When Padre Pio heard his Archbishops confession he went out slamming the door in a huge fury and spent the rest of his life trying to destroy him. Padre Pio must have rebuked him for molesting children.
The only way to find something is to loose it. The only way to own something is to give it away. The only path to riches lies in the Heart of God. Matthew 13:44-47 44"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
Certainly the finest teacher of Spiritual Detachment and the ascetical way is the recent Doctor of Church Saint Therese of Liseaux which she sets out in her autobiography, 'Story of a Soul' certainly one of the finest spiritual works ever written. Its really remarkable that she should have been made a Doctor of the Church in the space of one very short book whereas other Doctors had to write volumes in order to be recognised and it shows the intense strength and power of her message and is a testimony to her own huge sanctity. I recall once, in the monastery a novice master asking me of I thought people outside the monastic and religious background could achieve the same degree of holiness as people in the religious life. I knocked his nose slightly out of joint by relying that I has thought, not only that but that many lay people in fact reach a far greater degree of holiness than those inside the monastery walls. In fact this is the teaching of Vatican 2 ; that the vocation of holiness is calling, by birthright of all the children of Holy Mother Church. As Lumen Gentium says, quite plainly: 'Fortified by so many and such powerful means of salvation, all the faithful, whatever their condition or state, are called by the Lord, each in his own way, to that perfect holiness whereby the Father Himself is perfect. There was a time, however when the general view in the Church was that this was not the case. There was an elite who were viewed as kind of front line troops in the pilgrim path. These were the religious. Ahead of them were the enormously ascetical saints with tremendous fasting and penance. stormed heaven in very great style. There were if, you like the spiritual super stars of the spiritual world whom poor ordinary lay folk, such as ourselves couold only gape at but never truly emulate. So that in heaven there would be a kind of hierarchy, led by the religious and priests and people who lived in the world would be kind of lucky to get in by the skin of their teeth. I can think of a couple of reasons why this should be so. In the first place people often fall in to the very natural error of judging other folk by their own spiritual paths. People in the past who wrote of God and the spiritual path were for the very greatest part themselves religious, wheras the lay folk were often illiterate and poor and their voices simply were not heard. Even if they could speak they only had very simple theological knowledge and culture and so could not articulate their own religious journey. A second reason is the Churches process for Canonisation . It takes a lot of money nowadays to place a person as a saint forward.Religious orders and Bishops had the money to push such causes and it was very much in their interests in order to promote their order or their diocese. But if Jane Smith from Littledown the wife and mother of a Smalltown was a living saint and died who would pay for or promote her cause? No one. THis reminds me of a funny story I heard one time in Rome and which I think is true. There was a rich lady in Rome an aristocrat who did a lot of good work in the Holy City for the poor and the sick ,so much so in fact that she got a real reputation round and abouts for being a saint. Anyhow the lady died and their was a real push on to get her canonised. However when her will was read out it was discovered that she had left all her money to push her cause for canonisation forward with the Vatican. This didn't go down too well as it was thought that maybe she lacked a certain humility. :wink: :lol: "Be ye holy, because I the Lord your God am holy." (Leviticus 19:2)
From James: God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble...therefore, humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.
I don't know, Terry if you have ever wondered why people sometimes get bogged down in their prayer life, sometimes for long periods sometimes forever. I think the reason why we do this is simple. Pride. God cannot give us graces because we would steal them for ourselves and thus sink even deeper into pride. I think you can notice this in the case of the elder brother in the case of The Prodigal Son. He does to the father and complains. "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' "'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found'" (Luke 15:11-32). In fact its hard not to sympathise with the elder son for h seems to have a good case. But the fact is everything God gives us is free gift. We can work in the fields until our hands fall off we none of us ever earn anything. But its when we do think we have earned, when we have it made , when we think we are righteous in any way that the graces of prayer freeze up You might have noticed, Terry that so important is this message that Jesus comes back to it hammering away at it time and time again. For instance we meet the righteous again in this parable, complaining: For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the market place, and said unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen (Matthew 20:1-16). ..and yet again here: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank Thee that I am not like other men--extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess'. But the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 18.10-14) ...and when you look at it Jesus spent a considerable amount of time hammering away trying to crack away the ice of righteousness in mens hearts, especially those of the Pharisees and Saducees but also the ice of righteousness of the apostles. But the point being the ice of pride, the ice of righteousness lies very heavily in all our hearts. We are all of us Pharisees we are all of us Saducees and will be till the day we die. Hopefully though God's grace will have warmed this icey pride with the heat of His love of His grace. If it was possible and all our pride were to go we should become at once the greatest saint who ever loved. Fat chance of that ever happening. As Saint Phillip Neri once said, 'My pride will die half an hour after I do!!' For the reason why Mary is perfectly holy is that she is perfectly humble. The reason why Satan is so perfectly damned is that he is so perfectly proud. The workings of the Holy Spirit in our lives can, I believe be summed up this way, a constance effort to melt the blockages of the pride of ice in our .hearts through the heat of His love. Very often He has to kick our asses really hard to achieve this, even a little, but if He has to kick ass He and does just as hard and often as necessary. Its hurts and stings like hell, but is well worth it. :lol: :lol:
It was perhaps for this teaching on detachment, this little way that moves detachment into the weft and woof of the every day, more than anything else that Saint Therese was made a Doctor of the Church. Its seems , from the outside such a small easy thing to do. But as one commentator notes if you were to put it fully into practice the way Therese did it would be like climbing the rock face of the Alps in a snowstorm. Saint Therese did not rise to great sanctity in such a short time by accident. It seems to me that detachment comes very naturally to those who devote themselves to prayer. Again to go back to the marriage analogy. The couple who truly love each other and their family sacrifice and sacrifice constantly for each other and their family. Yet, if you were to point this out to them they might be a little surprised at this. For love gives us wings and sacrifice can often be unnoticed in the midst of love. It is only when loves flags that the thorns are felt severely. I thought of this at work the other week when I saw a young workman wandering about in a daze of tiredness. He had been up all night nursing a sick infant son. Yet he seemed to bear this sacrifice naturally. Love made this possible. So prayer, love is like a flamethrower of fire which burns the weeds of misattachment to worldly things. Ina way detachment is like the housekeeper who mounts a big spring clean in her house to put all things in order...and how does she order all things? In terms of love. Again it is like the Parable of the Pearl we loose all things and find them again in Christ. It is like areal rebirth. For the one who practices detachment it is a little bit like being reborn, as though we are come into the world again anew. We walk on angels feet and see all things. love all thing with the Heart of Jesus. We are no longer of this world but of the world to come. It is the strangest and most wonderful feeling, The greatest source of peace, joy and wisdom. A huge source of freedom. It reminds me of the film ' MeetJoe Black' with Brad Pitt. 'Meet Joe Black (1998) is a romantic drama starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins and Claire Forlani, loosely based on the 1934 film Death Takes a Holiday The film includes three main story lines: a naïve Angel of Death's (Brad Pitt) first experiences with simple pleasures such as peanut butter; his chosen guide's attempts to keep his business based on the principles on which he founded it, while coming to terms with his own mortality; and a romance between "Joe Black" and his guide's daughter, Susan (Claire Forlani). It includes several emotional themes. The movie opens with an introduction to the guide, Bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins), who doubts that he will live for many more years. Indeed, he is approached in his home and work by what he thinks are hallucinations, wherein Death himself has come with the intention of escorting him to the afterlife. Bill, touched by his dream-like brush with mortality, expresses his desire for his daughter, Susan, to live a life with passion. She is considering marriage, but her father is not favorably impressed by her relationship. When she asks for the short version of his impassioned speech, he simply says, "Stay open. Who knows? Lightning could strike!" Shortly after hearing this advice, Susan meets a vibrant young man of whom she is instantly enamored. Immediately after this encounter (and unbeknownst to her), the man dies in a collision with two cars. Death returns to Bill's home in the form of the young man, explaining that Bill's impassioned speech has piqued his interest after an eternity of boredom. Given Bill's "competence, experience, and wisdom", Death has chosen him and tells Bill that in return for a delay, Bill shall be his guide on Earth. Notably, during his time on Earth, Death's personality alters to become mildly curious, ruminative, and gentle, having been worldly, sardonic, and arrogant until he revealed his appearance. Death then places himself at Bill's right hand under the name 'Joe Black' and establishes his place in Bill's home and work, instructing Bill to reveal his identity to nobody. This last task is complicated when the Board of Directors of Bill's corporation are urging a union with a larger company at the instigation of Susan's fiancée (and Parrish board member), Drew (Jake Weber). After a tense board meeting wherein Bill advises the board against the merger, Joe ventures into the city to explore it. He visits Susan at the hospital where she works as a doctor and in doing so, observes the human aspect of mortality, which was apparently unknown to him. A dying Guyanese patient recognizes him as a spirit; upon learning that he is Death, she asks to be taken to the afterlife. Joe instead soothes her pain and promises to take her later. He returns to visit Bill, who describes his late wife, to whom he was strongly attached. Their conversation is interrupted by Drew, who is bothered by the reversal of Bill's decision regarding the merger. Bill becomes angry at the prospect of the company that he built becoming compromised, believing that a man should leave something of integrity in his passing, whereupon Joe cautions "Easy, Bill; you'll give yourself a heart attack and ruin my vacation." Realizing that Joe could end his delay at any time, Bill unprecedentedly arranges for dinner with his family two nights in a row, prompting their anxiety. Bill attempts a broken and awkward speech focusing on the idea of family, after which he invites them all back for dinner again the next night. Touched by his feelings, they all agree, with one exception: Drew, who is angered by the presence of Joe Black (who appears to have taken the ear of Bill Parrish and disrupted Drew's plans). He is even more rankled by the increasing closeness between Susan and Joe. After a number of snide comments aimed at Joe during dinner, Drew confronts Susan about her feelings for Joe, which ends in Drew's uncertainty. After a flirtatious conversation with Joe, who has overheard the argument with Drew, Susan is warned by Bill not to become attached to this mysterious stranger. During the next day, Drew has secretly gathered the board of the company, advising them that Bill Parrish has been unconditionally influenced by "Mr. Joe Black" and telling them that the the rival company has clarified its offer: It will accept Parrish Communications with or without its chairman. After a scene wherein Parrish is reminded of the importance to himself of his family when he distresses his other daughter, Allison (Marcia Gay Harden), who is trying to organize Bill's sixty-fifth birthday party, he answers the door to Drew, who starkly threatens that the board will see him removed from the chair. Drew then leaves, angrily announcing to Susan that this is "the end of my chapter with the Parrishes. And the end began with this guy," indicating Joe, who has also followed. After a tense and crude standoff, Drew leaves Susan and Joe alone. They are interrupted by Bill, who shows concern for his daughter. The following morning, Parrish is confronted by Drew and the board of directors, who reiterate their intentions regarding the merger. After Bill's emphatic refusal to accept both the merger and the board's request for the identity of Joe, they vote to make Bill "Chairman Emeritus", thus depriving him of power. After the meeting, Drew reveals to Bill's son-in-law that he was in collusion with the rival company, with the intention of seizing power and then selling off Parrish Communications for a huge profit. Bill and Joe return home, where Bill, disheartened, goes for a nap. Joe comes across Susan; after an awkward moment, they make love. Afterwards, he meets with Bill, who defies this union and reminds Joe of his purpose in the universe. Joe disregards Bill's words. Shortly after another encounter with Bill's daughter, Joe realizes that she is not enamored exactly of him, but rather of the man whose body he has assumed. Joe returns to Bill, who tries to entrap Drew. Joe assists by claiming that he is an IRS agent investigating Drew's dealings, a play on the phrase "death and taxes" (a phrase which Black actually states). Bill is restored as chairman and the merger is canceled. In his speech at the lavish gala celebration, Bill Parrish fondly expresses his appreciation to his daughters for their work preparing it as well as his love for both of them. Joe later escorts Bill out of sight over a nearby bridge, presumably to his death. Joe then sends back to life the young man whose body he borrowed, allowing Susan the chance to pursue a relationship with him. Susan tells him she wishes he could have met her father, indicating that she understands (as hinted earlier) that Joe Black was Death, and that her father is dead. The story ends as both of them are watching the fireworks celebrating her father's birthday. [edit] It reminds me of it in that Joe Black is an angel come down from heaven and has the most peculiar child like way of looking at things, for instance, when he tastes pea nut butter for the first time he is astonished. For Joe all things are new. He has an enormous child like quality. On the other hand for Anthony Hopkins the world wise buisnessman things are very different. He has spent his whole life aquiring things and now he has to die and leave them all. But both for Joe Black and Anthony Hopkins the path to wisdom is detachment and that path is the the path of love. Detachment is not about loosing the world, but finding it. Its a love affaire.....with God For you have eyes for Him .....and for Him only ...at the end of the day the fire of your mutual love reaching out to embrace the entire creation
In a real way the soul, which practices detachment, is like a housekeeper. Over time she rearranges all things correctly ,she is in a constant spring clean of the soul. EVERYTHING, everything, everything set on order around God. God first second and last God in everything, God around everything, God behind, through above and below all things. I bind unto myself today The strong Name of the Trinity, By invocation of the same, The Three in One and One in Three. I bind this day to me for ever. By power of faith, Christ's incarnation; His baptism in the Jordan river; His death on Cross for my salvation; His bursting from the spicèd tomb; His riding up the heavenly way; His coming at the day of doom;* I bind unto myself today. I bind unto myself the power Of the great love of the cherubim; The sweet 'well done' in judgment hour, The service of the seraphim, Confessors' faith, Apostles' word, The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls, All good deeds done unto the Lord, And purity of virgin souls. I bind unto myself today The virtues of the starlit heaven, The glorious sun's life-giving ray, The whiteness of the moon at even, The flashing of the lightning free, The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks, The stable earth, the deep salt sea, Around the old eternal rocks. I bind unto myself today The power of God to hold and lead, His eye to watch, His might to stay, His ear to hearken to my need. The wisdom of my God to teach, His hand to guide, His shield to ward, The word of God to give me speech, His heavenly host to be my guard. Against the demon snares of sin, The vice that gives temptation force, The natural lusts that war within, The hostile men that mar my course; Or few or many, far or nigh, In every place and in all hours, Against their fierce hostility, I bind to me these holy powers. Against all Satan's spells and wiles, Against false words of heresy, Against the knowledge that defiles, Against the heart's idolatry, Against the wizard's evil craft, Against the death wound and the burning, The choking wave, and the poisoned shaft, Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning. Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me. Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. I bind unto myself the Name, The strong Name of the Trinity; By invocation of the same. The Three in One, and One in Three, Of Whom all nature hath creation, Eternal Father, Spirit, Word: Praise to the Lord of my salvation, Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
