Fast-Food Spirituality

Perhaps most Catholics do not know that some saints had to face the courts of the Inquisition and defend their writings, as well as their new orders.

Because of the numerous heretical writings and new orders, such as those spawning from the heresy of the Albigensians, some saints had to prove before Church officials, their true orthodoxy and obedience to Holy Mother Church.

SS. Ignatius of Loyola and Teresa of Avila had to submit to this type of investigation. Of course, as they were totally obedience and orthodox, their causes were upheld as good and true. That they were humble and followed the long teaching of the Church regarding waiting on God, proved their holiness.

What we find today is the opposite type of trial-the trial of those who are orthodox by those who are unorthodox.

Years ago, before Mr. Voris used the phrase, I wrote of the theology of nice, the prevailing religious opinion that peace, tranquility, and tolerance had become the stand of too many Catholics, including priests and nuns. The greatest good for decades in some areas, as Fulton J. Sheen noted as well, has been tolerance.

But, among Catholics, this religion of nicety means that difficult situations, or problems can never be brought up or discussed. The tyranny of silence has fallen over some parishes and even dioceses where one simply cannot bring up such issues as illegal Masses said daily by lax priests, or New Age spirituality being taught, or the heresies endemic among Charismatics. If one wants to help teach or correct errors, one finds that the vast majority of people in certain areas are unteachable.

One of my friends noted that people want short-cuts to holiness, and do not want to endure the work of study and the long journey to higher prayer and holiness. He told me that in this fast-food culture, people want holiness NOW, without the work.

And, if they are told that become a saint is hard and involves suffering, the conversation ends.

At one point in time, he was considering a Dominican vocation, (somewhere out east of here), and discovered what I saw in the vision of the Smarties, that those around him only wanted the consolations without the Cross.

We shall be caught up in the Cross whether we want to or not. Either we shall be crucified with Christ, sharing in His Passion, or we shall be one of those who stands and watches, even deriding those who choose to endure the long, painful way of the long teaching of the Church on prayer and penance.

Today, in prayer, it was clear to me that in order to be able to stand up against the disobedience and mediocrity in the Church, I would have to do more penance.

Most crucifixes depict a serene Christ, already dead. Few show the agony of the Dying Christ.

Those who want fast-food holiness or spirituality cannot endure the long suffering of purgation and penance.

There is no easy way to find God and be one with Him.

When I have tried to teach in the past, and I was thinking of this phenomenon this morning when contemplating the fact that those younger than I am do not relate to metaphors, I became aware, by 1982, at the latest, that my students no longer shared the same language in order to understand great literature.

For example, I was teaching a class on the Arthurian myths, and all my students, at ND had been valedictorians of their high school graduating class. And yet, one young woman did not know the word, "chalice". She had never heard it before we read the story of the Holy Grail. She was confused.

I told her what a chalice was, as we were discussing the text, and she said, "Oh, we call that the cup."

David Jones wrote about this sad phenomenon of the Western man and woman losing the common Catholic heritage, or even larger Western heritage of words referring to something in the common culture.

He described "the Break" in the consciousness of the West as occurring absolutely in World War I.

The "Break" now is obvious in the Church. Words no longer mean the same thing to Catholics. Concepts regarding the sacraments, or prayer, or worship do not resound with the same definitions as in early times.

We cannot share metaphors or, more seriously, theological concepts, or even basic religious truths as the language of Catholicism has become more and more distorted by either heretical or New Age interpretations, or by laziness.

A language of Faith must be reclaimed and this reclamation involves hard work on the part of those, like me, who want to teach the real meanings of words, or those who want to learn. The willingness to learn and not merely to get knowledge one's self is a sign of good will and humility.

Few want to learn. They want fast-food spirituality.

I have written before here on the fact that one cannot take short-cuts to holiness. First of all, as noted in the hundred of posts in the perfection series, one begins with and in orthodoxy.

If one cannot "pass" the test of basic truths of the Faith, one clearly has to go back to Square One.

When I was in the convent in the novitiate, I had to go back to Square One, as all women were treated the same, whether they had a degree in theology or not.

I found the test delightful, and I learned more and more going back to the basics. Nothing which is good and truthful can be boring.

But, then, I was always a cook who did everything the "long way", like making my own pie crust, making mayonnaise, not buying frozen dinners or much less frozen anything.

Like a good Montessori teacher, I taught my son to do things "from scratch" and to enjoy every slow step of the way.

In the land of spirituality, there are no fast-food prayers, or techniques, or ways to holiness. That was the teaching of the heretics over and over and over.

Unlike SS. Ignatius Loyola and Teresa of Avila who understood that prayer was a lifestyle and not a method. that prayer, as I noted in the Framing Prayer series, was more than mere adaptation, but a way of looking at life, those who want quick results, and who do not want to learn "the long way" will fall into deceit.

Satan has a common ploy to make people believe that they are holier than they really are. Fr. Chad Ripperger, in a talk I heard years ago and which is online somewhere, told a shocked audience that most people had not even begun to climb the ladder of holiness.

Prayer and study, quiet and simplicity, humility and self-knowledge.....a few of those key rungs on the ladder which bring us all back to the work of our lives-becoming saints.

Thoughts on Prayer

In this post, I look at two aspects of prayer. The first part is self-explanatory. The second revolves around understanding stigmatics.

Firstly, this post comes from a discussion I had with a friend on intercessory prayer. She is involved in doing reparation for members of her family who have fallen away from the Faith. As Christ told us, some prayer needs to be coupled with fasting, or, to extrapolate, other penances. My friend and I discussed how real prayer, entering into the spiritual world in order to do reparation, or intercede for others, is downright exhausting. (Actually, doing manual labor, such as laundry, or cleaning, or gardening, is a rest from intense prayer, and if one is doing this in silence, prayer continues, but at a lesser intensity.)

This is why scheduling and pacing prayer, as in the Benedictine day, an example given below, is so important. One needs breaks of other work, but one needs to keep up the prayer by pacing it throughout the day. This idea came from the genius of St. Benedict. Here is an example from a monastery in America.

Through the Day



Sunday Schedule

4:00 A.M. - Vigils (choral office in church) lasts about an hour and fifteen minutes.

6:00 A.M. - Lauds (in church) followed by breakfast for guests from 6:30 to 7:10 am in the monastic refectory.

8:45 A.M. - Terce (in church) lasts about 10 minutes.

9:15 A.M. - Conventual Mass (Eucharist) followed by refreshments in the Guest Reception Area.

11:30 A.M. - Sext (in church) lasts about ten minutes, followed by Light Meal in the monastic refectory, 11:45 to 12:30 P.M.

4:00 P.M. - None (in church) lasts about ten minutes, followed by Main Meal in the monastic refectory.

5:30 P.M. - Solemn Vespers and Benediction (in church) lasts about 45 minutes.

7:30 P.M. - Compline (in church) lasts about 15 minutes, followed by Nightly Silence.

Daily Schedule

4:00 A.M. - Vigils (choral office in church) lasts about one hour.

5:45 A.M. - Lauds (in church) lasts about thirty minutes, followed by Mass. Breakfast for guests in the Guest Breakfast Room from 7:00 - 7:45 A.M.

8:45 A.M. - Terce (in church) lasts about ten minutes.

9:00 A.M. - Work meeting for guests outside the Gift Shop. Work for All.

12:40 P.M. - End of work period.

1:00 P.M. - Sext (in church) lasts about ten minutes, followed by Main Meal in the monastic refectory.

3:30 P.M. - None (in church) lasts about ten minutes.

5:20 P.M. - Exposition and Eucharistic Adoration (in Church).

5:50 P.M. - Vespers (in church) lasts about thirty minutes.

6:20 P.M. - Light Meal until 6:50 P.M. in the monastic refectory.

7:30 P.M. - Compline (in church) lasts about fifteen minutes, followed by Nightly Silence.

Most nights, I try to be in bed by half-past nine so that I can get up early, or as God asks, very early, like three or four, to pray intercessory prayers for certain people

Real prayer is not merely saying words or sitting in silence. although that can be part of the day.

Intercessory prayer reminds me of a wrestling match. One enters into prayer knowing that God asks for suffering for those for whom one prays. Intercessory prayer can be very tiring.

My friend recalled prayer times when she was drained. Sometimes, if God wants a concentration of prayer, He will allow her to become ill with severe arthritis, so that she cannot do anything for three days but pray.

Last week, when I had that histamine reaction, God wanted me to stop doing things, including talking, and be quiet in intercessory prayer. I had become too busy.

The prayer of quiet demands attention and focusing. I compare it to the August chorus of birds in the early morning, now about five.

Early in the summer, in late May, early June, the chorus resounds with the songs of hundreds of birds, starting about half-past three in the morning. Now, in late summer, the songs of a few birds, a cardinal or two, a few robins, sing in a schola rather than in a chorale. But, these animals focus on their songs, intent on praising God, as they do at this time of year. This focusing only lasts a short time, Then, these birds rest, do a few "chores", fly about, and rest again, eating as well in between singing. But, the morning chorus only happens once a day, a focusing of song.

Birds sing all day, but at times, their song is more intense than at other times.

So, too, with some intercessory prayer, which can be a real struggle. And, what those who do not understand the contemplative life do not know, is that even encounters with God can be exhausting.

Again, I refer to the limp of Jacob.

Why a contemplative does not "work" in the world is that he IS working, on the threshold of the spiritual world, praising God, interceding, listening.

This takes time and energy.

Secondly, some people with whom I have spoken, do not understand the life of the stigmatic.

The stigmatic has crossed over the threshold of the spiritual world because Christ has invited them to be one with Him in His Passion. Those who do accept these graces of complete union in the physical suffering of Christ mirror what the contemplative experiences spiritually, without the signs and physical suffering at this level of intense pain. The stigmata is a great gift of love.

The stigmatic intercedes when in union with Christ, carrying on, as St. Paul noted, the sufferings of Christ in this world. Such special souls allow their bodies to be one with Christ, for a day, or longer. The example of Padre Pio, Francis of Assisi, (the first recorded stigmatic), Marthe Robin, and many others provides an example of intense intercessory prayer of love.

They become one with Christ in love, not only for the Savior, but for those for whom they suffer in intercession.

I am astounded when Catholics think that the life of the contemplative nun or monk or priest or lay person is an easy life, without work. Prayer is work. And, it can be exhausting, as my friend said.

Those who only value work which is physical and has monetary reward simply do not understand the ways of God in deep prayer.

The stigmatic teaches us the extreme of the loving union of those who intercede for us daily.

UPDATE: After I wrote this post, I checked my e-mail, and lo and behold--synchronicity.

Here is the note:

Prayer Takes Effort by The Hermit

I may be wrong but I think nothing needs so much effort as prayer to God. If anyone wants to pray, the demons try to interrupt the prayer, for they know that prayer is the only thing that hinders them. All the other efforts in a religious life, whether they are made vehemently or gently, have room for a measure of rest. But we need to pray till our dying breath. That is the great struggle. ~Sr. Benedicta Ward, SLG; The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

Framing Prayer 3

I repost articles which need to be the foundation for any manner of prayer--silence and schedules.

Monday, 12 March 2012

Perfection Part Eleven -Silence

Posted by Supertradmum

On Perfection continued...

These posts seem to be popular, so I shall do two today. It is Lent, and such meditations may be helpful for some, including myself.

The overlap of the Carmelite, Benedictine and Dominican spiritual ways can be clearly seen in the the call to some silence during the day. Now, as busy lay people, we must create these little shells of silence so that we can hear the Voice of God, the small, still Voice. Without silence, one is not in touch with one's own soul or with God.

I have known extremely busy people. Not only are these people busy during the day, but when they come home at night, they have the television on until they go to bed. From the minute they wake up in the morning, when they turn on the radio, read the paper, run about doing necessary or unnecessary activities, these Catholics are never silent. I would be exhausted without silence.

If I do not have time in the morning and in the evening, at the very least, for reading Scripture, one of the Hours, such as Vespers, I cannot act as a serene, human being. Silence gives me grounding for the entire day, and if I practice silence, it can remain within me for the entire day. This is the beauty of silence, it becomes a wellspring of life within us, overcoming other noises and confrontations.

Silence breaks down anxiety and fear. The most fearful people I know cannot bear silence. They must keep moving, keep doing, even if they are retired. The rhythm of life which includes silence gives a richness to one's existence and keeps one from falling into superficiality.

Why some people are afraid of silence is that they are afraid of suffering. In silence, I see my sins, my failings, my failures. In silence, I face the need for conversion daily. In silence, I meet God, who is All Goodness, All Innocence, All Perfection.

Only in Faith can one approach silence, as in silence one meets the God of Mercy and Forgiveness.

I have talked with friends as to how to create more silence in their day. Some want to do so and some want to keep running away from God, which to me, is running away from Love.

Silence is never boring, as some may believe, unless one thinks God is boring. The Infinite is so beyond me, that only is silence can I meet God.

We are fast approaching Holy Week, when in the Passion of Christ, we see Him keeping silent before both the Sanhedrin and Herod. Christ said little in front of Pilate, but He was calling Pilate to Himself, and was trying to make the Roman see. Christ remained silent because He did not need to defend Himself. He is God. He is Man. He stood in silence, in Perfection, and those who judged Him unfairly could not see the Silence which stood before them, as they had never met Him in silence. Those who meet God, know Him when they see Him.

Wednesday, 1 January 2014

Sanctity and Schedules

Posted by Supertradmum

Now, a disclaimer. As an INTJ, I am scheduled. I get up at the same time everyday and I have regular habits of eating, praying, writing.

I do most of my work in the morning.

When I was in Ireland, living alone for months and months, I could pray four to six hours a day, as I was living in silence and solitude.

I love this.

But, even though it was just me, I was scheduled.

Daily Mass same time, prayers, writing, etc. only interrupted by parties at night in the flats next door, or personal illness.

Same in Malta, even though for most of the time I was sharing a flat with one other person. Daily morning Mass, prayers, breakfast, and so on....Dinner was always about the same time as well.

Recently, living with other people without schedules, people who are not INTJs but ESFPs or variations of unscheduled types, I am observing something which the ancient fathers understood. One good thing about living in community is that those who naturally gravitate towards schedules can help those who do not.

Those who are more easy-going can help with the obsession some may have with schedules.

It is much harder for those without schedules to become holy. Going from one activity to another as these present themselves to the mind does not allow for prayer or reflection. Merely reacting to things rather than planning or reacting to situations on impulse are methods of living which impair the way of holiness.

Holiness demands scheduling.

Why? 

Prayers, the reading of Scripture, the reading of holy books, daily Mass, or Adoration demand planning.

Those who have never had schedules, or who have avoided scheduling do not plan formation into their days.

Every semester when I was teaching college, the first thing I did was introduce my students to Time Management Skills.

I would, in some extreme cases, find up to 40 wasted hours in one week of 168 hours. I would mostly find between 17-27 wasted hours, enough time for my students to really study. They all had too much "down time" or just wasted time.

Waste is a sin.

Wasting time can create a habit of avoiding God and holiness.

Wasting time can lead one to hell.

A few days ago, I was speaking with a person who use to read the Scriptures daily for at least a half-hour.

He no longer does this. He is "too busy", "too tired".

He works, and he works hard, but his home life is not scheduled and never has been. He goes out a lot.

I see many, many elderly people out and about here-and they have lively social lives. There is nothing wrong with that, but one must face preparation for death.

Sanctity must be a cooperation between work and grace. Without a schedule, it is hard, perhaps impossible to find out who one is and who God is.

Schedule.

The Imperative of Silence: Noise is rebellion

13 Feb 2013

While in the monastery last year, I lived with the nuns in the silence of the day. I have tried to cooperate with grace and cultivate an interior silence outside the convent. Some of the great Benedictine writers have distilled ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: Silence is a Necessity, not a Luxury

19 Feb 2012

To live in silence is a gift not to be taken for granted. Silence makes us face ourselves, our sins and failings, our lack of charity. On the positive side, silence enables us to have a relationship with God. Relationships take time ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: The Missing Element of Prayer-Silence

08 Jul 2012

“It was not until 1973, when we began our daily Holy Hour that our community started to grow and blossom... In our congregation, we used to have adoration once a week for one hour, and then in 1973, we decided to have ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

On The Constant, Quiet Yes, And The Constant, Silent Love

11 Aug 2013

In this state, prayer and times outside of prayer merge into one state of being; but one must either be in actual silence, or create silence in the mind and heart. The saying yes then becomes automatic, as one can hear God ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: God is in the details

17 Jun 2015

This is one reason why scheduling must be part of the growth in holiness. Without scheduling, one cannot be faithful, but merely act in spontaneous or knee-jerk reactions to events, things, and people. Scheduling allows ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

God is in the details

Some commentators have asked me what God's Will is for them.

God does not hide from us, nor does God withhold knowledge from us. If we really want to know His Will, He will show us.

The problem is this: too many people do not give themselves enough time to listen to God in prayer. Silence must precede knowledge. God gives parents knowledge of vocations for their children, if they are praying and listening. God lets us know His will is we turn away from distractions.

God's Will sometimes, as St. Thomas More stated, is what actually happens in our lives. It was God's Will that St. Thomas More became a martyr for the edification of us all, and for the building up of the Church.

An interior conversation with God allows one to ask God for guidance and to listen to His answers.

God's Will is actually the same as God's Love for each one of us. Love for us is in the will, This also is true in God as well. He loves us perfectly and wills our lives perfectly. As, God knows us perfectly and loves us perfectly, it makes sense to follow His Will for us.

When we will according to God's Will, we are joining in the love of God in a more perfect way. When we surrender to God's Will, we are entering into God's "good pleasure".

Here is my favorite mystical writer, Garrigou-Lagrange on love and will. from his book, Providence.

The beginning in us of a pure love for God will then be some participation in that love which God has for Himself, a spark from that Divine furnace of His own self-love. And as our love grows purer daily, it will increase in holiness, generosity, and strength. Indeed it will make us invincible, according to the phrase of St. Paul (Rom. 8:1), "If God be with us, who is against us?" And finally, our love thus gradually purified will enable us to triumph over death itself and will open the gates of paradise to us. When we enter into glory, we shall be established forever in a supernatural love for God that can nevermore be lost or lessened.  

In the same book, the author makes this point about knowing God's Will.

When the will of God is made known to a soul, and has made the soul realize His willingness to give Himself to it, provided that the soul, too, gives itself to God - then under all circumstances the soul experiences a great happiness in this coming of God, and enjoys it the more, the more it has learned to abandon itself at every moment to His most adorable will. 

The more we surrender ourselves to God, the more we sense God's Will for us. This truth has been reiterated by many theologians. 

Garrigou-Lagrange states this:

God is like the ocean, sustaining those who in all confidence surrender themselves to Him and do everything in their power to follow His inspirations as a ship will respond to a favorable breeze. This is what our Lord meant when He said: "The spirit breatheth where He will and thou hearest His voice: but thou knowest not whence He cometh and whither He goeth. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit" (John 3: 8). 

And this next section is key for understanding the cooperation of grace in the soul with God's plan.

Our Lord tells us (Luke 16: 10): "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in that which is greater." Again, in the parable of the talents He says to each of the faithful servants: "Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord" (Matt. 25: 21). We have here a most important lesson on the value of trivial things, one very often ignored by those who are naturally high-minded, who take the first step on the wrong path when their sense of dignity degenerates into pride. We cannot lay too much stress on this point in considering the fidelity we ought to show to the grace of the present moment. 

Trivial things must be followed faithfully. Many lay people get upset when priests do not follow the words and actions of the Mass, as they can see that the small things are not being followed faithfully.

Being faithful to the grace of the moment must be seen as part of following God's Will. But, the paragraph in italics below indicated how a critical moment separates those who want to be saints from those who do not. 

This "critical moment" of choosing God over one's personality, personal choices, even characteristics which may seem essential to a person's identity, or one's desires which may not be in God's Will, must be faced. This moment can be a compromise of one's conscience, or a falling into doubt from sure faith, or an act of uncharitableness.

Choosing real humility means choosing the narrow gate. Concentrating on God brings one to understand His Will.

As often noted, in many cases where souls have given themselves to God in all sincerity and have made generous, even heroic efforts to prove their love for Him, a critical moment comes when they must abandon a too personal way of judging and acting - though it may be of a high order - so as to enter upon the path of true humility, that "little humility" which loses sight of self and looks henceforward on God alone. 

One chooses to slide backwards when one does not accept God's Will, and we kid ourselves at this point in denying that it is known to us.

At that moment two widely different courses are possible: either the soul seeks for itself the course to take and pursues it, or it fails to do so, sometimes going so far astray in its upward path as to go back again without being altogether aware of it. 

God gives us opportunities to do little things daily-like share a book, or article, or video with a friend. Or listen to someone who is upset with God, or mourn with someone who has lost a loved, which are all moments of grace in God's Will, if one is loving in and with God. Sometimes one choses not to go to daily Mass when one can, or to not seek out local times of adoration....all these things may seem trivial at the time, but these add up to times of saying "no" to grace.

To see this path of true humility is to discover in our everyday life, from morning to night, opportunities of performing seemingly trivial acts for the love of God. But the frequent repetition of these acts is of immense value and leads to a delicacy of attitude to God and our neighbor which, if constant and truly sincere, is the mark of perfect charity. 

The acts then demanded of the soul are very simple and pass by unnoticed. There is nothing in them for self-love to take hold of. God alone sees them, and the soul thinks it is offering Him, so to speak, nothing at all. And yet these acts, St. Thomas says, 5 are like drops of water continually falling on the same spot: eventually they bore a hole in the rock. The same real effect is gradually produced by the assimilation of the graces we receive. They penetrate the soul and its faculties, at the same time sublimating them and gradually bringing everything to the required supernatural focus. Without this fidelity in little things actuated by the spirit of faith and love, humility, patience and gentleness, the contemplative life will never penetrate the active, the ordinary everyday life. Contemplation will be confined, as it were, to the summit of the intellect, where it is more speculative than contemplative; it will fail to permeate our whole existence and manner of life and will remain almost completely barren whereas it should become every day more fruitful. 

This is one reason why scheduling must be part of the growth in holiness. Without scheduling, one cannot be faithful, but merely act in spontaneous or knee-jerk reactions to events, things, and people. Scheduling allows reflection to enter into the day of trivial things. Quoting St. Thomas, Garrigou-Lagrange reminds us that no action is "morally indifferent".  Each action must be deliberate, not merely reactive. The trivial becomes important through reflection and the awareness of God's love active in each moment of the day.

Detachment has to be considered as an important attitude of the soul, mind, and body. The more one is detached from people, things, one's own desires, the more one "sees" God's Will in one's life.

This is a matter of supreme importance. St. Francis de Sales more than once speaks of it.  St. Thomas says the same thing in another way when he teaches, as we have already seen, that in the concrete reality of life no deliberate act is hic et nunc morally indifferent. In a rational being every deliberate act should be rational, should have an "honorable" end in view, and in the Christian every act should be directed at least virtually to God as to the supreme object of love. This truth brings out the importance of the multifarious actions we have to perform day by day. Perhaps they are trivial in themselves, nevertheless they are of great importance relative to God and the spirit of faith and love, of humility and patience that should actuate us in performing them and offering them to Him. 

We know when we are facing this "critical moment". God gives us many hints and signs of this time. For me, it was having cancer. That was my critical moment of following God more closely, or choosing my own will. But, willfulness can be a life-long struggle for some, as a way for God to humble one by letting one suffer one's faults over and over.

This critical moment of which we are speaking marks a difficult crisis in the spiritual life of many fairly advanced souls, who then run the risk of falling back again. If a soul that has shown itself generous or even heroic, after reaching this point is still far too personal in its manner of judging and acting and does not see the need of a change, it continues on its way with a merely acquired impetus, and its prayer and activities are no longer what they should be. There is a real danger here. The soul may become stunted and its development arrested like one dwarfed through some deformity. Or it may take a false direction. Instead of true humility, it may almost unawares develop a sort of refined pride, which scarcely appears at first except in the small details of daily life. For that reason this will remain unknown to a spiritual director living apart from those he directs. This pride will steadily take the form of an amused condescension, and subsequently develop into an acerbity of manner in our relations with our neighbor, permeating the whole life of the day and thus stultifying everything. This acerbity may lead to rancor and contempt for our neighbor, whom nevertheless we should love for God's sake. 

Arrested growth may be one of the most common problems of good people wanting to become perfect. This refined pride masks itself as humility. But, then, the mask falls, and the growing hatred for neighbor comes forth in all its ugliness. The fruit becomes judgemental attitudes, criticisms, self-centeredness, and all this is worse than when one was a newbie Christian, as one has been given grace to advance, and one has chosen to slide back into the self. Remember my posts on "boomeranging".

A soul that has come to this pass will not easily be led to make those holy considerations which are necessary for it to return to the point whence it went astray. Such a soul should be recommended to our Lady's care; in many cases she alone can lead it back into, the right path. 

The remedy for this evil is to make the soul very attentive to the grace of the moment and faithful in trivial things. 

What are trivial things? What are the things this soul needs to which this person must pay attention?

The list varies according to one's role in society, and in the family. The trivial duties of children involve obedience and docility to good parents. The trivial duties of parents revolve around creating a domestic church and passing the Faith on to the children daily. A trivial duty of a single person could be speaking the truth to friends, evangelizing one's peers, and supporting the Church and so on in small, almost unnoticed ways. Intercessory prayer, which no one notices may be the core of the trivial which pleases God. The saints tell us that it is the faithfulness in little things which make the saint. When I was in the convent, washing the kitchen floor to a point of excellence was just as important as decorum in prayer.

One had to be on time, dressed appropriately, following each detail of the schedule, and so on. Nothing was too trivial to be unimportant, as God is seen to be in the details in the Benedictine Rule.

Two huge problems of today's society must be the inappropriateness of so much behavior, which causes a laxity of thought and leads to a more undisciplined mind. The disobedience of so many leaders in the Church and in religious orders can be seen in trivial things, like the words of a banned breviary, or the lack of a habit or signs of being a contradiction in the world, and so on. 

Nothing is too small in God's eyes, as He stated:

Luke 16:10Douay-Rheims 

10 He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in that which is greater: and he that is unjust in that which is little, is unjust also in that which is greater.

When I was in Tyburn, cleaning the kitchen floor in an excellence manner was deemed as important as proper decorum in chapel. Obedience in little things, like using the correct cloth for the floor, or turning out a light,  created a habit of mind of obedience in larger things, like kneeling upright for one's time before the Lord in the Monstrance, or reciting the lessons of the day given by the Novice Mistress. Nothing is trivial.

I have one short rule for knowing God's Will--follow the teachings of the Church to the last letter-not out of legalism, but out of a spirit of docility and humility. 

Here is a little prayer from the book:

 For love of Thee, O my God, and for the discharge of my debts, I will confine myself to the one essential business, that of the present moment, and thus enable Thee to act.

to be continued....

Subject Came Up Again...so repost of a repost

Saturday, 6 September 2014

Scheduling; one of many posts

Posted by Supertradmum

One of my priest friends told me not too long ago that he appreciated this post. I repost it for those who may have missed it.

Wednesday, 1 January 2014

Sanctity and Schedules

Posted by Supertradmum

Now, a disclaimer. As an INTJ, I am scheduled. I get up at the same time everyday and I have regular habits of eating, praying, writing.

I do most of my work in the morning.

When I was in Ireland, living alone for months and months, I could pray four to six hours a day, as I was living in silence and solitude.

I love this.

But, even though it was just me, I was scheduled.

Daily Mass same time, prayers, writing, etc. only interrupted by parties at night in the flats next door, or personal illness.

Same in Malta, even though for most of the time I was sharing a flat with one other person. Daily morning Mass, prayers, breakfast, and so on....Dinner was always about the same time as well.

Recently, living with other people without schedules, people who are not INTJs but ESFPs or variations of unscheduled types, I am observing something which the ancient fathers understood. One good thing about living in community is that those who naturally gravitate towards schedules can help those who do not.

Those who are more easy-going can help with the obsession some may have with schedules.

It is much harder for those without schedules to become holy. Going from one activity to another as these present themselves to the mind does not allow for prayer or reflection. Merely reacting to things rather than planning or reacting to situations on impulse are methods of living which impair the way of holiness.

Holiness demands scheduling.

Why? 

Prayers, the reading of Scripture, the reading of holy books, daily Mass, or Adoration demand planning.

Those who have never had schedules, or who have avoided scheduling do not plan formation into their days.

Every semester when I was teaching college, the first thing I did was introduce my students to Time Management Skills.

I would, in some extreme cases, find up to 40 wasted hours in one week of 168 hours. I would mostly find between 17-27 wasted hours, enough time for my students to really study. They all had too much "down time" or just wasted time.

Waste is a sin.

Wasting time can create a habit of avoiding God and holiness.

Wasting time can lead one to hell.

A few days ago, I was speaking with a person who use to read the Scriptures daily for at least a half-hour.

He no longer does this. He is "too busy", "too tired".

He works, and he works hard, but his home life is not scheduled and never has been. He goes out a lot. He is single.

I see many, many elderly people out and about here-and they have lively social lives. There is nothing wrong with that, but one must face preparation for death. They are not scheduling in prayer, the rosary, meditation or contemplation, silence.

Sanctity must be a cooperation between work and grace. Without a schedule, it is hard, perhaps impossible to find out who one is and who God is.

Schedule. Follow the tag for more posts on scheduling.