2 Macc 7, 1.20-31
It also happened that seven brothers were arrested with their mother. The king tried to force them to taste some pork, which the Law forbids, by torturing them with whips and scourges. But the mother was especially admirable and worthy of honourable remembrance, for she watched the death of seven sons in the course of a single day, and bravely endured it because of her hopes in the Lord.
2 Macc 6, 18-31
Eleazar, one of the foremost teachers of the Law, a man already advanced in years and of most noble appearance, had his mouth forced open, to make him eat a piece of pork. But he, resolving to die with honour rather than to live disgraced, walked of his own accord to the torture of the wheel, having spat the stuff out, as befits those with the courage to reject what is not lawful to taste, rather than live.
I Macc 1, 10-15.41-43.54-57.62-63
From these there grew a wicked offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes son of King Antiochus; once a hostage in Rome, he became king in the 107th year of the kingdom of the Greeks. It was then that there emerged from Israel a set of renegades who led many people astray. ‘Come,’ they said, ‘let us ally ourselves with the gentiles surrounding us, for since we separated ourselves from them many misfortunes have overtaken us.’
Lk 21, 5-19
When some were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, he said, All these things you are staring at now — the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another; everything will be destroyed.’And they put to him this question, ‘Master,’ they said, ‘when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be that it is about to take place?’
In the context of these reflections on attitudes that make us unfree and which we have to overcome with the help of God, or at least to deal with them in the right way, I refer to the important book by Dietrich von Hildebrand: “The transformation in Christ”. In addition to very good topics covered in it, there is a chapter on “true freedom”, which serves as a background and inspiration for this themes of the last days. This book, as well as other publications by Dietrich von Hildebrand, is also available in English and Spanish. His writings are a true spiritual treasure and help greatly to form the important distinction of spirits, which is so essential, especially in the present time.
The Chamber of the Heart
In the last reflection, I pointed out that, as soon as we have found that strong dynamic persons, leading us a false way, have a negative impact on us and that we cannot resist sufficiently, we should avoid dynamically superior persons. It should be pointed out once again that this is not a matter of cowardice, but of a wise insight into one’s own weakness. However, this must be distinguished well, because there is also a tendency in man to avoid all conflicts in order to protect oneself, to seek a false harmony. Here cowardice can then be the motive, which must be overcome in Christ, for it even dispatches to the denial of the Lord.
The oversized influenceability
This is related to the theme of of human fear, which arises from a general weakness and excessive receptivity to impressions. On 7 and 8 November, we have already considered some aspects of human fear. Some people become internally dependent on others who are purely dynamically superior to them. They take on foreign views, not because they convince them purely objectively, but because they are presented with great force. One usually drops these views after a while, when the immediate contact with the dynamically superior persons has ceased. But for a certain time, the aspect that other people have of certain things displaces one’s own.
The vanity (2)
Spiritual view of vanity
If one now looks with a spiritual view of people, who are strongly determined by vanity, one quickly perceives the specific non-freedom of these people. They are not oriented towards God, but towards themselves, and also make themselves easily dependent on the judgment of other people.
The vanity (1)
Vanity is a very widespread specific form of non-freedom, which is easily underestimated in its negative effect if we follow seriously the Lord. It has many forms, although it may also affect women in particular in terms of appearance.
True freedom can only be gained through complete devotion to Christ. It is therefore not a question of the freedom which man possesses as a gift from God, because he is man, but we speak of that freedom which we can only possess in the way of Christian perfection. Therefore, the theme we have considered in recent days is related to the theme of true freedom, what means the inner transformation in Christ. This transformation causes that the image of God should unfold more and more within us.
