Monday Musings – What Does God See When He Looks At Your Soul?

Since we have lost the sense of sin, it is unlikely that many of us have spent sufficient time looking at the true nature of our relationship with God and the actual condition of our souls – an essential self-examination if we desire to be eternally united with our Lord.  

When God looks at your soul what does He see? 

Photo by The Business Model Scholar on Unsplash

Listen to Jesus explain this truth to St. Catherine of Siena: 

“Do you know, daughter, who you are and who I am? If you know these two things you have beatitude in your grasp. You are she who is not, and I AM HE WHO IS. Let your soul but become penetrated with this truth, and the Enemy can never lead you astray; you will never be caught in any snare of his, nor ever transgress any commandment of mine; you will have set your feet on the royal road which leads to the fullness of grace, and truth, and light."

Without God we are nothing!

Now listen and ponder the words of St. Peter Julian Eymard as he urges us to render ourselves pleasing in God’s sight:

“The state of grace is necessary in order that God may love us and grant us His grace. Assuredly, God does not love us because of any merit on our own part and He has no reason to love our works in so far as they have their source in us. What are we in His sight? And what good can come from a body and soul stained with sin? A little natural good at the most, but nothing supernatural. What God loves in us is His grace, the reflection of His sanctity in hearts that are pure. That is enough to satisfy His gaze. Does not God love a child after its Baptism? Yet it has no acquired virtues. It is pure, however, and in the state of grace. God sees Himself reflected in the grace which adorns its heart and takes pleasure in the perfume of the fragile flower while He awaits its fruits.

In ourselves, too, God loves above all the state of grace, the state of purity we acquired by being washed in the Blood of Jesus. The state of grace is our beauty. It is the reflection of Jesus Christ in His saints. As the Father sees Himself in His Word, so Jesus sees Himself in their souls. But if the soul is stained with sin, it is impossible for God to be reflected therein. Do you expect Him to be well pleased to look at His divine Son’s executioner? Evil is never lovable., And when we are guilty of sin, God cannot love our state. In His goodness and mercy, He first purifies us, and not till then does He show His love for us; not till then can we bear His gaze. Our first motive, therefore, for guarding the state of grace, is that it makes us loved by God and renders us pleasing in His sight.”

(St Peter Julian Eymard from Holy Communion)

Let us beg God to purify us in order that He will see Himself in our souls. 

Food For Thought - Not Much Has Changed

 

Eucharistic Reflection - Grace Of Deeper Recollection

“In order to lead the soul to a high degree of virtue, God grants it the grace of deeper recollection. This incontestable truth is little known or appreciated even by persons of piety, who too often act on the belief that progress in holiness consists in external religious practices or in a greater enjoyment of God.

(Image Source)

Yet it is certain that the grace of recollection, by bringing us nearer to God, nearer to the divine fire of love, does increase our light and fervor. That is why we comprehend certain truths so clearly when we are in a more profound state of recollection. We discern them, in fact, by the very lights of God. Then it is that we have a peace we never knew before, a strength which astonishes us; we feel we are with God.”

(St. Peter Julian Eymard from Holy Communion)

Monday Musings - An Anguished Heart

For nearly 30 years I have been joyfully getting up in the early morning hours each weekend to adore and worship our  loving Lord.

It was heart-wrenching when, without any discussion or exploration of alternatives, our Chapel of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration (and others) was summarily closed in the stampede of fear and lack of trust in God that overtook our Church.

Our Adoration Chapels and Churches should never have been closed. Instead, our Bishops should have urged us all to come and spend time on our knees before God making acts of reparation for our unfaithfulness and asking for His mercy, assistance and protection.

We acted then, and in large measure continue to act, as if He is powerless and/or unwilling to do so.

But this abandonment of our Lord imprisoned in the tabernacles of His Churches was well in place prior to the pandemic, since so few Catholics (relatively speaking) actually believe that Jesus is really, substantially and physical present in the Sacred Eucharist.

Since the closing of our Chapel, with the exception of a ten day to two week period when no one was permitted to enter any of the Churches in our Diocese and a few times when the unheated Church was just too cold, I tried to remain faithful to my weekly Holy Hours by sitting in front of the tabernacle by myself in the main body of the Church. This weekend I was prevented from visiting Him. I was unable to unlock the Church's door - the combination lock either malfunctioned or the entry code was changed.

My heart aches.

If the heart of this sinful soul aches from being separated from our Lord, can we humans even fathom the anguish and pain our absence, lack of trust, belief and love in Him causes to His Most Sacred Heart?

I share the following brief trailer with you, not to promote my book, but in hopes that it might encourage more Catholics to look at their relationship with our Lord through His eyes and not from the pit of human fear:

 

Oh, that we would have the courage to cast out fear and place our trust completely in Him! 

Let us run to be with Him. Let us quench His Thirst to be loved!

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - August 20, 2020

 

Pondering Tidbits of Truth is my simple and inadequate way of providing nuggets of spiritual wisdom for you to chew on from time to time

 

 

 Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

“If you want to equip your soul with virtue and acquire habitual sanctity, it is necessary to practice acts of the virtue which is contrary to your vicious inclinations…mortify your inclinations, even when the object itself is lawful, but not necessary. It will facilitate victory on other occasions; you will gain experience and strength against temptation and present yourself as acceptable to your Savior.

 (From The Spiritual Combat and a Treatise On Peace of Soul)

 

Servant of God Catherine de Hueck Doherty

 When a poustinik enters a poustinia [a small cabin or room where one goes in to pray, fast and encounter God in silence] he really faces himself. Much of the gospel is concerned with this facing of oneself. Christ said that it is what comes out of a man that defiles him. We are loathe to face what is inside us. The poustinik is the free man. He enters there of his own free will, to face himself. Many things, but especially the devil, will conspire to force one to leave the poustinia – to block this confrontation with oneself.

Perhaps I can put it this way: When you enter the poustinia you enter the orbit of God. You hold onto His hand. You are free to give into temptation, to flee the poustinia, or to resist.

It is because of this freedom that a poustinik has no rules. There is nothing to guide yourself by except by what is within. This is where discernment comes in. Among the variety of things that people want you to do, you have to discern from your heart what to do. Your life ought to be a life of service to the community

The essence of the poustinia is freedom, total freedom of action, directed by your love of God and God’s love for you. Should you do this, should you do that? Consult your heart! Put your heart into your heart, get down on your knees, prostrate yourself or whatever you do, and find the answer from God…

 (From Poustinia – Encountering God in Silence, Solitude and Prayer)

 

  

Archbishop Luis M. Martinez

 “If we had a greater serenity of soul, more intense faith, we would receive with equal gratitude from the hand of God delight and anguish. We would comprehend perfectly that everything God does to us He does for our good - that sorrow and happiness are both messengers of His eternal love, instruments He uses with ineffable tenderness to accomplish His divine work in our soul. Joy is more agreeable to our poor nature than sorrow is. With difficulty do we appreciate the value of sufferings and the knowledge that perfect happiness springs from them. But consolations and desolations alike come from love, to the work of God within us.

 (From True Devotion to the Holy Spirit)

 

Worth Revisiting - The Real Reason for The Confusion and Chaos in Our Nation and Our Church

Thank you Elizabeth Riordan at Theology Is A Verb for hosting Worth Revisiting each week. It is a privilege to share our work with you and your followers.  Here is my contribution.

The Real Reason for The Confusion and Chaos in Our Nation and Our Church

(Originally posted on August 3, 2020)

This is a "must listen to homily" given at the Vigil Mass at St. Daniel Church in Syracuse, New York by 94 year old Monsignor Eugene Yennock.

I received the video link embedded below from a friend and faithful Catholic who reminded me that the good Monsignor "is noted for his straight forward talks" and "for saying it the way it is."

This is the way Truth must be presented to those who have never heard it, abandoned it, forgotten it, or rejected it. This humble and courageous prelate is a model for all our priests to follow. He is an invaluable gift to the Catholic Church and to our Syracuse Diocese. The clarity of his teaching is sorely needed today.

You honor the God he has so faithfully served as a priest for seventy years by taking his words to heart and by sharing his homily with family, friends and the general public.

The homily is 16 minutes in length. You can view and hear it here. It begins around the 15:50 mark.

Let us never cease praying for our priests!

 

Eucharistic Reflection - Beware Of Discouragement

 "We must beware of discouragement, for the majority of souls fall into it saying: 'For such a long time I have attended Mass and offered my imperfections, and I still have them all and I am not dead to the least of them.' Others say: 'I have received Communion so many times and I am not at all transformed into Jesus Christ, which is the effect of Holy Communion; therefore, it is not necessary to receive Communion anymore.'

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

No, no, there is something you must note: it is in order to have us hear Mass  often and receive Communion many times that Jesus Christ does not effect this complete death or total transformation. Instead He leaves us our imperfections so that we may make a continual sacrifice of them in combating them constantly for Him. This is why Our Lord does not cause this [transformation] all at once; these matters for battle He leaves for the sake of our fidelity."

(Mother Mectilde of the Blessed Sacrament from The Mystery of Incomprehensible Love)

 

Monday Musings - On Whom Are You Centered?

Although the words quoted below were uttered by the fictional Pope Kiril I in The Shoes of the Fisherman, they are well worth pondering. I thank Armand Scenna for sharing them with me.