God's providence means that wherever we have got to, whatever we have done, that is precisely where the road to heaven begins. However many clues we have missed, however many wrong turnings we have taken, however unnecessarily we may have complicated our journey, the road still beckons, and the Lord still 'waits to be gracious' to us.
Father Simon Tugwell, OP
Recently in Spiritual Life Category
In our catechesis on Christian prayer, we now consider Saint Peter's miraculous liberation from imprisonment on the eve of his trial in Jerusalem. Saint Luke tells us that as "the Church prayed fervently to God for him" (Acts 12:5), Peter was led forth from the prison by an Angel of light. The account of Peter's rescue recalls both Israel's hasty exodus from bondage in Egypt and the glory of Christ's resurrection. Peter was sleeping, a sign of his surrender to the Lord and his trust in the prayers of the Christian community. The fulfillment of this prayer is accompanied by immense joy, as Peter rejoins the community and bears witness to the Risen Lord's saving power. Peter's liberation reminds us that, especially at moments of trial, our perseverance in prayer, and the prayerful solidarity of all our brothers and sisters in Christ, sustains us in faith. As Peter's Successor, I thank all of you for the support of your prayers and I pray that, united in constant prayer, we will all draw ever closer to the Lord and to one another.
Pope Benedict XVI10 May 2012
Do we have perseverance in prayer?Are we in prayerful solidarity with others?
What really sustains our prayer?
"We have an obligation not only to love each
other, but also to make ourselves as lovable as possible so that it is easy for
others to love us."
William of St. Thierry
(1075-1148)
The Incredulity of Thomas is likely one of the most identifiable images for Christians to meditate on. It is for me. Few artists can trigger my Catholic imagination as Caravaggio can. As I run through my day, I keep as a constant refrain in my mind the sentence from St Mark's gospel: Lord, I believe; help my unbelief. Today, following from Divine Mercy Sunday, meditating on John 20:26-29 is a needed mercy.The medieval abbot, theologian and mystic William of St. Thierry (1085-1148) has the following to say about the topic of mercy:
Continue reading Yearning for the riches of the Lord's glory.
Earlier this evening at the School of Community we were talking about our problem recognizing Christ in daily living. In what ways am I moved by Christ? A (vigorous) prayer life keeps us focussed on the meaning of our life in Christ.Taking some clues from Father Julián Carrón may be helpful to those who want to make sense of the spiritual life. Father Carrón encourages a few things:
1. to understand that we need an awareness of ourself;
2. to be mindful that we never fully possess Christ in this life because Christ is a Mystery; that to possess we'd be alone and that is not what the Holy Trinity has promised;
3. yes, it is easy to complain about not being "connected" to Christ in a meaningful manner but we need to consider that to really engage in the Fact and Event of the Incarnation of the Word Made Flesh is to accept that Christ is not reducible to an idea or an opinion;
4. to recall that to have real confidence that God loves me unconditionally; that is not say that God doesn't care about the sinful things we do, He does and he desires true Charity and justice, but His Mercy for our being is stronger than anything we could imagine.
Continue reading Can God still surprise me?.
God did not create us for suffering and renunciation,
but for happiness, for life; not for an ephemeral happiness during life in this
world, but for an eternal and unfailing life, which can be found in God alone.
However, God passes by unnoticed by our senses, whereas the things of this
world press upon us and entice us from all sides, leading us to seek our
happiness in them.
From this arises the necessity of controlling and mortifying
their immoderate tendency toward pleasure, their looking for satisfaction in
creatures. For those who desire to attain to the fullness of life in God, St.
John of the Cross, in full accord with the gospel, suggests that they gradually
accustom themselves to gving up any sensory satisfaction that is not
purely for the honor and glory of God. . .out of love for Jesus Christ. In his
life, he had no other gratification, nor desired any other, than the
fulfillment of his Father's will which he called his meat and food (Ascent of
Mount Carmel I 13-4).
Again it is a question of not seeking our joy and delight
in pleasures of sense, which satisfy selfishness, self-love, and attachment to
creatures, but in the will of God, in what pleases him. If we would be
spiritual persons, we must force ourselves to change the direction of our inclination
toward pleasure by detaching it from the goods of earth and turning it
decisively toward God, until we can repeat with Jesus: I always do what is
pleasing to him (John 8:29).
Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen,
OCD
Divine Intimacy
Compunction involves a moment of awakening, the first
glimmer of enlightenment, the dawning of a new day lived against a different
horizon. St. John Cassian, one of Benedict's principal sources, defines
compunction as whatever can by God's grace waken our lukewarm and sleepy souls
(Conferences 9:26)
This definition seems to envisage us living our spiritual
lives in a slumberous state of half-wakefulness. The grace of compunction is
the transition to a state of fuller awareness.
The great difference between the
saints and the rest of us is that they were spiritually awake more of the time
than we are; they were alert to possibilities. It is because they went through
life in a state of greater consciousness that they were more conscientious in
doing good and avoiding evil.
We who stumble through life with many mistakes
and omissions admire their saintly deeds but without necessarily realizing that
perhaps we could imitate them more closely if our spiritual senses were not so
drowsy
Michael Casey, OCSO
The Road to Eternal Life
In case you didn't know it, there are levels of happiness. You also may not know that God wants us to be happy in this life. Period. Can we open our eyes to what true happiness is?
Four levels of happiness that we encounter in our experience:
- happiness in a thing: I need a steak and a bourbon; I need that vacation
- problem: short-termed pleasure: the flashy new toy
- we are created more than a designer purse:
- who's measure do we use for happiness?
- what do we really ask God for?
2. as persons we are more than comparative advantage, but we compare ourselves with others
a. problem: the "advantage" has a limitation; it's effectiveness is not long-lasting nor does it account for the truth of who we really are as persons made in God's own image
3. finding joy in a sincere gift of self ... to a point
- problem: when the person to whom our joy is directed leaves, then what happens? Was our serving really sincere? What are the motivations in looking for joy in serving?
4. union with God: the only place where we find true peace, love and happiness; the beloved rests with the lover;
- we are restless until our hearts rest in the Lord
- God thirsts for you to thirst for Him
- what does it do to God when we thirst for a designer purse more than for God?
- why does a created thing take the priority over the creator?
We are meant, by God, to be happy in this life and in the next. You may be asking yourself: What are the requirements for attaining true happiness?
Continue reading Where do we get happiness?.
The saints
(Augustine, Benedict, Dominic, Francis, Ignatius and Philip Neri) remind us of
something crucial in the spiritual life, indeed, our life right now: we need to
exercise the virtue of gratitude because of our dependence on God. Gratitude reminds that we are in need of grace but also to give of ourselves to another. Saint Thomas
Aquinas teaches that gratitude is closely connected to the cardinal virtue of
justice, by which we give what is due to others. But with gratitude there is actually a
holy exchange between two people. One person benefits from a good act of another but
also wants to repay the benefaction. Rahner spoke of giving alms at Mass as a way of being involved in the good works of the Church when giving personal time is not possible but no less important because while there is some sort of a bond among the pastor, the benefactor and beneficiary it is only made stronger because real faces are behind the dollar. Think of the times when we write a thank
you note, make a promise of a deeper connection in friendship, or even the
promise spiritual works of mercy. I frequently write, "know that you are in my
prayers" to remind me and the person I am writing that I may not be able to
give something material in return, but I can make a sacrifice of gratitude
before God on behalf of another because of friendship. Gratitude and justice is
rooted in charity, in love for another, because of the Other. I think of Blessed John Paul II's insistence that we ought to make "a sincere gift of self."
Saint Ignatius tells us that to be ungrateful is a sin. Imagine if we account for acts of ingratitude in our daily examination of conscience even in Confession. How is it that today I can make a sincere gift of myself? Lent is a time to recall the concrete times we've been grateful and made a promise to pray for another.
"God is not isolation, but glorious and joyful love, spreading outwards and radiant with light," Pope Benedict XVI told the assembled crowd gathered for Mass including the new cardinals. The diakonia (the service rendered) of the cardinals' task is "to bear witness to the joy of Christ's love."
"Faith without love would no longer be an authentic Christian faith."
~Pope Benedict XVI
19 February 2012
For some cynics in our world today's feast of Saint Valentine is not worthy our memory, especially in ecclesial settings. Sad, really. How else is God revealed but in the revelation of love? Scripture and tradition teaches us this fact. Our friends in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd a prayer is given to us for this holiday that celebrates love:
You are the love inside of me. Alleluia, Alleluia.
I am happy to be with you, Oh Lord.
Happy is He and me!
Oh Lord, oh Lord, it's time for me to say,
"You give the earth love and people love
that's from you and will never be given away."
Des Moines, Iowa
One of the blogs I read with some frequency is the blog, Domine, da mihi hanc aqua!, written by a Dominican Friar of the Province of Saint Martin de Porres, Father Philip Neri Powell. I recommend it, after reading the Communio blog. His blog post for today provides a good examination for. Tonight, people came to the parish to watch the second video of Father Robert Barron's "Catholicism" project. In many ways what the friar says below and what Father Baron did in the video cohere. Read Father Philip wrote (in part) and watch "Catholicism."
The Catechism teaches us that "the Word became flesh for us in order to [1] save us by reconciling us with God. . .[2] so that thus we might know God's love. . .[3] to be our model of holiness. . .[4] to make us 'partakers of the divine nature'"(457-60). Let's break this down even further. Since we are alienated from God by our sin and God wills that we be reconciled with Him, our sins must be expunged, washed away. With the birth, death, and resurrection of the Christ, our sins are forgiven. For God's forgiveness to take hold in our lives, we must receive His forgiveness as a gift--an unmerited grace, freely given. When we receive His forgiveness as a gift, we come to know the Father's love; that is, His love is made manifest, given another body and soul--our own. With a body and soul brimming with the Father's love, we begin a life of holiness, a life set apart from the world while living in the world. A life of holiness looks, sounds, and feels like the life that Jesus himself led: a life of mercy, sacrifice, love, perseverance, and courage. Living such a life--steeping ourselves in God's enduring love--trains us to participate more fully in His divine nature, making us both human and divine, and perfectly so in His presence.
Continue reading Brimming over with the Father's love.
Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization
As we draw near to World Communications Day 2012, I would like to share with you some reflections concerning an aspect of the human process of communication which, despite its importance, is often overlooked and which, at the present time, it would seem especially necessary to recall. It concerns the relationship between silence and word: two aspects of communication which need to be kept in balance, to alternate and to be integrated with one another if authentic dialogue and deep closeness between people are to be achieved. When word and silence become mutually exclusive, communication breaks down, either because it gives rise to confusion or because, on the contrary, it creates an atmosphere of coldness; when they complement one another, however, communication acquires value and meaning.
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