In my last article, I wrote about the urgent need to protect the Church in a broad sense.  It is a mission we all must shoulder together if we want our children to live in freedom.  As many are now working overtime to attain similar ends, how should our work differ from those who have not the faith?  To know this, we must first distinguish our work by understanding who we are all called to be at this time-- Apostles.  Therefore, we should consider our day to day duties, routine, and our mission to all be ordered as part of our apostolate.  

This being the case, we must keep a strong interior spiritual life as a base to keep us always working toward Christ’s true will.  When one considers exactly how much the Church is up against at this time, it can be tempting to believe that the answer is to take up more, and more, and more so that we will be well prepared for all of the attacks of the enemy.  In reality, doing so ultimately leads to burn-out.  And before that, the active Apostle who treats a rich and disciplined interior life as an overrated obstacle to getting more done loses his ability to define his apostolate, loses his cool when only the STP (same ten people) crew keep doing the work, and in worst case scenario, falls into despair and sin.  

Thus warns Trappist Abbot, Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard, in his 1912 book, Soul of the Apostolate.  It is often billed as the bedside book of Pope Pius X.  The thesis of this book is that a good Apostle acts in such a way that his solid and disciplined interior life shines through his actions.  The man who prays constantly, dedicates all of his acts to God, and spends ample time in daily mental prayer wastes no active time, as his interior life shows him what he must do to do the will of God.

Almost 100 years before the bracelets, Chautard literally asked the question, “What would Jesus do?” at one point in his book.  His perspective is that the Apostle who thinks he is out to do the Lord’s work, but he does not spend significant time conversing with Christ in prayer, will act in such a way that demonstrates no comprehension of what Jesus would do.  It got me thinking, how many people have been walking around wearing those bracelets, effectively asking the question in sincerity along with the rest of the world of which he challenges?  And if we go out to do His will without daily spending good time asking him, are we acting any less ironically?

So what specifically do we do to improve our knowledge of Christ and His will?  How do we use that to “Instaurare Omnia in Christo”, or “restore all things in Christ”, as Pius X,constantly challenged in his famous motto.  Here are my five to takeaways from this book that we can all use starting today to become more armored in the armor of God (Eph 6) and actively combat the evils of our present time.

1. Routine.  One of the things Chautard commented early in the book is how the active Christian often gets off routine because he finds a good reason to get out of routine to do good work.  Perhaps, he needs to stay up late into the night to finish that one last important article.  Then he needs to get up just a little later the next day.  At that point, it becomes rather tempting to pass on mental prayer in the morning.

What is a good time to wake up every morning?  This varies for everyone based upon commitments and career, of course, but most of us can probably do either 5:00am or 6:00am everyday.  How many nights does one really need to go to bed past 10:00pm?  

During the day, there should be consistent prayers with times.  6:00am wake up at least allows you to start the day with the Angelus.  You can set an alarm on your phone to pray it at noon and 6:00pm as well.  If your wife is willing to get up early with you, imagine the bond you will form praying morning prayer together with you leading.  A lot of laity practice the habit of saying morning prayer and night prayer everyday.  Throughout the day, remember to say ejaculatory prayers.  Whenever the spirit moves you, you can say a quick “Blessed be God” or “Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us” or “Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us”.  Finally, as the new popular expression goes, “if you ain’t saying the rosary everyday, you ain’t on the team.”  

Chautard calls the dedication of every act throughout your day to Christ and His glory “custody of the heart”.  You can make your own routine, of course, with your own valid traditional Catholic devotions, just make sure you designate times and stick to them.

2. Liturgical life

Speaking of the Divine Office, one of the benefits Chautard brought up in “Soul of the Apostolate” is that one who prays at least morning prayer and night prayer will be minding the liturgical seasons of the Church throughout the year.  Thus, you can more intimately follow the life of Christ, as you prepare for his birth, with the traditional readings from Isaiah.  As you celebrate Easter, your celebration will authentically last for weeks, as it should, as you recite the  Easter antiphons and say the readings designated for the season.

3. Mental Prayer

This is typically one of the hardest practices for most of us to consistently maintain.  For one, we haven’t been taught how to truly engage in mental prayer.  We haven’t been trained in meditation.  Two tips: 1. Chautard provides a solid guide to get you started.  2. In essence, mental prayer is about reflection and conversation.  Here are three solid topics of mental prayer you can get started with if this is a struggle for you:

1. Make an examination of conscience.  Many of us only make an examination of conscience while standing in line at the confessional.  Take time to sit down and reflect on your virtues as well as your vices.  Determine what you are going to do to clean up your bad habits.  2. Pause during scriptural reading from time to time to reflect on what you are reading.  Chautard suggests that you should pause to contemplate for as long as something is truly striking to you.   3.  If you have a family, spend time in meditation going through each member and considering the needs of each.  What does my oldest child need right now?  Lord, how can you meet those needs through me, the Alter Christus, the priest of my own home?

Don’t fret over whether you are doing this perfectly.  Most simply struggle to turn off enough distractions in their life to sit down and engage in peaceful reflection for a half an hour.  If that is you, start with 15 minutes in the morning and trust that you are not wasting your time.  You will see fruits.

4. Sacramental Life

In a perfect world, we are able to receive the Eucharist daily and go to confession on a weekly basis.  While the later is a little more attainable, most men’s work schedule does not allow for daily mass.  But I wonder how many men it would take asking a priest to say mass at 6:00am, before most start work, to get him to do it?  You have been challenged.

5. Keep setting the bar higher

This book is also good for the man who simply needs to level up in his spiritual life.  Perhaps he isn’t even living that intense of an active ministry and he thinks that he is a good man because, hey, at least he is not a pagan.  I think that because the bar is set so low for the average “man” in society (Christian or not), is tempting to think this way.  After all, if the pew reports are correct, the average man you will meet at work, at the store, etc… is habitually in the state of mortal sin.  If you believe that your spiritual life should come down to you simply being better than that, then you haven’t listened to the words of our Savior “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).

Chautard goes through eight levels of the spiritual life, starting with hardened mortal sin, to surface Christianity, through various levels of piety and ferver, to the final two stages of heroic perfection, and finally to sainthood.  This book may be worth it’s weight simply for you to read this section and to embrace the calling you have to sainthood.  

When you read about the last two levels, you may be tempted to shy away or to think that you would rather accept imperfection now and shoot for purgatory.  But keep in mind the following old adage that Chautard mentions, “If a priest is a saint, then his people will be fervent.  If a priest is fervent, then his people will be pious.  If a priest is pious, then his people will be decent.  If a priest is decent, then his people will be Godless.”  When you consider, again, that you are the priest of your own home, it then becomes easier to see why shooting for decency is not enough.  It’s sainthood or nothing.

A few things for the road:

1. Don’t fall for false dichotomies.

Chautard establishes quite quickly that his book is not meant to empower those who believe that the active life is somehow unworthy, and that the real Christian only develops his interior life.  There is a small portion of us who are called to a cloistered contemplative life.  But once you put on a wedding band, you accept a calling to an active life of service, at least to your wife and children.  Your interior spiritual life is the foundation, not a substitute for actively evangelizing in the world.

Where does such a false dichotomy come from?  I have heard multiple people point to Luke chapter 10:38 (and follows) and the story of Martha and Mary as a way to excuse themselves from active ministry.  Well more specifically, to excuse themselves from this active ministry or that active ministry.  “Oh, you guys are praying at the abortion clinic?  Sorry, I can’t come, I need to stay home and pray my exact prayer routine and spend some time alone with Jesus.  I have chosen the better part and it will not be denied of me.”  

While routine is good, this attitude is rigid.  Apostles are called to a both/and on the spiritual and active fronts, even if the spiritual life is indeed foundational.  Christ told his apostles to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Mt 28:18-19)  Look at the travels of St. Paul on the map.  He went everywhere.  Surely he treated his interior life as the foundation for his active ministry, but he was clearly a very active Apostle.  And was his house 100% in order before he got started?  Probably not.  Nor will ours be while we are hard at work.  But we will strive for holiness as our top priority as we work, nonetheless.

This is a real issue that many are dealing with right now.  Especially since January of this year, I have heard several people I know resort to a “God’s got this” modus operandi, where they walk away from active ministry, possibly because the evil is so overwhelming right now.  As the old saying goes, we must pray like it’s all up to God and work like it’s all up to us.  Be consistent, treat the spiritual interior life as foundational, but don’t be afraid to go out into the battle filed and meet Goliath head on.  You were made for this.

2. Get a spiritual advisor.  Don’t take my spiritual advice, find a holy priest who can provide you accountability, sound advice, and challenge you to grow in holiness.  Find the kind of priest who will be eager to provide a half day retreat for you and other devout men looking to take their apostolate to the next level.

In Soul of the Apostolate, Chautard at one point tells a story of how Pious X asked some cardinals what the highest priority must be to Restore all Things in Christ.  One of them answered “more Catholic schools”.  Another answered “increase the rate at which we churn out priests from the seminaries”  Pious X responded that what we needed more than anything was a legion of fervent laity to work tirelessly together in fellowship to do the active ministry of the Church.  

Find the priest who wants to embrace the role of forming those shock troops of the laity.  

3. Trust yourself to the mother of Good Counsel.  Chautard closes by emphasizing that our Lady has been given the title of Mother of Good Counsel because she is there to lead you to Christ and his will if  you ask.  As chivalrous knights honored our Lady, ask her for guidance in your apostolate.  She will lead you to His will.

Increase your interior life, discover His will, and use His inspiration to Insturare Omnia in Christo.

God bless,

Gadfly