Thanks Barbara!
Let us praise The Lord rather…Deo Gratius!I chose to put the above words into a thread of its own rather than into “Thought for Today” which I add to as items come up, as it is something I had dreadful problems with for along time, felt it could be perhaps applicable to some or many and deserved its own thread to highlight it…In my problematic times nothing was good enough nor perfect enough and I fretted and became very anxious and this led to scruples…and a dreadful trial even if self inflicted. It took me years to get over it and they were cruel years and scruples are a cruel trial. And in fact was miraculously cured in Confession…after writing every single sin and fault I could think of over my whole life…pages and pages of them, as Father quite patiently listened. Just as I was about to leave the Confessional after absolution and at the end of his little “exhortation” he said “Be happy”…at that very instant scruples vanished. I new at that very moment that something had left me…this was the physical sensation I had. A load had gone.
Howdy John…as always, great to catch up with on these Boards. Yeah, I go down that very same memory lane now and then!Definitely worth the read Jim!
Thanks Barb. That took me down memory lane a bit to a time when we spent more than a few words discussing that book.
How holy can they guy be though if he thinks we shouldn’t beat ourselves up every time we make a mistake?
Peace to you Barb,
…they were times that we spoke with total honesty and openness, huh?..and without some ‘purist catholic letter of the law maniac’ coming down on us like the proverbial ton of bricks, but it does really feel like that huh? John, if I beat myself up everytime I put a foot wrong, failed, invested culpably in a multitude of faults…I think I would have been beaten to death long ago! St. Francis de Sales was the very first author to introduce me to a different type of spirituality to what I had been reading about and indeed trying with great desperation and many self beatings to follow, and began me scratching my head about the whole business of spirituality. This lead me to many ponderings and finally personal conclusions and this was a huge relief…and then returning to him, then discovering “Abandonment to Divine Providence” by de Caussade and then “Practise of The Presence of God” it was distinct affirmation for me that I was overwhelmingly grateful for.Happy reading, Jim! I hope St. Francis and his spiritual theology will really speak to you and your personal spirituality…Blessings and my regards…Barb
Hi Kenneth…Peace is a great and necessary criteria of The Spiritual Life “seek after Peace and hold to it”. Jesus said “My Peace I give to you” - not shall give, or will give - but give!!! If peace is not in our souls and The Lord’s guaranteed gift to us, then something is amiss in our spiritual lives and we need then to enter the journey to refind our peace and to protect it always and diligently as the most precious of jewels of sprituality…peace of heart mind and soul is necessary for contemplative prayer and living. Peace in our hearts, minds and souls is what I call the fertile necessary soil of The Holy Spirit - from Peace will flow many virtues and sensitivity to The Holy Spirit.
, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you. 27* Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.* *
*6 Come ye to him and be enlightened: and your faces shall not be confounded. 7 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him: and saved him out of all his troubles. 8 The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him: and shall deliver them. 9 O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet: blessed is the man that hopeth in him. 10 Fear the Lord, all ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. *
Hi again CN…good to be talking with you again too in these Forums. The Holy Spirit can move in very strange ways…and is entirely and totally humble and self efacing…not at all choosey or snobbish, not the slightest bit selective, about whom He may speak through! Obviously if the quote was what you needed to hear and I posted it, then The Holy Spirit acted that you should hear it from Him and through his very most least. Deo Gratius! Let us praise and thank The Lord. Alleluia Amen!Barbara thanks so much for sharing this
I totally agree with you on that one Barb. IOC is a worthy book in its own way but to me it was far too focused on the negative. There are some beautiful chapters in it that I still refer to on occasion but overall I find it demoralizing. That being said, I recognize that there are others, who follow a different spiritual path, who will find a way to holiness in it, and for that I am thankful. God has lots of lures in His tackle box and will speak to each as they need to hear, if they are willing to listen.
Absolutely Barb, and that is one I quoted myself again just recently. It may be the prayer that gives me the greatest comfort of all, knowing that as long as I truly desire to follow Him He will do the hard work and bring me along. The whole “Footprints” idea that in our hardest times it is He who is carrying us.
Great insight, John, and you are completely correct that we are all called differently and that what appeals to me may not appeal to another, what works for me may not to another…I often totally forget this! Creation - all of it - is truly a dance of endless colour and diversity forming a unity that is nature.
For me personally (I thought I better put that in in view of my previous statement
) St. Therese of Lisieux was the absolute master of the Spirituality of Ardent Desires…in fact, she has been called “The Saint of Ardent Desires” and then there is that beautiful statement (the author I do not recall). “To be a saint, will it”. That “footprints” poster has done so much good in this world I think…given a lot of people who struggle hope and encouragement.All The Law can do is point to us that we are sinners and cannot keep it. The Law identifies for us our poverty and status for we cannot keep it perfectly - rather Jesus who can and is The Perfect One justifies us under The Law through our unity to Him in Grace. He is our justification under The Law. Does this excuse us from The Law - no it does not…but as servants of God’s Law we are always and everywhere and in all things found wanting and lacking. One person in keeping this Law, is infringing another Law. This is why taking a quote out of the context of The Whole of Scripture seems to contradict another Scripture quote. Under The Law we are forever remiss and offending.
Really beautiful and spot on in insight!
…cacha on the rounds, John…BarbHi John…can you give a link to your thread. I have been spending far too much time on CAF just lately…I needed to deal with stress and writing is the way I usually do - but I have been far too long winded in these Forums lately and far more than usual. Now I am into “addicted to CAF” mode and need the break the habit
Heaps of quotes, huh John, in Scripture that The Lord desires not one soul to be lost…and no matter what I do, no matter how grevious - if I am truly sorry, then God will forgive and has guaranteed us this. Sometimes when I do or have sinned - at that actual time what I am actually doing does not quite hit home, but not in a way that reduces culpability and fault…rather it is after the act that the reality hits me with regret and sorrow.
Thanks John. I’ll have a read later. Do forgive me, John, in not recalling the thread…my memory has never been good but over the last few months it has been almost unbelievably bad and almost to me short term memory loss often. I have spoken to my doctor about it as I really did get concerned, but he says it is simply result of long term psychiatric medications over 30 years or more…plus my age - now 63yrs. My money is on that he is correct.
Alleluia Amen! I have always thought of presumption as being, for myself, one of the easier sins for me to understand. One clearly MUST commit a sin quite freely and deliberately with a clear attitude of “Not to worry, God will forgive me” hence the attitude is - sin away to absolute abandon because God will forgive. When you think of it it is an appalling attitude…sort of like being invited to someone’s place for lunch and ever after showing up for lunch and then breakfast and tea as well and then asking “where is my bedroom” and here are the my bills for payment for this month and then buying a new car and presenting the person with the bill and then a house and doing the same…not a good example John
It has happened to me now and then…and I think probably I have an addictive nature i.e. easily addicted. And I find it so jolly hard just to get up and walk away from the comptuer…and if I can then I am continually fighting a real urge to sit down at it again. But not impossible to break - just consistent effort asked for a short period and then it is all over.