Private Vows in The Laity/Spirituality

[Pax17]

Hope you had a good trip...allergies and colds are going strong here in northern AZ.

[Guest]

The Our Father prayer is a whole rule and way of life.  I have used each petition as sub headings for my own personal rule of life.

Pope Francis (CNA/Daniel Ibanez)

At his general audience yesterday, Pope Francis spoke about the importance of praying the Our Father at Mass, asking those present if they understood what they are saying when reciting the prayer. Source: CNA.

“How many times there are people who say, ‘Our Father,’ but do not know what they say!” the Pope said.

“Do you feel that when you say ‘Father’, that he is the Father, your Father, the Father of humanity, the Father of Jesus Christ?” he asked. “Do you have a relationship with this Father?”

When we pray this prayer, we are connecting with a loving Father, he continued, explaining that it is the Holy Spirit which gives us this connection with him, the feeling of being God’s child.

Pope Francis continued his weekly catechesis on the part of the Mass called the Rite of Communion, which begins with the recitation of the Our Father, followed by..........read more http://cathnews.com/cathnews/31571-it-s-the-father-of-all-questions

[Guest]

If you have not much time at your disposal, do not fail to profit by the smallest portions of time which remain to you. We do not need much time in order to love God, to renew ourselves in His Presence, to lift up our hearts towards Him, to worship Him in the depths of our hearts, to offer Him what we do and what we suffer.

- Francois Fenelon

[Guest]

Still trying to catch up after my break interstate... and limited in mobility but slowly getting there.

 

 

 

 

 

Primarily it is about being i.e. the person one is while doing whatever at all one might be doing. 

Circumstances, no matter their nature positive or negative, are all worthy of offering simply because

circumstances are God's Gift to us and we offer His Gifts back to The Giver adorned with our responses as our humble personal gift to Him in praise and thanksgiving

Quote

 

Catholic Catechism

http://www.catholicdoors.com/catechis/cat0279.htm
 By his providence God protects and governs all things which he has made, "reaching mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and ordering all things well". For "all are open and laid bare to his eyes", even those things which are yet to come into existence through the free action of creatures. [Vatican Council I, Dei Filius I: DS 3003; cf. Wis 8:1; Heb 4:13]

303 The witness of Scripture is unanimous that the solicitude of divine providence is concrete and immediate; God cares for all, from the least things to the great events of the world and its history. The sacred books powerfully affirm God's absolute sovereignty over the course of events: "Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases." [Ps 115:3] And so it is with Christ, "who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens". [Rev 3:7]As the book of Proverbs states: "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established." [Prov 19:21] [269]

 

 

[Guest]

If your faith is steadfast,
rooted and grounded
when trials come your way
in joy you’ll be surrounded.

For in the very midst,
of your worldly care
counting it all for joy
will dispel your despair.

When in Jesus,
you are truly content
you’ll experience joy
that is heaven sent.

For, whether in sickness,
or in perfect health
joy will bring to you
everlasting wealth.

Joy is not an option,
it’s something God gives
to those where His Spirit
securely abides and lives!

By Deborah Ann

https://poetrybydeborahann.wordpress.com/category/joy-poems/

 

[Guest]

19th March - SOLEMNITY OF ST JOSEPH, SPOUSE OF

THE BLESSED VIFGIN MARY

 

Almighty God,

  at the beginnings of our salvation,

  when Mary conceived your Son and brought him forth in to the world,

  you placed them under Joseph’s watchful care.

May his prayer still help your Church

  to be an equally faithful guardian of your mysteries

  and a sign of Christ to mankind.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

  who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

  one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

(Closing Prayer, Morning Prayer, Solemnity of St Joseph)

 

[Guest]

Great St. Joseph

Great St. Joseph, son of David,
Spouse of Mary undefiled;
Guardian of the Holy Family,
Father of the Holy Child.
God presented thee with blessings,
Glorified thy life obscure;
Made thee guardian of all virgins,
Consolation of the poor.

Ornament of life domestic,
Model for the toiler’s day;
Hope of all the sick and weary,
In the hour of death our stay.
Great protector universal
Of the Church, we thee acclaim.
Hear our prayers, O great St. Joseph,
When we call upon thy name.

Clasped in Jesus’ arms and Mary’s,
When death gently came at last,
Thy pure spirit sweetly sighing,
From its earthly dwelling passed.
Great St. Joseph, by thy passing,
May our death be like to thine.
And with Jesus, Mary, Joseph,
May our souls forever shine.

[Guest]

CATECHISM IN A YEAR

Subscribe: http://flocknote.com/catechism

124. In what condition was the body of Christ while it lay in the tomb?

Christ underwent a real death and a true burial. However, the power of God preserved his body from corruption.

"Jesus Christ descended into hell; 

on the third day He rose again from the dead."

Further reading: CCC 624-630

125. What is the "hell" into which Jesus descended?

This "hell" was different from the hell of the damned. It was the state of all those, righteous and evil, who died before Christ. With his soul united to his divine Person Jesus went down to the just in hell who were awaiting their Redeemer so they could enter at last into the vision of God. When he had conquered by his death both death and the devil "who has the power of death" (Hebrews 2:14), he freed the just who looked forward to the Redeemer and opened for them the gates of heaven.
      
Further reading: CCC 632-637

[Guest]

Our knowledge of God is not paradoxically a knowledge not of him as the object of our scrutiny, but of ourselves as utterly dependent on his saving and merciful knowledge of us. It is in proportion, as we are known to him that we find our real being and identity in Christ. We know him in and through ourselves in so far as his truth is the source of our being and his merciful love is the very heart of our life and existence.

… Thomas Merton (1915-1968), The Climate of Monastic Prayer 

Edited March 20, 2018 by BarbaraTherese

[Guest]

 

THE ANSWER IS IN NATURE

How we can reduce floods, droughts and water pollution

by using the solutions we already find in nature

http://worldwaterday.org/app/uploads/2018/02/fact_sheet_WWD2017_EN_2.pdf

 

It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to do so.
   - C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), The Problem of Pain

 

 

 

 

 

St Virginia Centurione Bracelli

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20030518_bracelli_en.html

[Guest]

 

Eileen O'Connor - our next (and second) Australian saint?

Biography: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/oconnor-eily-rosaline-eileen-7875

The above article was published in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 11, (MUP), 1988

"The growth of the institute now exclusively in her hands, O'Connor provided strong leadership and direction. Apart from the Roman interlude, she was almost entirely bed-ridden. She died on 10 January 1921 of chronic tuberculosis of the spine and exhaustion. She was buried in Randwick cemetery but in 1937 the body was exhumed and reinterred beneath the chapel at Our Lady's Home; it was found to be in a state of perfect preservation. The congregation which claims her as co-foundress continues at Our Lady's Home at Coogee with three additional houses."

Some of the first women who dedicated themselves to attending the poor and sick.

I can't discern whether Eileen was a religious sister per se or an honorary sister who guided the community she established.  Either way, she certainly was a most remarkable woman.  It would be an absolute gift to have a lay person as our second saint in Australia.  Again, either way it points out how a disability is not an impediment to holiness and sanctity. https://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/latest_news/2013/201319_1596.shtml

 

 

 

[Guest]

 

 

Who is St Bede The Venerable?

Saint Bede the Venerable (c.673-735), monk, Doctor of the Church
Homily 5; CCL 122,36
 

"You shall name him Jesus"

 

The name “Jesus” in Hebrew means “salvation” or “Savior”. It is a name that for the prophets referred to a very specific vocation. From whence came these words, sung with great desire to see him: “My heart will rejoice in your salvation and will be joyful because of his salvation; my soul pines for your salvation” (Ps 12[13]:6 ;34[35]:9 ;118[119]:81). “Yet will I rejoice in the Lord and exult in my saving God” (Hab 3:18). And especially: “O God, by your name save me” (Ps 53[54]:3). It is as though one were to say: “O you who are called ‘Savior’, by saving me manifest the glory of your name.” And so the name of the son born of the Virgin Mary is Jesus, according to the angel’s explanation: “He will save his people from their sins”…

As for the word “Christ”, this designates priestly or royal status. Priests and kings were in fact “chrismated”, that is to say anointed with holy oil. By this means they became signs of him who, appearing in the world as true king and high priest, received the anointing of “the oil of gladness above your fellows” (Ps 44[45]:8). It is because of this anointing that he is called Christ and those who share in this same anointing, that of spiritual grace, are called Christians. May he grant through his name of Savior to save us from our sins! May he grant through his anointing as high priest to reconcile us with God the Father. Through his anointing as king may he give us the eternal kingdom of his Father. 

 

[Guest]

Have been watching documentaries on the rise of ISIS from the shadows and anarchy of war and related terrorism spreading all over the world.  It occurred to me that where God is rejected, God respects free will and becomes (as it were) the Rejected One on the outside of world affairs looking on only.  God is always involved, never in reality outside of world affairs.  He does not reject us leaving us abandoned no matter how dire things may look from our perspective, no matter if all around us are rejecting Him.  However, we are getting a glimpse of what a world which has rejected God can look like..........it seems to me.

A general sort of problem can be is that I can view life as ending at death, when it does not at all.  Death is only the ending of the first part of the conscious journey.  Life here, however, is vitally important since it dictates the location of the rest of the conscious journey and forever .......... for one only.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch! I am in considerable pain day (back, legs and now my right wrist) in and day out with little relief until later (around 1pm roughly).  I fear I am becoming the crotchety old lady in the story - pain is related to me being short tempered - a reason but no excuse whatsoever.  I bite at someone or some thing and only after biting I realise that I had not reacted well at all to some even mild type of negative situation.  That is the negative side, the positive sign is that there is no basis whatsoever, even in wildest of imaginary situations, for pride.  My focus since childhood has been to be holy and a saint and that hope, that dream, is now in cinders too.  Except, that it is God who fosters holiness and makes saints and even a lousy bad tempered mess such as me at this time will not give up on the potential of The Lord and His Grace in my life, though it seems to rational and finite reasoning that any hope of holiness and sanctity is dashed and on the rocks ... and forever.

Much has happened since I returned from interstate where I caught a virus probably on the train travelling to my neighbour state - then I passed it on to my son and his wife.  My walker broke down completely.  It is still under warranty - but I discovered that the company where I bought it has gone out of business.  I had to buy a new walker.  My microwave broke down while I was interstate and my brother bought a new one for $200.  My plan was to replace it when it did give up the ghost with a cheap $100 or thereabouts unit.  Hence, since returning home, I am now $400 in the red and climbing.    I am always aware that there are those who endure less and there are those who endure far more than I could even imagine.  But it is not a less or more comparison challenge.  It is all about me and my life - in this scenario/perspective anyway.

One can only play the cards one is holding  and these are the cards one is called to play.

Deo Gratius........Laudate Dominum..........

Fiat Voluntas Tua

 

[Guest]

 

I also watched a documentary on Stephen Hawking (may he rest in Peace).  All the discoveries and revelations in the documentary made me wonder how such incredible wonder in creation can leave a person still atheist.  But then it occurred to me that Faith in the final analysis after all is God's Gift to whomsoever He May.  Mystery!  We can prepare the soil through evangelisation, but we never convert per se anyone.  The Lord does.  We are called to evangelise preparing soil -  and that is our vocated part in the wonder and beauty of Faith.

The documentary left me wondering how a person with such incredible intelligence can remain atheist - but then I realised that I, after all, was coming from the gift of Faith.  I see God in creation, poor Stephen could not.

It did not lead me to be convicting of Stephen in any way at all - it did lead me to become for a moment vitally and insightfully aware of our call to be stewards of the gift of Faith.  For a moment only - and thankfully - my responsibility and accountability for the gift of Faith caused a shudder of mental trepidation.

 

PS Sometimes in speaking about the Gospel, God and Faith (not necessarily in that order), one is met with complete rejection even ridicule.  Fear not, the seed is planted in another's memory.  Pray.  Psalm 90 "Lord give success to the work of our hands" (often prayed in The Divine Office) - for me it also means "please grant success to all hopes and prayers".

 

[Guest]

Where evangelisation is concerned, I find the Parable of The Sower particularly helpful.  In the parable, the sower goes out and randomly throws his seeds wherever.  He is not particular and selective about the soil, just moves along casting seeds wherever.

The parable appears in three Gospels.
 

Quote

 

Matthew Ch13:   "On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore.

And he spoke to them at length in parables, 2 saying: "A sower went out to sow. 3

And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots.

Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.

Whoever has ears ought to hear."

 

I noticed that as the parable unfolded, most of the seed had a negative reaction.  Once I plant a seed, I simply move on sowing without looking back to see what happens and without being discouraged if I am met with negative reactions.  For me, it is only human to be hurt if met with rejection and even ridicule.  The will however motivates one to get over it and move on.  And Love resides in the will***.  Love is not so much feeling good as it is being and doing good.

Rejection and ridicule taken on board means that one will have useless baggage to carry in the journey.  Rejection and ridicule tells more about the one who rejects and ridicules than the object of such negativity.

"They have persecuted Me and they will persecute you".......no might, maybe or perhaps.   Rejection and ridicule is almost a mark of discipleship since Jesus says that it will happen.  And "no man can be greater than His Master" - and reflect on what happened to Jesus, Lord and Master.

______________

***Augustine's Trinitarian theology (memory, understanding and will). https://catholicexchange.com/every-christian-read-augustines-book-trinity

John Chapter 15 "No man can be greater than his master"

Edited March 24, 2018 by BarbaraTherese

[Guest]

 

Mass and Holy Communion at 6pm Vigil Mass tonight Palm Sunday (Sat 24th March 11.26am here now).  Our sacristan picks me up and brings me home.  This means I have an hour before Mass for prayer before The Blessed Sacrament and half an hour or more after Mass for thanksgiving.  Holy Week commences.

 

[Guest]

Went to Palm Sunday Vigil Mass tonight and being back in my parish Church brought about happy nostalgia and I have decided to attend the Easter Tridium after all.

[Guest]

[Guest]

My wrist is quite painful along with back and legs.  I need to take the splint off to do most things around the house and perhaps have done too much.  Also, because the pain killers I have been prescribed are addictive, I have been trying to cut down on the dose and that has contributed, I think, to me being short tempered due to pain; hence, I am going back on the dose the doctor prescribed in the hope that will help the pain and the mood.

 

27th March 2018

 Saint Leo the Great (?-c.461), Pope and Doctor of the Church
Sermon 58, 7th on the Passion, § 3-4 ; SC 74 bis
 

“Now the Son of Man is glorified and in him God is glorified”

 

When the Lord declared: “In truth I tell you, one of you will betray me”, he showed that he had penetrated the conscience of the one who was going to betray him. He did not foil the conspirator with severe, public accusations but tried to reach him by a tender and veiled warning: in this way repentance would have better restored the one whom no prohibition had deposed.

Oh why, unhappy Judas, did you not profit by so great a kindness? See, the Lord is all ready to forgive your course of action. Christ does not denounce you to anyone except yourself. Neither your name nor your person were mentioned, but with this word of truth and pity the secret of your heart alone was touched. Neither your title of apostle nor participation in the sacrament were denied you. Turn back, abandon your foolishness and repent! Sweetness invites you, salvation moves you, Life calls you. See how your companions, who are pure and without sin, are horrified by the announcement of the crime, and since the author of such an evil has not been revealed each one fears for himself. They are plunged into dismay, not because their conscience accuses them but because human inconstancy troubles them: they fear that what each knows of himself may be less true than what the Truth in person sees beforehand. But you, in the midst of this anguish of the holy ones, take advantage of the Lord’s patience, you think your audacity hides you…

Then seeing that all Judas’s thoughts remained set on his unhappy plan, the Lord says to him: “What you are going to do, do quickly”. By speaking in this way he is not giving an order, he is letting events take their course: these are not the words of a man who trembles but of one who is prepared. He who holds all times in his power shows that he is not trying to delay the traitor and that he enters into the Father’s will for the redemption of the world, without either provoking or dreading the crime his persecutors are preparing.

 

---o0o---

“Remember — though I do sometimes take away your inner feelings of grace and you find you can’t pray or weep, don’t let yourself be afraid. Never fear. Instead, remember I’m a hidden God within you.”

 

- Margery Kempe, The Book of Margery Kempe

Bio - Margery Kempe

 

[Guest]

https://catholicexchange.com/dark-night-cross?mc_cid=50ce904ef6&mc_eid=365c5a299b

The Dark Night and the Spiritual Life

What does it mean for us, when we are in the dark night of the senses or the soul, that Christ has first entered into our sufferings? According to the great spiritual writers, particularly St. John of the Cross, the dark night of the senses occurs when we no longer experience sensible consolations, but deeply desire for a prayer that allows us simply to “dwell” with God. To undergo this purgation of the senses, we must detach ourselves from our vices, bad habits, and the sensible things that are attractive to us. This process might be long, and it could be lonely, because we no longer experience the consolations that we once did. God desires this detachment for us because, while it may seem that our spiritual life is dry, we are actually becoming more attached to Him rather than the consolations He gave to us in the beginning of our spiritual journey. We may feel like Christ on the Cross—that God has forsaken us and forgotten us in our misery. But, we should recall that, just as the Son and the Father are always one, so too is God truly with us, even when we do not feel his presence directly.

The one who has passed from the beginning stage of prayer into that of proficient, after experiencing the dark night of the senses, must undergo the dark night of the soul in order to enter into the way of the perfect. In the dark night of the soul, not only are the sensible consolations removed, but also “the supernatural lights on the mysteries of salvation, of its ardent desires, of that facility in action, in preaching and in teaching, in which it had felt a secret pride and complacency…. This is a period of extreme aridity” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Conversions in the Spiritual Life; available online here). These souls perhaps feel most keenly what Christ felt on the Cross. Because they are being purged of all their pride and attachments, even attachment to spiritual goods, they will feel most detached from God and separated from him—they will truly feel forsaken. In these moments, these souls can enter into the suffering that Christ experienced on the Cross, and take refuge in the immense love that he had for us. Moreover, like St. Teresa of Calcutta, these souls can follow in her imitation and remain faithful to daily duties and prayer despite long periods of aridity and feeling abandoned by God.

Conclusion

The path described above is the normative way to holiness, which means that all souls are called to be purged in their senses and their souls to attain holiness. Each of us is at a different point in the spiritual life. As we come closer to Holy Week, let us consider our particular attachments. What things are preventing us from uniting ourselves completely to Christ? Are we holding onto sins or material goods, such that we cannot be united with Christ as the Father and Son are one? Are we experiencing the loneliness that Christ did on the Cross?

Wherever we are in the spiritual life, let us recall the great sacrifice that Christ made on the Cross to die for our sins, and let us unite ourselves with him in his suffering and pain—he will grant us the grace to endure the dark nights, and he will ultimately bless us with his abundant joy (John 10:10).

Edited March 27, 2018 by BarbaraTherese