Sirach, very good to see you again … and Alan too! I really haven’t been around here much lately but happened to pop by and saw this thread. And as it always seems to happen, words just filled my mind and the only way to get rid of them is to to type them down. Guess that’s my way of saying my ears were burning!
The growth in self-knowledge is probably the best indication of being in some form of the night, as we struggle to please Our Lord, but find ourselves with a great many imperfections. No wonder the saints would accuse themselves of being great sinners!
Hi Sirach -The growth in self-knowledge is probably the best indication of being in some form of the night, as we struggle to please Our Lord, but find ourselves with a great many imperfections. No wonder the saints would accuse themselves of being great sinners!
Anyone reading these works would be scratching their heads, saying, "If this saint believes s(he) is a sinner, then where does that leave ME?
But as we grow closer to God, the light increases and p(name removed by moderator)oints many of those thoughts that are displeasing to Him. I am honestly edified when I read about a few of these incidents in St. Faustina’s in her Diary. She wrote:
1802 "But when the day for confession came, I prepared a whole mass of those sins of which I was to accuse myself. However, in the confessional, God allowed me to accuse myself of only two imperfections, despite my efforts to make a confession according to what I had prepared. When I left the confessional, the Lord said to me, "My daughter, all those sins you intended to confess are not sins in My eyes; that is why I took away your ability to tell them."
” in confession that I confess on a weekly basis. Of course I resisted … precisely because so much of what I had to say was in the realm of imperfection and I was afraid of being misunderstood and tagged with the dreaded “S” word … scruples. Of course this was an unfounded fear … perhaps even the wiles of the evil one. So much harm came to me not following the advice I was given! The Light I recieved is that Jesus WANTS me to confess these imperfections and as a sign of His love I have not once ever heard boo from a priest about my unfounded fear. And more directly to your point, more than once I have found my intended mental list of imperfections somehow edited down on the fly to only that which needed to be said. It amazes me when that happens … so thank you so much for the reassuring words!Dave, often times it is the personal sharing strikes a cord on another’s heart. The Light you received also confirms what I have been doing is what Jesus wants of me.…so much of what I had to say was in the realm of imperfection and I was afraid of being misunderstood and tagged with the dreaded “S” word … scruples. … The Light I received is that Jesus WANTS me to confess these imperfections and as a sign of His love I have not once ever heard boo from a priest about my unfounded fear. Dave
This is good advice … and I wish I could follow it. But I don’t have a SD and in my parish we’re very fortunate to have 3 full time priests and a regular Vincentian visiting priest. So finding consistency in confession done weekly is difficult. They rotate 8AM daily mass and confession so it could be up to 4 weeks before I get the same priest back. This inconsistency, of course, fed my unfounded fears … nobody really knows me. But they all seem to sense the same things about me, regardless. All things considered, though, too many priests is a good problem to have!!!
That I know
St Theresa of Avila, comes to mind with a considerable use of “wicked”.Anyone reading these works would be scratching their heads, saying, "If this saint believes s(he) is a sinner, then where does that leave ME?
That she does!St Theresa of Avila, comes to mind with a considerable use of “wicked”.
While I have not been in a tunnel in ages, I did drive through a horrible fog in the middle of the day, which made it impossible to see the next street, the next red light, or anything else in front or behind me. I think it was an analogy God used to show me that, despite my fearful inability to see but a few feet ahead, there was always just enough light to drive to the next block. I liken the dark night to living in the present with moment-to-moment dependency on God with pure faith and trust in His loving providence.
I have been pondering what you said above. If I understand it correctly, I think the fact of being misunderstood in confession became part of the Dark Night to Teresa is because her unique mystical experiences could not be understood by her confessor who did not experience what she has experienced. Therefore, the lack of identification and affirmation of her mystical experiences brought the fear of self-deception, thus became part of the Dark Night for Teresa. Please let me know if my understanding is correct.
How humbling this is, to realize that the holiest among us who may have already passed, or are going through the trials of the dark night, [tunnel, fog, whatever we call it] are still capable of committing venial sins, and have many imperfections. How kindly we should esteem others in our thoughts and judgments. We cannot even rid ourselves of failings, so how can we expect another to do be free of them? This may be the problem I’ve seen with some folks who cannot believe someone is a saint, due to the biographies that depict some of their faults. Yes, I’ve seen it even here at CAF.
Hi Inlight -
But the parallels ARE there … and mystical in their own right. Prayer states and stages … nights of both the active and passive variety … they’re meant for everyone. We just might taste them to a lesser degree.And for some of us who are on the way, half FULL is far better than half empty.And that reminds me of something St. Therese said in Story of a Soul (or was it Pauline?): It doesn’t matter if we are a cup or thimble … if we are full we’ll all be happy.
Thank you, Lord! Maybe St. Teresa had a hand in that, Jim, since yesterday was the vigil of her feast day. I found her help last week in answer to a troubling personal problem when I read Ch. 6 of Foundations. Isn’t it a blessing to have these precious moments?