Imperfections

Please overlook errors as I still do not have my glasses.

More Q an A-three questions

Is there a point in perfection at which the soul enters heaven directly after death, or does it differ between people? 

If one goes to heaven directly after death, it would be immediately after the particular judgement for everyone in that stage. We all experience the particular judgement, and from there go to heaven, hell or purgatory. 

A saint is one who goes directly into heaven at this point. But, there are indications, as given in the series, as to their having reached a level of perfection while on earth. However, there are some saints, such as Mother Teresa, who seemed to enter into the unitive state, the state of perfection, just before death.

What do you think the balance is between discerning and acting on God's will versus suffering through something? 

All suffering is a gift from God and should be seen as such. If one is called to be healed through the intercession of a saint, or blessed, as a man was recently healed by John Paul II of Parkinson's disease, the prayer will be answered.

As a rule, I do not think we should pray for healing unless it is clear that is what God wants. Or,you can ask God to heal you of something, or take away another kind of suffering, and it He does not, that is an answer. Financial hardships can bring humility and the destruction of self-will, for example.

I have been praying for three things for almost two years with no answer. But, I am discerning that God at this time wants me to learn patience and so, I keep trusting that He is going to answer those three prayers. However, it is good to get input on such things

Unanswered prayer may be seen as the discernment, and the answer needed, as well as circumstances.

Many year ago, I was miraculously healed of migraines even though I did not ask for this directly, but was praying about something else. However, many years of prayers for a relative has not taken hers away. Answer: God must want her to be in that pain for her own purification and spiritual growth. I am not God. He has His own reasons.

And finally, what do you recommend to help the active purification of beginners?

This is an easy answer. Prayer, such as active meditation as taught by St; Ignatius,  the Lectio Divina, or the daily reading of Scripture, fasting, mortification. and  alms-giving all are part of the active purification into which the beginner participates. Also, frequent Confession and the daily examination of conscience is part of this active state. Most of the saints refer to this, and The Imitation of Christ is brilliant for beginners.

Passive purification is out of one's hands, as it were. One is passive and in a spiritual darkness, which is NOT depression, but an experience of the purification of the senses and the purification of the spirit. This happens almost quietly, in prayer and out of prayer even as one is going about outward business. One lives two lives-the outward life and the inward one. Mother Adele writes about this. . But one cannot meditate at this point, only contemplate God. One basically, as Mother Teresa said, looks at God and He looks at the person. One is learning patience and the great destruction of the self-will in that Dark Night. It is the final purging if one cooperates. Most times, as in the last two years or so of the life of the Little Flower, it involves tremendous suffering and no consolations-none.

The Dark Night can last a very long time-for some, over forty years, with the final unitive state happening just before death. Or, as in the case of some saints, such as John of the Cross, and Bernard of Clairvaux, one can be in the unitive state for years on earth.

blogger restrictions in Singapore

http://www.france24.com/en/20130608-protesters-rally-singapore-against-new-online-rules?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Guess I won't visit a friend there.

Thanks to BartBuzz

Contraceptive Mandate

http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/won-t-turn-out-well_733957.html

Some have tried to create the impression that a compromise was brokered to accommodate the objectors’ conscience concerns. But this is not so. from article

British; and two articles to read asap; spying here as well

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet-security/10107059/British-Intelligence-watchdog-flies-to-Washington-to-demand-answers-on-snooping-scandal.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jun/07/uk-gathering-secret-intelligence-nsa-prism?guni=Network%20front:network-front%20full-width-1%20bento-box:Bento%20box:Position3

UPDATE HERE ON GOOGLE, FACEBOOK, ETC.

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/06/07/facebook-google-deny-giving-govt-broad-access-to-data/

UPDATE ON CYBERATTACKS MANDATED BY POTUS

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/07/obama-china-targets-cyber-overseas

READERS--YOU HAVE TO READ THIS

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/55749

I have been talking about such a thing happening for two years.

Pay attention, Catholics. It is going to get a lot worse.

HEY! Q and A DAY

No more airplanes...

Need more questions...I am sure you have some.

I love airshows

Well, I just saw a few minutes of the Red Arrows amazing sky gymnastics as there is an air show nearby this weekend.

I love airshows, and my son and I saw the Blue Angels twice; once in Iowa and once in Alaska.

But, it is way too cold and windy to sit outside, or even stand. It is 58 degrees Fahrenheit and supposedly 22 miles per hour winds, but the winds are much more than that.

Here is what the Red Arrows look like...

And here are the Blue Angels...

The Red Arrows did this colored smoke thing, but the wind blew it over the English Channel. To clarify, I am not at the show, but in the neighborhood...with a cliff side view.

Q and A continued on Q and A Day

~Why does one have to be orthodox? Are not protestants and other people holy?~

I love this question. Here are a few points.

1) To be orthodox means that one is obedient to the Teaching Magisterium in the Church. Obedience and humility are marks of true holiness. If one is disobedient, one is not only sinning, but possibly having many hidden sins from which one needs to repent and leave behind.

2) The road to perfection illuminates the conscience and releases the gifts of baptism. This means that a person on the road to perfection is being purged of false ideas, such as heresies. For example, many protestants see nothing wrong with contraception because they have not understood or prayed about the beauty of the teaching of the Catholic Church. Again, this sin and the tendency to sin would be purified, which means, a person would most likely convert to Catholicism. Other problems, such as not believing that the Eucharist is the True Presence, is a serious impediment to being united with God.

If a protestant knows that the Church's teachings are true and still does not convert, that can indicate a sin against the Holy Spirit: knowing the Truth and not acting on it.

3) The road to perfection is the road to the heavenly union with God in the Beatific Vision. All people in heaven are Catholics! They have come to know the Truth in the fullness of Truth. Thankfully, we have purgatory not only for punishment, but for purgation.

4) Holiness requires a saying yes to the call of God. It requires sanctifying grace, found in the sacraments, especially in the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. Again, when one denies the efficacy of this means of the life of God, one is placing obstacles on the path to oneness with Christ.

5) Not only is sin purged on the way to perfection, but imperfections. It is almost impossible to see imperfections until mortal sin is gone and venial sin is actively being purged. Some people may be given extra graces by God, in His Will, outside of the Church, but they would obviously convert in the face of Truth.

6) True holiness demands a destruction of the self-will. This is not a common idea among protestants, who think they are saved once and for all and do not need to go through stages of grace. They do not, on the whole, understand grace as we do. I discussed this at length in other posts.

7) Last, but not least, orthodoxy indicates that one has put on the Mind of Christ, who created the Church as an institution and guides it through the Pope. If one is not willing to think like Christ, how can one love Him enough to want to be with Him forever, and thus undergo purification?

P.S. Of course, there are people who did not become Catholics while on earth, in heaven; but now that they are with God, as I mentioned above, they are all Catholics!

Fifth and Sixth Question in Q and A

If we share our state on the road to perfection with a priest, are we not bragging?

I shall let Bernard of Clairaux answer this question.

I may boast securely if my conscience tells me that I in no way detract from the glory of 
my Creator, because I shall be speaking in the Lord rather than against him. Not only 
are we not forbidden to boast in this fashion, we are even encouraged by the words: 
"You seek glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only 
God." This ability to glory in God alone can come solely from God. Nor is this glory a 
small thing; it is as real as the truth which is its object, and is a truth so rare, that only an 
exceptional few even of the perfect can glory in perfectly possessing it. Off with them 
then, those men who are but a breath, men who are but a delusion; let them deceive 
each other in their vanity. For the man who makes a wise boast will put his work to the 
test, he will carefully scrutinize it in the light of the truth, and then his reason for boasting 
will be in himself and not in the patronage of his neighbor. I am but a fool if I entrust my 
reputation to the casket of your lips, and then begin to beg it of you when I feel the need 
for it. Am I not simply putting myself in your power, to be praised or blamed as you 
please? But I am determined to be responsible for myself, I shall be loyal in my own 
regard. And yet not entirely to myself; rather have I put my trust in him who can take 
care of all that I have committed to him until that Day. It is safe in his hands, it will be 
given back in full. Then all those who set no store by the praise of men will receive the 
sure praise of God. For those whose glory is in earthly loves will find confusion at the 
end," even as David said: "Those who please men are confounded, because God has 
rejected them." 

7. Dear brothers, if you can grasp these truths none of you will hanker after praise in 
this life, because if you win any favor here below and fail to thank God for it, you are 
defrauding him. How is it possible for you to glory, you who are but stinking dust? Will 
you dare glory in holiness of life? But it is the Spirit who makes holy; that Spirit who is 
God's, not yours. Even if you are resplendent with prodigies and miracles it is still God's 
power working through your hands. Or have you made an elegant speech that wins the 
plaudits of the crowd? But it is Christ who has given you the eloquence and wisdom. For 
what is your tongue but the pen of a writer? And it is yours only on loan, a talent
committed to you, to be demanded again with interest. If you work willingly and 
persevere in producing results, you will receive the reward of your labor. If you do 
otherwise your talent will be taken from you, but the interest will still be demanded, and 
you will suffer the fate of a dishonest and lazy workman. All praise, therefore, for the 
manifold gifts of grace with which you are endowed, must be given to him who is the 
author and giver of all that is praiseworthy. Make sure your thanks are not the pious 
cant of the hypocrite, nor the empty gesture of the worldling, nor yet the constraint 
imposed on beasts of burden; but, as one has a right to expect of dedicated men, let it 
be full of confident sincerity, of meaningful devotion and of becoming, well-regulated 
cheerfulness. Therefore, while offering up the sacrifice of praise and fulfilling our vows 
from day to day, let us make every endeavor to put meaning into our observance, to fill 
the meaning with love, our love with joy and our joy with realism; let that realism be 
tempered with humility and our humility be buoyant with liberty. Then we shall advance 
toward our goal with the untrammeled passions of a purified mind. We may even find 
ourselves at times living beyond our normal powers through the great intensity of our 
affections and our spiritual joy, in jubilant encounters, in the light of God, in sweetness, 
in the Holy Spirit, all showing that we are among those envisioned by the Prophet when 
he said: "Lord, they will walk in the light of your favor; they will rejoice in your name all 
day and exult in your righteousness.


What if we do not have a spiritual director?

Pray and find a good confessor. Pray and surround yourself with orthodox, good people. Pray and fast.

Fourth Q and A on the Perfection Series

Someone wants to know why we all have to suffer in order to be made perfect.

Let me answer this question with one word and one video.

The word is LOVE and the video is thanks to Catholic Bandita, who put this on her blog.

Sychronicity for the second time today--nice how the Spirit works through those who LOVE.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary Memorial Today

Ask Our Dear Mother to lead you to the level of perfection and purification God has willed for you.

Here is the NO Collect:

Grant, Lord God, that we, your servants, may rejoice in unfailing health of mind and body, and, through the glorious intercession of Blessed Mary ever-Virgin, may we be set free from present sorrow and come to enjoy eternal happiness. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

By the way, is it a Feast or Memorial?

Here is Pope Francis' comment on Mary this morning---or, rather, just a bit of it.

Pope Francis said “keeping the Word of God means constantly meditating on what this Word says to us and what happens in our life." And this “is what Mary did”, she “pondered and questioned” it. This, said Pope Francis, "is a truly great spiritual work":
“John Paul II said that, because of this work, Mary had a particular heaviness in her heart, she had a fatigued heart. But this is not the same as tired, it is fatigue, this comes from effort. This is the effort of keeping the Word of God : the work of trying to find what this means at this moment, what the Lord wants to say to me at this time, this situation of questioning the [meaning of ]the Word of God is how we understand. This is reading our life with the Word of God and this it means to keep".

http://www.news.va/en

Do You Believe in the Last Judgement?

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michelangelo_-_Fresco_of_the_Last_Judgement.jpg

Do not believe these false teachers, both lay and clerical, who claim there is no one in hell, or that there is no hell. The detail in the last post is from this magnificent fresco you all know is in the Sistine Chapel.

Answer to another question on perfection

As I have noted in the perfection series, all Catholic are called to an intimate, bridal relationship, with Christ. This is one of my duties on this blog-to share this good and profound news.

Someone asked me about men and their relationship with Christ, as to be called a bride is hard for men, of course.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux had no trouble with this concept and neither did St. John of the Cross.

I think many men are afraid of love, as seen by the growing number of single men; such a man does not pursue an intimate relationship with a woman in marriage. Part of the problem may be solved if a man realized that his soul is in the position of receiving love, as a woman does in marriage. Humility is absolutely necessary.

Remember that the Latin word for soul, or the living principle is anima, which is the same as psyche in Greek. We receive life and love and therefore our souls are in a feminine response to God.

Here are some quotations from the saints on this very point starting with Bernard:

9. Felicitous, however, is this kiss of participation that enables us not only to know God 
but to love the Father, who is never fully known until he is perfectly loved. Are there not 
surely some among you who at certain times perceive deep within their hearts the Spirit 
of the Son exclaiming: "Abba, Father"? Let that man who feels that he is moved by the 
same Spirit as the Son, let him know that he too is loved by the Father. Whoever he be 
let him be of good heart, let his confidence never waver. Living in the Spirit of the Son, 
let such a soul recognize herself as a daughter of the Father, a bride or even a sister of 
the Son, for you will find that the soul who enjoys this privilege is called by either of 
these names. Nor will it cost me much to prove it, the proof is ready to hand. They are 
the names by which the Bridegroom addresses her: "I come into my garden, my sister, 
my bride." She is his sister because they have the one Father; his bride because joined 
in the one Spirit. For if marriage according to the flesh constitutes two in one body, why 
should not a spiritual union be even more efficacious in joining two in one spirit? And 
hence anyone who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. But we have witness too 
from the Father, how lovingly and how courteously he gives her the name of daughter, 
and nevertheless invites her as his daughter-in-law to the sweet caresses of his Son: 
"Listen, daughter, pay careful attention: forget your nation and your ancestral home, 
then the king will fall in love with your beauty." See then from whom this bride demands 
a kiss. O soul called to holiness, make sure that your attitude is respectful, for he is the 
Lord your God, who perhaps ought not to be kissed, but rather adored with the Father 
and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen. 

from the Song of Songs sermons

And from John of the Cross in the dialogue between the soul and God:

SONG OF THE SOUL AND THE BRIDEGROOM

I

THE BRIDE

Where have You hidden Yourself, And abandoned me in my groaning, O my Beloved? You have fled like the hart, Having wounded me. I ran after You, crying; but You were gone.

II

O shepherds, you who go Through the sheepcots up the hill, If you shall see Him Whom I love the most, Tell Him I languish, suffer, and die.

III

In search of my Love I will go over mountains and strands; I will gather no flowers, I will fear no wild beasts; And pass by the mighty and the frontiers.

IV

O groves and thickets Planted by the hand of the Beloved; O verdant meads Enameled with flowers, Tell me, has He passed by you?

V

ANSWER OF THE CREATURES

A thousand graces diffusing He passed through the groves in haste, And merely regarding them As He passed Clothed them with His beauty.

VI

THE BRIDE

Oh! who can heal me? Give me at once Yourself, Send me no more A messenger Who cannot tell me what I wish.

VII

All they who serve are telling me Of Your unnumbered graces; And all wound me more and more, And something leaves me dying, I know not what, of which they are darkly speaking.

VIII

But how you persevere, O life, Not living where you live; The arrows bring death Which you receive From your conceptions of the Beloved.

IX

Why, after wounding This heart, have You not healed it? And why, after stealing it, Have You thus abandoned it, And not carried away the stolen prey?

X

Quench my troubles, For no one else can soothe them; And let my eyes behold You, For You are their light, And I will keep them for You alone.

XI

Reveal Your presence, And let the vision and Your beauty kill me, Behold the malady Of love is incurable Except in Your presence and before Your face.

XII

O crystal well! Oh that on Your silvered surface You would mirror forth at once Those eyes desired Which are outlined in my heart!

XIII

Turn them away, O my Beloved! I am on the wing:

THE BRIDEGROOM

Return, My Dove! The wounded hart Looms on the hill In the air of your flight and is refreshed.

XIV

My Beloved is the mountains, The solitary wooded valleys, The strange islands, The roaring torrents, The whisper of the amorous gales;

XV

The tranquil night At the approaches of the dawn, The silent music, The murmuring solitude, The supper which revives, and enkindles love.

XVI

Catch us the foxes, For our vineyard has flourished; While of roses We make a nosegay, And let no one appear on the hill.

XVII

O killing north wind, cease! Come, south wind, that awakens love! Blow through my garden, And let its odors flow, And the Beloved shall feed among the flowers.

XVIII

O nymphs of Judea! While amid the flowers and the rose-trees The amber sends forth its perfume, Tarry in the suburbs, And touch not our thresholds.

XIX

Hide yourself, O my Beloved! Turn Your face to the mountains, Do not speak, But regard the companions Of her who is traveling amidst strange islands.

XX

THE BRIDEGROOM

Light-winged birds, Lions, fawns, bounding does, Mountains, valleys, strands, Waters, winds, heat, And the terrors that keep watch by night;

XXI

By the soft lyres And the siren strains, I adjure you, Let your fury cease, And touch not the wall, That the bride may sleep in greater security.

XXII

The bride has entered The pleasant and desirable garden, And there reposes to her heart’s content; Her neck reclining On the sweet arms of the Beloved.

XXIII

Beneath the apple-tree There were you betrothed; There I gave you My hand, And you were redeemed Where your mother was corrupted.

XXIV

THE BRIDE

Our bed is of flowers By dens of lions encompassed, Hung with purple, Made in peace, And crowned with a thousand shields of gold.

XXV

In Your footsteps The young ones run Your way; At the touch of the fire And by the spiced wine, The divine balsam flows.

XXVI

In the inner cellar Of my Beloved have I drunk; and when I went forth Over all the plain I knew nothing, And lost the flock I followed before.

XXVII

There He gave me His breasts, There He taught me the science full of sweetness. And there I gave to Him Myself without reserve; There I promised to be His bride.

XXVIII

My soul is occupied, And all my substance in His service; Now I guard no flock, Nor have I any other employment: My sole occupation is love. more found here.

The answer is simple

http://www.osv.com/tabid/7621/itemid/10953/Enforcement-of-teachings-put-Church-in-uneasy-spot.aspx

Bishops have all the ammo they need to deal with these problems.

Make all teachers take the oath and make the promise.

PROFESSION OF FAITH and THE OATH OF FIDELITY ON ASSUMING AN OFFICE TO BE EXERCISED IN THE NAME OF THE CHURCH

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

As conforming to Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Motu ProprioAd Tuendam Fidem, this Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelitysupercedes the Profession and Oath of 1989.  I. PROFESSION OF FAITH I, N., with firm faith believe and profess everything that is contained in the Symbol of faith: namely: I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. With firm faith, I also believe everything contained in the Word of God, whether written or handed down in Tradition, which the Church, either by a solemn judgement or by the ordinary and universal Magisterium, sets forth to be believed as divinely revealed. I also firmly accept and hold each and everything definitively proposed by the Church regarding teaching on faith and morals. Moreover, I adhere with religious submission of will and intellect to the teachings which either the Roman pontiff or the College of Bishops enunciate when they exercise their authentic Magisterium, even if they do not intend to proclaim these teachings by a definitive act. II. OATH OF FIDELITY ON ASSUMING AN OFFICE TO BE EXERCISED IN THE NAME OF THE CHURCH (Formula to be used by the Christian faithful mentioned in Canon 833, nn. 5-8) I, N., in assuming the office of __________, promise that in my words and in my actions I shall always preserve communion with the Catholic Church. With great care and fidelity I shall carry out the duties incumbent on me toward the Church, both universal and particular, in which, according to the provisions of the law, I have been called to exercise my service. In fulfilling the charge entrusted to me in the name of the Church, I shall hold fast to the deposit of faith in its entirety; I shall faithfully hand it on and explain it, and I shall avoid any teachings contrary to it. I shall follow and foster the common discipline of the entire Church and I shall maintain the observance of all ecclesiastical laws, especially those contained in the Code of Canon Law. With Christian obedience I shall follow what the Bishops, as authentic doctors and teachers of the faith, declare, or what they, as those who govern the Church, establish. I shall also faithfully assist the diocesan Bishops, so that the apostolic activity, exercised in the name and by mandate of the Church, may be carried out in communion with the Church. So help me God, and God's Holy Gospels on which I place my hand. (Variations in the fourth and fifth paragraphs of the formulary, for use by those members of the Christian faithful indicated in can. 833, n. 8). I shall foster the common discipline of the entire Church and I shall insist on the observance of all ecclesiastical laws, especially those contained in the Code of Canon Law. With Christian obedience I shall follow what the Bishops, as authentic doctors and teachers of the faith, declare, or what they, as those who govern the Church, establish. I shall also — with due regard for the character and purpose of my institute — faithfully assist the diocesan Bishops, so that the apostolic activity, exercised in the name and by mandate of the Church, may be carried out in communion with the Church. NOTE: Canon 833, Nos. 5-8 obliges the following to make the profession of faith: vicars general, episcopal vicars and judicial vicars; "at the beginning of their term of office, pastors, the rector of a seminary and the professors of theology and philosophy in seminaries; those to be promoted to the diaconate"; "the rectors of an ecclesiastical or Catholic university at the beginning of the rector's term of office"; and, "at the beginning of their term of office, teachers in any universities whatsoever who teach disciplines which deal with faith or morals"; and "superiors in clerical religious institutes and societies of apostolic life in accord with the norm of the constitutions."

Reminder from the CCC

Because of a note on another blog when I had to look  up this reference, here is a reminder of the Four Sins Which Cry Out to God for Vengeance. 

1867 The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are “sins that cry to heaven”: the blood of Abel, the sin of the Sodomites, the cry of the people oppressed in Egypt, the cry of the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan, injustice to the wage earner.


By the way, here is the Vatican site on the virtual tour of the Chapel,  noted by another site today--synchronicity again...http://vatican.com/tour/sistine_chapel_3D