"I understand now that charity consists in bearing with the faults of
others, in not being surprised at their weakness, in being edified by
the smallest acts of virtue we see them practise."
St Therese of Lisieux
Showing posts with label St Therese of Lisieux. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St Therese of Lisieux. Show all posts
Friday, 29 January 2016
Sunday, 3 August 2014
How to Remain Aware of the Presence of God - Cardinal Bacci
How to Remain Aware of the Presence of God
1. It is useful to consider the ways in which we can develop a constant and effective awareness of the presence of God. The first way in which we can do this is by cultivating a lively faith which will help us to see God everywhere. “Do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord?” (Jer. 23:24)
This kind of faith should deepen our sense of God's presence and inspire in us sentiments of love and gratitude which will guide us in all our actions. We cannot expect that we shall be able to remain in a state of constant contemplation of God, for this is the privilege enjoyed by the blessed in Heaven, for whom faith has been replaced by the Beatific Vision. We must be satisfied with exciting in ourselves as often as possible the active awareness of God's presence. This should be a quiet and peaceful process, not involving undue mental effort or anxiety.
We should be able to attend quite naturally to our work and other obligations, and we should be helped and consoled in this by directing our thoughts to God from time to time in order to offer ourselves to Him. This can easily be done by means of frequent ejaculatory prayer, by renewing at regular intervals our intention of doing everything for the love of God, and by being prepared to endure in complete acceptance of the Divine Will all the hardships and trials of the day. Whenever it is possible, moreover, we should escape from the care and confusion of the world into a quiet church. Here we can kneel in the real presence of Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist and express in intimate prayer our love for Him and our desire to serve Him.
2. Another way of increasing our sense of the presence of God is to perceive Him in all His creatures. St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus loved to contemplate the image of her Creator in the flowers of the field and in the stars of the firmament.
God has created all things for our benefit and He is present in all things. He sees what use we make of them and can judge whether we employ them to honour Him, Who is our beginning and our end. The ray of divine beauty which shines in every created thing should attract us towards its Creator and cause us to adore and serve Him. Whenever we meet a learned and holy person, moreover, the reflection of God's power and goodness is even more compelling. “Learn to love the Creator in the creature,” says St. Augustine, “lest the thing which He has made should grip you, and you should lose Him by Whom you also were created.” (In Ps., 19)
In other words, let us learn to see the Creator in all His creatures so that these may not enslave us and cause us to lose Him Who is our highest Good.
3. The third way of remaining attentive to the presence of God is to contemplate Him living in ourselves. While it is true that God is present everywhere, He dwells in a special manner in the human soul, which is the masterpiece of creation. When our souls are adorned with His grace, His delight in us is unbounded. “I will dwell and move among them. I will be their God and they shall be my people.” (2 Cor. 6:16) “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16)
God dwells among us, therefore, and lives in us as in so many temples. We should recognise His presence and listen to His voice; furthermore, we should adore Him, love Him, and pray to Him. Then we can sincerely claim to belong entirely to Him.
1. It is useful to consider the ways in which we can develop a constant and effective awareness of the presence of God. The first way in which we can do this is by cultivating a lively faith which will help us to see God everywhere. “Do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord?” (Jer. 23:24)
This kind of faith should deepen our sense of God's presence and inspire in us sentiments of love and gratitude which will guide us in all our actions. We cannot expect that we shall be able to remain in a state of constant contemplation of God, for this is the privilege enjoyed by the blessed in Heaven, for whom faith has been replaced by the Beatific Vision. We must be satisfied with exciting in ourselves as often as possible the active awareness of God's presence. This should be a quiet and peaceful process, not involving undue mental effort or anxiety.
We should be able to attend quite naturally to our work and other obligations, and we should be helped and consoled in this by directing our thoughts to God from time to time in order to offer ourselves to Him. This can easily be done by means of frequent ejaculatory prayer, by renewing at regular intervals our intention of doing everything for the love of God, and by being prepared to endure in complete acceptance of the Divine Will all the hardships and trials of the day. Whenever it is possible, moreover, we should escape from the care and confusion of the world into a quiet church. Here we can kneel in the real presence of Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist and express in intimate prayer our love for Him and our desire to serve Him.
2. Another way of increasing our sense of the presence of God is to perceive Him in all His creatures. St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus loved to contemplate the image of her Creator in the flowers of the field and in the stars of the firmament.
God has created all things for our benefit and He is present in all things. He sees what use we make of them and can judge whether we employ them to honour Him, Who is our beginning and our end. The ray of divine beauty which shines in every created thing should attract us towards its Creator and cause us to adore and serve Him. Whenever we meet a learned and holy person, moreover, the reflection of God's power and goodness is even more compelling. “Learn to love the Creator in the creature,” says St. Augustine, “lest the thing which He has made should grip you, and you should lose Him by Whom you also were created.” (In Ps., 19)
In other words, let us learn to see the Creator in all His creatures so that these may not enslave us and cause us to lose Him Who is our highest Good.
3. The third way of remaining attentive to the presence of God is to contemplate Him living in ourselves. While it is true that God is present everywhere, He dwells in a special manner in the human soul, which is the masterpiece of creation. When our souls are adorned with His grace, His delight in us is unbounded. “I will dwell and move among them. I will be their God and they shall be my people.” (2 Cor. 6:16) “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16)
God dwells among us, therefore, and lives in us as in so many temples. We should recognise His presence and listen to His voice; furthermore, we should adore Him, love Him, and pray to Him. Then we can sincerely claim to belong entirely to Him.
Sunday, 9 February 2014
The Use of Creatures - Cardinal Bacci
The Use of Creatures
1. God has created all things for Himself, as He is the most perfect being and the final end of all things. He has made man supreme in the world, however, and has made all other creatures subject to him. (Cf. Gen. 1:28) This God-given supremacy over the universe continues even after the fall of Adam. It can no longer be exercised without trouble and suffering as it was in the state of innocence, however. Now it must be acquired by hard manual labour, and by keen intellectual research and study.
After man's disobedience to God, even the relationship which existed between him and created things was disturbed. But these things are still a ladder which leads to God if they are properly used. They are a distant reflection of His beauty and omnipotence. “The heavens,” says the Psalmist, “declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.” (Ps. 18:2)
Let us listen to the voice of creation, for it speaks to us of God. St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus wept when she beheld the fragile beauty of a flower, and said "How great is God's love for us!" St. Francis of Assisi saw the image of the common Creator everywhere around him and called all these things including fire and water, his brothers and sisters. He even conversed with them in a simple way. He looked upon death itself as the good sister who was to free him from the slavery of the body and unite him to God.
2. The Saints understood clearly what our attitude to creatures should be. Created things should be a reflection of eternal beauty which entices us to love God, the source and origin of all things. They should form a ladder which makes it easy for us to ascend towards God and to achieve unity with Him. But is this what creatures really mean to us? Or do they, more often than not, lead us away from God? Perhaps we are held up too frequently by our love for creatures and tend to forget God. The passing loveliness of this earth causes us to forget the everlasting beauty for which we are destined. Worse still, the use of creatures may divert us from God altogether and cause us to disobey His law. Let us examine ourselves thoroughly on this point. Let us see if it is necessary to alter the direction of our thoughts and desires and to purify our hearts in such a way that we shall think, love and act for God alone.
3. St. Ignatius of Loyola investigates this subject in his Spiritual Exercises. He writes that we ought to use things in so far as they bring us nearer to our final end. We ought to avoid things completely, he continues, in so far as they separate or distract us from this end. The function of creatures in our regard is to lead us nearer to God, to remind us of God, and to make us love God. But if they are a source of scandal to us, we must avoid them. The Gospel is very strict on this matter when it says: “If thy hand or foot is an occasion of sin to thee, cut if off and cast it from thee.” (Mt. 5:29-30; 18:8) This means that we must be ready to give up anything rather than endanger our souls and risk the loss of divine grace.
1. God has created all things for Himself, as He is the most perfect being and the final end of all things. He has made man supreme in the world, however, and has made all other creatures subject to him. (Cf. Gen. 1:28) This God-given supremacy over the universe continues even after the fall of Adam. It can no longer be exercised without trouble and suffering as it was in the state of innocence, however. Now it must be acquired by hard manual labour, and by keen intellectual research and study.
After man's disobedience to God, even the relationship which existed between him and created things was disturbed. But these things are still a ladder which leads to God if they are properly used. They are a distant reflection of His beauty and omnipotence. “The heavens,” says the Psalmist, “declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.” (Ps. 18:2)
Let us listen to the voice of creation, for it speaks to us of God. St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus wept when she beheld the fragile beauty of a flower, and said "How great is God's love for us!" St. Francis of Assisi saw the image of the common Creator everywhere around him and called all these things including fire and water, his brothers and sisters. He even conversed with them in a simple way. He looked upon death itself as the good sister who was to free him from the slavery of the body and unite him to God.
2. The Saints understood clearly what our attitude to creatures should be. Created things should be a reflection of eternal beauty which entices us to love God, the source and origin of all things. They should form a ladder which makes it easy for us to ascend towards God and to achieve unity with Him. But is this what creatures really mean to us? Or do they, more often than not, lead us away from God? Perhaps we are held up too frequently by our love for creatures and tend to forget God. The passing loveliness of this earth causes us to forget the everlasting beauty for which we are destined. Worse still, the use of creatures may divert us from God altogether and cause us to disobey His law. Let us examine ourselves thoroughly on this point. Let us see if it is necessary to alter the direction of our thoughts and desires and to purify our hearts in such a way that we shall think, love and act for God alone.
3. St. Ignatius of Loyola investigates this subject in his Spiritual Exercises. He writes that we ought to use things in so far as they bring us nearer to our final end. We ought to avoid things completely, he continues, in so far as they separate or distract us from this end. The function of creatures in our regard is to lead us nearer to God, to remind us of God, and to make us love God. But if they are a source of scandal to us, we must avoid them. The Gospel is very strict on this matter when it says: “If thy hand or foot is an occasion of sin to thee, cut if off and cast it from thee.” (Mt. 5:29-30; 18:8) This means that we must be ready to give up anything rather than endanger our souls and risk the loss of divine grace.
Wednesday, 22 January 2014
When all else fails...
"When faced by our limitations, we must have recourse to the practice of offering to God the good works of others."
- St Therese of Lisieux
- St Therese of Lisieux
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