Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence: The Beginning

[Gemma]

Quote
God is faithful says the Apostle, and will not permit you to be tempted (or afflicted) beyond your strength

This thought has always puzzled me - what of the people in mental institutions (by reason of some trauma)? What of those who die (from earthly existence) from cancer? .............

From what I've read above it must be the case that wherever we find ourselves at any given time or in any given condition, then that must be the place where deemed by God in His wisdom which offers us the best possible chance of repentance, holiness or whatever else we are lacking in for our eternal salvation.
No one knows what battles may be going on in the souls of the mentally ill or for what reasons they ended up in that condition but it's sure from the above reading that God has allowed it for the good and His providence is still at work.
As for the cancer patients. I'd like to relate about a friend of mine who I got to know after her conversion from a bad lifestyle to complete surrender to God. A year after her conversion she was struck with terminal cancer.
I went with her brother many times to visit her in hospital. She was radiant and couldn't wait to die to be with God. On the last visit she showed us the new tumors that had appeared on her arms and called them her little friends who were helping her to get to her home with God and she would stroke them lovingly. A few days later she died in total peace holding tight to her rosary and
it is something that  I will never forget.
She accepted that her illness came from the loving hands of God and that was such a joy to her.
I've learnt a lot from this saintly woman and most of all that it's not what befalls us good or bad that really counts, but how we view it through the eyes of faith.

I'm gonna have to read this Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence over and over till I really start accepting and believing it with my heart.

Thank you for this. I had my own questions about this as well. Some things that happen are just so monstrous I find it very hard to believe that they are just sent by God as "trials."

[Shin]

Quote
God is faithful says the Apostle, and will not permit you to be tempted (or afflicted) beyond your strength

This thought has always puzzled me - what of the people in mental institutions (by reason of some trauma)? What of those who die (from earthly existence) from cancer? .............

From what I've read above it must be the case that wherever we find ourselves at any given time or in any given condition, then that must be the place where deemed by God in His wisdom which offers us the best possible chance of repentance, holiness or whatever else we are lacking in for our eternal salvation.
No one knows what battles may be going on in the souls of the mentally ill or for what reasons they ended up in that condition but it's sure from the above reading that God has allowed it for the good and His providence is still at work.
As for the cancer patients. I'd like to relate about a friend of mine who I got to know after her conversion from a bad lifestyle to complete surrender to God. A year after her conversion she was struck with terminal cancer.
I went with her brother many times to visit her in hospital. She was radiant and couldn't wait to die to be with God. On the last visit she showed us the new tumors that had appeared on her arms and called them her little friends who were helping her to get to her home with God and she would stroke them lovingly. A few days later she died in total peace holding tight to her rosary and
it is something that  I will never forget.
She accepted that her illness came from the loving hands of God and that was such a joy to her.
I've learnt a lot from this saintly woman and most of all that it's not what befalls us good or bad that really counts, but how we view it through the eyes of faith.

I'm gonna have to read this Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence over and over till I really start accepting and believing it with my heart.

Thank you for this. I had my own questions about this as well. Some things that happen are just so monstrous I find it very hard to believe that they are just sent by God as "trials."

Yes it's hard to accept, but whenever I do I find it was harder not to accept after all! It's tough though to accept some of the worst things but they do become 'less worse' when accepted, so I think it is the non acceptance that makes them larger than they could be in our lives.

[JoyfulMother]

I agree Shin.  The non-acceptance makes things worse.

This is one of the best little books I have ever read.  It helped me through the beginning part of my divorce.  I have gotten away from remembering this and reading it again on the forum has reminded me.

I need to get it out and read it again.

[Shin]

It's really good to read JoyfulMother! Really good to hear from you! Happy Advent!!

It's so important isn't it? Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence truly is the secret to peace and happiness.

I can't truly express it sufficiently. I am always so happy when I hear people realize it and have loved this book.

Whatever the hard times are, trust in the good will of God guiding it all, life becomes bearable, the cross is bearable. Peace returns.

Trust in God to guide you through life's hardships!

He is benevolent and perfect! Everything is perfect!

[Shin]

THE GREAT ADVANTAGES TO BE GAINED FROM ENTIRE CONFORMITY TO THE DIVINE WILL

1. Man sanctifies himself by this conformity
2. Conformity to God's will makes us happy in this life as well

Our sanctification is God's aim in all His dealings with us. What would He not do for His  own honor and our good if we would only let Him! The heavens make no resistance to the spirits that guide them and their motion is magnificent, orderly and useful; they declare aloud the glory of God and preserve order in the universe by their influence and the invariable succession of day and night. If they resisted this guidance and instead of following the motion set for them they followed a different one, they would soon fall into the utmost confusion and destroy the world. It is the same when the will of man lets itself be guided by God's will. Then all that is in this microcosm, this "little world," all the faculties of the soul and members of the body are in the most perfect harmony and regular motion. But man quickly loses all these advantages and falls into the utmost confusion once he opposes his will to God's and turns aside from it.

1. MAN SANCTIFIES HIMSELF BY THIS CONFORMITY

In what does the sanctification of man and his perfection consist? "Some" says St. Francis of Sales "place it in austerity, others in giving to charity, others in frequenting the sacraments, others in prayer. But for my part I know no other perfection than loving God with all one's heart. Without this love all the virtues are only a heap of stones." The truth of this cannot be doubted. The Scriptures are full of it. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, thy whole soul and thy whole mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment Our Lord tells us. (39) And St. Paul:

Above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection. (40)

In the same way that virtue is ennobled and perfected by the love of God, "so likewise" says Rodriguez following St. Chrysostom, "the highest, purest and most excellent part of this love is absolute conformity to the divine will and having in all things no other will but God's." For, as theologians teach with Pseudo-Dionysius and St. Jerome, "the chief effect of love is to unite the hearts of those who love each other so that they have the same will." Hence the more we submit to God's designs for us, the more we advance towards perfection. When we resist we go backwards.

"Whoever makes a habit of prayer" says the great St. Teresa of Avila, "should think only of doing everything to conform his will to God's. Be assured that in this conformity consists the highest perfection we can attain, and those who practice it with the greatest care will be favored by God's greatest gift and will make the quickest progress in the interior life. Do not imagine there are other secrets. All our good consists in this."

It is related of Blessed Stephanie of Soncino, a Dominican nun, that she was one day carried in spirit to Heaven to see the happiness of the saints. She saw their souls mingling with the choirs of angels according to each one's degree of merit, and noticed a mong the Seraphim several persons she had known before their deaths. Having asked why these souls were raised to such a high degree of glory, she was told it was because of the conformity and perfect union of their will with God's while they lived on earth. Now, if this conformity to the will of God raises souls to the highest degree of glory in heaven among the Seraphim, it must be concluded that it raises them on earth to the highest degree of grace and on it is founded the highest perfection man can attain. Since it is the most perfect act of charity and the most pleasing and acceptable sacrifice that is given to man to offer to God, there can be no doubt that whoever practices entire submission to His will lays up inestimable treasures at every moment and amasses more riches in a few days than others are able to acquire in many years and with great labor. To remain indifferent to good fortune or to adversity by accepting it all from  the hand of God without questioning, not to ask for things to be done as we would like them but as God wishes, to make the intention of all our prayers that God's will should be perfectly accomplished in ourselves and in all creatures is to find the secret of happiness and content.

He fulfills the desire of those who fear him
 says the Psalmist,
He hears their cry and saves them.
The Lord keeps all who love him. (41)

And again:

We know that for those who love God all things work together unto good.  (42)

[Therese]

One step higher than conformity to God's Will is uniformity with God's Will.  With the help of grace may we achieve it.

Thanks, Shin, for the not so lengthy excerpt.  It is easier for me when the text per post is not so long.

[eschator83]

Perhaps this  a good place for someone to beginning thinking about Shin's recent recommendation of this book (see separate post).  I plan to review this and there are also a number of other interesting related threads.  I am still searching to see if the book is in our Saints library (anybody know?).  It may be of interest that Amazon is now offering this (Trustful) as a free audible book as part of their trial audible program offer.

[Shin]

Yes my friend you can find it in the Saints' Books library. I hope it is helpful for you.