Here's an aspiration for today;

Tell us, are you the One
Who is to come?

I don't know how I missed it, but Poche has done a very thorough job on this book already! 

How embarrassing  

If anyone wants to check out "The Way of Perfection" ,  Poche has established a great thread! Thanks sir, I am done here; onto other projects!

FIRST TRUTH (61.)
cont.

There has been no other name given under heaven, except the name of Jesus, by which we can be saved. God has laid no other foundation of our salvation, of our perfection, and of our glory, except Jesus Christ.  Every building which is not built upon that firm rock is founded upon moving sand, and sooner or later will fall infallibly.


******

If we are in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ in us, we have no condemnation to fear.

*****

By Jesus Christ, with Jesus Christ, in Jesus Christ, we can do all things; we can render all honour and glory to the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost; we can become perfect ourselves, and be to our neighbor a good odour of eternal life.

62. If, then, we establish the solid devotion to our Blessed Lady, it is only to establish more perfectly the devotion to Jesus Christ, and to put forward an easy and secure means for finding Jesus Christ. 



 

I  am resurrecting this thread,  It's time to renew my  Total Consecration to Jesus in Mary 
Looking forward to this retreat! 

I have a copy of "True Devotion to Mary" on my kindle, from which i will be posting. 
 I will be doing excerpts with asterisks, if that is  ok, Shin. I figure these can be prompts for one to go and look closer at the text themselves and of course add any posts they choose.

Jump right in!  If anyone wants to start a 33 day retreat, it can be done easily in time for Jan 1st  The Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother Of God


DISCERNMENT OF THE TRUE DEVOTION
TO OUR BLESSED LADY

FIVE FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
PRESUPPOSED

FIRST TRUTH

Jesus Christ or Saviour, true God and true Man, ought to be the last end of all our other devotions. else they are false and delusive. Jesus Christ is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end of all things.

What return, then, can we make to a Master who seeks our good in so many ways?

*******

If God in the old law exacted so much gratitude from the Israelites for the manna, which, with all its excellence, was only corruptible food, what gratitude will He not expect for this Divine Nourishment, incorruptible in Itself, and conferring the same blessing on all who worthily receive it?

*******
And, finally, if our debt of gratitude be so great for being made children of Adam, what so we owe Him for making us children of God? For it cannot be denied, as Eusebius Emissenus observes, that "the day we are born to eternity is infinately greater than the day which brings us forth to this world, with all it's suffering and dangers."

Here, then, dear Christian, is another motive which should induce you to serve God, another link in that chain which binds you irrevocably to your Creator.

[Appendix to chapter 4]

Appendix to chapter 4

The important thing is that these two kinds of love should be untainted by any sort of passion, for such a thing would completely spoil this harmony. If we exercise this love, of which I have spoken,  with moderation and discretion, it is wholly meritorious, because what seems to us sensuality is turned into virtue. But the two may be so closely intertwined with one another that it is sometimes impossible to distinguish them, especially where a confessor is concerned. For if persons who are practicing prayer find that their confessor is a holy man and understands the way they behave, they become greatly attached to him. And then forthwith the devil lets loose upon them a whole battery of scruples which produce a terrible disturbance within the soul, this being what he is aiming at. In particular, if the confessor is guiding such persons to greater perfection, they become so depressed that they will go so far as to leave him for another and yet another, only to be tormented by the same temptation every time.

What you can do here is not to let your minds dwell upon whether you like your confessor or not, but just to like him if you feel so inclined. For, if we grow fond of people who are kind to our bodies, why should we not love those who are always  striving  and toiling to help our souls? Actually, if my confessor is a holy and spiritual man and I see that he is taking great pains for the benefit of my soul, I think it will be a real help to my progress to like him, For so weak are we that such affection sometimes helps us a great deal to undertake very great things in God's service.

Thank you, Therese. Here is a prayer off a lovely old holy card I found in the free box of a church somewhere.  It is of St. Joseph as an old man holding the Baby Jesus.

PRAYER FOR A HAPPY DEATH

Father,
when You are ready to lead me through death to eternal life,
be with me as You were
with Your people of old.
As the last breath
of life pours from me,
take away all fear and
let me embrace You with joy.
Give me the grace to die,
as did St. Joseph,
with Jesus and Mary at my side.
Amen.

You are so welcome, Therese
I will continue to post, although  in a rather sporadic way.  Its hard to get time on the keyboard
We only have one and I encourage my husband to use it whenever he wants.
Its good for him to do these things; keeping his brain engaged and active!
Prayers for you, always, my friend!

Here is an aspiration for Wed., Nov. 18th;

You, O Lord, are my lamp, my God,
Who lightens my darkness.

     There are two kinds of love which I am describing. The one is purely spiritual, and apparently has nothing to do with sensuality or the tenderness of our nature, either of which might stain it's purity. The other is spiritual, but mingled with it are our sensuality and weakness; yet it is a worthy love, which, as between relatives and friends, seems lawful. Of this I have already said sufficient.
     It is of the first kind of spiritual love that I would now speak. It is untainted by any sort of passion,  for such a thing would completely spoil its harmony.  If it leads us to treat virtuous people, especially confessors, with moderation and discretion, it is profitable; but if the confessor is seen to be tending in any way towards vanity, he should be regarded with grave suspicion, and in such a a case, conversation with him, however edifying, should be avoided, and the sister should make her confession briefly and say nothing more.

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I hope in The Lord that He will not allow persons who are to spend their lives in prayer to have any attachment save to one who is a great servant of God; and I am quite certain He will not, unless they have no love for prayer and for striving after perfection in the way we try to do here.

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If he is such a person, he will have very few opportunities of doing any harm, and unless he is very simple, he will not seek to disturb his own peace of mind and that of the servants of God. As I have begun to speak about this, I will repeat that the devil can do a great deal oh harm here, which will long remain undiscovered, and thus the soul that is striving after perfection can be gradually ruined without knowing how.

*****

This topic is very timely and much appreciated, Therese!  Thank you so much.  Remember when you couldn't get the time you needed in front of the Blessed Sacrament? well, i am in a similar circumstance and feeling pretty sorry for myself. I will do this! It will help others and get me off my pity pot.
 May God Bless you, Sister!

It would be fitting here to speak of the Sacraments, the instruments of justification....we will confine ourselves, for the present, to the Eucharist, that Sacrament of sacraments, which gives to us - as our daily food and sovereign remedy - God Himself.  He was offered once for us on the cross, but He is daily offered for us on the altar.

*****

Had Our Lord reserved the favor for the pure and innocent, it would still be a mercy beyond our comprehension. But in His boundless love, He does not refuse to descend into depraved parts, nor to pass through the hands of unworthy ministers who are the slaves of satan and the victims of their unruly passion. To reach the hearts of His friends and to bring them His divine consolations, He submits to innumerable outrages and profanations, He was sold once in His mortal life but in this august Sacrament He is unceasingly betrayed. The scorn and ignominy of His Passion afflicted Him only once, but in the sacred Banquet His love and goodness are daily insulted and outraged. Once He was nailed to the cross between two thieves, but in the Sacrament of Love, His enemies crucify him a thousand times.

     What, then, should our conclusion be but to unite our voices with the prophet, saying, "Let my mouth be filled with praise, that I may sing thy glory, thy greatness all the day long." (Ps.70: St. Augustine, commenting upon these words of the prophet, asks, "What means all the day long?" and he answers, "Under all circumstances and without interruption. Yes, Lord, I will praise thee in prosperity because thou dost comfort me, and in adversity because thou dost chastise me. For my whole being I will praise Thee, because Thou art it's Author. In my repentance  I will praise Thee, because Thou dost pardon me.  In my perseverance I will praise Thee, because Thou wilt crown me. Thus, O Lord, my mouth will be filled with Thy praise, and I will sing Thy glory all the day long!"

I am presently rereading St. Therese's last conversations.   She knew that she would not die in-corrupt.  I love quotes from her and learn a lot from them.  I only wish that she had read Mystical City of God, so that all her quotes about our Lady would be influenced by the true life of our Lady.

Yes, especially since she had such healing come from Our Lady.   

I'm referring to the time in her life when she was having an episode of some sort of illness, spiritual, mental  or otherwise with being bed bound and unable to recognize people, etc. This went on for a long time and one day she was lifted out of this state for good after she saw the smile of Mary in a vision (this  may not be the right term)

Of course she later started having symptoms of tuberculosis, but this respite from all her distress was a blessing in her short life.


Here are  some more quotes and recollections  from " The Story of a Soul"

"My patrons and my special favourites in Heaven are those who, so to speak, stole it, such as the Holy Innocents and the Good Thief.
The great Saints won it by their works; I wish to be like the thieves and win it by stratagem -a stratagem of  love which will open it's bates both to me and to poor sinners. In the Book of Proverbs the Holy Ghost encourages me for He says: 'Come to me, little one, to learn subtlety!"

*****
" What would you do if you could begin over again your religious life?"

"I think I should do as I have already done."

"Then you do not share the feeling of the hermit who said: 'While a quarter of an hour or even a breath of life still remains ito me, I shall fear the fires of hell even though I should have spent years in penance'?"

"No, I do not share that fear; I am too small.Little children are not damned."

"You are ever seeking to be as little children are, but tell us what must be done to obtain that childlike spirit. 'Remaining little'--what does it mean?"

"Remaining little' means--to recognize one's nothingness, to await everything from the Goodness of God, to avoid being too much troubled at our faults; finally not to worry over amassing spiritual riches, not to be solicitous about anything. Even amongst the poor, while a child is still small, he is given what is necessary; but, once he is grown up,  his father will no longer feed him and tells him to seek work and support himself. Well, it was to avoid hearing this, that i have never wished to grow up, for I feel incapable of earning my livelihood, which is Life Eternal!"

to be continued.


*******

Here is an aspiration for Sunday, Nov. 8th:   

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven."

With regard to the first - namely, love for each other - this is of very great importance; for there is nothing, however annoying, that cannot easily be borne by those who love each other, and anything which causes annoyance must be quite exceptional. If this commandments were kept in the world, as it should be, I believe it would take us a long way towards the keeping of the rest.

*****

It may seem that for us to have too much love for each other cannot be wrong, but I do not think anyone who had not been an eye-witness of it would believe how much evil and how many imperfections can result from this. The devil sets many snares here which the conscious of those who aim only in a rough-and-ready way at pleasing God seldom observe-indeed, they think they are acting virtuously- but those aiming at perfection understand what they are very well: little by little they deprive the will of the strength which it needs if it is to employ itself wholly in the love of God.

******

When a friendship has for it's object the service of His Majesty, it at once becomes clear that the will is devoid of passions and indeed is helping to conquer other passions.

*****

Let us love virtues and inward goodness, and let us always apply ourselves and take care to avoid attaching importance to externals.

     It is to the Holy Ghost that we are indebted for all our progress in virtue, It is He who preserves us from evil and maintains us in good. It is He who preserves us from evil and maintains us in good. It is He who is the principle of our perseverance, and who finally crowns us in Heaven. This  is was which led St. Augustine to say that in rewarding our merits God but crowns His own gifts. (Conf. 1,20).

The holy patriarch Joseph, not content with giving to his brethren the corn which they came to purchase, ordered also that the money which they paid for it should be secretly returned to them. God treats His elect with still greater liberality. He not only gives them eternal life, but furnishes then the grace and virtue to attain it. "We adore Him," says Eusebius Emissenus, "that He may be merciful to us, but He has already been merciful to us in giving us grace to adore Him."

*****

On  this point St. Augustine well observes that God shows no less mercy in preserving man from sin than in pardoning him after he has fallen (Conf. 2,7).  Indeed, it is a greater proof of Love. Therefore, the same saint, writing to a virgin, says: "Man should consider that God has pardoned him all the sins from which He has preserved him. Think not, therefore, that you may love this Master with a feeble love because He has pardoned you but a few sins. Your debt of love, on the contrary, is greater for His preventing grace which has saved you from committing many. For if a man must love a creditor who forgives him a debt, how much more reason has he to love a benefactor who gratuitously  bestows upon him a like amount? For if a man live chastely all his life, it is God who preserves him; if he be converted from immorality to a pure life, it is God who reforms him; and if he continue in his disorders till the end, it is also God who justly forsakes him."