13A, 2002, Imitation I, 11

“You must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive for God in Christ Jesus.” (Reading II)

I have sometimes wondered why, when speaking about those unruly drives that often cause us to sin, we use for them the term, the “passions”. Why do we speak of ‘passions’ for such things as anger, lust, and hatred, when we use this same word to refer to the sufferings of Jesus? I think the reason is (I could be wrong–I’m no etymologist) these passions, these powerful drives, are really a ‘suffering’ for us who want to be moral people. It’s indeed a suffering to be the victim of these drives that tug away at us against our will. We have to struggle to live in a way that pleases God. If that’s true, then how utterly wretched, how pitiable, are those who willfully and eagerly seek to further their passions: who go headlong to be lustful, to let out their anger, and so on! Vice doesn’t really need the encouragement! How horrible that we are often given constant stimulus to aid these ‘thirsts’, these unruly movements in us! No wonder that our youth, whose physical drives are the more intense for their young age, fall into so much trouble, sometimes a trouble that will scar them for the rest of their lives! Indeed, the passions are a ‘passion’, a suffering! The discipline of restraining our passions is not being taught much anymore and it is too often poorly exemplified.

Saint Paul described this condition that we call concupiscence in Romans 7. “I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members.”

Why do we all have to endure this agitation? The answer comes from the justice of God. Because our progenitors, Adam and Eve, once gave in to a wrongful desire to have a taste of a forbidden fruit, the punishment on humankind is that we would henceforth have a desire for what is forbidden–that’s the meaning of concupiscence: the internal disordered state that we have inherited. Too bad! but that’s how we are. The question is: will we undertake–with God’s help–to fight this and conquer it, or will we just cave in to the internal pressure and become carnal, beastly? Everyone can fight it. No one is tempted so strongly that he loses his freedom to avoid sin. We Christians then have to do something about this psychological and spiritual malady.

I already alluded to the folly of contemporary wisdom. This foolishness is often given in the forms of: ‘it you want it, have it; if you feel like doing it, do it; if you are angry, let it out; fulfill your cravings, be daring’ etc. The result of this plunging into passionate desire, however is that, instead of finding relief by the satisfaction of desire, the desires themselves actually increase in intensity and frequency. And the result is that one becomes more and more a slave of his passions, of vice, and thus he loses peace. He has to yield to cravings that rule his life. What a wretched man this is!

Our passage from the Imitation today offers real wisdom for a holy life. Anyone who wants to make spiritual progress knows he has to win over concupiscence. This chapter eleven is a pearl of moral wisdom. I want to quote a passage from it to capture some of its wealth:

How were some Saints so perfect and contemplative? It is because they strove with all their might to mortify in themselves all worldly desires, and could thus cling to God in their inmost heart. But we are held too firmly by our passions. If only we were completely dead to self, and free from inner conflict, we could savor spiritual things. The whole obstacle to our advance is that we are not free from passions and lusts. When we encounter even a little trouble, we are quickly discouraged and turn to human comfort. If we strove to stand firm in the struggle like men of valor, we should not fail to experience the help of our Lord.

It is hard to give up old habits, and harder still to conquer our own wills. But, if you cannot overcome in small and easy things, how will you succeed in greater? Resist your evil inclinations in the beginning, and break off evil habits, lest they gradually involve you in greater difficulties.

Our Lord gives a warning to the self-indulgent in this Gospel: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Self-denial is the message and meaning here. That this is a certain kind of violence to the self is undeniable, for our Lord says also, “whoever dies not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.” Take up the cross: that is, death to your selfishness; and then you be alive spiritually.

It appears then that, in the end, everybody has to suffer the passion: it will be either to share the Passion of Jesus (which is, to discipline ourselves) or to suffer the other passion of being cruelly dominated by our wicked interests and desires: and that too is a suffering! But there is a grand difference between the two passions: Christian suffering will come to an end someday; but the punishing madness for having pursuing sensual cravings will never end–it’s the ‘passion’ of an eternal hell.

When you say the Creed now: I hope you will say it with conviction: “As for me,

‘I look for the resurrection of the dead and life of the world to come.’”