The Joys and Challenges of a Solitary Life

[Therese]

Some words of Bl. Marcellin Champagnat to help us:

"[Ingratitude] is the enemy of piety and leads to tepidity. One sees so many religious who perform all their duties poorly because they are not at all happy in religious life, and draw no consolation from their exercises of piety! Everywhere -- during meditation, examen, Holy Mass -- their heart is covered by a veil which cannot be pierced by either the example of their brothers, the splendor of the ceremonies, or even the spirit of God. God's blessings are as burdensome for such souls as His chastisements are for others. For them, prayer is a penance, confession a torture, Communion a real torment. God's blessings irritate them like a burning wound. The graces He showers on them upset them and make them nervous, instead of bringing them peace and happiness. What is the real cause of all that? Ask such religious what they think of God, ask them if they have thanked Him regularly, and you will learn the real secret of their sad condition. For them, God has been nothing but a hard, severe master, not a father. They almost never thought of thanking Him. The vice of in gratitude is at the root of their whole life. They fear God, or rather His punishments, and do not love Him. They beg Him to deliver them from hell, and do not think of praising Him and thanking Him for His gifts. They are filled with a servile spirit and have never known the filial spirit. There you have the cause of their dryness, the reason for their tepidity. These religious are ungrateful, they do not know the spirit of gratitude, and ingratitude has fasten them in the pillory of imperfection; they will never make a single step towards progress so long as they have that detestable spirit of servility. What a wicked vice ingratitude is! How God detests it! 'It is very true,' as St. Bernard says, 'that this vice dries up the wellsprings of grace, dries up all the good sentiments of the soul, goes against its best interests, and directly attacks its salvation.'" (Bl. Champagnat, Opinions, Conferences, Sayings and Instructions, pp. 127-128. New York: IVE Press, 2010.)

[Shin]

I am often saying, "Gratitude is the secret to happiness!" 

Reading this, it makes me think, "Ingratitude is the secret reason for unhappiness!"

Thank you Therese for this!

[Therese]

I am often saying, "Gratitude is the secret to happiness!"  

Reading this, it makes me think, "Ingratitude is the secret reason for unhappiness!"

Thank you Therese for this!

I knew you'd like this quote, Shin.  I still remember your post a while back about gratitude being the secret to happiness.  I know that it truly is after what I've read about it and ingratitude.  We receive a lot less graces from God when He sees that we are ungrateful.  I agree with you wholeheartedly when you say "Ingratitude is the secret reason for unhappiness!"!  I learned from the Mystical City of God to keep a tender remembrance of all the sufferings Jesus and Mary went through for the love of us to redeem us--and to thank them daily for it.  Remember the passage about our Lady feeling incensed?  Wasn't it over men's ingratitude in relation to Her Son's sufferings for them and even her sufferings for them?  God bless you!

[Therese]

May we love God and serve Him to the best of our ability.

Here is an inscription in an old Cathedral in Germany, city of Lubeck:
  
"You call Me Master and obey me not,
You call Me Light and see Me not,
You call Me Way and walk Me not,
You call Me Life and desire Me not,
You call Me wise and follow Me not,
You call Me fair and love Me not,
You call Me rich and ask Me not,
You call Me eternal and seek Me not,
You call Me gracious and trust Me not,
You call Me noble and serve Me not,
You call Me mighty and honor Me not,
You call Me just and fear Me not,
If I condemn you, blame Me not."

May we please God and be found worthy of Heaven.  

Mary Immaculate, intercede for us and help us to love and serve our Lord more and more each day.  Amen.

[Therese]

Here's one way of summing up the spiritual life:

We must do what God wants and want what God does.

[Shin]

May we love God and serve Him to the best of our ability.

Here is an inscription in an old Cathedral in Germany, city of Lubeck:
  
"You call Me Master and obey me not,
You call Me Light and see Me not,
You call Me Way and walk Me not,
You call Me Life and desire Me not,
You call Me wise and follow Me not,
You call Me fair and love Me not,
You call Me rich and ask Me not,
You call Me eternal and seek Me not,
You call Me gracious and trust Me not,
You call Me noble and serve Me not,
You call Me mighty and honor Me not,
You call Me just and fear Me not,
If I condemn you, blame Me not."

May we please God and be found worthy of Heaven.  

Mary Immaculate, intercede for us and help us to love and serve our Lord more and more each day.  Amen.

These are striking words to read and keep ahold of!

[Shin]

'Father, we should not wait for a call to the world from Rome on the part of the Holy Father to do penance. Nor should we wait for a call for penance to come from the Bishops in our Dioceses, nor from our Religious Congregations. No, Our Lord has often used these means, and the world has not paid heed. So, now each one of us must begin to reform himself spiritually. Each one has to save not only his own soul, but also all the souls that God has placed on his pathway.'

Sr. Lucy of Fatima [According to an interview with Fr. Augustin Fuentes]

'"Father, the Blessed Virgin did not tell me that we are in the last times of the world, but I understood this for three reasons:

"The first is because she told me that the Devil is engaging in a battle with the Virgin, a decisive battle. It is a final battle where one party will be victorious and the other will suffer defeat. So, from now on, we are either with God or we are with the Devil; there is no middle ground.

"The second reason is because she told me, as well as my cousins, that God is giving two last remedies to the world: the Holy Rosary and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. And, being the last remedies, that is to say, they are the final ones, means that there will be no others.

"And the third, because in the plans of the Divine Providence, when God is going to chastise the world He always first exhausts all other remedies. When He sees that the world pays no attention whatsoever, then, as we say in our imperfect way of talking, with a certain fear He presents us the last means of salvation, His Blessed Mother.

"If we despise and reject this last means, Heaven will no longer pardon us, because we will have committed a sin that the Gospel calls a sin against the Holy Spirit. This sin consists in openly rejecting – with full knowledge and will – the salvation that is put in our hands.

“Also, since Our Lord is a very good Son, He will not permit that we offend and despise His Blessed Mother. We have as obvious testimony the history of different centuries where Our Lord has shown us with terrible examples how He has always defended the honor of His Blessed Mother.

“Prayer and sacrifice are the two means to save the world. As for the Holy Rosary, Father, in these last times in which we are living, the Blessed Virgin has given a new efficacy to the praying of the Holy Rosary. This in such a way that there is no problem that cannot be resolved by praying the Rosary, no matter how difficult it is - be it temporal or above all spiritual - in the spiritual life of each of us or the lives of our families, be they our families in the world or Religious Communities, or even in the lives of peoples and nations.

“I repeat, there is no problem, as difficult as it may be, that we cannot resolve at this time by praying the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary we will save ourselves, sanctify ourselves, console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls.

“Then, there is devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our Most Holy Mother, holding her as the seat of mercy, goodness and pardon and the sure door to enter Heaven. This is the first part of the Message referring to Our Lady of Fatima, and the second part, which is briefer but no less important, refers to the Holy Father.”'

Sr. Lucy of Fatima [According to an interview with Fr. Augustin Fuentes]

[Shin]

I want to note I added 'according to an interview' to that last text as there might be some controversy about it, I do not know all the details.

[Therese]

The Modernists try hard to discredit that interview, Shin, but the interview between Sr. Lucia and Fr. Fuentes was very authentic and very good.  I've read much on Fatima, including Fr. Paul Kramer's book The Devil's Final Battle.  The Sr. Lucia impersonator that came on the scene after the Fuentes interview is what is not authentic and good.  Sr. Lucia's impostor contradicts the real Sr. Lucia and has very different facial features/structures than Sr. Lucia, as pictures of comparison make clearly evident.

I love Fatima quotes!  Thanks for posting them!  I was already familiar with these Fatima quotes, but needed to be reminded that every problem can be solved by the recitation of the Most Holy Rosary.  I tell others I meet that every problem can be solved by praying the Most Holy Rosary, but needed somebody to tell this to me!

[Shin]

You're welcome. I know how that feels, to need to hear from someone else what you often say yourself.

My thought today was perhaps this time we live in is not much different than the time of Noah's Ark.

All ye holy saints pray for us!

[whiterockdove]

How nice to see these quotes and the responses! Thanks for posting them Therese!

Hi Shin!  so glad you made it home safe, hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

All is well here, I'll resume these excerpts from "Story of a Soul"  These are the recollections of St. Therese from the young women for whom she was a spiritual director.

*****

In imitation of our saintly Mistress i also wished never to grow up; she called me therefore "the little one," and during a retreat she wrote to me the following notes:

"Do not fear to tell Jesus that you love him, even though you may not feel that love, In this way you will compel Him to come to your aid, and to carry you like a little child who is too weak to walk.
   
"It is indeed a great source of trial, when everything looks black, but this does not depend entirely on yourself.  Do all in your power to detach your heart from earthly cares, especially from creatures; then be assured our Lord will  do the rest, He could not permit you to fall into the abyss. Be comforted, little one! In Heaven everything will no longer look black, but dazzling white, There all will be clothed in the Divine radiance of Our Spouse--the Lily of the Valley. Together we will follow Him whithersoever He goeth. Meantime we must make good use of this life's brief day. Let us give Our Lord pleasure, let us by self-sacrifice give Him souls! Above all, let us be little-so little that everyone might tread us underfoot without our even seeming to suffer pain.

[Therese]

You are always very welcome, Whiterockdove!  Thanks so much for posting the St. Therese quotes!  I LOVE her and her little way!  God bless you!

[Therese]

You're welcome. I know how that feels, to need to hear from someone else what you often say yourself.

My thought today was perhaps this time we live in is not much different than the time of Noah's Ark.

All ye holy saints pray for us!

Yes, Shin, and we are living in times much like Sodom and Gomorrah too.  A holy missionary bishop (Bishop Donald Sanborn) says something truly important for us all to learn from, in one of his sermons about Sodom and Gomorrah.  He says that not all the inhabitants of these ancient cities were Sodomites and impure--some inhabitants were Sodomites and impure and all the rest went along with the sodomy and impurity, except Lot and his family, who were the only ones spared from God's wrath and vengeance.  Think of how many people go along with their relatives' and friends' cohabitation, divorce and remarriage, etc., cooperating in these sins as an accessory.  

There are 9 Ways of Being an Accessory to Another's Sin.
  a.  Have I knowingly caused others to sin?
  b.  Have I cooperated in the sins of others:

1. By counsel  2. By command  3. By consent 4. By provocation 5. By praise or flattery  6. By concealment  7.  By partaking  8. By silence  9. By defense of the ill done?

I hope that my SDF friends are not attending weddings that they should not be attending, so as not to show approval of another's sin and so as not to affirm another in their sin.  To visit a cohabitating or divorced and remarried couple in their home is a sign of approval/consent of their cohabitating/d&r and so should not be done; it is to treat a very sinful relationships like it is a valid marriage, which it isn't at all.  It is to hurt the couple by affirming them in their sinful relationship.  True charity is solicitous of the sinner's precious immortal soul and would in charity shun the sinning couple rather than offer misguided compassion to them.  Misguided compassion affirms another in their dangerous sin and is not charity but hatred for the other person's soul; it leaves the sinner in his/her place of hell with an I'm okay--you're okay attitude.  May we not sin by human respect in our dealings with others.

 

[whiterockdove]

More from "The Story of a Soul"

"I am not surprised at the failures of the little one; she forgets that in her role of missionary and warrior she ought to forgo all childish consolations. It is wrong to pass one's time in fretting, instead of sleeping on the Heart of Jesus.

Should the little one fear the dark of the night or complain at not seeing Him who carries her, let her shut her eyes. It is the one sacrifice God asks. By remaining thus, the dark will cease to terrify, because she will not see it, and before long, peace--if not joy--will re-enter her soul."

*******

To help me accept a humiliation she confided to me what follows:

"If I had not been received into the Carmel, I would have entered a Refuge, and lived there unknown and despised among the poor 'penitents'. My joy would have been to pass for one, and I would have become an apostle among my companions, telling them my thoughts on the Infinite Mercy of God."

"But how could you have hidden your innocence from your Confessor?"

"I would have told him that while still in the world I made a general confession, and that it was forbidden me to repeat it."

*****
"Oh! When I think of all I have to acquire!"

"Or rather to lose!  It is Jesus Who takes upon Himself to fill your soul according as you rid it of imperfections. I see clearly that you are mistaking the road, and that you will never arrive at the end of your journey. You want to climb the mountain, whereas God wishes you to descend it. He is awaiting you in the fruitful valley of humility."

******

[whiterockdove]

Here's an aspiration for today;


" Come you nations and adore The Lord!"

[Therese]

Dear Whiterockdove,

My aspirations are directed from my heart to our Lord and to our Lady (and St. Joseph) and are addressed to them.  I do not address others, such as the nations, etc. when I make aspirations.  God bless you!