Joy and Vigilance

Venture out. Never fear. But, be vigilant.

In life, we can not learn many things nor find new places nor change in a profound and good way without venturing forth.

Venture. Explore. Find new territories. Just make sure, in the event you have to, that you know how to get back.

I once had a dream of climbing up a huge sand dune that was flat at the top, like a plateau. When I looked back at the way I came up, I realized I could not get down the same way, and when I peered down the opposite side, it was far too steep; on a third side I would have wedged between two sand dunes. I was temporarily stranded on top because I wasn't careful enough to contemplate my return (nor the repercussion of scaling the cliff).

When we do, when we take the time for forethought, and we find a high place, however, we can see as we previously could not. Vistas open before us. We can see at greater distance and we can view everything in a context that is larger and often even unforgettable. We just need to set forth with prudence. As Thomas á Kempis said, "to offer, with quiet conscience, pure prayer."

Have you found the place where you can do that? Christ prayed on mountains.

Do you pray with purity?

Can you turn off the internal dialogue -- the disruption of "head chatter" -- to contemplate?

Have you located hidden imperfections (such as pride)?

"It is not the mountain we conquer," said Sir Edmond Hillary, "but ourselves."

It is through fasting and prayer that we purify and also sensitize; likewise, contemplate. When we fast, we are more in tune with repercussions. We know the exciting places to scout and how to scout them. We do not fear, but we anticipate. We are more in touch with how we and others really feel. During fasting, one can often go beyond the words people speak and sense what they really think. We get to the real thoughts beyond verbiage, which is who a person really is. In prayer, we get to our own real thoughts, as well, and become aware of what we project.

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Abandonment to Jesus

Per ipsum et cum ipso et in ipso: through Jesus, with Jesus, and in Jesus.
“Without me, you can do nothing.”
“With You, Jesus, I can do all things.”
Renew these thoughts which bind you to Him and which plunge you into the abyss of love which is His Heart. The logical and necessary consequence of the complete confidence which I have preached to you until now is total abandonment.
Since it is through Jesus that everything must be accomplished, the more I let Him do, the more the work of grace will be beautiful and perfect.
What is this work of grace? The transformation of our souls into Jesus through love. St. Thomas shows us, after St. Augustine, that the Eucharist transforms our souls into Jesus through love. It is there that I find the definition of sanctity, the final word, if I may put it that way, of our divine predestination.
Jesus transforms us into Himself. Our intelligence is no longer our intelligence, but His: we see things as He sees them. Our will is no longer our will but His: we will what He wills, and we reject what He rejects. Our heart is no lon­ger our heart, but the Heart of Jesus: we love what He loves, and we detest what He detests.
“And I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me.” Mihi vivere Christus est: “For me, to live is Christ.”


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Demonic Infection

One of the simple ways to deal with the problem is for an intentional use of holy water and the Lords’ Prayer. I instruct individuals to pray the Lord’s Prayer slowly with an emphasis and focus on the phrase “Deliver Us From Evil”. If the issue is an overpowering temptation to continue in sin then also pray the Lord’s Prayer with a focus on “Lead Us Not Into Temptation.”


Wearing or displaying a St Benedict Cross (a crucifix with the St Benedict medal embedded in it)  is a sacramental that can have strong effects. Seeing it and remembering and reciting the Latin phrase “vade retro satana” (Get Back Satan) which is engraved on the medal helps to counter the infection.
When they enter church and cross themselves with holy water I encourage them to repeat quietly, “Deliver Us From Evil.” or “Lead Us Not Into Temptation”.  It is also helpful to give a name to the difficulty and imagine it as being an infection and the prayers and holy water as being a kind of medicine that fights off the infection. Just as an infection is battled with a course of antibiotics and the doctor tells you to take the whole treatment, so demonic infection will often take a period of time to really take effect. If the sin is deeply rooted because of a long standing habit, then the cure will also take some time to take effect. If the roots are deep in a person’s life they are not pulled out quickly and easily.


The marvelous truth is that the Lord is at work in our lives in very real, very powerful and very simple ways. Prayer, the sacraments and the sacramentals really do work if we use them in faith, trusting in the healing power of the Lord. When we co operate with that grace and combine the healing effects of prayer with will power and self discipline demonic influences fade away and we can achieve real victory over sin.


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Pure, Humble Thoughts

Our thoughts can be our own worst enemy.  If they are negative we suffer.  This is why contemplation is so important.


Pure humble thoughts always project the best.


It is through fasting and prayer that we purify and also sensitize; likewise, contemplate. When we fast, we are more in tune with repercussions. We know the exciting places to scout and how to scout them. We do not fear, but we anticipate. We are more in touch with how we and others really feel. During fasting, one can often go beyond the words people speak and sense what they really think. We get to the real thoughts beyond verbiage, which is who a person really is. In prayer, we get to our own real thoughts, as well, and become aware of what we project.   


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Devil - Proper Perspective

Bishop Sheen states, "that the essence of the satanic or diabolic is the hatred of the cross of Christ".  Peter was rebuked by Our Lord as "Satan" when he tried to convince him not to suffer.  The implication is that through Christ's suffering we become free from evil.


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Silence - Ridding Pride

Silence is the best way to deal with pride.  We must learn not to react to our prideful thoughts.  This leads to true humility, allowing grace to rule our lives.


St. Pope John XXIII realized this:


 "I appreciate their excellent qualities; I am very fond of them and they deserve every good.

"But I suffer much in relation to them," he wrote. "On some days and in some circumstances I am tempted to react strongly.

"But I prefer silence, believing it to be a more eloquent and effective instruction."

How much has worldliness -- and the pride of worldliness -- infiltrated various dioceses? Are bishops humble? Are priests?

Are we?

While the deep spiritual life of this Pontiff has been obscured by the controversies (and aftereffects) of Vatican II (some of which we do indeed contemplate), the depth of John XXIII's spirituality is in no doubt after reading this valuable little book. In particular, the new saint put special emphasis precisely on littleness. The littleness that sees others as big. Seeing the best in others, he said, gives one peace.

"My character is inclined toward compliance and to readily seeing the good side of people and things rather than criticizing and judging harshly," wrote the late Pope, in notations recorded through the years, including before his elevation to the Throne of Peter. "Any type of ill treatment or distrust shown toward anyone, but especially toward the humble, the poor, the lowly; every harsh and thoughtless judgment causes me pain and great suffering."

When we rid pride, indicated John XXIII, there is room for grace. With grace comes hope. When we have hope, we are strong. When we lose hope, we lose strength.

Pride enervates. It saps our energy. It is often the root of negativity. Pride separates us. It is false strength. Humility is true power.

Ridding pride frees us. So does doing God's Will -- and caring about little but that. When we rid pride we gain in charity.

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Why Hell is Eternal

Repentance can be born only of grace. If God does not send grace to a spirit, making it understand the perpetrated evil, then there can be no supernatural repentance. Without grace, a demon can understand that it was a foolish decision to have rebelled, a decision that has caused it suffering. But true repentance is qualitatively different from just mere awareness. It is not simply an act of the understanding; rather, it is a gift from God so that we might bend our knees before Him and humbly ask for His forgiveness. Without this grace, one may feel pain for making a wrong decision, but true repentance is beyond him. Demons can admit that their choice led to suffering, but this does not stop them from hating God.
The eternity of hell, then, is not due to some arbitrary divine decision. Rather, its eternal duration is a necessary consequence of rebellion against God. It is they who have drifted far away from Him and do not want to return. Many Christians think that God is excessively severe in imposing an eternal condemnation on sinners, but He is just giving those who hate Him what they want – eternal separation from Him (see Catechism of the Catholic Church 1033-1037).
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Freedom

The Holy Father recently stated, "Christ frees us from fear, internal emptiness, isolation, regret and complaints…Christ frees us from this existential grayness.”


That is only in God can we find the solace needed to endure. 


There is a saying in prison ministry, Christ does not necessarily free inmates from their cells but within them.


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Screwtape Letters

The Screwtape Letters presents many of the smaller battles in daily life that ultimately may matter more for our salvation than great campaigns against global evils.

Screwtape suggests that turning Christians against each other on moral issues is a great way to stir up pride -- a cardinal sin. It’s possible for Christians to be “correct” in their moral stance but “sinners in pride” because they are being sanctimonious, hypocritical, or prideful. And Satan knows what comes before a Fall, doesn’t he? 


Maybe it’s better to meditate on one’s failure to be a truly supportive spouse rather than constantly carping about the gay agenda? Or better to quell one’s own anger when it’s about to erupt than to lament the evils of terrorism? This list of priorities can, of course, be individualized about six billion ways. I’m sure that, with a little thought, you can create your own list.

Great saints and martyrs are people who became very skilled at fighting Satan. The place of combat isn’t a battlefield or a coliseum; it’s wherever you are in your daily life.

First, remember that your eternal salvation is priority number one. Everything else follows from this.


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Christian Unity

The Holy Father wants to unite Christians to more effectively address human suffering.

“The world is suffering,” said Robison. “We as Christians have too much love to share without fighting one another.”

Mr. Robison said he and other “respected Evangelical leaders and Spirit-filled Catholics began meeting together to pray for God’s will to be done and to bring true believers together in supernatural unity….We have been commanded to love God with all of our heart and our neighbors as ourselves. The enemy has kept many Christians from loving one another as Christ loves us and have failed to recognize the importance of supernatural unity even with all of the unique diversity.”

Mr. Robison, whose ministry digs water wells and supplies food for impoverished people in third-world nations, recounted that he was christened as a fatherless boy in an Episcopal Church.  As an adult, he joined the Southern Baptist Church.  In the 1980s, he became one of the first prominent Southern Baptist ministers to openly proclaim he had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

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