St. Veronica Giuliani's Trip to Hell

One day the devil showed her a vision of hell. “It seems that the tempter showed my soul hell being opened, and that in fact he had placed it (her soul) in it, and that only a small push was needed to cast it inside. It seemed then that I heard screams and voices of lamentation from the damned. I only saw infernal monsters, many serpents, many ferocious animals, and an infernal stench and extremely hot flames, which were so big that their height could not be measured. I could only compare it to the distance between heaven and earth. As far as the size of the place, one could not see the beginning or the end. You could hear many blasphemies and curses against God. How sad. What torment this caused my soul.”
She was shown hell once more: “At that moment I was once again shown hell opened; and it seemed many souls descended there, they were so ugly and black that they struck terror in me. They all dropped down in a rush, one after the other, and once they had entered those chasms there was nothing to be seen but fire and flames.” This vision led Veronica to offer herself as a victim of Divine Justice: “My Lord, I offer myself to stand here as a doorway, so that no one may enter down there and lose You.” Then she stretched out her arms and said, “As long as I stand in this doorway, no one shall enter. O souls, go back! My God, I ask nothing else of You but the salvation of sinners. Send me more pains, more torments, more crosses!”

The Blessed Virgin Mary speaking to Veronica about her trips to hell told her, “When you were going around hell, you came across torments and tormentors at every step; but that time when you went by the seat of Lucifer, you were terrified at seeing so many souls were on the seat of Lucifer himself. This is in the center of hell and is seen by all the damned, by all the devils, and this sight causes all of them great suffering. I also let you know that, in the same way that the sight of God in Paradise constitutes Paradise itself; down there in hell, the sight of Lucifer is what constitutes hell.”

The Blessed Virgin Mary also told her, “Many do not believe that hell exists, and I tell you yourself, who have been there, have understood nothing of what hell is.”

- See more at: http://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2015/07/st-veronica-giuliani-extraordinary.html#sthash.KomNEvn2.dpuf

Framing Prayer 6 Carmelites Continued-Edith Stein

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross brought one of the greatest minds of her generation into the convent. She was Edmund Husserl's greatest student, but a student who grew out of the strictures of atheistic phenomenology, into a Catholic version, and finally, embracing Thomism for her studies and prayer.

For the lay person, Teresa Benedicta, or Edith Stein, as she is known in the world still, allows one to apply prayer to the daily anxieties of living in extremely difficult times. Being a Jewish-Catholic, Edith was protected for a time by her order, which moved her to what was thought to be a safe place. However, as we know from her biography, both Sister Teresa and her sister, a lay sister, were arrested and murdered at Auschwitz in 1942. St. Teresa Benedicta was fifty at the time of her death.

What intrigues me about this Carmelite are three points for us to consider when looking at her life and prayer. The first point is that she was converted to Catholicism by reading books-by St. Teresa of Avila. This fact alone points to the importance of daily spiritual reading for the lay person. Edith Stein was a lay person when she was drawn to the important books by this Doctor of the Church. Although we must admit that Edith Stein is one of the philosophical stars in the firmament, her example of being converted through reading should be a habit we can easily emulate, even in this day of anti-intellectualism. 

The busy mom and dad can take time to stop and read something daily. Turn off the radio, the baseball game, go into a quiet corner and read. God blesses us when we take time to read the lives of the saints and their suggestions for a life of holiness.

The second point refers to keeping a schedule even in times of chaos. What could be more chaotic for a Jewish-Catholic than the evil of Nazism? St. Teresa Benedicta's prayer and study were not set aside because of  "troubles". Indeed, some of her most beautiful writings on the Cross and the suffering of Christ were created by her under the anxiety of arrest and death. A habit of prayer transcends time, circumstances, emotional upheaval. In fact, prayer grounds one in God. Her example shows us that one can even face death with peace and courage, if one had learned patience and the death of self through intense prayer. Let me share part of the canonization homily from St. John Paul II, as the Cross was the center of St. Teresa Benedicta's prayer. The Cross must be the center of our prayer as well. This love of the Cross involves each one of us embracing suffering as well as letting Christ take us up into His own Passion and Death.

The third point I want to stress is that if one looks for truth in prayer, one will find God. Or, rather, as St. John Paul II noted below, in these excerpts, the Truth, who is a person, seizes one. If we set aside time for prayer, Truth, Who is a Person, will answer us with love. When we pray daily, we place ourselves into a path towards truth, which includes self-knowledge.

Carmelites value the cell, the solitude, the silence which takes us into the Truth more closely than we can ever imagine. The method of meditating on the Cross, Passion, and Death of Christ form the beginning of real prayer---meditation comes before contemplation. Have the courage, states St. John Paul II, to decide to follow Christ, give Him time in prayer, suffer in and with Him.

Read these bits from the longer Homily of St. John Paul II For the Canonization of Edith Stein, given on Sunday, 11 October 1998


1. “Far be it from me to glory except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal 6:14).

St Paul’s words to the Galatians, which we have just heard, are well suited to the human and spiritual experience of Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, who has been solemnly enrolled among the saints today. She too can repeat with the Apostle: Far be it from me to glory except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Cross of Christ! Ever blossoming, the tree the Cross continues to bear new fruits of salvation. This is why believers look with confidence to the Cross, drawing from its mystery of love the courage and strength to walk faithfully in the footsteps of the crucified and risen Christ. Thus the message of the Cross has entered the hearts of so many men and women and changed their lives.

The spiritual experience of Edith Stein is an eloquent example of this extraordinary interior renewal. A young woman in search of the truth has become a saint and martyr through the silent workings of divine grace: Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, who from heaven repeats to us today all the words that marked her life: “Far be it from me to glory except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
2. On 1 May 1987, during my Pastoral Visit to Germany, I had the joy of beatifying this generous witness to the faith in the city of Cologne. Today, 11 years later, here in Rome, in St Peter's Square, I am able solemnly to present this eminent daughter of Israel and faithful daughter of the Church as a saint to the whole world.

Today, as then, we bow to the memory of Edith Stein, proclaiming the indomitable witness she bore during her life and especially by her death. Now alongside Teresa of Avila and Thérèse of Lisieux, another Teresa takes her place among the host of saints who do honour to the Carmelite Order.

Dear brothers and sisters who have gathered for this solemn celebration, let us give glory to God for what he has accomplished in Edith Stein.

.....

4. Dear brothers and sisters! Because she was Jewish, Edith Stein was taken with her sister Rosa and many other Catholic Jews from the Netherlands to the concentration camp in Auschwitz, where she died with them in the gas chambers. Today we remember them all with deep respect. A few days before her deportation, the woman religious had dismissed the question about a possible rescue: “Do not do it! Why should I be spared? Is it not right that I should gain no advantage from my Baptism? If I cannot share the lot of my brothers and sisters, my life, in a certain sense, is destroyed”.

From now on, as we celebrate the memory of this new saint from year to year, we must also remember the Shoah, that cruel plan to exterminate a people — a plan to which millions of our Jewish brothers and sisters fell victim. May the Lord let his face shine upon them and grant them peace (cf. Nm 6:25f.).

For the love of God and man, once again I raise an anguished cry: May such criminal deeds never be repeated against any ethnic group, against any race, in any corner of this world! It is a cry to everyone: to all people of goodwill; to all who believe in the Just and Eternal God; to all who know they are joined to Christ, the Word of God made man. We must all stand together: human dignity is at stake. There is only one human family. The new saint also insisted on this: “Our love of neighbour is the measure of our love of God. For Christians — and not only for them — no one is a ‘stranger’. The love of Christ knows no borders”.

5. Dear brothers and sisters! The love of Christ was the fire that inflamed the life of St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Long before she realized it, she was caught by this fire. At the beginning she devoted herself to freedom. For a long time Edith Stein was a seeker. Her mind never tired of searching and her heart always yearned for hope. She traveled the arduous path of philosophy with passionate enthusiasm. Eventually she was rewarded: she seized the truth. Or better: she was seized by it. Then she discovered that truth had a name: Jesus Christ. From that moment on, the incarnate Word was her One and All. Looking back as a Carmelite on this period of her life, she wrote to a Benedictine nun: “Whoever seeks the truth is seeking God, whether consciously or unconsciously”.
Although Edith Stein had been brought up religiously by her Jewish mother, at the age of 14 she “had consciously and deliberately stopped praying”. She wanted to rely exclusively on herself and was concerned to assert her freedom in making decisions about her life. At the end of a long journey, she came to the surprising realization: only those who commit themselves to the love of Christ become truly free.

This woman had to face the challenges of such a radically changing century as our own. Her experience is an example to us. The modern world boasts of the enticing door which says: everything is permitted. It ignores the narrow gate of discernment and renunciation. I am speaking especially to you, young Christians, particularly to the many altar servers who have come to Rome these days on pilgrimage: Pay attention! Your life is not an endless series of open doors! Listen to your heart! Do not stay on the surface, but go to the heart of things! And when the time is right, have the courage to decide! The Lord is waiting for you to put your freedom in his good hands.

6. St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was able to understand that the love of Christ and human freedom are intertwined, because love and truth have an intrinsic relationship. The quest for truth and its expression in love did not seem at odds to her; on the contrary she realized that they call for one another.

And, can we not identify today with what St. John Paul II said here? Also, her words quoted by the saint-pope echo the words of Fr. Chautard examined here last week.

In our time, truth is often mistaken for the opinion of the majority. In addition, there is a widespread belief that one should use the truth even against love or vice versa. But truth and love need each other. St Teresa Benedicta is a witness to this. The “martyr for love”, who gave her life for her friends, let no one surpass her in love. At the same time, with her whole being she sought the truth, of which she wrote: “No spiritual work comes into the world without great suffering. It always challenges the whole person”.

St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross says to us all: Do not accept anything as the truth if it lacks love. 

These next line can become our battle cry in these days of losing religious freedom and freedom of speech......how prophetic were these sentences at the time St. John Paul II shared them with the Church.

And do not accept anything as love which lacks truth! One without the other becomes a destructive lie.

If we learn to suffer in prayer, and prayer does bring suffering, we can face physical suffering. But, as St. Teresa Benedicta states below, suffering is a mystery for the Bride of Christ, for each one of us.

7. Finally, the new saint teaches us that love for Christ undergoes suffering. Whoever truly loves does not stop at the prospect of suffering: he accepts communion in suffering with the one he loves.

Aware of what her Jewish origins implied, Edith Stein spoke eloquently about them: “Beneath the Cross I understood the destiny of God’s People.... Indeed, today I know far better what it means to be the Lord’s bride under the sign of the Cross. But since it is a mystery, it can never be understood by reason alone”.

How timely are these words. These could be emblazoned today, especially this line--"But nothing is more eloquent than the Cross when silenced." Such is the life of the contemplative, or the martyr.

The mystery of the Cross gradually enveloped her whole life, spurring her to the point of making the supreme sacrifice. As a bride on the Cross, Sr Teresa Benedicta did not only write profound pages about the “science of the Cross”, but was thoroughly trained in the school of the Cross. Many of our contemporaries would like to silence the Cross. But nothing is more eloquent than the Cross when silenced! The true message of suffering is a lesson of love. Love makes suffering fruitful and suffering deepens love.

Through the experience of the Cross, Edith Stein was able to open the way to a new encounter with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faith and the Cross proved inseparable to her. Having matured in the school of the Cross, she found the roots to which the tree of her own life was attached. She understood that it was very important for her “to be a daughter of the chosen people and to belong to Christ not only spiritually, but also through blood”.

8. “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (Jn 4:24).

Years ago, I discovered this saintly nun through my studies of phemenology. I knew her first as Edith Stein, then as a great writer of meditations on the Cross. Now, I see her as calling me deeper into contemplation, a model of suffering and prayer. But, she speaks to all lay people, of the need to keep moving towards silence, towards total conversion, towards self-denial. We are all called to do this in prayer, even in our tense lives.

Dear brothers and sisters, the divine Teacher spoke these words to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. What he gave his chance but attentive listener we also find in the life of Edith Stein, in her “ascent of Mount Carmel”. The depth of the divine mystery became perceptible to her in the silence of contemplation. Gradually, throughout her life, as she grew in the knowledge of God, worshiping him in spirit and truth, she experienced ever more clearly her specific vocation to ascend the Cross with Christ, to embrace it with serenity and trust, to love it by following in the footsteps of her beloved Spouse: St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross is offered to us today as a model to inspire us and a protectress to call upon.

We give thanks to God for this gift. May the new saint be an example to us in our commitment to serve freedom, in our search for the truth. May her witness constantly strengthen the bridge of mutual understanding between Jews and Christians.

St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, pray for us! Amen.

I am book begging here today--right now, ICS Publications has the  Letters to Roman Ingarden by St. Teresa Benedicta. If someone would like to get this volume for me, I would appreciate it. I would also like to have the other volumes 1-11, but that is a lot to ask. God bless you all.

I shall be returning to St. Teresa Benedicta, as I asked a friend to borrow a book on her Meditations to share with you, but the book will not get here for several days. But, I am sure your can pick up where I left off here today.

More Tidbits from The Maritains

P rayer is simplicity and purity of mind reaching up to God and allowing Him to just Be with us. Too often, many things, thoughts, people stop us from that simplicity and purity. Modern life dictates against simplicity and purity. Go back into the perfection series for more on purity, but look at the small ways here in which one can break away from unnecessary complexity.

One of the great problems of those who are trying to become closer to God could be called, as the Maritains do, the "reflex of the mind". Too often, through habitual sin, or even the sins of families, one reverts back to such reflexes, which stop the growth of holiness. We fall into spiritual illusions. I talk to people who are on the right path, but fall into habits of mind, like judgment, criticism, negativity, scrupulosity,  spiritual sloth.

One of the most common reflexes of the mind which I have encountered since I have been back to the States has been identified by the Maritains as a psychological knee-jerk reaction involving "psychological curiosity".

Oh my, yes. Since January, I have heard numerous Catholics try and explain away sin in terms of psychological weaknesses. I left off on point four the other day regarding the descriptions and definitions of contemplation. As we continue to examine these, we see the opposite of "staring at one's navel" as we use to say in the seventies--the over examination of self. One cannot explain away sin. God will not allow us to explain ourselves when we stand before Him and see the depth of our failings. But, now, we can learn to do this type of contemplation of our nothingness and His Goodness.

Here are some more of the tidbits from the Maritains.

Point Six, "The contemplative life consists in a sort of holy leisure and repose...."

One must be still and seek solitude. God does not like rivals to His Person, His time, His ways.

Point Seven, "The contemplative life is related to divine things, and the active to human things; which is why St. Augustine says in the book De Verbis Domini: 'In the beginning was the Word, this is he to whom Mary listened: and the Word was made Flesh, this is he whom Martha served.'"

But, we can be so focused on the things of daily life, that we miss the small, still voice of God speaking to us in the midst of even chaos. To train one's mind to disregard such confusion is to break through the reflexes of the mind.

Point Eight, "The contemplative life is related to what is specifically proper to man, that is, the intellect, while the lower forces common to human and to animal life take part in the operations of the active life...."

One of my favorite psalms embodies this call-Psalm 24 DR. This is a good prayer for those in tribulation.

Verse 9 refers to those who allow God to humble them in the Nights.

Psalm 24 Douay-Rheims 

24 Unto the end, a psalm for David. To thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul.

2 In thee, O my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed.

3 Neither let my enemies laugh at me: for none of them that wait on thee shall be confounded.

4 Let all them be confounded that act unjust things without cause. shew, O Lord, thy ways to me, and teach me thy paths.

5 Direct me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art God my Saviour; and on thee have I waited all the day long.

6 Remember, O Lord, thy bowels of compassion; and thy mercies that are from the beginning of the world.

7 The sins of my youth and my ignorances do not remember. According to thy mercy remember thou me: for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.

8 The Lord is sweet and righteous: therefore he will give a law to sinners in the way.

9 He will guide the mild in judgment: he will teach the meek his ways.

10 All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth, to them that seek after his covenant and his testimonies.

11 For thy name's sake, O Lord, thou wilt pardon my sin: for it is great.

12 Who is the man that feareth the Lord? He hath appointed him a law in the way he hath chosen.

13 His soul shall dwell in good things: and his seed shall inherit the land.

14 The Lord is a firmament to them that fear him: and his covenant shall be made manifest to them.

15 My eyes are ever towards the Lord: for he shall pluck my feet out of the snare.

16 Look thou upon me, and have mercy on me; for I am alone and poor.

17 The troubles of my heart are multiplied: deliver me from my necessities.

18 See my abjection and my labour; and forgive me all my sins.

19 Consider my enemies for they are multiplied, and have hated me with an unjust hatred.

20 Keep thou my soul, and deliver me: I shall not be ashamed, for I have hoped in thee.

21 The innocent and the upright have adhered to me: because I have waited on thee.

22 Deliver Israel, O God, from all his tribulations.

more later....

Knowledge of Divine Things Part Twenty-Four

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Homan_The_Brazen_Serpent.jpg

Today's Old Testament reading refers to the lifting up of the bronze serpent on a cross-like structure so that the Jews could be healed of the bites of the serpents.

Firstly, the snakes were sent to punish those who complained and moaned against God and His servant, Moses.

Secondly, some people died in their sin.

Thirdly, those who cried out for mercy were healed by looking towards the bronze serpent, an analogy for the Crucifixion,

Why?

Christ on the Cross took on all the sins of mankind--all. He was the offering to God the Father for our sins, so that we could be healed and freed from sin. If we look towards Christ on the Cross, we shall be healed.

We have to look at our sin; we have to look at Christ. Self-knowledge comes from reason cooperating with grace. Moses forced the people to look at the punishment on the cross-like structure to be healed.

We have to look at Christ takng our punishment upon Himself to be healed.

Sin comes not only from the passions, but from faulty thinking moved only by the passions. Reason is the gift from God which can be enlightened by grace and study, to bring us all to repentance.

Numbers 21:4-9Douay-Rheims 

4 And they marched from mount Hor, by the way that leadeth to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom. And the people began to be weary of their journey and labour:

5 And speaking against God and Moses, they said: Why didst thou bring us out of Egypt, to die in the wilderness? There is no bread, nor have we any waters: our soul now loatheth this very light food.

6 Wherefore the Lord sent among the people fiery serpents, which bit them and killed many of them.

7 Upon which they came to Moses, and said: We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and thee: pray that he may take away these serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

8 And the Lord said to him: Make brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign: whosoever being struck shall look on it, shall live.

9 Moses therefore made a brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign: which when they that were bitten looked upon, they were healed.

Some readers still do not see the connection between heresies, mortal sin, excommunication and the lack of reason in the Church members, both lay and clerical.

Love, and I repeat, is in the will, not in the passions or the emotions. Love in the will is an act of choice which is informed by the intellect,  Now, both the will and the intellect may be influenced either by grace, or by sin.

Years and years of people giving into passions and emotional responses deadens the intellect to the point where some people can no longer choose virtue over vice.

Any sin is rooted in vice, venial as well as mortal. And, it is God's will that we are free from venial as well as mortal sin.

Venial sin is still some kind of selfishness, some kind of weakness giving over to vice.

Allowing God to perfect one in the journey through the Dark Night, coming out into Illumination, and eventually Union consitutes the call of every Catholic.

The laity, more than ever, since the papacy of Blessed Paul VI, who encouraged the laity to take hold of their faith, must "man-up" and become holy, with the aid of God's grace and reason.

Over a year ago, I wrote on this blog that the Age of Mercy is coming to an end, and the Age of Trial will begin. Under acute suffering, some people will turn to God and appropriate their adult faith, thus choosing the road to sanctity.

Most will not, out of ennui, sloth lust, anger, envy, greed, gluttony, pride and so on. It is a hard thing to stand back and state that many of our clerical leaders have actually chosen capital sins over the life of virtue.

Remember, there is no neutral territory in the spiritual life. One is either with God or against God.

Too many Catholics have simply refused to learn their own faith.

I encouraged readers to us all my posts which are worthy of copying out for groups in your homes. I especially encourage the use of the series, such as reparation, discernment, perfection, Doctors of the Church, and all the posts on the encyclicals.

Time will outstrip our efforts. We shall all be overtaken by the great silence of religious discussion.

Please do not waste time and resources.

An Obvious Problem And An Obvious Choice: Knowledge of Divine Things Eighteen Fides et Ratio Ten

It is an illusion to think that faith, tied to weak reasoning, might be more penetrating; on the contrary, faith then runs the grave risk of withering into myth or superstition. By the same token, reason which is unrelated to an adult faith is not prompted to turn its gaze to the newness and radicality of being. John Paul II, Fides et Ratio.


The very problem which I am addessing is exemplified by my readership in the past four days.

Sadly, readers of  the political posts outnumber readers to the philosophical ones 3:1, proving my point that people still want to put out brush fires instead of dealing with the forest fire. Also, it leaves those readers who are not interested in the basic questions to remain in lowly places of humility and complete obedience. This is the lay choice and always has been.

The laity has two choices: either be content to be lowly and not study, therefore not engaging in ministries of leadership, but remaining hidden and holy, in complete obedience in matters one does not understand, or tackling the studies necessary for an adult appropriation of the faith, reflecting, praying and still being obedient, but now in matters which one understands. One cannot act out of ignorance which one has allowed to be the norm because one does not want to pursue the hard questions.

The fact that the majority only wants to deal with action and not reflection highlights the weakness of the Church, especially in America, a land of "doers" not "be-ers".

Until reflection is preferred to action and until the ego is destroyed by humility in the knowledge of one's self, this problem will continue to exist and weaken the Church from within. Action follows knowledge and reflection and appropriation of knowledge, not before. Why do you think we are having the problems in the synod? Because too many of the clergy act without prayer, study, reflection...

And one cannot "cram" in the spiritual life of the intellect.

Where are the brilliant lay leaders in the Church who could be instructing our clerics at the synod on grace, sacramental theology, faith and reason?

3:1.

Follow Up from The Perfection Series-ακηδία

Long ago in the perfection series, and in the posts on St. Bernard, I referred to the sin of accidie. Here is the long definition. It is not what people think it is, simple sloth. It is becoming distracted with useless things so that we are taken away from prayer, meditation and contemplation.

Discussing this with a seminarian today, I was struck with the idea that the noon-day devil is not merely low-blood sugar or high-blood sugar before or after lunch, but a demon who distracts us from times of prayer we even schedule.

St. Philip Neri preached that the afternoon in Rome was "the dangerous part of the day", when youth fell into mortal sins of fornication and even gang fighting. ακηδία sets in.

Looking at Psalm 90, one has to reckon with the pleasures of falling into sin and fight these. The noon-day devil is not poetry, but a real demon.

Here is the psalm.

Psalm 90 Douay-Rheims 

90 The praise of a canticle for David. He that dwelleth in the aid of the most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob.

2 He shall say to the Lord: Thou art my protector, and my refuge: my God, in him will I trust.

3 For he hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters: and from the sharp word.

4 He will overshadow thee with his shoulders: and under his wings thou shalt trust.

5 His truth shall compass thee with a shield: thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night.

6 Of the arrow that flieth in the day, of the business that walketh about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil.

7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee.

8 But thou shalt consider with thy eyes: and shalt see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because thou, O Lord, art my hope: thou hast made the most High thy refuge.

10 There shall no evil come to thee: nor shall the scourge come near thy dwelling.

11 For he hath given his angels charge over thee; to keep thee in all thy ways.

12 In their hands they shall bear thee up: lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

13 Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon.

14 Because he hoped in me I will deliver him: I will protect him because he hath known my name.

15 He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.

16 I will fill him with length of days; and I will shew him my salvation.

Here is the definition from Ortho-Wiki.

Akedia (in Latin, accidie) is literally fatigue or exhaustion, but in technical usage refers to the spiritual and physical lethargy which can plague those pursuing the eremetic life. The reference in Psalm 90 (91 MT) to the "demon of noonday" is traditionally identified as akedia. It can take the form of listlessness, dispersion of thoughts, or being inattentively immersed in useless activity.

St.Thomas Aquinas calls it world-weariness, which causes a person to neglect both their physical and spiritual duties. This habit of thinking and feeling is a hard sinful habit to break, but one must do so.

One way to break the habit of negative and depressive thoughts it to constantly praise God all day.

The Office of the Hours is a perfect way to break this habit.

Also, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, to be said at 3:00, is another way to break accidie.

Listlessness can also be expressed in restlessness, like someone feeling like they "just have to get out" and go shopping.

Accidie may be seen in the need to watch television as well. One breaks a habit of vice by practicing the opposite virtue.

More later...

On Today's Readings part two

In the second reading from Romans Chapter 16, St. Paul encourages us as well as the Romans. We see that it is our duty to preach the Gospel to the pagans, here called Gentiles.

This is a command. We are a missionary Church and it is in obedience that we spread the Faith.

It was in obedience that David let Solomon build the temple, a project which was in David's heart and mind. But, God had other plans.

We are strengthened by God to do certain works. God in His wisdom calls us to obey His will, His plans.

The other day, someone I know was in a bus accident in St. Paul's Bay, the place of Paul's shipwreck. One can stand on the edge of the town and see the island of the shipwreck. Bus wrecks and ship wrecks dot our lives, but Paul, who endured all types of troubles, kept preaching to the Gentiles. Indeed, he is the "Apostle of the Gentiles". Without him, my ancestors would not be Catholic, as they came from places where Paul preached and sent others and where other missionaries, such as SS. Cyril and Methodius, carried on the missionary work of God.

If we keep our minds, hearts, souls, imaginations and wills focused on God, we shall endure. But, like Paul, endurance is found in the face of suffering. If we focus on ourselves, we can become easily disturbed and weakened in our resolve.

St. Paul's Shipwreck Ludolf Backhuysen 1630 – 1708

25 Now to God, who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

On Today's Readings part one

The first reading for today from Second Samuel shows us how much David loved God. But, as a "man of war", a man who had to subjugate the enemies of the Hebrews and bring order into the Kingdom, David was not chosen by God to build a physical temple.

That was left to his son, God's chosen one, a king who presided over a peaceful kingdom.

One of the lessons for us in this passage is that we must calm our own warlike instincts before building the space God wants us to have in order to meet us-St. Catherine's little cell.

God came to Jerusalem in a great presence, the Shekinah glory, and resided in the Temple. He comes to us in baptism and if we are trained in the virtues, even young ones can open their hearts, minds, soul.

David had a heart most like God's, but God chose Solomon to build the temple. God chooses the persons He wants to do certain works.

Yesterday, I saw a letter from St. Ignatius in a museum. I had seen this letter before at an exhibit years ago in Valletta. It is heartening for those of us who want to do things or think God is calling us to do things to know that some of the saints could not accomplish some plans. Do not think that everything went smoothly in their lives according to their plans.

St Ignatius wanted to come to Malta and could not. Catholics sometimes think that when God plans something, it always happens, but men, politics, wars, governments, thwart God's perfect plans as we all have free will.

God's permissive will allows us to make decisions and our will is sacred to Him, as that is how we are made in His image and likeness-one way.

Some people think God's perfect will always happens. It does not. God had raised David to be His king, but David had to win that kingdom for God.

Perhaps if he had not been called to be such a great warrior, which he was, he would have been called to build, but he was not.

God's plans are mysterious.

All my plans were changed this morning by a small cell phone alarm. Things happen.

An accident on the bus changed my plans several days ago, and a map on line which was wrong changed my plans yesterday as well.

Men's mistakes and mishaps change plans.

But, God had a plan for Israel. He wanted David to unite the country and leave it in peace, and He wanted Solomon to build on that peace.

Jerusalem -City of Peace.

Then, the temple.....

One learns to listen and to follow God daily. One learns to be flexible within God's order.

God promised a "house" for David.

But, of course, David's House is the House of Christ, the Son of David, in the line of the kings.

And, Christ came during the Pax Romana, the time of certain peace because of the rule of the empire.

Here is the entire section from the Bible on David's promise and disappointment. Of course, the promise is that of the Coming of Christ.

from Second Samuel:7 NRSVCE

God’s Covenant with David

7 Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.”3 Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you.”

4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: 5 Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? 6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. 7 Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders[a] of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” 8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the Lorddeclares to you that the Lord will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. 15 But I will not take[b] my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me;[c] your throne shall be established forever. 17 In accordance with all these words and with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

David’s Prayer

18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 19 And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God; you have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come. May this be instruction for the people,[d] O Lord God! 20 And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! 21 Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness, so that your servant may know it. 22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God; for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.23 Who is like your people, like Israel? Is there another[e] nation on earth whose God went to redeem it as a people, and to make a name for himself, doing great and awesome things for them,[f] by driving out[g] before his people nations and their gods?[h] 24 And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people forever; and you, O Lord, became their God. 25 And now, OLord God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever; do as you have promised. 26 Thus your name will be magnified forever in the saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel’; and the house of your servant David will be established before you.27 For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house’; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant;29 now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you; for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”

To Listen for Christ in Active Contemplation

If you, dear readers, have ever been in love, you understand this scenario. You go to a large gathering, like the opening of an art show, or a talk, and you know the one you love will be there. You go because you are being true to yourself, and would go whether he or she was going or not going to be there.

Hundreds of people are in the room, talking, moving about, but you are listening, listening for that special voice, the voice of the person you love so much. Now, you almost give up, when, suddenly you hear his or her voice, and see that person out of the corner of your eye across the room. When you hear the voice of the beloved, you experience a thrill of both anticipation and fear. Sometimes, one hears in a peace which passes human understanding. This is the peace of sacrificial love, which expects nothing in return for love. One lets love be love.

If you are a man, you can approach the beloved. If you are a woman, you must wait. Sometimes, the beloved never comes up to you, but you still love, in hope, until the day arrives when no more meetings are possible.

Waiting for God to speak is very much like this scene. One is on a bus, in a restaurant, at a gathering, and suddenly, one hears the Voice of the Beloved. Will He approach you? Will He make you wait? Will He talk to others and yet, know you are waiting to be approached?

Waiting for God is the core of active contemplation. One puts one's self in the position to listen, trying to be as passive and receptive as possible. Sometimes God makes one wait for a long time, until the Word is received in a purity of heart, mind, and soul. That is the essence of the Dark Night.

God's loving attention demands that one sets aside one's reasons for loving and merely loves.

One waits for God. He is, of course, always there, but many times, even for years, hides Himself until one is ready to receive Him as He really is.

And, so I wait, suffering, to hear the Voice of the Beloved, waiting for the scrap of tone, even without seeing. I wait until God decides to reveal Himself in whatever way He so desires. Sometimes I hear Him for an instant, just Him showing me that He is there, and then He is gone. Such is the Dark Night....

Such is the work of active contemplation...such is waiting for God.

Perfection Series VIII Part VI Advanced Prayer

In the last post in this series, I noted that oraison could be called acquired contemplation. This phrase means that the person who is involved in oraison, or acquired contemplation, is entering into the prayer with the will. The person praying takes the initiative.

In the next stage, which is infused contemplation, which Raissa calls recueillement, God takes over and takes the initiative.

But, the French word is more exact than the English in that the position of the soul is in rest, not in activity; that is, a completely passive position.

I am going to bullet point some of the editor's comments, plus Jacques' interpretations, to make this state of prayer more easy to understand. I did write about this in the perfection series on the Unitive State under the name of infused contemplation, but Raissa's words and the comments are simpler to understand.

• Recueillement is a deep interior state
• It is not based on concentration, as in oraison, due to "voluntary effort"
• It is sheer gift from God
• It involves a "quiet absorption" of the soul with a deep activity of unity with God
• Phrases like "mental prayer" do not convey the correct meaning
• One can move in and out of this state through the grace of God daily
• One can stay in this state for minutes or hours depending on God's initiative
• Sometimes it involves deep suffering
• Daily and more than once daily seems to be the call for deepening the relationship with God in recueillement.
• one can move back and forth between oraison and recueillement

I prefer the French terms as liberal nuns and priests, as well as New Age followers, have used the term "mental prayer" and "contemplation" incorrectly.

That Raissa reached such a high level of prayer at such an early age is astounding. Few saints reach this point in their early thirties. 

Again, one does not have to have all the virtues perfected to enter into this prayer, especially oraison, as prayer can aid in the perfection of the virtues, which Raissa, like other mystics, saints, and Doctors of the Church teach is the call of all Catholics. But, one would most likely be through the Dark Night and in the Illuminative State.

I do think that the perfection of the virtues, which happens after purgation, accompanies deeper prayer, such as acquired contemplation and infused contemplation. Raissa says the same thing. She compares one working on the perfection of the virtues without contemplation like expecting a plant to have leaves and fruit without soil. However, I doubt whether the Unitive State happens until the virtues are perfected. Recueillement is a sign of the Illuminative State and the beginning of the
Unitive State. 

Back to her later today...

There are other posts on prayer...just follow the tags.

to be continued..

When Prayers Are Answered

Twice today, prayers for others were answered, or at least I found out these were answered. One is humbled in the knowledge that God stoops to hear our prayers, especially for others.

The key to having God listen is threefold: having faith, persistence, and the acceptance of suffering.

If one is praying without determination and faith, one insults God.

If one prays in suffering, joined to the Cross, one is not praying to God but with God. That is the key to answered prayer-praying in the Divine Will.

Most of the time people pray too quickly, and without what I would call intercessory pain. Christ invites us to join Him in suffering, a topic I have covered on this blog many times in the perfection series and in posts on suffering.

When God allows us to suffer, He is inviting us to enter into the mystery both of our own purification and the reparation of sins and failings. See the reparation series a few weeks ago.

However, prayers are tainted by our egos which means that pure prayer can only come from complete objectivity and renunciation of our own wills.

When we pray in Divine Providence, prayers are answered. But, this means dying to self.

Giving up our own ideas on how prayers should be answered is a beginning, a moving towards humility.

Pray with humility and openness, in suffering.

God is Good.