Release that Person who hurt you!

Release that Person who hurt you into the Lord's hands. Jesus please wash away any negativity that may be rooted in my soul by accepting this person's abuse or betrayal. I surrender this person to the Lord Jesus and ask Jesus to break any unhealthy ties to my soul.

Jesus please place your love and forgiveness into my heart and cleanse me of all resentment and negativity. Jesus into your hands I commend my spirit. I am your child Father God and I want to be free to be what you intended me to be. Amen

Betrayal

I am so excited! God filled in the blank tonight at the prayer meeting I went to. Remember a few posts ago I published about my "Confuzed Day" and I said please fill in the blank for me because I could not think of the word. Well tonight Father talked all about Betrayals. From Judas to all those betrayals we suffer each day.

One final note he told us to pray for healing. lol. O my Jesus, through the suffering you endured by Judas, grant me healing from all those who like Judas betray me. That with your meekness and love you showed to your disciple may I too be meek and full of the same love. Please forgive me of all those times I too was Judas. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like your heart.

Day Six: Novena of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Sixth Day

Mary, untiring seeker of God

Listening to the Word: The finding in the temple (Lk 2: 41-50)

Reflection: Mary and Joseph are distressed at the loss of their
son, Jesus. They set out to search for him and find him after
three days. In our life sometimes it seems that Jesus hides
himself from us and leaves us alone. What do we do?
Do we despair? Do we turn towards other goods?
Or do we set out in search of Jesus so as not to loose
him ever again. Mary and Joseph teach us to be untiring
seekers of God, because he has made us for himself and
our heart is restless until it rests in him (St. Augustine).

Prayer: Dear Mary, untiring seeker of God,
give us the strength you had in seeking your Jesus
who was lost in the temple.

Dear Mary, untiring seeker of God, guide our steps
so that on life's journey we may always follow Jesus,
lighthouse that enlightens us.

Dear Mary, Mother most pure, be our faithful
companion on the journey towards Jesus.

My commitment is to pray more in times when
Jesus seems to have abandoned me.

Flower of Carmel
Vine blossom-laden,
splendor of heaven,
Child-bearing yet maiden,
None equals thee.
Mother so tender,
whom no man didst know,
On Carmel's children
thy favours bestow,
Star of the sea.

When Shall I see Him Face to Face? Conclusion Spiritual Desolation

Finally, we should be united to God’s will in regard to the time and
manner of our death. One day St. Gertrude, while climbing up a small
hill, lost her footing and fell into a ravine below. After her
companions had come to her assistance, they asked her if while falling
she had any fear of dying without the sacraments. “I earnestly hope and
desire to have the benefit of the sacraments when death is at hand;
still, to my way of thinking, the will of God is more important. I
believe that the best disposition I could have to die a happy death
would be to submit myself to whatever God would wish in my regard. For
this reason I desire whatever kind of death God will be pleased to send
me.”

In his “Dialogues”, St. Gregory [73] tells of a certain priest, Santolo
by name, who was captured by the Vandals and condemned to death. The
barbarians told him to choose the manner of his death. He refused,
saying: “I am in God’s hands and I gladly accept whatever kind of death
he wishes me to suffer at your hands; I wish no other.” This reply was
so pleasing to God that he miraculously stayed the hand of the
executioner ready to behead him. The barbarians were so impressed by
the miracle that they freed their prisoner. As regards the manner of
our death, therefore, we should esteem that the best kind of death for
us which God has designed for us. When therefore we think of our death,
let our prayer be: “O Lord, only let me save my soul and I leave the
manner of my death to thee!”

We should likewise unite ourselves to God’s will when the moment of
death is near. What else is this earth but a prison where we suffer and
where we are in constant danger of losing God? Hence David prayed:
“Bring my soul out of prison [74] .” St. Teresa too feared to lose God
and when she would hear the striking of the clock, she would find
consolation in the thought that the passing of the hour was an hour
less of the danger of losing God.

St. John of Avila was convinced that every right-minded person should
desire death on account of living in peril of losing divine grace. What
can be more pleasant or desirable than by dying a good death, to have
the assurance of no longer being able to lose the grace of God? Perhaps
you will answer that you have as yet done nothing to deserve this
reward. If it were God’s will that your life should end now, what would
you be doing, living on here against his will? Who knows, you might
fall into sin and be lost! Even if you escaped mortal sin, you could
not live free from all sin. “Why are we so tenacious of life,” exclaims
St. Bernard, “when the longer we live, the more we sin [75] ?” A single
venial sin is more displeasing to God than all the good works we can
perform.

Moreover, the person who has little desire for heaven shows he has
little love for God. The true lover desires to be with his beloved. We
cannot see God while we remain here on earth; hence the saints have
yearned for death so that they might go and behold their beloved Lord,
face to face. “Oh, that I might die and behold thy beautiful face!”
sighed St. Augustine. And St. Paul: “Having a desire to be dissolved
and to be with Christ [76] .” “When shall I come and appear before the
face of God [77] ?”exclaimed the psalmist.

A hunter one day heard the voice of a man singing most sweetly in the
forest. Following the sound, he came upon a leper horribly disfigured
by the ravages of his disease. Addressing him he said: “How can you
sing when you are so terribly afflicted and your death is so near at
hand?” And the leper: “Friend, my poor body is a crumbling wall and it
is the only thing that separates me from my God. When it falls I shall
go forth to God. Time for me is indeed fast running out, so every day I
show my happiness by lifting my voice in song.”

Lastly, we should unite ourselves to the will of God as regards our
degree of grace and glory. True, we should esteem the things that make
for the glory of God, but we should show the greatest esteem for those
that concern the will of God. We should desire to love God more than
the seraphs, but not to a degree higher than God has destined for us.
St. John of Avila [78] says: “I believe every saint has had the desire
to be higher in grace than he actually was. However, despite this,
their serenity of soul always remained unruffled. Their desire for a
greater degree of grace sprang not from a consideration of their own
good, but of God’s. They were content with the degree of grace God had
meted out for them, though actually God had given them less. They
considered it a greater sign of true love of God to be content with
what God had given them, than to desire to have received more.”

This means, as Rodriguez explains it, we should be diligent in striving
to become perfect, so that tepidity and laziness may not serve as
excuses for some to say: “God must help me; I can do only so much for
myself.” Nevertheless, when we do fall into some fault, we should not
lose our peace of soul and union with the will of God, which permits
our fall; nor should we lose our courage. Let us rise at once from this
fall, penitently humbling ourselves and by seeking greater help from
God, let us continue to march resolutely on the highway of the
spiritual life. Likewise, we may well desire to be among the seraphs in
heaven, not for our own glory, but for God’s, and to love him more;
still we should be resigned to his will and be content with that degree
of glory which in his mercy he has set for us.

It would be a serious defect to desire the gifts of supernatural
prayer—specifically, ecstasies, visions and revelations. The masters of
the spiritual life say that souls thus favored by God, should ask him
to take them away so that they may love him out of pure faith—a way of
greater security. Many have come to perfection without these
supernatural gifts; the only virtues worth-while are those that draw
the soul to holiness of life, namely, the virtue of uniformity with
God’s holy will. If God does not wish to raise us to the heights of
perfection and glory, let us unite ourselves in all things to his holy
will, asking him in his mercy, to grant us our soul’s salvation. If we
act in this manner, the reward will not be slight which we shall
receive from the hands of God who loves above all others, souls
resigned to his holy will.

Uniformity With God's Will
Saint Alphonsus de Liguori

Canning Season!

What I accomplished today!
I picked some blackberries and raspberries from my yard and made 8 half-pints of blackberry jam and 7 half-pints of raspberry jam.



Then I made 5 pints of salsa.
Monday is the first day of blueberry picking and I can't wait. Yummy!

Spiritual Desolation: Part IV

Rodriguez cites the case of a person who persevered forty years in
prayer despite aridity, and experienced great spiritual strength as a
result of it; on occasion, when through aridity he would omit
meditation he felt spiritually weak and incapable of good deeds. St.
Bonaventure and Gerson both say that persons who do not experience the
recollection they would like to have in their meditations, often serve
God better than they would do if they did have it; the reason is that
lack of recollection keeps them more diligent and humble; otherwise
they would become puffed up with spiritual pride and grow tepid, vainly
believing they had reached the summit of sanctity.

What has been said of dryness holds true of temptations also. Certainly
we should strive to avoid temptations; but if God wishes that we be
tempted against faith, purity, or any other virtue, we should not give
in to discouraging lamentations, but submit ourselves with resignation
to God’s holy will. St. Paul asked to be freed from temptations to
impurity and our Lord answered him, saying: “My grace is sufficient for
thee [72] .”

So should we act when we find ourselves victims of unrelenting
temptations and God seemingly deaf to our prayers. Let us then say:
“Lord, do with me, let happen to me what thou wilt; thy grace is
sufficient for me. Only never let me lose this grace.” Consent to
temptation, not temptation of itself, can make us lose the grace of
God. Temptation resisted keeps us humble, brings us greater merit,
makes us have frequent recourse to God, thus preserving us from
offending him and unites us more closely to him in the bonds of his
holy love.

Uniformity With God's Will
Saint Alphonsus de Liguori

Mary, Lady of the Offering: Day Five of Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Fifth Day

Mary, Lady of the offering

Listening to the Word: The presentation at the temple (Lk 2: 22-32)

Reflection:
Let us try to stand as spectators at this event:
Mary, Joseph and Jesus, a family that goes to the temple
to offer the child to the Lord. If we wish to translate this
event into our terms, it is a little like a family that prepares
to take a child for baptism. We have so often taken part in
festivities of this kind. However, let us try to examine the
Mother's heart: she wholeheartedly offers to God the child
to whom she gave birth.

Are we capable of imitating her in our daily life?

Prayer:
Daughter of Sion, Lady of the offering,
envelop our hearts so that we may belong to Jesus completely.
Daughter of Sion, Lady of the offering,
free our hearts so that without any fear we may be exclusively His property.
Daughter of Sion, Mother so tender, make our hearts like yours.

My commitment
is to detach myself from something to which
I am greatly attached and offer it to someone
I particularly do not like.

This is so that I may imitate the Mother of my Lord
who offered Her Son with a pure heart.

Flower of Carmel
Vine blossom-laden,
splendour of heaven,
Child-bearing yet maiden,
None equals thee.
Mother so tender,
whom no man didst know,
On Carmel's children
thy favours bestow,
Star of the sea.

More from Carmelite Site Here

The Word

The Father uttered one Word; that Word is His Son, and He utters Him forever in everlasting silence: and in silence the soul has to hear it. - St. John of the Cross

Heaven on Earth

My Reception
July 20, 2002
I am standing next to my husband. And my sister in Carmel Margaret with Father John Randall.

Spiritual Desolation: Part III

It is well to remember, however, that aridity is not always a
chastisement; at times it is a disposition of divine providence for our
greater spiritual profit and to keep us humble. Lest St. Paul become
vain on account of the spiritual gifts he had received, the Lord
permitted him to be tempted to impurity: “And lest the greatness of the
revelations should exalt me, there was given me a sting of my flesh, an
angel of Satan to buffet me [70] .”

Prayer made amid sensible devotion is not much of an achievement:
“There is a friend, a companion at the table, and he will not abide in
the day of distress [71] .” You would not consider the casual guest at
your table a friend, but only him who assists you in your need without
thought of benefit to himself. When God sends spiritual darkness and
desolation, his true friends are known.

Palladius, the author of the “Lives of the Fathers of the Desert,”
experiencing great disgust in prayer, went seeking advice from the
abbot Macarius. The saintly abbot gave him this counsel: “When you are
tempted in times of dryness to give up praying because you seem to be
wasting your time, say: ‘Since I cannot pray, I will be satisfied just
to remain on watch here in my cell for the love of Jesus Christ!’
“Devout soul, you do the same when you are tempted to give up prayer
just because you seem to be getting nowhere. Say: “I am going to stay
here just to please God.” St. Francis de Sales used to say that if we
do nothing else but banish distractions and temptations in our prayers,
the prayer is well made. Tauler states that persevering prayer in time
of dryness will receive greater grace than prayer made amid great
sensible devotion.

Uniformity With God's Will
Saint Alphonsus de Liguori

Novena: Day Four of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Mary, contemplative woman

Listening to the Word: The visit of the Magi (Mt 2: 1-12)
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: 'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.'"

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Reflection: What would Mary and Joseph have thought when they saw these mysterious men coming from afar to see their little Jesus? And yet, the Son of God became man for all, also for these people who came from "afar". Mary immediately understands and shows Jesus to them too. Mary is the true contemplative, that is, the one who can see reality with the eyes of God. Are we contemplatives? Do we see reality with the eyes of God? Are we capable of giving Jesus to those we meet, those we know and those we don't know, our co-citizens and strangers, rich and poor?

Prayer: Blessed Mary, contemplative woman, teach us to keep in our hearts the situations of every day so that we may then see them with the eyes of God.
Blessed Mary, contemplative woman, teach us to see in the people we meet the face of your Son and not discriminate in any way.
Blessed Mary, child-bearing yet maiden, take us to Jesus.

My commitment is not to judge the people I meet during the day, but to see in each of them the face of the Lord.

Flower of Carmel
Vine blossom-laden,
splendour of heaven,
Child-bearing yet maiden,
None equals thee.
Mother so tender,
whom no man didst know,
On Carmel's children
thy favours bestow,
Star of the sea.

Wise as Serpents and Simple as Doves

Matthew 10:16. Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves.
Be ye therefore wise as serpents and simple as doves.


Ver. 16. Wise as serpents, &c. It is a proverbial way of speaking; and an admonition to
be circumspect and discreet, but harmless, innocent, sincere in all our actions and
dealings. (Witham) ---

Simple. That is, harmless, plain, sincere, and without guile.
(Challoner) ---

In the midst of wolves. Although Christ sent his apostles not only
against wolves, but even into the very midst of wolves, still he commands them to
behave with the meekness of sheep, and simplicity of doves. Thus he evinces the
greatness of his power, in overcoming the wolves by the sheep, which were continually
exposed to be devoured and torn in pieces by them, still never failing to change the
fierce nature of the ravenous wolf into their own nature, in mildness and innocence.

As long as we retain the nature of sheep, we easily overcome our adversaries; but no
sooner are we changed into wolves, than we become the derision of our enemies: the
supreme Pastor, who superintends the sheep, not the wolves, withdrawing from us the
powerful protection of his grace, and leaving us to the misery of our own weakness. ---

Our Savior, in his infinite wisdom, knew full well the nature of things; passion was not
to be overcome by passion, but by meekness only. Thus the apostles did, when the
Jews having apprehended them, said, Have we not again and again commanded you
not to teach in this name? (Acts, Chap. iv.) Though they had the power of working the
greatest miracles, yet they let nothing harsh, nothing severe, escape them, either in
words or actions. With simplicity they made answer, Judge ye, if it be just to hear you
rather than God; and at the same time shewed their prudence, saying, We cannot but
speak what we have heard and seen. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. xxxiv.) ---

As sheep, &c. He compares them to sheep, not only because of their innocence, but also
because they were sent unarmed and destitute of all human support. (Menochius) ---

Wise, &c. That you may guard against the snares of your enemies. The prudence of
the serpent is celebrated, because when it cannot escape, it strives at least to preserve
its head free from hurt, whilst it leave the rest of its body exposed. Thus Christians,
who have Christ for their head, must preserve his faith and religion, though with the
loss of every thing else. (Menochius)

Have you ever experienced God slowing down time?

Well let me say what a night tonight was.....
I left early to go to the Monastery in Barrington for the annual Novena. I left early thinking I would pray the Liturgy of the Hours, (which I neglected all day) while waiting for Mass to start at 7:30 pm. It is 6:15 and my car is having electrical problems and my lights are going on and off inside the car and the car locks are unlocking and locking and squealing and just awful noise.
Okay "Lord help me deal with this noise please". Get down Airport Road when all the traffic is blocked and we are redirected through the back roads. The traffic was so slow and all of us wondering what the problem was. Seems that Vice President Biden is in town but that is only a rumor. Anyway, finally get on the freeway and it is already going on 7pm. I'm thinking of turning back and going home between the noise in my car and all the traffic jams. Nope! I am too stuborn for that and God knows it. lol

Miss the ramp to get on the freeway and had to turn around. Get on the freeway and lots and lots of traffic.

One other thing I need to remember is do not listen to my husband but the Holy Spirit prompting me. Because now we have a new overpass to the exit to Barrington. My head tells me one thing and my husband said another. "You got it! I listened to hubby and had to turn around again and find my way back to the exit I needed earlier. Now at this point I have 5 minutes to get to Mass on time. I truely believe that God slowed down time for me because there is no way to get to my destination at the Monastery in 5 minutes. But now as I was getting closer and closer to the Monastery I am thinking this is so do-able. Truely a God moment for me. I get to the Monastery, my car still making all kinds of noises. They were just starting the First Reading and I must say it was so well worth it.

Our celebrant was Fr. John Vidmar, o.p. from Providence College and he was just awesome. I could have listened all night long. Thank you Father God for all you have given me, especially Jesus in the blessed Sacrament, Our Mother Mary, and the miracle of slowing down time for me. And Father God please bless Fr. John for truely he blessed us all tonight. In Jesus precious name we pray!

God bless,
Linda

Mercy My God Prayer

Jesus of Nazareth has triumphed over death,
His reign his eternal, He is coming to conquer the world and time.

You are living in the time when every event is the sign of the written word.

Jesus of Nazareth has triumphed over death His reign is eternal.
He is coming to conquer the world and time.

MERCY MY GOD,
on those who blaspheme Thee; forgive them, they know not what they do.

MERCY MY GOD,
for the scandal in the world; deliver them from the spirit of satan.

MERCY, MY GOD,
on those who run away from Thee:give them appreciation for the Holy Eucharist.

MERCY, MY GOD,
on those who will come repentant to the Glorious Cross:
may they find there Peace and Joy in God our Saviour.

MERCY , MY GOD,
so that Thy Kingdom may come, but save souls,
there is still time…for the time is drawing near,
see I am coming.Amen.

COME LORD JESUS,
LORD, pour out on the whole world the treasures of Thy infinite Mercy.

Day Three of Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Third Day

Mary, the mother who clothes us with the Scapular

Reflection: Luke, the Evangelist, relates the affectionate and
motherly gesture of Mary who wraps little Jesus in swaddling clothes.
A gesture made by every mother as a sign of protection and care.
We too are wrapped in swaddling clothes by Mary, our Mother and
Sister; through the Scapular she looks after us and protects us.
She wraps us so that we may grow strong and robust in the school of her Son.

Prayer: Virgin Mary, you who wrap your Jesus in swaddling clothes,
teach us to be always small so that we may "be carried in God's arms".
Virgin Mother, who wrap your Jesus in swaddling clothes, help us to clothe
ourselves with your Son, so that each day we may be a sign of God's love.
Virgin Mary, Splendor of heaven, hold us tight under your mantle.

My commitment is to clothe myself with the Scapular so that I may witness,
even externally, to my love for Jesus and Mary. Above all, I wish that the
Scapular may remind me to live every day in the school of Jesus,
after the example of the Virgin.

Flower of Carmel
Vine blossom-laden,
splendour of heaven,
Child-bearing yet maiden,
None equals thee.

Mother so tender,
whom no man didst know,
On Carmel's children
thy favours bestow,
Star of the sea.

Spiritual Desolation: Part II

The time of spiritual desolation is also a time for being resigned.
When a soul begins to cultivate the spiritual life, God usually showers
his consolations upon her to wean her away from the world; but when he
sees her making solid progress, he withdraws his hand to test her and
to see if she will love and serve him without the reward of sensible
consolations. “In this life,” as St. Teresa used to say, “our lot is
not to enjoy God, but to do his holy will.” And again, “Love of God
does not consist in experiencing his tendernesses, but in serving him
with resolution and humility.” And in yet another place, “God’s true
lovers are discovered in times of aridity and temptation.”

Let the soul thank God when she experiences his loving endearments, but
let her not repine when she finds herself left in desolation. It is
important to lay great stress on this point, because some souls,
beginners in the spiritual life, finding themselves in spiritual
aridity, think God has abandoned them, or that the spiritual life is
not for them; thus they give up the practice of prayer and lose what
they have previously gained. The time of aridity is the best time to
practice resignation to God’s holy will. I do not say you will feel no
pain in seeing yourself deprived of the sensible presence of God; it is
impossible for the soul not to feel it and lament over it, when even
our Lord cried out on the cross: “My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me [69] ?” In her sufferings, however, the soul should always
be resigned to God’s will.

Uniformity With God's Will
Saint Alphonsus de Liguori

The time of spiritual desolation is also a time for being resigned.
When a soul begins to cultivate the spiritual life, God usually showers
his consolations upon her to wean her away from the world; but when he
sees her making solid progress, he withdraws his hand to test her and
to see if she will love and serve him without the reward of sensible
consolations. “In this life,” as St. Teresa used to say, “our lot is
not to enjoy God, but to do his holy will.” And again, “Love of God
does not consist in experiencing his tendernesses, but in serving him
with resolution and humility.” And in yet another place, “God’s true
lovers are discovered in times of aridity and temptation.”

Let the soul thank God when she experiences his loving endearments, but
let her not repine when she finds herself left in desolation. It is
important to lay great stress on this point, because some souls,
beginners in the spiritual life, finding themselves in spiritual
aridity, think God has abandoned them, or that the spiritual life is
not for them; thus they give up the practice of prayer and lose what
they have previously gained. The time of aridity is the best time to
practice resignation to God’s holy will. I do not say you will feel no
pain in seeing yourself deprived of the sensible presence of God; it is
impossible for the soul not to feel it and lament over it, when even
our Lord cried out on the cross: “My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me [69] ?” In her sufferings, however, the soul should always
be resigned to God’s will.

Is your Love, "Too Ardent"?

This is me! Since I was a teenager.

St. Therese writes this:

My heart, sensitive and affectionate as it was, would have easily surrendered had it found a heart capable of understanding it. I tried to make friends with little girls my own age, and especially with two of them, I Loved them and they, in their turn, loved me insofar as they were capable, But alas! How narrow and flighty is the heart of creatures! Soon I saw my love was misunderstood..... I felt this and I did not beg for an affection that was refused............... How can I thank Jesus for making me find "only bitterness in earth's friendships". With a heart such as mine, I would have allowed myself to be taken and my wings to be clipped, and then how would I have been able to "fly and be at rest?" (Ps. 54:7). How can a heart given over to the affection of creatures be intimately united with God? I feel this is not possible. Without having drunk the poisoned cup of a too ardent love of creatures, I feel I cannot be mistaken. I have seen so many souls, seduced by this false light, fly like poor moths and burn their wings, and then return to the real and gentle light of Love, that gives them new wings which are more brilliant and delicate, so that they can fly toward Jesus, the Divine Fire" which burns without consuming" [John of the Cross, The Living Flame of Love, 2: 2-4]. Ah! I feel it? Jesus knew I was too feeble to be exposed to temptation.... I encountered only bitterness where stronger souls met with joy, and they detached themselves from it through fidelity. I have no merit at all, then, in not having given myself up to the love of creatures. I was preserved from it only through God's mercy!

Story of a Soul,

Chapter IV

The Man Nobody Knows

The Man Nobody Knows........

I copied this from my friend Latina's blog post.
The author is Bruce Barton....I will be buying more of his books......this is great food for thought......

There are two seas in Palestine. One is fresh, and fish are in it. Splashes of green adorn its banks. Trees spread their branches over it and stretch out their thirsty roots to sip its healing waters.....The River Jordan makes this sea with sparkling water from the hills. So it laughs in
the sunshine. And men build their houses near to it, and birds their nests; and every kind of life is happier because it is there.

The River Jordan flows on south into another sea.

Here is no splash of fish, no fluttering leaf, no song of birds, no children's laughter. Travelers choose another route, unless on urgent business. The air hangs heavy above its water, and neither man nor beast nor fowl will drink.

What makes this mighty difference in these neighbor seas? Not the River Jordan. It empties the same good water into both. Not the soil in which they lie; not in the country round about.

This is the difference. The sea of Galilee receives but does not keep the Jordan. For every drop that flows into it another drop flows out. The giving and receiving go on in equal measure.

The other sea is shrewder, hoarding its income jealously. It will not be tempted into any generous impulse. Every drop it gets, it keeps.

The Sea of Galilee gives and lives. This other sea gives nothing. It is named the "DEAD".

There are two kinds of people in this world. There are two seas in Palestine.

after reading these lines he goes on to say that we all must be gentle to ourselves....that we all must go out of our way to say hello to the most lonely person you know...let some one that has made a difference in your life...let them know how much of a difference they made in your life and what it means to you.....the lesson........... giving gives life...not only to others but to your self........I know that I "give" to others....sometimes what I give is only what can be beneficial to me...of course I do "give"......sincerely and with all I have...but I am very choosy who I "give" to......I think that it is time that I re-evaluate some things.......I must acknowledge that there have been many that have and do...."given" to me...with out being choosy......this is again......something else that has been in front of me..... that I choose not see......... that I refused to look at from a different perspective....all due from past pains.....due from seeing others being insincere....due from others not appreciating what has been given from the heart.......Let me know what you think.............

I thought this was such a beautiful post and I hope she doesn't mind me copying it here.

God's Guidance

4. Wherefore, to the end that all, whether beginners or proficients,
may know how to commit themselves to God's guidance, when His Majesty
desires to lead them onward, we shall give instruction and counsel, by
His help, so that they may be able to understand His will, or, at the
least, allow Him to lead them. For some confessors and spiritual
fathers, having no light and experience concerning these roads, are
wont to hinder and harm such souls rather than to help them on the
road; they are like the builders of Babel, who, when told to furnish
suitable material, gave and applied other very different material,
because they understood not the language, and thus nothing was done.
Wherefore, it is a difficult and troublesome thing at such seasons for
a soul not to understand itself or to find none who understands it. For
it will come to pass that God will lead the soul by a most lofty path
of dark contemplation and aridity, wherein it seems to be lost, and,
being thus full of darkness and trials, constraints and temptations,
will meet one who will speak to it like Job's comforters, and say that
it is suffering from melancholy, or low spirits, or a morbid
disposition, or that it may have some hidden sin, and that it is for
this reason that God has forsaken it. Such comforters are wont to
declare immediately that that soul must have been very evil, since such
things as these are befalling it.

St. John of the Cross
Prologue to Ascent of Mount Carmel

Spiritual Desolation: Part I

We ought to view in the light of God’s holy will, the loss of persons
who are helpful to us in a spiritual or material way. Pious souls often
fail in this respect by not being resigned to the dispositions of God’s
holy will. Our sanctification comes fundamentally and essentially from
God, not from spiritual directors. When God sends us a spiritual
director, he wishes us to use him for our spiritual profit; but if he
takes him away, he wants us to remain calm and unperturbed and to
increase our confidence in his goodness by saying to him: “Lord, thou
hast given me this help and now thou dost take it away. Blessed be thy
holy will! I beg thee, teach me what I must do to serve thee.”

In this manner too, we should receive whatever other crosses God sends
us. “But,” you reply, “these sufferings are really punishments.” The
answer to that remark is: Are not the punishments God sends us in this
life also graces and benefits? Our offenses against God must be atoned
for somehow, either in this life or in the next. Hence we should all
make St. Augustine’s prayer our own: “Lord, here cut,
here burn and spare me not, but spare me in eternity!”

Let us say with Job: “Let this be my comfort, that afflicting
me with sorrow, he spare not [67] .”
Having merited hell for our sins, we should be consoled that God
chastises us in this life, and animate ourselves to look upon such
treatment as a pledge that God wishes to spare us in the next. When God
sends us punishments let us say with the high-priest Heli: “It is
the Lord, let him do what is good in his sight [68] .”

Uniformity With God's Will
Saint Alphonsus de Liguori

[67] Job, 6:10.

[68] 1 Kings, 3:18.

Novena: Day Two of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Second Day

Mary, wonderful in her service

Listening to the Word: The Visitation (Lk 1: 39-45)

Reflection: Soon after hearing the Angel's message, the Mother of the Lord goes to her cousin Elisabeth who is old and expects a child. The Gospel says that she left in a hurry to place herself at the service of the needy. The Virgin does not allow the fact that the hope of Israel will be fulfilled in her "go to her head", but in utter humility she leaves to serve through small and simple house tasks.

Prayer: Mother Mary, expert servant, help us understand that it is only by being each other's servants that we can be true followers of your Son.
Mother Mary, expert servant, enable us to be always available to those whom we meet in our daily life.
Mother Mary, Vine blossom laden, help us compete in being charitable

My commitment is to serve those who are close to me. In imitation of the Virgin Mary, I shall try to serve ever better those who are least pleasing to me.

Flower of Carmel
Vine blossom-laden,
splendour of heaven,
Child-bearing yet maiden,
None equals thee.
Mother so tender,
whom no man didst know,
On Carmel's children
thy favours bestow,
Star of the sea.

You will find the Gospel Reflection here

Summary and Selected Paragraphs from Pope's New Encyclical

My friend Paul posted some selected paragraphs from the Pope's New Encyclical and may be found here at Commentarius de Prognosticis
I can't wait to get my copy!

Blessings,
Linda

A Full and Lasting Joy

By uniting themselves to the divine will, the saints have enjoyed
paradise by anticipation in this life. Accustoming themselves to
receive all things from the hands of God, says St. Dorotheus, the
men of old maintained continual serenity of soul. St. Mary Magdalene of
Pazzi derived such consolation at hearing the words “will of God,” that
she usually fell into an ecstasy of love. The instances of
jangling irritation that are bound to arise will not fail to make
surface impact on the senses. This however will be experienced only in
the inferior part of the soul; in the superior part will reign peace
and tranquility as long as our will remains united with God’s. Our
Lord assured his apostles: “Your joy no man shall take from you . . .
Your joy shall be full [John, 16:22 & 24] .” He who unites his will to God’s
experiences a full and lasting joy: full, because he has what he wants,
as was explained above; lasting, because no one can take his joy from
him, since no one can prevent what God wills from happening.

Uniformity With God's Will
Saint Alphonsus de Liguori

Act of Consecration to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

O Mary, Queen and Mother of Carmel, I come today to consecrate myself to you, for my whole life is but a small return for the many graces and blessings that have come from God to me through your hands. Since you regard with an eye of special kindness those who wear your Scapular I implore you to strengthen the darkness of my mind with your wisdom, to increase in me faith, hope and charity that I may render, day by day, my debt of humble homage to you.

May your Scapular keep your eyes of mercy turned towards me and bring me your special protection in the daily struggle to be faithful to your Divine Son and to you. May it separate me from all that is sinful in life and remind me constantly of my duty to behold you and clothe myself with your virtues. From henceforth I shall strive to live in the sweet companionship of your spirit, to offer all to Jesus through you and to make my life the mirror of your humility, charity, patience, meekness and prayerfulness.

O dearest Mother, support me, by your never-failing love that I, an unworthy sinner, may come one day to exchange your Scapular for the wedding Garment of heaven and dwell with you and the saints of Carmel in the kingdom of your Son. Amen

Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Novena of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Starts Tuesday July 7th ends on July 16th the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

This is a link to my favorite Novena To Our Lady from the Carmelite Order
You can find it here:

Reflection: The Gospels begin by presenting Mary as a woman who embraces God's plan. In an attitude of prayer, she listens, meditates, consents and answers "yes" to God who calls her. In a word she is welcoming. It is this welcoming that gives birth to Life in her. "And the Word was made flesh."

Prayer: Holy Mary, welcoming woman, lead us to imitate you so that every day we may give birth to Jesus in the situations of life where we find ourselves.
Holy Mary, welcoming woman, teach us to meditate the Word of God like you, so that at every moment of our lives we may welcome it and allow ourselves to be guided by it.
Holy Mary, flower of Carmel, hear our pleading.

My commitment is to read a page of the Gospel and reflect on it to try and discover what God wishes of me in my daily life.

Flower of Carmel
Vine blossom-laden,
splendour of heaven,
Child-bearing yet maiden,
None equals thee.
Mother so tender,
whom no man didst know,
On Carmel's children
thy favours bestow,
Star of the sea.

The Essence of Perfection

The essence of perfection is to embrace the will of God in all things,
prosperous or adverse. In prosperity, even sinners find it easy to
unite themselves to the divine will; but it takes saints to unite
themselves to God’s will when things go wrong and are painful to
self-love. Our conduct in such instances is the measure of our love of
God. St. John of Avila used to say:“One ‘Blessed be God’ in times of
adversity, is worth more than a thousand acts of gratitude in times of
prosperity [20] .”

Uniformity With God's Will
Saint Alphonsus de Liguori

Catholic Spiritual Direction: I am struggling with the violent content of psalms – can you provide me with insight on how you deal with this?

This was a great post and wanted to share it with you!

Catholic Spiritual Direction: I am struggling with the violent content of psalms – can you provide me with insight on how you deal with this?

The Temple of the Holy Spirit

Your bodies are the members of
Christ....and the temple of the Holy Ghost.

Man consists of soul and body; by baptism he
is made a member of that same mystical body, the Church,
of which Christ is the head:
In baptism both the soul and body are consecrated to God:

they are made the temple of the Holy Ghost, inasmuch as the
spirit and grace of God inhabits in men, who are sanctified.

Christ redeemed both our souls and bodies, both which he designs to
sanctify, and to glorify hereafter in heaven;
so that we must look upon both body and soul
as belonging to Christ, and not as our own. ---

Shall I, then, taking the members of
Christ, make them the members of an harlot,
by a shameful and unlawful commerce? ---
Fly fornication.

Such sins are chiefly to be avoided by flight, and by avoiding the
occasions and temptations. Other sins are not committed by such an injury done to the
body, but by an abuse of something else, that is different from the body, but by fornication
and sins of uncleanness, the body itself is defiled and dishonoured, whereas the body
ought to be considered as if it were not our own, being redeemed by our Saviour Christ,
consecrated to him, with an expectation of a happy resurrection, and of being glorified in
heaven. Endeavour, therefore, to glorify God in your body, by employing it in his service,
and bear him in your body by being obedient to his will. (Witham)

How God's Providence includes Everything: Part 16 "On Cleaving to God"

How God's Providence includes everything
St. Albert of Jerusalem
Conclusion: "On Cleaving to God"

Certainly if we are to come directly, safely and nakedly to our Lord
God without hindrance, freely and peacefully, as explained above, and
be securely joined to him with even mind in prosperity or adversity,
whether in life or in death, then our job is to commit everything
unhesitatingly and resolutely, in general and individually, to his
unquestionable and infallible providence. This is hardly surprising
since it is he alone who gives to all things their being, their
capacity and their action - that is, their strength, operation, nature,
manner and order in number, weight and measure. Especially since just
as a work of art presupposes a prior operation of nature, in the same
way the operation of nature presupposes the work of God, creating,
sustaining, ordering and administering it, for to him alone belong
infinite power, wisdom, goodness and inherent mercy, justice, truth,
love, and unchanging timelessness and omnipresence.

So nothing can exist or act by its own power unless it acts in the power
of God himself, who is the prime mover and the first principle, who is the
cause of every action, and the actor in every agent. For so far as the
nature of the order of things is concerned, God provides for everything
without intermediary right down to the last detail. So nothing, from
the greatest to the smallest things, can escape God's eternal
providence, or fall away from it, whether in matters of the will, of
causal events, or even of accidental circumstances outside of one's
control. But God cannot do anything which does not fall under the order
of his own providence, just as he cannot do anything which is not
subject to its operation. Divine providence therefore extends to
everything, in general and in particular, even including a man's
thoughts. On which subject Scripture has this to say, Cast all your
worries upon him, for he takes care of you. (1 Peter 5.7) And again the
prophet says, Cast your care upon the Lord, and he will feed you.
(Psalm 55.22) And, Look at the nations of men, my son, and see that no
one ever put his trust in the Lord, and was disappointed. For who has
been faithful to his commandments and been abandoned? (Sirach 2.22) And
our Lord himself said, Do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat?
(Matthew 6.25) So whatever and however much we can hope from God, we
shall undoubtedly receive, as Deuteronomy says, Every place where you
feet tread shall be yours. (Deuteronomy 11.24) For a man shall receive
all that he is able to desire, and so far as he can reach with his foot
of faith, even so much shall he possess. That is why Bernard says,
"God, the maker of everything is so abounding in mercy that whatever
size grace cup of faith we are able to hold out to him, we shall
undoubtedly have it filled." And so Mark has it, All that you ask in
prayer believing that you will receive it, will be given you. (Mark
11.24)

So the stronger and the more vehement our faith in God is, and
the more reverently and persistently it is offered up to God, the more
surely, the more abundantly and the quicker what we hoped for will be
accomplished and obtained. Indeed if in doing this our faith in God is
weak and slow to rise to God on account of the multitude and magnitude
of our sins, we should remember this, that everything is possible with
God, and that what he wishes is bound to take place, while what he does
not wish cannot possibly happen, and that it is as easy for him to
forgive and cancel countless sins, however enormous, as to do it with a
single sin. While a sinner cannot, of himself, rise from innumerable
sins, and free and absolve himself from them, and not even from just
one sin. For we are unable not only to do, but even to think anything
good, of ourselves, but this is from God. Nonetheless it is much more
dangerous, other things being equal, to be ensnared in many sins than
in a single one, since no sin is left unpunished, and every mortal sin
deserves infinite punishment, and this by the rigour of justice since
any such sin is against God who is indeed worthy of infinite reverence,
dignity and honour. What is more, according to the Apostle Paul, God
knows his own (2 Timothy 2.19), and it is impossible for any of them to
perish by the whirlwinds and floods of any error, scandal, schism,
persecution, heresy, tribulation, adversity or temptation, for he has
foreseen from eternity and unchangeably the number of his elect and the
extent of their merits in such a way that everything good and bad, what
is theirs and not theirs, prosperity and adversity, all work together
for them for good, except indeed that they appear even more glorious
and commendable in adversity.

So let us commit everything with full assurance, in general
and in particular, confidently and unhesitatingly
to divine providence, by which God permits however much and whatever
sort of evil to happen to us. For it is good and will lead to good,
since he permits it to exist, and it would not exist unless he
permitted it to exist. Nor could it exist otherwise or more than he
permits it to, because he knows how to, has the power to, and wills to
change and convert it into something better. For just as it is by
operation of providence that all good things exist, so it is by its
permission that all bad things are changed into good. In this way in
fact God's power, wisdom and mercy are shown forth through Christ our
redeemer - his mercy and his justice, the power of grace and the
weakness of nature, the beauty of everything in the association of
opposites, the approval of the good, and the malice and punishment of
the wicked.

Similarly the contrition of the converted sinner, his
confession, and penitence, the kindness of God, piety, charity and his
praise and goodness (all show forth God's power and wisdom). Yet it
does not always lead to good in those who do ill, but, as is usually
the case, to great danger and extreme evil, in the loss, that is, of
grace and their place in glory, and in the incurring of guilt and
punishment, sometimes even eternal punishment, from which may Jesus
Christ defend us. Amen.

My Angel of Satan

Today's Second Reading is so very close to my heart.
On July 9th 2000 I felt so broken inside. I was literally on the floor crying and asking the Lord what did I do to deserve all this suffering. I "thought" I was doing everything right. I was going to Church, confession, praying..... but still I was tormented by my ex-husband. When I heard interiorly (not with a voice or sound but inside of my spirit these words 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 and then I heard because I love you). I pulled out my bible sitting on the kitchen counter and just started to cry. Now arguing with God saying to Him, "Because you love me? I suffer so much because you love me? Still feeling so broken yet also felt God's love within me all of a sudden I went to morning Mass across the street. I was so shocked and in awe that these same words the Lord just revealed to me at home were the same readings the church was saying and then more to come. The Priest whom was now saying the homily kept repeating these words and I sat there in my pew just crying and crying. He the Priest said, "Because I love you! Because we must endure our crosses in life because Jesus loves us. It was like the priest was just talking to me.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10

In view of the extraordinary nature of these revelations, to stop me from getting too proud I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan to beat me and stop me from getting too proud! About this thing, I have pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me, but he has said, ‘My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness.’ So I shall be very happy to make my weaknesses my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me, and that is why I am quite content with my weaknesses, and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and the agonies I go through for Christ’s sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong.

I made an appointment with the priest that very morning. I had no doubt in my mind that God loved me. He revealed himself to me in all my misery. Even though I was wollowing in self pity that day, God had mercy on my brokenness. My thorn of Satan was my ex husband. He was not going to releave me of this burden, the insults, hardships, agonies. But he did give me the grace to carry on. I found peace within me again. Peace within that I had not had in a very long time. I had to forgive myself and my ex-husband. And the day I forgave him in my heart was the day he went away. So when we are weak Jesus is strong. When we cry out to God, he does hear us.
So this weekend I am not only celebrating the 4th of July but freedom of spirit. Freedom not to be held bound by what another has done to me. We must be set free and this can only be done with Jesus. God's grace is there for us, we just need to ask for it.

God bless you all this weekend,
Linda

When I Call for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against Women

When I Call for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against Women

Tenth Anniversary Edition

A Statement of the U.S. Catholic Bishops

"When I Call For Help" Presentation
Download "When I Call For Help" PowerPoint Presentation

Issued by USCCB, November 12, 2002
Copyright © 2002, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. All rights reserved.

This article is very long and for those suffering abuse or know someone suffering abuse learn here what the Catholic Church teaches on Abuse. I have a friend suffering such abuse and at times I just don't know what to tell her. So here you may find the words to bring help to your loved one suffering abuse.

Click this link for what to do to help those Living With Domestic Violence

Touch of Our Savior's Hand

What was your God moment this week? Karinann has a beautiful blog and she asked us this question this week. When have we experienced Our Savior's Touch? Well I already tried to post a reply to this and my computer shut off completely. Must be a good one since the evil one is at work in trying to stop me..... but as I try again to continue this I was thinking of those moments like the woman at the well that we asked Jesus to give us this "life giving water"? I think that the most water is given to us when we thirst for other souls. At those moments when I feel this immense love within me that I know I am so undeserving of, this love is meant for me to give to others. That is what I do, at each moment when I feel this loving thirst for others, one of my children or a neighbor who is suffering I send to them in my prayers this love, this thirst for their salvation. I feel I can never repay Our Lord for all the suffering he has endured for us, and so much mercy he has given to me in my life, that this same love is given to each of us. All we have to do is ask for it, like the woman at the well. Well before my post disappears I am going to post this as it is.

God bless you and may we all experience Jesus' Touch in our lives.
Linda

Mary and Elijah: Presence, Inspiration and Guide

From the Rule of Life for Lay Carmelites

Mary and Elijah: Presence, Inspiration and Guide

34. Like Mary, first among the humble and the poor of the Lord, lay Carmelites discover that they are called to sing of the wonders that the Lord has performed in their lives. With her, the image and first flowering of the Church, they learn to measure the often tortuous ups and downs of daily life against the Word of God. They learn from her to welcome the Word, to be open to it and to embrace it fully. Mary, in whom the Word was made flesh, inspires lay Carmelites to be faithful to their mission, to actions which are animated by charity and by a spirit of service and to practical co-operation in the work of salvation. Together with Mary, they travel along the paths of history, alert to authentic human needs, ready always to share with the Lord the sacrifice of the Cross and to experience with him the peace of new life. Mary is a singular and eminent member of the Church. In her own way she has shared increasingly in the unique mediation between God and humanity, made real in Jesus Christ, and which today the Church carries and mediates in history. Lay Carmelites let themselves be accompanied by Mary in gradually taking on responsibility for co-operation in salvation and for the communication of grace given in the Church. In Carmel, this was traditionally seen in terms of the motherly love of Mary for Carmel. Carmelites are aware of being loved by such a great and tender mother and cannot but love her in return.Hence comes the idea of losing oneself in God, in the maternal warmth of the Blessed Virgin.

35. Lay Carmelites also share the zeal of the prophet Elijah for the Lord and his law. They are ready to defend the rights of those who are downtrodden. They learn from the prophet to leave everything to go into the desert in order to be purified, made ready for their meeting with the Lord and to welcome his word. They feel impelled, like the prophet, to support true religion against false idols. Together with Elijah, lay Carmelites learn to feel the presence of the Lord which comes to humanity with strength and gentleness. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Strengthened by this transforming and life-giving experience, lay Carmelites are able to face the realities of the world, confident that God holds the destiny of each one and the whole of history itself.

The Rule of life

Third Order Carmelites

The Third Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel is an association of lay people who, in response to a call from God promise to live the Gospel in the spirit of the Carmelite Order and under its guidance.

As well as lay people, diocesan priests, who find in the Carmelite charism help for their spiritual lives and their mission in the Church and the world, may be members of the Carmelite Third Order.

The Third Order member is connected to the Carmelite Order by means of the promise which he or she makes. It is possible, following a very ancient custom, to make private vows of chastity and obedience according to one's state in life in order to be consecrated more closely to God.

Lay Carmelites, filled with the spirit of the Order, seek to live their own vocation by silently listening to the Word of God (Lectio Divina). According to the constant tradition of Carmel, they will especially cultivate prayer in all its forms.

More information about Third Order Carmelites Here

On Cleaving to God: Part 15 of 16

We are almost through with this little Treaty from St. Albert of Jerusalem

How contempt of himself can be produced in a man, and how useful it is

Furthermore the more a man recognises his own insignificance, the more
he fully and the more clearly he becomes aware to the divine majesty,
and the more a man is low in his own eyes for the sake of God, the
truth and justice, the more precious he is in the eyes of God. For this
reason let us strive with the whole strength of our desire to consider
ourselves the lowest of all and to consider ourselves unworthy of any
favor.

We should strive to be displeasing to ourselves and pleasing
only to God, while regarded as low and unworthy of consideration by
others. Above all not to be moved by difficulties, afflictions and
insults, and not to be upset by those who inflict such things on us, or
entertain evil thoughts against them or be indignant, but to believe
steadfastly and with equanimity in all insults, slights, blows and
dereliction that it is only appropriate. For in truth he who is really
penitent and grieving before God hates to be honoured and loved by all,
and does not try to manipulate things so as to avoid being to some
degree hated, neglected and despised right to the end, so that he can
be truly humbled and sincerely cleave to God alone with a pure heart.

Indeed, for loving God alone and hating oneself more than anything, and
desiring to be despised by others we do not require external work or
physical strength, but rather physical solitude, the labour of the
heart, and peace of mind so that, as it were, by labour of the heart
and the disposition of the inmost mind, one may rise up, casting off
from oneself lower and physical things, and so soar up, ascending to
things heavenly and divine. For indeed in so doing we are changed into
God, and this will especially take place when without judgement,
condemnation or contempt of our neighbour, we choose rather to be
considered as scum and a disgrace by everyone and to be despised as
unclean filth by everyone than to experience all sorts of different
delicacies or to be honoured and exalted by men, or enjoy all sorts of
transitory physical forms of well-being and comfort.

We should not desire any pleasure of this present, mortal and physical
life but rather to mourn, bewail and lament our offenses, faults and sins
without ceasing, and to perfectly despise and annihilate ourselves, and
from day to day to be considered more and more abject by others, while
in all our insignificance we become worthless even in our own eyes, so
that we can be pleasing to God alone, love him alone, and cleave to him
alone. We should not wish to be concerned about anything except the
Lord Jesus Christ himself who alone should reside in our affections,
and we should not be concerned or anxious about anything except him on
whose dominion and providence everything in general and individually
depends. So from now on it should not be your aim to seek enjoyment but
to truly mourn with all your heart.

For that reason, if you do not mourn, mourn for that, while
if you do mourn, mourn especially that you have brought the
cause of your pain on yourself by your own great
offences and infinite sins. For just as a condemned man on receiving
his sentence does not concern himself about the seating of the
spectators, so he who laments and is genuinely mourning is not
interested in pleasures, resentment, fame or wrongs or things of that
sort. And just as townsfolk and contemned criminals have different
accommodation, the state and position of those who are mourning and
have committed offences deserving punishment ought to be completely
different from those who are innocent and under no obligation.
Otherwise there would be no difference between the guilty and the
innocent in matters of punishment and reward. The result would be great
dereliction of duty, and evil behaviour would have more freedom than
goodness.

So everything must be renounced, everything despised,
everything rejected and avoided, so that we can lay a firm foundation
of penitent grieving. Then, loving Jesus Christ in reality, yearning
for him, and holding him in one's heart, in reality experiencing pain
for one's sins and faults, in reality seeking to know the coming
Kingdom, while with true faith bearing in mind the reality of the
torments and eternal judgement, and firmly and fully taking up the
recollection and fear of one's own death, we should be aware of nothing
else, and not care or be worried about anything else. For that reason,
he who hurries towards the blessed state of impassibility and towards
God should reckon himself to have experienced great loss every day that
he is not insulted and despised. Impassibility after all is freedom
from vices and passions and purity of heart and the adornment of all
virtues.

So consider yourself as already dead since there is no doubt
that you have got to die. And as a final thought let this be the test
for you of whether any thought, word or action of yours is of God,
whether you are made more humble because of it, more inward and more
recollected and established in God. If you find it is otherwise in
yourself, you should be suspicious about it, whether it be not
according to God, unacceptable to you and not to your benefit.

More from The Doctors of the Church:

On Cleaving to God: Part 14 of 16

That we should seek the verdict of our conscience in every decision

While we should strive for spiritual perfection of mind, purity and
peace in God, it will be found to be not a little beneficial to this
that we should return quietly into the inner secret place of the mind
in the face of everything said, thought or done to us. There, withdrawn
from everything else and completely recollected within ourselves, we
can place ourselves in the knowledge of the truth before us and
undoubtedly discover and understand that it does us absolutely no good,
and rather the contrary, when we are praised or honoured by others
while we recognise by the knowledge of the truth about ourselves within
that we are blameworthy and guilty. And just as nothing is any help if
externally people praise someone if his conscience internally accuses
him, in the same way on the contrary it does a man no harm to be
despised, maligned and persecuted when he remains internally just as
innocent, blameless and without fault. On the contrary he has all the
more good reason to rejoice in the Lord with patience, in peace and
silence. After all no adversity can do any harm where evil is not in
control, and just as no evil goes unpunished, so no good goes
unrewarded. Nor should we wish a reward with hypocrites or expect and
receive profit from men, but from the Lord God alone, not in the
present, but in the future, and not in fleeting time, but in eternity.
It is clear therefore that nothing is greater, and nothing better than
to enter into the inner secret place of the mind always and in every
tribulation and occurrence, and there to call upon the Lord Jesus
Christ himself, our helper in temptations and tribulations, and to
humble ourselves there by confession of sin, and praise God and Father
himself, the giver of correction and the giver of consolation.

Above all one should accept everything, in general and individually, in
oneself or in others, agreeable or disagreeable, with a prompt and
confident spirit, as coming from the hand of his infallible Providence
or the order he has arranged. This attitude will lead to the
forgiveness of our sins, the deliverance from bitterness, the enjoyment
of joy and security, the outpouring of grace and mercy, introduction
and establishment into a close relationship with God, abundant
enjoyment of his presence, and firm cleaving and union with him.

But let us not copy those who from hypocrisy and Pharisaism want to appear
better and different from what they are, and to make a better
impression and appearance before men of being something special, than
they know in truth inside to be so. For it is absolute madness to seek,
hunger for and aspire to human praise or renown, from oneself or
others, when one is in spite of it all inwardly full of cravings and
serious faults. And certainly the good things we have talked about
above will flee him who chases such vanities, and he will merely bring
disgrace on himself.

So always keep your faults and your own incapacity
before your eyes, and know yourself, so that you can be humbled and not
try to avoid being held as the lowest, vilest and most abject scum by
everyone when you are aware of the grave sins and serious faults in
yourself. For which reason consider yourself compared to others as
dross to gold, weeds to the wheat, chaff to the grain, a wolf to the
sheep, Satan to the children of God. And do not seek to be respected by
others and given precedence before others, but rather flee with all
your heart and soul the poison of this disease, the venom of praise,
the concern for boasting and vanity, lest, as the prophet says, The
wicked is praised in his own heart's desires, (Psalm 10.4) and Isaiah,
They who speak good of you, deceive you and destroy the way of your
feet, (Isaiah 3.12) and the Lord in Luke, Woe to you when men speak
well of you! (Luke 6.26).

You will find this lovely book from St. Albert of Jerusalem Here

Cleaving To God: Part 13 of 16

The nature and value of prayer, and how the heart should be recollected
within itself

Besides this, since we are incapable of ourselves for this and for any
other good action whatsoever, and since we can of ourselves offer
nothing to the Lord God (from whom all good things come) which is not
his already, with this one exception, as he has deigned to show us both
by his own blessed mouth as well as by his example, that we should turn
to him in all circumstances and occasions as guilty, wretched, poor,
beggarly, weak, helpless, subject servants and sons. And that we should
beseech him and lay before him with complete confidence the dangers
that are besetting us on all sides, completely grief-stricken in
ourselves, in humble prostration of mind, in fear and love, and with
recollected, composed, mature, true and naked, shamefaced affection,
with great yearning and determination, and in groaning of heart and
sincerity of mind. Thus we commit and offer ourselves up to him freely,
securely and nakedly, fully and in everything that is ours, holding
nothing back to ourselves, in such a complete and final way, that the
same is fulfilled in us as in our blessed father Isaac, who speaks of
this very type of prayer, saying, Then we shall be one in God, and the
Lord God will be all in all and alone in us when his own perfect love,
with which he first loved us, will have become the disposition of our
own hearts too. This will come about when all our love, all our desire,
all our concern, all our efforts, in fact everything we think,
everything we see, speak and even hope will be God, and that unity
which now is of the Father with the Son, and of the Son with the
Father, will be poured into our own heart and mind as well, in such a
way that just as he loves us with sincere and indissoluble love we too
will be joined to him with eternal and inseparable affection. In other
words we shall be united with him in such a way that whatever we hope,
and whatever we say or pray will be God. This therefore should be the
aim, this the concern and goal of a spiritual man - to be worthy to
possess the image of future bliss in this corruptible body, and in a
certain measure experience in advance how the foretaste of that
heavenly bliss, eternal life and glory begins in this world. This, as I
say, is the goal of all perfection, that his purified mind should be
daily raised up from all bodily objects to spiritual things until all
his mental activity and all his heart's desire become one unbroken
prayer. So the mind must abandon the dregs of earth and press on
towards to God, on whom alone should be fixed the desire of a spiritual
man, for whom the least separation from that summum bonum is to be
considered a living death and dreadful loss. Then, when the requisite
peace has been established in his mind, when it is free from attachment
to any carnal passion, and clings firmly in intention to that one
supreme good, the Apostle's sayings are fulfilled, Pray without
ceasing, (1 Thessalonians 5.17) and, Pray in every place lifting up
pure hands without anger or dispute. (1 Timothy 2.8) For when the power
of the mind is absorbed in this purity, so to speak, and is transformed
from an earthly nature into the spiritual or angelic likeness, whatever
it receives into itself, whatever it is occupied with, whatever it is
doing, it will be pure and sincere prayer. In this way, if you continue
all the time in the way we have described from the beginning, it will
become as easy and clear for you to remain in contemplation in your
inward and recollected state, as to live in the natural state.

Saint Albert of Jerusalem: For more on Reading on Cleaving to God
or other Doctors of the Church Click Here

Crying, Abba, Father!

In What Sense the Holy Spirit Solicits for Us, Crying, Abba, Father.

And this especially since “we know not what to pray for as we ought,” says the apostle, “but the Spirit Himself make's intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered; and He that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the saints according to God.”( Rom. iii. 26.)

What is “the Spirit Himself maketh intercession,” but, “causes to make intercession,” “with groanings that cannot be uttered,” but “truthful,” since the Spirit is truth? For He it is of whom the apostle says in another place, “God hath sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, “crying, Abba, Father!” (Gal. iv. 6. )And here what is the meaning of “crying,” but “making to cry,” by that figure of speech whereby we call a day that makes people glad, a glad day? And this he makes plain elsewhere when he says, “For you have not received the Spirit of bondage again in fear, but you have received the Spirit of the adoption of sons, in whom we cry, Abba, Father.” (Rom. viii. 15.) He there said, “crying,” but here, “in whom we cry;” opening up, that is to say, the meaning with which he said “crying,”—that is, as I have already explained, “causing to cry,” when we understand that this is also itself the gift of God, that with a true heart and spiritually we cry to God.

Let them, therefore, observe how they are mistaken who think that our seeking, asking, knocking is of ourselves, and is not given to us; and say that this is the case because grace is preceded by our merits; that it follows them when we ask and receive, and seek and find, and it is opened to us when we knock. And they will not understand that this is also of the divine gift, that we pray; that is, that we ask, seek, and knock. For we have received the spirit of adoption of sons, in which we cry, Abba, Father. And this the blessed Ambrose also said. (Ambrose, Commentary on Isaiah.) For he says, “To pray to God also is the work of spiritual grace, as it is written, No one says, Jesus is the Lord, but in the Holy Spirit.”

Saint Augustine

How Powerful the love of God Is

How powerful the love of God is

All that is said above and whatever is necessary for salvation cannot
be better, more immediately and more securely achieved than by love,
through which whatever is lacking of what is necessary for salvation
can be made good. In love we possess the fullness of all good and the
realisation of our highest longing is not denied us. After all it is
love alone by which we turn back to God, are changed into God, cleave
to God, and are united to God in such a way that we become one spirit
with him, and are by him and through him made blessed here by grace and
hereafter in glory.

Now love is such that it cannot rest except in the
beloved, but it does when it wins the beloved in full and peaceful
possession. For love, which itself is charity, is the way of God to men
and the way of man to God. God cannot house where there is no love. So
if we have love, we have God, for God is love. Furthermore nothing is
sharper than love, nothing is more subtle, nothing more penetrating. It
will not rest until it has by its very nature penetrated the whole
power, the depth and the totality of the loved one. It wants to make
itself one with the beloved, and itself, if it were possible, to be
what the beloved is too. Thus it cannot bear that anything should stand
between itself and the beloved object, which is God, but presses
eagerly towards him. As a result it never rests until it has left
everything else behind and come to him alone.

For the nature of love is
of a unitive and transforming power which transforms the lover into
what he loves, or alternatively, makes the lover one with the other,
and vice versa, in so far as is possible. This is manifest in the first
place with regard to the mental powers, depending on how much the
beloved is in the lover, in other words depending on how sweetly and
delightfully the beloved is recalled in the mind of the lover, and in
direct proportion, that is, with how much the lover strives to grasp
all the things that relate to the beloved not just superficially but
intimately, and to enter, as it were, into his innermost secrets. It is
also manifest with regard to the emotional and affective powers when
the beloved is said to be in the lover, in other words when the desire
to please the beloved is found in the will and established within by
the happy enjoyment of him. Alternatively, the lover is in the beloved
when he is united with him by all his desire and compliance in
agreement with the beloved's willing and not willing, and finds his own
pleasure and pain in that of the beloved. For love draws the lover out
of himself (since love is strong as death), and establishes him in the
beloved, causing him to cleave closely to him. For the soul is more
where it loves than where it lives, since it is in what it loves in
accordance with its very nature, understanding and will, while it is in
where it lives only with regard to form, which is even true for animals
as well.

There is nothing therefore which draws us away from the
exterior senses to within ourselves, and from there to Jesus Christ and
things divine, more than the love of Christ and the desire for the
sweetness of Christ, for the experience, awareness and enjoyment of the
presence of Christ's divinity. For there is nothing but the power of
love which can lead the soul from the things of earth to the lofty
summit of heaven. Nor can anyone attain the supreme beatitude unless
summoned to it by love and yearning. Love after all is the life of the
soul, the wedding garment and the soul's perfection, containing all the
law and the prophets and our Lord's teaching. That is why Paul says to
the Romans, Love is the fulfilling of the law, (Rom. 13.8) and in the
first letter to Timothy, The end of the commandment is love. (1 Timothy
1.5)
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doctors of the Church.

Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come

CHAPTER 30
Describes the importance of understanding what we ask for in prayer. Treats of
these words in the Paternoster: "Sanctificetur nomen tuum, adveniat regnum
tuum." [105] Applies them to the Prayer of Quiet, and begins the explanation of
them.

We must now come to consider the next petition in our good Master's
prayer, in which He begins to entreat His holy Father on our behalf,
and see what it is that He entreats, as it is well that we should know
this.

What person, however careless, who had to address someone of
importance, would not spend time in thinking how to approach him so as
to please him and not be considered tedious? He would also think what
he was going to ask for and what use he would make of it, especially if
his petition were for some particular thing, as our good Jesus tells us
our petitions must be. This point seems to me very important. Couldst
Thou not, my Lord, have ended this prayer in a single sentence, by
saying: "Give us, Father, whatever is good for us"? For, in addressing
One Who knows everything, there would seem to be no need to say any
more.

This would have sufficed, O Eternal Wisdom, as between Thee and Thy
Father. It was thus that Thou didst address Him in the Garden, telling
Him of Thy will and Thy fear, but leaving Thyself in His hands. But
Thou knowest us, my Lord, and Thou knowest that we are not as resigned
as wert Thou to the will of Thy Father; we needed, therefore, to be
taught to ask for particular things so that we should stop for a moment
to think if what we ask of Thee is good for us, and if it is not,
should not ask for it. For, being what we are and having our free will,
if we do not receive what we ask for, we shall not accept what the Lord
gives us. The gift might be the best one possible--but we never think
we are rich unless we actually see money in our hands.

Oh, God help me! What is it that sends our faith to sleep, so that we
cannot realize how certain we are, on the one hand, to be punished,
and, on the other, to be rewarded? It is for this reason, daughters,
that it is good for you to know what you are asking for in the
Paternoster, so that, if the Eternal Father gives it you, you shall not
cast it back in His face. You must think carefully if what you are
about to ask for will be good for you; if it will not, do not ask for
it, but ask His Majesty to give you light. For we are blind and often
we have such a loathing for life-giving food that we cannot eat it but
prefer what will cause us death--and what a death: so terrible and
eternal!

Now the good Jesus bids us say these words, in which we pray that this
Kingdom may come in us: "Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come in us."
Consider now, daughters, how great is our Master's wisdom. I am
thinking here of what we are asking in praying for this kingdom, and it
is well that we should realize this. His Majesty, knowing of how little
we are capable, saw that, unless He provided for us by giving us His
Kingdom here on earth, we could neither hallow nor praise nor magnify
nor glorify nor exalt this holy name of the Eternal Father in a way
befitting it. The good Jesus, therefore, places these two petitions
next to each other. Let us understand this thing that we are asking
for, daughters, and how important it is that we should pray for it
without ceasing and do all we can to please Him Who will give it us: it
is for that reason that I want to tell you what I know about the matter
now. If you do not like the subject, think out some other meditations
for yourselves, for our Master will allow us to do this, provided we
submit in all things to the teaching of the [Holy Roman] Church, as I
do here. In any case I shall not give you this book to read until
persons who understand these matters have seen it: so, if there is
anything wrong with it, the reason will be, not wickedness, but my
imperfect knowledge.

To me, then, it seems that, of the many joys to be found in the kingdom
of Heaven, the chief is that we shall have no more to do with the
things of earth; for in Heaven we shall have an intrinsic tranquillity
and glory, a joy in the rejoicings of all, a perpetual peace, and a
great interior satisfaction which will come to us when we see that all
are hallowing and praising the Lord, and are blessing His name, and
that none is offending Him. For all love Him there and the soul's one
concern is loving Him, nor can it cease from loving Him because it
knows Him. And this is how we should love Him on earth, though we
cannot do so with the same perfection nor yet all the time; still, if
we knew Him, we should love Him very differently from the way we do
now.

It looks as though I were going to say that we must be angels to make
this petition and to say our vocal prayers well. This would indeed be
our Divine Master's wish, since He bids us make so sublime a petition.
You may be quite sure that He never tells us to ask for
impossibilities, so it must be possible, with God's help, for a soul
living in that state of exile to reach such a point, though not as
perfectly as those who have been freed from this prison, for we are
making a sea-voyage and are still on the journey. But there are times
when we are wearied with travelling and the Lord grants our faculties
tranquillity and our soul quiet, and while they are in that state He
gives us a clear understanding of the nature of the gifts He bestows
upon those whom He brings to His Kingdom. Those to whom, while they are
still on earth, He grants what we are asking Him for receive pledges
which will give them a great hope of eventually attaining to a
perpetual enjoyment of what on earth He only allows them to taste.

If it were not that you would tell me I am treating of contemplation,
it would be appropriate, in writing of this petition, to say a little
about the beginning of pure contemplation, which those who experience
it call the Prayer of Quiet; but, as I have said, I am discussing vocal
prayer here, and anyone ignorant of the subject might think that the
two had nothing to do with one another, though I know this is certainly
not true. Forgive my wanting to speak of it, for I know there are many
people who practise vocal prayer in the manner already described and
are raised by God to the higher kind of contemplation without having
had any hand in this themselves or even knowing how it has happened.
For this reason, daughters, I attach great importance to your saying
your vocal prayers well. I know a nun who could never practise anything
but vocal prayer but who kept to this and found she had everything
else; yet if she omitted saying her prayers her mind wandered so much
that she could not endure it. May we all practise such mental prayer as
that. She would say a number of Paternosters, corresponding to the
number of times Our Lord shed His blood, and on nothing more than these
and a few other prayers she would spend two or three hours. She came to
me once in great distress, saying that she did not know how to practise
mental prayer, and that she could not contemplate but could only say
vocal prayers. She was quite an old woman and had lived an extremely
good and religious life. I asked her what prayers she said, and from
her reply I saw that, though keeping to the Paternoster, she was
experiencing pure contemplation, and the Lord was raising her to be
with Him in union. She spent her life so well, too, that her actions
made it clear she was receiving great favours. So I praised the Lord
and envied her her vocal prayer. If this story is true--and it is--none
of you who have had a bad opinion of contemplatives can suppose that
you will be free from the risk of becoming like them if you say your
vocal prayers as they should be said and keep a pure conscience. I
shall have to say still more about this. Anyone not wishing to hear it
may pass it over.
__________________________________________________________________

[105] "Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come."

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