Secret holy whispers of the God who loves you

There is a priest I follow on Facebook and I highly recommend you check out this brief video of his 

https://www.facebook.com/catholiclink1/videos/1426172004142955/

St Lawrence of Brindisi - Marian Doctor of the Church

 

Mary was seen clothed with the sun that we may know that she is like the sun which, although one, illumines and warms each man as if it had been created by God for him alone, for there is no one that can hide himself from his heat. So the Virgin Mother of God is both the mother of all men and the mother of each individual man. To all she is a common mother; to each his own personal mother. As the one sun can be seen in its entirety by each and every man (for every man at the same time sees a complete outline of the sun), so every one of the faithful, who from his heart devotes himself entirely to the Virgin, may enjoy her complete love as if he were her only son. For this reason Christ spoke to Mary in the singular when He said: Woman, behold thy son.


Mary also possessed Christ most perfectly as her only and beloved Son. How was it possible for the Virgin not to shine with sunlike splendor when she carried Christ, the Sun of infinite light, in her virginal womb? If God enclosed the sun in an immense crystal vase, would not that vase seem to be clothed with the very sun? In this way the sun clothes and adorns with its brilliant rays the pure substance of heaven, which it surrounds and engulfs. Just as the sun, glowing within the crystal on every side with its light, so the heavenly Virgin is clothed with Christ, the Sun of justice and glory. This divine vision signifies that, as bride and mother, the most holy Virgin shares in the glory of Christ and God to a high degree, so that no greater sharing or participation can be thought of.

 

 

NT Wright on the Atonement

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qfnV69nIOrw

The Lord has gone up

PSALM 47 

2All you peoples, clap your hands;

shout to God with joyful cries.

3For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared,

the great king over all the earth,

4Who made people subject to us,

nations under our feet,

5^*Who chose our heritage for us,

the glory of Jacob, whom he loves.

6^*God has gone up with a shout;

the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.

7Sing praise to God, sing praise;

sing praise to our king, sing praise.

8For God is king over all the earth;

sing hymns of praise.

9God rules over the nations;

God sits upon his holy throne.

1The princes of the peoples assemble

with the people of the God of Abraham.

For the shields of the earth belong to God,

highly exalted.

 

Humble and solitary soul

Came across this quote, it would be great to use for medication and Lectio Divina for anyone deepening their spiritual life 

A humble man is never rash, hasty or perturbed, never has any hot and volatile thoughts, but at all times remains calm. Even if heaven were to fall and cleave to the earth, the humble man would not be dismayed. Not every quiet man is humble, but every humble man is quiet. There is no humble man who is not self-constrained; but you will find many who are self-constrained without being humble. This is also what the meek humble Lord meant when He said, ‘Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.’ [Matt 11:29]  For the humble man is always at rest, because there is nothing which can agitate or shake his mind. Just as no one can frighten a mountain, so the mind of a humble man cannot be frightened. If it be permissible and not incongruous, I should say that the humble man is not of this world. For he is not troubled and altered by sorrows, nor amazed and enthused by joys, but all his gladness and his real rejoicing are in the things of his Master. Humility is accompanied by modesty and self-collectedness: that is, chastity of the senses; a moderate voice; mean speech; self-belittlement; poor raiment; a gait that is not pompous; a gaze directed towards the earth; superabundant mercy; easily flowing tears; a solitary soul; a contrite heart; imperturbability to anger; undistributed senses; few possessions; moderation in every need; endurance; patience; fearlessness; manliness of heart born of a hatred of this temporal life; patient endurance of trials; deliberations that are ponderous, not light, extinction of thoughts; guarding of the mysteries of chastity; modesty, reverence; and above all, continually to be still and always to claim ignorance.

+ St. Isaac the Syrian,  “Homily 72: On the Vision of the Nature of Incorporeal Beings

 

Image of the Church robed in Paschal light

Here is part of Pope Francis' prayer to Our Lady of Fatima. It would be good to meditate on the meaning of this powerful prayer that is trinitarian, filled with biblical imagery and focused on spiritual warfare : 

Hail, Mother of the Lord,

Virgin Mary, Queen of the Rosary of Fatima!

Blessed among all women,

you are the image of the Church robed in paschal light,

you are the honour of our people,

you are the victory over every assault of evil.

Prophecy of the merciful love of the Father,

Teacher of the Message of Good News of the Son,

Sign of the burning Fire of the Holy Spirit,

teach us, in this valley of joys and sorrows,

the eternal truths that the Father reveals to the little ones.

Show us the strength of your protective mantle.

In your Immaculate Heart,

be the refuge of sinners

and the way that leads to God.

In union with my brothers and sisters,

in faith, in hope and in love,

I entrust myself to you.

In union with my brothers and sisters, through you, I consecrate myself to God,

O Virgin of the Rosary of Fatima.

And at last, enveloped in the Light that comes from your hands,

I will give glory to the Lord for ever and ever. Amen.

 

At the feet of the Virgin Mother

This Saturday 13th May marks the 100th anniversary of Our Lady appearing at Fatima

The Pope has released a video message before he leaves for Portugal and left this beautiful message : 

It is as the universal pastor of the Church that I would like to come before the Madonna and to offer her a bouquet of the most beautiful “blossoms” that Jesus has entrusted to my care (cf. Jn 21:15-17). By this I mean all of our brothers and sisters throughout the world who have been redeemed by Christ’s blood, none excluded. That is why I need to have all of you join me there. I need to feel your closeness, whether physical or spiritual; the important thing is that it come from the heart. In this way, I can arrange my bouquet of flowers, my “golden rose”. With all of us forming “one heart and soul” (cf. Acts 4:32), I will then entrust you to Our Lady, asking her to whisper to each one of you: “My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the path that leads you to God” (Apparition of June, 1917).

 

Let us not forget that Jacinta and Francesco will be getting canonised while the pope is there as well. 

 

STS JACINTA AND FRANCESO - PRAY FOR US

Sheperd and Guardian of our souls

 

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. Often this is associated with saccharine piety and imagines of a feminine Jesus holding a baby lamb. However the readings of the day are filled with powerful imagery!

In conjunction with the readings, I went to confession with a great African priest. He reminded me that the Fathers of the Church used to say before they went to pray that they are going into "battle". It was a great reminder of spiritual warfare for me, and the readings reminded me that no matter how weighed down and disappointed I feel in my sins - that Christ has already won the battle for me. He is the Good Sheperd who laid down his life for me and is now the Guardian of my soul. 

Even more powerful is the part of the psalm where it says "you have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes". This can be interpreted as the Eucharist, the great Sacrificial Paschal banquet established by Christ as a reminder of his victory over death, that I am now one of his redeemed who is called treat with him and share in His Divine Life. 

 

Reading 2  1Peter 2:20-251 PT 2:20B-25

Beloved:
If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God.
For to this you have been called,
because Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.
He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.

When he was insulted, he returned no insult;
when he suffered, he did not threaten;
instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

Dealing with Spiritual Dryness

Sometimes in our journey of faith, we experience moments of spiritual dryness, lethargy - also known as acedia.

In rare cases, this is also known as the "Dark night of the soul" as coined by St John of the Cross. Many saints have experienced this, one of the more recent examples being St Mother Teresa. This is known as part of the purgative process of purification in the spiritual life. 

In my own case today however, I am suffering  with spiritual dryness caused by my own sins. Often when caught in habitual sins or feeling weighed down by our own weakness in sin we lose the strength or energy to fight and become lethargic. It's during these moments we need to pray the hardest and ask for the Holy Spirit. God is always with us but we don't often see or feel him, or other times we have shut him out through our sinfulness. So we need to turn back to the gaze of Jesus, call on the Father of Mercies and ask for the Comforter to be sent as our Consoler and Advocate. 

But first, something else has to be dealt with, namely, what is called aridity, dryness and desolation in meditation. The one who meditates before a text that is merely printed word and does not open out into any spiritual inner space and perhaps not even to a living presence. "The soul finds itself completely indolent, tepid and sad, as though separated from its Creator and Lord (spiritual exercises 317). Can we speak of a silence of the Word here? In a certain sense yes, since the Word does not seem to want to disclose itself of itself. This condition, as we are taught, can have several causes. It may be out own fault, "because we are tepid, indolent or negligent in our spiritual exercises". Or it may be willed by the Lord in order to see whether we will make the effort to penetrate into his depths even without his perceptible help. Finally, there may be exacted of is the existential experience that we cannot force entrance to these depths by our own efforts, for it "is wholly a gift and grace of God our Lord", and we "may not let our spirit become inflated with some kind of pride or vainglory", thinking we have raised ourselves up to this or that "degree of prayer" by our own power (spiritual exercises 322). We may and should knock, but we may not attribute magical power to our knocking, as though it necessarily demanded the response of an opening. The apparent silence of the Word is in each three aspects an intensive schooling. "Blessed are they who do not see and yet believe" - and believe in an unfelt "unspeakable, radiant joy" (charā anekalētō kai dedoxasmenē, 1 Peter 1:8), whose "radiance", however, rests with the Lord, while we now renounce it... 

Thus what is experienced in meditation as aridity, or even as a dark night, can at the same time in a hidden but true sense be the brightest radiance of love. But this love must hide itself in the nakedness of faith, the only thing that Jesus, deprived of everything exteriorly and interiorly, cannot lose. This definitively confirms the fact that every silence in Christian meditation is meaningful. In other words, where in an earthly sense we experience wordlessness, the sprees of the Word and meaning beyond expression open up 

- Christian Medition Hans urs Von Balthasar 

 

The Mystery of Mercy

 

I have recently finished Pope Francis' interview that became a book "The name of God is Mercy". It has really helped me grown in my appreciation and respect for the Holy Father, and I regret myself allowing my opinion of him to be negatively influenced by blogs and uncharitable comments by certain traditionalists.

At the end of the book, the appendix is the Bull for the Holy Year of Mercy "Misericordiae Vultus". There are two beautiful quotes I would like to share with you for your own personal meditation on mercy and the Holy Trinity. 

We need constantly to contemplate the mystery of mercy . It is a wellspring of joy, serenity, and peace. Our salvation depends on it. Mercy: the word reveals the very mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. Mercy: the ultimate act and supreme act by which God comes to meet us. Mercy: the fundamental law that dwells in the heart of every person who looks sincerely into the eyes of his brothers and sisters on the path of life. Mercy: the bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forced despite our sinfulness 

 

From the heart of the Trinity, from the depths of the mystery of God, the great river of mercy wells up and overflows unceasingly. It is a spring that will never run dry, no matter how many people draw from it. Every time someone is in need, he or she can approach it, because the mercy of God never ends. The profundity of the mystery surrounding it is as inexhaustible as the riches which springs up from it. 

Wow what amazing words! Trinitarian mysticism at its best! I don't think Jan van Rosbroek could have said it any better himself! 

Let us pray to the Most Holy Trinity, One God, to wash us in the mystery of mercy, immerse us in divine love, and have mercy on us all so that we may shine the light of Jesus to the world, showing His glorious face - the face of mercy. 

Amen 

 

Some recent purchases

These arrived in the mail today, and I can say I am very happy indeed 🙏🏻😇

 

Michael Horton is a very good Reforned (Calvinist) theologian, I have read his other books on covenant theology and Christless Christianity (an attack on therapeutic deism which neglects the Glory of God) which I found very useful in my spiritual journey. 

John Piper is a Baptist pastor who is also a Calvinist, he is a very passionate preacher who has developed the concept of "Hedonistic Christianity" which basically means it is easier to reject sin if we take delight from following God's commandments instead of falling for the false promises of sin. 

I am sure many of you are already familiar with Cardinal Sarah and Scott Hahn - if you are not, then I highly highly recommend you check them out as soon as possible!! Wonderful authors. 

I have been waiting for ages to be able to afford the book by Ralph Martin. It analyses the spiritual life using the writings of some of the most influential spiritual writers of the Church who are also Doctors of the Church : St Augustine, St Bernard, St Catherine of Siena, St Teresa of Avila, St John of the Cross, St Frances de Sales and St Therese of Lisieux. 

What a wonderful compendium of spiritual writing!!  The book is divided into the traditional 3 paths of the spiritual life - purgative, illuminative, unitive/transforming union. 

Time to get into some deep spiritual reading. 

I buy all my books through bookdepository.com they have most books in stock, are cheap and have free delivery. I live in Australia so the free delivery makes this a much cheaper option for me than Amazon. Plus the books only take 2-3 business days to be dispatched and then 5-8 business days to arrive. 

Finally opening up to Pope Francis - Revolution of Tenderness

As you may have seen in one of my previous posts, I often struggle with Pope Francis. His style often leaves me cold and missing Pope Benedict. 

I have been buying his books recently to try and understand him more and to allow him to challenge my thoughts on him for spiritual growth. 

I just came across this video of him giving a talk to the TED conference and all I can say is ... WOW 

For the first time watching this I was proud he was my Pope and felt I wanted to get to know him more. I just had my own personal revolution of tenderness. 

I highly recommend you to watch the video yourself 

https://www.facebook.com/VaticanRadioEnglish/videos/1534507179894214/

 

Ravens, Providence of God and the Saints

I cam across this article today, about Ravens and their relationship to the saints. It is a very interesting read that I highly recommend.

In pop culture, ravens are often associated with death or dark arts/supersition or witchcraft. However many people fail to realise how often they appear in the lives of saints and especially in the Bible.


For many new age people, the raven is often seen as a symbol of the Morrigan - an ancient Irish goddess of war and magic. However, in Christian literature going back to the prophet Elijah, ravens are associated with hermits, as well as a symbol of God's Providence as the above article outlines.

The author makes a great connection between the ravens as a symbol of God's Providence, and the need for Christian's to reclaim stewardship of Creation and integration with God's creation. In this sense, it could be read as a flow on from Pope Francis' Encyclical Laudato Si.

May we all have a greater awareness of God's goodness and Providence in creation, and learn to adore him through his creation.

Divine Mercy in my Soul

 

Today being the first Sunday after Easter is known as Divine Mercy Sunday as instituted by Pope St John Paul II. The aspects of this devotion are based on the diary of St Faustina Kowalska and visions she had of our Lordspeaking to her. Usually I am not a big fan of revelations and lots of devotions but this is one I have a connection to.  

 

The devotions are mainly about Jesus' Mercy, confession, praying for conversion of sinners, praying for the dying, as well as deeping your relationship with Jesus through trust in His love and mercy. 

. “Today the Lord said to me, ‘Daughter, when you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows down upon your soul and ennobles it.  Every time you go to confession, immerse yourself entirely in My mercy, with great trust, so that I may pour the bounty of My grace upon your soul.  When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you.  I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul.  Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy.  Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust.  If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity.  The torrents of grace inundate humble souls.  The proud remain always in poverty and misery, because My grace turns away from them to humble souls.’” (No. 1602)

 

One of the thing I personally love about the Divine Mercy devotion is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. It is a very simple prayer and has some similar elements of the Eastern Orthodox Jesus prayer. 

One insight I gained while praying it one day was that it emphasises the common priesthood of the faithful. In the letter of St Peter which I read when I was baptised "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." 1Peter 2:19 . All Christians participate in the priesthood of Christ, in the sense that we have direct access to God through Jesus, we can offer prayers and sacrifice on behalf of other people. This is the essence of priesthood. 

So when we pray the beginning of the Divine Mercy Chaplet "Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ in atonement for our sins, and those of the whole world" you can see that this is a priestly prayer. We are offering prayer and sacrifice to God through Jesus on behalf of the world. This prayer really helped me to understand how I can participate more deeply in the Sacrifice of the Mass. It is in a sense a Eucharistic prayer. It helped me to deepen my faith and prayer life that is authentically lay and not a clericalist imitation. 

Just as priests are chosen among the faithful ( the Church) to offer prayers and sacrifice, so are baptised Christians able to offer prayers and sacrifice on behalf of the non baptised to bring them God's Mercy.