Kretzmann, O.P.

English

Valparaiso University

Valparaiso UniversityValpoScholarO.P. Kretzmann Collection University Archives & Special Collections3-4-1940Lenten Meditation: The Abundant Life, 1940O.P. KretzmannFollow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/kretzmann_collectionPart of the Christianity CommonsThis Collection Record is brought to you for free and open access by the University Archives & Special Collections at ValpoScholar. It has beenaccepted for inclusion in O.P. Kretzmann Collection by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact aValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu.Recommended CitationKretzmann, O.P., "Lenten Meditation: The Abundant Life, 1940" (1940). O.P. Kretzmann Collection. 142.https://scholar.valpo.edu/kretzmann_collection/142'I'HE ABtJlli: ;;N 'l, LTFE -----------------Noon-day Address Monday• March 4. 1940 St. Louis , ~issouri o, P. Kr etzmann It ie one of the momentary ironies of modern history that a phrase which has been a part of tho vocabulary of Christendom for ahnost two thousand years has become ,~?J'lar during the past few -·':~ ~~~··~~ .. years because it -r:as once used by a. mcde.t'n statesman j.n r fcrring to American life. ~~H:.7 abundant life! L""l te1-ms of our economic and social difficulties it means that oua third of our nation should no longer be ilJ.. ... housed., ill-feci, and ill-clad. Today this ph.raso . is on the lips of men and womon ·who have nev6r thought of the fact that more than nineteen hunc~t·ed years aeo it was spoken. by One who knew rtiha:t the tta.bundant lifo" did not con~ist in the things which a possesses . 1iherl -the Lord of the Church first used the phrase, He was standing in the shado-w ot: the Cross ·wi tL etcrni ty before Hi.tt. The ''libUtfd~t lifo" \'Jns to come t.ytrouc:h Him and His Crees. !t was to be the treasured possession of a.ll tl'loBe vho v.ralkcd the v~ys of men wi ~~ th c ligh.t of etcr!:x:'i ty in their hearts. The modern world has trt'tgically forgotten tho ·t:;rue meaning of the "abundant lif'o. 11 I.ifc hns beeome merely narro1'l anC. fearful , haunted by e. so:nae of' util; 'tJ:", a bm':1lderment1 e.nd a restless asking whether the gJlme io worti t},c oundlo. To many thousands li~lking the streets of the norld life has no moeninr~ and no value . One does not he. ve to be a sorv~"lt of. the Church in order to understtu1d this. If man believe that they are the final result of tt.'1 evolutionary process, with no purr;oso and no goal , they must continuo to livo as the beasts of the field. They can have no hope end no light . Lif'e becomes entirely physical. !Io matter how "abundan.tn 1'h e Abundant Life · 2-it may be on th~t level, it \rill s t5 11 be the lif'c of the e.ninal4 Even for many 11.rho mal:c n despo:rate c.tter.~pt to ii ve ·or: a. some .hut highor level,. the daily routil'le of' nodern living ht s destroyed the maanin.g of the "abunda'rlt lire:' It has becoue; a waiting for some""" thing ·whic1 will never come P ... nd o. trcac1~ill of dull sameness. Here lies the tragedy of the rr.odern worlc!., tH.neteen hundred yearn a~o u voice speaking fron ~terA,i:i~!t~'tdid men thR t the "abundant li.fe1• was wi th:L'1. fuc ree.ch of every t:'.an, won:an , and ch~ 1 d in the orld. tro 1 ve abundn:ttl:r mrans "'~hat the nc..rrov.~, conf'ininr walls of sin must be broken dov.n, v.·o ofton poi, .~.~ to y,~reck<:>d li vcs a$ a r esult or a:i n, anrl forget tha.t .long before t .. ey are· wrooked th"'y hcve become narrow a..111d crabbed and bitter beca.ucc of their· sep~ratlon from God ond Heaven. Only on tho basis of the rorp;iven sin cro1 man erect a s tr 'cture of nabtin.dnnt life.u Only under thE• c·,.oss of Jesus Christ does this pl:raaa There is always 'tho grim da.ngor that life will be dominated by a crippling spirit of doubt end n.n .... iety and fear. It is :1ot easy to live 'abundantlyn in the moder .. 1 '\;orld. The ect oes of the ron.ring .guru.t# the sorrow of social da."'1ge:r, the pa:n tr.1. tho life of the 1.ndi vidua-l - all theso tell uc that life hun defini tcly go.na vtronr. Desp .te all this, hot.revor, it is possible for -the :indl vidual hu.nu;m soul to find, even in the :modern world, tho f'ullnoss anr r1 chness of life to v:hich our Lnrd pointed nineteen hundred yeo.rs ae;o. God lets us see ourselves as wo are·. with all our sL. end all our ohame, until nothing but a Savior will do . Then Ho CJ.'"l.ters life tt rour,h the Cross and His dear Son. and we be ;in to see the value of liv:lng. Y:o suddenly know what it means to stnn.d in the lo....'1G line of' thona 1ho hc.ve 11.-v-ed life, full and The undant Life -3· rich and brave und free, borne and steadied by the nail-tom hands of• tho ·ev~rlaa·ting Rebuila.ar of the soul a of men. March 4,. 1940. llo.a.e of us are completely and entirely satic,)..'iec. ·with our l:i.ves. There are the old sins and the old troubles . There are ~~eakneaoes and defeats. There are -tho ghosts of ye~terday 's mistakes l hich haunt us as lJe faoe tomorrow. .Perhaps e have tried to conp:romise wi tl God and ',;i1.1h life • Pe~a.ps we have mad.e tho great perennial mistake of t1jin.g to find the :fuliness of ihife :in the ;~' . emptinees of the modern ifOrld. More than ever it is necessary f'or us to hea~ ,.~.;he voice of Him. \'{ho said n:inetea..'l hundred- years ago~ "I am come the.t they mi. trht have lifo and huve it tho moro abundantly. '• -;itl Him 1e can sou life as He sai'l it from tho alta.l~ of tl::te cross "' rising in .r.'ullnesa and br if;h. tness !'rom the daz:kness of this ea:rth to the t;lory Qf heaven~ By .clim life aa.n be transformed irto preludes of eter~ ... i ty and the f.rve las ~~i:'lt;, ~ alues of' Go • · i th Hi:m the world is well lost. but life is ours., 

Lenten Meditation: The Abundant Life, 1940

ValpoScholar

Valparaiso University
ValpoScholar
O.P. Kretzmann Collection University Archives & Special Collections
3-4-1940
Lenten Meditation: The Abundant Life, 1940
O.P. Kretzmann
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/kretzmann_collection
Part of the Christianity Commons
This Collection Record is brought to you for free and open access by the University Archives & Special Collections at ValpoScholar. It has been
accepted for inclusion in O.P. Kretzmann Collection by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a
ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu.
Recommended Citation
Kretzmann, O.P., "Lenten Meditation: The Abundant Life, 1940" (1940). O.P. Kretzmann Collection. 142.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/kretzmann_collection/142
'I'HE ABtJlli: ;;N 'l, LTFE 
-----------------
Noon-day Address 
Monday• March 4. 1940 
St. Louis , ~issouri 
o, P. Kr etzmann 
It ie one of the momentary ironies of modern history 
that a phrase which has been a part of tho vocabulary of Christendom 
for ahnost two thousand years has become ,~?J'lar during the past few -
·':~ ~~~··~~ .. 
years because it -r:as once used by a. mcde.t'n statesman j.n r fcrring to 
American life. ~~H:.7 abundant life! L""l te1-ms of our economic and 
social difficulties it means that oua third of our nation should 
no longer be ilJ.. ... housed., ill-feci, and ill-clad. Today this ph.raso 
. is on the lips of men and womon ·who have nev6r thought of the fact 
that more than nineteen hunc~t·ed years aeo it was spoken. by One who 
knew rtiha:t the tta.bundant lifo" did not con~ist in the things which 
a possesses . 1iherl -the Lord of the Church first used the phrase, He 
was standing in the shado-w ot: the Cross ·wi tL etcrni ty before Hi.tt. 
The ''libUtfd~t lifo" \'Jns to come t.ytrouc:h Him and His Crees. !t was 
to be the treasured possession of a.ll tl'loBe vho v.ralkcd the v~ys of 
men wi ~~ th c ligh.t of etcr!:x:'i ty in their hearts. 
The modern world has trt'tgically forgotten tho ·t:;rue meaning 
of the "abundant lif'o. 11 I.ifc hns beeome merely narro1'l anC. fearful , 
haunted by e. so:nae of' util; 'tJ:", a bm':1lderment1 e.nd a restless 
asking whether the gJlme io worti t},c oundlo. To many thousands 
li~lking the streets of the norld life has no moeninr~ and no value . 
One does not he. ve to be a sorv~"lt of. the Church in order 
to understtu1d this. If man believe that they are the final result 
of tt.'1 evolutionary process, with no purr;oso and no goal , they must 
continuo to livo as the beasts of the field. They can have no hope 
end no light . Lif'e becomes entirely physical. !Io matter how "abundan.tn 
1'h e Abundant Life 
· 2-
it may be on th~t level, it \rill s t5 11 be the lif'c of the e.ninal4 
Even for many 11.rho mal:c n despo:rate c.tter.~pt to ii ve ·or: a. some .hut 
highor level,. the daily routil'le of' nodern living ht s destroyed the 
maanin.g of the "abunda'rlt lire:' It has becoue; a waiting for some""" 
thing ·whic1 will never come P ... nd o. trcac1~ill of dull sameness. 
Here lies the tragedy of the rr.odern worlc!., tH.neteen hundred 
yearn a~o u voice speaking fron ~terA,i:i~!t~'tdid men thR t the "abundant 
li.fe1• was wi th:L'1. fuc ree.ch of every t:'.an, won:an , and ch~ 1 d in the orld. 
tro 1 ve abundn:ttl:r mrans "'~hat the nc..rrov.~, conf'ininr walls of sin must 
be broken dov.n, v.·o ofton poi, .~.~ to y,~reck<:>d li vcs a$ a r esult or a:i n, 
anrl forget tha.t .long before t .. ey are· wrooked th"'y hcve become narrow 
a..111d crabbed and bitter beca.ucc of their· sep~ratlon from God ond Heaven. 
Only on tho basis of the rorp;iven sin cro1 man erect a s tr 'cture of 
nabtin.dnnt life.u Only under thE• c·,.oss of Jesus Christ does this pl:raaa 
There is always 'tho grim da.ngor that life will be dominated 
by a crippling spirit of doubt end n.n .... iety and fear. It is :1ot easy 
to live 'abundantlyn in the moder .. 1 '\;orld. The ect oes of the ron.ring 
.guru.t# the sorrow of social da."'1ge:r, the pa:n tr.1. tho life of the 1.ndi vidua-l 
- all theso tell uc that life hun defini tcly go.na vtronr. Desp .te all 
this, hot.revor, it is possible for -the :indl vidual hu.nu;m soul to find, 
even in the :modern world, tho f'ullnoss anr r1 chness of life to v:hich 
our Lnrd pointed nineteen hundred yeo.rs ae;o. God lets us see ourselves 
as wo are·. with all our sL. end all our ohame, until nothing but a 
Savior will do . Then Ho CJ.'"l.ters life tt rour,h the Cross and His dear 
Son. and we be ;in to see the value of liv:lng. Y:o suddenly know what it 
means to stnn.d in the lo....'1G line of' thona 1ho hc.ve 11.-v-ed life, full and 
The undant Life 
-3· 
rich and brave und free, borne and steadied by the nail-tom hands 
of• tho ·ev~rlaa·ting Rebuila.ar of the soul a of men. 
March 4,. 1940. llo.a.e of us are completely and entirely 
satic,)..'iec. ·with our l:i.ves. There are the old sins and the old troubles . 
There are ~~eakneaoes and defeats. There are -tho ghosts of ye~terday 's 
mistakes l hich haunt us as lJe faoe tomorrow. .Perhaps e have tried to 
conp:romise wi tl God and ',;i1.1h life • Pe~a.ps we have mad.e tho great 
perennial mistake of t1jin.g to find the :fuliness of ihife :in the 
;~' 
. 
emptinees of the modern ifOrld. More than ever it is necessary f'or 
us to hea~ ,.~.;he voice of Him. \'{ho said n:inetea..'l hundred- years ago~ "I 
am come the.t they mi. trht have lifo and huve it tho moro abundantly. '• 
-;itl Him 1e can sou life as He sai'l it from tho alta.l~ of tl::te cross "' 
rising in .r.'ullnesa and br if;h. tness !'rom the daz:kness of this ea:rth to 
the t;lory Qf heaven~ By .clim life aa.n be transformed irto preludes of 
eter~ ... i ty and the f.rve las ~~i:'lt;, ~ alues of' Go • · i th Hi:m the world is well 
lost. but life is ours., 


https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1134&amp;context=kretzmann_collection

Lenten Meditation: The Abundant Life, 1940

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Valparaiso University

ValpoScholar