Doctors of the Church 2:26 Out of Order for Today's Feast Day

Monday, 4 March 2013

Anything is possible this week....Part 67: DoC: St. Ambrose and Perfection

Posted by Supertradmum

All on one week, the next Doctor of the Church to be considered, St. Ambrose,  was baptised  ordained and consecrated bishop of Milan. In the next section of this series, I shall look at the rest of  Latin Doctors of the Church, from the classical period.

SS. Ambrose, Jerome, and Gregory the Great, will finish this section, which began with Augustine of Hippo.

I shall begin with two small sections from Ambrose'  On the Duties of the Clergy, found here: (and my comments are in red):

Chapter 11.

It is proved by the witness of Scripture that all duty is either ordinary or perfect. To which is added a word in praise of mercy, and an exhortation to practise it.

36. Every duty is either ordinary or perfect, a fact which we can also confirm by the authority of the Scriptures. For we read in the Gospel that the Lord said: If you will enter into life, keep the commandments. He says: Which? Jesus said to him: You shall do no murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honour your father and your mother, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. These are ordinary duties, to which something is wanting.

Well, the first thing, repeated many times here for all of us, is to break away from sin by allowing God to take us through purgation of sins and to move into the life of the virtues...One sees Christ using the word "perfect" in this passage below. I have left the links on the Scripture references.

37. Upon this the young man says to Him: All these things have I kept from my youth up, what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him: If you will be perfect, go and sell all your goods and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come and follow Me. Matthew 19:20-21 And earlier the same is written, where the Lord says that we must love our enemies, and pray for those that falsely accuse and persecute us, and bless those that curse us. Matthew 5:44 This we are bound to do, if we would be perfect as our Father Who is in heaven; Who bids the sun to shed his rays over the evil and the good, and makes the lands of the whole universe fertile with rain and dew without any distinction. Matthew 5:45 This, then, is a perfect duty (the Greeks call itκατόρθωμα), whereby all things are put right which could have any failings in them.

Ambrose writes here, that the clergy are especially called to perfection. But, all of us are....

38. Mercy, also, is a good thing, for it makes men perfect, in that it imitates the perfect Father.Nothing graces the Christian soul so much as mercy; mercy as shown chiefly towards the poor, that you may treat them as sharers in common with you in the produce of nature, which brings forth the fruits of the earth for use to all. Thus you may freely give to a poor man what you have, and in this way help him who is your brother and companion. Thou bestowest silver; he receives life. You give money; he considers it his fortune. Your coin makes up all his property.

39. Further, he bestows more on you than thou on him, since he is your debtor in regard to your salvation. If you clothe the naked, you clothe yourself with righteousness; if you bring the stranger under your roof, if you support the needy, he procures for you the friendship of the saints and eternal habitations. That is no small recompense. You sow earthly things and receive heavenly. Do you wonder at the judgment of God in the case of holy Job? Wonder rather at his virtue, in that he could say: I was an eye to the blind, and a foot to the lame. I was a father to the poor. Their shoulders were made warm with the skins of my lambs. The stranger dwelt not at my gates, but my door was open to every one that came. Job 29:15-16 Clearly blessed is he from whose house a poor man has never gone with empty hand. Nor again is any one more blessed than he who is sensible of the needs of the poor, and the hardships of the weak and helpless. In the day of judgment he will receive salvation from the Lord, Whom he will have as his debtor for the mercy he has shown.

This is the duty to live out the corporal works of mercy and the spiritual works of mercy, mentioned on this blog in the past. These ARE NOT OPTIONS.

And, for youth, who have duties which are both those which are ordinary and those which are towards perfection, Ambrose states this....

Chapter 17.

The duties of youth, and examples suitable to that age, are next put forth.

65. Since it has been made sufficiently plain that there will be punishment for wickedness and reward for virtue, let us proceed to speak of the duties which have to be borne in mind from our youth up, that they may grow with our years. A good youth ought to have a fear of God, to be subject to his parents, to give honour to his elders, to preserve his purity; he ought not to despise humility, but should love forbearance and modesty. All these are an ornament to youthful years. For as seriousness is the true grace of an old man, and ardour of a young man, so also is modesty, as though by some gift of nature, well set off in a youth.

66. Isaac feared the Lord, as was indeed but natural in the son of Abraham; being subject also to his father to such an extent that he would not avoid death in opposition to his father's will. Genesis 22:9 Joseph also, though he dreamed that sun and moon and stars made obeisance to him, yet was subject to his father's will with ready obedience. Genesis 37:9 So chaste was he, he would not hear even a word unless it were pure; humble was he even to doing the work of a slave, modest, even to taking flight, enduring, even to bearing imprisonment, so forgiving of wrong as even to repay it with good. Whose modesty was such, that, when seized by a woman, he preferred to leave his garment in her hands in flight, rather than to lay aside his modesty.Genesis 39:12 Moses, Exodus 4:10 also, and Jeremiah, Jeremiah 1:6 chosen by the Lord to declare the words of God to the people, were for avoiding, through modesty, that which through grace they could do.

To be continued........And, by the way, the Four Latin Fathers, or Latin Doctors, are Ambrose, Augustine of Hippo, Jerome and Gregory the Great.

Tuesday, 5 March 2013

Part 68: DoC: St. Ambrose and Perfection

Posted by Supertradmum

In Chapter 18 on his book on perfection for the clergy, Ambrose takes a digression into speaking to youth on modesty. He connects modesty with chastity.

On the different functions of modesty. How it should qualify both speech and silence, accompany chastity, commend our prayers to God, govern our bodily motions; on which last point reference is made to two clerics in language by no means unsuited to its object. Further he proceeds to say that one's gait should be in accordance with that same virtue, and how careful one must be that nothing immodest come forth from one's mouth, or be noticed in one's body. All these points are illustrated with very appropriate examples.

67. Lovely, then, is the virtue of modesty, and sweet is its grace! It is seen not only in actions, but even in our words, so that we may not go beyond due measure in speech, and that our words may not have an unbecoming sound. The mirror of our mind often enough reflects its image in our words. Sobriety weighs out the sound even of our voice, for fear that too loud a voice should offend the ear of any one. Nay, in singing itself the first rule is modesty, and the same is true in every kind of speech, too, so that a man may gradually learn to praise God, or to sing songs, or even to speak, in that the principles of modesty grace his advance.

Some people think that what we call "manners" are things with which society can dispense. On the edge of the fall of the Roman Empire. as the barbarians were edging towards Rome, a fall which was inevitable, but in the future, Ambrose could see that there was a need for grace in speech and deportment.

Wouldn't it be nice if those in the Catholic Church before and after Mass understood the necessity for silence? Would it not be wonderful if those in the media would understand reticence?

68. Silence, again, wherein all the other virtues rest, is the chief act of modesty. Only, if it is supposed to be a sign of a childish or proud spirit, it is accounted a reproach; if a sign of modesty, it is reckoned for praise. Susanna was silent in danger, and thought the loss of modesty was worse than loss of life. She did not consider that her safety should be guarded at the risk of her chastity. To God alone she spoke, to Whom she could speak out in true modesty. She avoided looking on the face of men. For there is also modesty in the glance of the eye, which makes a woman unwilling to look upon men, or to be seen by them.

Too often in our culture, we believe that speech must be aggressive to be taken seriously. We believe that speech shows integrity, and silence means deception. This is a new and odd idea which has grown with the over-stimulation of the media.


The silent man or woman was honored in older stories and folktales, as those listening could understand that humility meant reflection, reticent, right judgement, a quiet spirit. Youth do not have to be loud.

69. Let no one suppose that this praise belongs to chastity alone. For modesty is the companion of purity, in company with which chastity itself is safer. Shame, again, is good as a companion and guide of chastity, inasmuch as it does not suffer purity to be defiled in approaching even the outskirts of danger. This it is that, at the very outset of her recognition, commends the Mother of the Lord to those who read the Scriptures, and, as a credible witness, declares her worthy to be chosen to such an office. For when in her chamber, alone, she is saluted by the angel, she is silent, and is disturbed at his entrance, and the Virgin's face is troubled at the strange appearance of a man's form. And so, though she was humble, yet it was not because of this, but on account of her modesty, that she did not return his salutation, nor give him any answer, except to ask, when she had learned that she should conceive the Lord, how this should be. She certainly did not speak merely for the sake of making a reply.


Silence marks the mature Christian who does not have to prove anything to anybody. 

Are we too argumentative just for the sake of pride? Can we not wait, listen, reflect?

The silence of the desert fathers and the monastic life of Ambrose indicated a healthy balance of contemplation and action.

One gives up rights in being silent. The humble man is wiser than he who speaks too much and about nonsense.

I am an idea person. Too many conversations are about things, such as vacations, cars, clothes. How sad that people are stuck in the pride of goods, rather than in the contemplation of God.

70. In our very prayers, too, modesty is most pleasing, and gains us much grace from our God. Was it not this that exalted the publican, and commended him, when he dared not raise even his eyes to heaven? Luke 18:13-14 So he was justified by the judgment of the Lord rather than the Pharisee, whom overweening pride made so hideous. Therefore let us pray in the incorruptibility of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price, 1 Peter 3:4 as St. Peter says. A noble thing, then, is modesty, which, though giving up its rights, seizing on nothing for itself, laying claim to nothing, and in some ways somewhat retiring within the sphere of its own powers, yet is rich in the sight of God, in Whose sight no man is rich. Rich is modesty, for it is the portion of God. Paul also bids that prayer be offered up with modesty and sobriety. 1 Timothy 2:9 He desires that this should be first, and, as it were, lead the way of prayers to come, so that the sinner's prayer may not be boastful, but veiled, as it were, with the blush of shame, may merit a far greater degree of grace, in giving way to modesty at the remembrance of its fault.

The is nothing wrong with shame. Shame means one is not arrogant about sin.

71. Modesty must further be guarded in our very movements and gestures and gait. For the condition of the mind is often seen in the attitude of the body. For this reason the hidden man of our heart (our inner self) is considered to be either frivolous, boastful, or boisterous, or, on the other hand, steady, firm, pure, and dependable. Thus the movement of the body is a sort of voice of the soul.

I know some ladies who have commented here and on other blogs would disagree with this reading. However, I am convinced that deportment mirrors virtue.

Why we have, as a culture, come to prize a lack of manners with honesty is beyond me.

How we hold ourselves, body language, can be that of walking in virtue and peace.

72. You remember, my children, that a friend of ours who seemed to recommend himself by his assiduity in his duties, yet was not admitted by me into the number of the clergy, because his gestures were too unseemly. Also that I bade one, whom I found already among the clergy, never to go in front of me, because he actually pained me by the seeming arrogance of his gait. That is what I said when he returned to his duty after an offense committed. This alone I would not allow, nor did my mind deceive me. For both have left the Church. What their gait betrayed them to be, such were they proved to be by the faithlessness of their hearts. The one forsook his faith at the time of the Arian troubles; the other, through love of money, denied that he belonged to us, so that he might not have to undergo sentence at the hands of the Church. In their gait was discernible the semblance of fickleness, the appearance, as it were, of wandering buffoons.


Ambrose is referring to arrogance. I see it at dinner parties. The loud man who must boast of his business acumen, his success. Such a man is graceless.

I see it in women who dress younger than their years. A forty-seven year old walking and dressing like a teen indicates a disjoint in the soul.

A conversation behind me on a bus loud and full of self-righteous gossip can prove to be two hardened hearts, as charity is lacking.

A narcissist cannot stop interrupting or talking. These things show a lack of virtue and maturity.

Why do we value these coarse traits?

73. Some there are who in walking perceptibly copy the gestures of actors, and act as though they were bearers in the processions, and had the motions of nodding statues, to such an extent that they seem to keep a sort of time, as often as they change their step.

74. Nor do I think it becoming to walk hurriedly, except when a case of some danger demands it, or a real necessity. For we often see those who hurry come up panting, and with features distorted. But if there is no reason for the need of such hurry, it gives cause for just offense. I am not, however, talking of those who have to hurry now and then for some particular reason, but of those to whom, by the yoke of constant habit, it has become a second nature. In the case of the former I cannot approve of their slow solemn movements, which remind one of the forms of phantoms. Nor do I care for the others with their headlong speed, for they put one in mind of the ruin of outcasts.

Ambrose is referring to the road-rage of his time.

I see this in Bayswater. Men walking on the pavement not making way for women, not deferring to ladies.

This is a violence of our times, a sign of arrogance and superiority. 

75. A suitable gait is that wherein there is an appearance of authority and weight and dignity, and which has a calm collected bearing. But it must be of such a character that all effort and conceit may be wanting, and that it be simple and plain. Nothing counterfeit is pleasing. Let nature train our movements. If indeed there is any fault in our nature, let us mend it with diligence. And, that artifice may be wanting, let not amendment be wanting.

Modesty and manners indicate a humble, gentle spirit. This can be learned. In a community, these traits are absolutely necessary for the peace of the whole.

Families must retrench and teach the gentility which flows from the virtues. Anything less is selfishness.

76. But if we pay so much attention to things like these, how much more careful ought we to be to let nothing shameful proceed out of our mouth, for that defiles a man terribly. It is not food that defiles, but unjust disparagement of others and foul words.These things are openly shameful. In our office indeed must no word be let fall at all unseemly, nor one that may give offense to modesty. But not only ought we to say nothing unbecoming to ourselves, but we ought not even to lend our ears to words of this sort. Thus Joseph fled and left his garment, that he might hear nothing inconsistent with his modesty. Genesis 39:12 For he who delights to listen, urges the other on to speak.


To avoid senseless and uncharitable talk, I am accused of being anti-social. But, the truth is that it is more virtuous to run away from gossip and wasteful, silly talk than to engage in it.

77. To have full knowledge of what is foul is in the highest degree shameful. To see anything of this sort, if by chance it should happen, how dreadful that is! What, therefore, is displeasing to us in others, can that be pleasing in ourselves? Is not nature herself our teacher, who has formed to perfection every part of our body, so as to provide for what is necessary and to beautify and grace its form? However she has left plain and open to the sight those parts which are beautiful to look upon; among which, the head, set as it were above all, and the pleasant lines of the figure, and the appearance of the face are prominent, while their usefulness for work is ready to hand. But those parts in which there is a compliance with the necessities of nature, she has partly put away and hidden in the body itself, lest they should present a disgusting appearance, and partly, too, she has taught and persuaded us to cover them.

78. Is not nature herself then a teacher of modesty? Following her example, the modesty of men, which I suppose is so called from the mode of knowing what is seemly, has covered and veiled what it has found hid in the frame of our body; like that door which Noah was bidden to make in the side of the ark; Genesis 6:16 wherein we find a figure of the Church, and also of the human body, for through that door the remnants of food were cast out. Thus the Maker of our nature so thought of our modesty, and so guarded what was seemly and virtuous in our body, as to place what is unseemly behind, and to put it out of the sight of our eyes. Of this the Apostle says well: Those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary, and those members of the body which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour, and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. 1 Corinthians 12:22-23 Truly, by following the guidance of nature, diligent care has added to the grace of the body. In another place I have gone more fully into this subject, and said that not only do we hide those parts which have been given us to hide, but also that we think it unseemly to mention by name their description, and the use of those members.

79. And if these parts are exposed to view by chance, modesty is violated; but if on purpose, it is reckoned as utter shamelessness. Wherefore Ham, Noah's son, brought disgrace upon himself; for he laughed when he saw his father naked, but they who covered their father received the gift of a blessing. Genesis 9:22 For which cause, also, it was an ancient custom in Rome, and in many other states as well, that grown-up sons should not bathe with their parents, or sons-in-law with their fathers-in-law, in order that the great duty of reverence for parents should not be weakened. Many, however, cover themselves so far as they can in the baths, so that, where the whole body is bare, that part of it at least may be covered.

This type of respect is almost unknown in our too-laid back society.

Today, I saw an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist in blue jeans. We have lost the sense of respectful honor for God, for each other.

We have no sense of time an place for actions, speech, dress.

The sacredness of Mass is ruined by the senseless talk of who is going where and what is happening tomorrow.

Modesty and humility, propriety and virtue go hand in hand.

A child can learn to be modest and virtuous. He has the grace from baptism to be so.

Nothing is lacking but example and discipline.

If parents are modest, children will be as well.

80. The priests, also, under the old law, as we read in Exodus, wore breeches, as it was told Moses by the Lord: And you shall make them linen breeches to cover their shame: from the loins even to the thighs they shall reach, and Aaron and his sons shall wear them, when they enter into the tabernacle of witness, and when they come unto the altar of the holy place to offer sacrifice, that they lay not sin upon themselves and die. Exodus 28:42-43 Some of us are said still to observe this, but most explain it spiritually, and suppose it was said with a view to guarding modesty and preserving chastity.

Without outward discipline, there is no interior discipline. Without interior discipline, one cannot pursue perfection. The hierarchy of the soul is reflected in the integrity of the body.

To be continued....The next section I "discuss" here will be St. Ambrose on the Four Cardinal Virtues...so much, so little time.

A short prayer

Confidence in God-A Prayer by St. Francis de Sales

It is good to mistrust ourselves, but how would that advantage us were we not 

to throw all our confidence on God, and to wait on His mercy? If you feel no 

such confidence, cease not on that account from making these acts and from 

saying to Our Lord: "Yet, O Lord, though I have no feeling of confidence in You, 

nevertheless, I know that You are my God, that I am all Yours, and that I have 

no hope but in Your goodness; so, I abandon myself entirely into Your Hands."

 It is always in our power to make these acts; although we have difficulty in 

performing them, still there is no impossibility. Thus we testify faithfulness to our Lord.

Again, prayers, please

Prayer for Bishop Alvaro del Portillo's intercession

Prayer for private devotion.

O God, merciful Father, you granted your servant Álvaro, Bishop, the grace of being an exemplary pastor in the service of the Church, and a most faithful son and successor of Saint Josemaría, the founder of Opus Dei. Grant that I too may respond faithfully to the demands of the Christian vocation, turning all the circumstances and events of my life into opportunities to love you and serve the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Deign to glorify your servant Álvaro, and through his intercession grant me the favor I request ... (here make your petition). Amen.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to the Father.

In conformity with the decrees of Pope Urban VIII, we declare that there is no intention of anticipating in any way the judgment of the Church, and that this prayer is not intended for public use.

Does this bother anyone but me?

The National Center for Health Statistics report, released Thursday, looked at pregnancy rates and outcomes — live births, miscarriages and stillbirths, abortions — for 2009. It said there were 6.3 million pregnancies in the U.S. in 2009, with 4.1 million live births, 1.1 million induced abortions and more than 1 million fetal losses through miscarriage and stillbirth.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/5/pregnancies-decline-overall-among-older-women/#ixzz2miM3bwMY
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Doctors of the Church 2:10

Monday, 11 February 2013

Part Twelve: The Franciscan Doctors of the Church-St. Anthony of Padua

Posted by Supertradmum

As you all have seen, I am not writing about the Doctors of the Church in a chronological order. One can find the lists on line. I am also emphasizing the spirituality of these great saints that fit into the discussion of the stages of perfection.

The next three Doctors of the Church I shall look at the Franciscans who are Doctors.

These three are SS. Anthony, Bonaventure, and Lawrence Brindisi. First of these is Anthony. St. Anthony of Padua, perhaps, is the most known and favourite of all the doctors. He usually is asked to find keys or rosaries. However, this saint has many more attributes, which help us understand the way to perfection.

St. Anthony, he is called the Doctor Evangelicus – the “Evangelical Doctor”, was not made a Doctor of the Church until 1946, which is a long time after he died, in the year 1231, at the age of thirty-six. How one sees the life of perfection in St. Anthony is most obvious in his intense spirit of purity. Purity of heart is given as a gift to some and created through suffering for most of us and reveals that a person has come to the stage of Illumination and most likely Unity.

The writings of St. Anthony are copious, so I shall look at three small sections only today. The first is on prayer.

"Prayer is an outpouring of affection towards God, ....talk with Him, rest of the enlightened mind...Prayer is also urging the temporal goods needed for the present life, but those which apply to the Lord with true Christian spirit, always make his own will, but urges them to pray only to the (present) need: only Heavenly Father knows what we really need in the temporal . Prayer is finally giving thanks, that recognize the benefits received and offered in return to God all our works, so that our prayer is continuous".

One of the points here is that prayer is love. If we love someone, we want to be with them and we desire more than anything to be with that person. We know, do we not, that someone does not love us, if that person does not want to spend time with us. "He is just not into you," we say to someone who is wondering whether someone loves them.

The reference to the enlightened mind in the above short passage refers to those who are living in sanctifying grace and have made a commitment to follow Christ in suffering to the stages of perfection. The enlightened mind comes when one decides to put on the mind of Christ, to think like Christ, and to think with the mind of the Church.

Purity of heart and purity of mind go together. This idea that there is a heart and mind dichotomy is simply not true. The stages of prayer reflect common everyday prayers, praise in love, asking for our temporal needs, and giving thanks.  The psalms frequently reflect this order. This order appeals to the heart and the mind.

What is significant in this passage is that prayer is continuous. How we do this depends on our vocation, as continually being in prayer takes practice and confidence. Even at work, if one can be silent, one can be in an attitude of prayer. Of course, noise is hard to fight in these days. 

Many people think this is impossible, but the earlier in life one begins this, the easier it is to be in prayer.  Remember that St. Anthony died at the age of 36 and managed to cooperate with grace in prayer.

It is interesting that St. Hildegard spoke of the experience of Wisdom, as we saw in the passage yesterday. So, too, St. Anthony refers to the experience of Wisdom and identifies Wisdom with Christ.

Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, reaches everywhere; satisfying the angels in 

heaven with his vision, mercifully encouraging sinners on earth to repentance, and punishing in 

hell the demons and sinners who have passed beyond hope. He reaches everywhere by reason 

of his purity, because he is light, and in him there is no darkness [1Jn 1.5]. He is a vapour that 

warms the chill of our faithlessness, and that exists by the same power as God the Father. He is 

an emanation, the splendour of a consubstantial, equal and co-eternal glory, which proceeds 

somehow from the brightness of the Almighty, which exists in a single brightness with the 

Almighty. He is pure, because no evil can approach the supreme Good, and therefore no defiled 

thing comes into her, because Good is always simple. She is the brightness of eternal light, and 

a mirror in which the Father is seen: whence, He who sees me sees also my Father[Jn 14.9]. 

Unspotted, because He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth [1Pt 2.22]. The image of 

his goodness, the full representation which exists with him in the same goodness; and being but 

one (with the Father) he can do all things (because he is almighty), and remaining 

unchangeable, he renews all things by ruling and ordering them. No wonder that he cast out 

from the temple those who sold and bought, and that the priests and Levites could not withstand him!

The point of this long section for us today is that Christ is pure and we must become pure to meet Him, either here on earth or in Purgatory. St. Anthony is frequently seen holding the Child Christ, Who appeared to him. That Christ appeared to him as a Child emphasizes Anthony's child-life purity.

The simplicity of Christ is His goodness and His purity. So, too, Anthony, in becoming a Franciscan, chose poverty and simplicity of lifestyle in following Christ.

The Wisdom of the Father was a warming vapour by his Incarnation, when the winter of infidelity was past, the rain of demonic persecution was over and gone, and the flowers of eternal promise appeared in our land [cf. Cant 2.11-12].Wisdom was an emanation of glory in the working of miracles, and the brightness of the eternal light in his resurrection. He will be to us an unspotted mirror in eternal blessedness, where we shall see him as he is [cf. 1Jn 3.2], and his wisdom will be reflected in us. St Augustine asks, "What will that love be, when each of us will see our own faces reflected in each other’s, as clearly as we now see each other’s faces?"

This passage is mysterious in some ways, but the idea of the Incarnation being Wisdom is also said eloquently in the Gospel of St. John. The Logos, the Eternal Word, is Wisdom.

Thinking About Grace Today

If Grace were living today, she would be about 111 years old. She was one of my neighbors a long time ago in a town in Hampshire. My little family adopted her and she adopted us, as our own grandmothers were far away, or had passed away. The "guys" in the family would go watch the World Cup with her as she liked soccer, oops, football. I would make American like snacks for them all to eat.

She and I would talk about England before WWII and even, before WWI. When she was very little, Grace would accompany her dad to Covent Garden.

He dad grew and sold watercress, something for which Hampshire is still famous. Her dad grew the cress in a field of soaked land. He would pick it, and then take it by horse and wagon to London to sell.

Grace told me that as a very little girl, her dad would pick her up and set her on top of the crates of cress. Sitting in the back of the wagon, Grace would go all the way to London with her dad. She told me it took hours to get there, and they would arrive in the dark, about four o'clock, at Covent Garden.

Grace said in the summer she would sit in the wagon without stockings or shoes, wearing just a little chemise type dress.

I can imagine her in my mind's eye, with her bright blue eyes and long, blond, curly hair, wearing a little grey dress and dangling her long, thin legs over the edge of the wagon.

Grace died a long time ago.  Today, as I listen to Ralph Vaughan Williams A London Symphony, I think of Grace. She did not want to go to the rest home near us. She wanted to stay in the two-up, two-down house she had lived in with her husband and children.

But, she got to the stage where she could not go up the steep stairs without taking her cane and wrapping it around the barrister, pulling herself up.

We saw her once or twice in the rest home, but then, we moved away from that immediate area, and in a short time, we heard she had passed away.

Grace, cress, Covent Garden, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Hampshire, Surrey fill my thoughts today.

Do this, please, today, Europeans!

Praise be to God ‏@ScotsCatholic9m

@Pontifex Please contact your MEP today to stop #abortion becoming a human right http://spuc-director.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/act-now-to-stop-new-version-of-pro.html?

On Choosing Good Companions, Again

I know I have written on this before, but a reader requested another post on surrounding ourselves with good friends. This is for my special, young reader who asked me about the problem of not being able to withstand the culture among some Catholics of sins of the tongue.

Too many Catholics do not understand the importance of connections, with fraternizing with like-minded people.



We are among pagans most of the day in this secular society, and we are meeting many lax and unorthodox, fallen away Catholics, even at church.

But, if we are living alone, or separated from a supporting family, or come from a non-Catholic family whose values and goals are antithetical to ours, we must still seek out friends to help us stay focused in these hard times.

Talking about the lives of others, including sports and movies stars, is just plain wrong.

One of my on line friends said that it was hard to keep away from gossip. I know this is true. It is very hard to steer conversations away from talking about people. And, frequently, gossip reveals unforgiveness, as the same stories and faults of others are revealed over and over again.

A friend of mine goes out to coffee and then complains to me of the gossip. I asked her why she had to be around these people. She could not give me an answer, as she does not want to stop going out. I would be concerned that the gathering is consistently an occasion of sin.

Twitter and other social networking forums can be occasions of sin. Think about that, please.


It is hard to correct people who do not take the hint that you do not want to hear about another person's sins.

But, if those people are peers, or younger, we must correct them, gently, firmly, if the hints are not taken.

And, if the problem persists, one may have to stop seeing the gossipers, as one is in an occasion of sin each time you all meet.

The same is true about complaining. What is hard to do is point out complaining to those who feel frustrated and who are harboring hurts.

http://socialhallucinations.tumblr.com/post/719102650/lets-go-somewhere-and-judge-people

Complaining is a huge sin, however, and one which many traditionals are apt to sin.

To the young, I say do not be afraid to correct those older than yourselves.

To the old, I say it is your duty to correct gossipers and complainers, gently, but firmly.

If the patterns, the habits do not change, sometimes, we have to remove ourselves from the presence of those who refuse to change.

We do not need to put ourselves in the occasion of sin.

For those who have families which are steeped in gossip and complaining, pray a lot. These old family habits are very, very hard to break. As we cannot always correct aunts and uncles older than we are, we have to sometimes remove ourselves from the conversation.

Pray for healing for those who gossip and complain. But, do not put yourselves in compromising positions.

Surround yourselves with good, Catholic, charitable friends.

A sad article...http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-83255/Men-likely-gossip-women--survey.html

Happy Name Day to All Named after St. Nicholas

http://www.stnicholascenter.org

The Patron Saint of The Old?

I am more and more impressed by the old Blessed John Paul II than the young.

Many Catholics love him and remember him in his prime, bringing about the fall of communism in Poland, and inspiring thousands of young men to become priests.

But, the Blessed John Paul II, who appeals to me, is the one who endured such suffering towards the end of his long papacy.

The press was not kind to Blessed John Paul II in his last illness. The main-stream-media did not understand the great mystery of illness and pain which God was allowing His servant to suffer.

We are faced with such pain, old age, infirmity, daily. The truth is that God allows this decay for His reasons. One reason is just that such is the result of Original Sin.

One of my friend's mother died after a very short, intense bout with Alzheimer's Disease. The mother died so fast, everyone was surprised. But, the woman had led a saintly life. Those who think about her life now understand that God took her quickly and almost painlessly.

But, Blessed John Paul II followed God's Will in weakness, not in strength at the end.

Pray to him for all those who are experiencing pain and suffering. He may well be the patron saint of the old.

No Cookie-Cutter Saints

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, I was told recently, told a priest that she never had clarity about her life. She just went day to day, working, praying, living in darkness as to God's Perfect Will.

She had rare moments of consolation.

Each saint experiences God differently, as each person is created uniquely. We cannot and should not judge how God works in the lives of those around us.

What may seem like something worldly may be the Perfect Will of God in someone's life.

To discern God's Will is part of our journey to perfection. If God withholds clarity, that is His Plan and one must humbly accept such a state. If one can only see the day presented today and nothing else, rejoice in that Plan.

Some people find their vocation and God's Will as young people. Some struggle in long years of searching for God's Perfect Will. Some people actually run away from God's Plan. St. Benedict Labre failed at everything he did. He is a great saint of humility and peace.

God's Will does not change, but He can will change in our lives, states Thomas Aquinas. But, all that God wills is good. There is an additional mystery that all things which happen to us are in the Will of God-even suffering and trials.

Here is a snippet from Thomas Aquinas: Thus in the case of the raising of Lazarus, one who looked only on inferior causes might have said: "Lazarus will not rise again," but looking at the divine first cause might have said: "Lazarus will rise again." And God wills both: that is, that in the order of the inferior cause a thing shall happen; but that in the order of the higher cause it shall not happen; or He may will conversely. We may say, then, that God sometimes declares that a thing shall happen according as it falls under the order of inferior causes, as of nature, or merit, which yet does not happen as not being in the designs of the divine and higher cause. Thus He foretold to Ezechias: "Take order with thy house, for thou shalt die, and not live" (Is. 38:1). Yet this did not take place, since from eternity it was otherwise disposed in the divine knowledge and will, which is unchangeable. Hence Gregory says (Moral. xvi, 5): "The sentence of God changes, but not His counsel"---that is to say, the counsel of His will. When therefore He says, "I also will repent," His words must be understood metaphorically. For men seem to repent, when they do not fulfill what they have threatened.

This is a mystery not accepted by most of the world, which rejects the value of suffering. God's Will may include tremendous suffering. St. Faustina suffered the ill treatment of nuns in her own house. St. Padre Pio suffered the ill treatment of men in his own house. St. Louis de Montfort met obstacle after obstacle on his path to perfection.

Many times, it is those in the Church, even other good people, who provide the suffering in one's life.
Such was the case for St. Damian of Molokai, who was stymied in his work by his own bishop. He was accused of pride and arrogance. The saint kept going on with the vision God had given Him

The vision or vocation of one saint is not the same as that of another. There is no such thing as a cookie-cutter saint.

If Catholics stand back and judge other Catholics by outward signs of success or even successful holiness, this type of attitude is not of God. God works in so many different ways.

I am learning that a friend of mine has become holy because of a divorce. She has become holy because of great suffering which has left her alone. Some people in her life criticize her. I see the re-birth of a beautiful soul.

Can one imagine the type of judgments Blessed Teresa of Calcutta endured? She was criticized for taking money when she received the Nobel Peace Prize. She was criticized for not working for political changes, or setting up hospitals, but only tending to the dying. She was criticized for having a ministry which gave dignity to death and suffering instead of taking it away.

Blessed Mother Teresa was criticized for having long periods of doubt and darkness, of not being on top of financial issues, of fraternizing with less than holy men and women for the sake of her missionaries.

There are over 5,000 sisters in her order in the world today. Her story is one of courage and persistence.

Do not judge anyone. Do not suppose you understand someone's spiritual life because of your own. Do not judge the suffering of another.

And, most of all, as warned by Father Ripperger, be suspicious of psychological explanations which may undermine the path to perfection. Psychology is limited. Those who were keen on psychology criticized both Blessed Teresa and Blessed John Paul II. They would only want to see wholeness rather than holiness. These are not the same thing. God may allow a person not to be what the world would call "whole" for the greater Glory of His Name. God may allow a person deep suffering for a reason. Blessed John Paul II was not physically whole at the end of his papacy. Yet, in that long illness, he was being made holy.

The world does not understand that mystery of suffering.

In the Dark Night, the soul and God move from brokenness to a deeper brokenness, that of the breaking of the ego.

The worldling does not understand suffering and purgation. To become a blessed was a hard road for Teresa of Calcutta. Perhaps that is her message for us today. Persevere totally in Faith. Keep going. Do not give up.

Rejoice in the suffering, somehow,as God is in both the overall picture and in the details.

Christ was abandoned by all His best friends but young John. Why? One simple reason--that His friends did not want to share in His Suffering. They ran away rather than suffer with Someone Who loved them. They ran away rather than enduring the pain of failure and rejection.

They ran away out of fear.

They did not want to stand up with He Who took on sin. Sometimes, we have to stand up with sinners; we are sinners as well. Only the falsely perfect reject the sinner. Guess what? I am a sinner and all my friends are sinners. But, we love each other through and even out of the sin.

Love and forgive, forgive and love-and be willing to suffer on your own and with others.

Do not be afraid. And, if, like my friend, who is so far away facing divorce, you find yourself suffering alone, know that you are being called to Calvary.

Blessed Teresa said this:  “If someone criticizes you, first ask yourself, is it right? If he is right, apologize and change, and the issue is resolved. If he is not right, clarify and correct, but if that does not work, take up the unjust accusations with both hands and offer it to Jesus in union with his suffering, because he was slandered by all sides.”

In her case, such judgments were God's Plan for her sanctification. God works in the spiritual realm, and most people in the world do not understand what that means.

To be continued....