Discernment Part Five

There is much more in Garrigou-Lagrange's book and much more on this subject, but I want to highlight only this selection below. I have found that in my life there have been people who have seemed holy only for me to discover that they do not love the Church, or desire the Eucharist. One wonders at the discrepancies, until one realizes that all the virtues come to be exhibited by the person who is truly holy. All the baptized are called to holiness. but without discernment, we can be fooled in following erroneous ideas or waste time in groups or endeavors which actually lead us into pride.

Too many people also fall into the category described below as "exotic". Eccentricity is not a sign of holiness.  Simplicity and a genuine humility are always signs of the spirit of God, whether in priests or in lay people. That God allows humiliation in one's life is a sign that He is working on the virtues, freeing one from the ego so that these virtues may flourish.

I have emphasized some characteristics of this topic in order to show that we are capable of developing the gift of discernment which has a real purpose in our lives. It is too easy for anyone to fall into self-deceit concerning progress on the road to perfection without a grounding in discernment.

Here are the last paragraphs for consideration at this time. One can see how these ideas follow some of the entries in Raissa's Journal. That Garrigou-Lagrange was part of the lives of the Maritains should surprise none of my readers.

Therefore the spirit which chafes under humiliation is not a perfect spirit: neither is the spirit which neglects to deny itself a spirit of solid virtue, since all the virtues ought to develop in unison as they are so closely related to each other.

It follows, therefore, that a spirit which prompts a man to numerous acts of mortification but not to ready obedience is imperfect, and must be regarded at least to some extent as having an evil intention, since it is so insistent on following its own will. True it is that such a spirit is often the cause of many good works but these are not inspired by any love of God, as is evident from the lack of growth in humble obedience the sure sign of loving conformity to the will of God.

Neither is that spirit to be trusted which is always urging man to paradoxical action, which is continually forming judgments that conflict with the common opinion of prudent men. Such a spirit is, so to speak, exotic and artificial; it is impulsive rather than virtuous.

Similarly, there cannot be any doubt about the evil nature of a spirit which fosters in man a desire for what is extraordinary and willingly speaks of this to all and sundry. God would never lead a soul to the higher planes of the spiritual life without making it at the same time extremely humble, since all the virtues arc inter-related and so are perfected together. That is why it is so easy to distinguish the truly high-minded person from one who is presumptuous. It is part of the devil's plan to incite in man a desire for what is new, curious, abnormal, amazing, unusual, and so to excite the wonder and admiration of others that they will think of him as a saint.

The same holds true of a person not yet firmly grounded in the virtues of humility and obedience, who while professing a desire to imitate the saints, concentrates on details of their lives which were never intended to be imitated but simply admired, and dedicates himself to a life of extraordinary forms of prayer and penance.

How foolish to commence erecting a spiritual mansion from the top, like a bird trying to fly without wings! We should never be misled by the apparent success of a soul which makes such an attempt; its flight into the realms of mysticism is deceptive, dangerous, and to no purpose.

Discernment Part Four

Again, we see that one can discern, can judge actions. Again, we see that the call to perfection is not an option. Again, we see that Garrigou-Lagrange could stand back and criticize the actions of priests who had fallen from this path, this call.

But, we are all called to be fervent in prayer, attentive in Mass, giving God time in silence, and being absolutely obedient to the teachings of the Catholic Church. 

To discern the human spirit is not difficult for most of us.  However, what is more difficult for some is the discerning of the spirit of evil, as satan pretends to be an angel of light.

First, a review of a priest caught up in his human spirit.

On the other hand, when this interior spirit is allowed to grow and develop it produces fruits of real sanctity. We become all the more clearly aware of the value and excellence of our religious vocation.

"This interior spirit is formed in us by the practice of the means of perfection suggested by ascetical theology, but it is firmly established and perfected by spiritual growth in the different stages of the mystical life, as is well explained by St. Thomas. The mystical life is the completion of the ascetical life, the peak of the soul's ascent through the various stages of Christian perfection. There have been periods when this teaching was regarded with suspicion, when practical errors in this respect stunted the growth of the spirit of genuine piety; but now we can be grateful for the return to traditional teaching, which has re-opened the way for souls a thirst for the supernatural life to come to a knowledge of mystical realities And in this life of perfection the spirit of God is most certainly present revivifying the soul."

Obvious examples of the influence of the spirit of nature are tepidity in the celebration of Holy Mass, haste in the saying of one's Office almost like a machine. curiosity and eventually sloth in the pursuit of one's studies, carelessness in observing the rule of silence and other practical rules, restrictions attached to the extent of one's obedience, cringing obedience out of love for the human superior and not for God or with a view to the obtaining of new honours and dignities.

Now, the hard bit....discernment of evil. We must all, in these difficult times of chaos and "mess" learn to discern the spirit of evil. We have the gift, the grace to do so. It is imperative that we learn to discern evil.

In contrast to the spirit of God the spirit of the devil at first lifts the soul to the heights of pride and then plunges it down into turmoil and despair, just as the devil himself sinned through pride and is now condemned to an eternity of despair and hatred of God.

In order to recognize this evil spirit we must first observe its effect on mortification, humility, and obedience, and then its effect on the theological virtues.

Prudence, temperance and obedience are signs of the spirit of God. The opposites show something else.

The spirit of the devil does not always deter a soul from mortification; in this respect it differs from the spirit of nature. On the contrary, it often urges the soul to go to extremes in the practice of exterior mortification which everyone can see, which results in spiritual pride and injury to the individual's health. Such a spirit has no time for the interior mortification of the imagination, heart, and one's own will and judgment, although it pretends to be concerned about it by making the soul scrupulous over details but careless in matters of greater importance; for example, in the principal duties of one's state of life. It prompts the soul to hypocrisy: "I fast twice in the week" (Luke xviii, 12).

Humility is never encouraged by this spirit, for it gradually distorts the soul's vision to see itself as greater than it really is, greater than anyone else. Almost unconsciously it makes the prayer of the Pharisee its own: "I thank thee, God, that I am not like the rest of men ... or like this publican here" (Luke xviii, 11). This spiritual pride goes hand in hand with a false humility, which accuses itself of some evil so as to avoid being accused by others of even greater faults and in order to make them think that we are truly humble. Sometimes the evil spirit leads us to confuse humility with faint-heartedness, which is the daughter of pride and fears to ran the risk of contempt. The evil spirit is also an enemy of obedience, prompting us either to open disobedience or to servility according to circumstances.

If I know a seminarian is practicing fasting, I know he will be a good priest. But, if a young person is caught up either in a middle class lifestyle or the excesses of asceticism, one can be sure that pride, if not ignorance, is involved.

Garrigou-Lagrange shows how each virtue of faith, hope and charity can be distorted by the evil one.

I do not have time to go into each category, but this section applies to the laity especially with regard to private revelations.

As regards the virtue of faith the spirit of the devil distracts our attention from the truths of the Gospel which are simpler and yet more profound such as those contained in the Our Father which we ought always to say with special care and devotion, or those portrayed in the mysteries of the Rosary and encourages us to focus our mind on what is extraordinary. Remember his tempting of Christ: "If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down to earth; for it is written, He has given charge to his angels concerning thee, and they will hold thee up with their hands, lest thou shouldst chance to trip on a stone. Jesus said to him, But it is further written, Thou shalt not put the Lord Thy God to the proof" (Matt, iv, 6-7).

The spirit of God, on the other hand, shows us clearly how to discern a person of faith, and helps us on our way to perfection.

The spirit of God nourishes our faith on the simpler and more profound truths of the Gospel, such as those contained in the Our Father. It keeps us faithful to tradition and strangers to novelty. This genuine supernatural faith helps us to see God in our superiors, and thus our spirit of faith is perfected since we come to judge everything in the light of this virtue.

Garrigou-Lagrange then comes to the core of how to react to extraordinary graces. This section is important to all of us. Remember, revelations must tend towards bringing the person to greater holiness and greater humility.

It would be presumptuous on our part to crave for extraordinary graces, such as revelations or interior conversations. But a soul which lives and perseveres in humility, self-denial, and almost continual recollection often receives in accordance with the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost special inspirations which result in a wonderful blending of simplicity and prudence, humility and zeal, firmness and gentleness. This harmony and blending of the virtues is a sure sign of the presence of God's spirit.

Those who do receive extraordinary graces from God must be prepared to carry the cross, to maintain complete silence and secrecy, and to speak about their favours to no one other than their spiritual director. Otherwise they stand in grave peril of spiritual pride.

There is a special danger in revelations which seem to refer to future events or to questions of doctrine, since they so easily give rise to deception. Even if the original inspiration were from God, the individual could later on superimpose his own interpretation which may be to a greater or less extent erroneous and is usually too material. In conclusion, it cannot be stressed too often that ecstasies and revelations which do not result in a more perfect way of life and do not make the subject less sure of himself cannot be attributed to the spirit of God especially if they promote discord, and interfere with the fulfilment of the duties attached to one's state of life.

Therefore the signs of God's spirit are humble obedience, brotherly love, peace, spiritual joy which radiates itself to all around.

to be continued....

Mary and Eve

Mary is sometimes called the New Eve.

But, a thought came to me today in my contemplation on sins of envy and pride.

Some theologians claim that Satan fell when he was shown the future and the fact of the Incarnation. Some say he refused to serve God in the Person of Jesus Christ, True God and True Man.

But, what if Satan saw the honor given to the most perfect of creatures made by God, the Immaculate Conception?  What if Satan refused to honor the Theotokos, or even accept his inferiority to her as the brightest angel in the heavens?

What if he was so envious of Our Lady's perfection that he plotted to tempt Eve in retaliation for the most beautiful creature on earth, who he would have to serve, the New Eve, Mary? What if Satan's hatred and temptation of Eve came from his envy and pride?

It is odd that in my short life, I have met priests who do not love Mary. One actually told me "The Church no longer emphasizes Mary." How interesting that years later I found out that these priests who hated Mary were acting homosexuals.

The grave sins of the universe, especially pride and envy, prevent a man from loving Mary.

Satan does not nor ever did love Mary.

Is is possible that he cried out "I will not serve" because he would have served The Woman?

Genesis 3:15 DR

¹⁵ I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.

Last reference to The Dialogues and other writings of St. Catherine of Siena

In some translations of her treatises and Dialogue, the sins referred by Christ regarding His priests point to the fact that if these men said the Mass properly, not mumbling, they knew that they would be creating a sacrilege.

Some things have not changed, but we should be so scandalized....

"The fruits of this death-giving tree, are as diverse as sins are diverse. See that some of these fruits are the food of beasts who live impurely, using their body and their mind like a swine who wallows in mud, for in the same way they wallow in the mire of sensuality.

"Oh, ugly soul, where have you left your dignity? You were made sister to the angels, and now you are become a brute beast. To such misery come sinners, notwithstanding that they are sustained by Me, who am Supreme Purity, notwithstanding that the very devils, whose friends and servants they have become, cannot endure the sight of such filthy actions.

"Neither does any sin, abominable as it may be, take away the light of the intellect from man, so much as does this one. This the philosophers knew, not by the light of grace, because they had it not, but because nature gave them the light to know that this sin obscured the intellect, and for that reason they preserved themselves in continence the better to study.

"Thus also they flung away their riches in order that the thought of them should not occupy their heart. Not so does the ignorant and false Christian, who has lost grace by sin."
 

more


"What I say of the universal body and the mystical body of the Holy Church (that is to say the Christian religion) I also say of My ministers, who stand and feed at the breasts of Holy Church; and, not only should they feed themselves, but it is also their duty to feed and hold to those breasts the universal body of Christian people, and also any other people who should wish to leave the darkness of their infidelity, and bind themselves as members to My Church.

"See then with what ignorance and darkness, and ingratitude, are administered, and with what filthy hands are handled this glorious milk and blood of My spouse, and with what presumption and irreverence they are received. Wherefore, that which really gives life, often gives, through the defects of those who receive it, death; that is to say, the precious Blood of My only-begotten Son, which destroyed death and darkness, and gave life and truth, and confounded falsehood.

"For I give this Blood and use It for salvation and perfection in the case of that man who disposes himself properly to receive it, for It gives life and adorns the soul with every grace, in proportion to the disposition and affection of him who receives It; similarly It gives death to him who receives It unworthily, living in iniquity and in the darkness of mortal sin; to him, I say, It gives death and not life; not through defect of the Blood, nor through defect of the minister, though there might be great evil in him, because his evil would not spoil nor defile the Blood nor diminish Its grace and virtue, nor does an evil minister do harm to him to whom he gives the Blood, but to himself he does the harm of guilt, which will be followed by punishment, unless he correct himself with contrition and repentance.

And one of her letters to the Pope Gregory XI in Avignon: http://www.britannica.com/women/article-9404147

In the Name of Jesus Christ crucified and of sweet Mary: Most holy and dear and sweet father in Christ sweet Jesus: I your unworthy daughter Catherine, servant and slave of the servants of Jesus Christ, write to you in His precious Blood. With desire have I desired to see in you the fulness of divine grace, in such wise that you may be the means, through divine grace, of pacifying all the universal world. Therefore, I beg you, sweet my father, to use the instrument of your power and virtue, with zeal, and hungry desire for the peace and honour of God and the salvation of souls. And should you say to me, father--"The world is so ravaged! How shall I attain peace?" I tell you, on behalf of Christ crucified, it befits you to achieve three chief things through your power. Do you uproot in the garden of Holy Church the malodorous flowers, full of impurity and avarice, swollen with pride: that is, the bad priests and rulers who poison and rot that garden. Ah me, you our Governor, do you use your power to pluck out those flowers! Throw them away, that they may have no rule! Insist that they study to rule themselves in holy and good life. Plant in this garden fragrant flowers, priests and rulers who are true servants of Jesus Christ, and care for nothing but the honour of God and the salvation of souls, and are fathers of the poor. Alas, what confusion is this, to see those who ought to be a mirror of voluntary poverty, meek as lambs, distributing the possessions of Holy Church to the poor: and they appear in such luxury and state and pomp and worldly vanity, more than if they had turned them to the world a thousand times! Nay, many seculars put them to shame who live a good and holy life. But it seems that Highest and Eternal Goodness is having that done by force which is not done by love; it seems that He is permitting dignities and luxuries to be taken away from His Bride, as if He would show that Holy Church should return to her first condition, poor, humble, and meek as she was in that holy time when men took note of nothing but the honour of God and the salvation of souls, caring for spiritual things and not for temporal. For ever since she has aimed more at temporal than at spiritual, things have gone from bad to worse. See therefore that God, in judgment, has allowed much persecution and tribulation to befall her. But comfort you, father, and fear not for anything that could happen, which God does to make her state perfect once more, in order that lambs may feed in that garden, and not wolves who devour the honour that should belong to God, which they steal and give to themselves. Comfort you in Christ sweet Jesus; for I hope that His aid will be near you, plenitude of divine grace, aid and support divine in the way that I said before. Out of war you will attain greatest peace; out of persecution, greatest unity; not by human power, but by holy virtue, you will discomfit those visible demons, wicked men, and those invisible demons who never sleep around us. But reflect, sweet father, that you could not do this easily unless you accomplished the other two things which precede the completion of the other: that is, your return to Rome and uplifting of the standard of the most holy Cross. Let not your holy desire fail on account of any scandal or rebellion of cities which you might see or hear; nay, let the flame of holy desire be more kindled to wish to do swiftly. Do not delay, then, your coming. Do not believe the devil, who perceives his own loss, and so exerts himself to rob you of your possessions in order that you may lose your love and charity and our coming be hindered. I tell you, father in Christ Jesus, come swiftly like a gentle lamb. Respond to the Holy Spirit who calls you. I tell you, Come, come, come, and do not wait for time, since time does not wait for you. Then you will do like the Lamb Slain whose place you hold, who without weapons in His hand slew our foes, coming in gentleness, using only the weapons of the strength of love, aiming only at care of spiritual things, and restoring grace to man who had lost it through sin. Alas, sweet my father, with this sweet hand I pray you, and tell you to come to discomfit our enemies. On behalf of Christ crucified I tell it you: refuse to believe the counsels of the devil, who would hinder your holy and good resolution. Be manly in my sight, and not timorous. Answer God, who calls you to hold and possess the seat of the glorious Shepherd St. Peter, whose vicar you have been. And raise the standard of the holy Cross; for as we were freed by the Cross--so Paul says--thus raising this standard, which seems to me the refreshment of Christians, we shall be freed--we from our wars and divisions and many sins, the infidel people from their infidelity. In this way you will come and attain the reformation, giving good priests to Holy Church. Fill her heart with the ardent love that she has lost; for she has been so drained of blood by the iniquitous men who have devoured her that she is wholly wan. But comfort you, and come, father, and no longer make to wait the servants of God, who afflict themselves in desire. And I, poor, miserable woman, can wait no more; living, I seem to die in my pain, seeing God thus reviled. Do not, then, hold off from peace because of the circumstance which has occurred at Bologna, but come; for I tell you that the fierce wolves will put their heads in your bosom like gentle lambs, and will ask mercy from you, father. I say no more. I beg you, father, to hear and hark that which Fra Raimondo will say to you, and the other sons with him, who come in the Name of Christ crucified and of me; for they are true servants of God and sons of Holy Church. Pardon, father, my ignorance, and may the love and grief which make me speak excuse me to your benignity. Give me your benediction. Remain in the holy and sweet grace of God. Sweet Jesus, Jesus Love.

© 2013 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

On a happier note, I shall use this great saint in the perfection series....later on this year

Third selection of message to St. Catherine Siena from Christ

Because of the news from Los Angeles, these bits from Catherine seem timely....
"I have shown to the eye of your intellect a very small part of what happens, and so
small is what I have shown you with regard to what it really is, to the suffering, that
is, of the one, and the happiness of the other, that it is but a trifle. See how great is
the blindness of man, and in particular of these ministers, for the more they have
received of Me, and the more they are enlightened by the Holy Scripture, the greater
are their obligations and more intolerable confusion do they receive for not
fulfilling them; the more they knew of Holy Scripture during their life, the better do
they know at their death the great sins they have committed, and their torments are
greater than those of others, just as good men are placed in a higher degree of
excellence. Theirs is the fate of the false Christian, who is placed in Hell in greater
torment than a pagan, because he had the light of faith and renounced it, while the
pagan never had it.


"So these wretches will be punished more than other Christians for the same sin, on
account of the ministry which I entrusted to them, appointing them to administer
the sun of the holy Sacrament, and because they had the light of science, in order to
discern the truth both for themselves and others had they wished to; wherefore they
justly receive the greater pains. But the wretches do not know this, for did they
consider their state at all, they would not come to such misery, but would be that
which they ought to be and are not. For the whole world has thus become corrupt,
they being much more guilty than seculars, according to their state; for with their
stench they defile the face of their soul, and corrupt their subjects, and suck the
blood from My spouse, that is, the holy Church, wherefore through these sins they
make her grow pale, because they divert to themselves the love and charity which
they should have to this divine spouse, and think of nothing but stripping her for
their own advantage, seizing prelacies, and great properties, when they ought to be
seeking souls. Wherefore through their evil life, seculars become irreverent and
disobedient to the holy Church, not that they ought on that account to do so, or that
their sins are excused through the sins of My ministers." Diallogues

Second selection from St. Catherine of Siena on bad priests

Because of the news from Los Angeles...

So, were the prelate, or any other lord having
subjects, on seeing one putrefying from the corruption of mortal sin, to apply to him
the ointment of soft words of encouragement alone, without reproof, he would
never cure him, but the putrefaction would rather spread to the other members,
who, with him, form one body under the same pastor. But if he were a physician,
good and true to those souls, as were those glorious pastors of old, he would not
give salving ointment without the fire of reproof. And, were the member still to
remain obstinate in his evil doing, he would cut him off from the congregation in
order that he corrupt not the other members with the putrefaction of mortal sin.
But they act not so today, but, in cases of evil doing, they even pretend not to see.
And do you know why? The root of self-love is alive in them, wherefore they bear
perverted and servile fear. Because they fear to lose their position or their temporal
goods, or their prelacy, they do not correct, but act like blind ones, in that they see
not the real way by which their position is to be kept. If they would only see that it is
by holy justice they would be able to maintain it; but they do not, because they are
deprived of light. But, thinking to preserve their position with injustice, they do not
reprove the faults of those under them; and they are deluded by their own sensitive
self-love, or by their desire for lordship and prelacy, and they correct not the faults
they should correct in others, because the same or greater ones are their own. They
feel themselves comprehended in the guilt, and they therefore lose all ardor and
security, and, fettered by servile fear, they make believe not to see. And, moreover, if
they do see they do not correct, but allow themselves to be bound over with
flattering words and with many presents, and they themselves find the excuse for
the guilty ones not to be punished. In such as these are fulfilled the words spoken by
My Truth, saying: 'These are blind and leaders of the blind, and if the blind lead the
blind, they both fall into the ditch.'

An old combination of evils

A long time ago, a good TLM priest told me to look at the connection between liturgical abuse and sexual abuse. I did and I do.

I shall write more on this tomorrow.  I knew about this years ago, as my diocese was one of the worst areas for both sexual and liturgical abuses.

To be continued...series on St. Catherine's writings regarding bad priests.............

http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/there-is-no-excuse-in-la-defcon-5.html

http://www.realclearreligion.org/articles/2013/01/25/cardinal_mahonys_la_cosa_nostra.html

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/01/archbishop-takes-action-on-mahony-curry-over-abuse-scandal.html

Thanks to wiki

Christ words in the Dialogues of St. Catherine of Siena on good and bad priests:

“You should love them therefore by reason of the virtue and dignity of the Sacrament, and by reason of that very virtue and dignity you should hate the defects of those who live miserably in sin, but not on that account appoint yourselves their judges, which I forbid, because they are My Christs, and you ought to love and reverence the authority which I have given them.
“It not being My will that they should be in this state, you should pray for them, and not judge them, leaving their judgment to Me. And I, moved by your prayers, will do them mercy if they will only receive it, but if they do not correct their life, their dignity will be the cause of their ruin. For if they do not accept the breadth of My mercy, I, the Supreme Judge, shall terribly condemn them at their last extremity, and they will be sent to the eternal fire.”