On working for holiness

To Receive Our Lord’s Help on Earth and for Your Salvation, Read On

Posted on by Catholic Candle

1

If you want daily help in your state of life, whether you are married, a consecrated religious, or single, develop a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the 17th Century, Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary and revealed to her His 12 Promises to those who have a devotion to His Sacred Heart and who promote this devotion.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart is a very certain way of becoming holy; Our Lord Himself gave us this devotion as a supreme means to gain our love.

To practice this devotion, it is very helpful to read, from time to time, the 12 wonderful Promises that Our Lord made to everyone who practices devotion to His Sacred Heart. These Promises reveal in the clearest possible way the immense personal and tender love Our Lord has for us.

Therefore, we should read them, slowly and carefully, at least on the First Friday of every month. They will awaken in our hearts boundless confidence in Our Lord.

All the 12 Promises are most important, but we call attention very especially to the 11th Promise:

Those who spread this devotion will have their names written on My Sacred Heart, never to be effaced!

We must repeat frequently the ejaculation:

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I have confidence in Thee, boundless confidence for everything.

This ejaculation is so powerful and efficacious that it has been called “The miraculous ejaculation.”

We ought to have a picture of the Sacred Heart, not only in our homes but in every room and on our writing table, just as we have the photograph of our dear mother. We can say frequently, “Jesus, I love You.”

No mother, no father, no brother or friend loves us so tenderly as Jesus does.

Those who practice devotion to the Sacred Heart in this simple and easy way have a guarantee of receiving the wonderful favors promised by Our Lord.

This Devotion to the Sacred Heart should be part of all religious instruction from early childhood to the time of death.

Well, that’s it: an easy way to become holy, with Our Lord’s promised help for our state of life on earth, and much help for our salvation.

1 The following is taken from An Easy Way to Become a Saint. Tan Books and Publishers, Rockford, Ill., 1990, pp. 60-61.


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Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition


Let us gladly suffer out of love for God!


St. John of the Cross, the Mystical Doctor of the Church, tells us the importance of suffering out of love for God:

Suffering for God is better than working miracles.


Quoted from his work entitled Other Counsels, #13.

Your Salvation Hinges on Your Love of God

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The first of the Two Great Commandments is

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength.

Pray to His mother. I am sure she will help you to love her Son as you go through your day. Here is a good way to start your day. Pray the following devoutly first thing in the morning:

Everything I do today should be for the love of God and for His greater honor and glory.

Print these words out and put them on your alarm clock and they will remind you of the way to start each day.

We can see the goodness and perfection of God all around us. If we meditate on His goodness, we shall never tire of loving Him. We love our parents and friends because they are good. Their goodness is nothing compared to the goodness of God.1

So, let us ask God every day and in every prayer we say to make us love Him more. Above all, we must look on God as our most loving Father, our dearest friend, Who loves us with a personal, intimate, extraordinary love.

Love is an excellent thing, a very great blessing, indeed. It makes every difficulty easy, and bears all wrongs with equanimity. For it bears a burden without being weighted and renders sweet all that is bitter.2

Loving God is the first and most important step toward your salvation, so start today and continue until you stand before God for your Particular Judgment and say “I love You, Jesus”.

1 My Catholic Faith, Bishop Louis Morrow, My Mission House, Kenosha, WI., 1949, Ch. 85, p. 172.

2 My Catholic Faith, Bishop Louis Morrow, My Mission House, Kenosha, WI, 1949, Ch. 85, p. 173.

The Remedy for the Sadness and the Depression in Our Times

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Catholic Candle note: The article below is a “companion” article to these four previous articles:

  1. The Hope Given to Catholics in the State of Grace vs. the Hopelessness of Godlessness. This article is found here: https://catholiccandle.org/2019/02/09/the-hope-given-to-catholics-in-grace-vs-the-hopelessness-of-godlessness/


  2. The Devil’s Lies Bring the Devil’s Unhappiness: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/08/28/the-devils-lies-bring-the-devils-unhappiness/

  1. The Connection Between Virtue and Happiness – Part One:  https://catholiccandle.org/2023/11/26/the-connection-between-virtue-and-happiness-part-1/

  1. The Connection Between Virtue and Happiness – Part Two:  https://catholiccandle.org/2023/12/18/the-connection-between-virtue-and-happiness-part-2/

We live in a time of sadness and desolation. Even in most of those homes which are considered “good Catholic homes”, there is a constant exposure to all of the elements of the world which are promoted by the enemies of God, of reason, and of our salvation.

In such homes, the atmosphere is permeated by the world, the flesh, and the devil – even though not to the same degree as in the rest of society. This sway of sin in the home is wrong because the first duty of every Soldier of Christ is to deny the Enemy access to his living room (as well as to his soul). We cannot control the character of the whole of society. But we can control the character of our own home. Our home should be very different from the world and should have a completely different atmosphere (e.g., complete Catholic modesty1, a regular prayer life (especially the rosary), daily meditation, no TV, no bad music, no video games, etc.).

The influences of the world can wear a person down, as he goes out into the world every day from (what should be) the Catholic haven of his home.2 The world constantly splatters his soul with the “mud” of this contact with unwholesomeness. This weakens his soul and make the spiritual life seem empty. In unfortunate contrast, this daily contact with the world tends to make pleasures as well as other earthly matters seem to be the most important aspects of life. The question “How can I save my soul?” can thus seem to be too distant from everyday life. Our spiritual efforts can feel weak and our Catholic duties can seem to be a dry, distasteful burden.

Dear Reader, is this how your own life and daily routine seem to you? This is a classic case of spiritual desolation. Here is how the great spiritual master, St. Ignatius of Loyola, defines this desolation:

I call desolation everything contrary to the consolation explained in the third rule, such as darkness of soul, disturbance in it, movement to things low and earthly, the disquiet of different agitations and temptations, moving to lack of confidence, without hope, without love, when one finds oneself all lazy, tepid, sad, and as if separated from his Creator and Lord. Because, as consolation is contrary to desolation, in the same way the thoughts which come from consolation are contrary to the thoughts which come from desolation.3

Dear Reader, do you recognize the movements of your own soul in St. Ignatius’s description? So many people nowadays feel this desolation! It is the direction in which modernity is pushing and pulling people.

Although God can (and sometimes does) give desolation in order to test even a very holy soul, the most usual reason for desolation is because of the person’s sins and his negligence in his spiritual duties.

Here is St. Ignatius’ advice for the person in desolation:

Although in desolation we ought not to change our good resolutions, it is very helpful to intensify our good efforts against the temptations that come during desolation, by insisting more on prayer, meditation, on much examination, and more penance.4

Dear Reader, you (and all of us) can do this! God will help us all!


Advancing in the Spiritual Life

It is natural for a person to ask himself: “How do I advance in the spiritual life?” After all, we are on this earth to save our souls. So, we know that we must do our best to advance in the spiritual life. This is the main “business” of our life. God did not give more time to our lives so that we can “try” to stay in the state of grace so that we avoid hell when we die. Such “trying not to backslide” is wasting the additional time God gives us! The reason God gives a person “another year”, is so that he can use this time to be one year holier and further advanced in the spiritual life.

Moreover, the greater a person’s progress is in holiness, the greater will be his progress in happiness. But how do we do that? Well, there are a few very important parts of this journey to holiness.

The secret of holiness is generosity with God. If a person asks himself: “What do I need to do to avoid sin and hell?”, that is a stingy minimum! If we seek to only do what “we gotta”, then the spiritual life will feel like a burden. Further, most people who seek to do as little as they can in the spiritual life end up failing and going to hell. For when a person aims so low, usually what he actually achieves is even lower.

But the spiritual life is Divine Friendship5 and so we should seek to be completely generous with our Divine Friend. We don’t have to feel generous but nonetheless we should resolve with our will to be generous.

Here is an analogous situation: when a parent is exhausted, is craving sleep, and is taking care of a sick child in the middle of the night, that parent is not doing so because of “warm and fuzzy” feelings, but because of the will to do his duty and to do good for his child! That is how our love and friendship with Christ should be – generous and firmly resolved in our will, regardless of feelings.

We must avoid occasions of sin, including eschewing persons who make it more likely that we will sin. We humans easily fool ourselves and make many excuses to continue to expose ourselves to the sorts of occasions of sin which have led to our downfalls in the past. To break out of this evil pattern, we must be unshakably firm in avoiding bad companions and other occasions of sin.

We have got to pray more, every day. Much more. Especially the rosary – ideally all 15 decades. We recommend the Catholic Candle articles to help you to pray the rosary better.6

We should implement and be faithful to making a daily meditation.7

We should study our Faith, especially through reading the Doctors of the Church, and most of all, St. Thomas Aquinas, the greatest Doctor of the Catholic Church. This study is “meat” which gives us strength to “bear the slings and arrows” of life. The Doctors are the ones that the Church especially holds out to us as our teachers for studying the Faith. Reading a Sunday sermon from one of the Doctors is a valuable part of accomplishing this duty every week.

We should avoid bad music. Church music and real classical music are the best.

Don’t watch TV and movies. We should avoid most things on the internet, especially “social media”. Each of these, even aside from the many sins they involve, also weaken us and make the spiritual life (and prayer) distasteful to us.

In these times of confusion, we should study true apologetics to help us to guard against the errors which are all around us. One way to discover more about how Vatican II is contrary to the perennial, infallible teaching of the Church is to study Lumen Gentium Annotated.8 Vatican II’s document, Lumen Gentium, is, in a way, Vatican II’s own overview of all of its errors in its other Council documents. Thus, by discerning the errors of Lumen Gentium, we see in general all of the errors of the rest of the Council.

In addition to studying the doctrines of our Faith, we should do some spiritual reading every day, e.g., at least a chapter of the Imitation of Christ every day without fail. We should prepare for and make/renew the consecration to Our Lady as her slaves according to the program of St. Louis de Montfort.

We should do some extra penances every day. Three really good ones are to take totally-cold showers, don’t eat between meals, and abstain from junk food and desserts, at least when not sharing them with others on a social occasion.9

This is a time of great blessings! We hold that this is a glorious time to be Catholic and to live for Christ the King! https://catholiccandle.neocities.org/faith/it-is-a-blessing-to-live-during-this-great-apostasy.html

We must have the Virtue of Hope because God is in charge and everything that happens that is out of our control is God’s Will for us. As a means of encouragement, we should keep in our thoughts that all things “work together unto the good, for those who love God”.  Romans, 8:28. https://catholiccandle.neocities.org/faith/hope-during-the-current-great-apostasy

Again, you (and we) can do this! God will help!

2 For an analysis of the importance of the irreplaceable work of the wife, mother, and heart of the family, in making this home a haven, read these articles:




3 Quoted from Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Rule #4 for the Discernment of Spirits, First Week.

4 Quoted from Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Rule #6 for the Discernment of Spirits, First Week.

5 Read these articles which explain this crucial truth:




8 Lumen Gentium Annotated, by Quanta Cura Press, © 2013, available at:



  • Amazon.com (sold at cost).

CC in Brief – Sedevacantist questions

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Catholic Candle note: Sedevacantism is wrong and is (material or formal) schism. Catholic Candle is not sedevacantist. We recommend a small book explaining the errors of sedevacantism. It is available:

Below is the first of a series of CC in Brief articles which cover specific aspects of the error of sedevacantism.


CC in Brief

Sedevacantist Questions

Q. If a pope publicly preaches heresy, does he cease to be pope?

A. Your question does not provide enough information (i.e., context) for a simple answer, and makes us wonder if you are perhaps failing to distinguish between a person being a public heretic and a formal heretic. If any person understands (i.e., knows) that he is denying what he is required to believe in order to be Catholic (i.e., to belong to the Catholic Church), then that denial causes him to cease to be Catholic. This is to be a formal heretic.

Such a person ceases to be Catholic even if he never reveals the matter to anyone. Such a person would not be excommunicated by Church authorities since (as we supposed in this example) he never revealed his opinion to anyone. But the very fact that this person holds a statement that he understands to be incompatible with being Catholic – i.e., by his being a formal heretic – he ceases to be Catholic and could not go to heaven because Outside the Church there is No Salvation.

But suppose that a person holds a heretical opinion but he does not know it to be incompatible with being a Catholic. Then in that case, he would hold the “matter” of heresy but would not cease to be a member of the Catholic Church, outside of which there is no salvation. In other words, by unknowingly holding his error about the Faith he would be a material heretic.

It is not uncommon for a person to hold material heresy but it is, of course, always a bad thing. So, e.g., suppose a seven-year-old child holds that God has a body (which is a heresy). Suppose he thinks that this is what the Catholic Church teaches. He is a material heretic but remains a member of the Catholic Church. He is not a formal heretic because he does not understand that he is contradicting the Catholic Faith which is revealed by the Church.

No matter how publicly he declares his understanding that God has a body, he is a material heretic and is not a formal heretic. The child remains a Catholic – but is one who is in error on a matter of the Faith.

Even a pope is not immune from denying a dogma of the Faith. But if that pope did not know that he was denying a doctrine that he was required to believe in order to be Catholic, then he remains a Catholic and remains the pope.

The case of Pope John XXII (who lived in the 14th century) is a useful example.

But before we get to that example, let us recall some important truths of the catechism which are necessary in order to understand the remainder of this article:


  • All that God has divinely revealed to man is called Divine Revelation.


  • Divine Revelation has two founts (i.e., sources): Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.


  • Since God is its author, all that is contained in Divine Revelation is certain, true, and is part of the Catholic Faith.


  • The Catholic Church is the guardian and sole interpreter of Divine Revelation, and teaches the Faithful all the contents of Divine Revelation.


  • To help her teach without err, God has given the Church the gift of infallibility – the gift of being unable to err when authoritatively teaching the whole Church anything about Faith or morals.


  • All of these truths which she teaches infallibly are called dogmas (i.e., doctrines).


  • Her teaching authority is called Her Magisterium.


  • She can teach dogmas to the Faithful using either Her extraordinary infallible Magisterium or Her ordinary infallible Magisterium. The easier method to understand, and the one most Catholics are familiar with, is the extraordinary Magisterium, which most Catholics associate with precisely-worded ex cathedra statements from the popes.


  • Both the ordinary and extraordinary magisterial methods faithfully transmit dogmas to the Faithful without error, but the extraordinary Magisterium has this advantage: that it is easier for the Faithful to recognize that a truth from Church authorities is indeed infallible, and must therefore be believed.

  • When the Church infallibly formulates the specific, precise wording of a dogma, She is said to define that dogma.


  • The Church has defined only a small percentage of all dogmas; thus, notice that although all dogmas are part of Revelation and thus infallible, yet not all dogmas have been precisely defined. That is the very beautiful advantage of the Church’s definitions: they give us exact wording which incapsulates the meaning (substance) of the dogma. For this reason, the Faithful can rejoice when the Church defines a dogma.


With those reminders stated, we can now investigate the case of Pope John XXII, who publicly denied a dogma of the Faith but was not a formal heretic.



Pope John XXII (reigned 1316-1334)


It is a defined dogma of the Catholic Faith that the saints see the Beatific Vision immediately after they die (and after they have been purged in Purgatory, if necessary).1 However, this dogma was not always defined.


In fact, Pope John XXII lived before this dogma was defined by the Church’s Extraordinary Magisterium. He publicly denied that the saints immediately see the Beatific Vision after they die, i.e., before the General Judgment.2


But further, before Pope John XXII became pope, he wrote a book publicly denying this dogma of the Catholic Faith, viz., that the saints see the Beatific Vision immediately after they die (and after they have been purged in Purgatory, if necessary).3 Instead, he taught the opposite heresy. Id.


Not only before Pope John XXII’s papal reign but also during it he caused a “great commotion” by denying this doctrine of the Catholic Faith on several occasions and publicly teaching the opposite heresy.4 Yet he reigned as pope until his death.5


Yet both before and after this doctrine was defined, the Church has always recognized the validity of Pope John XXII’s election and reign as pope.6 In other words, his public teaching of this heresy did not prevent his election or his reigning as pope.


We know that dogmas are already true and have always been doctrines of the Faith, even before those dogmas become defined by the Church’s Extraordinary Magisterium. In other words, the Church’s extraordinary definition of a dogma does not all of a sudden “make” a doctrine true (and make it part of the Faith).


Rather, an extraordinary definition of a doctrine of Faith merely gives certitude to anyone in doubt concerning a truth which was already a dogma of the Catholic Faith. This is why the First Vatican Council declared: “the Holy Ghost was promised to the successors of Peter not so that they might, by His revelation, make known some new doctrine”.7


Thus, we know that the dogma which Pope John XXII denied was always true and was a doctrine of the Faith at the time he denied it.


As scandalous as it was for Pope John XXII to publicly teach heresy, he was elected pope while professing this heresy and reigned as pope while continuing to profess this heresy.


Thus, we see that a pope who publicly teaches heresy would remain Catholic if he does not know that his teaching is a rejection of what he must believe in order to be Catholic. In other words, a pope who teaches heresy remains the pope if he is a material heretic. However, if the pope were to become a formal heretic, then he would cease to be a Catholic and cease to be pope (since a pope cannot be the head of the Church if he is not a member of the Church).



Afterword


When Pope Francis teaches heresy, that does not tell us whether he remains pope precisely because we do not know that Francis knows he is contradicting the Catholic Faith. He would have to make it known that he knows he is contradicting the Catholic Faith.


But the sedevacantists would reply (often in a tone of exasperation): “Oh, come on! He knows he is contradicting the Catholic Faith.” That reply raises the topic of the sedevacantists’ sin of rash judgment. Beware of that sin! But that sin is a topic that we will cover in a different CC in Brief.

1 Council of Florence, Pope Eugene IV, Bull Laetentur coeli, 1439; Pope Benedict XII Benedictus Deus, 1336, Denz. #530-531.

2

1917 Catholic Encyclopedia, entry: Pope John XXII.

3

1917 Catholic Encyclopedia, entry: Pope John XXII.

4

1917 Catholic Encyclopedia, entry: Pope John XXII. The phrase in quotes is the description in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

5

1917 Catholic Encyclopedia, entry: Pope John XXII. See also, the Annuario Pontificio editions 1939, 1942, and 1959.

The Annuario Pontificio is the Church’s official list of popes and the years of their reign. These lists not only include Pope John XXII as a pope but list his reign as ending when he died, rather than some earlier date as if he lost the pontificate because of his (material) heresy.

6

1917 Catholic Encyclopedia, entry: Pope John XXII; see also, the Annuario Pontificio editions 1939, 1942, and 1959.


The Annuario Pontificio is the Church’s official list of popes and the years of their reign. Pope John XXII is listed in all of those lists of the Church’s popes.

7

Vatican I, Session 4, ch.4 (emphasis added).

Lesson #37: About the Temperaments – Continuation of the Choleric Temperament

Posted on by Catholic Candle

Philosophy Notes

Catholic Candle note: We apologize for our editing error of misnumbering the last Lesson in Mary’s School of Sanctity. It should have been numbered #36.

In the article below, the word “choleric” is used both as an adjective to refer to a particular one of the temperaments and also as a noun referring to a person with that temperament.

Mary’s School of Sanctity

Lesson #37: About the Temperaments – Continuing Our Study of the Choleric Temperament

In our last lesson we briefly described the general strengths of a choleric of good will. We must recall how we explained that if a person with a choleric temperament doesn’t guard himself and strive to love God, he can easily slip into the weaknesses of his temperament. In our last lesson we listed the weaknesses as follows:

Weaknesses of the Choleric Temperament:

  • Hardness

  • Nurtures hatred and desires revenge

  • Obstinacy

  • Insensibility

  • Anger

  • Pride (includes over-confidence; unreasonably criticizing others; and excessive competitiveness)

  • Ambition

  • Violence, cruelty, and arrogance upon meeting with resistance

  • Lack of delicacy of feeling, insensitive to the feelings of others

  • Coldness

  • Indifference

  • Impetuosity

Let us take the time now to explain these weaknesses. We can see that some of the weaknesses listed here can be linked together. Indeed, hardness, insensibility, and coldness seem to be closely related to each other. Since the choleric has good powers of concentration and lots of determination, he can show hardness of heart and coldness. Hence, he is insensible to the feelings and/or the needs of others. Thus, he appears to go full steam ahead without regard for others. People view the choleric as someone who bulldozes his way along in order to get to his goals. He does not make it a priority to put himself in the “shoes” of another and so he has a one-track mind.

Obstinacy –– The choleric with bad will is seen as being “bull-headed” and stubborn because he is so resolute in getting his way. He lets nothing stop him.

Indifference — Because of his stubbornness, the choleric comes across as being completely indifferent to obstacles. In fact, he doesn’t consider anything as a legitimate obstacle. In his view, all opposition is unreasonable and must be overcome at any cost.

Again, we can see that due to the fact that he allows no opposition, he shows the weaknesses of violence, cruelty, and arrogance upon meeting resistance. People tend to cower in his presence and get out of his way, so this headstrong choleric readily acts like a bully and usually gets his way.

Yet, if anyone resists him, he tends to nurture hatred and a desire for revenge. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for a choleric to harbor long-lasting grudges.

Now let us look at the remaining weaknesses from our list and see how they connect with the choleric being swept away in his determination to gets what he wants.

Anger – Anger, one of the irascible passions found in the soul, has been commonly associated with the person of the choleric temperament. St. Thomas Aquinas explains that the objects of the irascible passions are good and evil in a certain elevation or arduousness. (Summa Theologica I-II Q.46, article 3 Respondeo). The choleric certainly tends to see his goal as extremely important so it makes sense that he would be easily provoked to anger.

Furthermore, St. Thomas tells us that “the fervor of anger has a certain bitterness with a tendency to destroy for it seeks to be avenged on the contrary evil: whence it is likened to the heat of fire and of the bile, and for this reason [St. John] Damascene says (in his work on the Faith1 Bk II, 16) that it [anger] ‘results from an exhalation of the bile whence it takes its name chole’ ” (Summa Theologica I-II Q.48, article 2 Reply to Objection #1, bracketed words added). So, we see the name choleric comes from this exhalation of bile. Since, as we have said, the very extraverted choleric temperament has its actual name ascribed to it because of this inclination toward anger.

Pride – The choleric is such an external type of person it naturally follows that when he is bent on the wrong path and not desiring the good of his soul as he ought, he is prone to an extreme pride. He easily convinces himself that he is right and that anyone who does not think like him must be wrong. He asserts his will on everyone and expects everyone to see his importance and/or the importance of his wishes.

He is often over-confident and believes he has knowledge of something about which he is often misinformed or clueless. He boldly asserts things and “puts his foot in his mouth” (as the expression goes).

The choleric is very prone to criticize others. He might even seem to make being critical his hobby. As is typical with our fallen human nature, when we find fault with our neighbor it is often the case that we do not try to see our own failings. In this way we assuage our consciences telling ourselves that we are not as bad as someone else is.

Another classic form of pride for the choleric is his excessive competitiveness. Again, because he wants to be noticed as excelling, he thrives on “proving” how skilled or great he is in some field.

This brings us to the next weakness on our list, ambition.

Ambition—Webster’s dictionary defines ambition as an ardent desire for rank, fame, or power. (A Merriam-Webster © 1975)

When a choleric does not have his salvation as his highest priority, he can easily get distracted by the temptation to seek fame and power. The choleric is often given the label of “control freak”. This means that the choleric has an intense desire to be in charge which can grow to such an extent that he appears to want to always be in command of everything.

Impetuosity— The word impetuosity comes from the word impetuous which in turn comes from impetus. Impetus means: 1) marked by force and violence of movement or action; and 2) marked by impulsive vehemence or passion. (A Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©1975).

Once again, the choleric, not guarding himself from acting unreasonably, often acts abruptly without careful deliberation.

A Preview …

In our next lesson we will investigate more about the spiritual struggles a choleric may have, especially if he has made little progress in knowing his weaknesses and combating them. We will discuss the weaknesses in greater length and see how they intermingle with each other. In this manner we can gain knowledge of the common snares the devil uses on the choleric and can form strategies on how to counteract those snares.

1 This work is entitled An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith.

Posted on by Catholic Candle

Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

 

Do we seek the glory of Christ?
If so, then we must seek the cross.

 

St. John of the Cross, Mystical Doctor of the Church, teaches:

 

He who seeks not the cross of Christ seeks not the glory of Christ.


Maxims on Love, #23.

 

 

If the above words of the great Mystical Doctor inspire you to seek to be more generous with Our Lord Jesus Christ, you might be aided by praying this short prayer every day:

 

Dear Lord, I freely choose and beg Thee for a life completely full of trials and tribulations, crosses and difficulties, to imitate Thee, to please Thee, out of pure love for Thee and for the greater honor and glory.

When We Sin, We Cause Our Lord to Suffer

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Catholic Candle note: The article below is a “companion” article to the previously published Catholic Candle article showing that all sin is an infinite evil in three ways and mortal sin is an infinite evil of a fourth way too.  The previous article is available here: https://catholiccandle.neocities.org/faith/the-infinite-evil-of-sin .

Most people fail to understand the extent of Our Lord’s suffering which is caused by the sins we commit. 

To steal is wrong and has consequences.  Thus, a lad wouldn’t steal even a single apple if the store’s owner was watching him.  So why do people sin when God is always watching them?  In fact, I believe that when a person commits a venial sin, it’s like slapping Our Lord in His face.  For a mortal sin, it’s as if the sinner punches Him and gives Him a Bloody Nose – or really, it is more like crucifying Him, since mortal sin kills the Divine Life of Grace in the soul.  

These comparisons are meant to help us to better understand the evil of sin.  For, how could we ever want to hurt our loving and sweet Lord that way?  He, Who has done so much for us!  He, Who created us and keeps us in existence!  He it is Who also suffered and died because of our sins!

Let us take a closer look at sin and what it really is:

Sin is nothing else than a morally bad act. (St. Thomas, "De malo", Q. vii, a. 3), an act not in accord with reason informed by the Divine law.  God has endowed us with reason and free will, and a sense of responsibility; He has made us subject to His law, which is known to us by the dictates of conscience, and our acts must conform to these dictates, otherwise we sin.  (Rom., xiv, 23)[1]

And if we don’t form a good conscience and avoid all sin, we develop a habit of sin called vice.

What is vice? Vice is a habit of sin formed by repeated acts of sin.

One who makes a practice of stealing has the vice of theft.  One who habitually drinks to intoxication has the vice of drunkenness.  One who frequently sins against chastity has the vice of impurity. …..

A vice is easily acquired.  This is one reason why we must be very careful not to commit sin.  If we should be so unhappy as to fall into sin, we must at once cut off the possibility of forming vice by contrition, penance, and a resolution not to sin again. 

After the first fall, one more readily yields to the next temptation.  Each yielding weakens the will for the next.  Thus, step by step, one who starts a sin will find himself the slave of a vicious habit.  “He that contemneth small things shall fail by little and little.” (Ecclesiasticus. 19:1).

A vice is easy to break off in the beginning, difficult to break when fully formed, but always capable of being overcome by a resolute will with God’s grace.[2]

So, we must avoid all sin.  Well, how can we do that?  Keep in mind that God is always watching us.  This is called “keeping in the presence of God”.  Let us remember that, if we sin, we slap Him or punch Him, giving Him a bloody nose – or even much worse!  With that always in mind, a person will have committed his last sin!


[1]           Catholic Encyclopedia, The Gilmary Society, New York, 1912, article title: Sin, vol.14, p.4.

[2]           My Catholic Faith, Bishop Morrow, My Mission House, Kenosha, WI, 1949, Ch. 75, p. 151, emphasis added.

Lesson #36 About the Temperaments – The Choleric Temperament

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Philosophy Notes

Mary’s School of Sanctity

Lesson #35:  About the Temperaments – Beginning our Study of the Choleric Temperament

In this lesson we begin our study of the choleric temperament.

As we stated in lesson #34, we speak of four basic types of temperaments.  Yet we usually see that a person is a combination of two.  There is a predominant temperament and a secondary one.  One curious and very interesting thing we find when we get to know more about the temperaments, and when we discover our own particular temperament or blend of temperaments, is that we wouldn’t want to trade temperaments.  We are used to ourselves and only really know what it is like being just the temperament(s) we are – in other words, we have no experiential knowledge of actually being another temperament.

So how do we recognize the other temperaments?  The answer is that all the temperaments have certain key traits that are recognizable.  Suppose someone were to think, “What is all this stuff about temperaments?” or  “I have gotten along fine not knowing about them.”  In such a case, we respond that we are examining in a more careful and refined manner the same distinctions that society at large often makes about how some people are naturally outgoing and are called extroverts.  There are others who are quieter and reserved and are called introverts.  Thus, society commonly recognizes the traits called the temperaments, although in a less precise way than is our goal in this series of articles.

In this lesson we will be discussing the general descriptions of the typical strengths and weaknesses of the choleric temperament.  Of course, no two persons are exactly alike so we must to be careful and not think that if someone has the typical traits of the choleric temperament that he is exactly like another person who has these same traits.

In Lesson #35 we set forth the overall scheme in examining each temperament.  The first point we said we would investigate is the typical strengths and weaknesses of each of the four temperaments.

General Strengths and Weaknesses[1]

Strengths of the Choleric temperament:

·         Great energy and activity

·         Sharp intellect

·         Strong and resolute will

·         Good powers of concentration

 

·         Constancy

·         Magnanimity

 

·         Liberality/Generosity

·         Good at planning projects

·         Industrious

·         Strong leadership abilities

Weaknesses of the Choleric Temperament:

·         Hardness

·         Nurtures hatred and desire for revenge

 

·         Obstinacy

·         Insensibility

·         Anger

·         Pride

·         Ambition

·         Violence, cruelty, and arrogance upon meeting with resistance

·         Lack of delicacy of feeling, insensitive to the feelings of others

·         Coldness

·         Indifference

·         Impetuosity

In General – Ways to Use Strengths and Conquer Weaknesses[2]

Humans are expected by God to want to live a moral and reasonable life.  If one is disposed to live correctly, then he is said to be of good will.  In order to foster good will for a person with the choleric temperament, he should in general do the following:

·         Mistrust his first inclinations

·         Cultivate true humility

 

·         Develop compassion for the weak and uninstructed

·         Refrain from exerting superiority

·         Practice detachment from self

·         Manifest a generous love towards others

·         Restrain and moderate himself

So far we have only given general lists about the choleric temperament and indeed, it is surely important to explain the lists given above.  Before explaining the list, however, let us take a quick peek at a couple of unique facts about people with the choleric temperament.  

Since the choleric temperament is the most extraverted of the four temperaments, the traits of this temperament are extremely prominent.  With this in mind one can readily see that a choleric person can have a great impact on the lives of others.  Therefore, his influence is widely felt for good or for ill.  If he has virtue and holiness, he can be an instrument for much good to society.  On the other hand, if he is vicious, he can cause great harm to souls!

If the choleric is of good will then his strengths shine out and one does not notice that he has weaknesses.  It is often said that the choleric temperament makes great saints.  Indeed, many of the greatest saints were choleric, e.g. St. Paul, and St. Peter.

By contrast, if the choleric is of bad will, then his strengths are used for ill and his weaknesses are so enhanced that only his weaknesses are noticeable.  We can easily bring to mind the worst tyrants in human history and see that they were vicious men with a choleric temperament.

So out of all the four temperaments, when Our Lord says, “By their fruits you can know them,” persons with the choleric temperament show their fruits in the most noticeable way.  We can easily see these external fruits of the “choleric” because his face is expressive and his interior attitude shows up readily in his body language.  Thus, a choleric person’s good will or bad will is easily detected.  In this way we can see that his will seems to play a much bigger role in determining his exterior actions and his impact on others.

It is interesting to note that the strengths and weakness of the other temperaments do not show as extreme an opposition as we find in the choleric temperament.  This opposition is directly related to good will versus bad will in the choleric.

So, let’s start by briefly analyzing the strengths listed above and seeing some of the effects they can cause.  We will be focusing here on the “choleric” of good will, keeping in mind what we have just said above that if the “choleric” does not use these strengths with proper caution and Fear of the Lord, then the strengths will easily turn into the bad tendencies, namely the weaknesses listed above.  At a later point, after likewise treating the weaknesses and some of their effects, we will delve into more of the spiritual aspects of this temperament.   

Great energy and activity

The “choleric” seems to never sit still.  He has lots of energy; some would say ‘nervous energy’.   “Cholerics” are always on the go.  They don’t seem to run out of things to do.  A “choleric” with good will has great zeal to work for God.   For example, look at St. Paul in his epistle to the Corinthians where he lists the many sufferings he had on his numerous missionary journeys.  He had a great love for God so he wanted to accomplish many things for souls. 

Keen intellect

Those with the choleric temperament have good intellects.  They can readily draw proper conclusions.   They can spread the truth and the Catholic faith with ardor.  Again, we take the example of St. Paul who had a philosophical mind and was an eloquent preacher and writer.

Strong and resolute will

The choleric person is well recognized for his strong and resolute will.  As we stated above, it is crucial that the will be trained in the good.  We especially see the need for a life of virtue for a choleric person because he is bound to attract attention and he must not lead others to a life of sin.

Good powers of concentration

A person having the choleric temperament has a lot of determination and therefore, he focuses strongly on his goals.  One might say that they have a one track mind, but of course, this is an exaggeration.  If their attention is properly placed, they can achieve their goals with tremendous success.

Constancy

The choleric person can handle pressure and stress.  They have fortitude in the face of duress.  This is why the “choleric” makes a good leader.  He can lead when others are discouraged or confused.

Magnanimity

The choleric person has high ideals and noble pursuits.  He is very enthused about his ideas and this, too, makes him a sort of “born leader”.

Liberality/Generosity

The choleric person is very giving.  He is sometimes considered “generous to a fault”.  He would give someone “the shirt off his own back” (as the saying goes).  He of course has to use prudence to moderate himself.

Good at planning projects

The choleric person is said to be a “go-getter”.  He likes to plan projects.  He has good organizational skills.

Industrious

Having an abundance of energy, the choleric person likes to accomplish tasks and goals.  He is an asset for an employer and he also makes a driven entrepreneur.

Strong leadership abilities

Because the choleric person is an extravert who is enthusiastic about plans and goals he has set, he naturally has leadership skills.  He is a “take-charge” type of person.

A Preview …

In our next lesson we will briefly analyze the typical weaknesses of the choleric temperament given in our list above.  We will also discuss the results of these weaknesses.   After making this analysis, it will be easier for us to see the spiritual needs of the person with the choleric temperament and efficacious strategies that should be used for one’s salvation.


[1]           These are taken from a chart that will be given at the end of this Temperaments series and is based on work done by Father Antonio Royo Marin O.P. published in a series of articles run in the Catholic Family News about 15 years ago.

[2]           These are taken from a chart that will be given at the end of this Temperaments series and is based on work done by Father Antonio Royo Marin O.P. published in a series of articles run in the Catholic Family News about 15 years ago.

CC in brief — Essence of Prayer

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Catholic Candle note: Catholic Candle normally examines particular issues thoroughly, at length, using the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas and the other Doctors of the Church.  By contrast, our feature CC in Brief, usually gives an extremely short answer to a reader’s question.  We invite every reader to submit his own questions.

CC in Brief

What is Essential to Prayer


Q.       There seem to be different ways to pray.  What is common to them that makes them all to be called “prayer”?
           

A.        In St. Thomas’ lectures on St. John’s Gospel, in Chapter 11 where Our Lord raises Lazarus from the dead, St. Thomas discusses prayer, as he talks about Our Lord’s prayer to His Father, quoting the Gospel:

 

And Jesus lifting up his eyes said: Father, I give thee thanks that thou hast heard me.  And I knew that thou hearest me always; but because of the people who stand about have I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. 

 

St. John’s Gospel, 11:41-42.

 

St. Thomas characterizes prayer as the lifting of the heart and mind to God.  St. Thomas lectures on St. John, #1151. 

 

Similarly, the Baltimore Catechism #4 asks:

 

Q. #304:       What is prayer?

 

A.                    Prayer is the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God ….

 

This is a beautiful and perfect explanation of the essence of prayer.

 

We must lift up our minds to God, because we are not praying if our minds are not thinking about (i.e., focused on) God and the things of God (or if we are not at least trying to do so).  We should be aware of God and “put ourselves in His presence” as a friend has the awareness of being with his friend.

 

By contrast, if we are intentionally thinking about other things, such as making plans regarding the activities of our day, or focusing on our deadlines and projects, then any words of prayers that we say are not real prayer since our mind is not engaged in our prayers.  With our mind knowingly disengaged, we are like a parrot (which has no mind) repeating the sounds of prayers. 

 

In addition, we must lift our hearts to God also.  If we were to lift only our minds to God –  and not our hearts – this is plainly not prayer since even demons and humans who hate God might lift their minds to Him while they are expressing their hatred.  So also, a philosopher lifts his mind to God in some way while he is considering the attributes of God that are known by human reason.

 

Similarly, if we are carefully meditating about Our Lord’s Passion but we are doing it as if it were merely a historical event and not treating Our Lord as being our Divine Friend Who is present with us, then this is not prayer but is merely analysis of historic events.  We must have a heart-felt interchange with Our Lord (and/or His Mother, the saints, etc.)[1] 

 

That is why, in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, there is a colloquy which accompanies each mediation.  St. Ignatius explains:

 

The Colloquy is made, properly speaking, as one friend speaks to another, or as a servant to his master; now asking some grace, now blaming oneself for some misdeed, now communicating one’s affairs, and asking advice in them.[2]

 

Whether we are praying our morning prayers, or the rosary,[3] or are engaged in some activity such as brushing our teeth: we can – and should – as much as possible raise our minds to put ourselves in God’s presence and raise our hearts to God to love Him – whether we are using words or not. 

 

Doing this is something that every person can and should do, even the beginner and even the illiterate man.  So, the essence of prayer is simple and should be practiced as much as we can.  Our Lord instructs us that “we ought always to pray, and not to faint”.  St. Luke’s Gospel, 18:1. 

 

Further, the great St. Augustine teaches that “Prayer is the key with which to open up heaven”.[4]  Not only is prayer the key to heaven but it is also the key to living the virtuous and happy life of being a friend of God in this life. 

 

We Catholics must be men (and women) of prayer!  A life which is not centered on prayer is a failed life that ends in a failed afterlife. 


[1]           Concerning how to do a meditation, read this article: Lesson #2 – Meditation – How & Why, which is found here: https://catholiccandle.org/2021/09/03/lesson-2-meditation-how-why/

[2]           Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, First Exercise, Second Point.

[3]           For a further explanation on how to pray the rosary, read these articles:

 

Ø  https://catholiccandle.org/2019/12/23/the-rosary-how-why/

 

Ø  https://catholiccandle.org/2019/01/08/1570/

 

[4]           Council of Trent Catechism, Section: On Prayer, subsection, Concerning the Second Fruit of Prayer.

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Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

 

Prepare thyself like a man to resist the wicked attacks of the devil; bridle gluttony, and thou shall the easier restrain all carnal inclinations.

 

My Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, (c)1982, Confraternity of the Precious Blood, 5300 Fort Hamilton Parkway, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11219, Bk. 1 ch.19.                                                                          

 

It is Important to Keep in Mind the Fires of Purgatory

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Most people go through life focusing only on the fact that God is merciful, kind, and helpful, and they don’t want to think about the punishment they deserve for their sins.  Well, they’d better change and think deeply about the very real punishments in Purgatory, for if they understood the real pain of fire, they would think twice and make more of an effort to avoid sin.  No one is going to “sneak into” Heaven.  God is at the door.  And He is all-just.

 

To many, Our Lord’s command, “Deny thyself, take up thy cross and follow Me”, (Matthew 16:24)  seems hard; but it would be much harder to hear that final word: “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.”  (Matthew 25:41).  This phrase “everlasting fire” refers to the fires to hell.  But now let us consider the fires of Purgatory. 

 

Here is a crucial reminder from Fr. Paul O’Sullivan:

 

The fire of Purgatory is the same terrible fire as the fire of Hell.  We may be kept in this awful fire for many years for a deliberate venial sin.  God could never punish us too severely.  He does not send us to Purgatory because He is angry with us, but because the malice of a deliberate venial sin is simply awful – mortal sin much more so.[1]

 

Here is the wholesome teaching of My Catholic Faith:

 

St. Augustine believed that the sufferings of the poor souls are greater than the sufferings of all the martyrs.  St. Thomas believed the least pain there is greater than the greatest on earth.  The greatness and the duration of a soul’s sufferings in Purgatory vary according to the gravity of the sins committed.  One who has lived a long life of sin, but is saved from hell only by a deathbed repentance, will stay in the purging fires of Purgatory longer, and suffer there more intensely than a child, who has committed only the venial sins of an ordinary child.[2]

 

It is important that one understands the real pain of the fires of Purgatory.  That understanding will greatly help to avoid all sin.   Avoiding all sin is possible even for those who are without (most of) the Sacraments – as faithful and informed Catholics currently are in all of those places in the world where the Sacraments are not available without compromise.  God knows what we need and provides it.

 

There is a way to begin to understand and to feel the pain which is a little like Purgatory’s fire.  (Obviously, be very careful not to injure yourself.)  Light a candle and hold your hand about seven inches above the flame and feel the heat.  Then lower your hand little-by-little until you understand much better the real pain of fire which is suffered by those persons in Purgatory.  Then reflect that such suffering in Purgatorial fire could last for years. 

 

Think also, that God created the fires on earth to serve and help man.  By contrast, God created the fires of Purgatory to inflict much more pain than the fires on earth because He created those fires to punish man.

 

Now, with your new understanding of what sinners suffer in Purgatory, let us begin by promising God that we will sin no more.

 

We know we must be a saint in order to get to heaven.  So let us love God, hate sin, pray devoutly and often, and we will be “ordinary saints” who will spend all eternity in the complete happiness of heaven.


[1]           An Easy Way to Become a Saint, Fr. Paul O’Sullivan, O.P., Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., Rockford, Ill. 1990, p.101.

 

Note: Every sin is an infinite evil in three ways and mortal sin is an infinite evil of a fourth way too.  Read an explanation of this truth here: https://catholiccandle.neocities.org/faith/the-infinite-evil-of-sin

[2]           My Catholic Faith, Bishop Louis Morrow, My Mission House, Kenosha, Wis., ©1949, p.158.

Lesson #35 About the Temperaments – further reasons why we study them

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Philosophy Notes

Mary’s School of Sanctity

Lesson #35 About the temperaments – further reasons why we study them

More about why we study the temperaments – what’s the point?

Because we humans were made to praise, revere, and serve God[1], and because we carry out this precept in the way we deal with our neighbor, it is important to try to understand ourselves and our neighbor well.  To better understand our neighbor, we should start with self-knowledge, which includes knowing our own inclinations.

We can and do know that by our fallen human nature we humans have general tendencies, i.e. concupiscence of the flesh, concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life,[2]  but we must not forget that each of us also has his own natural dispositions and inclinations.   Hence, we study the inclinations people naturally have when we study the basic four temperaments.  One important aspect of our study of the temperaments, AND a goal we have in our study, is to find our own strengths and weaknesses and to use our strengths to overcome our weaknesses.  This is a means to our perfection. 

Each of the temperaments has a set of typically found strengths and weaknesses.  So, our challenge in our life is to work out our salvation by discovering our strengths and weaknesses, and with God’s help, of course, to use our strengths to overcome our weaknesses.  Thus, God intends for us to hew away at the things of our temperaments which are not favorable to a charitable relationship with Him and our neighbor.  In this way, too, He wills us to use the God-given strengths we have to glorify Him.  This is indeed what the saints did.[3]

Therefore, when we study the temperaments, we can come to better appreciation of our neighbor by recognizing his temperament and thereby seeing how we can work more harmoniously with him.  Another beneficial aspect of this knowledge is that it helps us to avoid rashly judging our neighbor, and in turn, this fosters our practice of compassionating our neighbor.   

With all this in mind, we can easily see that there are many good reasons to learn about the four basic temperaments and the possible combinations of these, and how people with the temperaments interact with each other.

One important additional consideration to make is to reflect upon Our Lord and Our Lady.  Both Our Lord and Our Lady had in their genetic make-up a perfect mixture of the four temperaments.  How do we know this?  They were both immaculately conceived and without any stain of sin for the entire duration of their lives.   It is also fitting that they would both be a perfect blend and balance of the four temperaments and would have nothing that would stand out as a genetic weakness.  God intended that they both would be models for us to imitate.

Setting forth the overall scheme of looking at each of the temperaments.

·         For each temperament, we will set out a listing of its general strengths and weaknesses.

 

·         We will discuss how a person with each temperament, who is of good will, uses the strengths to overcome the weaknesses.

 

·         We will discuss how a person with each temperament, who is of bad will, does not use the strengths to overcome the weaknesses.

 

·         We will discuss aspects of the prayer life/spiritual life of each temperament.

 

·         We will discuss the typical temptations which impact each temperament and how the temptations can be counteracted.

 In our next lesson, we will begin our treatment of the choleric temperament


[1]           See the series on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, especially these two articles:

 

v  https://catholiccandle.org/2022/05/24/lesson-9-the-principle-and-foundation-part-i/

 

v  https://catholiccandle.org/2022/06/27/lesson-11-the-principle-and-foundation-part-ii/

 

[2]           “For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life…”  1 John, 2:16.

 

[3]           One well known example of saintly reform is St. Vincent de Paul.  He was known for his choleric temper but he mastered himself so well that he was thought to be phlegmatic. 

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Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

God is more pleased by one work, however small, done secretly, without desire that it be known, than a thousand done with the desire that people know of them.  Those who work for God with purest love not only care nothing about whether others see their works, but do not even seek that God Himself know of them.  Such persons would not cease to render God the same services, with the same joy and purity of love, even if God were never to know of these.

St. John of the Cross, Saying of Light and Love, #20 (emphasis added).