Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

We thank Allison Gingras at  Reconciled To You    and Elizabeth Riordan at  Theology Is A Verb   for hosting Worth Revisiting each week. It is a privilege to share our work with them and their followers .  Stop for a visit now .  Here is my contribution: What Kind of Soul Am I? -  Part 3 (Originally posted on  October 23, 2017) [For the past two Wednesdays we have taken a brief look at two of the three types of souls that Saint Anthony Marie Claret describes in his book The Golden Kingdom- An Explanation of Spiritual Exercises. If you missed either of these posts you can find them here and here .  The first type "aspire to perfection and to follow Jesus but only in speech and not in their heart". The second has a true will "to aspire to perfection but does not have an all-inclusive generous will".  Today we take a look at souls that really want to strive for perfection.] "The third class of souls consists of those wh...

Thank you Allison Gingras at  Reconciled To You   and Elizabeth Riordan at  Theology Is A Verb   for  hosting Catholic bloggers at  Worth   Revisiting .    It is a privilege for us to share our work with you and your readers .  Stop by for a visit now .   Monday Musings - Which Kind of Soul Am I? - Part 2  (Originally posted October 16, 2017) (Image source:  Wikimedia Commons ) [In T he Golden Key to Heaven  –  An Explanation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, St.   Anthony Mary Claret discusses three distinct types of souls. Last week we looked at the first type (you can review that post here ).  If you did not recognize yourself then, maybe what follows will be a more accurate description. This one might really smart - the Truth does that you know.] "The second class of men consists of those who have a true will to aspire to perfection, but it is not ...

 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.   St. Anthony Mary Claret "...the most important point on which depends your whole welfare in the spiritual life: this point is that one must tread in the footsteps which Jesus Christ left before us, and keeping Him faithful company, patiently bear the desolation and affliction in one’s spirit, pain and hardships in one’s body, outrages, injuries, ill-will and persecution from whatever source they come. One who has no willingness to walk this road will never find God, and much less will he come to a pure and perfect love for Him…" (From The Golden Key to Heaven )

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 . St. Anthony Mary Claret "...the most important point on which depends your whole welfare in the spiritual life...one must tread in the footsteps which Jesus Christ left before us, and keeping Him faithful company, patiently bear the desolation and affliction in one's spirit, pain and hardships in one's body, outrages, injuries, ill-will and persecution from whatever source they come." (From The Golden Key to Heaven)

(Image source:  Wikimedia Commons ) [In T he Golden Key to Heaven  –  An Explanation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, St.   Anthony Mary Claret discusses three distinct types of souls. Last week we looked at the first type (you can review that post here ).  If you did not recognize yourself then, maybe what follows will be a more accurate description. This one might really smart - the Truth does that you know.] The second class of men consists of those who have a true will to aspire to perfection, but it is not an all-inclusive, generous will…Let us return to the example of sick persons. Behold, my soul, another sick man very different from the first one. He desires to regain his health, and to achieve this he is ready to take medications and other remedies. But he is unwilling to take the iron or the caustic medications, or other similar disagreeable remedies. (He will take whatever medicine is prescribed, provided it does not taste bad.) Thus...

[Saint Anthony Mary Claret lived in the nineteenth century, was Archbishop of Santiago Cuba, a great writer and preacher. He founded three religious orders and had the gift of prophecy and the discernment of hearts.  He wrote The Golden Key to Heaven – An Explanation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius . Now is the time to rediscover this dust-covered spiritual classic. It is from this book that we will seek an answer to the question posed above. Be prepared for a challenging and soul searching ride.] (Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) “The first class…consists of those who want to aspire to perfection and follow Jesus Christ, but only in speech and not in their heart. If you would know about this class of souls, come with me to a sick man’s house. See there a man half consumed with the heat of a fever. His ailment is getting worse by the moment and he is near death. A physician comes to him in this condition. After examining him the physician says, 'The...