Section 1 | Rule #2: Concerning the Source of the Power to Empty Oneself in Service to Others

Let the Custos understand that only the son who trusts that God is his loving Father, and that God the Father’s love is all-sufficient, becomes capable of emptying himself of vain ambitions, seeking human honor, clinging to status and human glory, while also becoming a servant to others, obediently embracing the Cross of Jesus Christ. The holy apostle says, “For let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  But emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man.  He humbled Himself, “becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross” (Phil 2:6-8). The Word, God the Son, was capable of emptying Himself of the status of being God only, and became incarnate, because He trusts that God His Father’s love is all-sufficient. As the Carmelite doctor says, “Nothing is lacking for those who have God; God alone is sufficient.” When the Custos believes and trusts in God the Father’s love for him, he will not cling to human glory, nor seek human honors, for he knows and believes that God’s love is never lacking. However, sadness when not honored, anxiousness about gaining recognition, avoiding, or resisting hidden acts of service to others are all signs that the evil spirits are influencing the Custos.

For it was Christ who said, “I receive glory not from men” (Jn 5:41). This is a definitive statement of one who knows and trusts in His identity as the Son of God and believes and trusts in God the Father and His all-sufficient love for Him. The true son of God, by embracing and believing in his identity, overcomes the temptation to usurp God’s glory while also becoming capable of emptying himself for others. He knows and believes that by glorifying God, God will eventually glorify him.

Devin Schadt | Executive Director of the Fathers of St. Joseph

Ite ad Joseph