Holy Cross Seminary Fall 2012 Newsletter

The latest newsletter from Holy Cross (SSPX) Seminary in Australia is now avaiable.  Please click here to read it.  Some great advice from this issue:

Life has a purpose. As life may be described as self motion, rational life may be described as self motion to a freely determined end. The end must always be good and an object is good inasmuch as it is ordered to God. Consequently, for rational man, there would be no real life in what we call aimlessness. The axiom every mover moves for an end makes clear that man acts for some end. Honourably, he freely directs his life to some goal ordered to giving glory to God (his Ultimate Goal) in his physical life as well in his spiritual life. Grace builds on nature. 

 

To neglect to develop our natural lives is to waste this life. If so little regard is had towards our physical life, also a gift from God, it is certain that we will also neglect to develop our supernatural life and faculties. This is to waste God’s gifts – natural and supernatural, which in turn is to oppose God’s Will – God gives no gift in vain. This opposition of my will to God’s Will is radically established in self-seeking or selfishness for which end, one adapts this disposition of aimlessness. in life, simply “enjoying life” – eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. 

 

Fidelity to God requires direction in this life (naturally and supernaturally) so as to be well directed to eternal life. A good choice must be made. Free will is given to us in order to choose what is good and ordered – ultimately, God, Who is perfectly good. Earthly happiness cannot satisfy us. The capricious pursuit of earthly distractions is not seeking true good, but avoiding it. With respect to man’s life, ordained to God, a man not binding himself to this End, does not really live, but stagnates and dies – i.e. fails to move toward his Ultimate End. 

 

So, let us live! The subordination of all intermediate goals to our Last End is the grace-driven disposition which demands the determination of our energies, efforts and talents rightly ordered to God’s service and not frittered away aimlessly and indecisively in vainly chasing the world’s multitudinous promises of material bliss. We shall live, and live perfectly, when ordered ultimately to God.