The Rhythm of the Liturgical Year

I could label this post, Advent in the Domestic Church.

Sometimes, Catholics forget, or may not know, some of the simpler truths of the liturgical year. That there is a liturgical year should be obvious to all who attend, at least, Sunday Mass.

However, the colors are not the only indications of themes in these seasons. I am discovering, since I have been here, a lack of  knowledge as to the meaning and customs which attend the rhythm of the liturgical seasons.

It is not my intention in this small post to cover the entire year. When I was teaching home schooling, I always had the large, round poster of the liturgical year in the classroom. This symbol and teaching method revealed to my son, and others who joined us, the priority of that year over the calendar year. Priority-yes, as the liturgical year is the calendar of God, not men, through the authority and teaching of the Church.

We are in one of the purple seasons, with the rose interlude approaching next Sunday. And, purple means penance.

Do Catholic families follow a penitential Advent? In my little family, we did not eat sweets, desserts, or other goodies except on St. Nicholas Day. Our Swedish neighbors had goodies on St. Lucy's Day. These were the exceptions. We did not go to parties, and begged off those to which we were invited, assuring friends we would celebrate between Christmas and January 6th, inclusive, with them.

We had the Advent Calendar, not with chocolates, but with Scripture passages.

We did the Jesse Tree, reading the appropriate Scriptures daily, and finally, the O Antiphons, which are on this blog.

We also collected money for the poor in a little box, and did extra good deeds, which were acknowledged by the placing of a straw in the empty manger.

On Christmas Eve, we had a little play of knocking on the doors and slamming them, in imitation of the full inns, until Baby Jesus, the largish Italian Bambino, found a home in the manger, hopefully with  enough straw for comfort. We made costumes out of our robes for this.

The joy of Christmas Day was the beginning of feasting. We began after Midnight Mass, as we were in the choir and came back home for champagne and panettone, going to bed and getting up again to sing at the High Mass. We put the tree up Christmas Eve.

We also made apostle fake candles, out of toilet rolls covered with paper, with cotton flames, on which were the names of the apostles, to put underneath the tree, reminding us that Christmas is the beginning of the Good News which went out to all the world, including us, the Gentiles. This reminded us that Christ is the Light of the world, but that we all have to carry this light out into the darkness.

Sometimes, we bought hay and put it underneath the tree to remind us of the humility of Christ. Our rabbit loved that, and slept happily there in the hay during the season.

The creche was set up and the kings put on the far side of the living room to make their long trip around to the manger by January 6th.

I hope families can rediscover the rhythm of the liturgical year.

Doctors of the Church 2:20

Friday, 15 February 2013

More from the Great Albert: Part 21 in the Doctors of the Church series

Posted by Supertradmum

More on the way of perfection from this saint, Albert the Great. All highlights are my own. My commentary is in blue, to make it easier to follow.

Chapter 4

How man’s activity should be purely in the intellect and not in the senses

Happy therefore is the person who by continual removal of fantasies and images, by turning within, and raising the mind to God, finally manages to dispense with the products of the imagination, and by so doing works within, nakedly and simply, and with a pure understanding and will, on the the simplest of all objects, God. So eliminate from your mind all fantasies, objects, images and shapes of all things other than God, so that, with just naked understanding, intent and will, your practice will be concerned with God himself within you. 

In this day and age of television, movies, video games, computer games and such, it is even harder to clear the mind and imagination of images. But, this must be done. Advertising and news add to the problem of clearing the mind. Reading news is much better, without all the images. Without a quiet mind and purified imagination, one cannot come to God. Imagination may be part of the brain or in the soul...that is not my concern here today. But, the purification of this is.....

For this is the end of all spiritual exercises - to turn the mind to the Lord God and rest in him with a completely pure understanding and a completely devoted will, without the entanglements and fantasies of the imagination. This sort of exercise is not practised by fleshly organs nor by the exterior senses, but by that by which one is indeed a man. For a man is precisely understanding and will. For that reason, in so far as a man is still playing with the products of the imagination and the senses, and holds to them, it is obvious that he has not yet emerged from the motivation and limitations of his animal nature, that is of that which he shares in common with the animals. For these know and feel objects by means of recognised shapes and sense impressions and no more, since they do not possess the higher powers of the soul.

One sees again the connection between Ignatius of Loyola and Albert. But, these connections are based on who we are as men and women. We are not merely animals, reacting to stimuli, but have reason and will power.

 But it is different with man, who is created in the image and likeness of God with understanding, will, and free choice, through which he should be directly, purely and nakedly impressed and united with God, and firmly adhere to him. For this reason the Devil tries eagerly and with all his power to hinder this practice so far as he can, being envious of this in man, since it is a sort of prelude and initiation of eternal life. 

Satan is jealous, envious, as he has lost heaven forever. All he cares about is making as many people miserable as himself. He works on the mind. He is highly intelligent and watches for our weaknesses. He cannot read our minds, but he listens to everything we say and watches what we do.

Silence keeps him out of the loop, if we allow our minds and imaginations to be purified.

So he is always trying to draw man’s mind away from the Lord God, now by temptations or passions, now by superfluous worries and pointless cares, now by restlessness and distracting conversation and senseless curiosity, now by the study of subtle books, irrelevant discussion, gossip and news, now by hardships, now by opposition, etc. 

Are there not too many, way too many distractions in our lives? For me as well, coming out of the convent last December, to be in Dublin and try to be quiet was so hard. I was in shock for a week after I came out because of the bombardment of images, thoughts, stupid conversations, unnecessary books, news and stuff.  After a while, I found out how to cultivated silence in myself. Yes, it is possible and I am still learning.

Such matters may seem trivial enough and hardly sinful, but they are a great hindrance to this holy exercise and practice. 

Seeking perfection is going beyond sin.....

Therefore, even if they may appear useful and necessary, they should be rejected, whether great or small, as harmful and dangerous, and put out of our minds. Above all therefore it is necessary that things heard, seen, done and said, and other such things, must be received without adding things from the imagination, without mental associations and without emotional involvement, and one should not let past or future associations, implications or constructs of the imagination form and grow

One must learn to live in the present and not the past. So many people live in the past. Get over it. So many people live in the future. Forget that. Just deal with today.

. For when constructs of the imagination are not allowed to enter the memory and mind, a man is not hindered, whether he be engaged in prayer, meditation, or reciting psalms, or in any other practice or spiritual exercise, nor will they recur again. So commit yourself confidently and without hesitation, all that you are, and everything else, individually and in general, to the unfailing and totally reliable providence of God, in silence and in peace, and he will fight for you. 

This changed my life. When I totally committed myself to Divine Providence, peace flooded my soul. I have NO FEAR.

He will liberate you and comfort you more fully, more effectively and more satisfactorily than if you were to dream about it all the time, day and night, and were to cast around frantically all over the place with the futile and confused thoughts of your mind in bondage, nor will you wear out your mind and body, wasting your time, and stupidly and pointlessly exhausting your strength. 

Our works are useless until we get to this point. Do it early in life. Do not waste time and effort. The Kingdom of God needs this type of freedom in you.

So accept everything, separately and in general, wherever it comes from and whatever its origin, in silence and peace, and with an equal mind, as coming to you from a father’s hand and his divine providence. 

I have quoted St. Thomas More before--nothing happens which is not God's Will. All, even suffering and deprivation are for His Glory. My Benedictine master wrote that the Rule is for the laity as well. I believe this...St. Benedict has inspiration and insight from God, just as Albert did. These ideas are repeated over and over by the great saints. 

So render your imagination bare of the images of all physical things as is appropriate to your state and profession, so that you can cling to him with a bare and undivided mind, as you have so often and so completely vowed to do, without anything whatever being able to come between your soul and him, so that you can pass purely and unwaveringly from the wounds of his humanity into the light of his divinity.

The way of perfection leads to this light of His Divinity and to the Unitive State finally. To be continued.....

Reading for a cold day

Au milieu des solicitudes and Diuturnum

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_16021892_au-milieu-des-sollicitudes_en.html

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_29061881_diuturnum_en.html

Thoughts on Death in Advent Part Five

A good person who is not a Catholic went to several art galleries with me recently. We were looking at paintings of SS. Jerome, Mary Magdalene and others when she asked me why the skull was a prominent feature in these paintings.

I replied that the saints had meditated on death, as a reminder of their own mortality, and in order to repent of sins. She replied that she did not agree with this emphasis on death, that death merely meant that our souls joined a universal soul, which she calls God.  In her belief system, there is no particular or final judgement, nor is there a heaven or a hell.

She believes in God's mercy, which is excellent, but she does not believe in punishment.

St Alphonsus also speaks on the mercy and love of God, but his meditations on death seem appropriate for Advent, so I am continuing this mini-series. Here is one titled: The Emptiness and Shortness of Human Life 

1. Holy David said that the happiness of this life is as 
the dream of one awaking from sleep: as the dream of them 
that awake.1 All the greatness and glory of this world will 
appear no more to poor wordlings at the hour of death, 
than as a dream to one awaking from sleep, who finds that 
the fortune which he has acquired in his dream ends with 
his sleep. Hence, did one who was undeceived wisely 
write on the skull of a dead man, "Cogitanti omnia viles- 
cunt." He who thinks will undervalue all things. Yes, to 
him who thinks on death, all the goods of this life appear 
as they really are, vile and transitory. 
Nor can that man fix his affections on the earth 
who reflects that in a short 
time he must leave it forever. 
Ah, my God, how often have I despised Your grace for 
the miserable goods of this world! Henceforth I desire 
to think of nothing but of loving and serving You. 
Assist me with Your holy grace. 

Paul the Hermit and Skull

My friend and I talked about the famous "Bone Chapel" in Rome of the Capuchins, which she saw with her husband. I have seen something similar, on a smaller scale in Floriana, Malta.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2457462

http://www3.sympatico.ca/tapholov/pages/bones.html

The Capuchins meditated on death to an interesting degree. It is hard for a Catholic to explain such traditions to those who do not believe.

Here is more of St. Alphonsus.

2. "And is it thus, then, that worldly grandeur and 
sovereign power must end?" Such was the exclamation 
of St. Francis Borgia, when he beheld the corpse of the 
Empress Isabella, who died in the flower of her youth. 
Reflecting upon what he saw, he resolved to bid adieu 
to the world, and to give himself entirely to God, say- 
1 "Velut somnium surgentium." Ps. 72. 20. 
[29] ing, “I will henceforth serve a master who will never 
forsake me." Let us detach ourselves from present goods 
before death tears us away from them. What folly it is 
to expose ourselves to the danger of losing our souls, for 
the sake of some attachment to this miserable world, 
from which we shall soon have to depart; for soon it will 
be said to us by the minister of God, "Go forth, Chris- 
tian soul, out of this world!"1
O my Jesus, if only I had always loved You! How 
many offences have I been guilty of against You! 
Teach me how to correct my disorderly life, for I am 
willing to do whatever You please. Accept my love, 
accept my repentance, in which I love You more than 
myself, and crave Your mercy and compassion. 
3. Reflect that you cannot remain forever in this 
world. You must one day leave the country in which 
you now reside; you must one day go out from the 
house in which you now dwell to return to it no more. 
Make me sensible, O God, of the injustice I have been 
guilty of in turning my back upon You, my sovereign good; 
and grant me the sorrow to bewail my ingratitude 
as I ought. O that I had died rather than ever offended 
You! Do not allow me to live any longer ungrateful for 
the love which You have shown me. My dear Redeemer, 
I love You above all things, and I desire to love You 
to the best of my power during the remainder of life. 
Strengthen my weakness by Your grace; and do You, 
Mary, Mother of God, intercede for me. 

Advent Meditations on Death Part Four

St. Alphonsus gives us many thoughts on which to ponder in his book on the last four things, which some of my friends are reading this Advent and which I am reading off and on as well.

There has been more of an interest on the Net concerning the last four things, which are death, judgement, heaven and hell. When there is a movement of the Holy Spirit to look at something, this does happen. I call it spiritual synchronicity.

I have written briefly in the past few days on death itself. The discussion does not have to be dramatic, but real. The process of death involves the final letting go of all things.

There is a new movement in the States which I find very disturbing. It is this. When people die, they sell their houses "as is" with everything in it. This is more and more common in Illinois and Iowa, as I have discovered from friends trying to sell their parents' houses.

I actually was a bit shocked at this phenomena, as it means that no one needs the things to live, no one wants old things. Everything has to be new. Things were not passed on.

I inherited many things for cooking and baking from my grandma in the 1970s when she died. No one wanted these things but me. I used her kitchen things for a long time, until my son moved away and I passed these on to others.

Such old things were strong and good. I did not need new things. In fact, the old were better made.

But, the fact that grandchildren do not want old things is a sign of the waste of our culture.  Also, there is a tendency in America to horde. We have basements and attics full of things not used.

The culture sings the siren song of new and novel. But, in the end, we must be separated from all things. Can we really begin to separate ourselves from things before death in order to face the process of death?

One may ask, when is the right time to do this? I think that is between a person and God, but the hanging on to the world does not help any of us find our true peace, Who is a Person.

This great saint reminds us that all are called to perfection, all are called to holiness.

Here is today's snippet from St. Alphonsus:


In one word, everything on earth will come to an 
end. All greatness will end, all misery will end, honors 
will end, misery will end; pleasures will end, suffer- 
ings will end. Blessed in death, therefore, not he who 
has abounded in riches, honors, and pleasures, but he 
who has patiently endured poverty, contempt, and suffer- 
ings! The possession of temporal goods affords no con- 
solation at the moment of death: that alone consoles 
us which has been done or suffered for God. 
O Jesus! separate my heart from this world, before 
death entirely takes me from it. Help me with Your 
grace; You indeed know how great is my weakness. 
Permit me not to be any more unfaithful to You, as I 
have until now been. I am sorry, O Lord! for having so 
often despised You. Now will I love You above every 
good, and will die a thousand times rather than forfeit 
Your grace. But the infernal one ceases not to tempt 
me; in mercy abandon me not, leave me not to myself, 
permit me not to be any more separated from Your love. 
O Mary, my hope! obtain for me the grace of persever- 
ance

A Message of Christmas

For me, the message of Christmas this year is simplicity. Christ in the manger reveals great simplicity.

St. Padre Pio wrote this, "Jesus said, ' Unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.' But, before He taught us this by His words, he had already put it into practice. He became a Child and gave us the example of that simplicity He was to teach us later also by His words...We must try to keep our thoughts pure, our ideas upright and honest, and our intentions holy."

Doctors of the Church 2:19

hursday, 14 February 2013

Part Twenty on the Doctors of the Church-Albert

Posted by Supertradmum

Albert the Great highlights the need for purity of heart. One moves beyond meditation to contemplation after much time of practice and guidance. Do not think that this cannot be a path for a lay person, as we are all called to this.

Chapter 3

What the perfection of man consist of in this life

Now the more the mind is concerned about thinking and dealing with what is merely lower and human, the more it is separated from the experience in the intimacy of devotion of what is higher and heavenly, while the more fervently the memory, desire and intellect is withdrawn from what is below to what is above, the more perfect will be our prayer, and the purer our contemplation, since the two directions of our interest cannot both be perfect at the same time, being as different as light and darkness. 

The sign of illumination is this movement into light....and Albert describes the state of unity as well here.

He who cleaves to God is indeed translated into the light, while he who clings to the world is in the dark. So the supreme perfection of man in this life is to be so united to God that all his soul with all its faculties and powers are so gathered into the Lord God that he becomes one spirit with him, and remembers nothing except God, is aware of and recognises nothing but God, but with all his desires unified by the joy of love, he rests contentedly in the enjoyment of his Maker alone.

This next section reminds me greatly of St. Ignatius of Loyola and his purification of reason, memory and will. 

 Now the image of God as found in the soul consists of these three faculties, namely reason, memory and will, and so long as they are not completely stamped with God, the soul is not yet deiform in accordance with the initial creation of the soul. 

For the true pattern of the soul is God, with whom it must be imprinted, like wax with a seal, and carry the mark of his impress. But this can never be complete until the intellect is perfectly illuminated, according to its capacity, with the knowledge of God, who is perfect truth, until the will is perfectly focused on the love of the perfect good, and until the memory is fully absorbed in turning to and enjoying eternal happiness, and in gladly and contentedly resting in it. And since the glory of the beatitude which is achieved in our heavenly homeland consists in the complete fulfilment of these three faculties, it follows that perfect initiation of them is perfection in this life.

I cannot stress the important of this section enough for our journey into the understanding of perfection. Albert, more than many, writes clearly of the Illuminative and Unitive States here.

A good explanation of subsidiarity

http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/2771/subsidiarity.aspx#.UqYakdJDuyY

This author is being recommended by some good, smart Catholics on line. I have not read his books, yet.

One of my favorite blogs

http://vultus.stblogs.org/

Thoughts on Death in Advent Part Three

Advent is a penitential liturgical season, which is one reason the liturgical color is purple, not merely reminding all of us to get physically ready for Christ, but to get spiritually ready for His Coming, both for the particular and for the final judgments. The readings leading up to Advent revealed this emphasis and some during Advent do as well. The comfort of the coming of Christ, the beautiful passages on the Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace, are balanced by those readings on repentance.

When meditating on death, one perceives layers of meaning.

The first step in thinking on death is thinking about death and what could lead up to it. Such things as illness and suffering have been set aside in some countries by euthanasia, which is sad and, of course, immoral, as suffering can be the last stages of purification before one sees God.

St. Francis of Assisi called death Sister Death in his famous prayer, The Canticle of the Sun, as death would bring him to God.

Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Death,
from whom no-one living can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Blessed are they She finds doing Your Will.

No second death can do them harm. Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks,
And serve Him with great humility.

St. Alphonsus Ligouri sees a fast death as not a mercy, but a punishment. The great saint has many sermons on sin, the particular and final judgments. Pray for time and I pray for those, now in Belgium and the Netherlands, who are not allowed time, or who chose to shorten their time of suffering.

I have written before on this blog that some friends of mine have experienced a bit of their particular judgment already, seeing all the sins of their past lives and being given time to repent. Such graces could belong to all of us, if we ask for these.

Here is one of his thoughts:

Hence, according to St. Chrysostom, God is more to be feared when He bears with sinners, than when He instantly punishes their sin. And why? Because, says St. Gregory, they to whom God has shown most mercy shall, if they do not cease to offend Him, be chastised with the greatest rigor. The saint adds that God often punishes such sinners with a sudden death, and does not allow them time for repentance. And the greater the light which God gives to certain sinners for their correction, the greater is their blindness and obstinacy in sin. "For it had been better for them not to have known the way of justice, than, after they had known it, to turn back" – II Pet. 2:21. Miserable the sinners, who, after having been enlightened, return to the vomit. St. Paul says, that it is morally impossible for them to be again converted. "For it is impossible for those who were once illuminated-have tasted also the Heavenly gifts. . . and are fallen away, to be renewed again to penance" – Heb. 6:4

I had missed this until this morning...

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/feastofeden/2013/04/ignatius-press-removes-review-of-ralph-martin-book-from-website-because-it-criticizes-von-balthasar/

A Brief Note on The Immaculate Conception

From the EF Collect of The Immaculate Conception

O God, who, by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, didst make her a worthy habitation for Thy Son, and didst, by His foreseen death, preserve her from all stain of sin; grant, we beseech Thee, that through her intercession we may be cleansed from sin and come with pure hearts to Thee; Through the same our Lord. 

The priest at Mass said that Mary's entire existence, from conception on, was one long YES to God.

Beautiful.

Doctors of the Church 2:18

Thursday, 14 February 2013

Part Nineteen on the Doctors of the Church and Perfection-the Dominicans

Posted by Supertradmum

I shall save the best one until last, the Universal Doctor of the Church, Thomas Aquinas, and as we already looked at St. Catherine of Siena, a Third Order Dominican, I can concentrate on St. Albert the Great today.

Again, I am emphasizing the spirituality of these wonderful saints with a view to the journey to perfection. It would take ten lifetimes to examine all the writings of these great minds and great souls.

St. Albert the Great was the teacher of Thomas Aquinas. We do not know exactly when he was born, but he died in 1280 and was no older than 87.

He has much to say on everything, having written at least 31 volumes. Here is a little selection on perfection. It is interesting that this section, a reading for Ash Wednesday is used. There are no accidents.

Chapter 1

On the highest and supreme perfection of man, in so far as it is possible in this life

I have had the idea of writing something for myself on and about the state of complete and full abstraction from everything and of cleaving freely, confidently, nakedly and firmly to God alone, so as to describe it fully (in so far as it is possible in this abode of exile and pilgrimage), especially since the goal of Christian perfection is the love by which we cleave to God. In fact everyone is obligated, to this loving cleaving to God as necessary for salvation, in the form of observing the commandments and conforming to the divine will, and the observation of the commandments excludes everything that is contrary to the nature and habit of love, including mortal sin. Members of religious orders have committed themselves in addition to evangelical perfection, and to the things that constitute a voluntary and counselled perfection by mean s of which one may arrive more quickly to the supreme goal which is God. The observation of these additional commitments excludes as well the things that hinder the working and fervour of love, and without which one can come to God and these include the renunciation of all things, of both body and mind, exactly as one’s vow of profession entails. Since indeed the Lord God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth, in other words, by knowledge and love, that is, understanding and desire, stripped of all images. This is what is referred to in Matthew 6.6, ‘When you pray, enter into your inner chamber,’ that is, your inner heart, ‘and having closed the door,’ that is of your senses, and there with a pure heart and a clear conscience, and with faith unfeigned, ‘pray to your Father,’ in spirit and in truth, ‘in secret.’ This can be done best when a man is disengaged and removed from everything else, and completely recollected within himself. There, in the presence of Jesus Christ, with everything, in general and individually, excluded and wiped out, the mind alone turns in security confidently to the Lord its God with its desire. In this way it pours itself forth into him in full sincerity with its whole heart and the yearning of its love, in the most inward part of all its faculties, and is plunged, enlarged, set on fire and dissolved into him.

Albert is stressing the loneliness and individuality of our walk to perfection. This movement of the Holy Spirit takes intense prayer.

Be sincere.  Be focused. To be continued..

Thoughts on Death Part Two

I love stories about Abba Poemen. I have read many. He is one of my favorite desert fathers. I have mentally adopted him as one of my fathers.

Here is one story, which I think is connected to thoughts of death. Too many people do not want to talk about death. But, death is about the body, the senses, the end of all of these, for a time.

Death is about the material, the things of this earth. We must talk about sin and death, and not be afraid.

I am at the edge of the snow storm which went through the area today. Then, ice bits fell, not quite sleet, and more like very small hail balls.

Being outside working reminded me of the real reason why we are here. We are here to prepare for death and to bring others to heaven with us. But, we must face ourselves first.

Too many people want only to hear of angels and saints and the wonderful apparitions of Mary. Not many Catholics want to face sin and death. They do not want to talk about their own failings, even with a good confessor, and sometimes cover up their sins, trying to hide these away.

Love is sharing in the weaknesses so that we can help each other be strong.

I have, a long time ago, sat with two people, at different times, who were dying. One did not accept his death and fought to the end. His death was not peaceful. He was raging against the night.

The second was a child who was slipping away. Thankfully, he came away from death and lived, but his moving towards death was peaceful, until God turned him around and put him back on earth for awhile.

The difference was that the first person was not prepared. And, unlikely as it seems, the child was.

Here is one story:

     A brother once went out on a pilgrimage from the monastery of Abba
Poemen, and came to a hermit, who lived in love towards all and received
many  visitors.  The brother told the hermit stories of Abba Poemen.  And when he
heard of Poemen's strength of character, he longed to see him.
     The brother returned to Egypt.  And after some little time, the hermit
rose and went from his country to Egypt to see the brother who had visited
him: for he had told him where he lived.  When the brother saw the hermit,
he was astonished, and very glad.  The hermit said to him, "Of your charity
towards me, take me to Abba Poemen."  And the brother rose up and showed him
the way to the old man.
     And the brother told Abba Poemen this about the hermit, "A great man
of much charity, and particular honor in his own province, has come here
wanting to see you."  So the old man received him kindly.  And after they
had  exchanged greetings, they sat down.
     But the hermit began to talk of the Holy Scripture, and of the things
of the spirit and of heaven.  But Abba Poemen turned his face away, and
answered nothing.  When the hermit saw that he would not speak with him, he
was distressed and went out.  And he said to the brother who had brought him
there, "My journey was useless.  I went to the old man and he does not deign
to speak to me."
     The brother went to Abba Poemen, and said, "Abba, it was to talk with
you that this great man came here, a man of much honor in his own land.  Why
did you not speak to him?"  The old man answered, "He is from above, and
speaks of the things of heaven.  I am from below, and speak of the things of
the earth.  If he had spoken with me on the soul's passions, I would
willingly have replied to him.  But if he speaks of the things of the spirit, I know
nothing about them."
     So the brother went out and told the hermit, "The reason is that the
old man does not easily discuss Scripture.  But if anyone talks to him about
the soul's passions, he answers."
     Then the hermit was stricken with penitence, and went to the old man
and said, "What shall I do, Abba?  My passions rule me."  And the old man
gazed at him with gladness and said, "Now you are welcome.  You have only to
ask and I will speak with understanding."  And the hermit  was much
strengthened by their discourse, and said, "Truly, this is the way of love."
And he thanked God that he had been able to see so holy a man, and returned
to his own country."

Please do not be afraid to speak of death to those you love who are near death. We lie to some who are dying, but in lying, we are not being charitable. We should be willing to walk to the door of death with those we love. And, in order to do this, we must face our own end. And, repent....

to be continued....

The First Computer Bug-going around the net today

Thanks, Wiki http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/H96566k.jpg

What to do on a snowy day...

Doctors of the Church 2:17

Wednesday, 13 February 2013

Part Eighteen on Doctors of the Church and Perfection: St. Francis de Sales

Posted by Supertradmum

Here is a section on imperfection from St. Francis de Sales. Tomorrow, the Dominicans, but this great saint of love is worth reading. 

Thus Saint Jerome says that Saint Paula had so strong a tendency to excessive sorrow, that when she lost her husband and children she nearly died of grief: that was not a sin, but an imperfection, since it did not depend upon her wish and will. Some people are naturally easy, some oppositions; some are indisposed to accept other men's opinions, some naturally disposed to be cross, some to be affectionate--in short, there is hardly any one in whom some such imperfections do not exist. Now, although they be natural and instinctive in each person, they may be remedied and corrected, or even eradicated, by cultivating the reverse disposition.

The reverse dispositions are the key.

For example, if one is talkative, be more silent. If one is prone to negativity, be more positive; if one is prone to be overly-affectionate and clinging, be more objective; if one is disposed to be judgemental, be more accepting and kind

Not rocket science...but we need graces and God is only too happy to give us such if we ask. 

Here is more on perfection from the great saint.

1. Prayer opens the understanding to the brightness of Divine Light, and the will to the warmth of Heavenly Love--nothing can so effectually purify the mind from its many ignorances, or the will from its perverse affections. It is as a healing water which causes the roots of our good desires to send forth fresh shoots, which washes away the soul's imperfections, and allays the thirst of passion.

2. But especially I commend earnest mental prayer to you, more particularly such as bears upon the Life and Passion of our Lord. If you contemplate Him frequently in meditation, your whole soul will be filled with Him, you will grow in His Likeness, and your actions will be moulded on His. He is the Light of the world; therefore in Him, by Him, and for Him we shall be enlightened and illuminated; He is the Tree of Life, beneath the shadow of which we must find rest;--He is the Living Fountain of Jacob's well, wherein we may wash away every stain. Children learn to speak by hearing their mother talk, and stammering forth their childish sounds in imitation; and so if we cleave to the Savior in meditation, listening to His words, watching His actions and intentions, we shall learn in time, through His Grace, to speak, act and will like Himself. Believe me, my child, there is no way to God save through this door. Just as the glass of a mirror would give no reflection save for the metal behind it, so neither could we here below contemplate the Godhead, were it not united to the Sacred Humanity of our Saviour, Whose Life and Death are the best, sweetest and most profitable subjects that we can possibly select for meditation. It is not without meaning that the Saviour calls Himself the Bread come down from Heaven;--just as we eat bread with all manner of other food, so we need to meditate and feed upon our Dear Lord in every prayer and action. His Life has been meditated and written about by various authors. I should specially commend to you the writings of Saint Bonaventura, Bellintani, Bruno, Capilla, Grenada and Da Ponte.

3. Give an hour every day to meditation before dinner;--if you can, let it be early in the morning, when your mind will be less cumbered, and fresh after the night's rest. Do not spend more than an hour thus, unless specially advised to do so by your spiritual father.

4. If you can make your meditation quietly in church, it will be well, and no one, father or mother, husband or wife, can object to an hour spent there, and very probably you could not secure a time so free from interruption at home.

5. Begin all prayer, whether mental or vocal, by an act of the Presence of God. If you observe this rule strictly, you will soon see how useful it is.

6. It may help you to say the Creed, Lord's Prayer, etc., in Latin, but you should also study them diligently in your own language, so as thoroughly to gather up the meaning of these holy words, which must be used fixing your thoughts steadily on their purport, not striving to say many words so much as seeking to say a few with your whole heart. One Our Father said devoutly is worth more than many prayers hurried over.

7. The Rosary is a useful devotion when rightly used, and there are various little books to teach this. It is well, too, to say pious Litanies, and the other vocal prayers appointed for the Hours and found in Manuals of devotion,--but if you have a gift for mental prayer, let that always take the chief place, so that if, having made that, you are hindered by business or any other cause from saying your wonted vocal prayers, do not be disturbed, but rest satisfied with saying the Lord's Prayer, the Angelic Salutation, and the Creed after your meditation.

8. If, while saying vocal prayers, your heart feels drawn to mental prayer, do not resist it, but calmly let your mind fall into that channel, without troubling because you have not finished your appointed vocal prayers. The mental prayer you have substituted for them is more acceptable to God, and more profitable to your soul. I should make an exception of the Church's Offices, if you are bound to say those by your vocation--in such a case these are your duty.

9. If it should happen that your morning goes by without the usual meditation, either owing to a pressure of business, or from any other cause, (which interruptions you should try to prevent as far as possible,) try to repair the loss in the afternoon, but not immediately after a meal, or you will perhaps be drowsy, which is bad both for your meditation and your health. But if you are unable all day to make up for the omission, you must remedy it as far as may be by ejaculatory prayer, and by reading some spiritual book, together with an act of penitence for the neglect, together with a stedfast resolution to do better the next day.

Great Times in Kiev

Thanks to Lisa for this: on the destroying of the statue of Lenin 

in http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/09/world/europe/kiev-teems-with-pro-europe-protesters-as-thousands-more-gather.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

One of the hammerers wore his hair in a Mohawk; another was a priest in black vestments. 

Thoughts on Death Part One

Not a popular subject-death. Most Americans and others flee from the thought of death and the euthanasia movement, so strong in Europe, denies the normal, human path of suffering leading to natural death.

God controls life. God controls death. When men and women try to take control over both life and death, they fall into serious sins: contraception, abortion, euthanasia.

As I watch a snow storm out of this window today, I am reminded that so many people actively avoid thinking of suffering, of death.

I think of death daily-my own, that of those who are far away from God, that of the victims, the aborted ones.

The American Dream constitutes a push against the idea of death.

Be comfortable, be happy, buy things, surround yourself with noise, surround yourself with entertainment.

Have the television and radio on all day so as never to reflect.  Be so active in doing so many things that you never have time to think on sin, punishment, heaven, hell, purgatory.

It is obvious from where I am sitting that this diocese has forgotten about death. There has not been a daily Mass for two weeks in my parish. There has not been a priest available for two weeks for confession.

The church has been locked-no Adoration, no rosaries, no prayer meetings. This is the season of Advent-we should be preparing for the Coming of Christ. This should be a time of intense spirituality.

Instead, people have filled their time with trivia-bake sales, shopping for Christmas, decorating the inside and outside of houses, using so much money for things which do not count, with money which should be given to the poor. I am ashamed to be an American.

All of these pursuits deny the real reason for Christmas. Christ came to save us from death and eternal separation from God.

Here is a reading from the First Mass on Christmas, the Midnight Mass. This is an exhortation, one to which priests rarely refer at Christmas. This reading notes that Christ came for our purification.

I shall continue with thoughts on preparing for death in this week to come....

Titus 2: 11-15

Léctio Epístolæ beáti Pauli Apóstoli ad Titum. Caríssime: Appáruit grátia Dei Salvatóris nostri ómnibus homínibus, erúdiens nos, ut, abnegántes impietátem et sæculária desidéria, sóbrie et juste et pie vivámos in hoc sæculo: exspectántes beátam spem, et advéntum glóriæ magni Dei et Salvatóris nostri Jesu Christi: qui dedit semetípsum pro nobis, ut nos redímeret ab omni iniquitáte, et mundaret sibi pópulum acceptábilem, sectatórem bonórum operum. Hæc lóquere et exhortáte, in Christo Jesu Dómino nostro. Deo Gratias.		Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to Titus. Dearly beloved, The grace of God our Saviour hath appeared to all men, instructing us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly and justly and godly in this world, looking for the blessed hope and coming of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and might cleanse to Himself a people acceptable, a pursuer of good works.These things speak and exhort: in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thanks be to God.

Doctors of the Church 2:16

Wednesday, 13 February 2013

St. Francis de Sales, the Fourth Franciscan out of Three!!!!!! Doctors of the Church Series continued

Posted by Supertradmum

I made a terrible mistake and apologize to the Franciscans. St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church, was a Third Order Franciscan

Naughty me. Mea culpa....

So, before tackling the great Dominicans, I need to cover this great man's writings on spirituality. This is Part 17 of the series.

He was only 56 when he died in 1622, but left behind wonderful writings for us. Here is a bit of his great insights into the holy life.

I concentrate today on the second purification on the way to perfection. This Doctor is a great saint for teaching us the way to perfection.

Notice how the saint refers to the mind as an attribute of the soul. Without going into that study, his ideas are close to those of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (my favourite DoC) who also saw the mind as part of the soul. This idea is not so common in modern theologians.

His clarity about breaking away from the habits of venial sin can be traced here in these selections from Introduction to the Devout Life.  The pages can be found before, one and after this link.


Be sure, my child, that if you seek to lead a devout life, 
you must not merely forsake sin; but you must further 
cleanse your heart from all affections pertaining to sin; for, to say nothing of the danger of a relapse, these wretched affections will perpetually 
enfeeble your mind, and clog it, so that you will be unable to be diligent, 
ready and frequent in good works, wherein nevertheless lies the very essence of all true devotion. 

Souls which, in spite of having forsaken sin, 
yet retain such likings and longings, remind us of those persons who, without being actually ill, are pale and sickly, languid in all they do, eating without appetite, 
sleeping without refreshment, laughing without mirth, 
dragging themselves about rather than walking briskly. 

Such souls as I have described lose all the grace of their good deeds, which are probably few and feeble, through their spiritual languor.

This last point has been made by Garrigou-Lagrange and other writers; that we get no merit unless we are in the state of illumination. I know this is hard, but it is true.

The work we do in the Illumination State comes from the Holy Spirit, and not from ourselves. 
Here is the great saint on this purification of tendencies.

We must make up our minds not to commit even one venial sin in order to avoid these tendencies to sin. I finally found one good priest in London, and a younger one at that, who understands this and can give absolution accordingly, instead of denying that this is possible. We need more priests who understand that we must fight against the tendencies to venial sin.

You will find then, my child, that besides the mortal sins and their affections from which your soul has already been purged, you are beset by sundry inclinations and tendencies to venial sin; mind, I do not say you will find venial sins, but the inclination and tendency to them. Now, one is quite different from the other. We can never be altogether free from venial sin,--at least not until after a very long persistence in this purity; but we can be without any affection for venial sin.

It is altogether one thing to have said something unimportant not strictly true, out of carelessness or liveliness, and quite a different matter to take pleasure in lying, and in the habitual practice thereof. But I tell you that you must purify your soul from all inclination to venial sin;--that is to say, you must not voluntarily retain any deliberate intention of permitting yourself to commit any venial sin whatever. It would be most unworthy consciously to admit anything so displeasing to God, as the will to offend Him in anywise. Venial sin, however small, is displeasing to God, although it be not so displeasing as the greater sins which involve eternal condemnation; and if venial sin is displeasing to Him, any clinging which we tolerate to mortal sin is nothing less than a resolution to offend His Divine Majesty. Is it really possible that a rightly disposed soul can not only offend God, but take pleasure therein?

These inclinations, my child, are in direct opposition to devotion, as inclinations to mortal sin are to love:--they weaken the mental power, hinder Divine consolations, and open the door to temptations;--and although they may not destroy the soul, at least they bring on very serious disease. 

"Dead flies cause the ointment to send forth a stinking savour," says the Wise Man.He means that the flies which settle upon and taste of the ointment only damage it temporarily, leaving the mass intact, but if they fall into it, and die there, they spoil and corrupt it. Even so venial sins which pass over a devout soul without being harboured, do not permanently injure it, but if such sins are fostered and cherished, they destroy the sweet savour of that soul--that is to say, its devotion. The spider cannot kill bees, but it can spoil their honey, and so encumber their combs with its webs in course of time, as to hinder the bees materially. Just so, though venial sins may not lose the soul, they will spoil its devotion, and so cumber its faculties with bad habits and evil inclinations, as to deprive it of all that cheerful readiness which is the very essence of true devotion; that is to say, if they are harboured in the conscience by delight taken therein. 

A trifling inaccuracy, a little hastiness in word or action, some small excess in mirth, in dress, in gaiety, may not be very important, if these are forthwith heeded and swept out as spiritual cobwebs;--but if they are permitted to linger in the heart, or, worse still, if we take pleasure in them and indulge them, our honey will soon be spoilt, and the hive of our conscience will be cumbered and damaged. But I ask again, how can a generous heart take delight in anything it knows to be displeasing to its God, or wish to do what offends Him?

So this saint backs up St. Benedict on frivolity and unnecessary mirth, as in the other posts today and previously on laughter and silliness.