Prefer Nothing Whatever to Christ

Not that many years ago, 21 men showed what it means to prefer nothing whatever to Christ. Twenty of them, Coptic Christians, refused to apostatize and renounce Jesus. They paid with their lives as terrorists beheaded them while filming the detestable spectacle. A twenty-first man, a coworker who wasn’t a Coptic Christian, told the terrorists that the God of the Coptic Christians was his God as well. He, too, was martyred. Did St. Benedict anticipate such occurrences when he wrote this verse (RB 72:11) in his Rule for monasteries? Given the persecution the faithful faced up to the time he wrote the Rule, we might suspect that they weren’t out of the question.

Red Martyrdom and White Martyrdom

But red martyrdom isn’t the half of it. Many of us may never shed blood for our faith (red martyrdom). Yet, we will experience some level of white martyrdom–that is, spiritual martyrdom. This, according to Pope Pius XI, as Fr. Wade Menezes quotes him, is about living with courage in daily life. It’s about how we bear the routine demands and duties that become the daily crosses in our lives. If we prefer nothing whatever to Christ, we will need to pick up our cross and follow him faithfully, every day of our lives on this earth. (cf. Lk 9:23) This is true for our small decisions, and for our big decisions.

He Preferred Christ Over Family Wealth

For example, Father X, a priest who belongs to a religious order, tells of his decision to pursue the priesthood as a young man. Although his family practiced the Catholic faith, his dad had other plans for him. Dad wanted his son to be part of the successful family business, as many entrepreneurs might wish for their children. After unsuccessful attempts to talk his son out of the priesthood, dad wrote him out of his will. As a result, to prefer nothing whatever to Christ in this case had real consequences. Yet losing the inheritance really didn’t matter. Members of religious orders take a vow of poverty, so the son wouldn’t have kept the inheritance even if he’d received it.

The Battle We All Face

Preferring nothing whatever to Christ, though, applies to all of us, not just those seeking religious or priestly vocations. It applies in how we deal with those daily crosses we face–the little and sometimes large annoyances that God allows us to experience. How well do we accept His will in the moment? Do we complain, get angry or grumble? Or do we offer it up to Him with Jesus crucified for some special intention? Do we thank Him for these opportunities to grow in sanctification?

To prefer nothing whatever to Christ also means that we maintain an attitude of indifference toward everything except God. Do we have inordinate attachments to people, their opinions, or to things? If any created thing, person or their opinion becomes the center of our life, they’re displacing God. We no longer, then, prefer nothing whatever to Christ. Many of us may say that we’re “all in” for Christ. We may believe we actually have abandoned ourselves totally to His Divine Providence.

But are we really “all in” for God? Do we walk the talk with the crosses of our daily lives? In his Meditation on the Two Standards (SpirEx 136-147), St. Ignatius of Loyola asks us to really think about this question. We face a continual battle between good and evil in our lives. Do we fight under the standard–the flag–of Jesus or that of Satan?

At first blush, we might believe we’re living the value system of Christ, and not that of Satan. But the devil truly is in the details. In the details of our lives, what we value in action, and how we deal with challenges, is where we’ll see who’s value system we embrace. Satan’s value system glorifies wealth, honors, and pride. Christ’s, on the other hand, emphasizes dying to self, humility, love of God and neighbor–all the time, not just when we feel like it.

Prefer No Thing Whatever to Christ

As a quick particular examen, we can start by looking at how we view money and wealth. When is enough actually enough? Do we focus on our job, our income, net worth, etc., to the exclusion of our family, our faith and interior life? Will another 60-hour work week really matter when the Lord calls us home? Or, will we be like the man who dies in his sleep, dreaming of building bigger and bigger barns to store the harvest (cf. Lk 12:16-21)?

Consider lifestyle issues as well. What kind of home, car, watch, jewelry, etc., do I need to feel secure? Who am I trying to impress? Of course, there’s nothing wrong with having “stuff.” We do need to ask ourselves, “Do I appreciate and use all these gifts of God to help me develop as a loving person? Or, have they become the center of my life? Are they getting in the way of my pursuit of union with God?”

Honors, Pride, and Vanity or Christ?

And isn’t that what this life is about–pursuing union with God? Praying with the Litany of Humility, we might each find some areas where we need God’s grace to help us move closer to Him. The litany addresses esteem, honor, approbation, approval, preferential attitudes, as well as opposites, such as humiliation, rebukes, ridicule, and many more.

Praying this litany weekly might help illuminate parts of our life where we aren’t really “all in” with Christ. Stop and linger over the phrases or words that catch your attention. You may find some to be more distasteful than others. Pray about them; talk with Jesus and Mary about them. Ask for the grace to overcome these patterns of behavior that the litany has highlighted for you.

Self-Renunciation and Placing Christ First

In Luke 14:25-33, Our Lord tells us we must make Him our first priority. And all of us are all called to be saints–to join the Church Triumphant in the presence of Our Lord someday. We can predispose ourselves to sainthood by truly placing Christ first, accepting His will for us, and detaching ourselves from anything that gets between Him and us.

St. John of the Cross has much to say about detachment and renouncing ourselves to make Christ first and foremost in our lives.  He warns us that we need to curtail our inordinate desire for pleasure and oppose our natural inclinations. We need to die to self; with God’s grace, we can.

Asking for God’s grace, and responding to it, in order to really prefer nothing whatever to Christ, can take time. We’re each a work-in-progress. But you don’t need to white-knuckle it. God is patient and will work with you. Ask Him for the help you need. Be persistent in asking and responding–He wants this for you even more than you do.

Feed not your spirit on anything but God. Cast off concerns about things, and bear peace and recollection in your heart. – The Sayings of Light and Love, 2.81, St. John of the Cross