The Fourth Principle of Providence

In view of Quietism, however, this last sentence obliges us to lay down a fourth principle no less certain than the principles that have preceded. The principle is, that obviously self-abandonment does not dispense us from doing everything in our power to fulfil God's will as made known in the commandments and counsels, and in the events of life; but so long as we have the sincere desire to carry out His will thus made known from day to day, we can and indeed we must abandon ourselves for the rest to the divine will of good pleasure, no matter how mysterious it may be, and thus avoid a useless disquiet and mere agitation. [55]

This fourth principle is expressed in equivalent terms by the Council of Trent (Sess. VI, cap. 13), when it declares that we must all have firm hope in God's assistance and put our trust in Him, being careful at the same time to keep His commandments. As the well-known proverb has it: "Do what you ought, come what may." Garrigou-Lagrange

It is interesting that St. Padre Pio reminds us that agitation comes from satan, not God and is a sign that one is giving into temptation. Garrigou-Lagrange understands the same truth.

With the stress of our daily lives, it seems impossible to not fall into agitation (getting upset at the speed of the Net-a first world problem, for example).

Yes, one desires to live in the Will of God. Desire and pray for this daily, and God will guide you.

St. Padre Pio' s Suffering

Padre Pio suffered much in his life. He was not allowed to say public Mass or hear confessions for many, many years.

But, another one of his sufferings was the attribution of prophecies which he never said or wrote concerning the end times.

The author Desmond Birch did research into the supposed prophecy of St. Pio on the three days of darkness.  What he discovered is that Padre Pio never referred to this either in speech or in writing. The Capuchin Order is also on record for saying that this reference on the three days of darkness was never made by St. Pio.

The book for this information is here Trial, Tribulation, & Triumph.

We all know that there is a lot of false information on the Net.

If something is not authenticated by Holy Mother Church, it is not to be considered authentic.

Our safety is in the Church. And, remember, the prophecies of saints are not doctrine, dogma or infallible, and are open to interpretation.

It is interesting that some of those who hold with the false attribution of this prophecy to Padre Pio are also in disobedience regarding Bayside, which has not only been not approved, but condemned as not being from God. One reason I do not follow the priest, Fr. Gruner, who is suspended from his own diocese, is that he supports Bayside.

One is either an obedient Catholic or not. A reminder:

I, the undersigned Diocesan Bishop of Brooklyn, in my role as the legitimate shepherd of this particular Church, wish to confirm the constant position of the Diocese of Brooklyn that a thorough investigation revealed that the alleged "visions of Bayside" completely lacked authenticity.
...Therefore, in consultation with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I hereby declare that:
1. No credibility can be given to the so-called "apparitions" reported by Veronica Lueken and her followers.
2. The "messages" and other related propaganda contain statements which, among other things, are contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church, undermine the legitimate authority of bishops and councils and instill doubts in the minds of the faithful, for example, by claiming that, for years, an "imposter (sic) Pope" governed the Catholic Church in place of Paul VI.  November 4, 1986

On Virtue, Again-Heroic Virtue

Some readers are still confused on the life of the virtues. I recommend, again, the posts I have mostly referrencing Garrigou-Lagrange on this subject through the tags.

However, a little review is good. Here is Thomas Aquinas:

Summa Theologica  I-II:61:4

Virtue consists in the following, or imitation, of God. Every virtue, like every other thing, has its type [exemplar] in God. Thus the Divine mind itself is the type of prudence; God using all things to minister to His glory is the type of temperance, by which man subjects his lower appetites to reason; justice is typified by God's application of the eternal law to all His works; Divine immutability is the type of fortitude. And, since it is man's nature to live in society, the four cardinal virtues are social [politicae] virtues, inasmuch as by them man rightly ordains his conduct in daily life. Man, however, must raise himself beyond his natural life unto a life Divine: 'Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect' (Matthew 5:48). It is, therefore, necessary to posit certain virtues midway between the social virtues, which are human, and the exemplary virtues, which are Divine. These intermediate virtues are of two degrees of perfection: the lesser in the soul still struggling upwards from a life of sin to a likeness with God — these are called purifying virtues [virtutes purgatoriae]; the greater in the souls which have already attained to the Divine likeness — these are called virtues of the purified soul [virtutes jam purgati animi]. In the lesser degree, prudence, moved by the contemplation of things Divine, despises all things earthly and directs all the soul's thought unto God alone; temperance relinquishes, as far as nature allows, the things required for bodily wants; fortitude removes the fear of departing this life and facing the life beyond; justice approves of the aforesaid dispositions. In the higher perfection of souls already purified and firmly united with God, prudence knows nothing but what it beholds in God; temperance ignores earthly desires; fortitude knows nothing of passions; justice is bound to the Divine mind by a perpetual compact to do as it does. This degree of perfection belongs to the blessed in heaven or to a few of the most perfect in this life.

The greatest blockages to virtue are sin, mortal and venial, and the persistence of our being influenced by our predominant fault.

One flaw can block a life of the virtues, which is why one must beg for purgation.

Heroic virtue is working under horribly difficult circumstances in order to become perfect. One sees, of course, heroic virtue in the lives of the martyrs, but heroic virtue may also point to quiet lives of constant suffering.

For example, a person who is chronically ill, but accepts God's grace to live in suffering cheerfully and with gratitude is exemplifying heroic virtue.

 A man living with a wife who is unsaved, or a woman, like St. Monica, living with a pagan until he died, exhibits heroic virtue in suffering unequal yoking and even derision.

A person unable to pull themselves out of dire poverty but accepts the limitations in grace and peace shows heroic virtue.

Someone who forgives a betrayal from a friend, or from a spouse in a marriage, may show us heroic virtue.

Some holy people in heaven are there because of manifesting heroic virtue, rather than perfection. For example, a person under an oppression may gain heaven through a lifetime of suffering.

Padre Pio showed us many virtues, but he also shows us heroic virtue, as he was persecuted by his own monastery.

So many saints had to endure misunderstandings, or sins, lies, even the envy, of others around them, such as St. Faustina and St. Bernadette.

Heroic virtue means enduring under very difficult circumstances. One person who will be recognized as "blessed" soon is Pope Paul VI. I have maintained for a long time that his holiness, as stated by the Pope Emeritus in December of 2012, is based on heroic virtue.

Paul VI promulgated Humanae Vitae against the advice of many in the Church, indeed, in the Vatican.

As the most significant and prophetic encyclical of our time, this document shows that the Pope endured with heroic virtue. He may have found himself isolated even in his own place for this decision to share God's Will concerning life and procreation.

Some get to heaven purely by martyrdom. Some by actions and consistency of heroic virtue.

As a loyal daughter of the Church, I trust the canonization process and the current Pope to only follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit when expressing opinions from the Chair of Peter.

May many Catholics, who do not reach perfection on earth, merit heaven through heroic virtue. I think we are even now being given the chance.

Perfection Series IV: Part Fifteen; Unitive State Description Continued.

Much confusion exists on the status of saints, what makes a saint, who are saints. That is why Catholics trust the Church in the person of the Pope, to make the infallible statement as to who is a saint and who is not. Those who are not accepting certain people who have been canonized as saints to be saints, are in disobedience to the doctrine of infallibility.

What the Church has determined is that by the end of the saint's life, he or she had experience a union with God, the last step of perfection. The reason is simple-only the perfect see God and canonized saints skip purgatory. They go right to heaven when they die-hence, their lives can be examined and honored by us.

That many saints have not written about the Unitive State does not mean that they have not experienced this state. Quite the opposite. After his experience of God in glory, St. Thomas Aquinas could not write anything. Not all saints are writers, or journal-keepers, or under obedience to share their experiences, including those of unity.

We look to the mystics for descriptions, but all the saints would have experienced, without definitions or even without sharing, union with God while on earth--the Unitive State. The Unitive State is the last step

Here is Garrigou-Lagrange on the subject. He has much more to say on this, but the aspect of the continual knowledge of God separates the Unitive State from the others. As you readers look at this, you will see the great distinctions between those who have reached this level of perfection and the Illuminative State.

QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL AND ALMOST CONTINUAL KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
After the passive purification of the spirit, which is like a third conversion and transformation, the perfect know God in a quasi­experimental manner that is not transitory, but almost continual. Not only during Mass, the Divine Office, or prayer, but in the midst of external occupations, they remain in the presence of God and preserve actual union with Him.
The matter will be easily understood by our considering the egoist's contrary state of soul. The egoist thinks always of himself and, without realizing it, refers everything to himself. He talks continually with himself about his inordinate desires, sorrows, or superficial joys; his intimate conversation with himself is endless, but it is vain, sterile, and unproductive for all. The perfect man, on the contrary, instead of thinking always of himself, thinks continually of God, His glory, and the salvation of souls; he instinctively makes everything converge toward the object of his thoughts. His intimate conversation is no longer with himself, but with God, and the words of the Gospel frequently recur to his mind to enlighten from on high the smallest pleasurable or painful facts of daily life. His soul sings the glory of God, and from it radiate spiritual light and fervor, which are perpetually bestowed on him from above.

One thinks of St. Paul's experience of being carried out of himself into God.  Our Lady lived in this state.

The reason for this state is that the perfect man, unlike the beginner, no longer contemplates God only in the mirror of sensible things or of the Gospel parables, about which it is impossible to think continually. Neither does he, like the proficient, contemplate God only in the mirror of the mysteries of the life of Christ, a prayer that cannot last all day long; but, in the penumbra of faith, he contemplates the divine goodness itself, a little as we see the diffused light that always surrounds us and illumines everything from above.

According to the terms used by Dionysius the Mystic and preserved by St. Thomas,(1) this is the movement of circular contemplation, superior to the straight and the oblique movements. The straight movement, like the flight of the lark, rises from a sensible fact recalled in a parable to a divine perfection, from the sight of the prodigal son to infinite mercy. The oblique movement rises, for example, from the mysteries of the childhood of Christ to those of His passion, of His glory, and finally to the infinite love of God for us. The circular movement is similar to the flight of the eagle, which, after soaring aloft, delights in describing the same circle several times, then hovers seemingly motionless in the light of the sun, scrutinizing the depths of the horizon.
Here it is a question of a knowledge of the radiating goodness of God. The soul sees now in a quasi-experimental manner that everything God has done in the order of nature and that of grace is intended to manifest His goodness, and that if He permits evil, like a dissonance, it is for a higher good, which is glimpsed at times and which will appear on the last day.
This contemplation, by reason of its superior simplicity, may be continual and, far from hindering us from beholding the sequence of events, lets us see them from above, somewhat as God sees them as a man on a mountain sees what is happening on the plain below. It is like the prelude or the aurora of the vision of the fatherland, although the soul is still in the obscurity of faith.
This very simple supernatural view even on earth was continual in Mary, to a lesser degree in St. Joseph. It also enabled the apostles after Pentecost, to see in the divine light what they were to do for the preaching of the Gospel and the constitution of the first churches.
This all-embracing spiritual gaze is to be found in all the saints; it does not exclude significant details, but admirably perceives their profound meaning. At the same time it removes the imperfections springing from natural haste, unconscious self-seeking, and the lack of habitual recollection.

The person in the Unitive State now sees herself as God sees her. She now has a perfect confidence in God's Love for her. All her faculties are focused on God and His Will. The gifts of the Spirit and the virtues blossom like flowers. 

People know, like those around Padre Pio, that they are in the presence of a saint.

 
As a consequence the perfect know themselves, no longer only in themselves but in God, their beginning and end. In Him they see their indigence, the infinite distance separating them from the Creator; they feel themselves preserved in being by His sovereignly free love. They ceaselessly experience to what a degree they need His grace for the least salutary act; they do not become discouraged over their sins, but draw a truer humility from them. They make their examination of conscience by considering what is written of their existence in the book of life. They sincerely consider themselves useless servants, who of themselves can do nothing, but whom the Lord deigns to use for the accomplishment of great things, those that prepare the life of eternity. If they see their neighbor's sins, they think there is no sin committed by another which they themselves would not be capable of committing had they the same heredity and were they placed in the same circumstances, faced with the same temptations. If they see the great virtues of other souls, they rejoice in them for the sake of the Lord and of souls, remembering that in the mystical body of Christ the growth of one member redounds to the profit of all the others.

This infused contemplation proceeds from a living faith illumined by the gift of wisdom, which, under the special inspiration of the Holy Ghost, shows that nothing good happens unless God wills it, nothing evil unless God permits it for a higher good. This eminent view may be almost continual by reason of its simplicity and universality, because the events of daily life fall under its scope, like lessons about the things of God and like the application of the Gospel to each one's life. It is the continuation of the Gospel which is being written in souls until the end of time.
Then the Christian who has attained to this state has such knowledge of the divine perfections and of the virtues demanded of the soul, that he has passed beyond not only the confused concept but also the distinct concept of the theologian, to the experimental concept, rich in all the experience of life, which becomes concrete, enlightening him from above for the good of souls. Thus he attains to the experiential concept of infinite goodness, as well as to that of perfect simplicity and true humility, which inclines him to love to be nothing in order that God may be all.

The Unitive State is all about living in Love, Who is a Person.

to be continued.... 

On Angels and Humans

Some people have shared with me that they see their guardian angels. Some have experienced the presence of the guardian angels. Some have seen the results of those angels' "works", such as a miraculous intervention in a car accident or some other disaster.

Some people have been awakened in the middle of the night for no apparent reason to discover a small fire, without smoke or scent, which could have become larger and killed them.

Some people have told me that they have seen angelic beings in dreams, with advice on a problem.

And, so on.

St. Padre Pio spoke with his angels. He is a great saint.

But, to those who have not experienced the care of their angels, I share this advice from St. Bernard of Clarivaux. Are you praying? Are you chaste? In Sermon Seven, this saint interprets the "princes of Judah" in the Psalms as the angels who rejoice when a good man strives for perfection.

Bernard, like Christ, has harsh words for those who are lukewarm. The angels come to those who praise God, as that is their main role. Bernard notes, "Whoever offers praise, his sacrifice honors me."

As we draw closer to God, through meditation, through active and, hopefully, finally, passive contemplation, we may be more aware of the angels.

They shrink from those in mortal sin, grieving at the death of the soul. They rejoice in the operations of grace in the soul.

Bernard humble states that he is helped in his spiritual life by those good men around him striving for perfection, and by the holy angels. He is also helped by the Church Triumphant, those saints in heaven who intercede for all of us.

Do not spurn your guardian angel. Move away from lukewarmness and repent of wasting grace.

We are surrounded by good angels.

On Guardian Angels

St.Therese, the Little Flower, and St. Padre Pio, tell us that we can send our Guardian Angels to other people in order to speak words of consolation to them.

St. Therese wrote a lovely poem about her angel and bid him visit those friends of hers who needed comforting. She even mentioned that the angel should whisper her name to that friend.

St. Padre Pio told people to “send their angels” to him and that he would listen to the intercessions brought by the angel. One source indicates that St. Padre Pio would send one’s angel to another person to whisper thoughts, inspirations, and consolations to that person.

This teaching is not doctrine or infallible teaching, but one can see that two of the greatest saints of the last century believed and, indeed, had personal experience of sending angels to those they loved or who were entrusted to them.

I do this more and more, especially with friends or family members experiencing depression, unemployment, confusion, lack of confidence.  I send a guardian angel to St. Padre Pio and ask him to speak to the angel proper words of intercession for another person and then send the angel to that person. I trust in St. Padre Pio’s discernment more than my own, of course.

One of my spiritually mature friends uses her angel to send messages of consolation to others through Padre Pio. If any of the readers have any experiences concerning the employment of guardian angels, feel free to comment.

We do not use those loving companions of the angelic hosts enough. They are waiting for us to acknowledge their love and care.

I have had one experience of being awakened in the middle of the night with a message from far-away country. I did immediately pray for this person. Respond to such inspirations. Someone, through Padre Pio, could be asking you for prayer, as we are all connected in Christ.

Padre Pio on Hope

"I am oppressed by the uncertainty of my future, but I cherish the lively hope of seeing my dreams fulfilled because the Lord cannot place thoughts and desires in a person's soul if he does not really intend to fulfill them, to gratify these longings which he alone has caused." (see book reference in previous post)

Padre Pio on Perfection

Padre Pio understood the Dark Night of the Soul.

This is taken from the book, Padre Pio's Word of Hope, Ed. Eileen Dunn Bertanzetti, OSV Press, Huntington, IN. 1999.

"...within this fog thee is a clear, pure, delightful, divine and delicate light...You cannot discern this light, but it is none the less true that precisely this light strengthens and invigorates you in the service and persevering love of the Lord.  It is a light, moreover, which is for you and for your soul the beginning of contemplation. You cannot fully achieve this contemplation until you have submitted humbly to the purification of the senses. Yet, who would believe that this light, which in the beginning invades the soul with such desolation and pain, is later to raise it up to mystical and transforming union?"

How nice that the great saints and writers of perfection agree on the steps to purification.

Do not give up in the Dark Night, no matter how long it is. God is doing something quietly in the darkness.

Be patient with yourself and with God.

Devotion to Guardian Angels

In a week of synchronicity in conversations, several people have brought up the fact that they did not keep up with a devotion to their guardian angels, despite being either cradle Catholics or long-time converts.

This fact has prompted this post on the necessity and beauty of conversing with one's guardian angle.

Perhaps the most recent expert on guardian angels is St. Padre Pio. Padre Pio saw his guardian angel from youth and noted on several occassions the importance of acknowledging one's guardian.

This great saint noted that the angel of God sent to Christians is a sensitive and obedient creature.

Padre Pio also reminds us to "use" the guardian angel for "chores" which are holy.

For example, I pray to my angel and ask him, (although he is without gender), to go here and there, to inspire someone to convert, to tell someone that she is loved, and so on. The saint writes that the guardian angels want to be used, to be active.

Also, for the lonely, Padre Pio reminds all that one is never alone.

"Do not forget this invisible companion, always present to listen to you; always ready to console you." 

"For people that live alone there is the Guardian Angel." 

"For whomever is alone, there is his Guardian Angel."

As an old woman told me yesterday, she is becoming closer to her guardian angel as she approaches death. I am sure her angel will be by her bedside when she dies.

As for me, I have had a special devotion to my angel(s) for a long time. For some reason, I believe I have two and can tell you the time when a second one joined the other. I do not know why I have now two, but I have had two since 2009. Perhaps, this has to do with the fact that in that year, my son went to seminary for his pre-formation year.

I do not see my guardian angels, but I sense the presence of these heavenly beings, especially at some Masses I have attended. They worship Christ in the Eucharist. I do not know if this is my imagination or not, but these two heavenly beings impress their presence upon me as having color. One, I send on errands of love. The other is always with me. Of course, as angels are spirits and out of time, one cannot judge their interplay with time and distance. But, I know that since 2009, there was a length of time when one was "gone" some place and now is back. I do not understand these things, of course, but trust in God and trust in my angels.

Talk to your guardian angel, and ask him to do things for you.

Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God Love, commits me here, ever this day, be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

As Padre Pio said, it is less expensive than shoes or a stamp to have your angel take a message to someone.

And, he also reminds us that the angels keep us from evil harm and from temptation.

Today, stop and thank your guardian angel for his help. Thank him for his service to you, daily.