Indwelling Part Five

Two small blesseds, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, reveal to us lives centered on the Indwelling of the Holy Trinity. These children are not called "blessed" because Our Lady of Fatima visited them, but because they responded to her request for prayer and mortification. How was this so without grace and the awareness that God dwelt within?

Jacinta became totally committed to the salvation of souls who were possibly going to hell. She had experienced the love of Christ through the Eucharist, the love of the Father through her own surety of salvation, and the love of the Holy Spirit through her choice of accepting suffering. A true intercessor, she took strength not only from her love for the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Fatima, but from Mary's message of the justice and mercy of God.

Jacinta shared with Our Lady the urgency of prayer and sacrifice because this little saint knew the love of God through Our Mother. Jacinta had two desires only-to save souls, and to be with God and Mary totally in heaven.

Simplicity, as John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila note, is the mark of purity of heart. Those with purity of heart, "see God". And, this means now, not only in fullness in heaven. The Indwelling of the Trinity is perceived, "seen" by the pure in heart.

Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Francisco, likewise, turned to penance and suffering in order to join with Christ on the Cross and enter heaven. He moved away from venial sin into a state of purity unknown to most boys his age. When he was dying, he asked Jacinta to tell him of any sins she remembered. After saying he was sorry for those venial sins, he said that if he did not die, he would never sin again. This could only be said by a person in the advanced state of being purified of even venial sins and the tendency to sin. This grace comes with Illumination and Union. His dedication to suffering was a joining of his own sufferings to Christ's sufferings. Only love could spur such a child on to deeds and prayers of intercession. Only an awareness that God was with him constantly could give such a boy courage, temperance, justice and prudence in the face of criticism and pressure to deny Our Lady had come to him and the two girls.

The Indwelling of the Trinity would have become more real to these children, whose way of salvation included seeing Mary, Our Mother. Mary visited them not only to have them share her message to the world, but for their own salvation. Like another visionary saint, Bernadette, their way was denial of self which flowered from their growing awareness of the God within, allowed them to grow in sanctity.

Simplicity is key. I am letting St. Teresa have the last word in this short series to which I shall return in the future, as the topic is inexhaustible.

“Each of us has a soul, but we forget to value it. We don’t remember that we are creatures made in the image of God. We don’t understand the great secrets hidden inside of us."

Indwelling Part Four

I can state absolutely that the biggest blocks to discovering God within are the seeking of comforts and the avoidance of suffering. Once one accepts suffering and stops looking for comforts, one begins to see the light within.

This seeking of either physical or spiritual comforts stops the self-denial of the body and soul. Running away from suffering is the denial of the Cross.

My son told me something a while ago now which resonated with me. He said, "Mother, you got more serious about things after your cancer operation." Such wisdom from a man who observed a spiritual change in his mum when he was 21...

Yes, I did, because I faced death, having had a death experience in a previous operation and realizing that I could very well not make it through another serious one...I detached myself from many things, people, places  even my life, then, but not completely. That is why I am still suffering purgation.

St. John of the Cross notes this, and I repeat the ideas, if not the exact quotations, as there are at least 134 posts on this saint alone.

"If you purify your soul of attachment to and desire for things, you will understand them spiritually. If you deny your appetite for them, you will enjoy their truth, understanding what is certain in them...

How is it you dare to relax so fearlessly, since you must appear before God to render an account of the least word and thought?"

This saint states exactly what St. Bernard does--that one must fight the self daily in order to find God. Sin is merely the replacing of things, people, desires, for the God within.

One must be completely detached from all things, persons, places and self. God is within, but He wants to be found by the pure in heart. That is the end of purification. If one does not do this willingly, God may impose His Will upon us and send us great suffering in order to make one pure.

Even John of the Cross experienced great suffering at the hands of his own community. So did St. Padre Pio. So did St. Faustina. And so on...

St John of the Cross tells us that we shall not advance towards oneness with God until we get rid of ambition, desires, attachments.

But, God wills to be found. He waits within us. He waits for us to love solitude, holy books, meditation, contemplation. He waits until we guard our imaginations, memories, understanding and will to love Him more than anything or anyone else. St. John uses the word "guard", meaning that to pursue perfection, one must be "on guard".  There is, simply, no real rest until heaven.

A hard, but true thought from this saint..."The soul that walks in love neither rests nor grows tired."

We see an agreement here among the four saints mentioned so far, SS. Augustine, Teresa, Bernard, and John of the Cross for the need for purification and perseverance.

Teresa states, “God withholds Himself from no one who perseveres.”  

Augustine writes, "Holy Spirit, powerful Consoler, sacred Bond of the Father and the Son, Hope of the afflicted, descend into my heart and establish in it your loving dominion. Enkindle in my tepid soul the fire of your Love so that I may be wholly subject to you. We believe that when you dwell in us, you also prepare a dwelling for the Father and the Son. Deign, therefore, to come to me, Consoler of abandoned souls, and Protector of the needy. Help the afflicted, strengthen the weak, and support the wavering. Come and purify me. Let no evil desire take possession of me. You love the humble and resist the proud. Come to me, glory of the living, and hope of the dying. Lead me by your grace that I may always be pleasing to you."
Amen.

Bernard writes, 

"But it will be well to note what class of people takes comfort in the thought of God. Surely not that perverse and crooked generation to whom it was said, ‘Woe unto you that are rich; for ye have received your consolation’ (Luke 6.24). Rather, those who can say with truth, ‘My soul refuseth comfort’ (Ps. 77.2). For it is meet that those who are not satisfied by the present should be sustained by the thought of the future, and that the contemplation of eternal happiness should solace those who scorn to drink from the river of transitory joys. That is the generation of them that seek the Lord, even of them that seek, not their own, but the face of the God of Jacob." On Loving God

and John of the Cross, again

"He will be unable to reach perfection who does not strive to be content with having nothing, in such fashion that his natural and spiritual desire is satisfied with emptiness; for this is necessary in order to reach the highest tranquillity and peace of spirit. Hence the love of God in the pure and simple soul is almost continually in act."

The Indwelling of the Trinity is discovered by the pure in heart.

This is our goal, as stated clearly by St. John:

"The very pure spirit does not meddle with exterior attachments or human respect, but it communes inwardly with God, alone and in solitude as to all forms, and with delightful tranquility, for the knowledge of God is received in divine silence."

to be continued...maybe

On Charity

The tendency to not want to get into personal charity, as a friend of mine told me today, has nothing to do with money, but everything to do with getting involved. How interesting that people have been made afraid of giving time and energy to a person in need.

Time and energy are gifts most of us have, at least to a certain age. As a person who is past mid-sixties, I have less energy but do what I can daily. We have many opportunities to reach out daily.

Today, I shoveled walks again for some neighbors who are older and busier than I am. I was engaged in praying for the dead, intensely, and listening as well as giving spiritual direction.

I cleaned someone else's house and had to admonish a neighbor who put garbage in that person's yard.

Busy days but with a purpose of serving immediately and willingly. This is our call.

The difference has to do with one thing-trusting in Divine Providence, and for those who read the series on Divine Providence, this will resonate with them.

Trust in Divine Providence unravels the bonds which hold back living in the Beatitudes, which is our ultimate call.

Here is Garrigou-Largange on this point, with my comments in blue.

Christian perfection, according to the testimony of the Gospels and Epistles, consists chiefly in charity which unites us to God.(1) This virtue corresponds to the supreme precept of the love of God. We read also: "He that abideth in charity abideth in God, and God in him." (2) "But above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection." (3)

Some theologians have questioned whether for perfection, properly so called, not that of beginners or of proficients, but that which characterizes the unitive way, a great charity is necessary, or whether this perfection can be obtained without a lofty degree of this virtue. Some authors doubt it.(4) They even declare that a high degree of charity is not necessary to perfection, properly so called, because, according to the testimony of St. Thomas, "the very least grace is sufficient to resist any degree of concupiscence." (5)

The virtue of charity blossoms in the Unitive state, after the Dark Night and after Illumination. But, this charity takes a long time to acquire, after one has lost egotism and been cleared of the predominant faults.

The majority of theologians answer, on the contrary, that perfection, properly so called, is obtained only after long exercise of the acquired and infused virtues, an exercise by which their intensity increases.(6) Before reaching the age of perfection, the perfect man must have been a beginner, then a proficient. In the perfect man, not only can charity conquer many temptations, but it has in fact triumphed over many, and has thereby notably increased. Therefore Christian perfection, properly so called, that of the unitive way, cannot be conceived without a lofty charity.(7)

Charity goes hand-in-hand with trusting in Divine Providence. The more one becomes like a little child, the more one is free to give, like a little child.

If we were to read the contrary in the works of St. John of the Cross, for example, we would think we were dreaming and that there was a typographical error. It seems altogether certain that, as for adult age greater physical strength is needed than for childhood (although accidentally certain particularly vigorous adolescents may be stronger than certain adults), likewise for the state of the perfect a loftier charity is also needed than for that of beginners (although accidentally certain saints have a greater charity at the beginning than certain perfect souls already advanced in age).

The common teaching of theologians on this point seems clearly founded on the very preaching of the Savior, especially that of the beatitudes found in the fifth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel. This page of the Gospel admirably expresses all the elevation of Christian perfection to which Christ calls all of us. The Sermon on the Mount is the abridgment of Christian doctrine, the solemn promulgation of the New Law, given to perfect the Mosaic Law and to correct erroneous interpretations of it; and the eight beatitudes given at its beginning, are the abridgment of this sermon. They thus wonderfully condense all that constitutes the ideal of the Christian life and show all its loftiness.

Living in the life of the Beatitudes would be the mark of the saint, that person who has allowed God to take over one's soul and let the Trinity shine forth. Happiness comes with freedom. And, the free person lives only for the glory of God and for others, not for self. Time and energy given to God becomes multiplied in one's life through charity.

Christ's first preaching promised happiness and showed the means to obtain it. Why does He speak first of all of happiness? Because all men naturally wish to be happy. They pursue this end unceasingly, whatever they may wish; but they often seek happiness where it is not, where they will find only wretchedness. Let us listen to our Lord, who tells us where true and lasting happiness is, where the end of our life is, and who gives us the means to obtain it.

The end is indicated in each of the eight beatitudes. Under different names, it is eternal happiness, whose prelude the just may enjoy even here on earth; it is the kingdom of heaven, the promised land, perfect consolation, the full satisfaction of all our holy and legitimate desires, supreme mercy, the sight of God our Father. The means are quite the contrary of those suggested by the maxims of worldly wisdom, which proposes an entirely different end.

Indeed, the thinking of Christ is opposite of that of the world. Meekness, poverty of spirit, mourning, become marks of the adult Christian. Without the long process of purification, real charity is never achieved.

The beatitudes of the deliverance from sin correspond to the purgative way, which is proper to beginners and which is prolonged in the way the proficients and the perfect ought to follow. Whereas the world declares that happiness is in the abundance of exterior goods, of riches, and in honors, Christ states without any other preamble, with the calm assurance of absolute truth: "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Although the Beatitudes blossom after the purification, these virtues can lead us to deliverance from sin. What does this mean? It means that the practice of the virtues, without the perfection of the soul, lead one through that purification.

Each beatitude has many degrees. Happy they who are poor without murmuring, without impatience, without jealousy, even if bread should be lacking, and who work while placing their trust in God. Blessed are they who, though more fortunate, have not the spirit of riches, pomp, and pride, but are detached from the goods of earth. More fortunate still are they who will leave all to follow Christ, who will make themselves voluntarily poor, and who will truly live according to the spirit of this vocation. They will receive the hundredfold on earth and eternal life. These poor are they who, under the inspiration of the gift of fear, follow the road which, though narrow at first, becomes the royal road to heaven, on which the soul dilates more and more, whereas the broad road of the world leads to hell and perdition. Elsewhere Christ declares: "Woe to you that are filled: for you shall hunger." (10) On the other hand, blessed is that poverty which, as the life of St. Francis of Assisi shows, opens the kingdom of God that is infinitely superior to all wealth, to the miserable riches in which the world seeks happiness.

Poverty opens the kingdom of God. The soul opens up to God's perfect will. Voluntary poverty is the best way, but the acceptance of poverty is good.

Blessed are the poor, or humble of heart, who do not cling to the goods of the body, or to those of the spirit, or to reputation, or to honor, and who seek only the kingdom of God.

The desire of riches divides men, engenders quarrels, lawsuits, violence, and war among nations; but Christ says: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land." Blessed are they who do not become irritated against their brethren, who do not seek to take vengeance on their enemies, to dominate others. "If one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other." (11) Blessed are the meek who do not judge rashly, who do not see in their neighbor a rival to be supplanted but a brother to be helped, a child of the same heavenly Father. The gift of piety inspires this meekness in us with a filial affection toward God our common Father. The meek are not stubbornly attached to their own judgment; they express themselves quite simply in a straightforward manner, and do not feel the need to call heaven to witness in trivial matters.(12)

God has a plan which is clear. It is simple,very simple. Many thanks to Ken, Marcia, and Jenna, who make it possible for me to continue this blog.

Snatches of A Sermon

Yesterday, as noted, I attended two Masses, one of which was in German.

Now, I listened very carefully to the sermon and could not understand most of it. However, for some reason, I did get one or two ideas which I want to share as these are so simple as to be profound.

The priest said this, that Mary's yes began a time of holiness for all of us.

I have never heard any priest state this. How simple, how profound.

He also said that the time of the Old Testament was fulfilled in the Annunciation.

Nice..

Perfection Series II:xv

Perfection Series for Holy Saturday  Re-Post

Faith, Hope and Reason

On this day of the waiting for God to emerge from the tomb, on this quiet day of contemplation and profound Hope, a post on Faith, Hope and Reason a la the great Doctor of the Church seems appropriate. St. John of the Cross tells us that we move beyond meditation, which is based on Scripture and the imagination, as well as dependent on grace, to contemplation. Contemplation is based on the three Cardinal Virtues, Faith, Hope and Charity, plus Reason, one of the pillars of Faith.

Father Gabriel in his book, which I have been following for the past week on this blog, points out how St. John examines contemplation as being outside of the active imagination and even makes mediation impossible. For those who pray and are used to a life, or period of time with meditation, this leaving of it for contemplation can be disturbing. One may think one is falling back away from gained graces when in reality, the real purification of the intellect and imagination have led one away from the self into a waiting of God, and a docility of spirit which totally trusts in the Trinity. St. John writes that "The Holy Ghost enlightens the recollected understanding (that is the soul's) in proportion to its recollection; and as there can be no greater recollection of the understanding than in faith, the Holy Ghost will not enlighten it in any other way more than in that of faith. The purer the soul is in the perfection of a living faith, the greater is the infusion of charity, and the more it is possessed by it and enrich it with His gifts, since charity is the cause and the means whereby He communicates these gifts." Here, in the Ascent, St. John warns of the over-attention given to spiritual comforts or phenomena. Too many people today, especially charismatics and so-called visionaries, have been led astray, I would state, by deception and therefore, by the evil one or by their own spirits, to a kind of fascination with spiritual candy instead of the NADA. The great beauty of the stage of pure contemplation is that one must rely totally on the nothing, on detachment and on God alone.

Passivity allows grace to flourish.

What I like about this section of the Ascent, is the emphasis on reason. Too many Catholics fall away from a real relationship with God at this stage by loosing a perspective of reasonable Faith, which pulls one back into humility with regard to a relationship with the Church. Herein lies the safety net of the spiritual life. Only in a close relationship with the Church can the imperfect soul gain contemplation. Father Gabriel comments, "As faith leads the intellect to God so hope prepares the memory for the divine transformation."

Here is a rub. We must allow God to empty even our memories. Relying on God alone, detaching ourselves from all senses, the memory of those senses, and even spiritual cookies, brings one to a real reliance in Hope. As in a love relationship with a human being, wherein one hopes for love but loves anyway without expectation, so the soul seeks God alone. All earthly things fall away and a quiet joy enters the heart, the heart of Hope. For those who experience this, this is a movement of real freedom. All longing is for God alone, and not for anything material or spiritual.

Sometimes, as St. John and St. Teresa note, the soul is so taken up with God, the person may forget to eat, study, drink, or talk. Those around this type of person must be aware of his or her complete reliance on God. Of course, this person is frequently completely hidden in God. Faith, Reason, Hope finally lead to the greatest of the virtues Love, which will be in the next posting on perfection.

I used to have a copy of a version of this icon of The Extreme Humility. Here we see Christ Himself, beyond Faith, Hope, Reason and only relying on Love. He allowed Himself to be stripped of all-NADA-for us.

So, we are invited to do the same and follow Him into the tomb of giving all for All.

Perfection Series II:xiv

Lenten Series of Perfection Re-Post--The Illuminative Stage

Father Gabriel continues with his clarification of St. John of the Cross' stages of purification.
The movement from the prayer of meditation, which uses the active imagination, to the prayer which does not rely on the senses is the movement from beginner to the next stage, which is contemplation. Contemplation is more pure, more spiritual than meditation. This is the stage of simple, yet prolonged prayer. This is also the stage of passive formation. God takes over and if the soul cooperates, there is a level of illumination which happens, connected to spiritual knowledge and discernment. Father Gabriel makes a very important distinction that that the soul should not take the initiative spiritually, but wait for the passive activity of God. The soul lets God take over, even one's actions. This implies a great trust as well as the detachment from all else. This Illuminative Way is a transition period.

One needs a spiritual director for all these stages, although, the infused knowledge, ironically in a way, gives one guidance directly.

Perfection Series for Holy Week Re-Post

Father Gabriel in his book on St. John of the Cross, writes this:


Love sujects the love to the object loved; it make him love all that the beloved will; it transforms the willl of the lover into the will of the beloved, so that it is as though there were no longer two will but only one: that of the beloved, to which the lover conforms himself completely.

Father is quoting St. John and paraphrasing a longer section. The first stage of the purification of the sensible part of the soul is something which most of us understand. Yet, how many times, do we start and stop this process, going backwards because we either lack courage or generosity, or, simply, love?

The lover, as Father points out, responds quickly to a suggestion or question. In fact, the true lover anticipates the requests or desires of the beloved. And, as he states, "To do things thoroughly, not by halves; such is the outstanding characteristic of Carmelite spirituality."

Part of the poem, only one of St. John's from the Ascent, reads

Strive always not after that which is most easy, but after that which is most difficult;
Not after that which giveth pleasure but after than which giveth none; 
Not after that which ministers repose but after that which ministers labour;
Not after great things but after little things;
Strive not to desire anything but rather nothing.


Without this purification, true contemplation cannot happen. It is the empty heart which can receive God.

Perfection Series II:xiii

The Demands of Love--Perfection Series continued

Continuing on the theme of perfection and middle-age, I come to the writings of St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila. She writes, "God gives Himself wholly to the soul which gives itself wholly to Him."

Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen wrote a book in 1940 about the stages of the interior life. I used some of his insights in the title yesterday, the metaphysics of love.  In his chapter entitled, The Demands of Love, the good father points out that the person who continually seeks God, will be met by Him in Love. We need the Love of God in order to love Love. A good prayer is "God give me Your Love so that I can love You." As Father Gabriel and St. John of the Cross note, this union of love is infused, but the soul can prepare itself for such a meeting of Love. The real beginning of growth is St. John's idea of nothing, NADA. We must become detached from all things, people, the past, the future, living in the now and waiting for God to meet us, as we cooperate in a purification of the senses. The empty soul is a free soul.

And only in that soul is there room for God. The NADA, the nothing, leads to the All, the TODO. How many times have we loved someone and wanted desperately to give all, to be all for this person we love. We want to be our best, to grow in love, to make the other all he or she can be as well--we wish the best always for the beloved. And, like God, we want that beloved to reach a perfection of his or her self so that he or she can be happy with God for all eternity.

So, too, God wants all the best for us and for us to be happy with Him now and in eternity. To empty ourselves is like carving out a hole in our heart for God to come in and take over. NADA-TODO.

What does it mean to give our all for God? It simply means, Father Gabriel tells us, that complete conformity to the Will of God begins this giving of our all. This is the easy and the hard part. We, as Father writes, "divest" ourselves of all that is not God.

"God, take my heart and give me Your Heart. Break all my attachments to things, people, my history, my future. Be all to me."

The Doctor of the Church and Father Gabriel want the soul to do this without delay, quickly, with generosity. Generosity means that the soul allows God to strip one of all the detachments. This is partly the "active work of the soul", that is "to let one's self be despoiled." This can be painful or joyful, or even both.

Make a resolution this week, Holy Week, to follow the way of perfection, to start being generous with God.

The Metaphysics of Love--Perfection Series continued

Reading St. John of the Cross again, at a older age, makes me realize that the world today conspires to separate the middle-aged from their true vocation in life. At a certain stage, I would say between 55-60, to begin with an arbitrary set of five years, the older person's life changes from being concerned with the outward life, such as making money, buying a house, getting married, raising a family, taking care of parents, etc. to a slower paced yet infinitely important time of life. This is the time for the development of the interior life. Without this time, a person does not reach the perfection necessary to avoid purgatory, nor does that person come into the union with God, which is possible for all.

In my mini-series on perfection, Garrigou-Lagrange repeats that all Catholics are called to this higher call of oneness with God. This call, as I have described on this blog before now, is for the many, not the few.

In the time of middle-age, the pursuit of the active, exterior life should melt away into an inner energy of the building of the interior life. Now,in this day and age of financial unrest, many middle-aged people, including myself, find that we must keep working longer than we thought, as pensions have been cut, or have disappeared entirely. The restless pursuit of the necessary, food, lodging and so on, must continue later than the baby-boomers planned. This is a serious threat to our interior growth, so important for learning and obtaining love.

The society is against us, with the false, siren call of early retirement or incessant travelling. In fact, a financial crisis may help some people my age simply stay at home, and read, pray or wow, even study their Faith.

The restlessness of youth must be supplanted by a time of reflection and withdrawal from the world. If this does not happen, the Catholic cannot grow.

Being involved in parish duties is fine, but unless there is the awareness that the interior life is like a plant which needs tending on a daily basis, the spiritual life will wither and die in the spiritual life, there is no status quo--only going forward or going back.

My advice is to simplify. Husbands and wives in the empty nest, help each other pray and meditate. If one must work, the other must help that one to time and energy for this interior life. This must be considered a priority.

The metaphysics of love demands that we are purified by active and passive transformation. We can cooperate with God in the active purification, by giving time and energy to prayer and study. As I have said before here, we need to cooperate with grace, and God only comes to those who ask Him to come. The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit is given to all Catholics in the sacraments of the Church. But, the Holy Spirit will not work against our will. Actively, we seek God. Then, passively, we receive His gifts, His Love. But, this takes focus, the focus of the interior life.

to be continued.....

Thoughts on St. John's Poem, continued...

In the Dark Night, God transforms the soul, mind, heart. The person becomes stripped of the ego and 

becomes new.

This newness may feel raw, or even a bit scary, as if one is losing a sense of who one thought one was.

But, God is doing the transforming, through the purgation of the senses and the spirit.

This transformation leads finally to a conviction that no matter what the pain and suffering, no matter what the 

sense of loss, God is there.

St. John experienced love in this darkness, like the love one feels when one is looking at a loved one who is sleeping.

One is wounded by love and the neck, which is the Bible is a symbol of pride, is wounded by God, who is destroying

pride.

The senses are suspended because one is being taken out of the world of the senses into the world of "nada", 

the nothingness of self. One must abandon one's self to God's Will as nothing else is left.

The oblivion may be several things, the first being how one feels when one depends totally on Divine Providence,

and not on one's own efforts, ideas, even prayers.

One leaves all cares to God, as one has been humbled so much that one sees that human efforts are useless.

The result of this complete dependence on God, the complete surrender of memory, understanding and will, can be 

a completely new life in Christ, and should be the very beginnings of the Illuminative State.

The key is abandonment.

The love which is growing in the person in the Dark Night is the love of expectation, of desire.

What are the lilies? In the Bible, and in Solomon's Temple, lilies would have looked like our idea of the lily, the

 Lilium candidum 

When one leaves one's cares among the lilies, this means to me that one is content to let God take over the

purification process, one is relying on grace, not effort. All the effort lies in cooperation. 

When one forgets cares, one is also completely no longer distracted by the cares. Cares fade into desire for
the Beloved.

If one is in love, one forgets everything else

but the beloved, and in this case, the Beloved, Christ Himself.

Upon my flowery breast,
Kept wholly for himself alone,
There he stayed sleeping,
and I caressed him,
And the fanning of the cedars made a breeze.

The breeze blew from the turret
As I parted his locks;
With his gentle hand
He wounded my neck
And caused all my senses to be suspended.

I remained, lost in oblivion;
My face I reclined on the Beloved.
All ceased and I abandoned myself,
Leaving my cares
forgotten among the lilies.

Thanks to Wiki for the photos...

Returning to the Perfection Series-- À la recherche du temps perdu

This is a toe in the water of the perfection series, mark two. The next few posts in this series will be more on the detail of the passive purgation.

St. Teresa of Avila was in the passive purgation for 18 years.

One must understand these long times of dryness which demand Faith.

I am finding a confusion among people, especially some young ones, who do not understand that the levels of prayer are connected to the levels of progress, from consolation to dark night, to the illumination stage and finally to the unitive.

A keen look at these stages again reveals that in the passive purgation, which demands the working of the virtues, one is not in a unitive state or illuminative state yet. There is also a confusion as to the term "affective prayer" which is used by many authors to mean different things.

In the passive purgation, vocal prayer is almost impossible. One cannot meditate, the great insights into the Scriptures or Mysteries of the Rosary have ended.

One can only look at God in a great simplicity. This is what Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta meant, when she said that in Adoration, she looked at God and God looked at her.

That was all she could do.

Please so not mix up nomenclature or confuse stages.

In the passive purgation, one can only turn to God in small prayers, in small acts of the will.

In this stage, one desire God, not people, and God is vague, not specifically Jesus, the Father or the Holy Spirit. Faith tells one that God is the Trinity, not experience.

"The will is fixed on God by 'a vague love and a secret instinct.' ...by a dolorous and persistent need of a more intimate union with Him. It is as it were a longing, like home-sickness, after God absent, and assuaged thirst, which cannot do without Him; the soul would like to be inflamed with love, and, above all, to posses God; merely to love Him no longer satisfies her, she aspired to union with Him."

This quotation from  Lehodey's The Ways of Mystical Prayer reveals the mystery of the passive purgation.

One learns patience and humility, waiting on God and waiting for God.

One would love to be totally occupied in loving. One desires to love.

But, all the soul perceives is irritation and a new ennui, which is not directed towards anything but the realization of one's own sin and imperfections in the light of God's love.

One can honestly say, "All I want is you, Lord. And, if it is Your will that I go to hell, so be it. But, I love you."

One feels an indistinct unease about the spiritual life, as one does not know where to find God, as He has hidden Himself  in all the old ways.

One can only say, God has visited me before, He will not abandon me." The act of sheer will power towards faith, hope and love marks this period of passive purgation.

One learns to be patient with others, but most especially, with one's self. And, at times, one feels or even thinks one is on the way to hell.

Only hanging on to faith, hope and love give the soul any strength at this time.

Not every one must experience the reality of trials, such as illness, loss of employment, financial losses, loss of status, loss of family and so on.

God decides what suffering to send. And, some people suffer less than others moving towards the same end.

One cannot compare one's self with others at all. This is a waste of time, and dangerous.

To be content to be carried on the winds of trial is the best some can do.

The key is remaining focused on Christ and that little ember of past consolations of love which one may now and then remember.

to be continued....

Reminder on Contemplative Prayer-A Warning

As I have noted in the long perfection series and on the Doctors of the Church series, there are many levels of prayer in the teaching of the Catholic Church.

When I was in England, I discovered that some nuns were using the word "contemplation" incorrectly.

I have so many posts on prayer and the necessary understandings of the level, that I encourage readers to follow the labels at the side, or tags.

I shall put some links at the bottom, but this post is a warning.

Please take these notes seriously, as so many people fall into false teaching about contemplation and end up out of the Church.

Read, again, this Vatican document on the evils of New Age practices.

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html

Warning Points again:

1) One must stay within the orthodoxy of the Church in order to attain holiness. If one is not orthodox, and especially, if one is hetrodox, one has opened one's self up for deception in prayer. The Church and Her Teaching protect us.

2) False, man-made religions cannot teach us anything good about contemplation, but the saints do-see all my posts on John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila and Catherine of Siena, for example.

3) One must be purified in the senses and in the spirit before reaching the state of contemplation. Contemplation, again, is not mediation on the Scriptures or the Life of Christ. See other posts for definitions.

But, if one is not purfied and thinking that "emptiness" is the goal of contemplation, that person may very well be opening the soul and mind to demonic activity. Purification first, contemplation after, in the Illuminative State.

4) Christ is the center and reason for prayer, not us, not our well-being, nor even a sense of peace. Christ is the center of all our activities, including prayer.

I shall write more about this later in the week. Here are a few older links. The first one deals with an aspect of sin and responsibility. I suggest following the Dark Night posts as well.

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2012/07/answering-e-mail-query-on-sin-and.html

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2013/09/moving-through-six-levels-of-prayer.html

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2013/09/clarifications-on-prayer-part-one-first.html

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2013/11/repeat-post-on-prayer.html

Love in the Darkness

Well, the Dark Night of the senses is brutal. Do not shy away from it. Sometimes, one is confused. That is fine.

The key is to keep the faith and working in faith, even in the darkness. The Dark Night of the Senses means we have no consolations and that we should not seek these.

Simple? No, our whole being cries out for love. But, the Love Who Is a Person wants to meet us in a new way.

It does not matter if we are completely alone, like St. John of the Cross in his cell.

It does not matter if we are known or understood. There is One Who Does know and understand us.

The purification of the senses means nada, nada, nada.

Do not run away from this trial.

The Light comes eventually, when one is ready and when God is ready.

Also, realize two things in the Dark Night.

One, if we are punished, like all sinners, we deserve it.

Two, God allows satan to sift us, through other people and circumstances.

Rest in His Plan.

How happy are the poor in spirit:

theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Postscript on the Dark Night

Today's Gospel reflects the necessity for the Dark Night of the Soul-the death of the sensual side of us.

The senses must be so pure that these only desire God alone and nothing else. St. John of the Cross, whose feast it is today, understood this.

God did St. John a great favor. God allowed the very brothers of St. John in his order, in his house, to imprison him and torture him.

What John discovered was an inner darkness which led to Light. 

We must all go through this. In the darkness, we see all the creepy-crawly nastiness of our senses. When the senses are purified, we are then led into the purification of the spirit.

Let God do these things in your life.....

Luke 14:25-33

Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)

25 And there went great multitudes with him. And turning, he said to them:

26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

27 And whosoever doth not carry his cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

28 For which of you having a mind to build a tower, doth not first sit down, and reckon the charges that are necessary, whether he have wherewithal to finish it:

29 Lest, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that see it begin to mock him,

30 Saying: This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

31 Or what king, about to go to make war against another king, doth not first sit down, and think whether he be able, with ten thousand, to meet him that, with twenty thousand, cometh against him?

32 Or else, whilst the other is yet afar off, sending an embassy, he desireth conditions of peace.

33 So likewise every one of you that doth not renounce all that he possesseth, cannot be my disciple.

St. John of the Cross

I have many, many posts referring to St. John of the Cross. Please use the tags and choose something to celebrate his day.

“Mine are the heavens and mine is the earth. Mine are the nations, the just are mine, and mine the sinners. The angels are mine, and the Mother of God, and all things are mine; and God himself is mine and for me, because Christ is mine and all for me. What do you ask, then, and seek, my soul? Yours is all of this, and all is for you. Do not engage yourself in anything less or pay heed to the crumbs that fall from your Father’s table. Go forth and exult in your Glory! Hide yourself in it and rejoice, and you will obtain the supplications of your heart.” - Saint John of the Cross, Sayings of Light and Love, 27

Dark Night And Analogies for A Special Reader

Deep is this warfare and this striving, for the peace which the soul hopes for will be very deep; and the spiritual pain is intimate and delicate, for the love which it will possess will likewise be very intimate and refined. The more intimate and the more perfect the finished work is to be and to remain, the more intimate, perfect and pure must be the labour; the firmer the edifice, the harder the labour. Wherefore, as Job says, the soul is fading within itself, and its vitals are being consumed without any hope.161 Similarly, because in the state of perfection toward which it journeys by means of this purgative night the soul will attain to the possession and fruition of innumerable blessings, of gifts and virtues, both according to the substance of the soul and likewise according to its faculties, it must needs see and feel itself withdrawn from them all and deprived of them all and be empty and poor without them; and it must needs believe itself to be so far from them that it cannot persuade itself that it will ever reach them, but rather it must be convinced that all its good things are over. The words of Jeremias have a similar meaning in that passage already quoted, where he says: ‘I have forgotten good things.’

I would like to refer to the Exodus story which is an analogy of the movement of the soul, including the Dark Night.

First, the Exodus, the actually leaving of Egypt, is like our initial conversion. We are freed from sin like the Hebrews were freed from slavery. The Passover Event could be compared to that defining moment of change, moving into grace through the sacraments, through the Church.

Second, Moses told the Pharaoh that the People of God had to go into the desert to Sinai to pray. This would be like our first moments of consolation, taking the spoils of Egypt on our way, into the unknown. But, following a leader, and being with others could be consolation, and the spoils of Egypt could be seen as those little consolations God gives us to encourage us when we first come to Him.

Third, we find ourselves in the desert, the Wilderness. Our first impetus is to complain and moan, asking God to remove suffering from our lives. But, this complaining reveals the depth of our sins, our tendencies towards sins, and our predominant faults. God has to get rid of all those imperfections. This is, indeed, the desert of the Dark Night.

Fourth, the long, forty years in the desert is like our Dark Night. We wander, without understanding, until we are purified. That new generation which finally goes into the Promised Land would be only our purified minds, hearts, souls. That entering would be the end of the Dark Night of the Senses and the Spirit, leading into the Illuminative State and finally, the Unitive State. This would be the Fifth Point here. 

I remind readers that one's Dark Night varies in length-for St. John of the Cross, perhaps nine months; for Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, fifty years.

Remember, our God is the God of the desert...a repost

On The Desert God

Posted by Supertradmum

Psalm 28

Douay-Rheims 

28 A psalm for David, at the finishing of the tabernacle. Bring to the Lord, O ye children of God: bring to the Lord the offspring of rams.

2 Bring to the Lord glory and honour: bring to the Lord glory to his name: adore ye the Lord in his holy court.

3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of majesty hath thundered, The Lord is upon many waters.

4 The voice of the Lord is in power; the voice of the Lord in magnificence.

5 The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars: yea, the Lord shall break the cedars of Libanus.

6 And shall reduce them to pieces, as a calf of Libanus, and as the beloved son of unicorns.

7 The voice of the Lord divideth the flame of fire:

8 The voice of the Lord shaketh the desert: and the Lord shall shake the desert of Cades.

9 The voice of the Lord prepareth the stags: and he will discover the thick woods: and in his temple all shall speak his glory.

10 The Lord maketh the flood to dwell: and the Lord shall sit king for ever. The Lord will give strength to his people: the Lord will bless his people with peace.

The name El was the title of the desert god of many of the ancient religions. El  was also the god of the storms. However, the One, True God took the name and made it His Own, the God of all Creation, the Father of all Mankind, as well as the God of the Desert. God is still the God of the Desert. Christ Himself went into the desert to pray and allow Himself to be tempted. Over and over again, those who love God went into the desert to leave the world and find Him. Sometimes, God calls some of us into the desert, as He did with the Desert Fathers. Why God calls some of us out into the dryness is a mystery of the Dark Night and of purity. I am in the desert. I know this. When I went to Adoration today, the monstrance was set up in a desert scene of rocks and sand. This is Malta. In the myth of Psyche  which I have mentioned more than once on this blog, the woman must do penance for doubting love. Such is the path of purification, which takes away all that is stopping Love Himself from coming to one. The desert experience is a clear symbol of the nothingness of the Dark Night. No consolations, no color, no refreshment, only dryness and a bright light which causes all to be dark because it is so bright. One's guardian angel can help us in this dark night.  You might want to check out this post from the past. On Sunday, we saw Christ in the desert facing temptations. He is God and Man and the temptations were real. But, this was not the first time God was in the desert. We remember the Hebrews, God's Chosen People being freed from Egypt by God's Mighty Hand and then rebelling over and over again in the desert. Their punishment was 40 years. But, God was with them. For God had a right to purify His Own; and one of the biggest sins was complaining. The person or person's with a complaining heart lacks several virtues, and is ignoring a truism God deserves praise daily. Pride causes complaining. The moaner wants to be a god, to play god. The moaning one lacks humility and wants to be in control. Only God is in control and He is in control. Why did the entire generation of Jews have to die out in the desert for their sins of rebellion? Why did they not get to see the promised land? Even Moses was punished for striking the rock three times instead of obeying God and striking it once. No big deal, one might think. Why such a harsh punishment? Was it merely that Moses was impatient, or angry? Was it that he was not trusting in God to make water flow in the desert with just one small gesture? Moses forgot who he was. As a great friend of God, one who walked with God and heard His Voice daily, Moses forgot one small truth. Obedience in the smallest thing which God asks is real Love. Moses died on Mt. Nebo within sight of the Holy Land, God's home for him. This was a terrible punishment for Moses. He was purified in this suffering, as we know that he, Moses, was seen in the Transfiguration with Christ and Elijah The obedience of the heart is learned in silence. In the desert, there is much silence. In silence, we learn to listen and hear God. Even Moses had to be punished for not listening. And, yet, we have more than what Moses had. We have Christ in the Eucharist, we have the Church and the sacraments to help us.St Paul writes, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" Rom. 10: 4 Doing things out of Love is what Paul means. We act out of love and not fear. We act out of love and not merely obedience without love. Moses forgot to act out of love. Obedience is Love. If one is not obedient in the smallest thing, one is lacking in love. The desert carves out our hearts so that we have room to love God. The desert is hard. It is very hot in the day and very cold at night. Sand gets into one's skin, eyes, hair. It is full of dangerous animals. Water is scarce. One has to rely on God totally in the desert. He is our Guide, as we cannot get out of the desert without Him. He is our sustenance, as we are not fed in the desert, without Him. The world is fast turning into the desert. There will soon be no Catholic nations to go to in order to avoid evils such as abortion, contraception, euthanasia, same-sex marriage. There will be no place to hide. Among rocks and sand, there are few places to hide. We must create that place in our souls or we shall die. Learn to live in the desert.  from today's Morning Psalm, 94 If only, today, you would listen to his voice:   “Do not harden your hearts   as you did at Meribah, on the day of Massah in the desert,   when your fathers tested me – they put me to the test,   although they had seen my works.” “For forty years they wearied me,   that generation. I said: their hearts are wandering,   they do not know my paths. I swore in my anger:  they will never enter my place of rest.” But God is merciful and He sent His Only Son to help us while we are in the desert. Dear Lord, help us to learn to live in the desert. Help us now to be so full of love for you, that being in the desert is merely one more way to find You and love you. To be continued..............

to be continued...