The Saints As Our Guides

I am reminded of something that the Prophet spoke on behalf of God [Jeremiah 6:16]. As his audible voice, Jeremiah said,

Thus saith the Lord: Stand ye on the ways, and see and ask for the old paths which is the good way, and walk ye in it: and you shall find refreshment for your souls.

The response of the people is then recorded for all of time and eternity.

And they said: we will not walk.

These times we are living in are difficult. 2020 has been, for a great number of people, the worst of times. It has been tough. No doubt about it. Between Covid-19 and this being an election year, all of our lives have been banged around by more contrariness than any of us care to have to deal with. Besides the contentions associated with these stress-generators, many of us have had to contend with serious personal struggles and challenges that, coupled with the effects of the virus and election politics, have been as bludgeoning as a beating by a skilled ungloved pugilist.

Two things are readily evident in my mind as we count down to the end of this challenging year where we will be plunged into the unknown certainties that will be unveiled as we turn the calendar pages of the Year 2021. The first is that we are still here in this world that seems to be constantly slinging mud in our faces. The second is that, despite all the mud being slung, we must discover [or rediscover as the case may be] refreshment for our souls.

The need for walking on the old paths has never been more dire than it is in these modern times rife with deceptions and dangers that deprive us not only of health in our souls in the here and now but also disqualify us for the promised comforts of eternity in the after-life. Christians, more than ever, need to focus on the examples of the Saints that have been canonized as exemplaries of the Christian faith.

Back in day of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, men and women drawn to monastic spirituality sought out an elder who would accept them and take them on as a disciple to learn the ways of this spiritual warfare.

I think often of those early years where my development as an Oblate of Saint Benedict began. I was so privileged to have Benedictine Father’s O’Connor, Markley, and Mossier in my life … all three of them old men familiar with and deeply committed to the old paths of Christianity and its monastic expression. Their human presence, example, care, and tutelage have been invaluable in this life of mine.

I am no longer young and youthful. Yet, as I approach my sixty-seventh in a few short months, I still have some years to go before I will be the ages of the aforementioned monastic priests when they accepted me into their care. All three of them have since joined their predecessors at Saint Bernard Abbey. Their physical bodies are buried in the monastery cemetery awaiting the Great Resurrection. Their eternal souls have been entrusted into the care and keeping of our Generous Lord. I miss them. I miss them on an emotional plane that is akin to missing my natural parents.

Concerning our need for role-models to emulate, Saint John of Kronstadt [1829-1909] leaves this behind in My Life in Christ for us to think about.

“In the same way as an evil man, who has a request to make of a good, meek, humble man, tries to be more like him for the success of his petition, a Christian who approaches God, His Mother, the angels, or the saints in prayer should try to resemble the Ones he petitions as much as possible in order to ensure the success of his prayer. In this lies the secret of drawing near to God and of His quickly answering our prayers.”

I still, as an older man, have need of the old men who are familiar with and committed to the old paths.

I need them. We all need them.

The dry and dangerous desert of the Fathers and Mothers is no longer the Egyptian desert where they dwelt in those early centuries. It is here. It is everywhere. And it is growing drier and more dangerous with each turn of the calendar page. The moment we begin to think that we are capable within our own self-sufficiency is the moment we step into the quicksands of error where we are swallowed and suffocated. We need the Saints as role-models to emulate if we are going to avoid the quicksands of this modern desert.

[Photo: With Father Thomas O'Connor at Saint Bernard Abbey]