What You Freely Have Been Given...

Christ calls many people to Himself, but few listen. We are entering the era of the dearth of sacraments in areas of the West. Not since missionary days has the Church witnessed so few priests for so many people.

When God calls men and women to Himself, He says, "What you have been freely given, give freely," especially in the West where people have been given so many opportunities for financial stability and comfort.  The LIttle Flower is an example of freely giving what she received.

But, few respond to this radical call today.

The lack of vocations is not because God is no longer calling young men and young women, but because those people are either saying "no", or are not encouraged. Even trads are not encouraging their children to become religious. I am not sure why, but have some ideas why.

Encouragement from families needs to be part of the discerning process.

Too few youth have been taught how to discern decisions in their lives. Too few know how to pray, reflect, think. One thing the saints have in common is that they prayed.

We are coming to the end of the year of celebration for the birth of St. Teresa of Avila. Born in 1515, this great saint had to discern her own call, and for a while, got it wrong. She was called to renew the Carmelite Order which had fallen into laxity.

Nuns were talking too much with visitors, poverty had been set aside for comforts, endowments meant that the various houses did not have to rely on Providence for daily needs, prayer was lacking.

Her call was not merely to become a Carmelite, but to bring the Order back to its roots, the clean, pure roots which had been established by St. Simon Stock.

I have been to Aylesford in Kent, the oldest site of the Carmelites, and there it is obvious that the Order needs purifying again. But, few have answered God's call to follow Teresa and put the radical love of God, silence, and real poverty as priorities, rather than temporary "causes", large gatherings, and banal liturgies.

One senses the demise of the spirit of the Order in the Midwest as well.

Where is the energy in this order and others to bring saints into the world, or to pray for the chaos in the Church to change into a new focus for holiness?

Reading about the life of Simon Stock, one is struck by his great energy, always a sign of holiness, and one is struck with the ebb and flow of charisms within the order


from the Catholic Encyclopedia:

St. Simon obtained from Innocent IV an interim approbation, as well as certain modifications of the rule (1247). Henceforth foundations were no longer restricted to deserts but might be made in cities and the suburbs of towns; the solitary life was abandoned for community life; meals were to be taken in common; theabstinence, though not dispensed with, was rendered less stringent; the silence was restricted to the timebetween Compline and Prime of the following day; donkeys and mules might be kept for traveling and the transport of goods, and fowls for the needs of the kitchen. Thus the order ceased to be eremitical and became one of the mendicant orders. Its first title, Fratres eremitæ de Monte Carmeli, and, after the building of a chapelon Carmel in honour of Our Lady (c. 1220), Eremitæ Sanctæ Mariæ de Monte Carmeli, was now changed intoFratres Ordinis Beatissimæ Virginis Mariæ de Monte Carmeli. By an ordinance of the Apostolic Chancery of 1477 it was further amplified, Fratres Ordinis Beatissimæ Dei Genitricus semperque Virginis Mariæ de Monte Carmeli, which title was rendered obligatory by the General Chapter of 1680.

Having obtained the mitigation of the rule, St. Simon Stock, who was altogether in favour of the active life, opened houses at Cambridge (1249), Oxford (1253), London (about the same time), York (1255), Paris (1259),Bologna (1260), Naples (date uncertain), etc. He strove especially to implant the order at the universities, partly to secure for the religious the advantages of a higher education, partly to increase the number of vocations among the undergraduates. Although the zenith of the mendicant orders had already passed he was successful in both respects. The rapid increase of convents and novices, however, proved dangerous; the rule being far stricter than those of St. Francis and St. Dominic, discouragement and discontent seized many of the brothers, while the bishops and the parochial clergy continued to offer resistance to the development of the order. He died a centenarian before peace was fully restored. With the election of Nicholas Gallicus (1265-71) a reaction set in; the new general, being much opposed to the exercise of the sacred ministry, favoured exclusively the contemplative life. To this end he wrote a lengthy letter entitled "Ignea sagitta" (unedited) in which he condemned in greatly exaggerated terms what he called the dangerous occupations of preaching and hearing confessions. His words remaining unheeded, he resigned his office, as did also his successor, Radulphus Alemannus (1271-74), who belonged to the same school of thought.

St. Teresa brought the Order back to the foundations of contemplative prayer and a more eremitical life. But, these gifts to the Church have been set aside in too many convents for active ministry.

We need contemplatives, as well as "actives".

Today, I ask young readers to consider following Christ by joining and renewing the religious orders which need renewal. What you have been freely given, give away freely.

I suggest young women look at the Carmelites in Denton, Nebraska. I also suggest young women looking at the Benedictines in Kansas, Our Lady Queen of Apostles, as well as the Benedictines at Clear Creek.

Young men have more options in places where there is renewal: Clear Creek, Wyoming Carmelites, Order of St. John in Princeville, Il., (there are nuns there as well-I have visited this very interesting place), the Institute of Christ the King, the Fraternity of St. Peter, and more.

Allowing Sin and Allowing Suffering

There are two thoughts concerning imperfections and sin in a good Catholic. The prevailing idea of Garrigou-Lagrange and some of the saints, including St. John of the Cross, is that one can move away from venial sin, overcome imperfections, and even transcend concupiscence, with the help of God's grace.

Some priests today believe that it is possible to stop sinning venially and even move from being tempted by certain things through purification of the mind, memory, understanding and imagination, so that one is practically free of concupiscence.

However, some saints, in particular, St. Teresa of Avila, believe that one sins venially until death.

Some saints believe temptation is a trial of greatly virtuous people.

Why the difference in perspective has concerned me until recently, when a very simple thought came to mind.

No two people are alike in their spiritual journey and, although the saints give us guidelines and provide examples from their own lives, no two saints are the same. All persons have a unique way in coming to holiness.

The key thought is this--and I put it in the form of a question. How does one learn humility and stay humble?

Three saints give us examples of how differently God works in the soul.

These are the three Teresas.

First, moving from the latest, modern day Teresa is Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Mother Teresa.

It is a well-known fact, shared by a priest who was close to her, that Mother Teresa was in the Dark Night of the Soul for fifty years.

For fifty years, this saint lived on Faith and not consolation, not moving out of purgation and the long days of the Hidden God until almost immediately before her death, when she came into Illumination and Union, exhibiting a great peace.

Fifty years of purgation and the lack of the consolation of seeing things with the Eyes of God, not transcending her predominant fault until right before death, shows that this way was for her, a life of humility, but a humility of waiting on God and grace.

The length of time does not necessarily mean that Mother Teresa was a greater sinner than the other two Teresas, but that this is how God wanted her to become holy--through the suffering of self and the lack of consolation.

In other words, her life was one of sheer faith in God.

St. Therese of Lisieux is the second Teresa, but one who experienced, in a short life, Purgation, Illumination and Union, but also a time of intense suffering of temptations right before she died.

That she was tempted severely in the last months of her life has been shown by her request that the pain killers left in her room be removed at night so that she would not be tempted to suicide.

Her long days of pain were devoid of consolation from God. She could not even receive the Eucharist for many months before her death because of her physical condition.

But, one perceives no sin, only deep suffering, possibly for the intercession for sinners, rather than a suffering for purgation. Few are holy enough to offer themselves to God for love and suffer for others after Illumination and Union. But, this seems to have been her way--her "unfelt joy" but with complete confidence in God's Love.

St. Therese is one of those "meteor saints", young ones given tremendous graces of all three stages of the spiritual life as young people, only to suffer for others at the end, in a union with the Crucified Christ, in a pure state of sharing the Passion of Christ after great, graces of insight, illumined soul and oneness with God. Elizabeth of the Trinity would be another example of this type of holy life. Both these young Carmelites were called to sinless lives but still suffered for others, not for their own sins, but moving beyond purification to sheer intercessory union with Christ the Bridegroom in the mysterious union of the Cross in purity and sinlessness. St. Therese's profound humility allowed her to live in this role of intercessor in a most Christ-like fashion of purity and suffering.

St.Teresa of Avila provides us with another example of great suffering at the end of her life, but again, writing of being in the last great stage of holiness while on earth, the Unitive State, experiencing ecstasy, while claiming that it was possible to sin even venially after such dramatic and intense graces of oneness with God.

It seems to me that her way of staying humble was to have weaknesses even after unity. St. Teresa does not state that she, indeed, sinned venially after this life of the highest prayer one can experience on earth, but she states it is possible to do so. If God allows someone at this level of holiness to sin venially, it is for the greater good of revealing one to one's self in humility, the humility of weaknesses.

One should never compare one's self with others in the life of grace. Looking at the "cloud of witnesses" which make up the Church Triumphant, one sees the variety of graces played out in the lives of the saints.

But, God allows one to sin, not that He causes sin, but that He allows it for His greater glory, remains a mystery of both suffering and purgation.

The Pope Emeritus said one time that  “Holiness does not consist in never having erred or sinned. Holiness increases the capacity for conversion, for repentance, for willingness to start again, and, especially, for reconciliation and forgiveness. . . Consequently, it is not the fact that we have never erred but our capacity for reconciliation and forgiveness which makes us saints."

This idea makes us realize two things: one, that one must be willing to start over again and seek out God's mercy and never despair; and, two that some saints live in such an awareness of their sinfulness that they never sin again. Once reconciliation with God and the deep awareness of one's need for Christ's Sacrifice in order for one to be saved, the acceptance of the Passion in each individual soul, some saints live in such constant love and humility as to never sin again. Some are brought back to their nothingness by venial sin, or even the inability to move away from their predominant fault until just before death.

In other words, once one realizes the depth and breadth of one's sins, once one actually lives a humble life completely, one relies only on God's grace and not on one's own gifts or strength, being totally dependent on God for all things. Repentance is a daily task, conversion of heart, mind, soul, a daily job, and there can be no rest from the fight against the flesh, the devil and the world until death.

And, this brings me to one more point. Temptation comes from these three sources--the demons, the world, and self-love.

One can fall into venial sin, entertain temptations of the mind through each of these three sources of evil.

The first, the flesh, is one's own weakness. Not to commit venial sins and to overcome even concupiscence reveals that one has overcome one's self-love and is living a life of purity. John of the Cross must be one of the main examples of this grace.

The second, the devil, including his cohorts, will always be a possible source of sin until death, which is why all Christians should pray for the grace of final perseverance. The fight for the soul even at death can only be overcome with God's help. This is a lesson learned from the Little Flower, St. Therese.

The third, the world, was not such an issue for the three Teresas, as they removed themselves from the world by responding to God's call to enter Carmel, or in the case of Mother Teresa, to start a new order. But, she was in the world more than Little Therese. St. Teresa of Avila, as the head of a new order, also had to deal with worldly issues more than Little Therese.

We cannot judge a level of holiness or even a level of humility in persons. We cannot even judge suffering, as suffering is not quantifiable. What is great suffering for one person may not be so for another, and so on. The stigmatists, perhaps the most obvious of saints who suffer horrible pain, also experienced joy in being in union with Christ in His Passion. One cannot say, for example, that St. Padre Pio suffered more than Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, or that St. Therese of Lisieux suffered more than St. Teresa of Avila. These types of comparisons are based on judgments not in keeping with understanding the spiritual life, but a materialistic sort of approach to holiness, which is not only unhelpful, but inappropriate.

Each person created by God has a different way to holiness. One saint may struggle with sin all his life, while another may live in a unity of love and peace. The temperament of an individual, a personality or character created and formed by God's graces determines how that person becomes holy. God's grace and Providence determines the way to holiness for each individual.

Allowing sin in a person's life may be one way God brings a person to the depths of humility and self-knowledge. St. Paul's words haunt us on this concept of suffering through failings after prayer, and great grace.

He is teaching us never to give up, always to rely on God, and to fight evil within ourselves,as well as outside of ourselves.

I am reminded of the growing evil in this world and the growing activity of demonic influences. The absolute necessity for all Christians must be complete dependence on God. Once a person has come to rely on Divine Providence completely, all movement from sin becomes possible. God needs saints, but holiness begins with self-knowledge and true humility.

Romans 7:14-25

14 For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. 15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. 17 But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, 23 but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.

Framing Prayer 9 Devotion to The Holy Face

For decades, from 1979 to be exact, I knew and loved the great icon of the Face Painted without Hands, the Acheiropoieta, in the Eastern Tradition. I have one such Russian icon in my room here.

I had known that St. Therese of Lisieux had a great love for the Holy Face of Jesus, but I did not know how prevalent this devotion was until 2011. In that year, my dear friend Bernie shared with me her love of the Holy Face of Jesus, and then, when I went to Malta for the first time that year, in the Jesuit Church of the Circumcision, I saw a painting of the Holy Face for honoring Christ, and for intercessory prayer.

Synchronicity. The Carmelites love the image of the Holy Face because of the Little Flower, and include it in their prayers. This devotion may be traced back to Veronica's Veil, when Christ blessed the Jewish woman's kindness with a miraculous image, forever imprinted on her veil.

You may want to check out my post earlier this year, http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2015/03/faces-of-good-and-evil.html

The showing of the Shroud of Turin has also sparked new love for the Holy Face. In my old parish in Surrey, England, there is a group of people who pray in reparation for sins of blasphemy, using the devotional booklet connected to the The Golden Arrow Holy Face Devotion,  a set of prayers coming from the visions of the Carmelite nun, Sr. Marie of St. Peter.

"SrMarieofStPeter" by Unknown - English Wikipedia [1]. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SrMarieofStPeter.jpg#/media/File:SrMarieofStPeter.jpg

Hence,...the Carmelite love of the Holy Face truly began with this nun, born years before Little St. Therese found the devotion to her liking.

In these visions, Sr. Marie of St. Peter heard these words from Christ, "Those who will contemplate the wounds on My Face here on earth, shall contemplate it radiant in heaven" and especially in France, and then in England, this devotion spread among the laity, as well as among the nuns of Carmel.

I have a little booklet with this devotion in it, and here is the prayer of reparation against blasphemy to the Name of Jesus and to the Eucharist.

May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable,

most incomprehensible and ineffable Name of God

be forever praised, blessed, loved, adored

and glorified in Heaven, on earth,

and under the earth,

by all the creatures of God,

and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ,

in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

Amen.

The Venerable Leo Dupont is called The Apostle of the Holy Face, btw.  One can find references to him online. He was instrumental is promulgating Adoration of the Holy Eucharist as well as furthering the devotion of the Holy Face. He has the feast day of December first, same as Edmund Campion.

In addition, Pope Pius XII declared the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, Pancake Day, as the Feast of the Holy Face.

I repeat one of St. Therese of Lisieux's poems on the Holy Face of Jesus. She took this name, btw,

Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. 

Canticle to the Holy Face.

Dear Jesus! ‘tis Thy Holy Face

Is here the start that guides my way;

They countenance, so full of grace,

Is heaven on earth, for me, to-day.

And love finds holy charms for me

In Thy sweet eyes with tear-drops wet;

Through mine own tears I smile at Thee,

And in Thy griefs my pains forget.



How gladly would I live unknown,

Thus to console Thy aching heart.

Thy veiled beauty, it is shown

To those who live from earth apart.

I long to fly to Thee alone!



Thy Face is now my fatherland, —

The radiant sunshine of my days, —

My realm of love, my sunlit land,

Where, all life long, I sing Thy praise;

It is the lily of the vale,

Whose mystic perfume, freely given,

Brings comfort, when I faint and fail,

And makes me taste the peace of heaven.



Thy face, in its unearthly grace,

Is like the divinest myrrh to me,

That on my heart I gladly place;

It is my lyre of melody;

My rest — my comfort — is Thy Face.



My only wealth, Lord! is thy Face;

I ask naught else than this from Thee;

Hid in the secret of that Face,

The more I shall resemble Thee!

Oh, leave on me some impress faint

Of Thy sweet, humble, patient Face,

And soon I shall become a saint,

And draw men to Thy saving grace.



So, in the secret of Thy Face,

Oh! hide me, hide me, Jesus blest!

There let me find its hidden grace,

Its holy fires, and, in heaven’s rest,

Its rapturous kiss, in Thy embrace!


August 12, 1895.

Framing Prayer 4

When we think of the prayer of Carmel, we think of the great Carmelite saints, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, whose birthday in 1515 we celebrate this year, and Therese, the Little Flower. But, as members of a religious order, they speak to the laity within a context of the order of perfection-communal life, scheduled prayer and work, obedience.

However, the Carmelite way of framing prayer can be accessible to the lay person, and not only to the fortunate enough to be third order Carmelites (Tertiaries) living near an orthodox Carmel.

Sadly, the Tertiaries I have known in my life did not have a clue about the difference between meditation and contemplation, and were influenced by modern commentaries which completely ignored the rigors of repentance and daily mortification. Speaking with Tertiaries in the past, I was surprised at the lack of understanding regarding the core of the way of Carmel-silence and solitude.

The Carmelite does not have the same communal or individual ideal as to the Benedictines or the Jesuits. Carmelites who are in truly contemplative orders have cells, where they pray and come together for Mass or chores (done in silence) only. The cell provides the silence and solitude of the reformed order. The active orders, such as those which have reached out to the aged and to education, must balance meditation and contemplation with great activity, losing the contemplative focus of Teresa's renewal.

The lay person, however, can learn much from the framework of the prayer of Carmel. Follow the tags for other posts on Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, John of Avila.

Here, I want to concentrate on the manner of prayer, so as to aid those lay people who are inclined to the daily framework of a Carmelite.

In doing so, I highlight four aspects of the prayer of Carmelites in this mini-series--the devotion to Mary, the devotion to the Holy Face, the central need for study, and the role of contemplation in action.

Before I begin, I would ask readers to turn to three great modern Carmelite saints for their example of holiness in action as well as contemplation. These four Carmelites will be my examples for this section of the mini-series: Brother Lawrence, Titus Brandsma, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross,  and Elizabeth of the Trinity.

I have several posts on these saints already on this blog, but I want to emphasize how their lives and manner of praying can directly inform the lay person attracted to the spirit of Carmel. Just follow the tags, and for Elizabeth of the Trinity, look under "Indwelling of the Trinity:

Besides silence, mortification looms large in the life of a real Carmelite. One only needs to look at the lives of those four I have chosen to see the great importance in their lives of humility, which flows from self-denial.

We have the great examples of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross regarding self-denial, but in Part Five, I shall concentrate on the lives and prayer of the four to be used for this mini-series.

to be continued...

Preaching on Hell--an aside

 Is it proper in our own age to preach on hell? We answer thus: first, it is certainly better to go to God by the way of love than that of fear. The redemptive Incarnation invites us continually to the way of love. But fear is today a necessary element of salvation, just as surely as it was when the Fathers preached the gospel. We conclude, with the author of the article on hell in the Dictionnaire de theologique "Preachers must indeed omit all purely imaginary descriptions. The simple truth is sufficient. But to keep systematic silence on any portion of Christian teaching, particularly on forethought for our last end, is to ignore radically the spirit of Christianity. This life is a road, which ends inevitably either in hell or in heaven." [313] 

Further, our Lord deigns frequently to give privileged souls a higher knowledge of hell, by contemplation, or by vision, imaginary or intellectual, in order to carry them on to greater hatred of sin, to growth in charity, to more burning zeal for the salvation of souls. It is sufficient here to recall the visions. Like St. Theresa, many saints were thus illumined by contrast, on the infinite greatness of God and the value of eternal life.

St. Theresa speaks thus: "I often ask myself how it came that pictures of hell did not lead me to fear these pains as they deserve. Now I feel a killing pain at sight of the multitudes who are lost. This vision was one of the greatest graces the Lord has given me. From it arise also these vehement desires to be useful to souls. Yes, I say it with all truth: to deliver one soul from these terrible torments, I would gladly, it seems to me, endure death a thousand times." [314] Everlasting Life

For the three kinds of fear, see the text. Here just a bit:

St. Catherine of Siena says that, with progress in charity, filial fear grows until mundane fear disappears completely. The apostles, after Pentecost, began to glory in their tribulations. They rejoiced in being judged worthy to suffer for our Lord. Before the Ascension, feeling acutely their own impotency, they feared the persecutions our Lord had foretold. On Pentecost they were clarified, fortified, confirmed in grace.

Filial fear in heaven is called reverential fear. "The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring forever and ever." [328] Thus the psalm. It will no longer be fear of sin, fear of being separated from God, but deep reverence. Seeing the infinite grandeur of the Most High, the soul sees its own nothingness and fragility. God is reality itself. "Ego sum qui sum." In this sense, as we sing in the preface, even the Powers tremble. This gift of reverential fear exists even in the holy soul of our Savior, just as do the other gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Reverential fear appears in the saints even in the present life. When St. Peter, after the first miraculous catch of fishes, came to Jesus, he said: "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." [329] It is then that Jesus said to him: "Fear not, from henceforth thou shall catch men." And Peter, James, and John left everything to follow Him.

Thoughts While Sitting Behind Whitefriars

Statue of St. Thérèse at the Most Holy Trinity Church, Fulnek, Czech Republic Radim SCHOLASTER  wiki 

Pope John Paul I said this of St. Therese of Lisieux, "Once you had chosen the path of complete dedication to God, nothing could stop you: not illness, nor opposition from outside, nor the mists or inner darkness."

I hope someday someone can say this of me....the black wall of the Dark Night demands faith without consolation.

Period.

Dark Night Queries

A highly spiritual and intelligent reader asked me some questions on the Dark Night and I shall attempt to answer these in bullet point form.

• The dryness of the Dark Night has nothing to do with circumstances of Liturgical aberrations or bad clergymen. 
• The dryness of the Dark Night is personal, and internal, not external. God can use circumstances to begin the suffering, but the externals are not what is important.
• Not having a community is not a sigh either of the Dark Night or Illuminative States. One can be alone in the secular world without support and still enter the Unitive State. It is God's call how this happens.
• Those who are in the Dark Night for years are not to be judged, as God sees with His Eyes and we are extremely limited in discerning such growth. The short period of time for St. John of the Cross, about nine months, compared to Blessed Teresa of Calcutta's fifty years cannot be understood by us at all. God leads different people in different ways. The main point is that the Dark Night is the time of purgation of the senses and the spirit, as explained in the long series.
• Depression and despondency are not necessarily indicators of the Dark Night. In fact, depression is a spiritual state not recognized as part of the spiritual life of purgation. None of us would necessarily recognize a person in the Dark Night, as they may be joyful with St. Therese's "unfelt joy" and working hard in the Church or in other jobs, or as parents in a family. Again, it is the interior journey which must be emphasized.
• A good spiritual director may help, but I know from experience that these are few and far between. Many priests have not allowed themselves to enter into the Dark Night and live on the level of Faith. I have discovered about five in my entire life. The best priests to seek out with regard to the experience of the Dark Night are traditional Carmelites, FSSPs and Opus Dei priests.
• DO NOT ask in the Dark Night "What am I to do?" One does not change direction of vocation in the Dark Night and the Dark Night is not about doing but being, and being passive. Asking what one should do is pride in disguise. One must ask for the graces to be purified.
• Bitterness, cynicism, impatience and other connected sins rearing up in the Dark Night point to the predominant fault(s) of a person, such as pride, anger, greed and so on. Quickly deal with those in Confession and the process will continue more quickly.
• The Dark Night is about learning who one really is before God-nothing, basically, but a sinful creature.
• One is the Dark Night waits on God.
• Meditating on the Passion of Christ must be part of the Dark Night and if one is doing this already, this is an indication that one is in the time of purgation.

To be continued...

Nice

A sweet reader of another blog on another blog said that Etheldredasplace was the "Garrigou". Out of about 8950 posts, at least one fourth either quote the great Dominican, Garrigou-Lagrange, or refer to his works. Possibly more than 2,000....I do not keep track. Maybe closer to a third....

I have referred to Third Ages of the Interior Life many times, as it is the cornerstone of the perfection series, Grace, Providence, Predestination, Beatitude, Christ the Savior, and other books. On my desk is his Reality—A Synthesis Of Thomistic Thought, which I have also used on the blog.

I noticed that Rorate has an excellent article on the suppression of Thomism, which is not new, as this was happening when I was studying philosophy a very long time ago now.

Yes, I am an unabashed Thomist. If you want Thomism, this is one of the blogs!

And, while thinking of saints, besides St. Thomas Aquinas, the two other most quoted saints on this blog are St. Catherine of Siena, and of course, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, my favorite. The two Carmelites, Teresa and Therese come in on the top ten list as well as St. Benedict and St. Augustine.

By the way, I am going to write on The Trinity and God the Creator, extensively, soon.

Perfection Series VIII Part XVI Trials and Contemplation

The need for contemplation becomes obvious in trials. Raissa's experience of living through two world wars and frequently being separated from her husband, as well as a life of illness, helped her to realize that contemplation could not merely be seen as a tool which leads one to unity, but a tool which allows one to cope with horrible situations.

I do not think people understand, on the whole, the great need for spiritually preparing for the hard times to come.

One of the reasons I started the perfection series three years ago (next January) was to stir people to get ready spiritually so that we all could face severe persecution, even death.

A month ago, I had a strange week wherein I felt impatient and irritated by little things. I needed more silence and solitude. But, God showed me that week how one must learn to transcend all negativity and respond with love in all situations. Small things which normally did not bother me caused me to be angry. Ah, God was showing me this deep-seated pride which would not be able to withstand the anger of hateful people if I was faced with martyrdom.

The martyr can only respond in love to the enemies of Christ, who would be his or her enemies as well.

Confessing this released me from the week of irritation and brought me back to peace. One cannot respond to those who are rude, hateful, even violent with any negativity at all. One must love, always.

Raissa knew this, coming from Jewish background and having to face the horror of persecution for herself, her sister, and others.

To transcend hate, one must go deep inside one's self and find God's love, which is there, but hidden under our layers of sin and weaknesses.

Raissa's contemplation allowed her to face possible death with peace, and the love which passes all understanding.

She notes in her diary that this peace which passes understanding involves physical pain, suffering, even the absence of consolation from God. This is like St. Therese's "unfelt joy".  Peace can exist with deep suffering, and contemplation helps one in this regard. Contemplation leads to union, but it also leads to the ability to love those who hate and to live in suffering.

Can we not see how God wants to prepare us now by leading us to contemplation?

Raissa states as well that no matter if a person is busy in the world, or hidden, in silence or in noise, this contemplation is possible to all in some way.

We are all called to be saints. We are all called to be in union with God.

We ignore this call at our own peril. Could we love the enemy who hates Christ and His Church with equanimity?

to be continued...

The Hardest Lesson To Learn

Young people choose good or bad friends. These influences may lead a person to heaven or to hell.

Speaking with a friend of mine here in Malta last week, we were both grateful and aware of the fact that great Catholics had come into our lives in the past and helped us on our way.

"In Him there is no darkness at all. The night and the day are both alike."

Sometimes, God surprises a person by bringing a mature, spiritual person into one's life just at the right time, when there is a great need.

"When we have run with patience the race, we shall know the joy of Jesus."

Both my friend and I expressed gratitude for this gift of past influences.

"Clear Son of Righteousness shine on my path and show me the way to the Father."

But, one thing we had to learn was that some people just want to go to hell. For a long time I could not see why some I knew would consistently chose lying, cheating, committing adultery, incest, drunkenness and dissipation, manipulation of others, homosexual sins, over the love of God. Some people choose darkness with their own wills still being free.

No amount of witnessing or caring or prayers would deter them from the paths of seeking power and status over pursuing the love of God.

The hardest lesson for me to learn was that some people choose to be against God.

A friend of mine who has been in combat twice in Iraq explained to me earlier this summer that he met so many people who choose hell. They choose murder, hatred, and ignorance even when rational explanations and apologetics concerning Christ were presented to them.

In Western, civilized cultures, people have a hard time understanding why some groups choose darkness over light.

In the face of darkness, we must continue to spread the Gospel. Christ is the Light of the World. This is our duty, to let all we meet know this is some manner.

But, sometimes, we must stop and realize that some people just choose hell. They want a life without God. They choose a life without God.

Do we pray for these people? Of course, and we love them as much as we are able. Too often, such people are closed to Catholic, hard love. Catholics give real love, not mushy love.

John 8:12 New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition 

 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

Only in Christ can one walk in the light. 

"The star of my life is Jesus."

I repeat a song I put on this blog this past summer, but another version. Choose the light. Look towards the Light, Who is Christ.

Also look here....Friday, 22 August 2014

Perfection Series IV: Part Twenty; The Star of Love and Simplicity in Unity; II

Posted by Supertradmum

I want to end this section on the Unitive State by referring to a chapter, (41) from Garrigou-Lagrange. As usual, the priest's insights are extremely clear. In a chapter on the Unitive State and "holy childhood", the Dominican notes this:  The simplicity, or the absence of duplicity, of a child is wholly spontaneous; in him there is no labored refinement, no affectation. He generally says what he thinks and expresses what he desires without subterfuge, without fear of what people will say. As a rule he does not pose; he shows himself as he is. Conscious of his weakness, for he can do nothing of himself, he depends in everything on his father and mother, from whom he should receive everything. This awareness of his weakness is the seed of humility, which leads him to practice the three theological virtues, often in a profoundly simple manner. One of the signs of someone in the Unitive State is a childlike dependence on God, a complete trusting in God the Father, a complete realization that without Christ nothing is possible, and that one needs the Holy Ghost in order to live the Christian life. Most of us love the Little Flower for her great simplicity and love. She was raised by loving and faithful parents, which allowed her to make great strides in perfection at a very young age.  Garrogue-Lagrange understands the virtues of childhood grow quickly in "good soil."  St. Teresa of the Child Jesus reminds us that the principal virtues of the child of God are those in which are reproduced in an eminent degree the innate qualities of the child, minus his defects. Consequently the way of spiritual childhood will teach us to be supernaturally ourselves minus our defects. The child of God should, first of all, be simple and upright, without duplicity; he should exclude hypocrisy and falsehood from his life, and not seek to pass for what he is not, as our Lord declares in the Sermon on the Mount: "If thy eye be single, thy whole body shall be lightsome": (2) that is, if the gaze of your spirit is honest, if your intention is upright, your whole life will be illumined. The child of God should preserve the consciousness of his weakness and indigence; he should constantly recall that God our Father freely created him from nothing, and that without God's grace he can do absolutely nothing in the order of sanctification and salvation. If the child of God grows in this humility, he will have an ever deeper faith in the divine word, greater even than little children have in the words of their parents. He will have a faith devoid of human respect, he will be proud of his faith; and from time to time it will become in him penetrating and sweet, above all reasoning. He will truly live by the mysteries of salvation and will taste them; he will contemplate them with admiration, as a little child looks into the eyes of his beloved father.  Why are characteristics of the loving, trusting child indicative of a state of union? A child always loves, without the cost and without strings attached. A child is not jaded and wonders at the beauty of life. This simplicity of love and awe grows out of abandonment to God's Perfect Will. I have highlighted some passages for emphasis. These characteristics of the child are the same as those of the trusting bride one sees illumined in the sermons of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Those who trust are able to love. If the child of God does not go astray, he will see his hope grow stronger from day to day and become transformed into trusting abandonment to Providence.In proportion to his fidelity to the duty of the moment, to the signified divine will, will be his abandonment to the divine good pleasure as yet unknown. The arms of the Lord are, says St. Teresa Of the Child Jesus, like a divine elevator that lifts man up to God. Finally, the child of God grows steadily in the love of his Father. He loves Him for Himself and not simply for His benefits, as a little child loves his mother more than the caresses he receives from her. The child of God loves his Father in trial as in joy; when life is difficult, he remembers that he should love the Lord with all his strength and even with all his mind, and be always united to Him in the higher part of his soul as an adorer "in spirit and in truth." This last characteristic shows that the way of spiritual childhood often demands courage in trial, the virtue of Christian fortitude united to the gift of fortitude. This is especially evident toward the end of the life of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus (3) when she had to pass through the tunnel, which St. John of the Cross calls the night of the spirit. She passed through this profound darkness with admirable faith, praying for unbelievers, with perfect abandonment and most pure and ardent charity, which led her to the transforming union, the immediate prelude of eternal life. But, here is the mystery. One becomes childlike while retaining the virtues of strength and even martyrdom. Garrigou-Lagrange does a good job in showing us that this seemingly contradiction is based on Christ's very words.
The way of childhood thus understood wonderfully harmonizes several seemingly contradictory virtues: meekness and fortitude, and also simplicity and prudence, to which Jesus referred when He said to His apostles: "Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and simple as doves." We must be prudent with the world, which is often perverse; we must also be strong, at times even to martyrdom, as in Spain and Mexico in recent years. But to have this superior prudence and fortitude, we need the gifts of counsel and fortitude, and to have them we must be increasingly simple and childlike toward God, our Lord, and the Blessed Virgin. The less we should be children in our dealings with men, the more we should become children of God. From Him alone can come the fortitude and prudence we need in the struggles of today: we must hope in God and divine grace more than in the strength of popular movements; and should this force stray farther and farther into the way of atheistic communism, we should continue to resist even to martyrdom, placing our trust in God like a little child in the goodness of his father. Father H. Petitot, O.P., in his book, St. Teresa of Lisieux: a Spiritual Renascence, emphasizes this intimate union of virtues so contrary in appearance in St. Teresa of Lisieux. After the time of purification, one is again regaining lost innocence. Humility brings trust and self-knowledge. A child knows he cannot do anything without his parents' help. But, he also knows he CAN do things and he begins to understand his own capabilities. Another point of capital importance is that when well understood the way of spiritual childhood wonderfully harmonizes also true humility with the desire for the loving contemplation of the mysteries of salvation. Thereby we see that this contemplation, which proceeds from living faith illumined by the gifts of understanding and wisdom, is in the normal way of sanctity. This penetrating and at times sweet contemplation of the mysteries of faith is not something extraordinary like visions, revelations, and the stigmata, extrinsic favors, so to speak, which we do not find in the life of St. Teresa of Lisieux; it is, on the contrary, the normal fruit of sanctifying grace, called the grace of the virtues and the gifts and the seed of glory. It is the normal prelude of eternal life. This point of doctrine stands out clearly in the writings of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus. She makes us desire and ask the Lord for this loving contemplation of the mysteries of the Incarnation, the redemption, the Eucharist, the Mass, and the indwelling of the Blessed Trinity in our souls. "Jesus, Your ineffable image is the star which guides my steps." The saint comes to the threshold of eternal life like a little lamb.  The virtue of obedience is key at this state, and a sign of a saint, one in the Unitive State is complete obedience to Holy Mother Church. Obedience reveals humility and simplicity. Maybe someday I can write more about this wonderful state of being one with God. I pray that God in His mercy and love will guide all of us on this blog, both me and readers, to become true children of Light.  I can say no more at this time about the Unitive State, but encourage my readers to read Garrigou-Lagrange's book found here. We also have the saints, that "cloud of witnesses", the Church Triumphant, which tell us how to move on the road to perfection. What wonderful truths in the lives of the saints may be found in the readings from their feast days, the readings in the Divine Office, and the myriad biographies and autobiographies. There are no reasons, but our own reluctance and sin, in becoming the saint God wants each one of us to be. I want to end with a song from my youth. St. Therese called Jesus her "Star of Love", echoed here in this song. The words are underneath this video of the Notre Dame Liturgical Alumni Choir.
I want to walk as a child of the light; I want to follow Jesus. God set the stars to give light to the world; The star of my life is Jesus. Refrain In him there is no darkness at all; The night and the day are both alike. The Lamb is the light of the city of God; Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus. I want to see the brightness of God; I want to look at Jesus. Clear Sun of righteousness, shine on my path, And show me the way to the Father. Refrain I’m looking for the coming of Christ; I want to be with Jesus. When we have run with patience the race, We shall know the joy of Jesus. Refrain

Perfection Series IV: Part Twenty; The Star of Love and Simplicity in Unity; II

I want to end this section on the Unitive State by referring to a chapter, (41) from Garrigou-Lagrange. As usual, the priest's insights are extremely clear. In a chapter on the Unitive State and "holy childhood", the Dominican notes this:  The simplicity, or the absence of duplicity, of a child is wholly spontaneous; in him there is no labored refinement, no affectation. He generally says what he thinks and expresses what he desires without subterfuge, without fear of what people will say. As a rule he does not pose; he shows himself as he is. Conscious of his weakness, for he can do nothing of himself, he depends in everything on his father and mother, from whom he should receive everything. This awareness of his weakness is the seed of humility, which leads him to practice the three theological virtues, often in a profoundly simple manner. One of the signs of someone in the Unitive State is a childlike dependence on God, a complete trusting in God the Father, a complete realization that without Christ nothing is possible, and that one needs the Holy Ghost in order to live the Christian life. Most of us love the Little Flower for her great simplicity and love. She was raised by loving and faithful parents, which allowed her to make great strides in perfection at a very young age.  Garrogue-Lagrange understands the virtues of childhood grow quickly in "good soil." St. Teresa of the Child Jesus reminds us that the principal virtues of the child of God are those in which are reproduced in an eminent degree the innate qualities of the child, minus his defects. Consequently the way of spiritual childhood will teach us to be supernaturally ourselves minus our defects. The child of God should, first of all, be simple and upright, without duplicity; he should exclude hypocrisy and falsehood from his life, and not seek to pass for what he is not, as our Lord declares in the Sermon on the Mount: "If thy eye be single, thy whole body shall be lightsome": (2) that is, if the gaze of your spirit is honest, if your intention is upright, your whole life will be illumined. The child of God should preserve the consciousness of his weakness and indigence; he should constantly recall that God our Father freely created him from nothing, and that without God's grace he can do absolutely nothing in the order of sanctification and salvation. If the child of God grows in this humility, he will have an ever deeper faith in the divine word, greater even than little children have in the words of their parents. He will have a faith devoid of human respect, he will be proud of his faith; and from time to time it will become in him penetrating and sweet, above all reasoning. He will truly live by the mysteries of salvation and will taste them; he will contemplate them with admiration, as a little child looks into the eyes of his beloved father.  Why are characteristics of the loving, trusting child indicative of a state of union? A child always loves, without the cost and without strings attached. A child is not jaded and wonders at the beauty of life. This simplicity of love and awe grows out of abandonment to God's Perfect Will. I have highlighted some passages for emphasis. These characteristics of the child are the same as those of the trusting bride one sees illumined in the sermons of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Those who trust are able to love. If the child of God does not go astray, he will see his hope grow stronger from day to day and become transformed into trusting abandonment to Providence. In proportion to his fidelity to the duty of the moment, to the signified divine will, will be his abandonment to the divine good pleasure as yet unknown. The arms of the Lord are, says St. Teresa Of the Child Jesus, like a divine elevator that lifts man up to God. Finally, the child of God grows steadily in the love of his Father. He loves Him for Himself and not simply for His benefits, as a little child loves his mother more than the caresses he receives from her. The child of God loves his Father in trial as in joy; when life is difficult, he remembers that he should love the Lord with all his strength and even with all his mind, and be always united to Him in the higher part of his soul as an adorer "in spirit and in truth." This last characteristic shows that the way of spiritual childhood often demands courage in trial, the virtue of Christian fortitude united to the gift of fortitude. This is especially evident toward the end of the life of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus (3) when she had to pass through the tunnel, which St. John of the Cross calls the night of the spirit. She passed through this profound darkness with admirable faith, praying for unbelievers, with perfect abandonment and most pure and ardent charity, which led her to the transforming union, the immediate prelude of eternal life. But, here is the mystery. One becomes childlike while retaining the virtues of strength and even martyrdom. Garrigou-Lagrange does a good job in showing us that this seemingly contradiction is based on Christ's very words.
The way of childhood thus understood wonderfully harmonizes several seemingly contradictory virtues: meekness and fortitude, and also simplicity and prudence, to which Jesus referred when He said to His apostles: "Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and simple as doves." We must be prudent with the world, which is often perverse; we must also be strong, at times even to martyrdom, as in Spain and Mexico in recent years. But to have this superior prudence and fortitude, we need the gifts of counsel and fortitude, and to have them we must be increasingly simple and childlike toward God, our Lord, and the Blessed Virgin. The less we should be children in our dealings with men, the more we should become children of God. From Him alone can come the fortitude and prudence we need in the struggles of today: we must hope in God and divine grace more than in the strength of popular movements; and should this force stray farther and farther into the way of atheistic communism, we should continue to resist even to martyrdom, placing our trust in God like a little child in the goodness of his father. Father H. Petitot, O.P., in his book, St. Teresa of Lisieux: a Spiritual Renascence, emphasizes this intimate union of virtues so contrary in appearance in St. Teresa of Lisieux. After the time of purification, one is again regaining lost innocence. Humility brings trust and self-knowledge. A child knows he cannot do anything without his parents' help. But, he also knows he CAN do things and he begins to understand his own capabilities. Another point of capital importance is that when well understood the way of spiritual childhood wonderfully harmonizes also true humility with the desire for the loving contemplation of the mysteries of salvation. Thereby we see that this contemplation, which proceeds from living faith illumined by the gifts of understanding and wisdom, is in the normal way of sanctity. This penetrating and at times sweet contemplation of the mysteries of faith is not something extraordinary like visions, revelations, and the stigmata, extrinsic favors, so to speak, which we do not find in the life of St. Teresa of Lisieux; it is, on the contrary, the normal fruit of sanctifying grace, called the grace of the virtues and the gifts and the seed of glory. It is the normal prelude of eternal life. This point of doctrine stands out clearly in the writings of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus. She makes us desire and ask the Lord for this loving contemplation of the mysteries of the Incarnation, the redemption, the Eucharist, the Mass, and the indwelling of the Blessed Trinity in our souls. "Jesus, Your ineffable image is the star which guides my steps." The saint comes to the threshold of eternal life like a little lamb.  The virtue of obedience is key at this state, and a sign of a saint, one in the Unitive State is complete obedience to Holy Mother Church. Obedience reveals humility and simplicity. Maybe someday I can write more about this wonderful state of being one with God. I pray that God in His mercy and love will guide all of us on this blog, both me and readers, to become true children of Light. I can say no more at this time about the Unitive State, but encourage my readers to read Garrigou-Lagrange's book found here. We also have the saints, that "cloud of witnesses", the Church Triumphant, which tell us how to move on the road to perfection. What wonderful truths in the lives of the saints may be found in the readings from their feast days, the readings in the Divine Office, and the myriad biographies and autobiographies. There are no reasons, but our own reluctance and sin, in becoming the saint God wants each one of us to be. I want to end with a song from my youth. St. Therese called Jesus her "Star of Love", echoed here in this song. The words are underneath this video of the Notre Dame Liturgical Alumni Choir.
I want to walk as a child of the light; I want to follow Jesus. God set the stars to give light to the world; The star of my life is Jesus. Refrain In him there is no darkness at all; The night and the day are both alike. The Lamb is the light of the city of God; Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus. I want to see the brightness of God; I want to look at Jesus. Clear Sun of righteousness, shine on my path, And show me the way to the Father. Refrain I’m looking for the coming of Christ; I want to be with Jesus. When we have run with patience the race, We shall know the joy of Jesus. Refrain