The Lent I Need

     “Come Holy Spirit! Consume in me anything that keeps me from being consumed in You.”


     I thought I had begun Lent on the right foot. For several weeks prior to its start, I had prayed and asked God to direct my path and let me know just how He was calling me to change.

     The answer I received seemed somewhat vague, so I tried to contrive which areas within myself, needed work. Several ideas came to me. My plan was to work on my quiet prayer time. For some time now, I was giving in to distractions, instead of ignoring them. I wanted to nip that in the bud. The other thing I wanted to work on was not snacking after 8 o’clock. Most of the time when I snacked, I was not really hungry. I was trying to comfort a restlessness or disappointment in my life, instead of going to God with my feelings. That’s what I’ll do, I thought!

You Are Mine

     It was late in the afternoon, my last day of retreat, when I decided to continue the tradition my sister Rachel and I had begun years ago. Our routine included a change of clothing – dressing up in something special -- which was symbolic of the change that had occurred spiritually within.

     Our tradition was also, our way of making the last evening special; a way to thank God for all the graces and insights with which we had been showered; a time to breathe in God’s love and bask in the still and quiet of the retreat house, one last evening.

Look to Heaven and Smile

     “The soul that does not attach itself solely to the will of God will find neither satisfaction nor sanctification in any other means however excellent by which it may attempt to gain them. If that which God Himself chooses for you does not content you, from whom do you expect to obtain what you desire? . . . No soul can be really nourished, fortified, purified, enriched, and sanctified except in fulfilling the duties of the present moment.”                                                                                                                                                            Fr Jean-Pierre de Caussade


     Being purified of our own self-will is one of the most difficult aspects of growing in sanctity! Our wills are alive and well and do not like to be crossed! Our daily plans often get changed, much to our displeasure, and it is rare we accept them in peace.

      If we peered into a mirror to look upon our demeanor, it would become clear to us, as it is to all around us, that we are anything but peace filled. We mumble, grumble and may even growl at those who are near. We are not a picture of sanctity, but rather resemble a bratty child who has not gotten their way! 

     We are called to resemble our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ whose food was to do the will of His Father. Jesus was clear in His call to His disciples: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Lk 9: 23-24).

     “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk 9: 62). We need to let go of our will. We need to let go and not look back and to what we wanted. Trusting instead, that the situation that has presented itself, is God’s way for us to grow in holiness. It may not be to our choosing or to our liking, but it is for our best. Believing this will often take a heroic act of the will on our part. God will give us the grace to surrender our will. We need to accept the grace, believe that is present to us, and act as though it is . . . whether we feel it or not.

     Father de Caussaude is clear. It is in fulfilling the duties of the present moment—the situations right in front of us – those we have planned and those we have not -- which will nourish, fortify, purify, enrich and sanctify our soul. It is our path to holiness. It is the narrow path that our Lord speaks about that few choose.

     Each and every day, life presents to us many ways to put this into practice. If you’re like me, practice has still not made perfect – far from it. And it is sainthood that our good God is calling us to achieve; that does not come easily!


     So, when you have gone from plan A to plan G and it’s only 9 a.m., when your car breaks down or your pipes are leaking, when your children are sick or your loved one needs your help, when you’re once again called to do what you’d really rather not be doing, rejoice and be glad! God is giving you another opportunity to grow in holiness.

     Look up to heaven and smile. God is just doing His job trying to strengthen our spiritual muscles until we grow in likeness to His Son, Jesus.

     You know how the saying goes: If you want to make God smile, tell Him your plans for the day. If you want to hear Him belly laugh, tell Him your plans for your life.

     God’s plans for our lives are not always easy, but when we cooperate and operate in His grace, the results are always heavenly!

     Stop resisting. Give in. Father does know best!
     
    
    
     
    
    
    

St. Catherine of Genoa and the Fire of God's Love--Part 2

     According to Catherine’s teaching, a remarkable transformation occurs within the soul when it stands before God. The soul appears to be united and in total agreement with the holy will of God.  There is no questioning to the length of time or the pain that they endure in Purgatory. There is no jealousy when another soul is released to heaven because one does not want to leave until all has been cleansed. When a soul is repentant at the hour of death, the guilt due to their sin is immediately forgiven, but the “rust” of sin is left, from which they will be cleansed by the pain of the fire. The pain that the soul experiences in Purgatory is similar to the pain of hell, but because the soul realizes the grievousness of sin and the great offense it is towards God, it would throw itself into Purgatory for as long as necessary.

The slow work of God

     “Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new. And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability – and that it may take a very long time . . . And so it is with you. Your ideas mature gradually – let them grow; let them shape themselves without undue haste. Don’t try to ‘force’ them on, as though you could be today what time (that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will) will make you tomorrow. Only God could say what this is new spirit, gradually forming within you, will be. Give our Lord the benefit of believing that His hand is leading you surely through the obscurity and the becoming, and accept, for love of Him, the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.


     God has a plan and vision for each of us; to become the man or woman that He has called us to be from all eternity – to become a saint -- and that could take a heck of a long time, with a whole lot of ‘tweaking!’