Suffering With Joy

Insights on Divine Providence

March 5, 2010

Portrait of a Young Man at Prayer, c.1487, Hans Memling, oil on oak panel, Upton House, Banbury

This morning I was reading Father Romano Guardini’s The Art of Praying and found these passages that seem connected in a way with Archbishop Chaput’s address to the Baptist University of Houston on March 1, 2010 where he spoke on the vocation of the Christian in American public life:

…The future of Christian life depends, among other things, on whether prayer can establish an active link with life as it is and with the stream of history.  Here, again, the idea of Providence is the starting point…

The will, the Divine Providence of God is our salvation as St. Paul says (1 Thess. 4: 3), and we laity must work it out in the world, no matter how much some of us would like to flee to the cloister. The evil perpetrated by man against man and against creation cannot be lessened without each of us doing the job he has been given by God.  Yet sometimes life seems to be too much to bear and we want to give up and run away.  If we arrive at that point, it must be because we are depending too much on ourselves and not enough on God.  We are seeking our own will and not His Providential Will.  We are not praying the Our Father with an understanding of “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Perhaps the greatest lack in the world today among Christians is a failure to trust in God.  It takes little to know we are in trouble and a lot to see God’s providence in bad or evil circumstances. Guardini says:

The prayer that God’s will be done therefore does not mean that the inevitable should be fulfilled and that we are prepared to resign ourselves to it.  The will of God is not a fate which has to be endured, but a holy and meaningful act which ushers in a new creation. The demand is that the work should be fulfilled in the way which helps that creation most.

This is as true for the world as a whole as for the individual.  The course of the world would be very different if the faithful offered up events to God in the right kind of prayer — and not only with the intent that He should help in this matter or prevent that emergency — but that the great work of His will and the glory of His kingdom should come to the earthly fulfillment that is meant for it here and now.

These quotes hit home for me personally both related to coping with my own illness by developing an attitude of wellness, and in my vocation as a lay person whom God has placed in this world to advance His kingdom. After reading Guardini these past few days, I understand that each of us was born in the exact time, place, and circumstance in history to do God’s will in a way unique to us because each of us is a completely unique creation of His. If we do not do what we were gifted to do, it will not be done by anyone else. That does not mean that God can be defeated by our unwillingness, but that graces will not be granted that would have been granted if we had but done His will.  When the instant passes, it is over.  Very sobering, thus I have a lot of personal make-up work to do to account for my many past failings.

Dear God, help me always to seek Your will and never to shirk the duties You have given me nor step from the path You have asked that I follow.  Let me comprehend Your Providential will in all events of this world with the trust that in everything, even death and disaster, You are bringing about my salvation and that of others.  Let me be a pliable instrument in Your hand for the glory of Your kingdom here and in eternity.

Tags: health, wellness

Top Ten Books for a Profitable Lent

February 13, 2010

Ash Wednesday is coming.  Are you agonizing over what to do for your soul during Lent? Every year I struggle with this, but today I read Father Tom Euteneuer’s Don’t Waste Lent post over at Human Life International and the Gordion Knot untangled. He said:

…stay simple; that is, don’t load yourself down with too many spiritual exercises or intentions that may discourage you if you run too fast out into the desert.

Good advice for a perfectionist like me!  For people under stress and struggling with various mental or physical health issues, simplification of life is essential.  If we focus on one new good habit to acquire during Lent we will have done more for our soul than if we had five or six penances we failed to do well.

I have 10 books to recommend for those who want to spend some minutes each day doing spiritual reading for Lent. They are great for a journey with the Lord into the desert – books for renewing the soul and enlarging the Christian heart.  Any of them would make a good Lenten companion.

1.  Holy Thursday: An Intimate Remembrance Francois Mauriac is known for the deep spiritual insight of his novels.  In this book, not a novel, he carries you to the table of the Last Supper and from there to the tabernacle.

2. The Passion of Jesus and Its Hidden Meaning This book by Father James Groenings, S.J. has been through many printings since it first came out in 1900.  Discover many lessons of the Passion you never dreamed were there, including those of the seven last words.

3. The Art of Praying: The Principles and Methods of Christian Prayer The great Father Romano Guardini was a noted philosopher, theologian, and spiritual director of the 20th century.  Here he teaches modern man to pray with greater depth in simple, practical ways.

4. The Plaints of the Passion,: Meditations on the Reproaches of the Good Friday Liturgy Father Jude Mead gives us beautiful meditations on the Reproaches of Good Friday.  It is sad that so many parishes do not use the Reproaches in their Good Friday liturgy because they are strong impetus towards true contrition.  The Extraordinary Form of the liturgy always has the Reproaches so if you can get to a Traditional Latin Mass nearby you will see what the Church celebrated for 1500 years.

5.  The Sadness of Christ (Yale University Press Translation) This great book by the great layman, St. Thomas More, teaches alertness and patience in the Christian life.  Written in the Tower of London while awaiting execution, it is his last work.  As he faced death, he left us a testament of resolve and courage drawn from the Scriptures.

6.  The School of Jesus Crucified: The Lessons of Calvary in Daily Catholic Life The Passionist priest, Father Ignatius of the Side of Jesus, gives us 31 daily meditations on the Passion and nine spiritual exercises.  You can use this book every day of the year if you have a special devotion to the Passion of Christ.

7. Sermons of The Cure of Ars St. John Vianney is the patron saint of priests perhaps because he was such an excellent pastor.  He confronts and probes the various rationalizations we have for sinning and addresses the following topics among others: Be Religious or Be Damned, Do You Want to Be Happy?, Repairing the Wrong Done, The Duties of Parents, The Sewer of Hell.  He was well known for walking in the forest, falling on his knees and weeping to God for the souls of his flock.  People came from great distances to confess their sins and obtain spiritual advice.

8. Spiritual Combat: How to Win Your Spiritual Battles and Attain Peace This famous classic by Father Lorenzo Scupoli was first published in 1589 and was a favorite book of St. Francis de Sales.  It contains 66 short chapters on how to grow in holiness and combat concupiscence.

9. What Jesus Saw from the Cross Father A. G. Sertillanges lived in Jerusalem and spent many days walking the streets where Jesus walked.  It brings new insight into the Passion of Christ, taking us back 2000 years.  One of my favorite books.

10. Praying With Icons This book opens our hearts to the treasure of our Eastern Catholic heritage.  Pope John Paul II spoke of the two “lungs” of the Church as necessary for her breathing.  The Orthodox are separated from us, but they share the same spiritual heritage as our Eastern brethren.  Jim Forest is an Orthodox layman who writes of icons as the aid to prayer and contemplation they are, not just art.  I included this book for Lent because of the importance of icons and sacred images to those whose health makes reading difficult but who may find prayer much easier by gazing at an icon.

You can use these books for yourself or as part of family prayer.  Home schoolers may find them a springboard to activities or projects when covering religious subjects.  Besides the links here, all are available in my Amazon store.  Have a joyful Lent in the peace of Christ in the desert.

Tags: Lent, peace and joy

St. Peter of Alcantara

When my siblings and I were attending Catholic schools as youngsters, we were told to avoid “bad company”.  That is, people who were likely to lead us astray.  In connection with that we were also told to avoid the “near occasions of sin.” That is, persons, places, objects, or behaviors we can easily encounter and which are likely to cause us to break one of the Ten Commandments.

Logic says that if we avoid bad company, we ought to seek out good company.  If we avoid the near occasions of sin, we ought to seek out occasions to practice virtue and live up to the two Great Commandments.

When we are ill, in mourning, or otherwise suffering great trials, we may not feel like having company at all.  But these are just the ideal times when we can invite into our hearts the members of the Church Triumphant who now see the face of God, to consider and imitate their virtues in the privacy of our souls so that we may join them one day in heaven.

Spain produced many great saints in the 1500s and St. Peter of Alcantara was one.  As a youth he entered a convent of Discalced (barefoot) Franciscans to do penance and suffer for the sins of the world.  At the age of forty, he founded the first convent of the “Strict Observance”, living an even more severe lifestyle and inspiring many to follow him.  St. Peter was known to be a great preacher and a learned man, bringing many young people to vocations in religious life and the priesthood.  He was spiritual director to St. Teresa of Avila, now a Doctor of the Church, encouraging her in the reformation of the Carmelites. She likewise encouraged him.

The mutual encouragement St. Teresa and St. Peter gave one another is a good example of keeping good company.  The time spent in pursuing holy discourse was an occasion to practice virtue. 

We do not have to leave behind us great accomplishments as these saints did in order to get to heaven.  We only need to imitate their commitment to fulfilling the will of God for us.  He always gave them the grace to do what He asked no matter how difficult the circumstances – and these two endured prodigious difficulties.  He will do the same for us.  All we have to do is say is “Yes” to Him and with His grace, we can endure anything.  Suffering becomes the occasion to practice virtue and be blessed by God. 

St. Peter of Alcantara died at age sixty-three in 1562.  October 19th is his feast in the 1962 liturgical calendar.

Tags: near occasions of sin, virtue