Book Begging

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1941663206/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp_eYTpvb1RGP5X3

Could someone get this for me, please?

The Battle of Arrogance vs. Humility-A Won Virtue

Welcome to the new world of Sodom and Gomorrah. Never before have the sins of abortion and ssm been made into laws. Even the Greeks and Romans, known for pederasty and using boys in the army as substitutes for prostitutes, as women were thought to weaken men's ability to fight, even those nations did not make homosexual sin law.

At this time in history, we are witnessing the worst evils ever committed by governments. Those of us who know the history of Western and Eastern Civilization, know that the four sins which cry out to God for vengeance were never enshrined in law. Never. So, how does the Catholic react? Become holy, very holy and prepare for martyrdom, as you most likely will face it in one way or another, having to face the arrogance of evil.

Now, we see the arrogance of humans living and making laws outside of both natural law and revealed law.

The only thing which can counteract these growing legal evils is prayer from the humble. One reason why I am emphasizing humility is that this virtue must be learned now in order to combat this legal arrogance, and in order to follow God in horribly difficult times.

Today, on the feast of St. Catherine of Siena, I shall quote Fr. Rodriquez on her struggle for the balance between trusting in Providence and the sin of presumption. Here is a section from his text, in Volume II:

“For when, to discourage her, he (the devil) endeavored to make her believe that all her life had been only a deception, she too courage at the consideration of the mercy of God, and expressed herself thus: 'I confess, O my Creator, that a my life has been nothing but darkness, but I will hide myself in the wounds of Jesus crucified; and I will bathed myself in his blood, which will wash off all my sins; and I will rejoice in my Creator and my God'” “Thou shalt wash me , O Lord, and I shall become whiter than snow.” (Ps.i.9) On the other hand, if the devil by a contrary temptation tried to puff her up with pride, by representing to her that she was already perfect, and that she had no further need to bewail her sins, or to be afflicted; she most profoundly humbled herself, and thus reasoned with herself:'What! Unhappy creature that I am!--St. John the Baptist never sinned, he nevertheless failed not to do severe penance; what must I do, who have committed so many sins and never acknowledged and bewailed them as I ought?

The devil, continues Rodriguez, would end up leaving her, as he could not make her sin either in despair or in pride. Once the devil knows he cannot win this game of under-confidence or over-confidence, he must stop these types of attacks.

Now, why am I writing so much on humility now? Martyrs, either green or red, are not made in a day. The rode to martyrdom follows a plan created by God, one which involves the acceptance of suffering without complaint.

Americans and the English have become masters of complaint. Americans have high expectation, or just expectations, and the English seem to like to complain. I once heard four people in England at coffee after Mass sharing tales of their holidays in Teneriffe, the Canary Islands and other exotic places, but the entire conversation involved constant complaining. I had to get up and leave the table because the negativity was so embedded in their characters that I could not change the subject or interject some positive comments. The habit of complaining reflects a serious lack of humility. Even little exasperation during the days, which cause one to say something small or just sigh reveal a lack of humility. With humility comes patience. And patience brings courage.

One recalls St. Thomas More's comment on seeing the great Carthusian martyrs from the Charterhouse going off to their horrible deaths of being dragged on wooden sledges through the dirty streets of London, to being drawn and quartered, singing like men on their way to a wedding. St. Thomas noted that if he had been on his knees more, praying and doing mortification, instead of enjoying the comforts of Court, he would have been more ready for martyrdom.

Do you, dear Readers, think that you will all of the sudden become holy enough to withstand pain and not fall into despair or pride when facing ridicule, the loss of all income, complete marginalization in our societies, and then imprisonment with humility and equanimity when you are not preparing yourselves now?

Rarely are there, but there are a few, “last minute martyrs”, such as the one centurion who made up the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, when one left the ice and perished in a warm bath, leaving God for a short comfort. We are not called to be that fortieth martyr, but one of the thirty-nine, who stripped and laid on the ice in pain until they died. Because God chastens me, I eat less meat than most people and eat only two meals a day because of poverty. I own practically nothing, and God decides my mortification, mostly. So, I am blessed by Him Who knows how weak I am.

What are you willing to give up now, in the name of Christ, for mortification and for the saving of souls? I have given up desserts, wine, beer and cordials of all kinds. I have given up careers and status. I have given up chocolate, and eating snacks between meals.

This is all preparation for dying, as dying to self allow one to grow in freedom. Many Catholics will be lost in the coming weeks, months and years. Ask God to show you the least imperfections in your souls, minds, imaginations, wills. Fr. Rodriguez, like Garrigou-Lagrange is aware of that predominant fault which keeps us from perfection.

What will happen when your bishop and the majority of priests in your diocese apostatize, either over ssm or giving Communion to those in adultery? What will you do? Will you conform with the majority, or stand firm in the knowledge of God's Will as found in natural and revealed laws?

The truth is that self-knowledge, states Father Rodriguez, brings courage. Many sins come from the pit of fear, which too many people carry around. A small example: I set up this chapel after all the people who were supposed to come through the house for repairs, surveys, and such had done their jobs. Except for the termite inspector, I thought I was free of visitors for a month until I leave, now three weeks.

Today, I was told that two more repairmen are coming in. I know one is a low-church protestant, as low-church as one can get and still be Christian, and he will be offended by the icons. I thought for a minute about taking these and the two remaining statues out of the room, but I heard a strong voice say, “This is a test. If you are ashamed of Me here, what will you do when a real trial comes to you? ” Obviously, Christ does not care about offending others who have left the path of truth. We have the one, true religion and can be strong in our defense of even icons and statues. The Church teaches the truth in wholeness, not in parts, and we cannot choose what to dispose of and what not to. God ordains dulia.

A small test, when most people would be concerned about being offensive, God is telling me clearly not to worry about that, but to be strong in the Truth of the beauty of Catholic worship, of dulia as well as latria. The chapel stays put until I leave in three weeks.

Where does this courage come from in my heart? From being no one, nothing, for being a weak vessel, a frail person of Faith. As Father Rodriguez writes, to look at our weakness is actually inverted pride, as one must keep one's eyes on Christ.

If we look at Christ, we have courage in His grace, not our own strength. Rodriguez quotes Psalms 22, 26 and 27, among others, for the proper perspective.

Because of the intensity of pain I am experiencing, plus the other difficulties, I trust that God will have compassion on me in my weaknesses. Indeed, Fr. Rodriguez stresses that the more we admit our frailties, the more God has mercy on us.

He notes that if we are saying, “Why have I not such and such a thing? Why am I treated so ill?” that these questions reveal that one is lacking in self-knowledge. Years ago, a spiritual director told me to stop asking “why” questions, that these were a complete waste of time. I did stop. Now, I say, “God show me my sins, even the hidden sins, so that I can love you more and more.”

And, here is the key to courage, which comes from self-knowledge. Let me use Rodriguez' own words.

“For if you had but humility, and knew well the deceitfulness of your own heart,you would not be uneasy or lose courage. But, on the contrary, you would wonder that there happens no worse to you, and that you fall not oftener.; and you would not cease praising and blessing God who upholds you with his hand, and saves you from the disorders you would infallibly fall into without him.”

St. Francis Borgia, a favorite of Fr. Rodriguez, noted to a wealthy friend who knew him when he was wealthy and comfortable, that he needed to take more care of himself. Francis answered that he had a harbinger who went before him to take care of all his needs. His friend asked him who this was. The saints answered that it was the knowledge of himself, and the thought of the pains of hell, so that whatever place he found himself in, including bad lodgings, he knew he was being treated better than he deserved.

This is not poetry or merely edifying stories from the life of a saint, but a reality for all of us.

One more story from Fr. Rodriguez for today—a holy Dominican told St. Margaret that he had begged the ancient Desert Fathers to show him how they became so holy. One night, in a dream, he saw a book with golden letters and a voice told him to “arise, and read”. He rose immediately and read these words. “The perfection of the ancient fathers consisted in loving God, in despising themselves and in neither judging or contemning any body”. Then, the vision disappeared.

It is hard not to judge, but when one sees one's own horrid sins, one stops judging others. It is hard to despise one's self, but when one sees one's sins and the enormity of the insult these give to God, one can hate one's self. It is hard to love God, but ask Him for this love, and He will give it to you.

Recently, God told me I would be punished for a sin which was hidden, but came to light. I did not want to look at this sin, nor consider punishment. But, today, when I could hardly walk or dress, and when I could not bend over to pick something which had fallen on the floor, or I could not finish ironing because of pain, I knew that God had chosen a punishment which would mean I cannot function daily as I would wish to do. I am grateful for this punishment, as it is better than purgatory. I can actually thank God for the pain in three-quarters of my back and for the inconvenience of not being able to bend over. I am weak, but He is strong. Two big prayers were answered today, concerning some things, and a small one. This answering of prayers on a day when I could hardly function is not an accident. God is showing me that He is in control, not me, that He is taking care of me in the way that He decides. My will no longer belongs to me, but to Him.

We are all in boot camp, but the war is about the start. Cooperate with suffering. Beg for those graces so that you can learn to be humble. Learn to rely completely on God, on Divine Providence, even to death. That is our call in this generation.

Answering Questions from Readers Today

Lord, teach me to be generous.

Teach me to serve you as you deserve;

to give and not to count the cost,

to fight and not to heed the wounds,

to toil and not to seek for rest,

to labor and not to ask for reward,

save that of knowing that I do your will. St. Ignatius 

Before beginning answering some questions from readers on detachment and humility, I have to say that this McDonald's in Springfield, IL, where I am for three weeks, is the worst Macs I have ever been in, worse than Valletta.

Cold burgers, cold fries, the staff cleans with bleach while people are eating and I am allergic to bleach, and the tables are dirty and full of crumbs.

Eiieueue. So part of my detachment is walking to this hole of a place and blogging for you all. I am smiling as I write this, as God uses every opportunity to teach me detachment.

OK, now to business.

Two people asked me questions about how to be detached regarding family, even one's spouse.

Yes, we are all called to detachment, not merely religious or priests. I shall try to explain better what it is as a necessary virtue for all of us.

First a prognosis...and some clarifications

Detachment does not mean that we do not love someone, of course, but it means that we love in Christ, for Christ and for the salvation of that person's soul. It means that we love without any expectations.

Love which is based on sentimentality, on the emotions, on manipulation, but on the will. If one is not willing to love through illness, poverty, even certain serious sins of the partner, one is not detached.

Detachment means that one is free to love.

Examples: I can live with the same peace in abject poverty as in luxury, as I am detached from things.
I am not attached sentimentally to anything, although it has been difficult to get to this point.

People who lost everything in Katrina understand this virtue. What is important are not things. Things are there to use, not covet. When one takes pride in things, one is not detached.

This is clear, but what about detachment in relationships?

Detachment brings about the highest form of love, love for the sake of the other person and not for one's own comfort or needs.

Most families have become idols for those in America, who put family above religion, above, even, the Ten Commandments.

I know a man who fell away from the Church because all the rest of his family met for breakfast every Sunday morning for the entire time Masses were offered. He refused to say no to their unrealistic desires. He would not, then, say no to other unrealistic demands and let himself be manipulated by his siblings. He has not gone back to Catholicism and is getting closer to death.

Another couple who were brought to my attention for prayer a while ago use contraceptives, no allowing God to bring life into their marriage. They are both Catholics, but have put their own comfort and supposed needs before the law of God.

These three people lack detachment, the ability to love family in Christ, putting Christ first, and not their own desires.

In marriage, one must move from romantic love to real sacrificial love. God gives most of us opportunities to do this. One must move to complete unselfishness, without any expectations of return. One must love in the will.

True love from God is in the will, not in feelings or attachments. Those of us who have experienced this true love know that it is possible with God's grace to love freely, peacefully, happily in holy indifference.

Indifference does not mean one does not care. Holy indifference means that one can let go of the past, and the future and live wholly in the present moment.

Is it hard to understand Christ's answer to Mary at the Wedding Feast of Cana? He called her Woman as she represented not merely His Mother, but the Woman who brought the Savior of mankind into the world. If Mary did not have holy detachment, she would not have been able to let Christ go into the world, not seeing Him, knowing that He would suffer. She started His three years of ministry. This event of the changing of the water into wine marked the sign of Mary's complete detachment from Her Son.

She loves Him, more than any human being can love Christ, but she is willing at this point in the Gospel to give Him to the world.

God called Joseph to die before Christ' public work began--and this was a necessity to protect both Mary and Christ from misunderstandings regarding His real Father, God. Joseph had to accept going to Hades and waiting for the Harrowing of Hell, which was accomplished after Christ's Death on the Cross.

Joseph had to be detached in his relationship with Mary, not having normal married relations, which God had called him to give up in choosing him to be Mary's protector. We call this a "Josephite Marriage" and one can read other posts on this.

If a married couple really has trouble understanding this, I suggest they go through the Thirty Day Spiritual Exercises from St. Ignatius. I did this a long time ago and this retreat helped me understand and then try to appropriate detachment.

As to our children. we must not see them ever as created in our own image and likeness, but in the image and likeness of God.

I believe totally that one reason for the lack of vocations is an over-possesiveness of parents who do not want to lose contact with their children. Selfish parents can stand in the way of a true vocation.

I know that giving one's son or daughter to God is a real sacrifice for some. Look at my own life. My son does not and never has belonged to me. I was loaned him for awhile to try and form his in God's image and likeness, not mine. At the right time, God called him from the house and I am fare ortunate if I see him once every sixteen months or more. Such is the sacrifice we must all make for our children.

Detachment is not just a call for nuns, sisters, priests, monks. It is a call for all of us. One cannot love in true charity, in true Christlike love without putting to death attachments to the physical as well as the spiritual life.

Here is St. Ignatius himself on detachment:

In everyday life, then, we must hold ourselves in balance before all created gifts insofar as we have a choice and are not bound by some responsibility. We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one. For everything has the potential of calling forth in us a more loving response to our life forever with God.

Our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want and I choose what better leads to God’s deepening life in me.

Basically, I have a rule about things, and then I shall comment more on a rule about relationships.

First of all, if a thing does not lead me directly to God, I do not want it or need it. I use what brings life, not death, to the soul.

My new little mobile chapel is not for me, but for the coming future, for those who will not have churches in their areas when the times come when priests become scarce. I do not need this chapel and am very detached from all the things. I can pray just as well in an empty room, but the chapel is not for me.

I have packed away most things given and have now a bare minimum in the room. Simplicity is best, and less is more.

If I have clothes which I have not used in one year, I give them away. I only have things in storage by an accident of history, as the person who was supposed to facilitate the sending of those things to Europe did not do so, after I was already there.

When I can find someone to help me go through the things, most, if not all, will be given away. I have not been able to get help. I have to even be detached from this fact.

Second point, one must be detached from one's own self. I am sharing something personal to underscore this point. Daily, I am in excruciating pain in my lower back, side and even upper back. Some days I cannot even hardly dress myself. I have problems picking these up off the floor and sometimes I cannot eat for the pain.

But, my body does not belong to me. It belongs to God. And, God has has allowed this pain. I accept this in complete detachment, not able to get the help I need for avoiding this. I accept this situation in complete detachment. When I was in Europe and able to walk daily for miles and lived in places without steps, I did not experience this. But, now, God is allowing this for His Glory, not mine. Detachment for wanting to do things, wanting to be strong and whole allows me to be peaceful.

Third, detachment from family members means this. That one love God first, with one's whole heart, whole soul, whole mind, whole will. One can decide to become detached, but one must also beg God for the grace.

Be prepared, for when one asks for the grace of detachment, God takes one seriously and begins to take away things, people, places.

People, including family members, are gifts in our lives, not possessions. The primary love a husband should have for his wife is that of a brother in Christ. He must ask himself the question, "Do my actions bring my wife and children closer to heaven or not? The same is true of the wife. She must order her day so that she is bringing her husband and children closer to God.

When I was raising my son, his salvation was daily in my mind. I did not want to be in the position of the woman who was severely corrected by St. Padre Pio. Remember, he refused to hear the confession of this woman who had not really repented of her sins in her heart. He said to her and I paraphrase, "I refuse to hear your confession. Your son is in hell because of you."

Detachment prevents this type of sin and selfishness.

Garrigou-Lagrange stresses that we are all called to this type of holiness. The religious life makes it easier in one sense, but not in others. Most lay people would not want the daily disciplined order which is demanded in the religious life.

Fourth point and last for today. Detachment is only possible when one loves God first. Once a person has made God the center of one's life can one experience true holy indifference. One of the holiest lay person I know is a man who is completely detachment from his own needs and concentrates on the real physical and spiritual needs of his wife and children. He has a servant heart. He inspires me.

Pray this prayer from St. Ignatius, and you will find detachment. Feel free to ask questions in the com-box.

Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To Thee, O lord, I return it. All is Thine, dispose of it wholly according to Thy will. Give me Thy love and thy grace, for this is sufficient for me.

God has asked me to give up family, friends, even my beloved country and continent of Europe. He has asked me to give up health, even the normal comforts most people have in life, such as their own room, their own bed, (I sleep on a floor), and other mod cons. At this point, I only ask for His love and His grace. All I have it God's, including STS. This does not mean that I do not love him, but that I love God and God's plan for him more. I love God and His plan for me more than my own life.

I suppose being in Illinois for the next three weeks is part of this. I was sharing yesterday with two people that I lived in England for a very long time, and the man said, "What punishment is this, what did you do to deserve being stuck here in Illinois?"

Punishment, indeed, but  I laughed. I am detached. Is there suffering with detachment? You betcha, but the more one practices this, the more joy comes to surround one. Do you not think that this virtue will be absolutely necessary in the tribulation to come?

In a direct answer to one person in the com-box, what happens when the other person in the marriage can no longer support you in any way? One still loves, in detachment.

I told you this would happen

If you are not reading Drudge, you should be..

@DRUDGE

America, and everyone in it, must take a collective deep breath. The country could fall... #BaltimoreRiots

5:09 AM - 28 Apr 2015

and 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/29/us/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage.html?_r=0

These things have all been planned. 

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/maersk-tigris-ship-manager-declines-pentagon-says-iran-153907921.html

False Humility

Reading daily now in Fr. Rodriguez' book, I am in the section in Volume II on humility.

One of the thought of his which struck me as applicable to the Synod, which I shall attempt to highlight this week here.

An anecdote illustrating false humility seems to apply to those who want to change the rules regarding marriage, sacramental theology and grace at the Synod.

Plato invited the scruffy and dirty Diogenes to a lavish dinner at his house. Plato decorated the dining hall with beautiful, woven tapestries as a backdrop to his dinner. When Diogenes entered the hall, he pulled violently each tapestry off the walls and trampled on them with his filthy feet. Diogenes then  exclaimed that he had destroyed the pride of Plato. Nonplussed, Plato replied that it was the pride of Diogenes which which was manifested in these actions, not humility.

True humility cannot be seen in rebellions, revolutions, or reforms such as those of Luther or Calvin. What we are seeing in the Middle East, with the destruction of the beginnings of art and architecture from ancient times is not a humility but the violent pride of the iconoclast.

Iconoclasm reared its ugly head in the Byzantine revolt against images in the reign of Leo III the Isaurian in the 8th Century, among others. Both the Muslims and the Protestants destroyed priceless art depicting Christ, Mary and the saints from the earliest day of the Islamic conquests up through the Protestant Revolt.

Iconoclasts thinks violently-wanting to get rid of rules and cultures, usually based on ideologies of purity, which deny the Incarnation of Christ and the redemption of nature through the Passion and Resurrection of the Saviour. 

The word iconoclasm is from the Greek, eikonoklasmos, meaning "image-breaking". One has to remember that monks were killed in the Byzantine iconoclast revolt, and monasteries, as well as churches, ruined.

The Council of Trent repeated the decision of Second Nicea in stating clearly that images were not only allowed, but encouraged in worship.

The twenty-fifth session of the Council of Trent (Dec., 1543) repeats faithfully the principles of Nicaea II:

[The holy Synod commands] that images of Christ, the Virgin Mother of God, and other saints are to be held and kept especially in churches, that due honour and reverence (debitum honorem et venerationem) are to be paid to them, not that any divinity or power is thought to be in them for the sake of which they may be worshipped, or that anything can be asked of them, or that any trust may be put in images, as was done by the heathen who put their trust in their idols [Psalm 134:15 sqq.], but because the honour shown to them is referred to the prototypes which they represent, so that bykissing, uncovering to, kneeling before images we adore Christ and honour the saints whose likeness they bear (Denzinger, no. 986). Catholic Encyclopedia http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07664a.htm

Thomas Aquinas and others clarified dulia from latria. Dulia is honor to the saints. Latria is worship due only to God.

Now, I am getting to the Synod, which has seen many clerics opposing the long teaching on non-Communion for those in adultery, in irregular marriages. The problem is that these men are iconoclasts, wanting to change not only the teaching of the Church, but the culture of the West, by undermining the long, sacred teaching on marriage.

Iconoclasts do not care about anything but their own violent ideologies of a false purity and a false simplicity.  We saw what iconoclasts did in the reckovation of beautiful churches during the 1970s, '80s, and '90s.

Real simplicity has nothing to do with whitewashed buildings or the lack of statues. The Zen philosophy is not that of the Catholic Church, which for centuries was the greatest patron of art in the world. The Catholic Church supported beauty not only in art an architecture, but in music. The famous cathedrals in Europe give testimony to this love of beauty, which adore and praises God, Who is Beauty.

What those clerics in the Synod who want to supposedly "simplify" the rules regarding marriage and Communion have missed in their twisted ideologies of tolerance and even greed, is the center point of worship, which is that God deserves worthy worship, not unworthy worship. The ideal of worthy worship has been lost in the modern world which allows Eucharistic Ministers to wear "booty-yoga pants" and shorts at Sunday Mass. We have lost entirely the sense of what it means to worship God as He not only deserves to be worshipped, but as He demands to be worshipped, as God.

Those cardinals and bishops who push for the unworthy reception of Communion by those in mortal sin have forgotten that one must prepare to receive Christ, that one is not altogether ever worthy, but one must not be in serious sin, and, in fact, as those of you who read the blog know, one cannot receive grace is one is in mortal sin.

Iconoclasts are not picky about what they destroy. They destroy everything in their wake to make a point of ideology. I actually fear for the souls of iconoclasts who want to seemly level the playing field for those in serious sin to receive Communion, destroyed even the semblance of worthy worship of God.

Yes, none of us are truly worthy, but venial sins and imperfections do not keep us from receiving Christ in the Eucharist, and we can receive grace upon grace from receiving Christ in humility.

The main sin of the iconoclast, as Plato noted, is pride. These iconoclasts believe that they have a new insight, a new truth which transcends that of the Catholic Church.  Diogenes was a nihilist, not merely content to be a prophetic voice against the rich, but actually hating most people and things.

This type of hate is not the holy self-hatred of humility, which is self-knowledge of one's sins before God. This type of hatred scorns any mention of sin. Diogenes publicly sinned against nature, proclaiming himself above natural law as well as the laws of Athens. Cynicism is a sin, a sin of negativity, pride in one's own feelings of superiority and not humility.

Integrity only comes from humility, not cynicism or atheism. God has created us to worship Him in spirit and in truth, and this fact has been forgotten by the rebellious clerics in the Synod, who seek the very thing even Diogenes would criticize them for,....seeking the approval of men. Those clerics, who sadly may be found in every Western country, including the States, draw attention to themselves in their prideful disobedience.

I shall continue a look at the heresies, some of which I already defined on this blog, under the tag
synod".

Highlighting a book by

...a priest I know well from when my son and I attended the TLM in the Quad-Cities, a long time ago.

Buy this and if someone wants to buy it for me, great!

http://www.pjstar.com/article/20150425/NEWS/150429349#utm_sguid=151217,e529e071-9599-5b7d-a6de-808f855a0c0a

Father Driscoll was with Father Ripperger for a while. Good references....

Friendship in the Lord, Two or Three!

I have many friends and several great friends. The one thing my closest friends and I have in common is friendship in the Lord. This phrase indicates that we put God first, always, in our lives, and family, friends, work, play, seconds.

Perhaps the greatest virtue, besides the love of God and love of His Church, which I share with these few close friends, is detachment. We are not dependent upon each other in a worldly manner. In fact, when we speak together, we talk of the things of God, not the things of men. Our conversations center around the spiritual life, prayer, miracles, saints, intercessions, and Scripture.

My sister-friends love God and love His Church. My closest brother-friends love God and love His Church. These friends also, of course, love Mary, Our Mother. Ties may been made on other principles, such as sharing activities when our children were young, or Church activities, but those ties quickly changed into something deeper and more lasting-love of Christ, the Bridegroom.

I am blessed in my friends, whom I rarely see. Without the cell phones or Internet, we would be even farther apart. But, with some of my friends, we can not talk to each other for months and still pick up as if distance and time did not matter. Such is real friendship in the Lord, which transcends time and space.

When we get to heaven, God willing, our primary relationship with each other will be brothers and sisters in Christ. How sad that too many Catholics do not know what this means. I know Catholics who do not know how to be a brother or a sister, perhaps never having Christian relationships in the home, or, worse, only relating from a sexual foundation. This twisting of friendship cannot be tolerated in those who desire friendship in the Lord. No manipulation or unsaid desires can impinge on true friendship, which must be free of compulsion or constraints, either psychological, emotional, physical or spiritual.

In times past, especially in American who experienced immigration and prairie life, distance and time destroyed family ties, almost forcing the small communities to rely on the local churches. And, indeed, in the Midwest, where I am now for a short period of time, until I cross the Mississippi, people congregated around the pastor, either Catholic or Lutheran or Methodist, in this area, an formed communities based on friendship in the Lord.

These types of communities have faded in modern times. Except for a few parishes where I have experienced real community, such as in Alberta with the Byzantine Catholics, or in Alaska, with Catholics dedicated to real Catholic education, or in Mississippi, after Katrina, when all were working for a common cause, I have not encountered true community life since I left a highly organized one in 1979. That community taught me what friendship in the Lord was really about....freedom.

Freedom in friendship must be a topic rarely raised. Commitment demands that a person has incorporated some freedom in their personal lives. I am convinced that only in relationships of marriage or in a community of religious, such as a monastery or convent can people become mature enough for real friendship in the Lord.

There are so few really, truly unselfish people. Most of us have some level of self-love which needs to be destroyed before one can experience the freedom necessary for friendship in the Lord. It is not that we have to be perfect in order to enter into real friendship, but a certain amount of distance and detachment is necessary. Without some emotional distance, one falls into the same patterns of falsity one did before conversion, or in dysfunctional families.

Friendship in the Lord happens when one decides to follow Christ and take the life of virtues seriously. As one gets closer to Christ, one is able to love in a righteous manner. Dying to self creates real friendships. Only when one is through the purification of the emotions and the senses can one truly be a friend.

The World Within

Romans 12:2New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Psalm 66: 16-19

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
    and I will tell what he has done for me.
17 I cried aloud to him,
    and he was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened.
19 But truly God has listened;    he has given heed to the words of my prayer.

The second passage, from the Office of Readings today, and the first passage from Romans, remind us of the key message of the Bible, metanoia, repentance, change. When I see the number of people in the world who have not begun to repent or to change, as a change of heart must precede a change of action, usually, I realize that the work of the Catholic lay person in the world demands complete understanding, followed by action, on the steps of the above messages from God.

St. Paul gives us a simple step-by-step pattern for sainthood. And, yes, remember we are all called to be saints, here, now. The steps seem clear and have been repeated throughout the lives of the saints.

First, a decision not to conform to the world. Sometimes, as in the life of St. Benedict, this means removing one's self from the world and beginning anew with a fresh vision. Sometimes, as in the life of St. Ignatius Loyola, this means that God intervenes and places one in a position where one must change-a severely wounded mercenary soldier forced into reading the lives of the saints accepted God's grace for the moment of conversion. Or, as in the life of St. Bernard, this means that from little on, one is trained by excellent parents, saints themselves, to not be like others in the world, even the great world of wealth, status, nobility. Happy and blessed are those who grow up in Godly houses, with parents forming the spiritual life of the children. 

But, this lack of conformity to the world seems hard for the modern lay person, especially one who has been raised to love the world, the here and now, and not think of eternity daily. To break out of conformity to the world demands exertion and determination. Both physical, mental, and spiritual energies, aided by grace, pull one away from the inertia of conforming to the world, into a new regime of prayer, fasting, mortification, the willing acceptance of suffering. God does not demand what is impossible. If one thinks or, (horrors), feels this task of nonconformity seems too difficult, one is looking towards one's own self, instead of looking towards God. Sometimes, all one can do is concentrate on the Cross of Christ, which the world finds abhorrent. Those of us who chose the Crucified One will be, also, found abhorrent to the world, as the world sees this lack of conformity as threatening to its existence, and it is.

Bad habits, states St. Thomas Aquinas, takes months to break, and good habits take months to practice. But, nothing is impossible with grace.

The exterior life may seem easy to change for some, especially when one changes companions who have led one into daily sin,  Such companions could even be members of one's own family. But, for some, this exterior change seems impossible and sometimes, one does not even realize the depth of sin in daily actions because one has chosen sin over and over to the point of having many evil habits which lead to sin. To break these patterns takes heroic effort and heroic virtue in the lives of some lay people

However, the second step must be taken with the first, a complete renewal of the mind, putting on the Mind of Christ, thinking like a Catholic, (a great theme on this blog), and conforming no longer to the world, but to the Gospel. The interior change usually follows the exterior disciplines. But, interior change, the real conversion, can be an enlightenment, a sudden illumination of grace in the mind, imagination and then, will. For some, this second step of creating a new way of thinking demands a hard slog. For others, a moment of grace fills the mind freeing the person to pursue God's Will. One see this in the lives of such saints as Mary Magdalene or as in the life of Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne, a moment of illumination came first, changing the mind, and then the great change of life followed. Ratisbonne, in Church of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte in Rome, in January of 1842, had a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary which led to his conversion to Catholicism, his ordination as a Jesuit priest, and his founding of the order, the Congregation of Our Lady of Sion, an order designed to convert our Jewish brothers and sisters. Illumination may follow a moment of conversion, but for many, this illumination comes gradually, over months, even years.

The third step we see in the life of St. Paul. After his dramatic conversion, he went into the desert for ten years before beginning his ministry of converting the Gentiles. Ten years in the mind of modern lay people seems a long time of preparation for evangelizing, but Paul allowed God to renew his mind before beginning his mission to the world.

This step is missed by too many Catholics, who jump into "ministries", (a word we have been asked by the Pope Emeritus not to use with regard to lay work, even in the Church). and neglect the needed inner purification of the mind and imagination, as well as the outer purification of the senses, those choices which made one wordly. Most Catholics would not see the value of a ten-year desert experience, and think they are expected to jump in and "do"something for the Church. There is a reason why the Jesuits, for example, take ten years to become priests, and, perhaps, St. Ignatius decided to imitate the desert experience of St. Paul in his organization of the formation of the exterior and interior life. It is interesting to me that all Jesuits must learn Spanish, in order to study the works of St. Ignatius. Many learn yet another language in order to do missionary work across the world. St. Paul, as a Jew with Roman citizenship, knew Hebrew, street Greek, Latin, and most likely, classical Greek. In order to preach in Macedonia, he must have learned other languages as well. Latin was the common language of the time, but St. Paul's journeys indicate a wide knowledge of customs as well as languages.

St, Paul took ten years to become holy enough to take the next step, which is following the Will of God, which one cannot necessarily discern after an initial conversion. Too many people rush into various vocations only to realize later that they were called to something else. Discernment comes with prayer, fasting, mortification.

The last step involves the giving up of one's will to God. I shall end this meditation with a long quotation from St. Thomas Aquinas, on the giving up of one's will, as a action necessary to find perfection. Each one of us must choose to be hidden in Christ, to feed the spiritual life of the world within. This process may take years, as it has done with me, as I was busy about many things and did not "get serious" about my spiritual life until my bout with cancer. When one faces possible death, one's energies become focused.

Readers, other Catholics will want you to conform to their Catholicity, whereas God is calling many to be signs of contradiction in the world. a call for all Catholics, but only a few, it seems, respond.

In this day of idolatry of work, success, the accumulation of things, such a radical call to be Christ in the world threatens even Catholics. As lay people, we may be called to give up what is naturally and rightly part of the lay life. To give up these rights may be necessary for the salvation of some souls. Sadly, too many American Catholics have conformed their minds to the Declaration of Independence, demanding rights and a lifestyle of pursuing "happiness" on earth, one of the greatest heresies of the 1776 document. As Catholics, one must think of older documents, older teachings, those of Christ Himself, in order to be freed from this pursuit of happiness on earth, which is definitely not the call of the Christian. Joyfulness is not happiness. Those material pursuits confuse the building of the City of Man with the building of the City of God.

In Psalm 65 above, one sees David noting that renewal of the heart, mind and soul results in God hearing our prayers. If one's prayers are not being answered, one reason might be that one is "cherishing" a hidden sin.

Here is St. Thomas on perfection from this book online:
http://www.pathsoflove.com/aquinas/perfection-of-the-spiritual-life.html#chapter10

It is not only necessary for the perfection of charity that a man should sacrifice his exterior possessions: he must also, in a certain sense, relinquish himself. Dionysius, in De Divinis Nominibus IV, says that, “divine love causes a man to be out of himself, meaning thereby, that this love suffers him no longer to belong to himself but to Him whom he loves.”St. Paul, writing to the Galatians, illustrates this state by his own example, saying, “I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20), as if he did not count his life as his own, but as belonging to Christ, and as if he spurned all that he possessed, in order to cleave to Him. He further shows that this state reaches perfection in certain souls; for he says to the Colossians, “For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:3). Again, he exhorts others to the same sublimity of love, in his second Epistle to the Corinthians, “And Christ died for all, that they also who live, may not now live to themselves, but unto Him who died for them, and rose again” (2 Cor 5:15). Therefore, when our Lord had said, “If any man comes to me, and does not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters,” He added something greater than all these, saying, “yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). He teaches the same thing in the Gospel of St. Matthew when He says, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (Mat 16:24).

This practice of salutary self-abnegation, and charitable self-hatred, is, in part, necessary for all men in order to salvation, and is, partly, a point of perfection. As we have already seen from the words of Dionysius quoted above, it is in the nature of divine love that he who loves should belong, not to himself, but, to the one beloved. It is necessary, therefore, that self-abnegation and self-hatred be proportionate to the degree of divine love existing in an individual soul. It is essential to salvation that a man should love God to such a degree, as to make Him his end, and to do nothing which he believes to be opposed to the Divine love. Consequently, self-hatred and self-denial are necessary for salvation. Hence St. Gregory says, in his Homily, “We relinquish and deny ourselves when we avoid what we were wont (through the old man dwelling in us) to be, and when we strive after that to which (by the new man) we are called.” In another homily he likewise says, “We hate our own life when we do not condescend to carnal desires, but resist the appetites and pleasures of the flesh.”

But in order to attain perfection, we must further, for the love of God, sacrifice what we might lawfully use, in order, thus to be more free to devote ourselves to Him. It follows, therefore, that self-hatred, and self-denial, pertain to perfection. We see that our Lord speaks of them as if they belonged to it. For, just as in the Gospel of St. Matthew he says, “If you would be perfect, go, sell all that you have and give to the poor,” (Mat 19:21) but does not lay any necessity on us to do so, leaving it to our own will, so He likewise says, “if any man would come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matt. 16:24). St. Chrysostom thus explains these words, “Christ does not make his saying compulsory; He does not say, ‘whether you like it or not, you must bear these things.’” In the same manner, when He says: “If any man will come after Me and hate not his father” etc. (Luke 14:28), He immediately asks, “Which of you having a mind to build a tower, does not first sit down, and reckon the charges that are necessary, whether) he have enough to finish it?” St. Gregory in his Homily thus expounds these words, “The precepts which Christ gives are sublime, and, therefore, the comparison between them and the building of a high tower shortly follows them.” And he says again, “That young man could not have had enough to finish his tower who, when he heard the counsel to leave all things, went away sad.” We may hence understand, that these words of our Lord refer, in a certain manner, to a counsel of perfection.

Detachment

Luke 14:2626 “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.

Wondering what to write about in my new life as an essayist, rather than a journalist, I decided to begin with an extremely difficult subject for lay people-detachment.

If poverty and being alone with God has taught me anything basic, it has been the virtue of detachment. Detachment must be one of the most misunderstood of all the virtues offered to us by God for the salvation of our souls.

In the history of the saints, detachment runs like a constant theme, from Christ Himself down to the latest canonized saints, such as St. Joseph Vaz, who left his Sri Lankan family to become a missionary and Oratorian priest.

But, what does detachment really mean, besides leaving all to follow Christ, leaving one's family, one's talents, one's prospects in life?  And why is it that so many Catholics struggle with their spiritual life, not looking at the tangles of problems which are caused by a lack of detachment?

I first maintain that one reason why Catholics do not understand or even desire detachment is that they are too influenced by the Protestant ideals of married life over celibacy. Once celibacy is no longer valued in a family or society, the logical result is a lack of celibates. Celibacy demands detachment from family and close friendships.

Many Catholic see this idea as perverse, cruel and even un-Christian, when the opposite is true; that one cannot become a mature Christian without detachment.

The Desert Fathers and the great Doctors of the Church, are quoted by Father Alphonsus Rodriguez at length on the subject of detachment from family and family affairs. In fact, Rodriguez writes that vocations are lost when families demand too much time and attention from those men who are studying for the priesthood. Discipline and detachment must be characteristics of the parents, as well as the adult child who has chosen a vocation to be a priest, brother, nun, or sister.

The tenth commandment condemns the sin of covetousness, and most Catholics think this sin has only to do with avarice, with money, or with lust. However, one may covet one's family ties to the point of putting family before God. I have labelled this in the past as "family idolatry".

In my life, I have seen the great evils of family idolatry, leading to manipulation, a lack of freedom of choice, even spiritual and psychological incest, if not actual physical incest--a hidden sin among Christians of all denominations. I have come to realize that the inordinate number of Peter Pans and Peter Pams may be directly related to possessive parents, parents who do not want their children to become adults, and, therefore, healthy, independent adults.

Coveting not only leads to avarice and envy, but the too common dependency on people for emotional comfort, which some Catholics seem to think it friendship.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to poverty of spirit as the opposite of covetousness. Poverty of spirit demands an objectivity, demands boundaries between friends, even spouses. In our American and Western society, we see an epidemic of false friendship and false love based on a deep drive of self-love, or narcissism, instead of the true dying to self in real relationships. Many people are caught up in not only unhealthy relationships of co-dependency, but unnatural relationships, such as lesbianism or homosexuality, which involve a lack of physical, as well as spiritual boundaries.

We now have two generations, if not three, of children who have been bought love, bribed to love, and not taught to serve in the selfless manner of not expecting anything in return. I recall a man in my parents' life, a friend of theirs, who was always available to help something who had real needs. He was unusual in that his help was completely free of expectations. He honestly did things out of pure charity, with not the slightest desire to be paid back either monetarily or emotionally. His type has almost disappeared from our culture of "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" expectations.

Some of us have a gut reaction when we meet someone who has so many unspoken needs that they cannot love freely. Sometimes we call these people "intense". Sometimes we call them "clingy". Our culture has created new dependencies which past generations never imagined. Emotional bondage seems to come with a lack of relationship with God, Who alone can give the love necessary for life.

God demands that we discipline our emotions and put Him first in all things, in all relationships, that we each learn to love freely both God and our neighbors.

But, God calls us Catholics to take a step further. Father Rodriguez notes that once the young man has entered religious life, such as joining the Jesuits, he no longer can be involved in any of the affairs of his family. In other words, as a man totally dedicated to God and God's Church, he is "dead" to his family. God has taught me this lesson the hard way, by letting the work of my hands fail and putting me into extreme circumstances which have forced me to be apart from those I love the most. The reason for this discipline has been to wean me from the strongest loves I have had in my heart, mind, and soul and place in my heart, mind, and soul only the greatest desire to love Him. I honestly can say that I desire little and want to be completely without desire except for God alone.

This is the way of the ascetic. The ascetic flees family and the world not to avoid conflict, or responsibility, but to be alone with God. This desire for oneness with God usually means giving up position, as in status, money, companionship, even natural and good loves. This desire for God does mean giving up wanting to be the one to convert the members of the family who have fallen away, or to be the one who brings fame and fortune to the family. One must die to all desires, desiring only death of self for the sake of finding the love of God in one's own self. He is there, waiting to be found, but so many desires block one's ability to find the God within.

The more one becomes detached, the more experiences true discernment, insight, counsel, (a gift for others), true love, and compassion, being able to suffer with others. Most importantly, detachment brings clarity as to what is love and what is not love. One begins to see one's sins of self-love, desire purification, and want only the suffering which brings one into sharing the life of Christ. Even venial sins reveal a lack of real love and the desire to avoid suffering. Love involves suffering, the dying of self hurts.

Nothing else matters but God. Those who are detached can love in a new way, with the eyes of Christ, suffering with others, but with an objectivity and freedom. To love freely, one must ask God for two graces: one must beg God to love Him, asking for real love. And, one must be humble enough to recognize that without grace, one cannot love anyone, one's self, or God.

Humility is the root and detachment is the stem which flowers into true celibate, Christian love. We must all become celibates in this way-that is, loving with detachment. Celibacy is the natural result of discipleship.

So, why do not Catholics desire this love? One answer-the lack of trust in God. Without a strong reliance on Divine Providence, how can one leave mother, father, brothers, sisters? Christ does not speak poetry in the above pericope, but a basic truth that natural love must be replaced by supernatural love.

But, the call is even more radical. No one can pretend to be a disciple of Christ without this detachment. If one manipulates another to gain love, or tries to buy love, or puts family first before God, one will never become a true disciple of Christ. And, that is what all baptized Catholics are called to be.

Freedom to follow Christ remains within the grasp of all Catholics-all. Freedom to love as Christ loves, without expectation, with the loving and true acceptance of suffering, can be experienced by all baptized Catholics. We have been given the gifts which transcend hurts, failings, even abuse within families. Heroic virtue makes saints. And, heroic virtues grows from the virtues and gifts given to each one of us in baptism and confirmation. We have all we need to be free to really love as Christ loves.

Many, many years ago, God impressed upon my soul this psalm. I had forgotten,until yesterday, this command from God to forget my father's house and follow Him with all my heart and all my soul. In the silence of my day, I seek the Bridegroom Who waits.

When He lets Himself be found, I experience a quiet joy, the joy of being loved by God Himself. I no longer look at me or my faults, as these melt away in the knowledge of being loved. It is only through detachment that God will allow Himself to be found. He is a jealous God, and will not tolerate other loves. If He decides that one goes out and loves others, that is His decision as to when, where, how, and who.

I can hardly wait to rush back to my silent chapel, my place of meeting Love Who waits for a clean heart, a clean mind, a free spirit. But, in this silence, I recognize that God Himself must be the Agent of this cleansing.

The Desert Fathers remind us that some people can be in the world, work with others, marry, have children and be detachment. For some of us, this way of life remains impossible. God creates the person to fulfill the vocation to which He calls that Christian to live. But, the end of all vocations remains the same-complete detachment and a pure love for God.

Psalm 45

Ode for a Royal Wedding

To the leader: according to Lilies. Of the Korahites. A Maskil. A love song.

1 My heart overflows with a goodly theme;
    I address my verses to the king;
    my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.

2 You are the most handsome of men;
    grace is poured upon your lips;
    therefore God has blessed you forever.
3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
    in your glory and majesty.

4 In your majesty ride on victoriously
    for the cause of truth and to defend[a] the right;
    let your right hand teach you dread deeds.
5 Your arrows are sharp
    in the heart of the king’s enemies;
    the peoples fall under you.

6 Your throne, O God,[b] endures forever and ever.
    Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity;
7     you love righteousness and hate wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
8     your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
9     daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
    at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.

10 Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear;
    forget your people and your father’s house,
11     and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your lord, bow to him;
12     the people[c] of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts,
    the richest of the people 13 with all kinds of wealth.

The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;[d]
14     in many-colored robes she is led to the king;
    behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.
15 With joy and gladness they are led along
    as they enter the palace of the king.

16 In the place of ancestors you, O king,[e] shall have sons;
    you will make them princes in all the earth.
17 I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations;
    therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.