It is all about love....

One does damage to the process by being impatient and demanding answers from the supposed silence of God. He is no longer handing out sweeties, or speaking clearly, as He has changed the way He is addressing the soul.

The power of the Holy Spirit is Faith, pure and simple.

One waits for infused knowledge. One waits for the complete purification of the senses.
Without that purification, one is not loving in spirit and in truth.

Rote prayer is out, as is the usual meditation. This is the time when one, as when one was young and in love, sits on the park bench waiting for the beloved to show up and just be with one.

Waiting is important, and being silent is absolutely necessary. One can, however, be in the midst of other people and be silent. One must carry a cell in one's soul and decide to go to that cell amidst noise and distractions.

The challenge is staying focussed on God, and not one's self. The self fades away, as love is given from God, Who swallows up all distraction and noise into His Love. One important factor is not to run away from pain. Suffering must be accepted fully as part of the process of the passive purgation. For example, if I am in bed with back pain, I must accept this and not fight against it, nor pray for healing. The suffering is part of the purgation and sheer gift. God allows evil to assail one for the good of the soul. Humility must become a daily, normal way of life. Without humility, one cannot receive God.

What others are doing becomes God's business entirely. One can only concentrate on God alone.

This beginning of infused contemplation united to love is already the eminent exercise of the theological virtues and of the gifts of the Holy Ghost which accompany them. In it there is an infused act of penetrating faith; (7) therein the soul discovers increasingly the spirit of the Gospel, the spirit which vivifies the letter. Thus are verified Christ's words: "The Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you." (8) St. John also wrote to the faithful to whom he directed his first epistle: "And as for you, let the unction, which you have received from Him, abide in you.(9) And you have no need that any man teach you; . . . His unction teacheth you of all things." (10) In the silence of prayer, the soul receives here the profound meaning of what it has often read and meditated on in the Gospel: for example, the intrinsic meaning of the evangelical beatitudes: blessed are the poor, the meek, those who weep for their sins, those who hunger and thirst for justice, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemakers, those who suffer persecution for justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

In this way, as a rule, begins infused prayer, the spiritual elevation of the soul toward God, above the senses, the imagination, and reasoning; it is adoration "in spirit and in truth," which goes beyond the formulas of faith to penetrate the mysteries which they express and to live by them. The formulas are no longer a term, but a point of departure.

All quotations in this series are from The Three Ages of the Interior Life.

To be continued....

Perfect Prayer

Perfect prayer comes finally after the passive purification of the beginning of the Illumination State. Perfect prayer is here described. As one becomes more aware of one's lowly state, one is raised up God. Read these sections and think about prayer. I shall come back to these again from a different perspective.

St. Teresa speaks in like manner: "For instance, they read that we must not be troubled when men speak ill of us, that we are to be then more pleased than when they speak well of us, . . . with many other things of the same kind. The disposition to practice this must be, in my opinion, the gift of God, for it seems to me a supernatural good." (23) "People may desire honors or possessions in monasteries as well as outside them (yet the sin is greater as the temptation is less), but such souls, although they may have spent years in prayer, or rather in speculations (for perfect prayer eventually destroys these vices), will never make great progress nor enjoy the real fruit of prayer." (24)

St. Catherine of Siena, too, taught the same doctrine: that the knowledge of God and that of our indigence are like the highest and the lowest points of a circle which could grow forever.(25) This infused knowledge of our misery is the source of true humility of heart, of the humility which leads one to desire to be nothing that God may be all,amare nesciri et pro nihilo reputari. Infused knowledge of the infinite goodness of God gives birth in us to a much more lively charity, a more generous and disinterested love of God and of souls in Him, a greater confidence in prayer.

As St. John of the Cross says: "The love of God is practiced, because the soul is no longer attracted by sweetness and consolation, but by God only. . . . In the midst of these aridities and hardships, God communicates to the soul, when it least expects it, spiritual sweetness, most pure love, and spiritual knowledge of the most exalted kind, of greater worth and profit than any of which it had previous experience, though at first the soul may not think so, for the spiritual influence now communicated is most delicate and imperceptible by sense." (26)

More on Garrigou-Lagrange and the Second Conversion

Continuing with this on the second conversion of the soul, which is known well to the nuns at Tyburn, Garrigou-Lagrange notes that this purification process applies to all Catholics and the goal is to come to God totally and freely before death.

Purgatory is punishment, not merely cleansing, as Garrigou-Lagrange quotes several saints and religious writers. There is no merit gained in purgatory, none. One does not gain a status of grace for heaven in that punishment. The merit for heaven comes with suffering and purification. The entrance into the Illuminative State begins with the second conversion. In this state, one is called to the life of the virtue, which happens more easily and without effort, as God is holding one's hand and leading one into quiet and solitude.

It is hard for the laity to understand that they are called to these ways as well as religious. The religious vocation is merely a short-cut. There is no opt-out for holiness for all of us who have been baptized.

What are the characteristics of this second conversion?

Here is a list.

Complete trust in God and Divine Providence
An awareness of one's nothingness in the Face of God
Humility and a desire for brutal honesty about one's self
A call to quiet and deeper, intense prayer
A release of the gifts of Confirmation, which may be blocked by sin and the tendencies to sin
The giving up and hatred of the seeking of consolation and the awareness that consolations are not necessary
The desire to be with God alone, to be His child, student, and finally, bride.

These are just some of the signs of the second conversion given in Garrigou-Lagrange.  He is using Thomas Aquinas, John of the Cross and Catherine of Siena quite a bit.

The passive purification of the senses is done by God, without one being in control of the process. One merely needs to be orthodox and compliant. Orthodoxy is absolutely ABSOLUTELY necessary for this road to holiness.

We are given the infused virtues, but temptations occur, of course. One of the greatest temptations at this stage is spiritual pride. Impatience is another great temptation, which one experiences in this passive purification, as one wants things to move on. Not so, as God has His own plan.

Here is a section from Garrigou-Lagrange:

If we bear these trials well, they produce precious effects in us. It is said that "patience produces roses." Among the effects of the passive purification of the senses, must be numbered a profound and experimental knowledge of God and self.

St. John of the Cross points out: "These aridities and the emptiness of the faculties as to their former abounding, and the difficulty which good works present, bring the soul to a knowledge of its own vileness and misery." (20)

This knowledge is the effect of nascent infused contemplation, which shows that infused contemplation is in the normal way of sanctity. St. John of the Cross says: "The soul possesses and retains more truly that excellent and necessary virtue of self-knowledge, counting itself for nothing, and having no satisfaction in itself, because it sees that of itself it does and can do nothing. This diminished satisfaction with self, and the affliction it feels because it thinks that it is not serving God, God esteems more highly than all its former delights and all its good works." (21)

With this knowledge of its indigence, its poverty, the soul comprehends better the majesty of God, His infinite goodness toward us, the value also of Christ's merits, of His precious blood, the infinite value of the Mass, and the value of Communion. "God enlightens the soul, making it see not only its own misery and meanness, . . . but also His grandeur and majesty." (22)

...

This knowledge is the effect of nascent infused contemplation, which shows that infused contemplation is in the normal way of sanctity. St. John of the Cross says: "The soul possesses and retains more truly that excellent and necessary virtue of self-knowledge, counting itself for nothing, and having no satisfaction in itself, because it sees that of itself it does and can do nothing. This diminished satisfaction with self, and the affliction it feels because it thinks that it is not serving God, God esteems more highly than all its former delights and all its good works." (21)

To be continued......

A reminder for Catholics on "deliverance"

I do not think I have written on this for a long time. I think I had an article on line about this several years ago. As I am meeting people today involved in something dubious, I thought I would write a reminder to Catholics about deliverance ministries run by lay people.

Let me make some succinct points.

One, there is no difference in the terms deliverance and exorcism in the Catholic Church. People who say that the two words mean something other than the removal of demonic activity in or around a person are deluded. The Catholic Church does not use the term deliverance, only exorcism. Deliverance is a term which comes from the protestants, who do not have an official structure for such things.

Two, only priests, and rarely, those lay people appointed by a bishop, under the authority of a bishop, can "do" exorcisms. To be an exorcist or involved in such is an official position in the Church. If there are priests and lay people doing so-called deliverance or exorcism outside the specific appointment of a bishop, they are not in obedience and must be avoided. Confusion on this set in in the 1970s, with the deletion of the minor orders. Lay people were allowed to do some of those offices done only by priests or deacons in the past, such as Lector and Extraordinary Minister. Therefore, some of the laity and even some priests, thoughts the laity could do the other minor order of exorcism. This is not so.

Three, deliverance teams of lay people without a priest are never sanctioned by a bishop. These types of groupings are not in line with the authority of the Church and are rogue groups. Many protestants and some charismatic Catholics are involved in such, but Catholics should avoid protestant deliverance teams as well as non-appointed lay groups which are supposedly Catholic. To be Catholic is to be under authority of a bishop.

Four, people say to me, "Well, so and so priest and lay person have the gifts of deliverance." So? We are all given gifts from God for various things, but it is God Who decides how and when and where these gifts are used. The Church is our structure of authority and safety. Those who choose to work outside the normal authority of the Church are removing themselves from the Church. Christ established the Church not only for the sacramental life He instituted, but for community and our protection. To step outside the normal Church structures and work outside the authority of the Church is not only disobedience, but dangerous. The Church needs holy and obedient sons and daughters, not those who want to do their own thing.

Example: I may have gifts for a life in a family-nurturing gifts, even practical ones, such as organization, cooking, communal gifts for living with others, and so on. However, as I am not married, these gifts are not or rarely used. This is God's business, not mine.

Likewise, one can have various gifts of nature which are never or hardly used. I have gifts of art and can paint and do calligraphy. However, poverty and a mobile life not chosen by me have denied the use of those gifts, which demand money and stability. We all have many, many gifts which are not used, and that can be part of our suffering.

Thanks to wiki for the photo of paints

One cannot set up ministries outside the Church. Work or ministry is God's work, not ours. If we take ownership over such, instead of working with and in the Church, we are stepping outside of His grace, His Will, His protection.

In this country and in the States, there are too many Catholics who think and act like protestants, that is, doing there own thing outside the normal structures. People say to me, "We are meeting a need not covered by the Church, so we can step in and do this." No. That is presumption and spiritual pride.

Perhaps part of the greater suffering in the Church is the lack of priests who are exorcists. Several years ago, I came upon a situation in a northern diocese which does not have an appointed exorcist. I phoned a neighboring diocese for help for this situation and the exorcist told me he could not even think of coming into another diocese, (where he would have to get permission from that bishop), as he was too busy in his own great metropolitan area. He was exhausted, and could not come to deal with something hundreds of miles away.

The sad demonic situation still exists and will, as the fact that we lack priests who are exorcists is a direct cause of situations not being addressed. Yet, for a lay person to step in would be wrong. Even a priest who is not an appointed exorcist should not be involved in exorcism. All priests need to be under the direct authority of the Church in order to be bona fide. As there are rogue laity doing such things, there are, sadly, also rogue priests acting as exorcists outside the authority of the local bishops. In doing so, these priests are in disobedience, as all priests are under the authority of bishops. Just as a priest cannot merely go into another diocese other than his own and hear confessions without the local ordinary's permission, there are other ministries a priest cannot do without the express appointment of a bishop where the priest is desiring to work. An exorcist friend of mine gets permission from the bishop's of the dioceses where he is called to work. He works in five dioceses and two countries only under the auspices of those bishops. This is the proper order for such a vocation.

The Church is weakened from within by disobedience and spiritual pride. The "can do" attitude does not mean "should do". God gives us work to do and sometimes that work is blocked. He allows suffering in His permissive Will and sadly, that means people suffer, even greatly. Just because we can do something does not mean we are supposed to do something.

Pray and fast for vocations to the priesthood. Pray that those bishops who do not believe in the devil and his demons have a change of heart. Do not do your own thing in this regard. You may be endangering your own immortal soul.

Obedience and suffering are on a higher plane that action outside the direct authority of the Church.

More points on atheists and salvation

The net is going crazy with the Pope's comments on atheists and salvation.

More clarification seems necessary. First of all, if an atheist is presented with the Truth of God's existence and openly rejects this Truth for life, there can be no salvation, as that person has made a choice. Can he have a death-bed conversion? Of course. But, one cannot count on dying in bed.

Second,  the merits of grace gained in and through Christ are in the Catholic Church. This is our teaching. So, if someone purposefully rejects the Church, when they have been given insight into that truth in some way, (people reject truth for many reasons), they could be sinning against the Holy Spirit, which is the gravest of all sins. One who knows the Truth and rejects it sins against the Spirit.

Third, to separate Christ and the Church is heresy. Protestants do this, sadly, The CCC is clear about this. We are one in Christ in the Church. All salvation comes through the Church and through Christ, which is the mystery of His setting up the Church on earth.

II. THE CHURCH - BODY OF CHRIST

The Church is communion with Jesus

787 From the beginning, Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the mystery of the Kingdom to them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy, and sufferings.²¹⁵ Jesus spoke of a still more intimate communion between him and those who would follow him: "Abide in me, and I in you. . . . I am the vine, you are the branches."²¹⁶ And he proclaimed a mysterious and real communion between his own body and ours: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him."²¹⁷

788 When his visible presence was taken from them, Jesus did not leave his disciples orphans. He promised to remain with them until the end of time; he sent them his Spirit.²¹⁸ As a result communion with Jesus has become, in a way, more intense: "By communicating his Spirit, Christ mystically constitutes as his body those brothers of his who are called together from every nation."²¹⁹

789 The comparison of the Church with the body casts light on the intimate bond between Christ and his Church. Not only is she gathered around him; she is united in him, in his body. Three aspects of the Church as the Body of Christ are to be more specifically noted: the unity of all her members with each other as a result of their union with Christ; Christ as head of the Body; and the Church as bride of Christ.

"One Body"

790 Believers who respond to God's word and become members of Christ's Body, become intimately united with him: "In that body the life of Christ is communicated to those who believe, and who, through the sacraments, are united in a hidden and real way to Christ in his Passion and glorification."²²⁰ This is especially true of Baptism, which unites us to Christ's death and Resurrection, and the Eucharist, by which "really sharing in the body of the Lord, . . . we are taken up into communion with him and with one another."²²¹

Father Z has suggested that there may be bad translations regarding the Pope's talk. I hope so, as the entire thing has opened a can of worms online.

UPDATE: No Anonymous comments will be accepted, remember, please.

Christ, not government, saves.....

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/05/23/us-usa-education-chicago-vote-idUKBRE94L15P20130523

The real reasons behind these closings are not being shared, of course.

Logically, richer areas have better parental involvement and better buildings, etc. Taxes pay for schools. In very poor areas, many people are not paying taxes and, therefore, the school systems suffer.

If the majority of a population is on welfare, the schools will suffer.

The problem is the larger infrastructure of the lack of jobs, and the lack of the will to work.

Until the end of 2010, I worked for several years with at-risk-students. These students were usually Latino and Black minority students who were the first in their families to try to get a higher education. Some were genuilly trying to break out of the generational mode of poverty and even violence.

Some were not. Some girls got pregnant merely to stay on housing benefit. When the time for that gift ran out, they would get pregnant again. This is what their moms and grandmothers did.

Some were using grant money, sent to them, rather than the college, for drugs. They did not care if they had to pay back that money or could not sign up again for courses until their debt was paid. They would take the 5000 dollars and disappear.

Some, mostly the Latino girls, were thankfully ambitious, competitive and trying to break out of poverty. However, the culture fought against them, such as families demanding they get married and have children and be on welfare. Generations of lifestyles are hard to change.

Those who succeeded in breaking out of the chains of poverty moved out of their neighborhoods, sometimes against their families' selfish wishes, got jobs, and did, in turn, send money back to their families. But, their new jobs were not in the failing neighborhoods, where their old schools suffered from the lack of tax money and safe education.

Increasingly, teachers no longer wanted to work in dangerous areas. Can you blame them? I was threatened more than once even at the college level by violent students, who were coming out of backgrounds of family prostitution and the slavery of welfare.

The reasons are not merely money, but the conversion of minds and hearts. Most of the youth I worked with were not church-goers or even Christian. Some bragged that they had had four abortions. Some were Christians and they shared with me that they felt the pain of the split in the communities. There was little discussion between the Obama blacks and the Evangelical blacks, for instance.

To save schools in dying neighborhoods is a complicated matter. Jobs must be created and families strengthened to the point where parents support their children's desires for a better life. Only Christ can change this type of slavery to sin and poverty. Only evangelization, and not politics, will move the hearts of those who have lost their communities.

Too many Catholics, including priests and seminarians in America, think in terms of politics solving the problems of our cities. No. Only Christ can solve these huge problems.

Until we really evangelize the inner cities, schools will close and neighborhoods will dissolve into gang centers where no one is safe. I have seen this happen. I lived in Illinois and Iowa, and saw this happening in those two states.

The Evil of Relativism-the denial of free will and hell

I cannot believe this. I am astounded. A religious person, in a habit, said that there was no difference between good and evil in a person. What did she mean? Does she not believe in objective evil?
Ojective Evil and the Ten Commandments-no good, no evil? That is the logical end of her beliefs.

A person is good if they are in the state of grace and exemplify good deeds. A person is bad if they are not in the state of grace and exemplify horrible deeds, such as abortion, contraception, murder, incest and homosexual activity.

We become what we believe and do. Can God save us from sin and from ourselves? Of course, thanks be to God.

The sister who expressed this does not make a distinction between good and bad. She has become completely relativized in her thought.

Relativism minimizes personal responsibility and merely sees people as victims.

We are not victims, usually. We make choices daily for good or for evil.

Either we are progressing towards perfection or we are not.

The Ten Commandments are the MINIMUM for the Catholic, not the maximum. The Ten Commandments are the starting point for holiness.

I cannot discuss holiness with a complete relativist who denies free will and objective good and evil.

Are there some circumstances with mitigate evil? Yes, but some actions are always intrinsically evil and even if guilt is lessened, sin is sin.

If a nun in an order who teaches publicly believes in the complete relativism of actions and choices, her audience is in trouble.

Those who tolerate evil must look at themselves. Are they tolerating evil in their own lives?

And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away.Matthew 11:12

This means you and this means me. Unless we allow God to strip us of our own evil, how can we discern?

Those who deny personal responsibility for sin also deny hell.

Both of these ideas are heresies. Note how Dante in the diagram above calls those in hell by their main sins-the gluttonous, the heretics, and so on.

We choose what we are and what we shall be in eternity. We choose.

Why again? Why was this young man not helped by men?

Why did it take the police twenty minutes to get to the Woolwich site yesterday? Why?

And, why were people taking photos and videos on their phones AND NOT HELPING THE YOUNG MAN?

Immigration problems and not dealing with the violent talk in the religious circles which feeds this type of murder led to this.

This guy is great.
http://www.france24.com/en/20130523-car-bombings-niger-hit-uranium-mine-army-base?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Pray for the three Tyburn nuns in Nigeria

http://www.france24.com/en/20130523-car-bombings-niger-hit-uranium-mine-army-base?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

The Church is not rich

a bit of righteous anger today....

The Church in Europe is poor. Why do people think otherwise? Do I need to give examples? There will come a day in England when there will be many closed church buildings.

Thanks to wiki for St. Benedict's Church in Paddlesworth

It has been the coldest winter and spring for centuries in England and Scotland and most of the churches have not been able to heat the buildings. It is very cold during Mass, believe me, and Adoration. Many older people wear many layers and suffer in churches. I know women who tell me how hard it is on them to go to daily Mass and Adoration because of sitting in the cold. But, they do it. The same is true for the convents and monasteries.  In Tyburn, there was not heat, although out of charity, the Novice Mistress brought me a space heater and I used a hot water bottle. It is very cold there. The sisters from Peru and the Philippines suffer. In some convents and seminaries in Europe, there is only cold water in the rooms for washing, not hot.

Beds in most Church properties are very old. Cobh had new mattresses  but the ones in Tyburn and some seminaries are older than some of the parents or even grandparents, of the students! Food is good, but minimal, and much less than what Americans would be used to eating daily. There are few fat seminarians and most priests are thin. All the nuns are very thin, except for one with a medical condition. As Mother Novice Mistress told me, "If you stay here, you will lose weight."

One of a group of nuns visited Tyburn from America and said to Mother that the life was "spartan". It is both by choice and by necessity.

I am really not understanding two things:

One, why the Catholic laity is so stingy here and two; why people assume the Church has money. It emphatically does not. I know some parishes where the parish councils had to collect money for the priest's car, as his area of ministry was so large he could not afford the petrol. I know families which go to Spain on holiday two or three times a year and do not tithe.

Tithing is not the norm here in England, Scotland and Wales, nor it is in Ireland. People may give a pound or a euro at Mass and that is it. I have talked with priests about this, but the Catholics do not regularly support the Church. There are some big donors, such as the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk, but those types of donors have become more rare, as families fall away from the Church.

When I ask for help, I am asking for help from my readers, as there are no other resources. Groups tend to give to the Third World very generously  which is good. But, the truth is that there are many nuns and seminarians who are suffering from a very low standard of living.

When I was in Cobh, some of the guests complained about the sparse and low quality of food. I said to them that the nuns depended on the laity for donations. One couple left food baskets outside the door there of vegetables, enough for about three dinners. One lady gives some vegetables to London Tyburn. The nuns do not have endowments or savings. They also feed the poorer than themselves. They drink the worst tea and the worst coffee. They live in rooms which make American prisons look like posh hotels. And, yet people think these groups have money. Yes, penance is part of the Rule, as is poverty. But, there is a difference between poverty and penury. Diocesan priests and sems do not make a vow of poverty.

Look into your own hearts and do not pass on the responsibility for giving to others. There may be no "others". If God calls a poor man to the priesthood from a poor family, who should help but the laity? He will be their priest and serve them. 

By the way, I am stopping Anonymous comments. I have to do this as the nastiest ones are coming in, of course, under Anonymous. This is cowardice, by the way.
Choose a name and use it, please.

Finally, back up on my theme of perfection

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2013/05/a-pastors-page-we-are-catholic-to-the-extent-that-we-accept-church-teaching-in-its-entirety/#comment-411218

If you think you can hold beliefs contrary to the teaching of the Church and be holy, you are dead wrong. Following false seers and believing what you want will lead you to hell. Salvation is through the Catholic Church and purposefully remaining in ignorance is the fault of many Catholic adults, who cannot enter the road to holiness without being orthodox. If one is a charismatic and not following the guidelines of the bishops or Rome, one has removed one's self from the road to holiness. Period.

Catholic Silence

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/young-christians-will-be-locked-out-of-public-professions-by-gay-marriage-m

Some ministers are brave and Christian enough to say this. Sadly, only three bishops and a handful of priests here in Great Britain have said the same thing. Why?

The silence of the Catholic Church on these topics is a howling wind of apostasy. Where are our leaders? We need to hear this type of guidance and warning from the pulpit. I, personally, besides reading the statements of some of the bishops, not all, have heard only ONE priest talk about the changes in the life styles of the young, middle aged and old which will ripple from the SSM bill.

Why the silence? Why? From the article linked above:

Young Christians will be shut out of all public professions, including teachers, doctors, nurses or any kind of public servant if the “gay marriage” bill is passed, a group of religious leaders has warned the government. The ministers issued the warning in a letter to the Daily Telegraph on the same day that the government came to an agreement with opposition parties over amendments. The bill is expected to move past the committee stage and on to the House of Lords after two days of debate today and tomorrow. (It passed-suupertradmum)

Should it be granted Royal Assent “in its present form,” the 17 Christian ministers said, the bill will “isolate hundreds of thousands of young students and workers across the country who hold a fuller view of marriage based on religion or a traditional view.”

“These young people, from teenagers to 30-year-olds, will suffer discrimination and face new risks to their careers, and futures,” they added. The ministers said that many young Christians understand marriage as “the thread that binds generations.” They warned that “without much clearer protections for freedom of speech and freedom of belief, teachers and public-sector workers will have to choose between their conscience and their career, as many will be deterred from a public-service career or from charity involvement”.

Finally, the real deal in Ireland

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pro-abort-politicians-excommunicate-themselves-must-not-receive-communion-i

As usual, Life Site News is spot on. Here is a snippet. See article above for entire text.

You cannot regard yourself as a person of faith and support abortion,” Archbishop Eamon Martin told the Sunday Times. “If a legislator comes to me and says, ‘Can I be a faithful Catholic and support abortion?’ I would say no. Your communion is ruptured if you support abortion.” 

Our Lady of Walsingham, Pray for Us

Prayer to Our Lady of Walsingham

O Mary, recall the solemn moment when Jesus, your divine Son, dying on the cross confided us to your maternal care. You are our Mother; we desire ever to remain your devout children. Let us therefore feel the effects of your powerful intercession with Jesus Christ. Make your name again glorious in this place, once renowned throughout our land by your visits, favours and many miracles. Pray, O Holy Mother of God, for the conversion of England, restoration of the sick, consolation for the afflicted, repentance of sinners, peace to the departed. O Blessed Mary, Mother of God, Our Lady of Walsingham, intercede for us. Amen.

More on evil from the Catholic Encyclopedia

The disorder in the temporal order is due to Original Sin. Adam and Eve started the whole problem of evil in the natural order. We cannot deny this. The world was created in a perfection which was lost by sin and the consequences of sin.

God permits evil for many reasons.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05649a.htm

Evil is threefold, viz., "malum naturæ" (metaphysical evil), "culpæ" (moral), and "paenæ" (physical, the retributive consequence of "malum culpæ") (I, Q. xlviii, a. 5, 6; Q. lxiii, a. 9; De Malo, I, 4). Its existence subserves the perfection of the whole; the universe would be less perfect if it contained no evil. Thus fire could not exist without the corruption of what it consumes; the lion must slay the ass in order to live, and if there were no wrong doing, there would be no sphere for patience and justice (I, Q. xlviii, a. 2). God is said (as in Isaiah 45) to be the author of evil in the sense that the corruption of material objects in nature is ordained by Him, as a means for carrying out the design of the universe; and on the other hand, the evil which exists as a consequence of the breach of Divine laws is in the same sense due to Divine appointment; the universe would be less perfect if its laws could be broken with impunity. Thus evil, in one aspect, i.e. as counter-balancing the deordination of sin, has the nature of good (II, Q. ii, a. 19). But the evil of sin (culpæ), though permitted by God, is in no sense due to him (I, Q. xlix, a. 2).; its cause is the abuse of free will by angels and men (I-II, Q. lxxiii, a. 6; II-II, Q. x, a. 2; I-II, Q. ix, a. 3). It should be observed that the universal perfection to which evil in some form is necessary, is the perfection of this universe, not of any universe: metaphysical evil, that is to say, and indirectly, moral evil as well, is included in the design of the universe which is partially known to us; but we cannot say without denying the Divine omnipotence, that another equally perfect universe could not be created in which evil would have no place.

St. Thomas also provides explanations of what are now generally considered to be the two main difficulties of the subject, viz., the Divine permission of foreseen moral evil, and the question finally arriving thence, why God choose to create anything at all. First, it is asked why God, foreseeing that his creatures would use the gift of free will for their own injury, did not either abstain from creating them, or in some way safeguard their free will from misuse, or else deny them the gift altogether? St. Thomasreplies (C. G., II, xxviii) that God cannot change His mind, since the Divine will is free from the defect of weakness or mutability. Such mutability would, it should be remarked, be a defect in the Divine nature(and therefore impossible), because if God's purpose were made dependent on the foreseen free act of any creature, God would thereby sacrifice His own freedom, and would submit Himself to His creatures, thus abdicating His essential supremacy--a thing which is, of course, utterly inconceivable. Secondly, to the question why God should have chosen to create, when creation was in no way needful for His ownperfection, St. Thomas answers that God's object in creating is Himself; He creates in order to manifest his own goodness, power, and wisdom, and is pleased with that reflection or similitude of Himself in which the goodness of creation consists. God's pleasure is the one supremely perfect motive for action, alike in God Himself and in His creatures; not because of any need, or inherent necessity, in the Divinenature (C. G., I, xxviii; II, xxiii), but because God is the source, centre, and object, of all existence. (I, Q. 65:a. 2; cf. Proverbs 26 and Conc. Vat., can. 1:v; Const. Dogm., 1.) This is accordingly the sufficient reason for the existence of the universe, and even for the suffering which moral evil has introduced into it. God has not made the world primarily for man's good, but for His own pleasure; goodfor man lies in conforming himself to the supreme purpose of creation, and evil in departing from it (C.G., III, xvii, cxliv). It may further be understood from St. Thomas, that in the diversity of metaphysical evil, in which the perfection of the universe as a whole is embodied, God may see a certain similitude of His own threefold unity (cf. I, Q. xii); and again, that by permitting moral evil to exist He has provided a sphere for the manifestation of one aspect of His essential justice (cf. I, Q. lxv, a. 2; and I, Q. xxi, a. 1, 3).

A little bit on evil one

Evil has been defined as both the opposition of good and the absence of good. The common understanding of evil is that it is a negation of good, or the absence of good. For example, if there is a tornado, the odd weather patterns, out of the control of humans, must be accepted as part of a larger scheme of Nature, causing evil, not necessarily by the design of a malevolent force, such as the devil, but as the permissive will of God, or even, in the long run, the perfect will of God. We do not understand our own part in the history of evil. We cannot understand the death of a young soldier walking on a sunny street in London today by two crazed Muslims anymore than we can understand the death of the children in Moore. Such evils are beyond rational explanation, and even scientific examination.

Nature, as created by God, is objective and not subjective. A tornado is however, subjectively evil, as it kills and destroys people and things dear to people, but not in the same way which abortion or homosexual relations are objectively evil. Intrinsic evil must involve a decision. If there were no houses and merely the plains of Oklahoma to meet the tornado's power, we would not even think of it as evil.

Who decides tornadoes? Nature works as it was created to be, by forces, mostly beyond human control.

People who create evil choose that evil for many reasons. Ideology is merely one. Selfishness and pride are the most common reasons for evil.

God in His discussion with Satan in the Book of Job allows evils, even the death of children, to afflict Job. The story teaches us many things, but one is that we cannot understand God or His Ways. We simply cannot.

However, evil is something which is obviously growing around us.

That there is a lack of perfection in the world of Nature and in our own natures seems too obvious to mention, and yet, people ask constantly, "Why does God allow this?"

Perhaps we are entering into a time of great trial because of the great sins of nations, like the passing of the SSM bill here yesterday, or the ideology of Islam. Those are human constructs and it is much easier to understand the evil perpetrated by humans than those objective and remote natural evils, such as drought or flooding.

It is important not to think that evil is inherent in nature. God is in control of Nature. It is one of His creations, like animals and plants.  There is a scheme of things in God's Plans which we cannot see, being finite. One can say, with Augustine, that evil may be used by God for punishment and trial and, indeed, that is so. Therefore, even catastrophes are in a mysterious plan, which we cannot comprehend, but accept in humility and patience.

Human evil based on free will choices and here is the Catholic Encyclopedia on three aspects concerning evil. When trying to deal with evil, we must consider

• the omnipotence, omniscience, and absolute goodness of the Creator;
• the freedom of the will; and
• that suffering is the penal consequence of wilful disobedience to the law of God.

And more

There is therefore no "summum malum", or positive source of evil, corresponding to the "summum bonum", which is God (I, Q. xlix, a. 3; C. G., III, 15; DeMalo, I, 1); evil being not "ens reale" but only "ens rationis"--i.e. it exists not as an objective fact, but as a subjective conception; things are evil not in themselves, but by reason of their relation to other things, or persons. All realities (entia) are in themselves good; they produce bad results only incidentally; and consequently the ultimate cause of evil if fundamentally good, as well as the objects in which evil is found (I, Q. xlix; cf. I, Q. v, 3; De Malo, I, 3). Thus the Manichaean dualism has no foundation in reason.

To be continued...

Too much evil

The horrific murder and beheading of a young soldier in broad daylight by Islamic terrorists and the beheading of his body, all happening in Woolwich on the street, has created a nervous nation here. Sadly, the vote for SSM was passed last night and has very little coverage. The Queen only has to sign it into law.

On the misunderstanding of the term discernment of spirits

Discernment is a gift which comes with the purification of the imagination and conscience. One must be orthodox for keen discernment.

Many charismatics think that the term "discernment of spirits" has to do with figuring out which demons may be in a situation. NOT SO.

The term "discernment of spirits" is defined by the Church as something more profound and more applicable to daily life than some sort of gift given to exorcists.

Here is the Catholic Encyclopedia, to begin this examination of a definition and my comments are in blue:


"Discernment of spirits" is the term given to the judgment whereby to determine from what spirit the impulses of the soul emanate, and it is easy to understand the importance of this judgment both for self-direction and the direction of others. Now this judgment may be formed in two ways. 

Pay attention here, readers.

In the first case the discernment is made by means of an intuitive light which infallibly discovers the quality of the movement; it is then a gift of God, a grace gratis data, vouchsafed mainly for the benefit of our neighbour (1 Corinthians 12:10). This charisma or gift was granted in the early Church and in the course of the lives of the saints as, for example, St. Philip Neri. 

This is a gift which has been given to many saints, such as St. Bernard of Clarirvaux and most of the Doctors of the Church. Clearly, St. Catherine of Siena had this gift, to give one example in addition to the one above. 

Second, discernment of spirits may be obtained through study and reflection. It is then an acquired human knowledge, more or less perfect, but very useful in the direction of souls. It is procured, always, of course, with the assistance of grace, by the reading of the
Holy Bible, of works on theology and asceticism, of autobiographies, and the correspondence of the most distinguished ascetics. 

Many leaders in the Church have such a gift, acquired through these means. One thinks of the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, or Father Pavone, or Cardinal Burke. As all of us are called to perfection, this discernment comes in that process.

The necessity of self-direction and of directing others, when one had charge of souls, produced documents, preserved in spiritual libraries, from the perusal of which one may see that the discernment of spirits is a science that has always flourished in the Church. 

Mother General of Tyburn exhibits this gift, as do other persons who have responsibility for souls, who have allowed God to purify them.

I suggest that one stops listening to those who want to look for demons under every rock, instead of studying, praying, and permitting God to purify their imaginations and destroy all their desires which are not of Him.

Detachment brings discernment of spirits-and it is our own spirit where this discernment starts.

Again, the Catholic Encyclopedia:

An excellent lesson is that given by St. Ignatius Loyola in his "Spiritual Exercises". Here we find rules for the discernment of spirits and, being clearly and briefly formulated, these rules indicate a secure course, containing in embryo all that is included in the more extensive treatises of later date. For a complete explanation of them the best commentaries on the "Exercises" of St. Ignatius may be consulted. Of the rules transmitted to us by a saint inspired by Divine light and a learned psychologist taught by personal experience, it will suffice to recall the principal ones.

The world, the flesh and the devil must be discerned.


Ignatius gives two kinds and we must call attention to the fact that in the second category, according to some opinions, he sometimes considers a more delicate discernment of spirits adapted to the extraordinary course of mysticism. Be that as it may, he begins by enunciating this clear principle, that both the good and the evil spirit act upon a soul according to the attitude it assumes toward them. If it pose as their friend, they flatter it; if to resist them, they torment it. 

The devil can be part of the spiritual battle of the soul, obviously. But, the loci of good and evil also dwell within ourselves. If we allow God to completely destroy our self-will, then we can begin to discern good from bad, impulse from grace, virtue from vice.


But the evil spirit speaks only to the imagination and the senses, whereas the good spirit acts upon reason and conscience. The evil labours to excite concupiscence, the good to intensify love for God. Of course it may happen that a perfectly well-disposed soul suffers from the attacks of the devil deprived of the sustaining consolations of the good angel; but this is only a temporary trial the passing of which must be awaited in patience and humility. St. Ignatius also teaches us to distinguish the spirits by their mode of action and by the end they seek. Without any preceding cause, that is to say, suddenly, without previous knowledge or sentiment, God alone, by virtue of His sovereign dominion, can flood the soul with light and joy. But if there has been a preceding cause, either the good or the bad angel may be the author of the consolation; this remains to be judged from the consequences. As the good angel's object is the welfare of the soul and the bad angel's its defects or unhappiness, if, in the progress of our thoughts all is well and tends to good there is no occasion for uneasiness; on the contrary, if we perceive any deviation whatsoever towards evil or even a slight unpleasant agitation, there is reason to fear. Such, then, is the substance of these brief rules which are nevertheless so greatly admired by the masters of the spiritual life. Although requiring an authorized explanation, when well understood, they act as a preservative against many illusions

To be continued...

A new twist on vocations

Taking with a highly intelligent young person who knows several young women who are considering a religious vocation but cannot choose an order, I discovered an interesting twist on the lack of vocations. This is an idea which came to me months ago, but I did not think of it again until this discussion.

Most of the orders of nuns lack a charism which speaks to the modern world, and especially to young traditional women.

Let me try to explain.

The older orders are stuck in paradigms of service which no longer apply to the modern world.

This does NOT apply to Tyburn, or other enclosed orders, wherein the first charism is Adoration and contemplative prayer. That charism has been with the Church for almost 1,400 years and is extremely valid. The problem, as I experienced, is the need for physical stamina and strength.

Contemplative orders of all types are more necessary than ever.

However, most orders have lost their reason for existing in the world.

Trad girls know the evils of Catholic schools, especially the compromises foisted upon such by governments and heretic leaders. I do not need to explain all the scandals of Catholic schools in Malta (lesbian teaching in a junior girls' school); England (non-Catholic in charge of a high-school RE department); America (where the the curriculum includes heresies of modernism and sex education in many dioceses).

Trad girls do not want compromising orders.

But, what of the real call to a specific charism, besides the contemplative orders? The Dominicans are doing very well here, as the one getting the most vocations wears a full habit and allows for a multiple use of talent in various places, such as evangelization, catechesis, and other parish work. The new paradigms of service are allowed. Mother Teresa of Calcutta's order was a new paradigm and is highly successful in getting vocations.

Not so most orders. Real orders have strong charisms which are needed in the world. The Sisters of Life is an obvious excellent example. as are the various new Dominican groups.

Perhaps it is part of the problem of the lack of sensitivity to the needs of the world and of Catholics in 2013, which are adding to the vocation problem.

Mother General of Tyburn knows that praying for peace in Nigeria and 24/7 Adoration, a response to the requests of bishops there, is a real charism.

Those sisters who are involved in conservative moments, such as Evangelium in Great Britain are responding to the Holy Spirit's call for teaching youth the real stuff of the Catechism and Scripture. Only teaching the "real deal" is a charism from the Holy Spirit. Any order, any, despite the name or pedigree, which is compromising, is not meeting the needs of the Church.

The Holy Spirit must decide the charisms and give these. If people decide, the orders will fail.

I am convinced that contemplation and service encouraging the Latin Mass is the way forward for England.

Does anyone else share this vision? This is a real charism.

God calls, but many do not respond. This blog includes this call to prayer and reparation.

The time for certain charisms which were necessary in the past is long gone.

We do not need more retreat centres which do not include orthodoxy and real sacrifice.

We do not need sisters who are social workers.

The nursing orders will not be able to be Catholic in any national health system, so that charism is gone, except in Third World Countries, where these sisters may actually have more freedom to be Catholic and be nurses or midwives.

The real charisms for 2013 must be extreme, as in the days of Benedict and Catherine of Siena. We need clarity and a remnant.

We need prayers of reparation for many, many sins.

May God send me some companions in this vision of prayer and penance for reparation and the constant Adoration of Christ.

A beautiful thought from the Pope on one of my favourite passages....

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/francesco-francis-francisco-24823/