that with her powerful intercession she may obtain the soul’s perfect transformation into Christ. The espoused soul ought to ask for this transformation. It is pleasing to God that we ask for and desire the very grace that He wishes to give us, especially when this grace is that of union, when the gift that we beseech is He Himself.
“Wherefore let the soul that is united with the Word ask with insistence from the Holy Spirit for this supreme grace, which is the highest degree of perfection and holiness, the ultimate degree of union and of love, the supreme degree of happiness.”
posted by The Catholic Hermit | 5:07 PM
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