Objective Truth Series – Reflections article #13

We have considered[1] how God sculptures our souls, how He leads us, teaches us about ourselves, gives us tools and weapons to keep pride at bay, reveals to us His bountiful blessings that He has bestowed on each of us individually, and by all of this, He primes the fountain of gratitude in our hearts. Yet another method God uses to sanctify our souls is sending or allowing us precious crosses through the circumstances in our lives. He tests us to see if we will look to Him to find the solutions to our problems and with His remarkable Wisdom, He teaches us humility at the same time.

We frail humans are too focused on our problems and we rack our brains to find solutions to them.  When we approach problems in this manner, we are bewildered by them. Ironically, as soon as we place our problems fully in God’s Hands, that is, realizing intellectually our helplessness, then we will be humbling ourselves. It is only then that we will be able to see this method of God’s humbling us by sending us challenging circumstances. Furthermore, by abandoning ourselves to God, amazingly the problems begin to fix themselves or we see solutions appear, simply because we entrust our problems to God, knowing that truly only He can fix them. In this way, we are resigning ourselves to God’s Holy Will.

“Whoever looks for God is not without God even if he has not found Him,” says St. Augustine [Dei vita beata].

“Seek and you will find”, says Our Lord.  It is the seeking that God wants. He wants us to see our helplessness and seek, seek, and seek, which means desire, desire, and desire.  He alone can console the soul and comfort her in her difficult trials. Remember, too, that God inspires this desire we have, namely, this seeking.

God mercifully gives this intense longing and this intense spiritual pain to a particular soul because He wants that soul to ache for Him and not rest until she has found Him, namely by taking her eyes off of herself and her perceived problems, and setting her eyes on Him Who is in charge. This redirecting of the soul’s eyes is an act of humility. God is our Master and our teacher in the school of sanctity. We must struggle to keep our spiritual eyes fixed on God and what He wills and directs us to do.

 Let’s face it: the world has so many problems, especially moral ones, in these times of apostasy.  We won’t add a single cubit to our height by excessive worry.  We cannot solve any problem by ourselves. The best means to solving problems is by prayer and by seeking God’s guidance through prayer. Prayer is the window that sheds God’s light on our poor darksome souls. “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” [Ps. 26:1] Remembering this in frequent acts of humility can help us tremendously to keep seeking God’s guidance. St. Alphonsus de Liguori says, “Prayers such as these should restore peace to your soul, for no one has ever been lost who has placed his trust in Him [God].” With great longing for God’s guidance, let us seek through prayer to find God’s answers. It is with seeking that we could also find our hearts pouring out something like what follows:

‘Tis with aching hearts, we do seek,

To find Our Lord, with Him to speak,

To tell Him all, of our poor woes,

He knows all, the tricks of our foes.

Nothing can we, solve without Him,

Our souls are dark, and all seems dim,

Without His aid, we always will fret,

Then no problem can, be solved yet.

 Still we toil, our problems to fix,

Then we see how, we have solved nix,

Alas!  Then find we, are forced to turn,

To the One for Whom, we must yearn,

The One Who all, the answers knows,

Whose tender care, for us e’er shows,

Our troubled hearts, in anxious fear,

Find that only God, can our hearts hear.

 If we, with desire, our prayers let fly,

 Do seek guidance, from God on high,

We’ll see solutions, soon are there,

Those of which, we were unaware.

The Lord wants us, to seek and find,

He cares for us, our peace of mind,

‘Cause with seeking, our desires increase,

To find Him and, to be at peace.

Humility, comes to the soul,

Who seeks God first, as his one goal,

God wants our seeking, so He can,

Fulfill in us, His Divine plan.

Objective Truth Series – Reflections article # 12

In our last Reflection we considered how God works marvelously on our souls in order to instruct us on how to avoid pride. Likewise, we saw how God, by teaching us more about ourselves, is in reality, revealing to us more of what He Himself is doing in our souls. God does so very much for us. 

In St. Basil’s sermon The First Commandment he expounds beautifully about God’s blessings upon us:

1.    “God had made man to His own image and likeness, and honored him with a knowledge of Himself, and endowed him above all living creatures of the earth with the gift of reason, and prepared for his delight the inconceivable joys of paradise”;

2.    “[He] made him the first of earthly creatures”;

3.    “Even after he [man] had been deceived by the devil and had fallen into sin and through sin into death and into things that deserved death, that even then He [viz., God] did not abandon him, but first gave him a law to help him, placed him under the protection of His angels, sent prophets to rebuke his wickedness and teach him justice”;

4.    “The goodness of the Lord has not abandoned us. Nor have we deprived ourselves of His love for us through our own folly: treating lightly the One Who has done us so much honor. We have even been recalled from death and restored again to life through Jesus Christ Our Lord Himself.  And even the way in which this great goodness was shown to us is wondrous beyond measure.”

St. Basil continues, “He has taken our infirmities upon Him; He has borne sufferings, He was wounded for us, and by His wounds we were healed [Is ch. 53, 4]. He has redeemed us from the curse (of the law), being made a curse for us (Gal. ch. 3, 13); endured for us a most shameful death, that He might bring us back to a glorious life.  It was not enough to recall the dead to life, He gave us also the dignity of His own divinity; preparing for all mankind an everlasting rest that surpasses in the greatness of its joy every thought of man.  What shall I render to the Lord for all the things He has rendered to me (Ps. 115, 12)  He is so good that He does not even look for the things He has given us, but that we love Him in return.”

St. Basil explains how we owe God gratitude in return for these blessings.

“Chief among those whom nature teaches us to love are those who do good to us. And this is a love not peculiar to man only; but is common to almost all creatures, leading them to love whoever had done good to them.  If then we have a natural love for those who are good to us, and will suffer anything for them to repay their goodness to us, what words can rightly praise the gifts that God has given us? They are so many as to be beyond number; so great, so wondrous that for one alone (creation) we should give all thanks to the Giver.”

In addition to what God has done for mankind, when we reflect, we can count so many blessings that He has showered upon us individually. God has protected us. He has enlightened us with the Holy Catholic Faith. He has shown us likewise how we can stand up for the truth. If we reflect and ponder His Mercies deeply, we find a flood of gratitude streaming from our hearts and perhaps tears running down our cheeks. How Good God is!

We cannot help but feel our littleness and unworthiness.  Surely, as St. Basil shows, we should keep the wonderful things God has done for us in our mind in order to foster a continual and ever-increasing gratitude in our souls.  Thus, humility can be born in our souls and spring forth a tender and beautiful intimate friendship with God.  Oh dear reader, if we could only give gratitude to God more and more, then a cascade of charity would surely flow from our hearts!  Further, Our Lord would be pleased to see His seeds of humility growing in our souls and that these seedlings are preparing us for Himself.  As often as we look back with 20/20 vision and count our blessings with awe and wonder, we would find that we truly would never want to forget God’s mercies and blessings that He has lavished upon us and we might desire to say the following:

Marvelous mercies, of my Lord,

These do pierce me, quite like a sword,

Bringing rivers, of grateful tears,

To see what Thou dost, through the years.

To ponder all, Thy creation,

Events, in every nation,

 Countless blessings, thou hast bestowed,

None of which, has ever been owed.

Consider only, one person’s life,

One can see it, with blessings rife,

Some are large, while others are small,

We’ve all been rescued, after all.

 Infinite Goodness, I now see,

So much that Thou hast, done for me,

And filled with, confusion am I,

The blessings I count, are piled high!

My unworthiness, I now feel so keen,

With counting blessings, I have seen,

O’erwhelming, ‘tis Thy Tender care,

My gratitude, I should not spare!

To count them oft, ‘tis a good thing,

To keep one e’er remembering,

To say prayers, to render one’s thanks

To let tears, overrun their banks

To give God thanks, could ne’r too much,

‘Cause God’s mercy, our hearts do touch,

One’s heart is swelling, with need to tell,

Our Dear Lord, that, we love Him well.

Thus humility, can be born,

From gratitude’s bountiful horn,

Then may God be thanked, in all ways,

So humble the heart, ever stays.

Objective Truth Series – reflections article #11

In the last several reflections, we have examined how God sculptures souls, how He reveals what one should know about oneself through the corrections of others. We have also considered ways one can keep alert against pride and the subtle tricks of the devil who is always trying to ensnare souls in pride. We considered how Our Mother Mary teaches us tactics to counter the devil including making acts of humbling ourselves. It is rather like a student in a course of humility.

As the years of one’s life roll by, one often finds that he comes to certain landmarks of understanding. This occurs also in the spiritual school as well. God has an amazing way of bringing His Truth out, to what seems for a soul,—into a new light.  This new light is really the soul seeing things in a more objective way. Thus, this more objective way seems completely new to the soul.

God, in His Infinite Goodness and Wisdom, knows when a soul is ready to receive insights that God wants to give. God prepares the soul by events and circumstances and having the soul make incremental steps of minor understanding of how life works. God also prepares the soul to be open and docile to His Instructions, much like a farmer preparing the soil for seeds. The soul finds itself making certain comparisons and drawing certain conclusions that it never did before.

One finds himself amazed that something he sees now as so obvious, he never saw before.  Yet, one must keep in mind how God works on souls and he will certainly understand how God gave the seemingly “new” insight in the timing that was God’s alone. These insights are things that stay with the soul, in other words, the soul does not forget them. They are true learning and make permanent effects on the soul. In this way the soul feels itself drawn to a higher level, much like a mountain climber when he looks down after reaching a new height.

Gratitude comes over the soul and the soul finds itself thanking God and loving God more. This new insight may be something that seems to be an irony, a paradox, a contradiction, yet this insight turns out to be a show of God’s Infinite Mercy, Goodness, and Generosity. The insight delights the soul and the soul finds itself marveling in awe.  This insight is so unexpected that it could never be anticipated or imagined ahead of time.

For example, one could consider a man who liked electrical appliances and always liked to have the nicest and most convenient ones which were available on the market. However, it seemed that many of his appliances were breaking down very often and he spent a lot of time troubleshooting and/or replacing his appliances.  After dealing with what he considered “a cross” for a long period of years, one day it occurred to him while he was in prayer that God had been showing him that he was too attached to things of the world. The man was amazed at first that this idea had not come to him before.  Yet as he pondered the subject a bit more, it became clear to him that God revealed this defect to him now because he was ready to see it now, but had not been ready previously.

It is often in this way the soul finds the understanding of things that it never considered before. Then the soul often finds in itself a higher level of love for God sparked, that seems to come out of the blue.

Reflecting back, because hindsight is 20/20, one also finds that he accepts crosses with a more even temper.  He doesn’t find himself getting as annoyed with things as much as he used to. God is tempering the soul and calming it down and giving His peace to the soul. It is as if the soul becomes more indifferent to troubles.  The soul then can see God’s Will in all things. Likewise, one can then see the truth in St. Paul’s words, “All things work together unto the good for those who love God.”   Romans, 8:28. Therefore, the soul doesn’t fret but keeps its peace.  A soul could find itself saying inside the following words:

Gentle Master, thou hast me shown,

In all the years that, I have known,

Lessons learned, along my life’s way,

You have taught me, from day to day.

Thy mercy to me, wretch that I am,

Training me to be, a gentler lamb,

So I could seek, like Thee to be,

Thou makest things, clearer to me.

And step by step, this ladder I climb,

Of Thy Truth, evermore sublime,

Unworthy though, I know I be,

Yet wouldst bring me, higher to Thee.

Now I durst but, only thee beg,

Thou willst that I go up, peg by peg,

More grateful I find, myself to know,

Thou didst bring me, e’re I go.

Sublime Truth, for Thee I now thirst,

And now, for me Thou art first,

My one and only, heart’s desire,

‘Cause Thou hast kindled, my mind’s fire.

Oh ladder of, objective Truth,

I hunt for Thee, like a sleuth,

I’m grateful to be, in the seeking,

And that I am, in Thy keeping.

Objective Truth Series – reflections article #10

In the last reflection we considered how important it is to look for and to want to do God’s Will and not our own.  We saw how seeking God’s Will helps us avoid frustration and discouragement.  We again saw the value of agere contra, as counterattacks to combat the devil.  Simply saying little quotes in one’s mind can have a tremendous impact on one’s attitude as well as help to foster acquired virtue.[1]  Because virtue is the repeated act of doing good and needs to be practiced over time, it is very important to repeat the action for any particular virtue sought.

Furthermore, Our Lord said, “He who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  It follows that Our Lord is encouraging us to make acts of humility often.  Thus if we repeat humbling thoughts and/or prayers, even small ejaculations frequently, we will get into the habit of thinking and putting ourselves in our proper place.

Since God is the Sculptor of souls, He chooses a soul; He loves that soul and then makes the soul worthy of His Love.  If we make acts of humility and self-abnegation, then God won’t chisel us so hard.  In fact, our frequent acts of humility which are inspired by Him, are in a sense, our cooperating with the Divine Sculptor.  Thence, as a consequence, our wills become more and more submissive to God’s Will.

We can make little acts of humility anywhere and just about any time. Some examples of these little acts are:

 “My life is in Thy Hands, O Lord.”

“Thy Will be done, O Lord, not my will.”

“O God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (500 days indulgence)

“Without Thee, Lord, I can do nothing.”

“Jesus, Meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine.”

Of course, these acts of the will and acts of self-abnegation are very helpful if they pertain to our particular faults.  For example, if one’s particular fault is pride in the form of impatience, one could say things like:

“Lord, You know how frail I am and how impatient I get, please help me patiently accept Thy Will”; or

“Help me to seek Thy Will in all the circumstances that come to me.”

Or one could use an even harder-hitting abnegation such as:

“Lord, You know how I ridiculous I am when I get upset at the least thing that conveniences me; please help me let go of my irritable will and cheerfully accept every circumstance that comes to me.”

These acts of humility remind us that we are worthless compared to God.  They keep us more recollected and living in the Presence of God.  When we keep in mind that, “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (St. James, 4:6), these acts will help us persevere and keep in Divine friendship.  All in all, by saying frequent acts of humility, we can fight pride and foster the virtue of humility.  

These acts then become like our daily doses of anti-pride medicine.  This anti-pride medicine is something we should be glad to self-administer very often, knowing that this medicine helps our souls so much and by this medicine, we will be pleasing God.  With all these preventative measures against pride in mind, our hearts could gladly praise God in words like these:

Through humble acts, though they be small,

One is reminded, he can fall,

No one is safe and none secure,

‘Cause for we humans, pride’s a lure.

By simple quotes and simple prayers,

Help us not be, caught unawares,

Pride is subtle, and Satan sly,

Can’t be seen, with the naked eye.

‘Tis why we need, to keep alert,

And very often, to assert,

Our wretchedness, how we are low,

And by this means, virtue can grow.

These acts do build, virtue’s muscle,

Can ev’n be said, mid daily bustle,

They give a boost, to one’s morale,

And ‘round passions, keep a corral.

So little by little, God’s Plan,

Has a striking effect, on man,

God’s chisel works, as blow by blow,

One’s littleness, one comes to know.

So he wants not, to self-exalt,

And only wants, to see his fault,

Let only God, not man be praised,

Let man by God, alone be raised.

So with joy, let lowly acts come,

And ev’ry day, try to make some,

With medicine, doses ‘gainst pride,

We’ll find ourselves, e’er on God’s side.

Objective Truth Series – reflections article #9

In our last reflection we considered some methods on how we can be on our guard against pride.  We discussed how the devil can find our weak spot and subsequently attack us.  Two typical ways the devil works against us weak humans with our fallen human nature, is to tempt us with frustration and discouragement.  If we look at the word frustration, it is easy to see how it is precisely a tool of the devil.  The dictionary explains that the word frustration comes from the Latin word frustrare meaning to deceive, and then that frustra means vain, or useless.  The definition of frustrate is “1) to bring to nothing; defeat, also to nullify, and 2) implies a rendering vain or ineffectual all efforts, however feeble or vigorous.”[1] This shows the subtle trap of the devil who wants us to give up making any efforts.

This trap can likewise be seen in the following definitions for some synonyms of frustrate.

·         Thwart – frustration by running counter to one’s making headway.

·         Foil – a repulse that destroys one’s inclination to go further.

·         Baffle- a frustration by confusing or puzzling.

·         Balk – implies frustration by interposing obstacles or hindrances.

It is very interesting to note the thread that all these definitions have in common is that to be frustrated is not for our good.  One can see how frustrations are a diabolical trap to foster demonic pride – precisely because to be frustrated is to not put sole trust in God and His provident care for us.  It is to allow ourselves to get upset or discouraged because something did not turn out the way we wanted, namely, we didn’t get our way in something.  It encourages us to be self-centered and not God-centered which is how pride works.  Likewise, the devil uses frustration to foster discouragement in us so we give up trying to cooperate with God in our salvation.

“For if a man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he shall be compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass.  For he beheld himself, and went his way, and presently forgot what manner of man he was.”  St. James, 1:23-24.

We forget what manner of man we are, namely, a creature who depends on God.  When we get frustrated, we simply forget our dependence on God and that we can do nothing without Him.  To be frustrated is to really not look for God’s Will in the circumstances at hand.  We must remember God allows circumstances for the greater good – “all things work for the good for those who love God.”  We must remind ourselves, “This is for my good.”

Likewise, when we are tempted to discouragement, it is important to note that this discouragement really comes from the devil because he wants us to think that we can accomplish something by ourselves, without God’s help.  And when we fail to succeed, we are disheartened.  This is the method the devil uses to get us to give up.

As we discussed in the last reflection, we must do an agere contra [counter–action] immediately in order to combat this trick of Satan.  For example, we must reflect that God wills that we suffer patiently and humble ourselves.  Moreover, the learning of virtue takes practice over time.  Other possible agere contras that we could say within ourselves are: “Everything is in Thy Hands, O Lord”; “Thy will be done, O Lord, not my will,” or “What will this [circumstance] matter after I’m dead?”

Another agere contra to use when one is discouraged, is to try to get one’s mind off of himself by thinking of the needs of others. For example, there are so many pagans in the world that need to be converted.  As our Lady of Fatima said that so many souls go to hell because they have no one to pray for them.

One could then think how much God has blest him with so many undeserved blessings.  Further, counting one’s blessings is another powerful way to go against Satan’s pomps and works and to foster humility.

Last, but not least, is to pray – whether it be an ejaculation or longer prayer – in order to fight against the temptation to be frustrated or discouraged.

With the above in mind one sees his great need to beg the Holy Ghost for His Light and His Grace to want God’s Will always to reign in us, and the following may come to mind:

O Holy Ghost, O Paraclete,

Why do I try, to e’er compete?

Against Thy Will, and what’s in store,

Why do I not, Thy guidance implore?

How could I think, my way is best?

And see events, as only a pest?

Why do I, second guess Thy Will?

And thinking, I know better still?

.

And as a result, I do find,

Only frustration, in my mind,

True peace within, cannot exist,

When I try, Thy Will to resist.

Then comes the, “feel sorry for me,”

Getting my fill of self-pity,

Discouragement, then takes its hold,

Shame on me, for being so bold.

Let me see, Lord, my only need,

Only with Thy Will, am I freed,

From endless worry in my life,

That there should not be any strife.

‘Tis only Thy Will, should be sought,

And only my will, should be fought,

Thou dost send me, what is sublime,

Looking for Thy Will, all the time.

There’s only one, true joy for me,

That is to stay, one heart with Thee,

Not for myself, anything seek,

I want to be, like Thee so Meek.

For this I pray, that Thou wouldst grant,

 Thy Holy Will, in my heart plant,

So firmly in me, I won’t desire,

To ever leave, Thy Guiding Fire.

Then e’er Thy Will, would be my goal.

Filling me, with wonder, in my soul,

Then thou wouldst be, Oh Paraclete,

My happiness, ever complete!