Virtue of the Mind

[Shin]

I'd like to broach the topic of interior virtue or virtue of the mind.

How do you folks handle improving your thoughts and feelings to be holier?

To think more like the saints?

For a long time I have read the saints but I am seeing how I need to be more active in forming the feelings and thoughts within me that they would have for various situations, rather than simply trying to let it soak in and making small efforts.

For after all how the saints would think and feel is how Our Lord desires us to think and feel, and it to be united with Him interiorly.

Naturally virtue must take place in deeds, not only acts of will but exteriorly, it must not be untested.

So I thought I would start this thread and ask the question.

[caeli]

Reading much of the saints I came to realize that to even have a chance I had to do as they did.  They removed whatever it was that turned their minds away.  I am working on removing things, places and, yes, even people or at least limiting contact and replacing them with those that turn my mind toward God.  I pray for the grace to respond to the virtues of fortitude to do so, and endurance to continue forward, with thanksgiving that God has shown me His truth.

[whiterockdove]

I was reading on some order's charism ( can't remember which one)
And it mentioned among other things: "going  out from contemplating the gospel to life and then back
To the gospel". I suppose you could do that with the saints writings and your
internalizing of them.
  I was able up until this year to do apostolic type volunteer work like at our local food pantry and the thrift store. It was tough and I felt  like a failure lots of times, trying to glorify God with my actions and falling down all over my own brokenness as I served the customers there. It reminded me over and over that I am just like them if not worse!  I am just as poor and marginalized as them, literally! I also go home once a month with a bundle of commodities!
  Now my work is full time  with my husbands care and my prayer is that he will someday convert, even if it is the last thing he does.
  My prayers also need to be in the form of actions and I feel like I fall short a lot of the time.
   If the goal is aligning your will with Gods will, there sure are lots of tools provided in our Catholic faith
That enable us to channel grace through our lives. The sacraments, the lives of the saints and their writings prayer, lectio divina,
 And yes, Caeli, ( btw, hello! Welcome!) I also am in the process of finding new friends and letting go of some that say I am "too religious"
I pray for them but I cannot stand the desolation I feel when I participate in their lives beyond a certain point.
    The same thing happened when I got sober through Gods grace many years ago. 
 Anyhow, that's my ramblings.
Time to put more wood in the stove. We are in a blizzard and minus digit temps out there!

[Shin]

  Welcome to the forums Caeli! I pray you have a great time here! 

It sounds like you're following the good path! Yes we have to remove everything that hinders us in pursuit of God. You can't fill a pitcher with water that is already full of dust and ashes!

[susanna]

I find custody of the eyes helps me very much.   

I once heard a priest (sspx) say that if you ever felt an evil thought, to say to yourself "precious blood of Jesus cover me and protect me from the wickedness of the evil one."   This always helps.  He said "you can almost feel it", and you can!   

[Shin]

Yes I have said this sort of prayer often. 

All glory and honor be to the Most Precious Blood of Christ!

[whiterockdove]

 Shin,   the analogy of it not being a good thing to mix dust and ashes with water
 Is interesting.  clear water mixed with dust makes muddy,
abrasive,unusable water.
  Add water to ashes and you have lye, a caustic substance which will burn skin.

On the other hand, Jesus mixed spittle with clay and and healed the blind mans eyes.
If you mix lye, water and oil, you have soap.

Not quite sure where I'm going with this, but I am thinking
Of oil and water used for confirmation, baptism, blessings,
 and the intention  always there for healing and cleansing.
Ashes for penance and a reminder on Ash Wednesday.

[Shin]

It looks like you made it a subject of meditation all with reference to the Lord and His purposes for "creatures"! Now that's virtue of the mind, thanksgiving be to the Lord in Heaven forever.

For my part I was at first thinking of 'ashes to ashes, dust to dust', and that I needed something to fill the pitcher with to say it had to be emptied for the sake of the Lord.

Ashes to make lye, yes, I know of it..

The Lord takes the bitter and makes it sweet with His crosses..

Have you ever tried to make lye from ashes, whiterockdove?

[whiterockdove]

No, but I had a brief hobby of making soap. It was interesting and
Very gratifying but sort of a dangerous hobby!
 As I am accident prone and clumsy by nature I decided to
Move onto safer pursuits

[Shin]

That lye can be pretty dangerous and you have to be pretty precise with it I hear?

[whiterockdove]

Well, there is a certain margin of error within which you can still get decent soap. 
If you are making it for yourself, it is pretty easy to make good bath soap and any undesirable batches can always be made into laundry and household  Cleaning products.  The only stuff I couldn't save were weak  batches where I had too much oil, not enough lye. Those wouldn't set up properly and ended up stinky and unusable. If I was trying to follow an authentic recipe with wierd measurements it often failed.

From a safety perspective....the fresh soap is really caustic before it ages.  The lye hasn't had a chance to "cool down"
If you get any on your skin you don't feel  It burning but later there will be blisters that go deep!   I always kept a spray bottle of vinegar in case i  splashed any on myself. The vinegar neutralizes the lye.

If you pursue this hobby, let me know how it works out! 

May The Lord bless your efforts at self sufficiency pursuits.

[Shin]

I remember reading a fellow talking about the subject saying to always use some soap website calculators to get the lye right and never to trust the recipes! It sounds like good advice now hearing of your difficulties!

I am not sure I should try it considering my tendency to spill the bleach and have enough trouble with that alone.

Thanks for telling me about the vinegar! More new knowledge about its helpfulness! Deo gratias!

Well we shall see!

[eschator83]

Reading your first post in the thread, my immediate reaction was that forming habits of virtue (or evil, for that matter) is an essential and critical part of Christian life, but I cannot readily find good sources for my presumption.  I was disappointed to find only one reference to habit in the current Catechism index, although the Baltimore Catechism defined virtue as "the habit of doing good and avoiding evil."  Curiously, the index in My Way of Life has 27 references to habit, which I'll probably be savoring and trying to trace back to St Thomas' Summa for the next several days.  Blessings to you for the inspiration, although if others know more accessible sources I'd be very grateful to see them posted here.

[Shin]

You are quite correct in that belief eschator!

'O Virtue! How rarely we see you, yet how real you are!'

St. Bernadette Soubirous

And not only virtue is enough, but supernatural virtue!