Trusting in God alone

[BarbaraTherese]

Here is a quote from a book called “God’s Fool - The Life and Times of Francis of Assisi” by Julien Green:

“So John put on the habit of a Franciscan, and from then on he applied himself to imitating Francis as faithfully as possible. It was, he thought, the surest way to become a good friar. If he saw Francis genuflect, he did too. He went so far as to copy all of Francis’s gestures. If Francis raised his hands to heaven and sighed while praying, he could be certain that two steps behind him John the Simple would be raising his hands to heaven and sighing in exactly the same way. Francis, who had immediately taken a liking to him, was amused at first, but finally got tired of this scrupulous mimicry; and one day he reprimanded him. “Father,” said John the Simple, “I have promised to do whatever you may do, and that’s what I want, to do what you do.” In the face of this ingenuous soul, uncorrupted by the world, Francis gave in. Besides, John was becoming so obviously holy that one could only admire him in silence. Not long afterward, around 1213, he died. His religious life, as brief as it was perfect, left an enduring memory. When Francis spoke of him, he felt, not sadness, but a marvelous joy; he always called him Saint John.”

~~ p. 137

Apologies for not finding this quote on the internet, I have an old-fashioned hardcopy book.

So in light of our discussion, what do we make of this?

~~ the phoenix

It is not contradictory. One could possibly, or might, presume that The Holy Spirit was instructing Brother John to imitate St. Francis closely…or it could be considered that The Holy Spirit, sighting the great simplicity and love of God in Brother John decided to make a great saint of him. It may have been some other way entirely. We cannot confine God, The Holy Spirit, in neat little human compartments the boundaries of which are our human rules and limitations. He will guide each person to realize their true identity in God in His own particular way.

Abandonment toDivine Providence is a way…not the only way. It is the way of the holiness of the present moment. The central theology of it is quite in line with The Gospel that The Lord does not “leave us orphans” and that we do have a guide in The Holy Spirit, an interior guide. The Holy Spirit of course guides in many ways including through reading, meditation, prayer, silence, listening, talking…endless are the ways.
All ways are a reflection in some way of Christ who is The Way, The Truth and The Life.

Barb

 

[BarbaraTherese]

You can be sure, phoenix, that I still feel it’s a very good thing for me to try to follow the Little Flower, read Scripture, pray intercessory prayers, follow the Church’s teaching, etc. - those things the Holy Spirit has given me the prompting that it is good for me to do. I need to become a docile soul. It also means that the result will be totally individual. God “wants his chorus to sing in harmony, but not in unison”, as Peter Kreeft has written. Jesus’ seamless garment was made of many threads.

Good insight, I thought, Brigid. Docility to the interior movements of The Holy Spirit does not exclude of necessity imitation, rather such docility may lead one to imitate in response to promptings and inspiratin of The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit indeed will lead where He may.
The nun who taught me said “never be afraid to imitate good example” and I took that onboard and still do.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

I have just reading through “Self Abandonment to Divine Providence” by Father Reginald LeGrange…a Dominican priest author who I think is very gifted in explaining complex theological matters with great simplicity and consciseness - with great clarity of expression. His Chapter on self abandonment to Divine Providence is certainly worth reading …HERE

Thank you *The Phoenix *for sharing Father Legrange’s text with link.

Father LeGrange summarizes the way of Abandonment in more or less theological terms but not strictly so, while de Caussade’s work is a purely spiritual perspective (while the inherant theology is of course precise and accurate) and de Caussade has far more spiritual detail than Fr. LeGrange, who is more focused on the theological.

Father LeGrange is certainly far more concise than de Caussade and is a summary of The Way of Abandonment overall.

Barb
Father LeGrange’s “The Three Ways of The Spiritual Life”
HERE is another really excellent theological work written with great simplicity that while it focuses on the theological perpsective, remains an excellent spiritual work that comes highly praised giving insight into the spiritual way overall from a somewhat different type of perspective. All spiritual works are works of theology as all theological works are works of spirituality. And all spiritual ways/charisms of the spiritual life have a thread running through them that remains the same in all ways.