More, more on the dark night....

Garrigou-Lagrange continues on the Dark Night....

Another striking example of the spiritual night which we are speaking of is found in St. Paul of the Cross, the founder of the Passionists. We read in his Letters:

Little corporal or spiritual tribulations are the first steps of this lofty and holy ladder which great and generous souls climb. They ascend step by step until they reach the last rung. There, at the summit, they find the purest suffering, without the slightest admixture of consolation coming from heaven or earth (the suffering which comes from offense offered to God). And if these souls are faithful in not seeking consolations, they will pass from this pure suffering to the pure love of God, without anything else being mingled with it. But rare are the souls which reach such a degree. . . .
It seems to them that they are abandoned by God, that He no longer loves them, that He is irritated against them. . . . This is almost the pain of damnation, if I may express myself in this manner, a suffering, whose bitterness is comparable to no other. But if the soul is faithful, what treasures it amasses! The storms pass and go, the soul approaches true, very sweet, and very close union with Jesus crucified, who transforms it in Himself and reproduces His own features in it.(10)

Rare are the souls, perhaps, but all are called to this state of perfection-all. Only those who are generous respond and on the path, one realizes how ungenerous one really is....

It seems to them that they are abandoned by God, that He no longer loves them, that He is irritated against them. . . . This is almost the pain of damnation, if I may express myself in this manner, a suffering, whose bitterness is comparable to no other. But if the soul is faithful, what treasures it amasses! The storms pass and go, the soul approaches true, very sweet, and very close union with Jesus crucified, who transforms it in Himself and reproduces His own features in it.(10)

One can hardly endure this pain. One sees one's damnation. The justice of God is real and keen. For many people, this time is like a mini-particular judgement, and for some people, an entire particular judgement.

These excerpts show that St. John of the Cross is not the only one who spoke profoundly of the night of the spirit because he had experienced it. Before him, Hugh of St. Victor had compared the passive purification of the soul by grace and the love of God to the transformation which green wood undergoes when attacked by fire: "The dampness is consumed, the smoke diminishes, the victorious flame shows itself; . . . finally it communicates its own nature to the wood, which is set completely on fire. Likewise the love of God gradually grows in the soul, the passions of the heart at first resist, which causes many sufferings and troubles; this thick smoke must be dissipated. Then the love of God becomes more ardent, its flame more lively. . . and finally it penetrates the entire soul. The divine truth is found and assimilated by contemplation; the soul, detached from self, no longer seeks anything but God. He is for it all in all; it rests in His love and finds therein joy and peace. (11)

If one accepts this grace and is patient, one end up in peace.

To be continued...

More on suffering and the dark night....

More from Garrigou-Lagrange: more to help us all recognize this dark night.

We may profit by recalling the case of the holy Cure of Ars. His principal suffering sprang from the fact that he felt himself far from the ideal of the priesthood, whose grandeur appeared increasingly to him in the obscurity of faith, at the same time that he had an ever clearer understanding of the needs of the innumerable souls coming to him. The more he saw all the good that remained to be done, the less he saw what had already been accomplished; consequently he could not be complacent about it. His great suffering, which approached that of Jesus, Priest and Victim, and of Mary at the foot of the cross, was that which comes from the sight of sin and from the loss of souls. This suffering presupposes a penetrating view which is nothing else than the contemplation of the infinite goodness of God, who is disregarded and outraged, and of the value of eternal life. This contemplation grows more and more in the dark night of faith which we are discussing.

St. Catherine of Siena pointed out in her Dialogue that the contemplation of our indigence and wretchedness and that of the infinite majesty and goodness of God are like the lowest and highest points of a circle that could grow forever. In reality, in this contemplation there is a contrast, a clear-cut opposition between two things which in an admirable manner mutually illumine each other.

In the life of Blessed Angela of Foligno we find a striking example of this fact, which she recounts as follows: "I see myself deprived of every good, of every virtue, filled with a multitude of vices; . . . in my soul I see only defects. . . false humility, pride, hypocrisy. . . . I would wish to cry out my iniquities to others. . . . God is hidden for me. . . . How can I hope in Him? . . . Though all the wise men of the world and all the saints of paradise were to overwhelm me with their consolations, they would bring me no relief, if God does not change me in the depths of my soul. This interior torment is far worse than martyrdom. (7) 

Modern people really do not identify with this low opinion of self. The great lies of modern New Age so-called ministries has been for 30 years about discovering self and one's gifts, with a complete centering on the self and NOT GOD. I have been totally against these diocesan courses on finding out about one's gifts, as these teach nothing about the stages of purification absolutely necessary before God can use someone.

So-called Gift Training Days are not of God. Sorry. One cannot even be used by God when one is full of self, self-love, self-aggrandizement and so on....

I had a long talk years ago with a laywoman who was conducting these types of courses; she could not see that this course actually takes the focus off Christ and on to one's self. This, of course, is a dead end and stops the route to perfection.

Then, recalling that God Himself was afflicted in Gethsemane, that during His passion He was scorned, buffeted, and tortured, she wished that her suffering might be increased still more, for it seemed to her a purifying suffering, which revealed to her the depths of the Passion. Some days later, on a road near Assisi, she heard these interior words: "O My daughter! I love thee more than any other person in this valley. . . . Thou hast prayed to My servant Francis, hoping to obtain with him and through him. Francis loved Me greatly, I did much in him; but if anyone loved Me more than Francis, I would do more for him. . . . I love with an immense love the soul that loves Me without falsehood. . . . Now, no one has any excuse, for all the world can love; God asks only love from the soul; for He Himself loves without falsehood, and is Himself the love of the soul." (8) Causing her to glimpse His passion, Jesus crucified added: "Look closely: dost thou find anything in Me which is not love?" (9)

To be continued....

More on the Dark Night of the Soul

Some of this is repetitive, but necessary to emphasize. Like a good teacher, I review and revisit the hard parts until the students understand the passages. 

The passive purgation leaves on completely in the dark, literally, the soul cannot see anything.

The ordinary "lights", such as meditations or devotions, prayers, or even the Hours, leave one dry and empty.

God is calling the soul to Himself and takes her out into the desert in order for her to see Him as He is and to love Him for Himself and not for what He can do for her.

This is real free love, the love with is not attached to anything else but God Himself.

St. John of the Cross: "God now denudes the faculties, the affections, and feelings, spiritual and sensual, interior and exterior, leaving the understanding in darkness, the will dry, the memory empty, the affections of the soul in the deepest affliction, bitterness, and distress; withholding from it the former sweetness it had in spiritual things." (2)

So many Catholics flee from this state, seeking the cookies and cake of consolations, and thereby slide back into sin and self-love. Those who follow this blog have many examples of this sliding back.

In the midst of all of this dryness, one must love in the will. One must will love. Love here is not a feeling or a sensation, but a decision. I think of Ruth, following Naomi into a new land, where she had no relatives, no status, no life. She only loved and followed love.

The sadness then experienced is very different from that which has its origin in neurasthenia, disillusions, or the contradictions of life. The chief difference is that the sadness of the passive purification of the spirit is accompanied by an ardent desire for God and perfection, by a persistent seeking after Him who alone can nourish the soul and vivify it. No longer only a sensible aridity, it is a dryness of the spiritual order, which springs, not from the deprivation of sensible consolations, but from the loss of the lights to which the soul was accustomed.

One must persist and beg God, if He is not giving the graces without this humility of begging. Seeking perfection must lead us to focus on Christ.

The soul should then walk "in the dark, in pure .faith, which is the dark night of the natural faculties." (3) It can no longer easily apply itself to the consideration of our Savior's humanity; on the contrary, it is deprived of such consideration, as were the apostles immediately after Christ's ascension into heaven. During the months preceding the Ascension, their intimacy with Him had grown daily; it had become their life, and then one day He took final leave of them on this earth, thus depriving them of the sight of Him and of His encouraging words. They must have felt very much alone, as it were, isolated, especially while thinking of the difficulties of the mission our Savior had entrusted to them: the evangelization of an impious world, plunged in all the errors of paganism. 

The apostles were too attached in a human way. 

On the evening of Ascension Day, the apostles must have experienced the impression of profound solitude, similar to that of the desert and of death. We can get a slight idea of this solitude, when, after living in a higher plane during a fervent retreat under the direction of a priest who is closely united to God, we return to ordinary everyday life, which seems suddenly to deprive us of this plenitude. The same thing is true, and indeed much more so, after the death of a father, of a founder of an order, for those whom he leaves and who must continue his work. Thus after Christ's ascension, the apostles remained gazing toward heaven; their beloved Master had been taken from their gaze, and they felt alone in the face of all the sufferings to come.

Even the apostles had to give up the physical presence of Christ in order to live in the Spirit.

They must then have recalled Christ's words: "I tell you the truth: it is expedient to you that I go. For if I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you." (4) "It is expedient to you that I go," that I deprive you of My sensible presence. In his commentary on St. John (loc. cit.), St. Thomas says: "The apostles were attached to the humanity of Christ, they did not rise sufficiently to the spiritual love of His divinity, and were not yet prepared to receive the Holy Ghost. . . who was to be given to them to console them and strengthen them in the midst of their tribulations."

This deprivation of the sensible presence of Christ's humanity which preceded the transformation of the apostles, effected on Pentecost, throws light on the state of darkness and desolation that we are discussing. It seems to the soul in this state that it enters a spiritual night, for it is deprived of the lights which hitherto illumined it; darkness descends as when the sun goes down.

To be continued...

This is excellent; read it

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100219138/leading-anglican-bishop-british-churches-have-capitulated-to-secularism-and-politically-correct-lessons-that-whitewash-islam/

Thanks to Damian Thompson on twitter for link.

Why is the Catholic Church Weak?

I believe there are two reasons why the Catholic Church is weak today.

First, the apostasy and sins of the clergy weaken the Church from within. One cannot list all the problems, but this blog has highlighted some. The spirit of disobedience has corrupted so many priests, monks, deacons...

Second, and perhaps the most significant reason is the fact that the laity has refused to allow God to purify them.

If egosim remains in the soul, the entire Church is weakened.

Here is Garrigou-Lagrange on the need for purgation at the later stages of growth, wherein most people back off and fail to produce real fruit. My comments are in blue.

THE DEPTHS OF THE WILL TO BE PURIFIED

Before St. John of the Cross, Tauler greatly insisted on the depths of our will, which need to be purified from the often unconscious egoism that has for long subsisted in it, leading us to disturbing and fruitless conversation with ourselves and not to tranquilizing and vivifying conversation with God.

Most of the time, we are talking to ourselves. We are talking, talking, talking and not listening.

Tauler (19) often speaks of the unconscious egoism that still inclines us to seek ourselves in everything and at times to judge our neighbor with severity while treating ourselves with great indulgence. This same egoism which makes us seek ourselves in many things is especially evident when trial strikes us; we are then completely upset and seek help, consolation, and counsel from without, where God is not to be found. We have not built our house sufficiently on Christ the rock, with the result that it lacks solidity. We have built on self, on self-will, which is equivalent to building on sand; thus at times there is great weakness underlying harshness of judgment.

The seeking of consolations is a mark of the very immature Catholic. Once one gets into this state of passive purgation, suffering brings REAL JOY.

Tauler declares: "There is only one way to triumph over these obstacles: God would have to take complete possession of the interior of the soul and occupy it, which happens only to His true friends. He sent us His only Son in order that the holy life of the God-Man, His great and perfect virtue, examples, teachings, and multiple sufferings might lift us above ourselves, make us leave ourselves completely (draw us from this depth of egoism), and that we might let our own pallid light disappear in the true and essential light." (20)

This does not happen all at once. One must beg, in most circumstances, the Divinity to take complete control one's life. It is much easier if one has left all to follow Jesus, much easier.

Let Christ invite you to take up HIS Cross, not the ones you may choose. Give the entire life of your body, soul, mind, heart to God.

"This light [of the Word made flesh] shines in the darkness, but the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1:5). None but the poor in spirit and those who are completely stripped of self, of self-love, and of their individual wills, receive this light. There are many who have been materially poor for forty years and who have never received the slightest [interior] ray of it. Through their senses and reason, they know thoroughly what is said of this light, but, in its essence, they have never tasted it; it is foreign to them and remains far from them." (21)

Merely to be poor does not bring holiness and this stage of purgation. No. One must will the poverty and live it fully, not living in deceit. And, there are many types of poverty, such as loneliness or misunderstanding. These, too, can lead one to the altar of the soul where self-love is finally sacrificed.

Again Tauler says: "It is thus that, whereas simple common folk followed our Lord, the Pharisees, the princes of the priests and the scribes, every class that had the appearance of sanctity, harshly opposed Him and ended by putting Him to death." (22) God is the grandeur of humble souls, and His very lofty ways remain hidden to our pride.

How many times have I myself judged others, and have been judged unfairly.

When one is walking with God in the land of the letting go of self, one no longer cares about criticisms from those who judge unfairly.

We see, consequently, to what extremities we may be led by this depth of egoism and pride which blinds us and hinders us from recognizing our sins. Therefore it is important that the light of life of living faith and of the gifts of the Holy Ghost should penetrate the depths of our intellect and, as it were, the root of our will.

This is NOT an emotional process, but a rational one. The root of the will is in the intellect and not the emotions. It is in the soul, and not the passions.

The passions must have been purified at the earlier stage.

That we may receive this light and these gifts, it is not sufficient to know the letter of the Gospel and adhere to it; we must assimilate its spirit profoundly. Otherwise, appearing as Christians and using the language of Christians, we would preserve in the depths of our being something which is not Christian and which resists the light of life. 

That is a good description of the Pharisees.

There would be in the depths of our intellect and will as it were a citadel which would serve as a refuge for self-love, which is unwilling to surrender and to allow the reign of God to be profoundly and eternally established in us. Thereby certain souls, that think themselves quite advanced but that do not recognize their defects, are in greater peril than the common run of men who admit that they are sinners and who preserve the fear of God.

I cannot stress enough that to whom more is given, more is expected. Many lay people back off, into mediocrity, at this stage. They do not want to leave their comfort zones. One must. This backing off from this purification of the will is what has weakened the Church of the laity. The laity are not living the life of the virtues and the fruits of the Spirit because they have run away from process of purification. When they mentally settle for purgatory and not heaven, the Church's ministry is undermined.

Fear of God defeats both self-will and presumption. This little citadel, wherein lies the self-will, must be stormed by God. If one keeps running back into the castle of the self, God cannot speak to the heart and mind and will. And, as John Donne states, our soul must capitulate. 

Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you,

As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;

That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend

Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.

I, like an usurp'd town to another due,

Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end;

Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,

But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue,

Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov'd fain,

But am betroth'd unto your enemy;

Divorce me, untie or break that knot again,

Take me to you, imprison me, for I,

Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,

Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

Thanks to wiki for photo

At this stage, we may not even recognize who we are. We are so different, so new, so other than what we have been before, that we need direction.

Consequently we should meditate on Tauler's conclusion: "Therefore, well-beloved children, employ all your activity, both of soul and body, to obtain that this true light may shine in you in such a way that you may taste it. In this way you will be able to return to your origin, where the true light shines. Desire, ask, with nature and without nature,(23) that this grace may be granted to you. Employ all your energy to this end, pray to the friends of God that they may help you in this work; attach yourself to those who are attached to God in order that they may lead you to God with them. 

and further down in this section, one of the most important ideas-the necessity of accepting suffering:

This passive purification will certainly not be without suffering, and, as St. John of the Cross teaches, it will even be a mystical death, the death to self, the disintegration of self-love, which until then has resisted grace, at times with great obstinacy. Here pride must receive the deathblow that it may give place to genuine humility, a virtue which has been compared to the deepest root of a tree, a root which buries itself so much the more deeply in the soil as the loftiest branch, the symbol of charity, rises higher toward the sky.

For some of us, this is illness, or infirmity, or failure in the world, or even serious sin repented of and confessed...for some this is the death of loved ones, poverty, displacement, loss...Pride must go!

This center of the soul, the refuge of personal judgment and self-­love that is often very subtle, must be illumined by the divine light and filled by God, rendered completely healthy, and vivified. On the feast of the Purification, at Mass and in the procession each person carries a lighted candle, the symbol of the light of life that each should bear in the innermost depths of his soul. This light of life was given to man on the first day of creation; extinguished by sin, it was rekindled by the grace of conversion and by the hope of the promised Redeemer. This light grew in the souls of the patriarchs and the prophets until the coming of Christ, "a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of . . . Israel," as the aged Simeon said in his beautiful canticle, Nunc dimittis, on the occasion of the presentation of Jesus in the Temple.

There is NO LIGHT without purification first. All who think there is are looking at a false light, a light which seems good but is not. Only the light of Christ, in fact, Christ Himself, Who is the Light of the World, can lead us through purification to new life and the living out of the fruit of the Holy Ghost, especially charity.

This same light of life, which grew in humanity until the advent of the Messias, should also grow in each of our souls from baptism until our entrance into heaven. It should gradually illumine and vivify the very center of our intellect and our heart that this depth may be not an obscure depth of egoism, personal judgment, and resistance to grace, but a depth of light and goodness where the Holy Ghost, the source of living water springing up into eternal life, may reign increasingly.

Suffering is the only way, the only. The acceptance of suffering is key.

From what we have just said it is evident that the passive purification of the spirit, made necessary by the defects of proficients, is the decisive struggle between two spirits: the spirit of pride, which may grow even to blasphemy, to hatred of God, and despair, and that of humility and charity, which is eternal life begun in us. These two conflicting spirits may be symbolized by two trees, one of which illustrates the teaching of St. Gregory the Great and St. Thomas on the roots and results of the seven capital sins, while the other explains their doctrine on humility and charity, and the connection of these virtues with the other virtues and the seven gifts.

To be continued.....tomorrow, more on the Dark Night of the Soul, which I visited the other day.

A bit of confusion on the meaning of love here

http://www.itv.com/news/2013-05-29/gay-married-couple-to-claim-place-in-french-history/

A few hints from someone I know who is very poor

When you give to the poor:

1) do not give them the oldest clothes you have; give them something very nice--if you would not wear it, why should they?; remember they need good shoes, warm clothes;

2) if you give them food, do not give them left overs or tons of cheap Ramen noodles--give them what you would eat for supper;

3) if you give, do not keep reminding them how fortunate they are to have you as a benefactor--humility goes both ways, and the poor have already been humbled by circumstances; you have not been so humiliated;

4) if you give, do not assume you will get anything back from them or others--your reward is in heaven;

5) when you have known them for awhile, invite them to your house for dinner--the poor are marginalized and cast out of polite society;

6) when you have known them for awhile, drive them to Church and Adoration--they would love to go but have no bus money and most likely do not live in the parishes you do; do not push, but invite;

7) never judge--some very poor people have illustrious parentage and heritage, but have fallen on bad times or have been very ill and suffered poverty from illness-this could happen to anyone; many people in England are extremely judgmental of the poor; this is a great evil; do not criticize them if they smell bad; they may not have the means to wash themselves daily or wash their clothes;

8) offer to help them with prescription bills or doctor's bills--socialism does not cover everything, of course;

9) offer to help find them work; most of the poor want to work but cannot find positions and as the poor, they have no contacts, no networking;

10) if they have children, you have a double duty to care for the children in many ways;

11) remember, many passed by Mary, Joseph and Jesus on the way to Egypt and legend has it that only the future good thief helped them;

12) if you think you have never met a poor person, look again; you are not seeing properly;

13) do not merely given to organizations, get involved with people; that is real love;

If you see a poor man or woman or child, you are looking at the Crucified One. Would you help Him?

Ah, the Vatican media; playing catch-up

Well, I hope the Vatican does not have to explain everything the Pope says. Here is a partial list of the true teaching of the Catholic Church. I hate bullets, but these evaded my delete button.

• Saint Irenaeus (died A.D. 202): “[The Church] is the entrance to life; all others are thieves and robbers. On this account we are bound to avoid them… We hear it declared of the unbelieving and the blinded of this world that they shall not inherit the world of life which is to come… Resist them in defense of the only true and life giving faith, which the Church has received from the Apostles and imparted to her sons.” (Against Heresies , Book III)
  Origen (died A.D. 254): “Let no man deceive himself. Outside this house, that is, outside the Church no one is saved.” (In Iesu Nave homiliae )
  Saint Cyprian (died A.D. 258): “He who has turned his back on the Church of Christ shall not come to the rewards of Christ; he is an alien, a worldling, an enemy. You cannot have God for your Father if you have not the Church for your mother. Our Lord warns us when He says: `he that is not with Me is against Me, and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth.’ Whosoever breaks the peace and harmony of Christ acts against Christ; whoever gathers elsewhere than in the Church scatters the Church of Christ.” (Unity of the Catholic Church )
  “He who does not hold this unity, does not hold the law of God, does not hold the faith of the Father and the Son, does not hold life and salvation.” (Patrologiae Cursus Completus: Latina , Father Migne)
  “Nay, though they should suffer death for the confession of the Name, the guilt of such men is not removed even by their blood…No martyr can he be who is not in the Church.” (Ancient Christian Writers )
  Bishop Firmilean (died A.D. 269): “What is the greatness of his error, and what the depth of his blindness, who says that remission of sins can be granted in the synagogues of heretics, and does not abide on the foundation of the one Church.” (Anti-Nicene Fathers )
  Lactantius (died A.D. 310): “It is the Catholic Church alone which retains true worship. This is the fountain of truth, this is the abode of the Faith, this is the temple of God; into which if anyone shall not enter, or from which if anyone shall go out, he is a stranger to the hope of life and eternal salvation.” (The Divine Institutes )
  Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (died A.D. 386): “Abhor all heretics…heed not their fair speaking or their mock humility; for they are serpents, a `brood of vipers.’ Remember that, when Judas said `Hail Rabbi,’ the salutation was an act of betrayal. Do not be deceived by the kiss but beware of the venom. Abhor such men, therefore, and shun the blasphemers of the Holy Spirit, for whom there is no pardon. For what fellowship have you with men without hope. Let us confidently say to God regarding all heretics, `Did I not hate, O Lord, those who hated Thee, and did I not pine away because of Your enemies?’ For there is an enmity that is laudable, as it is written, `I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed.’ Friendship with the serpent produces enmity with God, and death. Let us shun those from whom God turns away.” (The Fathers of the Church )
  Saint Ambrose (died A.D. 397): “Where Peter is therefore, there is the Church. Where the Church is there is not death but life eternal. …Although many call themselves Christians, they usurp the name and do not have the reward.” (The Fathers of the Church )
  Bishop Niceta of Remesiana (died A.D. 415): “He is the Way along which we journey to our salvation; the Truth, because He rejects what is false; the Life, because He destroys death. …All who from the beginning of the world were, or are, or will be justified – whether Patriarchs, like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or Prophets, whether Apostles or martyrs, or any others – make up one Church, because they are made holy by one faith and way of life, stamped with one Spirit, made into one Body whose Head, as we are told, is Christ. I go further. The angels and virtues and powers in heaven are co-members in this one Church, for, as the Apostle teaches us, in Christ `all things whether on the earth or in the heavens have been reconciled.’ You must believe, therefore, that in this one Church you are gathered into the Communion of Saints. You must know that this is the one Catholic Church established throughout the world, and with it you must remain in unshaken communion. There are, indeed, other so called `churches’ with which you can have no communion. …These `churches’ cease to be holy, because they were deceived by the doctrines of the devil to believe and behave differently from what Christ commanded and from the tradition of the Apostles.” (The Fathers of the Church )
  Saint Jerome (died A.D. 420): “As I follow no leader save Christ, so I communicate with none but your blessedness, that is, with the Chair of Peter. For this, I know, is the rock on which the Church is built. …This is the ark of Noah, and he who is not found in it shall perish when the flood prevails. …And as for heretics, I have never spared them; on the contrary, I have seen to it in every possible way that the Church’s enemies are also my enemies.” (Manual of Patrology and History of Theology )
  Saint Augustine (died A.D. 430): “No man can find salvation except in the Catholic Church. Outside the Catholic Church one can have everything except salvation. One can have honor, one can have the sacraments, one can sing alleluia, one can answer amen, one can have faith in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and preach it too, but never can one find salvation except in the Catholic Church.” (Sermo ad Caesariensis Ecclesia plebem )
  Saint Fulgentius (died A.D. 533): “Most firmly hold and never doubt that not only pagans, but also all Jews, all heretics, and all schismatics who finish this life outside of the Catholic Church, will go into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Enchiridion Patristicum )
  St. Bede the Venerable (died A.D. 735): “Just as all within the ark were saved and all outside of it were carried away when the flood came, so when all who are pre-ordained to eternal life have entered the Church, the end of the world will come and all will perish who are found outside.” (Hexaemeron )
  Saint Thomas Aquinas (died A.D. 1274): “There is no entering into salvation outside the Church, just as in the time of the deluge there was none outside the ark, which denotes the Church.” (Summa Theologiae )
  Saint Peter Canisius (died A.D. 1597): “Outside of this communion – as outside of the ark of Noah – there is absolutely no salvation for mortals: not for Jews or pagans who never received the faith of the Church, nor for heretics who, having received it, corrupted it; neither for the excommunicated or those who for any other serious cause deserve to be put away and separated from the body of the Church like pernicious members…for the rule of Cyprian and Augustine is certain: he will not have God for his Father who would not have the Church for his mother.” (Catechismi Latini et Germanici )
  Saint Robert Bellarmine (died A.D. 1621): “Outside the Church there is no salvation…therefore in the symbol [Apostles Creed] we join together the Church with the remission of sins: `I believe in the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins’…For this reason the Church is compared with the ark of Noah, because just as during the deluge, everyone perished who was not in the ark, so now those perish who are not in the Church.” (De Sacramento Baptismi )
  “There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved.” (Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215.)
• "We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” (Pope Boniface VIII, the Bull Unam Sanctam, 1302.)
• “The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless before death they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church unto salvation, and they alone can receive an eternal recompense for their fasts, their almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier. No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remain within the bosom and the unity of the Catholic Church.” (Pope Eugene IV, the Bull Cantate Domino, 1441.)

And more good stuff from Catholic.org here. Thanks to that site for the above quotations.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/catholic-church-confirms-atheists-still-go-to-hell-after-pope-francis-suggests-they-might-go-to-heaven-8634479.html

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000806_dominus-iesus_en.html

Just read the Dominus Iesus linked above. 

Maybe the Pope should not be SO spontaneous, or at least, sack the liberals in the media office

From the New Liturgical Movement-Pope Francis and the TLM

http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/index.html#5523658895863409510

A saint for home schoolers, perhaps.

St. Madeline Sophie Barat, whose feast it is today, had a great love of Classical Education, as I do. I suggest home schooling mums and dads pray to her for all their needs and the needs of their children. She loved the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Read more here.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02283a.htm

Really slanted views....

The world is crooked. Still cannot find my glasses.

Christian Persecution Watch Updates from the Main Media

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/05/28/new-christian-pastor-detained-church-closed-in-iran/

http://ansamed.ansa.it/ansamed/en/news/sections/politics/2013/05/28/Syria-Christians-greatest-victims-bloodshed-Chacour_8779323.html

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-05-25/pakistan/39520841_1_pakistan-sikh-minorities-ramesh-singh (new categories for dhimmis will affect Christians)

Thanks to the great Christian Spencer for these links. Also, I am being watched by several Islamic addresses. Pray, as this happens every time I post things like this-a clear pattern. And, people insist there is no difference in religions.

Pray to the Wonderful St. Cuthman for the King Post

One of the patron's of Sussex

One of the saints of Sussex is St. Cuthman. Recently, I was introduced to his prayer, which struck a chord in my soul. I share it with you. Perhaps, St. Cuthman will help God bring the holy house of prayer to a
Walsingham.  There is a GREAT history with many of the things noted here about him at this website. Click here for another version of the Burton interpretation discussed below.

He was very poor, a simple shepherd, who pushed his mum miles in a wheelbarrow, when they had to leave their home to beg for food.

His simple faith inspired others to help him build a Church, and one is on the site today in Steyning, where he ended his journey.

May God bless my building, which would obviously not be of my doing, but God's alone.

"Father Almighty, you have brought my wanderings to an end; now enable me to begin this work. For who am I, Lord, that I should build a house to name? If I rely on myself, it will be of no avail, but it is you who will assist me. You have given me the desire to be a builder; make up for my lack of skill, and bring the work of building this holy house to its completion."

There is another connection, as I just finished a play on the history of Walsingham and am approaching groups to produce it. Christopher Fry wrote a play on St. Cuthman in which Richard Burton played the saint. Here is a quotation from the play, thanks to Wiki, from which I found the above prayer as well here.

It is there in the story of Cuthman, the working together

Of man and God like root and sky; the son
Of a Cornish shepherd, Cuthman, the boy with a cart,

The boy we saw trudging the sheep-tracks with his mother 
Mile upon mile over five counties; one

Fixed purpose biting his heels and lifting his heart.

We saw him; we saw him with a grass in his mouth, chewing

And travelling. We saw him building at last

A church among whortleberries…

Here is Richard Burton with the scene from the play,  but a better one, which I could not copy is from the amazing website above under website. This reading is good but the other one is superb.

St. Cuthman and his mum in the wheelbarrow are found in a misericord in Ripon Cathedral.

 I, of course, love the area around Fountains Abbey more than any place in the world. But, he and mum are also depicted in the Horsham Heritage Sundial, found at this site. The above sculpture is also from the sundial.

Pray to St. Cuthman for me, and the holy house project. By the way, the name of the house now is King's Lodge, but I would change it to King's Post if St. Cuthman helps me. You can listen to Richard Burton to find out why. The holy house with stamp duty would cost 432,000 pound sterling.

The Abuse at Eucharistic Adoration

I am saddened, again, by the abuse of the Eucharist in Adoration at Walsingham. This is the second time this has happened to my knowledge, and perhaps this is a regular event. If so, many priests need to read GIRM.

The Rules for Eucharistic Adoration are not new and were underlined by Blessed John Paul II. Many of the odd abuses which happened this weekend follow.

First, Adoration is the main purpose of Exposition. The people are to be at least five feet away from the Monstrance so that the do not touch it. This was not done.

Second, the Monstrance is to be on the altar, and for extended Adoration, on a throne-like structure. Four to six candles must be lit. The first part was not followed because of this odd taking of the Monstrance into the congregation and blessing every one, in a healing ceremony. There is not such thing in GIRM as a healing Adoration and Benediction.

Third, the people were touching the humeral veil.

Four, the priest was not wearing the proper vestments as indicated in GIRM.

Sadly, there is no bishop in this diocese, and has not been for a couple of years. Perhaps this is the reason why there are aberrations.

If this type of thing is happening in your diocese, question it.

Why I do not trust charismatics in England

Again, during this past weekend in Walsingham, I had the unhappy experience of hearing nonsense and even magical thinking from charismatics.

What has happened here is that the charismatics have fallen into several traps.

I want to list these, as these traps can lead to the loss of the True Faith, through deception.

Let me list the traps.

One, the first and most horrible problem is thinking like a protestant. Catholics have a very long history of Tradition and the correct Revelation, using bad translations, for example, such as the Good News Bible.

Thinking like a protestant means not understanding the process of holiness, and the purgation of the inner person, soul, mind, heart. Such experiences such as resting or being slain in the Spirit may be totally emotional and based on manipulation.

This has nothing to do with the ecstasy which follows the purgation stage.

Second, charismatics here undermine consistently the authority of the Church by practicing so-called healing and deliverance outside the normal channels of the hierarchy. Not only does this indicate a disobedience in the soul, but a disdain for authority, or an arrogance in which these people think they are holier than Rome.

Three, again, as in the last post, too many seek the consolations and not the Cross.

to be continued...

Teddy Bears' Picnic-The Candy and Not the Cross

I feel like I am preaching to the choir and cannot get through to those who should be reading and are not.

I love my readers. I get positive feedback 80% of the time, which is a great percentage.

However, one thing I realized this weekend is that those who should be reading this blog are not.

The anti-intellectual attitude of most Catholics I am meeting here means that these people do not read things online. Nothing.

They do not take advantage of the Vatican website with all the archives of excellent encyclicals and apostolic letters. They do not read the great priest bloggers, whom we all know and love. There are many.

They do not read. And most of them I have met this past weekend are Baby Boomers. Many have computers which they seem to use for social network, but not research or learning.

The CCC is completely online. I am constantly surprised at the refusal of adults to use what is available for learning.

Instead, they spend money going on pilgrimages across Europe, thousands of euros, not looking at the necessity of fulfilling their baptismal vows, which includes learning the Faith. Reading the elocutions of seers daily is not a substitute for learning doctrine, or understanding what one says in the Creed. Most people do not approach books on the understanding of sacraments and approach these as if these were magic. Examples of this mind-set was exhibited just this week past, when someone believed Catholic women ordained as priests were real priests. And, secondly, another person believing that and actually going ahead with arranging Anglican baptisms for two grandchildren being raised by an atheist and a fallen-away Catholic. Sacraments are not "magic" and I have written on this before. The Church's teaching is that one of the parents must be Catholic and raise the child Catholic.

All of these activities which do not form one's Faith are indications of Gnosticism. People want to be "in" with the latest knowledge, without being able to discern such things to be false or true.

As to pilgrimages, these are not sacraments and  do not make one holy. In fact, one a year or even one a lifetime, should be sufficient for those who love pilgrimages, but not six or seven times a year. My point is that to constantly seek out the experiential is not to learn one's Faith.

Growth is interior and painful, not exterior. Until an adult realizes that the interior life must be formed, growth is hindered seriously. Purgatory is the place where those who refuse to go through the purgations on earth, which demand some silence and prayer, go, to endure the final cleansing, and sadly, to also endure punishment for not responding to grace. I work out my salvation, as St. Paul writes, in fear and trembling.

Pray for these theologically and even catechetically illiterates, who refuse to grow up. Again, they want the candy and not the cross. They want magic, not work.

Our priests have so much work to do, so please pray for them as well.

Some adults only want the rest of their life to be a Teddy Bears' Picnic. Sorry, it is grow-up time.

Thank goodness. A priest writing about gay identity

http://www.catholicbandita.com/fr-derek-lappe-says-gay-identity-not-acceptable-for-catholics/

Thanks to Catholic Bandita.

Goodbye to Walsingham

If you follow this blog, you would know that I come up here yearly. This is my third year here. God has a plan. I am writing about another aspect of this plan soon. Please pray and perhaps help the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus come to Walsingham. There is too much New Age and sin here for a National Shrine. 

The Presence of the Holy Host, the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus changes places as well as people. Christ is calling out to those who are listening to reclaim this town for Himself and His Mother. Please be open and listen.

"The Last Plantagenet"

I posted something about this great saint last year. Margaret Pole remains one of the most interesting saints of the horrible purge of Henry VIII, and one of his most famous victims. She was obviously a saint before her martyrdom. One of her sons, Reginald, became Cardinal Pole, the last Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury.

I share these links with you this morning. May she intercede for all of us.

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/treasure-which-is-montacute-and-blessed.html

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/blessed-margaret-pole.html

Pray to her for me today, please, as I have yet another cross which is a physical ailment. God is good and I offer up all trials for someone to become a holy priest. And, if anyone wants to read her life, here is a link to a book on her, which I have not read, but would love to do so. I am praying and putting out feelers for the Tyburn-Walsingham connection-Adoration in the fields of the martyrs. Please continue to pray for that cause-the house of prayer in Walsingham.

Manners, a new perspective

I have written many times on this blog on the necessity of teaching manners to the young ones.

However, in the past week, I have developed a new perspective on manners which may help my readers understand the necessity of such.

First of all, the reason that children and teens, plus some young adults do not have manners is that their parents and even grandparents do not.

I was startled several times by over 60s people in the past few days thinking only of themselves and their needs, and being rude in public. Aggressive training for the over 60s is not a need in this country. I am also now aware of a second point.

This point revolves around the adoration of "spontaneity". Many Baby Boomers and Gen Xers here in England have this love affair with doing things without planning and without consideration. Spontaneity has become more important than organization, as it is, to some, "more sincere".

Of course, this attitude in which even sincerity is raised to the level of a virtue, which it is not, stems from a shallowness based loosely on some rebellion against order and authority. Why so many Catholic adults exhibit this attitude is not a mystery.

Third, the entitlement mentality affects the old just as much as the young. Sadly, there is a hidden class agenda here, which is the inverse of what one would think. The so-called lower classes, or working classes, now feel that they have a right to be rude to those who are more gentile because the virtues surrounding manners are no longer valued. This rebellion connects with the wannabee drive for success and status.
Catholics are not exempt.

Fourth, manners indicate weakness to some now. Gone are the days when people understand that manners are really the sign of strength. Manners come out of a code which demands humility and the honoring of the other person first, rather than the selfish clinging for place and attention. I find it so interesting, and sad, that older people have lost manners they must have learned as children and adopted the idea that humility is weakness and not a virtue. Obviously, this attitude is worldly and not Christian.

To not care about the other is a lack of charity. Charity is the mark of the saint and the exhibition of manners falls under the action of charity. To be mannerly is to love the other and respect the dignity and needs of the other.

How foreign these ideals have become in 2013.

To be continued....