Locutions. The Father talks in this Chapter about Locutions which are basically when the citizens of Heaven, Gods, Saints or angels talk to us with an inner voice. The Father underlines a true Locution by that which St Teresa of Avila said that a special grace engraves itself on our hearts, we remember it forever. I would say we all have locutions of one kind or another. Not almost certainly the public kind were Heaven asks us to pass on messages to everyone; these are very , rare when true. Sadly there are thousands and thousands of people these days passing on messages they claim are from heaven and they are nothing of the kind. I think the main reason for this is that people are confusing private messages meany for themselves alone and public messages meant for world at large. Imagine two young people very ,very much in love. Imagine they went round talking to everyone about their lover and what they said. What is exciting and wonderful for the pair would be mind numbingly boring for everyone else. Our eyes would glaze over and we would wish to rush away. I recall an Irish Dominican who worked in the Vatican discerning supposed messages saying how boring they all were. The same sugary sweet pink nothings over and over again ad infinitum. For what is between lovers should really stay between lovers. When God does want locutions shred with others He does so for a precise reason. A very good example of modern locutions that were meany to be shared were those of the French singer Gabrielle Bossis ('He and I') which are truly excellent. https://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2009/11/gabrielle-bossis-he-and-i.html April 12, 1945. In the [train] station at Angers. Coming from Paris I had a seat in spite of the dense crowd. "You see what great care I take of My own. Even in the tumult I draw them into solitude where the heart is on the alert to hear the Beloved. Didn't I say to them in the past, 'When I sent you out without purse or staff did you lack anything?' And they answered, 'Nothing'" 'Lord, it is often l who am lacking.' "For these omissions humble yourself, and don't be astonished by them. Wish to be cured of this lack of carefulness in My service. Take frequent stock not only of the value of your actions, but above all, of the value of your motive in doing them - the forthrightness of your will to glorify Me. Perhaps if you paid attention more often to what you do for Me, you would intensify your fervor and tenderness. You would be more faithful in the details - these precious details that can earn so much. They are the specks of goodness that fill life....You get the picture -the invisible grains of sand that make up the immense Sahara. Take great care in the very little things, My Gabrielle. Say to yourself, 'They are made to the Measure of My little nature'. And this thought will keep you humble. Have you noticed how often the work of the humble has to be done again? Put all your heart into it, knowing that you please Me. And since you want to live for Me, since you want to see everything in relation to Me, and pattern your life after Me, then consider how short the time is that remains for you on earth. You can give Me glory in that time. Give it to Me unstintingly," Gabrielle Bossis First Holy Communion April 20, 1945 - Le Fresne. At church. I had seen flowers of all kinds at the edge of a ditch. "You see how insurgent the spring is! Let a springtide of love in your soul blossom out in good deeds of every color. I shall look lovingly at them just as you looked at the flowers in the underbrush. Tell yourself that love alone can make fresh wonders spring forth. Then give yourself to Love so that Love may possess you. Don't divide yourself into two - one part for you and the other for Me - since I long to have all of you and cherish this hope. Your love quenches My thirst. I am most demanding: you see I want My children to be wholly and utterly Mine at every moment. So don't withhold a thing. Don't take anything of yourselves away. You would steal from Me if you did, because everything is Mine. If I require this of you it is because My yearning for you is a consuming fire. And My yearning is born of My love. Do you understand? Do you at last believe? Do you acknowledge My power to love? And if Mine is a love beyond all others, then how could you fail to go beyond your usual ways of loving to make your home in the higher realms - the realms where all is simplicity in our oneness. Above all when you know that it is there that I'm waiting for you and that great is My need to Meet you. Meditate on this need of Mine and you will call to mind that it is in your power to give Me this alms. Then remember the value of a free gift - the gift of oneself when offered out of tenderness. What inexpressible joy will be His who receives it. He will multiply His blessings so that the one that receives them will be lost in wonder and gratitude. 'What have I done to deserve the kindness of My God?' he will ask. And I shall reply, 'You loved Him with all your strivings and you let Him love you'" April 26, 1945 - 'Lord, Your poor little girl, Your poor image is here before you, yearning for You with all the strength of her being.' "Have you noticed how people talk among themselves, discussing all their personal affairs? They spend so much time this way and it does them so little good. Don't you think that if they gave themselves to Me, their Friend, I should rejoice to have My place in their thoughts and I should know how to reward their confidence in abundance? Don't you think that it would create a moment-to-moment intimacy between them and Me, and this would be a joy for them, because close to Me their lives would lose their tension. You understand? It would be life together with Me- I carrying the heavy end of things. So again I say: speak with Me, My little ones. Speak with Me. And our hearts will Merge. Isn't this the aim of My Christians? Isn't that why you want to die? Then begin living this heart-oneness. Seize upon every opportunity. Find every pretext. You aren't bold enough. For some of you it is because you are indifferent. But My close friends, why, why don't they call to Me from their heart's depths? If only their belief were less like unbelief! If their hope were fixed upon My help ... And if, in all simplicity, their love loved Me more. I should be there looking after everything in their day, and when night fell, their eyes would close again on My face." Aug 12, 1945, Le Fresne Church "When you say to Me 'Beloved Jesus, I give You My entire life' do you realize that at the same time I have given you more, since even what you are giving Me is what I've given you? Admit that everything you have comes from Me. It's all a gift from Me, and not to display My power, not chosen at random, but by My most attentive love -chosen especially for you, My children -for your path in life, in order to help you reach the goal that is yours." "You have everything you need to perfect the Gabrielle I dreamed of in creating you. Did you watch Me creating you? You see, you can have no idea of the tenderness that I pledged to your soul so long ago -from all eternity. Then I ask you not to consider Me too exacting if I say to you, as I do so often, 'Give Me everything'. March 21, 1946 -Holy hour "All night long I waited for you in My Eucharist -waited to give Myself to you in the morning. Why should this astonish you? You believe in My presence and a tabernacle, don't you? You believe in My immense love? Then put the two together. And when you wake up during the night, look at the One who is already longing for the dawn to bring you to Him. This will quicken your love and give you confidence in My power. Let Me profit by the days of your life, they are not many. Prolong Me in them as much as you can don't let a day go by without doing something for Me, for there is not a single day that I am not at work, you for your own happiness. Do you believe Me?" 'Yes Lord' "Then humble yourself for not having responded better to all the loving kindness of your Creator. You know how I love to forgive? You know how your confidence attracts My compassion? Your trust can win anything from My heart. Count on Me. Call Me. Don't you love your name? I love to hear Mine on your lips. Don't deprive Me."
Knowing by Not Knowing. In this chapter Father Stephen writes about how in prayer we are entering mystery, the very presence of God, the unexplainable, the Holy of Holies. I think one very good everyday example of the mystical for many Catholics is the Eucharistic Presence in the Tabernacle many of us feel when we enter a Catholic Church. It is as though we are embraced by love; hugged by God. A kind of warm heat and light of love, a sense of coming home. Now, on the other hand if we enter say an Islamic Mosque, of a Jewish Synagogue or even a Protestant Church there is a curious coldness or deadness, the Presence just is not there. I have also noticed that not every Catholic Church has the powerful presence at the same level, some have it much, much stronger than others, this is particularly so with older Churches. An example of tow places with a very,very strong sense of the Holy are St Peter's in Rome and the Church of the Holy Sepulchar in Jerusalem. I also felt it recently in St James Compostello in Spain. But travelling about from Church to Church suddenly out of the blue you might wander into some little Church in the countryside you've never been to before and get blasted by a sense of the holy. I guess this is because there was maybe a saint(s) who prayed there regularly over a long period.
When I lie in my bed at night just before sleeping and saying a prayer I sometimes think of Jesus alone in the tabernacle in our local church, which is literally a few hundred yards from my bedroom window and I also think of him in the local monastery tabernacle which is about a mile away and then I think of all the local chapels in nearby villages and towns - and I end up thanking God for his presence with us in every tabernacle in the world. Matthew 28v20 'Behold I am with you all days, even to the end of the world'.
Every time I pass a church I stop and make a visit So when I'm carried in feet first God won't say ‘Who is it?’ ~ Terry Ryan This is St Columba's on the shores of Mulroy Bay, a stunning location on Donegal's north coast
Father Stephen writing about the mystery of God reminds me of a conversation I had with my Spiritual Director many ,may years ago when I was young. I quoted scripture: 1 John 4:7-21 God Is Love 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannota]">[a] love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. This is probably the best description in all Scripture of God, 'God is love'. I commented to the Father that while this is true it is also not true. The priest looked very shocked and asked me how this could be? I said that when we talk of love we only talk of love as we know it. However God who is love is on another plane. He is a raging hurricane of love and light. That no matter how much love we experience in prayer it is only an inkling of what is. The very first thing when we awaken from death to eternal life we will say several times is, 'I never knew! I never knew!' I never knew!'
Imho, those very words will be sounding throughout the world after the warning, aka the illumination of conscience......The shock will be overwhelming for many. They will run to the Church, to her faithful priests and people for help........my prayer is that they find it, wherever they may be.
Yes, but Our Lady warned not to leave conversion too late. First the time of Mercy, then the time of justice. There is s great sense of hopelessness in the world. As if everyone knew
The Devil. I think I have come to the last chapter in the book which concerns the devil's role in the Spiritual Life, a topic which you would expect from an Exorcist. I doubt if many modern Catholics really believe in the devil too much, including our clergy which is surprising since we are without the most evil generation since the Creation of the World. Those who do believe in him mostly I think of him rather like the bogeyman our mothers used to talk about as children. But going by the teachings of the Church , Scripture and the Fathers of the Church, he is as real as real could be; as indeed we can see in the lives of the Saints. Psalms 91:5-7 N You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. Father Stephen writes that the greatest protection against the devil is humility. We can see this in the Litany of the Saints in the Roman Ritual, the prayer book Exorcists used. Here they ask the aid of saints who fought hand to hand with the devil and they all without exception were very,very humble souls indeed. St Gerald Majella a humble lay brother, or the Cure of Ars an ill educated country parson. The older I get the stranger to me that the demons seem. If it were possible I would even pity them a little. Not only were they twice totally defeated , once in heaven by St Michael and the Good angels and again by Jesus on the Cross. No matter what they do they make things worse for themselves. If they drag a soul to hell, for instance it only makes them fall deeper into hell themselves. The same when they tempt people, it causes them to fall lower. They have no good moves left. Only the torment, only the Eternal flames. As time goes by I have realised the only power they have over us is the only power we grant them.
The Humility of God. I love to read a chapter of this book before sleeping at night. They are only two or three pages , do not take long and do as Lectio Divina. Lectio Divina is when you read something very slowly and thoughtfully, meditating on it so it becomes a kind of prayer. Last night I woke up and was still thinking about what Fr Stephen had written about the humility of God and the following Scripture came to mind: Philippians 2:8 The Attitude of Christ …7but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross. 9Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names,…
I have the habit of praying Psalm 51 almost every day when possible. A few points that catch my attention are its teachings that a sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit; thus, you can transform your repentance and contrition into a kind of sacrifice of praise. This requires a certain balance between striving for Christian perfection and acknowledging the need for grace. This is the only psalm I have been able to memorize from all of Scripture.
Beautiful. The Cure of Ars, St John Vianney used to always refer to God as, 'The Good God'. I think this is a wonderful way of describing him . Its seems to me that Great Sinners have a great advantage over others as we tend to have our feet on the ground. All we have to do is remember our dreadful pasts. In the Middle Ages people thought St Mary Magdalene was the greatest saint? Why? Because of the Scripture: Luke 7:47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
https://www.catholicexorcism.org/post/exorcist-diary-313-all-demons-are-catholic Not sure where to post this. It’s Msgr Rossetti’s latest blog.
It's one of his best, imho. There has been much criticism of the work these good men have been doing. He answers it with grace.
A marvelous testimony. How terribly sad that nominal Catholics fail to perceive what the devils begrudgingly acknowledge: The Catholic Church is the true Church! May we all do our part to call everyone to come home and live a vibrant life of faith in the Catholic Church!
A Prayer Rule by St. Theophan the Recluse A prayer rule for one who is on the path of a God-pleasing life. Memorizing the Psalms. The prayer rope. A prayer rule for one who is on the path of a God-pleasing life. You ask about a prayer rule. Yes, it is good to have a prayer rule on account of our weakness so that on the one hand we do not give in to laziness, and on the other hand we restrain our enthusiasm to its proper measure. The greatest practitioners of prayer kept a prayer rule. They would always begin with established prayers, and if during the course of these a prayer started on its own, they would put aside the others and pray that prayer. If this is what the great practitioners of prayer did, all the more reason for us to do so. Without established prayers, we would not know how to pray at all. Without them, we would be left entirely without prayer. However, one does not have to do many prayers. It is better to perform a small number of prayers properly than to hurry through a large number of prayers, because it is difficult to maintain the heat of prayerful zeal when they are performed to excess. I would consider the morning and evening prayers as set out in the prayer books to be entirely sufficient for you. Just try each time to carry them out with full attention and corresponding feelings. To be more successful at this, spend a little of your free time at reading over all the prayers separately. Think them over and feel them, so that when you recite them at your prayer rule, you will know the holy thoughts and feelings that are contained in them. Prayer does not mean that we just recite prayers, but that we assimilate their content within ourselves, and pronounce them as if they came from our minds and hearts. After you have considered and felt the prayers, work at memorizing them. Then you will not have to fumble about for your prayer book and light when it is time to pray; neither will you be distracted by anything you see while you are performing your prayers, but can more easily maintain thoughtful petition toward God. You will see for yourself what a great help this is. The fact that you will have your prayer book with you at all times and in all places is of great significance. Being thus prepared, when you stand at prayer be careful to keep your mind from drifting and your feeling from coldness and indifference, exerting yourself in every way to keep your attention and to spark warmth of feeling. After you have recited each prayer, make prostrations, as many as you like, accompanied by a prayer for any necessity that you feel, or by the usual short prayer. This will lengthen your prayer time a little, but its power will be increased. You should pray a little longer on your own especially at the end of your prayers, asking forgiveness for unintentional straying of the mind, and placing yourself in God's hands for the entire day. You must also maintain prayerful attention toward God throughout the day. For this, as we have already mentioned more than once, there is remembrance of God; and for remembrance of God, there are short prayers. Memorizing the Psalms. It is good, very good, to memorize several psalms and recite them while you are working or between tasks, doing this instead of short prayers sometimes, with concentration. This is one of the most ancient Christian customs, mentioned by and included in the rules of St. Pachomius and St. Anthony. After spending the day in this manner, you must pray more diligently and with more concentration in the evening. Increase your prostrations and petitions to God, and after you have placed yourself in Divine hands once again, go to bed with a short prayer on your lips and fall asleep with it or recite some psalm. Which psalms should you memorize? Memorize the ones that strike your heart as you are reading them. Each person will find different psalms to be more effective for himself. Begin with Have mercy on me, O God (Psalm 50); then Bless the Lord, O my soul (Psalm 102); and Praise the Lord, O my Soul (Psalm 145). These latter two are the antiphon hymns in the Liturgy. There are also the psalms in the Canon for Divine Communion: The Lord is my shepherd (Psalm 22); The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof (Psalm 23); I believed, wherefore I spake (Psalm 115); and the first psalm of the evening vigil, O God, be attentive unto helping me (Psalm 69). There are the psalms of the hours, and the like. Read the Psalter and select. After you have memorized all of these, you will always be fully armed with prayer. When some disturbing thought occurs, rush to fall down before the Lord with either a short prayer or one of the psalms, especially O God, be attentive unto helping me, and the disturbing cloud will immediately disperse. There you are; everything on the subject of a prayer rule. I will, however, mention once again that you should remember that all these are aids, and the most important thing is standing before God with the mind in the heart with devotion and heartfelt prostration to Him. I thought of something else to tell you! You may limit the entire prayer rule just to prostrations with short prayers and prayer in your own words. Stand and make prostrations, saying Lord have mercy, or some other prayer, expressing your need or giving praise and thanks to God. You should establish either a number of prayers, or a time-limit for prayer, or do both, so that you do not become lazy. This is necessary, because there is a certain incomprehensible peculiarity about us. When, for example, we go about some outward activity, hours pass as if they were a minute. When we stand at prayer, however, hardly have a few minutes gone by, and it seems that we have been praying for an extremely long time. This thought does not cause harm when we perform prayer according to an established rule; but when somebody prays and is just making prostrations with short prayers, it presents a great temptation. This can put a halt to prayer that has barely begun, leaving the false assurance that it has been done properly. The prayer rope. Thus, the good practitioners of prayer came up with prayer ropes so that they would not be subject to this self-deception. Prayer ropes are suggested for use by those who desire to pray using their own prayers, not prayers from a prayer book. They are used as follows: Say Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner, and move one bead between your fingers. Repeat the prayer again and move another bead, and so on. Make a prostration during each repetition of the prayer, either a partial one from the waist or a full one to the ground, as you prefer; or, for small beads, make a prostration from the waist, and for large ones, a full one to the ground. The rule in all of this consists in having a definite number of prayer repetitions with prostrations to which are added other prayers in your own words. When deciding on the number of prostrations and prayers, establish a time limit, so that you do not deceive yourself as to haste when you perform them. If haste creeps in, you can fill up the time by making more prostrations. How many prostrations should be done for each prayer is set down at the end of the Psalter with sequences in two categories, one for diligent people and the other for lazy or busy people. The elders now living among us in sketes or special kellia in places such as Valaam or Solovki serve the entire service according to this. If you would like to, now or some other time, you can perform your own prayer rule in this manner. Before you do this, however, get used to performing it in the manner prescribed for you. Perhaps you will not need a new rule. In any case, I am sending you a prayer rope. Try it! Note how much time you spend at morning and evening prayer, then sit down and say your short prayers with the prayer rope, and see how many times you go around the rope during the time usually required for your prayer. Let this quantity be the measure of your rule. Do this not during your usual prayer time, but at some other time, although do it with the same sort of attentiveness. The prayer rule, then, is carried out in this way, standing and making bows. After reading this, do not think I am driving you into a monastery. I first heard about praying with a prayer rope from a lay person, not a monk. Many lay people and monastics pray in this way. It should be suitable for you, too. When you are praying with prayers that you have memorized and they do not move you, you may pray that day using the prayer rope, and do the memorized prayers another day. Thus, things will go better. I will repeat once again that the essence of prayer is the lifting of the mind and heart to God; these little rules are an aid. We cannot get by without them because of our weakness. May the Lord bless you! https://www.orthodox.net/articles/p...he rule in all of,haste when you perform them.
