PASSING TO THE OTHER SIDE: WHY IT WILL FEEL LIKE 'HOME'

There are many mansions. There are hovels and huts and basements and small homes. There are lonely apartments. There are grand edifices. We move into our state of mind. 

 

Everyone reading this has a chance to turn their state of mind into Heaven.

The very last decision a non-believer can make in a state of earthly free-will is whether he finally accepts the Lord now that he faces eternity.

There is that one last chance – which is why prayers must be said for the dying no matter how hostile they have been to religion.

The Blessed Mother has said to “pray daily for the souls in purgatory. For every soul, prayer and grace are necessary to reach God and the love of God. By doing this, dear children, you obtain new intercessors who will help you in life to realize that all the earthly things are not important for you, that only Heaven is that for which it is necessary to strive. Therefore, dear children, pray without ceasing that you may be able to help yourselves and the others to whom your prayers will bring joy.” 

Sometimes the call for prayer comes in dreams, when the veil is thin.

“I want to share a very powerful story with you that occurred a little over a year ago,” a woman from Shakopee, Minnesota, named Angela Howick wrote me. “It begins with a dream I had. 

 

“This dream was very different and I woke up with an intense desire to pray. I dreamed that I walked into a large room and it was filled with many deceased family members and friends. Although I could not see faces or physical bodies, I knew every single one of them. It was as if I knew their souls. 

 

“I left the room and went down a small hallway. There in the hallway was my recently deceased uncle sitting on a bench. He was staring towards the sky and did not even look at me. I was very excited to see him and immediately said ‘Freddy!  What are you doing?’ He responded in a very calm yet discontent voice, saying, ‘I am waiting.’ This was not the response I was expecting. My uncle was a very happy go-lucky, loud man who was always excited to see anyone. I asked him again, ‘Freddy, what are you doing?’ 

“He looked down at me and we locked eyes. His response was the same: ‘I am waiting.’ He then continued to stare towards the sky.  

 

“At that moment I knew what he was waiting for. He was waiting to be released from purgatory. In that moment I woke up and knew he needed prayers.  

“A couple of weeks later, I called my aunt to discuss having a Gregorian Mass said for him. I was surprised to find out that she was actually having many Gregorian Masses said for several deceased relatives and friends. She had even already called in the Masses, including one for my uncle. My aunt gave me the list of names and dates for when their Masses would start, so that I could unite my prayers and intentions with them.  I wrote down all the names and dates.

“Later that night, I was praying and I realized that all of the names she had mentioned to me were the souls I saw in my dream. One particular name stood out for me. This was her father-in-law (let’s call him Bert), a man who died before I was born. Even though, I had never seen a picture of him or thought about him before, I know that he was in that room in my dream, along with all of the other people on the list for Masses. 

“A few weeks later, I was praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, while driving to Mass and when I got to the very last ‘Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world,’ I was overcome by an enormous sense of peace and joy. 

 

All of a sudden I started to cry because of this joy. I was not just shedding a few tears. I was wailing. I called out to the Lord, ‘Why do I feel this way?’  Then I heard three names: ‘Freddy, Hermie, and Bert were released from purgatory.’ I looked at the clock, 10:30 a.m. I knew that someone’s Gregorian Masses were ending that day, but I couldn’t remember whose.  When I returned home, I looked at the list of names and dates and discovered that was the day the Masses for those three people had finished.”

Alone in the dark – if only briefly – those who have strayed from the Lord are there to contemplate themselves.

In that contemplation is the truth of the situation and the need for prayers.

There are no more masks.

No longer can one hide behind a smile or hypocrisy or materialism.

We go where we think. 

 

We step into the love we created.

With that love, said the Blessed Mother, we will not even feel the transition. 

 

“If you would abandon yourselves to me, you will not even feel the passage from this life to the next life,” was her incredible promise to a locutionist. “You will begin to live the life of Heaven from this earth.”

Source: Spiritdaily

Work To Sanctify Your Soul

Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

 

Work is good for us! Why? Jesus taught us the importance of work by spending most of His time on earth in Nazareth with Mary His Mother and Saint Joseph, His foster-father. Among the many activities that Jesus carried out was that of WORK.   True! Saint Joseph taught Jesus the hard and demanding work of a carpenter. No electric helps back then!  Nailing, and sawing and sanding and adjusting wood to construct tables, doors, chairs, etc. This indeed was hard-work.

In my private meditations I have often imagined Jesus and Saint Joseph arriving home after a hard-day’s work. Imagine them. Exhausted, drenched with sweat, their hair filled with saw-dust, their hands grimy and calloused. This was not on occasions, but day after day.

This being the case, in a world where the importance of the work-ethic has largely gone by the wayside, where many choose the easy-path of not working or cutting corners, where laziness and indolence is all the more prevalent, we would like to present positive reasons why we should truly value work in its many dimensions, shapes and forms and embrace the work ethic all the days of our short lives on earth. St. Paul says, “Work out your salvation in fear and trembling.”  Saint Albert Hurtado stated: “There are two places to rest while on earth: the cemetery and heaven.”  Let us work hard in this short stay on earth and then we can rest forever in heaven with Jesus, Mary and good Saint Joseph.

Following are some reasons to motivate us to embrace a more serious work ethic so as to perfect our lives on a human level, but even more on a spiritual level. Here are five specific points to motivate us.

Imitation of Jesus and Mary.   At Nazareth, where Jesus spent most of His life on earth, He lived the family life, which consisted of loving and obeying His parents, prayer to His heavenly Father, but also Jesus worked and He worked hard—that of a carpenter. Therefore, one very clear reason for work is to imitate Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph; they are our models in everything and that includes dedication to work.  The three of them worked hard, orderly and methodically and for the honor and glory of God. Such should be our work ethic!

Charity Towards Others. Another reason and positive effect of work well-done is that it can be turned into a service of love towards others. An industrious mother and wife that spends long hours in the kitchen both cooking, preparing and cleaning can indeed be very hard work, but it can also be an act of service towards others as well as an act of charity. Saint Paul reminds us to purify our motives: “Whether you eat or drink do all for the honor and glory of God.”

Avoid the Many Temptations of Sin.  Saint John Bosco, the well-known patron of the young, experienced a mortal fear every year at the same time.  Vacation time for the young! Why? For the simple reason that many of his young would leave the Oratory, where the young worked hard all year at study, sports and other activities, and now they would return to a home where they had too much free time.  The proverb rings so true: “Idleness is the workshop of the devil.”  If the young person does not have anything to do then the devil will give him a lot to do in great abundance. Hard work and diligence in work is a key means to conquer the devil and his allies.

Eternity and Eternal Recompense. The Word of God teaches us constantly that we will get our reward or punishment on the quality of our lives and how we utilize out time, treasures and talents. Look at the lives and the example of the saints and how hard they prayed, but also how hard they worked. The motto of Saint Benedict was Ora et Labora, which is translate as “pray and work.” The great Doctor of the Church and patron of moral theologians and great lover of Mary, St. Alphonsus, made a private vow which consisted of simply this: not wasting a moment of his life. Honestly, all of the saints strive to live the spirit of this private vow of Saint Alphonsus. Life is short and time indeed is of the essence.  A modern Chilean and Jesuit Saint, who died in his early fifties of pancreatic cancer, Saint Alberto Hurtado expressed it succinctly: “There are two places to rest: the cemetery and heaven.”

A Good Example to Others.  We all know how true it is that we often follow the example of others, be it for good or be it for evil. The Hispanics have a proverb: “El ejemplo arrastra”—translated: “Example drags or pulls!” As a child I actually hated Saturday mornings for the simple reason that my father made me, my older brother and then eventually the younger ones work and work hard. I indeed hated Saturdays. However, I do have to admit that the boys worked hard but saw the harder work and example of Dad. In all honesty, he worked harder and better than his sons.  In other words, he preached the ethic of work, not so much by many words, but by the power of example, his own hard work-ethic.

Source: Catholic Exchange

MANY ARE THE STATES OF SUFFERING, SOME REDEMPTIVE, SOME PURGATORIAL, SOME CAUSED BY EVIL SPIRITS

Suffering can be reduced to three main types, when it has a mystical root:

Suffering brought to the victim soul (on behalf of mankind).

Expiating suffering, to purge past darkness (suffering as deliverance, even purgatory on earth).

And suffering caused by evil spirits.

It is often a mystery, of course, which type we are encountering. Don't automatically assume it's one or the other. It may be in God's Plan. It also may not. 

There are also the sufferings caused by simple physiological, emotional, and mental adversities. We all realize that.

But let's stay in the realm of the spirit.

It may well be that people with various illnesses are in those afflictions being offered an opportunity to unite their sufferings with those of Christ for the redemption of their own souls or those of others. Such suffering does not have to be obvious. In fact, much of the worst suffering is mental. There is anxiety. There is obsession. There is the feeling of inferiority. There is insecurity. There is oppression. There is depression.

Many, many sufferings are thus hidden. 

 

If you can't judge a book by its cover, neither can you judge a person's state of suffering.

We all have crosses in life. One day we may even find out that the crosses we are asked to bear -- though far different (and greatly variable, as far as visibility) -- are basically equal. Suffering parts the curtain of blindness as the suffering of Jesus caused a rent in the veil of the Temple (Matthew 27:51). We see differently. Why does suffering purge us? It separates us from the flesh. We are granted a new (and often higher) perspective. On a cross, we are elevated. 

When separated from the flesh we begin to see with the eyes of eternity.

Suffering (which includes fasting) should open the soul for release of impurities.

Expiation.

Then again, there is suffering caused by the devil. Don't underestimate his role. He hooks into our weaknesses.

We know this from Jesus Christ: the majority of those He healed were made well after an evil or "unclean" spirit was cast out. Go back and study each of Jesus' healings. Isn't it remarkable how infrequently you hear about the spiritual aspect? He did no surgery. He did not write prescriptions. His healing depended on a spirit being cast out: deliverance. The intellectual approach to religion in our time negates this notion (we need to hear about this more from the pulpit), but spirits can cause virtually any ailment, from allergies to malignancies (they are malignant spirits).

When we take ill we should cast spirits out in the Name of Jesus (and by name: for example: "spirit of arthritis"; or in general: "spirit of infirmity") along with following prudent medical advice.

It comes down to balance. 

So does our health: when we are in spiritual, emotional, and physical balance, good health is usually the fruit. The body can be the soul's harbinger. Praying for "balance" -- balance, balance, balance -- should be a goal of Lent! 

Right now our society is in a state of extremism and imbalance and we take only the physical approach to healing.

It must go beyond that.

We can never judge a person's spiritual state nor why or how he or she is suffering. A person can be born with a bad spirit as surely as he can be born with troubled DNA. Or hit by a virus. It may not be the fault of the person's whatsoever: He or she may be carrying the weight of family spiritual baggage. It may be that person's mission in life to dispel it. This is hidden martyrdom -- hidden often even from the person.

At other times, there is no doubt that wrong practices -- illicit sexuality, the occult, theft, negativity, gossip, lust, gluttony, addiction, lack of love, hatred, pride -- serve as spiritual entry points. Underline the word ego. Pride is a root sin. Humility searches for the pride that is hidden.

Once inside, spirits can then root, grow like a weed, and cause torments -- physical and mental. 

During Lent, the Blood of Christ and His fasting in the desert can bring us special power to turn sin into ash and heal afflictions. 

Resource: Spirit Daily

 

Lord Jesus Christ, have Mercy on your children............ AMEN

Ten Tips for the Best Lent

Fr. Ed Broom

 

 

God gives in abundance, always, in all times and in all places! His goodness manifests itself most abundantly in His Mystical Body, the Church and concretely in the Church Liturgical Year.

The two strong times of the year are Advent, which culminates in Christmas, and Lent which culminates in Holy Week and in the Risen Lord Jesus. To experience the fullness of the Paschal Mystery—the passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus—we must live with generous heart and openness of spirit the season of Lent. Lent is both a gift and a Season of abundant graces.

Why not decide right now to live this Lent with total generosity of heart, mind, soul, body, and emotions? Let us live out these forty days of graces and blessings as if it were to be the last Lent in our lives!  Our life is short and time flies by and the clock never ticks backwards.

We will offer ten simple Lenten practices so that indeed this Lent will be the best Lent in our lives. “If today you hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your hearts…”

1.   Prayer.  Instead of being Martha this Lent why not try to imitate Mary of Bethany. What did Mary do, as Martha nervously and frenetically rushed to and fro? Mary simply sat at the feet of Jesus, looked at Jesus intently, listened attentively to His words, carried on a friendly and loving conversation, and simply loved Jesus. In Lent why not make the proposal- in imitation of Mary of Bethany—to pray a little bit more and better! Prayer delights the Heart of Jesus!

2.  Reconciliation and Peace. If it is such that there is some person in your life that you have bitterness towards, resentment, maybe even hatred, then Lent is a most propitious time to reconcile. Build a bridge and knock down the barrier!  In marriage homilies I often say to those about to be married that the three most important shorts phrases that couples should learn are: “I love you!”  “I am sorry!” and “I forgive you!”  Lent is time to throw out the old and rotting yeast and to be renewed in our social relationships!

3. Penance. Jesus said unequivocally:  “Unless you do penance you will perish.” Give up something you like for love of God and for the salvation of souls.  By saying “No” to self, we say “yes” to the invasion of God in our hearts! Beg the Holy Spirit for light to give up what is most pleasing to God!

4. The Bible,The Word of God. In the holy seasons of Advent and Lent the Church warmly exhorts us to have a real hunger for the Word of God. Jesus in response to the first temptation of the devil responded:  “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”  May this Lenten season be motivated by a daily meditation of the Word of God! Use a prayer method suggested by Pope Benedict XVI called Lectio Divina: read, meditate, contemplate, pray, and action—put into practice the good insights you have received. This will result in a transformation of life; as St. Paul asserted:  “It is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me.”

5. Alms-giving.  Lent is a time to give, especially to the poor, sick, marginalized and the rejected of society. Remember Pope Francis’ many gestures of loving the poor, kissing the repulsive and rejected of the world. “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do to me.”

6.  The Three T’s.  Following up on almsgiving why not examine your life in these three areas and see where and how you can give, as Blessed Mother Teresa said: “Give until it hurts!”  Time! Give of your time to others. Start at home because charity begins at home. Talents!  We all have talents. Lent is time to conquer our laziness and work diligently to cultivate our God-given talents.  “Better to wear out then rust out!” Treasures! If you have an excess of food, clothing, money and material possessions, give and give. You are giving to Jesus in the poor!

7. Joy. Be joyful!  Try to implement this acronym: J. O. Y.   J—stands for Jesus!  O—stands for others; Y—stands for you! If we put Jesus first, then others second and finally ourselves as last then we will experience the joy of the Holy Spirit and it will overflow on the others we meet!

8. Daily Mass and Communion. By far the best way we could possibly live out the Holy Season of Lent is by drawing close to Jesus as possible. In Holy Mass and Holy Communion, not only do we draw close to Jesus, but we actually receive Him into the very depths of our being, our inner sanctuary which is our soul. However, go to Mass and Holy Communion with intentions, especially to repair for sin and prevent sin. Why did Jesus suffer so much in His bitter Passion?  St. Ignatius of Loyola gives us the two fundamental reasons: 1) To show us the malice and evil of the reality of sin; 2) to show us the depths of His love for all of humanity and for each one of us individually.   Offer your Mass and Holy Communion in reparation for your past sins as well as in reparation for the sins of your family. Morally speaking also our Holy Mass and Communion could and should be offered in reparation for the sins of abortion—shedding the  blood of the most innocent and vulnerable and then in reparation for the widespread practice of homosexuality which tears apart the basic building block of society—the family!

9. Conquer Your Own Devil.  All of us have our own kryptonite— our weak point where we easily fall. But also we all have our own devil that attacks us— often going for our weak point.  Check out where the devil attacks most. You might just go through the Capital sins and see where the devil has an opening.  Gluttony? Lust? Greed? Sloth/Laziness? Anger? Envy? Pride?  In Lent we are soldiers enlisted in the arm of Christ the King. Time to fight against our personal devil with the strength of Jesus the King. We are weak, but God is strong. Nothing is impossible for God!

10. Mary and Lent. Try to live a strongly Marian Lent. Pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary as well as the Rosary dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. View the movie of Mel Gibson, “The Passion of the Christ” where Mary’s role is significant. Make the Way of the Cross, walking with Our Lady of Sorrows. Strive in Lent to live these holy days through the eyes of Mary and with the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary.

In conclusion, my friends, if we can choose to live out these proposals with generosity of spirit, this will be the most holy of all our Lents. We will be able to live out the fullness of the Paschal Mystery—to suffer and die with Jesus so that we will rise with Him in the glory of the Resurrection!

image: Gary Bridgman/Wikimedia Commons

Sources: http://catholicexchange.com/ten-tips-best-lent

By Fr. Ed Broom

Father Ed Broom is an Oblate of the Virgin Mary. He blogs regularly at Fr. Broom's Blog.

Happy Birthday to you my Jesus....

The word Advent derives from the Latin word meaning coming. The Lord is coming. We may reflect that every year at this time we celebrate his coming , so that in a sense we can lose the feeling of expectancy and joyful anticipation, because at the end of the season, everything seems to return to pretty much the same routine. If that is the case, then our preparation may have been lacking and we have therefore been robbed of much of the true meaning of this season.

During Advent we recall the history of God's people and reflect on how the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament were fulfilled. This gives us a background for the present. Today we can reflect on the past track record of God and so begin to understand what it means to us now for the sake of what is to come, in our own future and that of our world.

© Liguori Publications Excerpt from Advent - A Quality Storecupboard The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer

Stages of Sin from St. Bernard of Clairvaux – Fasten Your Seatbelt!

By: Msgr. Charles Pope

There are just times when a saint speaks and one is stunned by the insight, the piercing analysis, like a surgeon’s scalpel dividing diseased from healthy tissue. Such is the case with a quote I read recently from St. Bernard that Ralph Martin references in his Book “The Fulfillment of all desires.”

In this quote Bernard analyzes the descent into the increasing darkness of sin experienced by those who do not turn back, who refuse to hear the call to repent. And not individuals only, but, I would argue, cultures too.

St. Bernard’s quote is long enough that I can only make brief comments. But consider it first in toto, and then in stages. Here is the full quote:

If this cold once penetrates the soul when (as so often happens) the soul is neglectful and the spirit asleep and if no one (God forbid) is there to curb it, then it reaches into the soul’s interior, descends to the depths of the heart and the recesses of the mind, paralyzes the affections, obstructs the paths of counsel, unsteadies the light of judgment, fetters the liberty of the spirit, and soon – as appears to bodies sick with fever – a rigor of the mind takes over: vigor slackens, energies grow languid, repugnance for austerity increases, fear of poverty disquiets, the soul shrivels, grace is withdrawn, time means boredom, reason is lulled to sleep, the spirit is quenched, the fresh fervor wanes away, a fastidious lukewarmness weighs down, brotherly love grows cold, pleasure attracts, security is a trap, old habits return. Can I say more? The law is cheated, justice is rejected, what is right is outlawed, the fear of the Lord is abandoned. Shamelessness finally gets free rein. There comes that rash leap, so dishonorable, so disgraceful, so full of ignominy and confusion; a leap from the heights into the abyss, from the court-yard to the dung-heap, from the throne to the sewer, from heaven to the mud, from the cloister to the world, from paradise to hell. (sermon 63.6b on the Song of Songs, The Fox in the Vineyard).

And now consider the stages, with brief comments by me to  them along the way. Fasten your Seat belts, turbulence ahead.

1. If this cold once penetrates the soul when (as so often happens) the soul is neglectful and the spirit asleep - For it too easily happens that we are morally or spiritually asleep. And this provides doorways for the evil one, for the world, the flesh, and the devil. Jesus warns, Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matt 26:41). And yet we love to sleep. We also love to anesthetize ourselves with alcohol, drugs, and other diversions. Jesus says in one of the parables that he sowed good seed in his field, But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away (Matt 13:25). We love to sleep. Bad stuff happens when we are spiritually and morally asleep.

2. and if no one (God forbid) is there to curb it, then it reaches into the soul’s interior, descends to the depths of the heart and the recesses of the mind - If we are smart, we walk in spiritual company with the Church, and with close spiritual friends and spiritual leaders in the Church. Even if, at times we get sleepy, they rouse us and warn us. But too many do not do this and if they pray at all they are lone rangers and many drift from or discount the voice of the Church and family members. Thus, in our weakness there is no one, by our own fault, to warn us, or if some one does, we ignore or ridicule them. Thus the darkness of sin reaches deeper into our interior.

3. paralyzes the affections, - our desires being to go awry first. Our desire for spiritual things is shutting down.

4. obstructs the paths of counsel, The darkness of sin makes good counsel seem difficult at first, obnoxious later. For example, one may begin to wonder, “Why does it matter if I go to Mass or not? What’s the big deal….Why is looking at a little porn so bad….why is the Church so “uptight” about stuff?”

5. unsteadies the light of judgment - Severed from good counsel our judgments become poor and self serving.

6. fetters the liberty of the spirit - The (human) spirit is that part of us that opens us to God, that delights in the truth and in goodness. But as the flesh begins to dominate, the spirit’s influence is diminished and its “liberty” to move within us to draw us to the good, true and beautiful, is hindered.

7. and soon – as appears to bodies sick with fever – a rigor of the mind takes over: – Our thoughts become distorted, stinking thinking begins to masquerade as sensible. As St. Paul says of the Gentiles of his time that, having suppressed the truth, they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools (Rom 1:21-22)

8. vigor slackens - What was once virtuous, i.e. a good habit and easy to do, now seems hard and one lacks strength or vigor to do good.

9. energies grow languid - Without the enthusiasm of an alive spirit infused with grace we begin to lack the energy to do what is good and right. It all seems so much harder, so much effort!

10. repugnance for austerity increases - As the spirit goes more into a coma and the flesh becomes more demanding, any limits to pleasure make us wince and get angry. It is almost like a gluttony wherein  the stomach is stretched and must have a bigger meal each time to satisfy. Never, satisfied, the flesh demands more and more, and any notion of limits causes anger and avoidance.

11. fear of poverty disquiets – The more we get, the more we have to lose and the less secure we feel. The world and the flesh now have in their grip through fear. Poverty is freeing, but wealth enslaves. You can’t steal from a man who has nothing to lose, you can’t intimidate him. But a rich person, a person rooted in the world has too much to lose and is thus disquieted by even the most benign of threats. The laborer’s sleep is sweet, whether he has eaten little or much; but the rich man’s wealth will not let him sleep at all. (Eccles  4:11)

12. the soul shrivels - Just as any part of the body which is underused begins to atrophy (weaken and shrink) so too the soul and its faculties, increasingly unused, recede, grow weak and go dormant.

13. grace is withdrawn - as sin grows serious, now mortal sin robs the soul of graces.

14. time means boredom - without spiritual insight, boredom is sure to follow. Nothing has real meaning. Even the delights of the flesh, now so demanded, fail to satisfy. Scripture says regarding a soul in this state: All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing. That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun (Eccles 1:8-9)

15. reason is lulled to sleep - foolish thinking is not seen for what it is. One cannot follow the path of simple logic or reason because the flesh feel threatened by it. Sins of the flesh are not the most serious of sins (sins of the spirit are) but they are the most disgraceful because of their capacity to cloud the mind.

16. the spirit is quenched - The human spirit becomes increasingly dead.

17. the fresh fervor wanes away - Even good days, spiritually speaking are fewer and fewer.

18. a fastidious lukewarmness weighs down - one actually begins to cultivate mediocrity, compromise and to celebrate it as open-minded, tolerant and avoiding “extremes.”

19. brotherly love grows cold - Was it Camus or Sartre who said, “Hell is other people.” Yes, sin is growing very deep now, the world is closing in on an increasingly petty object: “Me.”

20. pleasure attracts - It always has, but now inordinately and with greater and greater power.

21. security is a trap - In other words it is a lie. This world is a thief. It takes back everything, no matter what the John Hancock Insurance Co. says. But increasingly the sinful soul prefers lies to truth, even knowing deep down that they are lies.

22. old habits return - If one had made progress in virtue, now it erodes.

23. Can I say more? The law is cheated – In other words, legalism and minimalism becomes a tactic. One seeks the “least expensive” interpretation of everything, parses words, and uses every trick to see how the clearly manifest will of God is either not clear, does not apply or how it can be observed in the most perfunctory of ways. One will often collect experts to tickle their ears. Whatever it takes to cheat the law, skirt the edges and reinterpret clear norms.

24. justice is rejected – After cheating the law the next step down is just to reject it outright. The person does not care what God says. They now begin to exult the imperial autonomous self saying in effect that they will do what they want and they will decide if it is right or wrong.

25. what is right is outlawed, - next comes trying to outlaw others from proclaiming the truth. Call what they say “hate speech” fine them, arrest them make them answer in court. Banish the truth from schools and the public square. Demonize and criminalize all possible ways of proclaiming the truth.

26. the fear of the Lord is abandoned - The delusion that one will never face consequences of judgement for what they do is embraced. They will answer to God, but they deny it and are permitted a very deep delusion that they will never have to answer for what they do.

27. Shamelessness finally gets free rein Things that ought to cause shame, and used to do so are now celebrated. Scripture laments them saying, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them (Rom 1:32). The celebration of sin, even the exultation of it as virtue shows that the darkness is now complete, the fall reaches as cracking and crushing thud. St Bernard describes it this way:

There [has come] that rash leap, so dishonorable, so disgraceful, so full of ignominy and confusion; a leap from the heights into the abyss, from the court-yard to the dung-heap, from the throne to the sewer, from heaven to the mud, from the cloister to the world, from paradise to hell.

Pay attention to what the Saints say. There are some who will no doubt dismiss this post as negative etc. I am more concerned if it is true, rather than negative (or positive). My own experience as Pastor, teacher, disciple, sinner and denizen of the world, is that St. Bernard is right on target and has given us a kind of diagnostic manual of the progression of the disease know as sin. Read this, ponder it, consider your own life, and consider too the lives of people you love.

Disease unattended has a way of moving deeper in stages to become grave if we do not soberly assess its presence and power and use the medicines of the Prayer, Scripture, Sacraments, and Fellowship with the Church (cf Acts 2:42).

Are you praying with me?? Listen to St. Bernard of Clairvaux

The Devil’s War on Silence

by Dan Burke Tuesday, October 01, 2013 7:03 PM Comments (73)

There are key strategies of indirect attack that the enemy of our souls uses to significantly disrupt our spiritual progress. One is the corruption of human sexuality. As the analogy of holy spousal love is one of the most effective in understanding divine intimacy, the enemy desires to corrupt human sexuality in order to further obscure what it means to understand the possibilities of union with God. 

Similarly, there is another indirect attack that wreaks havoc on the soul’s ability grow in intimacy with God — noise. In our culture, noise is everywhere. Day after day, our peace is invaded by television screens at gas pumps screaming ads and programming at us, music in stores, and thousands of television, internet and radio encounters that pump this poison into our souls.

Recently, I spent some time with a relative who appears to be spiritually dead. Her daily routine looks something like this: Rise, turn on the TV and get ready. Leave the TV on until daily activities take her from home — time to get in the car and turn on the radio to listen to music or talk radio or to make phone calls. Once back home, turn on the TV again until it is time to go to sleep (or sleep with it on). When I asked if she ever allowed for silence (as she reports that she prays often and is “spiritual”), she guffawed as if I were suggesting she enjoy a bowl of dry oatmeal.

I wish this were different with some of my Catholic friends (who I am sure I will be in trouble with once they read this). I am thinking of one, in particular, who is faithful and who does have a desire to know the Lord. However, she can’t seem to make the time (or exercise the will) to incorporate silence into her life in order to listen, hear and learn the voice of God. She will complain from time to time that she never seems to hear from God, but any suggestion of the need to cultivate silence is met with an irritated glance.

Sometimes we are simply afraid to stop and listen. Coming out of a disastrous youth myself, I had a great deal of emotional pain to deal with. My own thought life was out of control, and once any emotional event invaded my life, those thoughts often ran a torturous course throughout the coming hours, days and nights. Many people suffer these same challenges, such that silence becomes a threat. It becomes a place where we are confronted with those things that God desires to heal — a healing we often resist. For me, the enemy tormented me through the sins of others, then I compounded these sins with my own, and then the master musician of deception proposed a solution that I took hook, line and sinker — noise, distraction, and lots of it. With no silence in my life, I couldn’t hear God’s voice calling and leading me out of the pain. Cycle complete.

Here’s an insightful rant from C.S. Lewis, through the character of the senior demon in his masterpiece, The Screwtape Letters:

Those who understand the realities of how God works and speaks to us know that silence is critical for the health of our souls and to develop any degree of intimacy with God. We must cultivate times of silence daily if we are to learn to hear his voice. If the Lord seems a mere distant reality to you, maybe it’s because the enemy has sucked you into his plan of noisy distraction. He is working overtime to ensure that God’s voice never makes it past the noise you have allowed into your life: the noise of busy-ness, the noise of entertainment, the noise of news, the noise of music (even Christian music), and even the noise of a prayer life limited to vocal prayer (yup).

So maybe it is time to choose to face the silence, even if it means a bit of spiritual surgery. I have never met anyone who has taken this challenge and has regretted it.

We must be still to know that God is, and to find the healing and fulfillment that can only come through a living relationship with him. Ironically, it is when we are surrounded by silence that we can hear the most.

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/dan-burke/the-devils-war-on-silence#ixzz2hCYiOAN5