Private Vows in The Laity/Spirituality

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The Didache

 

 

Since only God is Absolute Holiness, it occurred to me that no matter how holy one might be, one can always be more holy as long as one remains on this earth. That was a bit of a consolation-arrival for me since I never seem to arrive at where? I have no idea.  I seem to myself to be always departing for where? I do not know.  Always on a journey that can only conclude in Heaven and only then.

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"Always be more holy " in the previous post should read

"always grow in holiness"

 

Daily Reflection – October 28

St Vincent de Paul Society (FAMVIN)

 

Quote

“Sometimes a work fails, not because a similar institution has been set up beside it and outdone it, but it has brought about its own ruin by making use of means contrary to the spirit of Christ in order to maintain itself in the first place.”
– St. Vincent de Paul

 

Edited October 28, 2017 by BarbaraTherese

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There can be a too literal understanding of the saints e.g. with the above quotation, of course at times we are called to talk about Jesus and our Faith - it depends on circumstances.  But we are always called to "give Jesus with my behaviour".

Very often too the saints are saying the same thing using different words - as with what is attributed to St Francis of Assisi: "Preach The Gospel - with words if you must" is really what the above quotation from Blessed Chiara is saying too.

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St Margaret Mary Alacoque

Devotion to The Sacred Heart of Jesus

 

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and

All that Glitters is not Gold

Quote

When the devil enters “so sweetly, politely and takes possession of our attitudes,” the pope said, our values pass from the service of God to worldliness. Thus we become “lukewarm Christians, worldly Christians.” Francis described this as being like a fruit salad — a bit of the spirit of the world and a bit of God’s spirit  https://aleteia.org/2017/10/13/be-careful-of-satan-when-hes-sweet-and-polite-warns-pope/

Satan can indeed be consoling and affirming, sweet and polite - steps only to its real purpose.

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Quote

If our minds are stayed upon God, His peace will rule the affairs entertained by our minds. If, on the other hand, we allow our minds to dwell on the cares of this world, God's peace will be far from our thoughts.
- Woodroll Kroll, The Bible Minute

I tend to be anxious quite easily.

Next time the world and its cares absorb me, I am going to try taking a couple of deep breaths and spend a short minute or so in prayer. 

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Daily Reflection

St Vincent de Paul Society - FAMVIN

 

Quote

“In the name of God, let us have ever more and more confidence in Him; let Him guide our little barque; if it is useful and pleasing to Him, He will save it from shipwreck and no matter how the importance and variety of the works of others threatens to swamp it, it will sail with all the greater security, amidst so many good ships, so long as it keeps straight on its own course, and does not cross their track by deviating from its own path.”
– St. Vincent de Paul

 

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I have had for many years an aversion to assigning to Satan the male gender.  That thing is an it to me.

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Quote

 

Look upon your chastening as God's chariots sent

to carry your soul into the high places of spiritual growth.
 

- Hannah Whitall Smith

Shalom Place

Dominican Sisters of Peace

 

"Reflection: And so there can be meaning in suffering -

- spiritual meaning! Take heart."

 

Perspective & Attitude

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1st November

All Saints Day

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01315a.htm

 

 

2nd November

All Souls Day

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01315b.htm

 

In Australia, we only have three Holy Days Obligation:

• Christmas Day (December 25 – the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ)
• The Assumption (August 15 – the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
• All Sundays of the year.

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Prayer does not mean asking God for all kinds of things we want, it is rather the desire for God Himself, the only Giver of Life.
- Sadhu Sundar Singh

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The above is what I look to our religious for - to witness to a life totally given to Christ and for Him.  Obviously those of us out in secular life entrusted with the temporal order are not called to live out poverty, chastity and obedience (evangelical counsels) precisely as in RL, nor are all called to live out the prayer life and apostolate of religious as it is lived out in religious life (some lay people might be) - but we are all invited to live out the evangelical counsels.  We are called to prayer and to good works nonetheless.  We are called to live out our secular life in the temporal order with and for Christ.

Religious live out the counsels as defined in Canon Law and the Rule and Constitution of their particular religious order.  We are free to define for ourselves how we will live out the counsels.  My priest religious SD/confessor commented that he was once giving a retreat and stated that he had to follow the rule and constitution of his religious order.  However, he informed those lay people making the retreat that they were quite free to write their own individual and personal rules of life.

Personal rule of life or not, I think it probably impossible to journey to holiness without some aspect of poverty, chastity and obedience being present according to one's state of life and with or without any clear and conscious definition.  In other words, the evangelical counsels are somehow or somewhere aspects of holiness in my book. 

Quote

Catholic Catechism: #915 Christ proposes the evangelical counsels, in their great variety, to every disciple. The perfection of charity, to which all the faithful are called, entails for those who freely follow the call to consecrated life the obligation of practicing chastity in celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom, poverty and obedience. It is the profession of these counsels, within a permanent state of life recognized by the Church, that characterizes the life consecrated to God.454

 

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Quote

 

The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God's eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity and held safe in an everlasting embrace . . . We must dare to opt consciously for our chosenness and not allow our emotions, feelings, or passions to seduce us into self-rejection.
- Henri J. M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved

Shalom Place - Dominican Sisters of Peace

 

 

When I ask myself why Jesus, truly man Truly God, died for all humanity without exception and while we were still sinners and sinful, I have some understanding - a glimpse - into our human identity in God.

 

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ADVENT & CHRISTMAS REFLECTIONS

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14 hours ago, BarbaraTherese said:

When I ask myself why Jesus, truly man Truly God, died for all humanity without exception and while we were still sinners and sinful, I have some understanding - a glimpse - into our human identity in God.

God must indeed love us to absolute distraction to assume the nature of a fully human being(while remaining yet Truly God) - to be born and live in poverty and then accept without question a shocking death.   Jesus would have been quite familiar with Roman crucifixion (frequent and public in His day) and the horrific suffering and death that it brought about.  The purpose, I have read, of Roman crucifixion was to execute in the slowest and most painful manner

Quite vivid scientific account of Roman crucifixion including drawings: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/overviews/seasons/lent/passion1.cfm

 I mean, who on earth are we?  For myself, I think we are God's Weakness, His weak spot because He does indeed love us to absolute distraction - He is totally distracted from our faults and failings and our inherent sinfulness.  He chooses only to see only our potential in His Son and in His Mercy returns us again and again, endlessly,  to that potential.

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Quote

"If we do not at least try to manifest something of Creative Charity in our dealings with life, whether by action, thought, or prayer, and do it at our own cost - if we roll up the talent of love in the nice white napkin of piety and put it safely out of the way, sorry that the world is so hungry and thirsty, so sick and so fettered, and leave it at that: then, even that little talent may be taken from us. We may discover at the crucial moment that we are spiritually bankrupt."
- Evelyn Underhill

Shalom Place - Dominican Sisters of Peace

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Edited November 3, 2017 by BarbaraTherese

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CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER

Fr Thomas Dubay

(Part 1 followed immediately by Part 2)

 

 

 

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On the subject of attachment and detachment, and for those in the Laity especially, is that acquiring material goods to be used for God is not attachment.  Acquiring material goods simply for the sake of possession is attachment.

Parents especially have a need to acquire material goods for the welfare of the family - this is not attachment.   One is not acquiring for the sake of possession, one is acquiring for the sake of a greater good than the material good or goods per se.  What we acquire for the good of others is giving to God - every last penny of it.

If one does not approach one's spiritual life with a good dose of common sense, then I think one is almost bound to get off one's track for the journey, perhaps even drive oneself up a wall (been there and done that).  

St Albert's Ancient Rule for Carmel " See that the bounds of common sense are not exceeded, however, for common sense is the guide of the virtues." (Chapter 24 https://carmelitani.wordpress.com/311-2/)

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Quote

"If we do not at least try to manifest something of Creative Charity in our dealings with life, whether by action, thought, or prayer, and do it at our own cost - if we roll up the talent of love in the nice white napkin of piety and put it safely out of the way, sorry that the world is so hungry and thirsty, so sick and so fettered, and leave it at that: then, even that little talent may be taken from us. We may discover at the crucial moment that we are spiritually bankrupt."
- Evelyn Underhill

 

Shalom Place - Dominican Sisters of Peace

 

 

I tend to think that probably what occupies Catholic Christians is not that they are doing enough and need do no more, it is that they are not doing enough and should do more.  Anyway the latter occupies me far more than the former.  Somewhere in the tension in-between those two opposites is Peace.  Peace is an important criteria and common denominator of sound spirituality because Jesus has said "Peace I leave with you.  My Peace I give you" (John Ch14) - not can give or will give, shall give.........but give. 
In Grace in Christ I have Peace already unless for some reason I have abandoned it.  If I lack Peace, then there is something or other I need to look at long and hard - make some changes.

"Seek after Peace and pursue it" (Psalm 34)

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