spirituality
Acceptable and Pleasing Obedience
February 28, 2012
Probably the toughest thing to learn in life is obedience. We all want to do what we want when we want and the way we want. Obedience is part of learning self control and other behaviors that allow us to get along peaceably in our families and society at large. The Rule of St. Benedict in chapter five says that obedience must be accompanied by something else:
But this obedience will be acceptable to God and pleasing to men only if what is commanded is done without hesitation, delay, lukewarmness, grumbling, or objection.
Pouting child
There we have it. Lent is an ideal time to develop habits of cheerful obedience to God, to our spouses, our parents, our bosses, and whomever else we need to subject ourselves in our daily life. We can be sure that if we hear from our moms, as I did growing up, “Wipe that look off your face, missy!” we are objecting to obedience, even if non-verbally.
Father Gerard Ellspermann, O.S.B. comments on this section of the Rule:
What a difference it will make in that obedience if willingly, promptly, warmly, and cooperatively you perform the task! And above all, St. Benedict does not content himself with the negative. He indicates that its essential quality should be joy.
The opposite quality of non-cheerfulness is nurtured by a vice strongly condemned by our Father Benedict in many passages of his Rule, murmuring. A murmuring obedience will not receive a reward but will incur the punishment due to murmurers. Does not this passage help us to grasp the truth of the Our Father, “Thy will be done.”
If we want to strengthen one virtue in ourselves that would bring peace into our lives, it would be obedience with cheerfulness. With it we are conforming ourselves to the will of God. I am going to remember this the next time I’m tempted to complain or grumble about something.
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R. Now and forever!
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100 Questions Jesus Asked and YOU Must Answer
February 13, 2011
Jesus in Conversation with Nicodemus, William Brassey Hole
Msgr. Charles Pope of the Archdiocese of Washington wrote a blog post on March 5, 2010 titled: One Hundred Questions Jesus Asked and YOU Must Answer. In it he explains where it originally came from, tells us how to approach answering them, and cautions us not to read Scripture as a spectator.
I have in mind writing a series on spiritual direction for those without a spiritual director. This post by Msgr. Pope surely belongs as a reference in that work should I ever get it off the ground. Who better than Jesus can we sit down with and ponder the questions he put to people while on earth – the same questions relevant to today?
We’re heading into the Lenten season, a time for prayer, penance, and deepening our relationship with Christ. This list of questions would be great for daily meditation. If you want a hard copy of the list, just download the pdf file Msgr. Pope has linked to in his post.
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R. Now and forever!
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How to Persevere in Spite of Suffering
February 10, 2012
The past two days’ reflections on the Holy Rule of St. Benedict have contained some excellent comments on suffering by Father Placidus Kempf, O. S.B. Since this blog theme is suffering with joy, the relevance to the Rule is most welcome. We are still in meditation on the Prologue where St. Benedict has already warned us that there will be difficulties along the way but…
When one shall have advanced in this manner of life and in faith, he shall run with his heart enlarged and with an unspeakable sweetness of love on the way of God’s commandments.
We’ve considered the truth that without the cross we have no heaven, so the question becomes, how do I perceive my cross? How do I bear it and run with an enlarged heart, a heart filled with such love that it becomes unthinkable to set down the burdens God has laid on me? Father Placidus lends us his perspective:
Whether suffering comes from God or from men, it can always be borne if we continue to pray and to be faithful to the duties of our state. Does not time, too, that wonderful invention of God’s mercy, in some sort wear away and lessen our pain? Even in this world suffering will not last forever. How long will it last? As long as God wishes, as long as there remains in us something that must be burnt away. Therefore the duration of suffering depends in part on our generosity.
After many years of pondering St. Teresa of Avila’s prayer, “Lord, either to suffer or to die,” I know that to be willing to suffer for the salvation of not only my soul, but the souls of others is only possible through the grace of God. To endure cheerfully and generously (the enlarged heart) whatever He sends us is only possible through His grace.
The cheerful and generous part prevents suffering from overpowering us and driving us into dark despair. It keeps us from letting suffering rule us and from being centered on ourselves. It also helps us avoid giving ourselves a pass when we sin through frustration and weakness as we bear our burdens.
“An important thing to be considered,” says Father Faber, is “that our physical difficulties have to be sanctified just as much as our spiritual difficulties. The monstrous assumption, which most of us make, is that some corporal annoyance, which accounts for our irritability or any other sin, also excuses it. If we once begin to do this, we have not merely taken a step off the right road, but we have fallen over a precipice.”
The Example of Jesus
From the Prologue:
Thus, never departing from His guidance, but persevering in His teaching until death, we may with patience share in the sufferings of Christ that we may merit to be partakers of His kingdom (Col. 1:11-12).
Father Placidus writes:
In days of joy as well as of pain we must ever keep our minds the admonition of our Blessed Savior: “He who has persevered to the end shall be saved (Matt. 10:22). What a beautiful example of perseverance Jesus gave us! What would have happened to us had He stopped carrying the cross of our sins after the first or second fall? No, He must carry the Cross to the top of Mt. Calvary, be nailed to it, hang upon it in the greatest agony and die on it that we might have eternal life.
Patience comes from the Latin word, patior, “I suffer.” Patience in suffering and perseverance are twin sisters. They must accompany us on life’s highway, of which Joyce Kilmer has written so beautifully –
They say that life is a highway, And its milestones are the years, And now and then there’s a toll-gate Where you buy your way with tears. It’s a rough road and a steep road And it stretches broad and far, But at last it leads to a Golden Town where Golden Houses are.
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R. Now and forever!
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Can We See Things No Longer in Existence?
February 8, 2012
In 1995 the following picture of the Pillars of Creation, taken by the Hubble Telescope, shows star forming gas and dust inside the Eagle Nebula M16.
Click on the picture to read a good explanation for non-astronomer scientists and the average person. It’s really fascinating.
Below we see a false-color enlarged view inside M16, the Eagle Nebula, taken by the orbiting Herschel Space Observatory. You can see the Pillars of Creation just below the center of the image.
Inside the Eagle Nebula
Although we see these Pillars today, they no longer exist at all and haven’t for a very long time. Click the image to find out why. Because the Eagle Nebula is some 6500 light years away, it will be hundreds of years before man can see the destruction of the Pillars.
Photography always lets us see things that pass away; things that are transitory. But while star formations become non-existant, we know that every human being ever photographed will exist for eternity.
When I discovered these two photographs and read APOD’s commentary, I immediately thought of this from Luke 21:33 (also Mt. 24:35 and Mk. 13:31): Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.
Yes, we can see things that no longer exist, thanks to modern technology and the laws of physics. These things appear real but are not. Only the image is real.
The things we see that no longer exist teach us a lesson: we human beings are a special creation intended to share the life of God for eternity. We are so precious to Him he gave us an immortal soul and a free will to choose Him above all things. Everything else, no matter how beautiful, how majestic, or how powerful will disappear someday; but not God, not His holy Word (Jesus Christ), not the Holy Spirit, and not us. The only question for us is: will we exist forever in heaven, in eternal peace, harmony, and joy, or in everlasting torment and agony because we chose things that will pass into non-existence?
Addendum: A few days after I wrote this, I came upon Father Gordon Macrae’s excellent article, E.T. and The Fermi Paradox: Are We Alone in the Cosmos? If you’ve wondered about that, be sure to read his article full of facts that will lift your heart to God many times over.
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R. Now and forever!
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Fundamental Spiritual Truths
February 2, 2011
Conversion of Mary Magdalene, c. 1547, Paolo Veronese (b. 1528, Verona, d. 1588, Venezia), Oil on canvas, National Gallery, London
Today’s reading from the Prologue of the Rule of St. Benedict:
For the loving Lord says: “I will not the death of the sinner, but that he should be converted and live.” (Ez. 33:11)
Father Placidus Kempf, O.S.B. (RIP) mentions that we can’t convert from our evil ways unless we understand some fundamental spiritual truths. He writes:
The first of these is — we are ignorant of ourselves. Many of us are not only ignorant of a great part of our character, but we often imagine ourselves to be quite different from what we are.
The image that came to mind reading this is a crowd of blind people wearing sunglasses, carrying white canes and each holding on to his seeing-eye dog. We all share this characteristic of personality to some extent. Married people are fortunate because our spouses generally give us hearty doses of reality that help us improve our vision and smarten us up about our character.
He goes on to say:
How completely we misunderstood ourselves, how different we really are from what we had thought ourselves to be! We think we are patience personified until our feelings are crossed; we are hurt — and we explode. What revelations have not been made of our interior by illness, by bodily and mental suffering!
We must have a true knowledge of ourselves if we hope to make any progress in perfection. We cannot make any serious attempt to conquer our sins till we know what they are. Hence our first duty in conversion is to have a look inside. No one can do this work for us.
Painful work this is, but so rewarding. The sacrament of Penance is the place where, if we have a good confessor and go often, we receive so many graces to enlighten our minds and hearts. We learn what virtues to work on; people, places, and things to avoid; and good habits to develop.
Father Placidus gives us really good news, too:
Secondly there is nothing in us that is of itself bad. Jesus assumed our nature in its entirety. We cannot imagine that he assumed anything that was inherently evil, or that He created and placed in it what was evil. Analyze the soul of the greatest sinner and of the greatest saint and you will not find in the sinner any single element that is not in the saint.
Compare the soul of Mary Magdalen or St. Augustine before and after their conversion. There was nothing lacking after their conversion that was not there before. They destroyed nothing by their conversion, but were in full possession of all their powers. There was much in Mary Magdalen that she had, perhaps, never dreamed of till she came to Our Lord. He revealed to her true self-development, and she found under His guidance that in her everything was to be used in a fuller way than she had ever imagined possible. From Jesus she learned that holiness is not the emptying of life but the filling of it by the right use of all her powers.
About 10 or so years ago a popular bumper sticker read, “Jesus is the answer”. Sometime I’d like to write more about that, but for now in the age of “positive self image” and “self-development”, and in light of these thoughts on conversion, I just want to say that we find our greatest value in Christ, not on the psychiatrist’s couch or in the psychologist’s armchair. How much money is wasted today on “feeling good about ourselves” when imitating Christ is the best medicine ever? True conversion is possible the more we let in the light of Christ.
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R. Now and forever!
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The Leper, the Centurion, and Jesus
January 23, 2012
Jesus Healing the Leper, William Brassey Hole
Matthew 8:1-13 was the Gospel reading for the Third Sunday after Epiphany in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman rite.
The humble leper
We hear about the cleansing of the leper who with humble faith asked, but did not demand, that Jesus cure him. God can do anything He wills and often He waits for us to acknowledge submission to His will before He grants our request. This abandonment to God’s good pleasure brings us close to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane who in agony submitted to the Father, ” Saying: Father, if thou wilt, remove this chalice from me: but yet not my will, but thine be done” (Lk. 22:42).
Because we are all sinners, our souls are leprous to one degree or another. We all need to be made clean in the sacrament of Confession. Our bodies, too, are often afflicted with disease and frailties. The sicker we are, the more we need to throw ourselves on the merciful Christ with the words of that leper of long ago: “Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.”
Every physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual adversity we suffer can be met with these words. All are an opportunity to practice humble faith and place ourselves in the loving hands of Christ. If we take time to think about it, our asking in this manner is an opportunity to experience peace of heart.
The humble centurion
Centurion Beseeching Jesus, William Brassey Hole
In the same gospel we hear the tale of the Roman centurion who is used to ordering others around and getting instant obedience. But he, too, approaches Jesus with a humble heart full of compassion for his suffering servant and complete faith in Jesus’ power to heal, even at a distance. From this encounter with the Lord we have the powerfully compelling words, “Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed.”
From this passage in Matthew we draw the beautiful prayer we say together before receiving Holy Communion: “Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst come under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”
In the traditional Latin Mass we say this prayer three times. Why? Because in Hebrew expression there is no comparative or superlative as we have in English. Thus, the triple repetition of something signifies the greatest emphasis possible in what is being said. Since much of the Traditional Mass originates from the time of the apostles, we find this custom retained in the Latin expression of the Hebrew culture. Thus, we, in praying this prayer three times at Mass, emphasize our great lowliness in the face of Jesus, our helplessness to cure ourselves, and our great faith in Jesus. A second reason for the triple repetition is acknowledgement of the triune God. Jesus is the second Person who cannot be separated from the Father and the Holy Spirit.
I write a lot from the viewpoint of suffering in this world. Often we suffer because our souls need healing. We need God’s help to root out anger, resentment, envy, covetousness, and many other evils from our hearts/souls. Often, physical suffering can be eliminated or greatly ameliorated by the healing of the soul. This prayer of the centurion prepares us to receive the healing power of Christ in Holy Communion when we say it at Mass.
When we are not at Mass but on a bed of pain, we can repeat this prayer as an offering to God as we unite ourselves to the Passion of Christ and seek His aid in conforming ourselves to the will of God.
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R. Now and forever!
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Divine Eavesdropping
January 19, 2012
Sacra Conversazione (detail), c. 1443, Fra Angelico, Fresco, Convento di San Marco, Florence
Today’s meditation on the Rule of St. Benedict by Father Placidus Kempf, O.S.B. (RIP) really got my attention because of the irritating and almost inescapable racket of unholy discourse we’re exposed to in these times. It focuses on this section of the Prologue:
When you shall have done these things, Mine eyes shall be upon you, and Mine ears shall be open to your prayers, and before you shall call upon Me I will say: Lo, here I am.
Father writes of something that we are exposed to in every community, on television, over the internet, etc.
We despise eavesdroppers who are ever sneaking around to hear some tale-bearing or revelation of their neighbor’s faults. Their imagination paints their own character quite differently from what they are in reality. It is not so with God. He sees us as we really are. According to the above text, He looks, listens, and becomes present.
God looks upon us with His paternal eyes of mercy if we have done “those things” previous mentioned by St. Benedict, quoting the Psalmist: if we “keep our tongue from evil, and our lips that they speak no guile”; if we “turn away from evil and do good; seek after peace and pursue it.”
“Lo, here I am!” It is right to say that we live in the Divine Immensity as in a holy sanctuary. How we should adore this infinite God Who lives in us and penetrates us on all sides!
The thought of the presence of God is one of the best means of avoiding sin. The practice of remembering this Presence presupposes the raising of our minds and hearts of God; our minds to think of Him; our hearts, to love Him [the very definition of prayer]. We must think of God Who sees us always, Who is ever thinking of us, Who dwells in us by grace. “Were we to persevere for one year in this exercise of the presence of God without the least doubt we should find ourselves at the end of the year at the summit of perfection” (St. Teresa of Avila).
Gossiping and Eavesdropping
Divine eavesdropping is holy, a property of God’s universal presence, His all-knowing-ness and infinite charity. Human eavesdropping and gossip is sinful.
Today’s meditation makes me wonder how really necessary it is to have the television or radio on listening to the incessant gossip flooding the airwaves or streaming over the internet. Beyond TV and radio we can easily gossip today with our fingertips without uttering a word when we participate in chat rooms or discussions in comboxes at web sites, posting things harmful to ourselves or others.
Our ability to commit the sins of eavesdropping and gossip seems to be increased a hundredfold beyond our workplace, local church, PTA, book club, or other meeting places because of today’s media. Even if we can’t call some of what we do eavesdropping because people are putting a monumental amount of gossip into the public arena, we are still allowing ourselves to be caught in a vortex of harmful communication.
In light of God’s presence everywhere, I ask myself:
- Considering my final destination, how necessary is it for me to hear this stuff?
- What does God think of my spending time this way?
- If I really believe that God is present here and now, do I really want to be listening to or writing gossip?
- Is what I am doing or saying helping people to come closer to God or live with Him in mind?
- If my Divine Lord is eavesdropping on me – and He most certainly is by sustaining me in existence, would he consider my conversation helpful to others or holy (sacra conversazione)?
O Divine Eavesdropper, help me to remember Your presence always and to keep my mind and heart focused on living in charity and peace with all.
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R. Now and forever!
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Blessed Veronica of Milan
January 13, 2012
Baptism of Christ, 1493-94, Cima da Conegliano (b. ca. 1459, Conegliano, d. 1517/18, Conegliano), Oil on panel, San Giovanni in Bragora, Venice
Today the 1962 liturgy of the Church commemorates the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan, one of the three epiphanies referred to in the Roman Breviary on the feast of the Epiphany, today’s feast, and the wedding feast at Cana. It’s also the feast of an interesting saint we don’t hear much about in America.
Like many saints of bygone days, Blessed Veronica (1445-1497) grew up in a rural area, the small town of Binasco not far from Milan. She was dutiful in both housework and field work, but as she grew older, the fact that she couldn’t read bothered her. She began to stay up at night to teach herself to read. However, the Blessed Mother appeared to her and told her that other things were more important than learning to read, and gave her three mystical letters.
Meaning of the mystical letters
In Butler’s Lives of the Saints: With Reflections for Every Day in the Year (Dover Books on Western Philosophy)
The first signified purity of intention; the second, abhorrence of murmuring or criticism; the third, daily meditation on the Passion. By the first she learned to begin her daily duties for no human motive, but for God alone; by the second, to carry out what she had thus begun by attending to her own affairs, never judging her neighbor, but praying for those who manifestly erred; by the third she was enabled to forget her own pains and sorrows in those of her Lord, and to weep hourly, but silently, over the memory of His wrongs.
In speaking of the hermeneutic of continuity as Pope Benedict XVI does, I am struck by the continuity with traditional Catholic spiritual practices saints have advocated over the ages. In Blessed Veronica’s purity of intention we have the Morning Offering, composed by Father Francois Xavier Gaulrelet in 1844 for his Apostleship of Prayer which he founded that year.
The second, minding her own business and not being judgmental while praying for those in error we find in the practice of silence, refraining from gossip, and making holy hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament. St. Francis de Sales in his TAN Classic: An Introduction to the Devout Life (Tan Classics)
The third is in keeping with the Catholic practice saints throughout the centuries have recommended: meditation on the Passion. We have the Stations of the Cross erected in every church to remind us of the price Jesus paid for us, and the Church offers special indulgences for making the way of the Cross any time. Regular meditation on the Passion has always been a powerful way to avoid sin and grow in the love of God for Catholics.
These three mystical letters are biblically based and sound spiritual direction for any soul. They are simple to keep in mind, too.
Life as an Augustinian
Blessed Veronica entered the Augustinian convent of St. Martha of Milan at age 22. The community was very poor and her daily duty was to go out into the streets and beg for their daily food. She always sought the hardest and most humbling occupations. In 1497 at age 52, she died as she foretold after a six month illness. If I had a couple of bywords for St. Veronica, they would be simplicity and humility.
I was struck by the urgency of a quote from her biography: “I must work while I can, while I have time,” a response she made to her sisters who knew she was in pain and urged her to seek exemption from some of her labors. What courage and determination, and inspiration to keep simple and focused. God has given us a finite amount of heartbeats and we must make every one of them count for the salvation of souls – especially, first of all, of our own.
Personal reflections
When I think of her begging in the streets every day, I shrink from the idea. Fear of rejection, I guess plus an aversion to exposure to severe heat and cold and the filth of the streets of those days. I wonder how many of us could do what she did. Not me without God’s grace.
As far as not judging others goes, the blogosphere is full of people exercising rash judgment on all sorts of topics. Some of us, even if we don’t say it or write it still fight making judgments against others in our hearts. Blessed Veronica would be a good person to invoke before writing anything and also someone to help curb a loose tongue.
Finally, I’m adverse to pain. God in His infinite humor and wisdom has given me a lot of it. Meditating on the Passion is probably good medicine for all of us, aiding us in forgetting our aches and pains as it helped Blessed Veronica do.
The Augustinians of the Midwest has a short bio with more information. If you’ve ever wondered about Augustinian spirituality, this is a good resource.
Renunciation
January 3, 2012
Most people make New Year’s resolutions and many end up not keeping them, feeling disappointed and frustrated in the process. I confess I rarely make New Year’s resolutions, but often make resolutions after Confession or after meditation. Today’s commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict fits with my main intent for spiritual growth this year. From the Prologue:
To these, therefore, my words are now addressed, whoever thou art, who renouncing thy own will…
This meditation was written by Father Placidus Kempf, O.S.B. (RIP)
Our will is a blind faculty. It must be guided by our intellect enlightened by reason and faith. It must be trained as to what to choose and what to reject, what to do and what to leave undone. Self-love can suggest ways to us of which the Holy Ghost warns us: “There is a way that seemeth to a man right: and the ends thereof lead to death” (Prov. 16:25).
The person who follows his own will submits to the guidance of a fool. The soul that renounces her own will, her own way of thinking and acting, in order to submit to the guidance of St. Benedict cannot go wrong for he leads her along the path outlined in the Gospels. St. Benedict has reduced these principles of right living to rules that can easily be applied to our daily life. Happy the soul that submits to his guidance.
To such a favored soul he counsels that she no longer allow herself to be ruled by the immoderate desires which sin has brought forth in her, that she dethrone the tyrant of her predominant passion, enthrone in her heart her true and lawful King. Trample under foot your own will and enlist under the banner of your true King, Jesus Christ. There can be no peace without war against self, and true liberty consists in serving under the standard of the Cross. This will be a life-long warfare, for, says a spiritual writer, “be glad if self dies a quarter of an hour before you do.”
I am reminded that in his last sermon before leaving St. Peter Parish in Tulsa many years ago, Father Jackson said three times: “Know your Faith.” Knowing our Faith is essential to a rightly formed conscience. Today many people claim that conscience trumps all. Nope. Nothing trumps the will of God.
To know our Faith and follow it is to live with a rightly formed conscience according to the will of God.
This year, Lord, help me practice renunciation of my own will faithfully and follow You as “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
What are your intentions for spiritual growth this year?
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R. Now and forever!
(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.
The Holy Name of Jesus
January 2, 2011
What better way to begin the new year than by celebrating today’s feast: the Holy Name of Jesus?
From Divine Intimacy: Meditations on the Interior Life for Every Day of the Liturgical Year
Today’s Mass, continuing St. Paul’s thought, offers us a majestic picture of the glory which is due the holy Name of Jesus: “That at the Name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father” (Introit).
The entire Church — triumphant, militant, and suffering — is prostrate in adoration; the whole of creation seems to be silent, having stopped in its course for a moment to hear this most holy Name which gives glory to God and salvation to mankind.
Thy name is as oil poured out: therefore young maidens have loved thee (Song of Songs 1:3).
“Oil gives light, it nourishes, it anoints,” writes St. Bernard. “It is light when it is preached; it is food in meditation; it is balm and healing when it is invoked for aid.”
Thou, O Lord, art… our redeemer, from everlasting is thy name (Is. 63:16).
Jesus is, ever was, and always will be the perfect sin offering who saved us from everlasting torment. His name invoked drives evil away and brings peace of heart. “Just say ‘no’” should be, “Just say ‘Jesus’” with perfect trust.
Thy name, O Lord, is forever: thy memorial, O Lord, unto all generations (Ps. 135:13).
The Holy Mass is His memorial offered to the Father until the end of time when we shall celebrate the eternal todah.
On this day in particular we make up for the endless blasphemy against His Name and His Person by bowing down in spirit and in person, “for there is no other name under heaven whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Collect for today’s feast:
O God, Who didst constitute Thine only-begotten Son the savior of mankind, and didst bid Him be called Jesus: mercifully grant, that we who venerate His holy Name on earth, may fully enjoy also the vision of Him in heaven. Through the same Our Lord Jesus Christ who lives a reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.
In the holy Name of Jesus I ask the Father to bless all my readers and protect them from all harm in this coming year. May He be praised, loved, and honored by all men everywhere.
Recommended Blog
November 29, 2011
We’re at the start of the liturgical year again – the wonderful season of Advent. It’s a time when we eagerly anticipate with the Church the coming out of the darkness a Great Light (Is. 9:2). It’s a time to prepare our souls for the coming of the King, scrubbing the dirt off the windows and doors so we can receive the light of love and mercy when He comes.
Since God made us body and soul, now is a good time to curb the concupiscence of the body and heart to help in the cleaning process of the soul. Mary at The Beautiful Gate is writing a series on the seven deadly sins as a way to prepare our souls for Christmas.
I’m really enjoying her posts and finding a lot of hidden dirt, personally, that needs to be scrubbed clean in order to celebrate the King’s birthday. You might enjoy reading those posts as well. If you haven’t been following her on this theme, be sure to go back a couple of weeks and catch up.
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R. Now and forever!
(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.
Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great
November 27, 2011
Crown of Thorns, 1520-25, Lucas, Cranach the Elder (b. 1472, Kronach, d. 1553, Weimar), Oil and tempera on limewood, Private collection
St. Gertrude the Great was quite an amazing woman, a glory of the Benedictine order. I have a large book of her life that I’ve not been able to finish reading, but one of these days…
Although today is the first day of Advent, it’s still November, the month of the Holy Souls. You may have heard this prayer or even used it yourself a time or two. The good people of St. Peter Parish in Tulsa pray it after reciting the rosary before High Mass. I have it on the back of a laminated holy card that I keep in my breviary. Although we end every hour of the Divine Office with the “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord” prayer, I like to pray St. Gertrude’s prayer after every hour, too.
What strikes me about this prayer is the commonality between it, the chaplet of Divine Mercy, and the Chaplet for the Poor Souls, all beginning with “Eternal Father, I offer Thee…”. These prayers stretch across many centuries with a continuity of theology – we Christians pleading the blood of Christ for mercy from the Father.
Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great
Eternal Father, I offer thee the most precious blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.
“…[T]hose in my own home…” = me and my husband.
“…[F]or sinners everywhere…” = everyone in the world.
“…[W]ithin my family.” = the living extended family.
St. Teresa of Avila wrote in one of her books that the greatest alms we can give is to pray for sinners. Who among us is so poor we cannot give these alms daily?
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R. Now and forever!
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An Appointment with Jesus
November 21, 2011
Priest hearing confessions, Philipp Schumacher (1866-1940) via Wikimedia
This post is linked to Sunday Snippets at This That and the Other Thing.
Do you want to be a saint? I do. I mean that I want to end up in heaven with God and all the others He created who are one with Him in charity. Becoming a saint is impossible, though, if we depend on ourselves. Moreover, we must leave this world a saint in order to be one in the next. Fortunately, nothing is impossible to God and His magnanimous love for each of His creatures. All we have to do is cooperate with Him.
At the Last Supper Jesus consecrated all the apostles as priests. In that event He set them apart so that they were no longer men like other men, but were instead to stand in His place in a special way. That’s why we describe the priest as an alter Christus – another Christ.
Just hours after instituting the sacrament of the sacred priesthood Jesus was arrested, tried, and crucified thanks to the help of Judas. His remaining apostles, except for St. John, ran off and hid themselves behind locked doors. Confusion, despair, grief and shame must have enveloped the souls of these newly ordained priests. But inside of three days Jesus rose from the dead and came to where ten of the remaining eleven, including St. John, had gathered. He didn’t knock. He just came right through those doors as if they weren’t even there.
John 20:19-23 is a passage I love for many reasons, but especially because it tells of the institution behind those locked doors of the sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation), one of the ways we cooperate with God’s work in making us saints.
Now when it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them: Peace be to you. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad [I think this is an understatement. They must have been jumping up and down and hollering with joy], when they saw the Lord. He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.
And so it was that Jesus gave the apostles the power through the Spirit of Charity to stand in His place and forgive our sins, bringing us peace of heart. Another aspect of the sacred priesthood where the priest acts as alter Christus.
This is why I look at every confession as an appointment with Jesus. Jesus is sitting behind the screen focusing His full attention on me and what I’m saying. He hears not only the words but the language of the heart. He gives the priest the grace to offer me useful guidance for amending my life just as He gives me the grace to confess what I’ve done that offended Him.
Jesus, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is the one who forgives my sins. The Roman rite Church gives the priest these theologically perfect words to remind me that my sins are forgiven in His name (1962 Extraordinary Form):
May almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you your sins, and lead you to everlasting life. R.: Amen.
May the almighty and merciful Lord grant you pardon, absolution, + and remission of your sins. R.: Amen.
May our Lord Jesus Christ absolve you. And I by His authority release you from every bond of excommunication (suspension) and interdict, in so far as I am empowered and you have need. And now I absolve you from your sins; in the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit. R.: Amen.
The priest may add, time permitting:
May the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints, whatever good you have done, and whatever evil you have endured, achieve for you the forgiveness of your sins, an increase of grace and the reward to eternal life. Amen.
In the Ordinary Form (1969 liturgical books) the priest says:
God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Every confession sincerely done is an act of humility and trust in God’s mercy. Every confession is a source of joy and of real peace, of resolution and of greater clarity and cooperation with God in ridding myself of rust. By looking at confession as an appointment with Jesus, I look forward to going. I don’t worry so much any more about accusing myself of the same sins and faults repeatedly. Nothing makes Jesus happier than to have somebody He died for coming to visit Him and giving Him an opportunity through free will to apply His healing grace.
Love is like that. Love wants to bring peace and well-being to the tortured and stricken. We are all tortured and stricken. Love wants to heal, to rejoice, to pour Itself out on the beloved. But Love forces itself on no one.
The beloved are you and I. If we really love Him back, how can we not give Jesus the opportunity to love us through the forgiveness of our sins and the healing of all that afflicts our spirit? How can we refuse to cooperate with Him in making us a saint to live with Him forever? How can we not make and keep regular appointments with Jesus in the sacrament of Confession?
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R. Now and forever!
(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.
Prayer to the Holy Trinity
November 16, 2011
The Holy Trinity
A tongue in cheek maxim of folk wisdom says, “Be careful what you ask for; you just might get it.” In the realm of spiritual goods for our salvation and for the salvation of others, we surely will get what we ask for. The grace to open our hearts to ask, seek, and knock (Lk. 11:9) comes from the Holy Spirit – a generous gift, an example of God drawing us to Himself. The moment we incline our will towards God He floods us with grace, so much does He desire our companionship and delight in our company (Prov. 8:31).
In our journey towards unity with God, and in the interest of ridding ourselves of rust, we can do well to pray this profoundly deep but simple prayer of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity:
O my God, Trinity whom I adore; help me to forget myself entirely that I may be established in You as still and as peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing trouble my peace or make me leave You, O my Unchanging One, but may each minute carry me further into the depths of Your mystery. Give peace to my soul; make it Your heaven, Your beloved dwelling and Your resting place. May I never leave You there alone but be wholly present, my faith wholly vigilant, wholly adoring, and wholly surrendered to Your creative Action.
O my beloved Christ, crucified by love, I wish to be a bride for Your Heart; I wish to cover You with glory; I wish to love You…even unto death! But I feel my weakness, and I ask You to “clothe me with Yourself,” to identify my soul with all the movements of Your Soul, to overwhelm me, to possess me, to substitute yourself for me that my life may be but a radiance of Your Life. Come into me as Adorer, as Restorer, as Savior.
O Eternal Word, Word of my God, I want to spend my life in listening to You, to become wholly teachable that I may learn all from You. Then, through all nights, all voids, all helplessness, I want to gaze on You always and remain in Your great light. O my beloved Star, so fascinate me that I may not withdraw from Your radiance.
O consuming Fire, Spirit of Love, “come upon me,” and create in my soul a kind of incarnation of the Word: that I may be another humanity for Him in which He can renew His whole Mystery.
And You, O Father, bend lovingly over Your poor little creature; “cover her with Your shadow,” seeing in her only the “Beloved in whom You are well pleased.”
O my Three, my All, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, Immensity in which I lose myself, I surrender myself to You as Your prey. Bury Yourself in me that I may bury myself in You until I depart to contemplate in Your light the abyss of Your greatness.
I can think of no better prayer to ask for heaven than this. Answered, we will find ourselves tried by fire in this life and with total conformation of our will to God’s we will enter heaven with the pure heart of the beatitudes.
For those who did not die in this perfect purity of heart yet loved Jesus, let us remember them in our prayers and ask God to shorten the time of their trial by fire.
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R. Now and forever!
(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.
Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity
November 16, 2011
Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity
Continuing my theme related to purgatory I introduce a special friend of God today.
Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity is not a saint I grew up hearing about, although she was a contemporary of the great doctor of the Church, St. Therese of Lisieux. She was born Elizabeth Catez on July 18, 1880. Of a lively disposition and popular among her friends, Elizabeth was also possessed of extreme stubbornness and given to fits of temper. Along with these traits, she was also attracted to prayer and reflection which, after receiving First Holy Communion at age 11, helped mitigate the less attractive aspects of her personality. (See? There is hope for us who are stubborn, selfish, and bad-tempered.)
During her teen years she taught catechism to children who worked in factories and pursued the study of music, especially piano. Those who knew her described her as a gifted musician. But God called her out of the world and at age 20, she entered the Carmelite monastery of Dijon, much against her mother’s wishes. There she experienced periods of great spiritual growth punctuated with times of deep darkness. On the 9th of November, 1906, she surrendered her soul to God.
We are especially fortunate to have her writings available – writings that allow us a glimpse into a soul that overcame much in her short life. Because of her devotion to the Holy Trinity, hence her name in religion, we can gain insights into how God draws a soul to Himself in His three Persons.
Elizabeth was beatified on November 25, 1984. I think that her death and feast on November 9th during the month the Church dedicates to the Holy Souls in purgatory teaches us much about God’s desire to purify us before we draw our last breath; how He loves us with that burning love that draws us to Himself, melting away our imperfections and making us worthy to unite ourselves perfectly with Him forever. If we can cooperate with His grace sufficiently in this life we need not experience the delay of the beatific vision the souls in purgatory experience.
Some food for meditation Blessed Elizabeth has left us:
I think that in Heaven my mission will be to draw souls by helping them to go out of themselves in order to cling to God by a wholly simple and loving movement, and to keep them in this great silence within which will allow God to communicate Himself to them and to transform them into Himself. [This is our ultimate end in eternity.]
Make a little cell in your heart for Jesus of the Agony; take refuge there, when you hear Him outraged by men, try to make reparation; you, at least, love Him and keep your heart quite pure for Him. Oh! If you only knew how the good God love pure hearts! It is there that He loves to reign.
He will communicate His power to you so you can love Him with a love as strong as death; the Word will Imprint in your soul, as in a crystal, the image of His own beauty, so you may be pure with His purity, luminous with His light. [This is the Jesus we bring to others.]
Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity
It is good to study the souls of the saints and follow them in faith until they reach heaven. There they shine with the light of God whom they behold face to face for all eternity. This heaven of the saints is our fatherland, the Father’s House, where we are awaited and loved … the saints grasped so well the true knowledge that makes us go forth from all earthly things and, above all, from ourselves in order to cast ourselves upon God and to live only by Him … [We can be this way at the sink washing dishes, changing diapers, digging weeds, working at our jobs, or in our sick bed.]
We who belong to Him …should be completely identified with Him, ought to be able to repeat those words at the close of each day. You will ask me perhaps how we are to glorify Him. It is very simple, and He told us the secret when He said, ‘My meat is to do the will of Him who sent Me’. So cling closely to the will of this adorable Master. Look upon everything, every suffering and every joy, as coming straight from Him and your life will be a continual communion since everything will be, as it were, a sacrament which gives you God — and that is really true, for God is not divided. His will is Himself. He is wholly and entirely in everything and these things are, in a way, but an emanation of His love.
Tomorrow I will publish her well-known and beautiful prayer to the Holy Trinity which seeks that unity with God we were created for.
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R. Now and forever!
(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.
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