Letting Go and LETTING GOD

In today’s Second Reading from the Office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours are very beautiful words borrowed from The Imitation of Christ, the fifteenth century book written by Thomas à Kempis. Originally written in Latin and titled, De Imitatione Christi, the authorship was in question but evidence, including authoritative witnesses, points to Kempis as the writer.

Working from the Latin version of the Church’s daily prayer here are some interesting words from that Reading:

“Audi, fili, verba mea, verba suavissima, omnem philosophorum et sapientium huius mundi scientiam excedentia. Verba mea spiritus et vita sunt, nec humano sensu pensanda. Non sunt ad vanam complacentiam trahenda, sed in silentio audienda et cum omni humilitate atque magno affectu suscipienda.”

(My translation)
“Son, hear my words, words most gratifying, exceeding the knowledge of all the philosophers and wise men of this world. My words are spirit and life, and are not to be weighed by human understanding. They are not to be invoked in vain pleasure, but heard in silence, and received with all humility and great affection.”

There are no limits to the possibilities of the soul. For the soul is created in the Image and Likeness of God, and is eternal. If God so wills, the heavenly wisdom that one can receive in Eucharistic Adoration or adoring silence can surpass the worldly knowledge of any human being. The most difficult obstacle in Adoration is silence itself. Silence is not intended to be an obstacle, only a blessing, but we live in so much noise, that noise can become our comfort zone when silence should prevail; in other words, all the distractions that come to the mind and plague the inner ears during a Holy Hour which makes hearing the gentle whispers of our Eucharistic Lord nearly impossible.

In Sacred Scripture when Jesus confronted the man possessed, the words that came from this man were: “What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know Who You are, the Holy One of God?” But Jesus said: “Be still!” Today we might say that what Jesus meant was: “Be quiet” or “Shut up!”

When we go to Eucharistic Adoration, we often hear those voices. They are the voices of our attachments, the gods we have created in our life, the molten calves we have fashioned for ourselves -- hence, the demons that try to keep us away from Jesus. Perhaps our Blessed Lord allows those voices to creep in that we may understand what needs to be let go of before we can pursue a closer union with Him in the Blessed Sacrament. And yet, it is the distraction of those voices that make Eucharistic Adoration something that for many of us never becomes a standard practice. The trouble is that we’re in charge. It was our free will that brought about these attachments, and getting rid of them must also be exercised by our gift of free will.

If you think about, we most often hear those voices when trying to focus on our Lord, whether that be prayer, Adoration, sacred reading, or something else designed for our spiritual growth and edification. Thus, when we approach our Lord, all those inner voices in effect are saying: “What have we to do with You, Jesus?”

It is very difficult for the human person to relinquish control, a result of the fall from grace. But this is why it is most important that prayer and Eucharistic Adoration are mainstays in our life. The more Holy Hours that are made, the more one will grow in love and trust of Jesus. And when trust grows, it becomes easier to let go and let God. When we have truly surrendered ourselves to the will of God, then can Jesus step in and with Divine Authority say to those voices: “Be silent!”

The Carthusian Order and Saint John the Baptist

The beautiful artwork for this post is attributed to Jan Provoost, a mid-to-late fifteenth and early sixteenth century Flemish painter. In this piece our Blessed Mother is enthroned beneath a canopy. The Child Jesus is holding a book in His right Hand, perhaps the Sacred Scriptures, while in His left Hand He is holding a Rosary. In the background on the right is a figure enclosed in a garden, symbolizing our Lady’s virginity and chastity. A Carthusian monk is kneeling, apparently to be the recipient of the Rosary. The life of a Carthusian, that of silence and solitude, of both communal and eremitical life, is reflected in the iconography of this painting. The Carthusian is accompanied by Saint John the Baptist, a hermit of the desert. Behind him is the Lamb of God. Also accompanying the Carthusian is Saint Jerome, which symbolizes asceticism.

In the Statutes of the Carthusian Order we read: “One should note that all our hermitages are dedicated in the first place to the Blessed Mary ever Virgin and Saint John the Baptist, our principal heavenly patrons.”

An example of Carthusian Profession goes like this: “I, Brother ______, promise stability, obedience, and conversion of my life, before God, His saints, and the relics belonging to this hermitage, which was built in honor of God, the Blessed Mary ever Virgin, and Saint John the Baptist, in the presence of Dom ______, Prior.”

For the Carthusian, Saint John the Baptist is a hermit in the desert, a solitary, and one who is focused on God alone.

Also in the Statutes of the Order are these words: “John the Baptist, greater than whom, the Savior tells us, has not risen among those born of women, is another striking example of the safety and value of solitude. Trusting not in the fact that divine prophecy had foretold that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb, and that he would go before Christ the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah; nor in the fact that his birth had been miraculous, and that his parents were saints, he fled the society of men as something dangerous and chose the security of desert solitude: and, in actual fact, as long as he dwelt alone in the desert, he knew neither danger nor death. Moreover the virtue and merit he attained there are amply attested by his unique call to baptize Christ, and by his acceptance of death for the sake of justice. For, schooled in sanctity in solitude, he, alone of all men, became worthy to wash Christ — Christ Who washes all things clean — and worthy, too, to undergo prison bonds and death itself in the cause of truth.”

And then the Statutes give us something to think about: “And now, dear reader, ponder and reflect on the great spiritual benefits derived from solitude by the holy and venerable Fathers, Paul, Anthony, Hilarion, Benedict, and others beyond number, and you will readily agree that for tasting the spiritual savor of psalmody; for penetrating the message of the written page; for kindling the fire of fervent prayer; for engaging in profound meditation; for losing oneself in mystic contemplation; for obtaining the heavenly dew of purifying tears — nothing is more helpful than solitude.”

Sancte Ioannes Baptista, ora pro nobis!

In Passione Sancti Ioannis Baptistæ

O house of Zachary greeted with a voice
The barren one’s infant leaps in her womb
Reproach removed, thy child doth rejoice
‘Tis the Ark, carrying the Victor over the tomb

Elizabeth, thy husband at the altar of incense
Met with great fear the angel hailed as Gabriel
Zachary, thy prayer has been heard, hence
Your wife bears a son, thinkest thou surreal

Armed with the spirit and power of Elias
His voice in the wilderness will cry for penance
More than a prophet, your son, and pious
Thy disbelief has reduced thee to silence

O priestly voice cut off from the outside world
Hear the inner Voice of God speaking to thee
His plan of salvation is about to be unfurled
Thy son preparing the way for this mystery

At thy house is the blessed who has believed
For three months she will stay with thy wife
She too, although a Virgin, has conceived
And she shall bring forth the Bread of Life

O house of Zachary thy kindred greets thy son
Circumcised before witnesses more than a few
Isaias foretold of this child of God’s creation
The dividing line of Testaments Old and New

What shall he be called, a kinfolk’s name no less
Zachary, the name given to his father the priest
Nay, the pronouncement of angelic lips: Ioannes
His name be, on locusts and honey shall he feast

Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel, Zachary speaks
For salvation from our enemies is made present
Ninety-nine may be safe, but one lost He seeks
Whether that be man or woman, rich or peasant

You, my son, prophet of the Appeaser of wrath
Prepare ye the way for heaven to meet earth
From the desert shall you make straight His path
This Child of Spirit presented by Virgin birth

The repentant shall come to thee to be baptized
The Jordan shall hear many confessions of guilt
And now comes to thee prophecies now realized
The Cornerstone on which the house of God is built

I should be baptized by Thee, the precursor pleads
For within Thee there is found not spot or stain
Suffer it be so now, fulfilling all justice’s needs
That which I do My heavenly Father ordain

Thou brood of vipers O Pharisee and Sadducee
Think ye not Abraham an enemy of the Lamb
Faith’s Father longed to hear: “Ecce Agnus Dei”
And see Him Who’ll be sacrificed for thy scam

The Tetrarch’s fear renders the baptizer incarcerated
The femme fatale of Herodias, a promise discussed
Dance for me and I give thee till thy heart is sated
The man of God beheaded because of Herod’s lust

The netherworld where waits Patriarch and Prophet
Ye men of God, let us continue with prayer and fasting
For He Whom thou have preached of, thus have I met
He will soon join us here and take us to life everlasting

~Jeff~

The Secret of All Prayer

Here, Dom Augustin Guillerand teaches us something about entering the chamber, shutting the door, and praying to our heavenly Father in secret (cf. Matthew 6:6). This is important for all types of prayer. Many of us, for example, can probably relate to praying a Rosary, but it is not until arriving at the second or third decade that we finally are attuned to God. Here are his words:

Prayer is, as it were, being alone with God. A soul prays only when it is turned towards God, and for so long as it remains so. As soon as it turns away, it stops praying. The preparation for prayer is thus the movement of turning to God and away from all that is not God. That is why we are so right when we define prayer as this movement. Prayer is essentially a “raising up,” an elevation. We begin to pray when we detach ourselves from created objects and raise ourselves up to the Creator.

Now this detachment is born when we clearly realize our nothingness. That is the real meaning of our Lord's words: “He that shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Matthew 23:12). His whole life was a continual abasement, always more and more profound. Saint Bernard does not hesitate to say that such an abasement brings us face to Face with God. Hence the peace of souls that have fallen when, raised up by God, they find themselves in His presence. And it is precisely in their abasement, once they have recognized and admitted it, that they find him, because it is there He reveals Himself. The only thing that prevents Him from doing so is our “self.” When we own to our nothingness, this “self” is broken down, and once that happens the mirror is pure, and God can produce His own Image in the soul, which then faithfully reproduces His features that are revealed in all their harmony and perfect beauty.

It is this our Lord meant in that vital passage in the Sermon on the Mount, and that all human considerations on prayer repeat endlessly but without arriving at its full splendor: But thou, when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber and, having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret. Enter this sacred chamber of your soul and there, having closed the door, speak to your Father, Who sees you in these secret depths, and say to Him: Our Father, Who art in heaven.... This intimate presence; your faith in Him Who is the secret depth of it and gives Himself there; the silence towards all that is not God in order to be all to Him - here is the preparation for prayer.

It is obvious that we do not reach such a state of soul without being prepared for it by quite a combination of circumstances. And this is just what we do not know sufficiently in practice. The way to prepare for prayer is by leading a divine life, and prayer, after all, is that divine life. Everything that reproduces God's image in us; everything that raises us beyond and above created things; every sacrifice which detaches us from them; every aspect of faith which reveals the Creator to us in creatures; every movement of true and disinterested love making us in unison with the Three in One -- all this is prayer and prepares us for a still more intimate prayer. All this makes the divine word of the Sermon on the Mount real and the dual movement it recommends: Shut the door, and pray to thy Father. When he spoke thus, the divine Word showed that He knew our being and its laws. He revealed Himself as our Creator and made Himself our Redeemer. He showed that He made us and that He alone can re-make us.

We do not suffice to ourselves; we have not that in us which can complete us; we need to be completed. I know I am putting it badly when I say that this complementing thing is not in us. Actually, it is within us, but it is in a part of us which is, as it were, outside of us. In us as in God, there are many mansions. God is within us in the depths of our soul, but by sin we no longer occupy those depths. When Eve looked at the forbidden fruit and stretched out her hand to take it and eat it, she went out of those secret depths in her soul. It was these depths which were the real terrestrial Paradise, where God visited our first parents and spoke to them. Since the Fall, God is in us, but we are not!

The preparation for prayer consists in returning to those depths. Renunciation, detachment, recollection -- whatever word we use, the reality is the same, and that reality is the true secret of prayer. Close the door, and enter. . . . It needs only these two phrases to explain this, but in reality they are only one thing. They represent a movement, for all that unites us to God is movement. The words are related to two ‘terms’ or ends. If we speak of the terminus a quo (that is, from), they say (and they do what they say): Close. If we think of the terminus ad quern (that is, to), they say: Enter. We have to close the door on all that is not, and enter into Him Who is. There you have the secret of all prayer.

ἀληθής

The title of this post is a Greek word which transliterated appears as alethes. It’s an important word in the New Testament. It translates as truly, in reality, most certainly, indeed, real, genuine. In the papyri, it most consistently means “true” as in the opposite of “false” when statements of fact are the topic. In the New Testament, alethes usually means “truthful” as it relates to people, with the opposite being “untruthful.” Alethes appears in biblical verses like:

Master, we know that you are true (Matthew 22:16 & Mark 12:14).
He that has received His testimony has set to His seal that God is true (John 3:33).
For you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband: What you have said is true (John 4:18).
If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true (John 5:31).
Let God be true, but every man a liar (Romans 3:4).

These are only some verses; there are plenty more.

Most exciting, however, is when alethes means “genuine” or “real” as the word appears twice in this verse:

For My Flesh is real Food, and My Blood is real drink (John 6:55).

Any angle one looks at this, there’s no way to water down the word alethes. It means truth in some aspect. Nowhere in Sacred Scripture is alethes implied figuratively, symbolically or allegorically. If we go back two-thousand years, we’ll find in the Scriptures surrounding John 6:55 that all who were present for this astounding statement understood Jesus to be speaking literally, including the apostles. Granted, some found this statement outlandish, but it is because they understood Jesus literally. Go back to the early Church and read the Church Fathers; they understood Jesus to be speaking literally.

The Real Presence in the Eucharist is not a fantasy; it is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He nourishes our souls at Mass and He waits for us in the Tabernacle, that we may pour our hearts out to Him.

The Troubling Times We Live In

Jesus said: “The Son of Man, when He comes, do you think He shall find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8).

The late Father John Hardon, S.J., the Founder and Spiritual Director of The Marian Catechists, sharing some thoughts on the United States, wrote: “We live in the most highly educated nation in world history. But, except for a small remnant, most Americans are abysmally ignorant of God’s laws and His promises… Catholicism is in the throes of the worst crisis in its entire history. Unless true and loyal Catholics have the zeal and the spirit of the early Christians, unless they are willing to do what they did and to pay the price that they paid, the days of America are numbered.” Father Hardon also brought to our attention a statement once made by Pope Paul VI: “Satan’s smoke has made its way into the temple of God.” Father Hardon commented on that statement by adding: “It is no longer smoke but a raging fire.”

The cultural influences of this day and age have convinced many that there is no such thing as sin. They theorize that because man is weak in nature, and so drawn to the desires of the flesh, so attuned to fulfilling his own longings, that to deliberately keep these things from him would be inhuman and unfair treatment. And for those of us who try to live according our faith’s teachings, the culture has a few words for us also. They say that teaching human beings to avoid the occasion of such desires cannot come from a loving God.

These types of influences come directly from the flesh which grows older with each passing second until one day it will return to the dust. The soul, however, which is eternal, seems to be forgotten, or ignored, or is not believed to exist at all. There is a spiritual battlefield that we walk on daily, and the culture is encouraging us to surrender to the immoral, because what the heavenly warriors want from us is torturous and too much for a human being to be subjected to.

One of the great writers of the twentieth century was H.L. Mencken. He was a freethinker, though, and would not let moral obligations interfere with his craft. Some examples of his writings go like this: “Faith may be defined briefly as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable.” And, “Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity has made them good.” And finally, “Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.” There’s an intelligent cynicism in his writing. Belief in God is illogical, Christianity doesn’t make anyone good, and love is not from God but only something the imagination desires to be true.

One of Mencken’s quotes that is most in need of rebuttal is: “The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos.” Jesus said: “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). Thus He is what is true, what is real. He is the Reality. Mencken’s quote intimates that a belief in God is superstition. What is being fed to us today in our culture is superstition because it promotes a ruling secularism. And faith – well -- it may seem illogical to the human intellect but without it, man is left to his own influences, stereotypes, and prejudices. With faith, we can get out of the way of ourselves and let God do His will. Without faith, every decision man makes will in someway reflect his personal desire and not necessarily what is right, fair and just. This is why many Catholics vote for Pro-Choice candidates in elections. They vote for what they personally believe and do not allow faith or the moral order to get in the way. And so, the truth is, the most dangerous man is greatly influenced by the prevailing superstitions and taboos.

Very few of us, however, possess an unshakeable faith. That would be an exalted supernatural gift. But our Lord does not abandon us when we struggle with matters of faith. He gave us this prayer: “I do believe, Lord. Help my unbelief” (Mark 9:23). Possessing the gift of faith brings with it great rewards: “Your faith has made you whole” (Matthew 9:22). “According to your faith, be it done unto you” (Matthew 9:29). “Your faith has made you safe” (Luke 7:50). There is an abundance of other examples in Sacred Scripture about what faith can do for us. It is not taboo or superstition. The fact that anyone has faith, and medical science can’t surgically remove it, suggests that a higher Power placed it there and this Authority works through that gift of faith.

But as Father Hardon would seem to be saying, there is a great responsibility and duty among every Christian who holds dear the gift of faith, who makes Jesus Christ the Center of their lives. Saint James writes: “Be doers of the word, not hearers only (James 1:22). He continues by saying that in being hearers only, we are deceiving ourselves. Our culture is filled with self deception. To call oneself a Catholic and vote against the teachings of the Church can surely be called deceiving oneself.

The Irish statesman Edmund Burke said: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Saint James said: “To Him therefore who knows to do good and does not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). Doing good translates into many things: Certainly offering care for the poor and other charitable works is at the top of most lists of the devout, but also, our Blessed Mother in her apparitions spoke often of prayer. Turning the prayer intensity level up to “high” is also considered a good work. Doing good works or increasing prayer is sacrificial because it means putting something else aside. And this is how we accept our Lord’s invitation to become co-workers in the work of redemption, saving souls.

Truthfully, man is never left to himself. He will either choose to serve the Lord, or he will not and be left as an easy target for the devil to use. How else could we possibly be living in what is labeled as “a culture of death?” Certainly these are critical times in which God asks His faithful ones to sacrifice.

The Holy Spirit Works in Mysterious Ways

Many of us have a story to tell when it comes to how we got to where we are today in our Catholic faith. My story has no big WOWS or miraculous healings or apparitions, nor was I blinded by the brilliance of Christ’s Light like Saint Paul. Okay -- maybe it was a miraculous healing – that of spirit, not of body. I’ll explain later.

Most of my education was in Catholic schools. I remember in grade school, waiting outside the school every morning, until the doors opened. Nearly every morning the pastor or the associate pastor would walk by us kids and say Good Morning. Priests really had a presence when I was a kid. They were like God on earth. Whenever they walked by or walked into the classroom to assign altar boys for the coming Sunday Masses, there was absolute silence; you could hear a pin drop. I think it was that intriguing presence that gave me the first tiny tugs, or interest in the priesthood. At that time I never even knew that one was “called” to the priesthood by Christ.

Much of that interest, however, diminished by my own will when I got into High School. My High School was also Catholic and it was a “boys only” school. In High School, girls and dating and driving a car were the topics in the forefront. But then, there was this day when our class took a sort of mini-retreat. I say “mini” because it was only one day and we walked to the location. Out the back door of the school we began walking, first down the outside steps of the school, and then to the walkway which gave you a good view of the football field and which also led to the living quarters of the Priests and Brothers who were employed by the school. They were Marians. When entering that building, you either went straight ahead and up the stairs to the individual living quarters, or you made a left and went into the chapel on the ground floor, which is what we did. During a period of silence in the chapel is when I once again felt that childhood fascination with the priesthood. This time, however, the reasons were a bit more mature. As I was sitting in that chapel in silence, quite satisfying to me was the thought of rolling out of bed in the morning and walking to a chapel or church for prayer; in other words, living under the same roof as the Blessed Sacrament. But it all wore off again eventually.

After my education, a couple of jobs later, and having dated a few young ladies, I started thinking about the priesthood seriously. My pastor at that time, God rest his soul, arranged for me to take the psychological testing that was given in those days by the seminary psychiatrist; and after an interview with the Vocations Director, I spent some time with a priest/mentor. It was kind of a “day in the life” experience, but that changed me yet again. If I was to be a priest, I wasn’t going to be a diocesan priest because I felt it was too administrative. The next option for me to explore was the monastic priesthood. But before that ever got off the ground, I met the young lady who as of this coming October has been my wife of fifteen years. I’m not sure why, but there was a portion of my life early on in my marriage in which, I wouldn’t say I turned my back on the Catholic faith, but I was indifferent towards it. I went to Mass on Sundays but that was pretty much the extent of my practice.

But then I was given a gift by my relatively new bride. It was a coffee table book chockfull of photos of Pope John Paul II, taken by the papal photographer, Gianni Giansanti. For reasons which I cannot explain to this very day, the photo above, when I saw it in the book, set me on fire for the Catholic faith. Not only that, it turned me into a breviary addict, which I still am today. Even now, when I’m struggling spiritually or experiencing a consistency of dryness in prayer, that photo has the power to move me along.

Not long after my first “encounter” with this photo, I started reading about the different spiritualities that exist in the Church. What peaked my interest initially in Carthusian spirituality were the various liturgical Offices they pray: the full Canonical Office daily, the full Office of Our Lady daily, and the entire Office for the Dead once per week. This was perfect for a “breviary addict” to emulate. After dwelling into Carthusian spirituality more intensely, though, I began to learn more about the beauty of silence and deep prayer; and how our Lady can lead one to these great treasures. Saint Bruno, the Founder of the Order, also became a great friend and heavenly intercessor.

Today, my wife and I have three children, two sons, ages fourteen and seven, and a daughter who is twelve. The Lord sent me the right woman because my lifestyle, even as a husband and father, has elements in it that are monastic/eremitical; and she has always been understanding and supportive. The challenge in this unusual lifestyle is to find silence when you have three young children and two dogs. And, oh, by the way, that interest in the priesthood which began as a little tug is now a full-blown reeling in, as if Jesus was fishing and caught me in His vast ocean of souls. I have no idea why or what I’m supposed to do with it, but I keep waiting on the Lord, waiting for Him in His time to reveal what He is leading me to do. I should also mention that I have met priests along the way who gave me something of what I possess today. Marvelous examples of what the priesthood is!

I had mentioned the presence that priests had when I was a young boy. My wife and I went to a Wednesday General Audience in Rome with Pope John Paul II. When he rode by in the pope-mobile, my wife touched his hand and could not stop crying. The Holy Father definitely had a heavenly presence!

At the start of this post I wrote that maybe it was a miraculous healing of spirit because since my first sight of that photo of Pope John Paul II, returning to indifference has never been an option. The Holy Spirit can indeed be wherever He wishes – even in a photo of a coffee table book.