(10) Stations of the Cross - February 22, 1995 continues

                Today's Readings

Galatians 3: 7-14

Be sure, then, that it is people of faith who are the children of Abraham. And it was because scripture foresaw that God would give saving justice to the gentiles through faith, that it announced the future gospel to Abraham in the words: All nations will be blessed in you. So it is people of faith who receive the same blessing as Abraham, the man of faith.

On the other hand, all those who depend on the works of the Law are under a curse, since scripture says: Accursed be he who does not make what is written in the book of the Law effective, by putting it into practice. Now it is obvious that nobody is reckoned as upright in God's sight by the Law, since the upright will live through faith; and the Law is based not on faith but on the principle, whoever complies with it will find life in it. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by being cursed for our sake since scripture says: Anyone hanged is accursed, so that the blessing of Abraham might come to the gentiles in Christ Jesus, and so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

 

Psalm 111: 1-6

Luke 11: 15-26

                Jesus: Some people have suffered abuse,
                but seek healing and as
                wounded healers help lots of
                people.

                R. Dear Jesus help me please
                deal with this cross to do
                Your will always and to help
                others to live in peace with
                You.

                    Help us, I spread Your blood
                on all of us and ask for
                Your help, Jesus, I cast
                the devil into hell and ask for
                a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit
                and consecrate all of our
                hearts to Jesus and Mary.

                    We know God gives us great
                gifts of His love in this
                Movement, but we see the price
                Jesus paid for our sins.

                    Why do we not see that
                even as Jesus was taken to
                the temple as a baby –
                Mary had to suffer in the
                Presentation of the Temple –

                Death/Resurrection –

                From Blue Book 6A

                  The Ascension

  1. "Our Christ-life permeates our persons completely. Nothing which is good is destroyed. All is elevated to a new level of
    existence, for through grace we enter a new life. St. Paul affirms: "And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation;
    the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here." (2 Co 5:17)  (Excerpt from Response in Christ)

And Mary said:

My soul proclaims
    the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit rejoices
    in God my Saviour;
because he has looked upon
    the humiliation of his servant.
Yes, from now onwards
    all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty
    has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his faithful love extends age after age
    to those who fear him.
He has used the power of his arm,
he has routed the arrogant of heart.
He has pulled down princes
    from their thrones
        and raised high the lowly.
He has filled the starving with good things,
    sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the help
    of Israel his servant,
        mindful of his faithful love
—according to the promise
    he made to our ancestors—
of his mercy to Abraham
    and to his descendants for ever.

                January 17, 1995

                R. I prayed the rosary as usual
                at 6:30 at the Shepherds of Christ Meeting.
                Many people were present.
                I led the rosary.

January 25, 1995 - Wednesday

Work for Renewal

Jesus:   My dear child,

    ...The time is set, you will be fired at My child. You will be tested, you will be tried, you will experience such great union and trust in Me. Nothing can rock you when your heart is forever joined to  My Heart. You will have strength. It will come from your constant resting in Our Hearts.

    You must be strong, know that obstacles will be many, but I am allowing them for greater union with Me. Know that you will be so steadfast in My love that you will be able to do this work and withstand any trial. Give this letter to Fr. Carter. This pertains to all who are involved in this Movement. Your strength is from the Lord. You must go to the tabernacle for your supplies.
You must stay strong to give help to those around you.

    It is the fire of My love that will sustain you. You are My precious children. I am forever loving you and giving you such grace and love. I never go from you. This Movement is so important to the renewal of My Church. You must bind together with one goal to spread devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. This is your goal, surrender to Me, be one with Me, let Me operate you. The Church is one body, you need to stay so united. Do not talk about or think any ill thoughts about each other, that is satan to divide you. Pray to My Mother, she mothers you, she mothers the Church. She is with you always.

    The renewal of My Church will majorly come through the Shepherds of Christ Movement. You do not see My plan, it is too big for you to comprehend. You must stay steadfast in My Eucharistic Heart. You will be tried, the devil wants to stop you. It takes the Power of the Almighty God to do this work. You cannot do it without My Power, without My love. Circulate the letters of My love. I will give abundant graces to all who read My messages. I will draw the hearts who read these messages ever closer to My Sacred Heart. The power is in the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus. I am forever on fire for love of My precious souls. Read this message often, you will need the strength it will give you. I am forever by your side. Satan drags you down, the Spirit builds you up. You do not have time for satan's tactics. Focus only on the job at hand, you have much work to do.

    I love you so much.
    I am Jesus your beloved Savior,
    I died for you and I rose triumphant on the third day.
    Death has no power over Me.

        My Power is endless, My love unbounded. I come to you with greatest love, this day, for you My beloved soldiers, battling a fight for My love. It is through your efforts My love will reign in the hearts of men in this world.

    Pray the Prayer for Union with Me.

 

                R. If a man knows how he is
                tempted and gives into evil –
                the more he should know
                he needs God – the more he
                should turn to God.

                    Rebellion and doing the opposite
                of God's will keeps a man under.
                A person must learn to surrender
                to God because he is under God –
                to try to raise above God – puffed
                up in pride is so foolish –
                God is over – we are under!!

                Sing: Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God

                R. I must try to have my life
                spiritually sound – living
                according to God's will and
                living in love of God and others.

                Jesus: Look for the joy in
                your life. Be kind and
                loving and merciful –

                Given September 29, 2016 

                R. Discernment of Spirits

                    (1) From God the Holy Spirit
                    (2) From Self
                    (3) From devil

                Jesus:

                    Now I write to you of obedience and
                love. A person that loves God has love
                in their hearts has light in their
                hearts. I am Light. I am the way,
                the truth and the light. I am
                God. They are kind in their hearts and
                loving.

                    Eve rebelled against Me in
                the Garden. Rebellion against
                God is disorder –

                You have a choice to say when satan tempts you:

                    "Satan get behind me" –
                    The devil wants to get inside of
                    the person and wants them to give
                    into him.
                    The devil wants to tear apart –
                    to rip apart – break up
                    communication – he wants people to
                    isolate – satan wants to operate in others
                    to disrupt – destroy unity –
                    The devil wants discord –
                    he attaches families, religious
                    communities, countries –

                The devil is real
                The devil hates the Blessed Sacrament –
                The devil wants to spit people apart –
                The devil can come in sheep's clothing
                The devil wants violence and
                    hatred and destruction –

                The devil wants to bring down the
                    house, so he works in anger –
                    anger can be their god – red anger –

                The devil wants to rule in people
                    that allow him to use them
                    to oppose what is God's will.

                I am Jesus, the Son of God –

                The devil hates and wants people
                    to oppose the will of the
                    Father. The devil opposes
                    anything that is of God, what
                    God has called them to –

                Oppose what God wants.

                Say to satan "Satan get behind me" –

                Satan opposes My cross –

                Satan uses people to try to
                    control and destroy –

                Satan is darkness –

                Satan wants the person to
                    secure power-over
                    to promote his hate
                    and anger –

                Satan wants a person to give
                    into their appetite for power –
                    PRIDE
                    JEALOUSY
                    ENVY
                    SEX

                Satan says: "Give into yourself" –

                Satan says: "Don't obey God"

                Satan says: "Forget about discipline – don't
                                let anybody have authority over
                                you. Rebel against just authority"

                Satan says: "Seek power for your vain glory"

                Satan says:

                    "Lie and tell yourself what you
                    do that is wrong is right,
                    argue that your sins are right –
                    don't take correction from anyone"

                Lies become a way of life –

                    What you want you can lie
                    for: the person can think. Where
                    do these lies stop – one lie after the other.

                A person living in the way to grow in
                    the spiritual life, seeks the
                    absolute truth. I am absolute truth!

                I am the way, the truth and the
                    life –

                Satan wants tricks, the
                    startling, the secret –
                    trying to get negative
                    attention by pulling pranks
                    "Evil and mean spirited"

                Satan wants permissiveness –
                Satan wants a person to rebel
                    and do whatever they want –

                Satan wants a person to lie
                    to superiors and authority –

                Satan wants a person to
                    hide needed information for power –

                Satan wants a person to manipulate
                    to disobey My law of love
                    and doing the Father's will –

                Satan wants the person to ignore
                    all over them with correction
                    and to ignore when they
                    have done offenses, as if
                    it was not wrong. Satan
                    wants them to lie to themselves
                    about their sins.

                Satan wants the person to rule
                    for him and to take down
                    the house to operate for satan –
                    demonic!

                A person with power seeking vain
                    glory for themselves is
                    dangerous –
                    If they are angry and dark
                    they use the power manipulating
                    others to act-out their
                    unhealed anger and darkness –

                Satan hates God –

                I call men to carry their cross
                and to follow Me – to live
                the life of resurrection –

                I call men to holiness and
                    discipline to do their actions
                    for the will of God – to
                    be men of love – to learn
                    to love others more and more
                    and grow in holiness –
                    to work with other men in
                    love in the building of
                    My Kingdom –

                I call men to self denial,
                self discipline, obedience
                to the law of love –
                Walking in the truth –

                Basing their actions on what
                    is the will of God and
                    their eternal salvation –

                Men for others –

                The devil comes and tempts the
                    man who is mean-spirited
                    to control, to lie, to be
                    filled with hatred, anger,
                    jealousy –

                I call you to endure the suffering
                    that you must to bring you
                    to a greater life of resurrection –

                I am the life –

                The man undisciplined refuses
                    suffering for himself and
                    the cross –
                    he can inflict punishment
                    on innocent others for
                    his own hatred and anger and
                    darkness and uncontrolled,
                    undisciplined life –

                The devil works in secret –
                    He works to take over with
                        evil and darkness

                Where I am – the devil fights,
                    opposes –
                    He hates the Eucharist!

                He hates – he does not want
                    men loving God, loving
                    others – a man working for
                    the devil is mean-spirited –

                Evil has its hour –

                But I am a God who is all just!

                I will bring down the wicked
                    who refuse repentance
                    and hurt others with
                    their unforgiving, aggressive
                    ways.

                    It is their own destruction
                they weave –
                    For I will judge, justly.

                I offer a man forgiveness, who
                    honestly repents and lives
                    to change his evil ways,
                I am a God of mercy and justice.
   

                Jesus: Many cannot see how the evil one
                    works to deceive and
                    bring decline – to thwart
                    growth –

                You cannot do what you want –

                I give you the commandments –
                    to love God with your whole
                    heart and love your neighbor
                    as yourself.

                Satan tells you to sin – Satan
                    says it doesn't matter –
                    lie, lying becomes a habit –
                    Satan says –
                    "manipulate – do what you
                    want – ignore authority –
                    do whatever you want –
                    don't let anyone oppose you"

                So the person can walk in greed,
                    power-seeking, pride, they can be
                    filled with darkness and despair
                    as they give into their twisted,
                    rebellious reasoning.

                Then the devil accuses the person
                    and tells them, after they
                    sin and give into satan,
                    "what's the use – keep sinning –
                    you are guilty, you are ruined,
                    bring down darkness on others –
                    be envious, be jealous,
                    hurt others, don't get under
                    anybody, be aggressive –
                    lie" – that is what satan says!

                The devil wants you to despair
                    like Judas – he tells
                    you horrible things about
                    yourself.

                And I give you
                    My letters of love in the Blue Books,
                    The Mighty Medicine.

                Jesus: I am the way, the truth and
                    the life –

                The person of light respects
                    authority –
                    they seek the light –
                    authority, discipline –
                    know your faults and
                    working to change them
                    is your friend, to grow
                    in My image and likeness
                    more and more -

                There is new life in Me –

                When you sin – I tell you
                    to repent and say you
                    are sorry and make
                    reparation and be
                    humble and know you
                    are sinners and ask
                    for My mercy –

                I forgive your sins when you
                    come to Me and
                    ask for forgiveness and
                    mercy and want to
                    make reparation for your
                    sins –

                You can choose life or
                    death –

                You have a free will –

                Sing: Choose Life

                Jesus: I am meek and tender of
                    heart – not combatal

                Devotion to My Heart and
                    Mary's Heart can help
                    you fight off satan –   

                Mary crushed the head of satan –

                The devil wants the
                    "undisciplined life"

                The devil say:

                    "Do what you want –
                    Nobody over you" –      

                Excerpt from the Mass Book

December 19, 1996

THERE IS A MAN ON THE CROSS

    God wants union with us. He wants fire. Many try to love God with a cold heart. They tell Him words that they think they should say that are loving.

    When one loves, they do not need to be prompted to say words. From the depth of their being they cry out their words of love. It is a cry from within, from the fire within their chest, behind the words. The words are burning in their chest and must be released because of the fire behind them.

    We are as blind men. We do not see the great gifts that God gives to us. It is as if we stand by the shore of the sea and throw little words at Jesus. We must not be afraid to jump into the water and be completely immersed in His love. He was consumed with such love for us. He gave Himself to His death on the cross.

    There is a man on a cross and he tells us so many things. He does not have to speak. When we study Him on the cross, He speaks to us with His pierced hands, His head covered with blood, His body withered and beaten. He speaks to us of His undying love.

    Oh, beloved Savior, I am blind. I am selfish. I do not see the great reservoir of love that you give to Me. I see the man dying on the cross. How do I see Him? Do I see a figure and think, oh, is it a pretty cross, would it look good in my living room? Do I see the cross and think, oh, I guess I should have one in my house, others will think I am holy then? Holy people do have a cross in their homes.

    Do I see the body of a man, a live man? Do I see His labored breath? Do I see His chest move as His Heart beats within? Do I see the real skin of a man? Do I see the real blood He shed? Do I see the light that silhouettes His withered body? Do I see the Light of the World? Do I see  the tender skin of an infant laid on bare wood in the manager and then the torn, lacerated, bloodied skin of this man?

    This is love! There is a man on the cross. There is a child born to us today. He is the Light of the World. His light is shining in the darkness, but people do not see. They see the wood, but they view it for the beauty it will create in their newly decorated living rooms.

    The cross is not a thing of the past, the cross is with us today. We carry it on our backs as He showed us we would, but we try to take it off and throw it away.

    It is in the cross there is the resurrection. It is by meditating on the crucifix, we see His undying love. We must open up our eyes and see. Pray for vision to see clearly the man Who gave Himself for love of us, Our Divine Lord.

    And how do we return His love?

    Love is spontaneous, love is fire in our hearts, love is alive and emitted with force. God is love.

    Do we realize that His last thoughts on the cross were for us. In this agony, as He hung on the cross, He was consumed with burning love for us. When He was scourged at the pillar, He was comforted by our acts of love that we give to Him today. Our burning love for Him was sweetness to His most Sacred Heart in the moments of His bitter Passion.

    Love gives and wants to give its all. A person in love does not need to be prompted and told to love. Love wants to give.

    Love is given spontaneously, it is not controlled. Love is tenderness pouring forth from the heart. Love is not concerned with commitment, love by itself is committed. It pours forth from the mouth of the lover because of the fire burning deep inside.

    Let us study the battered body of Christ on the cross. As I study His pierced hands and feet, His head crowned with thorns, the blood pouring forth from His Heart, as I view the lacerations covering His body, I feel His word well up in my heart. He speaks to me in the depth of my soul and I hear Him say, "I love you. I love you. I love you, to My death on the cross."

He gives, He gives, He gives to us constantly. He gives and how is He treated by us? We take and we take and we take and we don't even say thanks. Thanks for our breath, our heartbeat, the beautiful sky, the sunlit day, the moon at night, the beautiful eyes of our friends. Oh, how many things He gives to us and how ungrateful we are!

How is your day? Is your glass half-empty or half-full?

How often my glass is half empty, as I am reminded by my spiritual director, Fr. Carter. How often I do not thank Our Divine Lord for His gifts!

When I am filled with love, I see more clearly. The secret is to know God's love. We must pray for the grace to know His love more and for the grace  to love Him more.

There is a man on the cross. Do we see His undying love for us? He speaks no words. He shows us the crucifix. The words are alive in our hearts.

The Father created us to love and to be loved. God is love. He wants union with us. He gives Himself to us. This is love. There is union in proportion to how I give myself to Him.

Jesus gives and gives and gives and we treat Him "nonchalantly". He gives us love, but we must give ourselves to Him to have union with Him. He wants us to be one with Him.

We must relish the great gifts He gives to us - the greatest gift being the gift of Himself. We should anticipate the great gift of receiving Him in the Holy Eucharist with such eagerness in our hearts. The words I feel in my heart are expressed in the song, "I Love You, Jesus":

Oh Burning Heart, Oh Love divine, how sweet You are to me. I see the host, I know You're here to love and care for me. I know Your love a little now, so dear You are to me. Come give me life, abundant life, I thirst to be with Thee. I cannot say. There are not words to say what my heart feels. I love You so, I scarce can breathe when You come into me. I know Your love a little now, so dear You are to me. Come give me life, abundant life, I thirst to be with Thee. Your tender Heart, Oh how it beats for love of each this day. I want to give You all my love, surrender totally. I know Your love a little now, so dear You are to me. Come give me life, abundant life, I thirst to be with Thee.

When we awake at night, we must think of Him and how we will receive Him the next day. We long to go to Communion to receive Him. We love Jesus in the Eucharist so much. A King comes to us. He enters our body and unites with our soul. He is the King of the kingdom of heaven…He is our Lover, He is the Almighty God, a Divine Person, and He comes to us. He wants us to come to Him with such longing. He wants us to think of Him all day. He wants us to long for Him.

Ps. 63:1-8:

God, you are my God, I pine for you;
my heart thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
as a land parched, dreary and waterless.
Thus I have gazed on you in the sanctuary,
seeing your power and your glory.
Better your faithful love than life itself;
my lips will praise you.
Thus I will bless you all my life,
in your name lift up my hands.
All my longings fulfilled as with fat and rich foods,
a song of joy on my lips and praise in my mouth.
On my bed when I think of you,
I muse on you in the watches of the night,
for you have always been my help;
in the shadow of your wings I rejoice;
my heart clings to you,
your right hand supports me.

The priest says in the Mass at the Offertory, "By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the Divinity of Christ, Who humbled himself to share in our humanity." He gives Himself to us. He shares His Divinity with us. We are human creatures and He shares Himself with us. My heart burns when the priest puts the drop of water in the wine. This is, indeed, a great mystery that God remains with us today, truly present in His Divinity and humanity in the Holy Eucharist, that He gives Himself to us in Communion, and that He waits for us to come to the tabernacle and be with Him. He wants to outpour His divine love and His divine life to us.

We should swoon for our Lover the Almighty, Divine God, yet we go to Him with such cold hearts. He wants our burning love.

The song "I Love You, Jesus":

Oh Burning Heart, Oh Love divine, how sweet You are to me. I see the Host, I know You're here to love and care for me. I know Your love a little now, so dear You are to me. Come give me life, abundant life, I thirst to be with Thee. I cannot say. There are not words to say what my heart feels. I love You so, I scarce can breathe when You come into me. I know Your love a little now, so dear You are to me. Come give me life, abundant life, I thirst to be with Thee. Your tender Heart, Oh how it beats for love of each this day. I want to give You all my love, surrender totally. I know Your love a little now, so dear You are to me. Come give me life, abundant life, I thirst to be with Thee.

^{end of excerpt}

Excerpt of The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, by Louis J. Puhl, S.J. P. 60-61
 

136. THE FOURTH DAY

        A MEDITATION ON TWO STANDARDS

The one of Christ, our supreme leader and lord,
the other of Lucifer, the deadly enemy of our
human nature

PRAYER.   The usual preparatory prayer.

window at a former Jesuit Seminary

137. FIRST PRELUDE.   This is the history. Here it will be that Christ calls and wants all beneath His standard, and Lucifer, on the other hand, wants all under his.

138. SECOND PRELUDE.   This is a mental representation of the place. It will be here to see a great plain, comprising the whole region about Jerusalem, where the sovereign Commander-in-Chief of all the good is Christ our Lord; and another plain about the region of Babylon, where the chief of the enemy is Lucifer.

139. THIRD PRELUDE.   This is to ask for what I desire. Here it will be to ask for a knowledge of the deceits of the rebel chief and help to guard myself against them; and also to ask for a knowledge of the true life exemplified in the sovereign and true Commander, and the grace to imitate Him.
   

FIRST PART

THE STANDARD OF SATAN

140. FIRST POINT.   Imagine you see the chief of all the enemy in the vast plain about Babylon, seated on a great throne of fire and smoke, his appearance inspiring horror and terror.

141. SECOND POINT.   Consider how he summons innumerable demons, and scatters them, some to one city and some to another, throughout the whole world, so that no province, no place, no state of life, no individual is overlooked.

142. THIRD POINT.   Consider the address he makes to them, how he goads them on to lay snares for men and bind them with chains. First they are to tempt them to covet riches (as Satan himself is accustomed to do in most cases) that they may the more easily attain the empty honors of this world, and then come to overweening pride.

   The first step, then, will be riches, the second honor, the third pride. From these three steps the evil one leads to all other vices.
   

SECOND PART

THE STANDARD OF CHRIST

143.   In a similar way, we are to picture to ourselves the sovereign and true Commander, Christ our Lord.

144. FIRST POINT.   Consider Christ our Lord, standing in a lowly place in a great plain about the region of Jerusalem, His appearance beautiful and attractive.

145. SECOND POINT.   Consider how the Lord of all the world chooses so many persons, apostles, disciples, etc., and sends them throughout the whole world to spread His sacred doctrine among all men, no matter what their state or condition.

146. THIRD POINT.   . . .
   

end of excerpt of The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius

Excerpt of The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, by Louis J. Puhl, S.J. pp. 141-150  

313. RULES FOR DISCERNMENT OF SPIRITS
I

Rules for understanding to some extent the different movements produced in the soul and for recognizing those that are good to admit them, and those that are bad, to reject them. These rules are more suited to the first week
  

314.  I.  In the case of those who go from one mortal sin to another, the enemy is ordinarily accustomed to propose apparent pleasures. He fills their imagination with sensual delights and gratifications, the more readily to keep them in their vices and increase the number of their sins.

    With such persons the good spirit uses a method which is the reverse of the above. Making use of the light of reason, he will rouse the sting of conscience and fill them with remorse.

315.  2.  In the case of those who go on earnestly striving to cleanse their souls from sin and who seek to rise in the service of God our Lord to greater perfection, the method pursued is the opposite of that mentioned in the first rule.

    Then it is characteristic of the evil spirit to harass with anxiety, to afflict with sadness, to raise obstacles backed by fallacious reasonings that disturb the soul. Thus he seeks to prevent the soul from advancing.

    It is characteristic of the good spirit, however, to give courage and strength, consolations, tears, inspirations, and peace. This He does by making all easy, by removing all obstacles so that the soul goes forward in doing good.

316.  3.  SPIRITUAL CONSOLATION.  I call it consolation when an interior movement is aroused in the soul, by which it is inflamed with love of its Creator and Lord, and as a consequence, can love no creature on the face of the earth for its own sake, but only in the Creator of them all. It is likewise consolation when one sheds tears that move to the love of God, whether it be because of sorrow for sins, or because of the sufferings of Christ our Lord, or for any other reason that is immediately directed to the praise and service of God. Finally, I call consolation every increase of faith, hope, and love, and all interior joy that invites and attracts to what is heavenly and to the salvation of one's soul by filling it with peace and quiet in its Creator and Lord.

317.  4.  SPIRITUAL DESOLATION.  I call desolation what is entirely the opposite of what is described in the third rule, as darkness of soul, turmoil of spirit, inclination to what is low and earthly, restlessness rising from many disturbances and temptations which lead to want of faith, want of hope, want of love. The soul is wholly slothful, tepid, sad, and separated, as it were, from its Creator and Lord. For just as consolation is the opposite of desolation, so the thoughts that spring from consolation are the opposite of those that spring from desolation.

318.  5.  In time of desolation we should never make any change, but remain firm and constant in the resolution and decision which guided us the day before the desolation, or in the decision to which we adhered in the preceding consolation. For just as in consolation the good spirit guides and counsels us, so in desolation the evil spirit guides and counsels. Following his counsels we can never find the way to a right decision.

319.  6.  Though in desolation we must never change our former resolutions, it will be very advantageous to intensify our activity against the desolation. We can insist more upon prayer, upon meditation, and on much examination of ourselves. We can make an effort in a suitable way to do some penance.

320.  7.  When one is in desolation, he should be mindful that God has left him to his natural powers to resist the different agitations and temptations of the enemy in order to try him. He can resist with the help of God, which always remains, though he may not clearly perceive it. For though God has taken from him the abundance of fervor and overflowing love and the intensity of His favors, nevertheless, he has sufficient grace for eternal salvation.

321.  8.  When one is in desolation, he should strive to persevere in patience. This reacts against the vexations that have overtaken him. Let him consider, too, that consolation will soon return, and in the meantime, he must diligently use the means against desolation which have been given in the sixth rule.

322.  9.  The principal reasons why we suffer from desolation are three:

    The first is because we have been tepid and slothful or negligent in our exercises of piety, and so through our own fault spiritual consolation has been taken away from us.

    The second reason is because God wishes to try us, to see how much we are worth, and how much we will advance in His service and praise when left without the generous reward of consolations and signal favors.

    The third reason is because God wishes to give us a true knowledge and understanding of ourselves, so that we may have an intimate perception of the fact that it is not within our power to acquire and attain great devotion, intense love, tears, or any other spiritual consolation; but that all this is the gift and grace of God our Lord. God does not wish us to build on the property of another, to rise up in spirit in a certain pride and vainglory and attribute to ourselves the devotion and other effects of spiritual consolation.

323.  10.  When one enjoys consolation, let him consider how he will conduct himself during the time of ensuing desolation, and store up a supply of strength as defense against that day.

324.  11.  He who enjoys consolation should take care to humble himself and lower himself as much as possible. Let him recall how little he is able to do in time of desolation, when he is left without such grace or consolation.

    On the other hand, one who suffers desolation should remember that by making use of the sufficient grace offered him, he can do much to withstand all his enemies. Let him find his strength in his Creator and Lord.

325.  12.  The enemy conducts himself as a woman. He is a weakling before a show of strength, and a tyrant if he has his will. It is characteristic of a woman in a quarrel with a man to lose courage and take to flight if the man shows that he is determined and fearless. However, if the man loses courage and begins to flee, the anger, vindictiveness, and rage of the woman surge up and know no bounds. In the same way, the enemy becomes weak, loses courage, and turns to flight with his seductions as soon as one leading a spiritual life faces his temptations boldly, and does exactly the opposite of what he suggests. However, if one begins to be afraid and to lose courage in temptations, no wild animal on earth can be more fierce than the enemy of our human nature. He will carry out his perverse intentions with consummate malice.

326.  13.  Our enemy may also be compared in his manner of acting to a false lover. He seeks to remain hidden and does not want to be discovered. If such a lover speaks with evil intention to the daughter of a good father, or to the wife of a good husband, and seeks to seduce them, he wants his words and solicitations kept secret. He is greatly displeased if his evil suggestions and depraved intentions are revealed by the daughter to her father, or by the wife to her husband. Then he readily sees he will not succeed in what he has begun. In the same way, when the enemy of our human nature tempts a just soul with his wiles and seductions, he earnestly desires that they be received secretly and kept secret. But if one manifests them to a confessor, or to some other spiritual person who understands his deceits and malicious designs, the evil one is very much vexed. For he knows that he cannot succeed in his evil undertaking, once his evident deceits have been revealed.

327.  14.  The conduct of our enemy may also be compared to the tactics of a leader intent upon seizing and plundering a position he desires. A commander and leader of an army will encamp, explore the fortifications and defenses of the stronghold, and attack at the weakest point. In the same way, the enemy of our human nature investigates from every side all our virtues, theological, cardinal, and moral. Where he finds the defenses of eternal salvation weakest and most deficient, there he attacks and tries to take us by storm.

 

328. RULES FOR DISCERNMENT OF SPIRITS
II

Further rules for understanding the different movements produced in the soul. They serve for a more accurate discernment of spirits and are more suitable for the second week
  

329.  I.  It is characteristic of God and His Angels, when they act upon the soul, to give true happiness and spiritual joy, and to banish all the sadness and disturbances which are caused by the enemy.
   It is characteristic of the evil one to fight against such happiness and consolation by proposing fallacious reasonings, subtilties, and continual deceptions.

330.  2.  God alone can give consolation to the soul without any previous cause. It belongs solely to the Creator to come into a soul, to leave it, to act upon it, to draw it wholly to the love of His Divine Majesty. I said without previous cause, that is, without any preceding perception or knowledge of any subject by which a soul might be led to such a consolation through its own acts of intellect and will.

331.  3.  If a cause precedes, both the good angel and the evil spirit can give consolation to a soul, but for a quite different purpose. The good angel consoles for the progress of the soul, that it may advance and rise to what is more perfect. The evil spirit consoles for purposes that are the contrary, and that afterwards he might draw the soul to his own perverse intentions and wickedness.

332.  4.  It is a mark of the evil spirit to assume the appearance of an angel of light. He begins by suggesting thoughts that are suited to a devout soul, and ends by suggesting his own. For example, he will suggest holy and pious thoughts that are wholly in conformity with the sanctity of the soul. Afterwards, he will endeavor little by little to end by drawing the soul into his hidden snares and evil designs.

333.  5.  We must carefully observe the whole course of our thoughts. If the beginning and middle and end of the course of thoughts are wholly good and directed to what is entirely right, it is a sign that they are from the good angel. But the course of thoughts suggested to us may terminate in something evil, or distracting, or less good than the soul had formerly proposed to do. Again, it may end in what weakens the soul, or disquiets it; or by destroying the peace, tranquility, and quiet which it had before, it may cause disturbance to the soul. These things are a clear sign that the thoughts are proceeding from the evil spirit, the enemy of our progress and eternal salvation.

334.  6.  When the enemy of our human nature has been detected and recognized by the trail of evil marking his course and by the wicked end to which he leads us, it will be profitable for one who has been tempted to review immediately the whole course of the temptation. Let him consider the series of good thoughts, how they arose, how the evil one gradually attempted to make him step down from the state of spiritual delight and joy in which he was, till finally he drew him to his wicked designs. The purpose of this review is that once such an experience has been understood and carefully observed, we may guard ourselves for the future against the customary deceits of the enemy.

335.  7.  In souls that are progressing to greater perfection, the action of the good angel is delicate, gentle, delightful. It may be compared to a drop of water penetrating a sponge.
    The action of the evil spirit upon such souls is violent, noisy, and disturbing. It may be compared to a drop of water falling upon a stone.
    In souls that are going from bad to worse, the action of the spirits mentioned above is just the reverse. The reason for this is to be sought in the opposition or similarity of these souls to the different kinds of spirits. When the disposition is contrary to that of the spirits, they enter with noise and commotion that are easily perceived. When the disposition is similar to that of the spirits, they enter silently, as one coming into his own house when the doors are open.

336.  8.  When consolation is without previous cause, as was said, there can be no deception in it, since it can proceed from God our Lord only. But a spiritual person who has received such a consolation must consider it very attentively, and must cautiously distinguish the actual time of the consolation from the period which follows it. At such a time the soul is still fervent and favored with the grace and aftereffects of the consolation which has passed. In this second period the soul frequently forms various resolutions and plans which are not granted directly by God our Lord. They may come from our own reasoning on the relations of our concepts and on the consequences of our judgments, or they may come from the good or evil spirit. Hence, they must be carefully examined before they are given full approval and put into execution.

end of excerpt of The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius

Excerpt from Response in Christ by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J.

^THREE  The Christian Life of Grace

In the pattern of death-resurrection, the Church continues the prophetic, kingly and priestly offices of Christ. She does not do this through a merely extrinsic activity, for her external action is an incarnation of a more fundamental reality, the life of grace, the Christ-life. Each member of the Church is called to develop this Christ-life to the fullest. In other words, each member of the People of God is destined for Christian holiness. Vatican II tells us this: "Thus it is evident to everyone that all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity. . . ."¹ If all are not called upon to live out this life of Christian sanctity in exactly the same way, nevertheless all are called to the same essential holiness. Vatican II states: "In the various classes and differing duties of life, one and the same holiness is cultivated by all, who are moved by the Spirit of God, and who obey the voice of the Father, and worship God the Father in spirit and in truth. . . ."²

   All are called to the same basic holiness because the life of grace, which is the life of holiness, is essentially the same for all.

       1. WHAT IS GRACE?

Grace is first and foremost the lavish self-giving or self-communication of God to man through the person Christ. This is the stress of St. Paul. Contemporary theology therefore is correct in describing grace first of all in terms of the special presence of the Triune God. The divine persons are present to give us a participation in their own life, to be a guide of our actions, and to be known and loved by us. This special presence is variously named: the divine indwelling, the indwelling of the Trinity, uncreated grace. "If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him." (Jn 14:23).

   Through this special presence, Father, Son and Holy Spirit unite themselves so intimately to us in personal love that their image is left upon us. This image of the Trinity is sanctifying grace. There are, then, two great realities of grace: God's personal self-communication, or uncreated grace, and created grace, or the life of sanctifying grace.

   As we have just mentioned, God's gift of Himself in a special loving presence is the aspect of grace which should be stressed. But the reality of created grace—the life God gives us—should also receive its due attention. Scripture so bids us. The eminent biblical scholar, John L. McKenzie, after commenting on numerous New Testament passages, observes: "Wide as may seem to be the range of these passages, they have in common the conception of grace as something given, received, a reality in the Christian and in the world in which the Christian lives."³ Also, looking at the thought of St. Paul, we have the words of Rondet: "In First Corinthians, Paul's theology of grace takes a big step forward. He continues to speak of grace as a special mercy, a special goodness of God (1 Cor 1,3). But grace now also appears as a created gift, a permanent favor. It is a kind of supernatural power, and charisms in some way embody various aspects of it."⁴ Rondet speaks further about Paul's theology of grace: "In chapter 4 of Second Corinthians, grace appears clearly as an interior principle of spiritual life. It is no accident that Paul goes on to talk about the interior man, the 'inner nature which is being renewed every day' (4,16). . . ."⁵ Consequently, the reality of the life of sanctifying or created grace is very clear in the New Testament.

   Created grace, or the life of sanctifying grace, actually inheres in us. On the other hand, the persons of the Trinity specially present to us (uncreated grace), despite their mysteriously close union with us, never become a part of our natures. Although the special presence of the divine persons and sanctifying grace always coexist, these two realities are nevertheless distinct.

   Sanctifying grace is best described as a life. It is a sharing in divine life. This life is one of the great themes of St. John. In the theology of John the purpose of the Incarnation is precisely this—to reveal and communicate divine life to men.⁶ "I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full." (Jn 10:10).

   God is bold and daring. Without God's revelation, who would dare to think that God offers man a share in His own divine life? In Their self-communication to us, and in their sharing of divine life with us, the Trinity truly offers us a daring challenge. They bid us to live life at its fullest, to live a life patterned after their own. Through the new powers which grace gives us, they inexorably call us to go out of our self-centeredness and live a life of dynamic love-relationships with Themselves and man. Through this life of love They ask us to continue the work of Their love, the work of creation and redemption. Through this life of love They ask us to help change the face of the earth. Summarily, our life in Christ is a call to the greatness of love.

   To talk of grace, then, is primarily to talk of the personal relationships in love which are established by our Christ-life. These personal relationships we wish to stress in our treatment of grace. First of all, however, we should briefly discuss basic ideas concerning the life of sanctifying grace, which is the foundation for ability to enter into these personal relationships. All things being equal, the more we know about sanctifying grace, the better we can understand and appreciate the nature of these personal relationships in Christ.

   Although the life of sanctifying grace is a reality distinct from our natural life, it is not something superimposed upon our nature as icing is added to a cake. Rahner states: "The nature of a spiritual being and its supernatural elevation are not opposed to each other like two things which lie side by side, so that they must be either kept separate or confused. The supernatural elevation of man is, though not due to him, the absolute fulfillment of his being. . . ."⁷

   Our Christ-life permeates our persons completely. Nothing which is good is destroyed. All is elevated to a new level of existence, for through grace we enter a new life. St. Paul affirms: "And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here." (2 Co 5:17)

   Why are we able to live on a new level of existence through grace? The answer lies in the fact that we receive a created sharing in the divine nature. Nature, we know, is a principle or capacity of operation according to a certain level of existence. An angel can perform acts of an angel because he has an angelic nature. A man can know intellectually because he has a rational nature. Likewise, through our Christ-life of grace we can perform God-like acts because we have received a new nature. Scripture speaks to us about our participation in the nature of God. In one of the most noted passages of the New Testament on the life of grace, we read: "By His divine power, he has given us all the things we need for life and for true devotion, bringing us to know God himself, who has called us by his own glory and goodness. In making these gifts, he has given us the guarantee of something very great and wonderful to come: through them you will be able to share the divine nature and to escape corruption in a world that is sunk in vice." (2 P 1:3-4).

   It is not sufficient that we possess this Christ-life, this new vital principle. Also we need the supernatural faculties through which this Christ-life can both express itself and grow. This is evident if we consider our natural life as an analogy. It is not sufficient to possess a human nature. The life of this nature has to express itself and grow through various sense and spiritual faculties. For instance, one expresses his life as a man when he uses his intellect or when he walks.

   What are the supernatural faculties through which my Christ-life expresses itself and grows? These faculties are the supernaturally infused virtues, chief of which are faith, hope and love. These virtues give the Christian the capacity to channel his Christ-life into the various areas of his total existence. Or to put it in a slightly different manner, we can say that these virtues allow the Christian to relate properly to God, man and the rest of creation. They are positive modifications of the person, allowing him to act with various Christian attitudes. The virtues, in turn, are activated by actual grace which affects both our intellects and our wills.

   God has given the Christian still another gift of grace. We refer here to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are capacities which allow the Christian in a special manner to be receptive to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. These gifts, in turn, have as their purpose the perfecting of the infused virtues. Theologians teach that the virtues do not achieve a mature stage of development without the simultaneous activity of the gifts.

   Another important aspect of grace is that which is termed external. External actual grace is a person, place or thing which serves as an occasion for internal grace. We must realize the extreme importance of external grace, especially concerning persons. There are many examples. A wife can receive God's grace through the loving presence of her husband. The witness of a dedicated Christian can inspire us to greater things. The love and encouragement of a friend can spur us to a more generous self-giving in the work of Christ. Yes, persons are extremely important in God's plan.

   How does our Christ-life grow? This growth centers around the themes of love. Our Christ-life grows as we open ourselves up to God's love in the sacraments, especially the eucharist. We grow in Christ through the love of God and man which is expressed in various types of meritorious actions performed in the state of grace. We grow in Christ when God in His love graciously answers our prayers through which we have petitioned Him to take deeper possession of us through, for instance, an increase of faith, hope and love. In summary, we grow in our Christ-life through the various dimensions of loving relationships with God and others. Love is all important. The other virtues are important to the degree that they are influenced by love and serve love.

       2. THE GRACED CHRISTIAN AND VARIOUS RELATIONSHIPS

Our life of grace establishes various relationships between the Christian, God and the rest of creation. The first to be considered is that between the Christian and the persons of the Trinity.

   We should first give brief attention to certain theological principles and truths which have a relevance to any discussion involving our relationship to the three divine persons. One of these theological principles is that of appropriation. This is a mode of predication by which the properties and activities common to the three divine persons are especially attributed to one of the persons because of a property peculiar to this particular person. For instance, because of His fatherhood, we refer to God the Father as our Creator, although all three persons equally create. Therefore, we really have no proper relationship to the Father as our Creator, but only one based on appropriation. The process of our sanctification is also an action common to all three persons. But because it is a work of God's love for us, and since the Holy Spirit is the love existing between Father and Son, we appropriate sanctification to the Holy Spirit.

   This principle of appropriation preserves the traditional Catholic teaching that all divine activities ad extra (outside of God) are common to the three persons. At the same time it manifests the differences between the divine persons and properties.

   Yet many contemporary theologians are not satisfied in appealing only to the principle of appropriation as they strive to explain the relationship between the Christian and each of the divine persons. They maintain that scripture does not always seem to speak in an appropriated sense in describing our union with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Consequently, while adhering to the above principle concerning God's activity outside Himself, contemporary theologians are discussing the question of proper relationships between ourselves and each person of the Trinity. They do this by appealing to other than efficient causality. For instance, certain theologians, such as Karl Rahner, appeal to a quasi-formal type of causality in explaining the theology of the indwelling of the Trinity in the justified man.⁸ Such an explanation, not based on the principle of appropriation, allows for a proper and more personal relation between the justified man and the three distinct persons.

   Let us also note that in speaking of the Christian's union with Christ as man, there is the question of a proper and special relationship. This is true because among the divine persons only the Son possesses a human nature.

   We have constructed our framework of reference for discussing the role of Father, Son and Holy Spirit in our lives. Having once established it, we are consequently relieved of the burden of describing in each instance the type of relationship we are discussing, whether it is based on appropriation or not.

      a) Relationship with the Father
The Heavenly Father has put each of us upon this earth because of His singular love for us as individuals. There is a countless number of merely possible human persons existing in the divine knowledge. Why has the Father given existence to me rather than to these "possibles" who will never exist? The ultimate answer lies in the mysterious free will of the Father. He has chosen to love me, to give me existence, to give me a grace-life.

   In His love for me the Father has entrusted me with a great purpose. I have a loving service to give to God, to the Church, and to the world—a service which no one else can render. Each of us has been put here to fulfill a mission, to use our lives, not only for ourselves, but to labor through these lives for the glory of the Father and the benefit of men.

   We tend to underestimate the value of our lives. Perhaps this is so because our faith is not what it should be. We would be astounded if we could see the potential of our lives as does our heavenly Father. We are great, not because of what we are in ourselves, but because of what our Father has already done for us, and because of what He wants to do for us—if only we allow Him.

   Perhaps we would not be constantly tempted to underestimate the worth of our lives if we more often reflected upon some of the great examples of what God can accomplish through the life of one person. There has been a St. Augustine, a St. Dominic, a St. Francis of Assisi, a St. Thomas Aquinas, a St. Elizabeth, a St. Ignatius Loyola, a St. Thomas More, a St. John Vianney and many others. In and through their various vocations they have contributed profoundly to the work of Christ. Coming closer to our own day we have the example of Pope John XXIII and Dr. Thomas Dooley. These two lives, have they not left an indelible imprint upon the world of men? Can one life make a great difference to Church and world? The answer is obvious.

   And yet, you might object, the examples just cited are lives of outstanding men and women. After all, how many are destined to walk across the stage of life in such dominant display before the eyes of men? We acknowledge, not very many. But there could well be numberless lives, almost completely hidden to the world, which have also contributed greatly to the cause of Christ. Perhaps, even, these hidden lives have at times given more to Christ and the world than have the lives of the canonized saints. God's ways are not always our ways, nor are His thoughts always our thoughts. Our heavenly Father can make use of the most obscure and insignificant life to accomplish great things.

   Each Christian must strive to grow in the realization that the Father calls him to greatness. He accomplishes this purpose by the gradual development of his Christ-life. Whatever our particular purpose or mission in life may be, it will be authentically accomplished in proportion to the development of our grace-life in Christ. For our destiny in Christ includes all else. Our life of grace, in turn, develops around the all-embracive theme of the Father's will. The Father's will for me is what gives unity to my life. If I embrace this will, it holds together all the multitudinous threads of my existence, weaving them into a meaningful pattern—the achievement of my life's purpose.

   Consequently, to grow in Christian holiness and to achieve my mission in life are supremely possible for me. Why? Because growth in the realization of my life's task is always commensurate with my Father's will for me here and now. His will for me is always proportionate to my present weakness on the one hand, and, on the other, to my present degree of spiritual maturity. Finally, His will for me always carries with it the necessary graces for accomplishing what He here and now asks.

   As I reach out for my Father's will in love day after day, I am thereby dynamically developing my Christ-life, achieving my destiny, making my very important contribution to the evolving redemptive work of Christ.

   The Father's will touches everything in my life. It wants to make all contribute to my growing maturity in Christ. Joy and sorrow, success and failure, work and play, ecstatic happiness and deep suffering, all of these are to be related to my Father's will. If I correspond to God's grace, His will as it permeates my total being and existence will unfailingly transform me.

   As the Father's will transforms me, it thereby makes my life a success for myself and others. The only true measure of a successful life, despite possible appearances to the contrary, is whether or not it is conformed in love to the Father's will. The degree of success depends upon the degree of conformity. " 'It is not those who say to me, "Lord, Lord", who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?" Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, you evil men!' " (Mt 7:21-23).

   The above described Christian life is certainly impossible without God's grace. We must be deeply aware that grace is a gratuitous gift which we cannot achieve by our natural efforts. But God offers grace in abundance. Our problem is that we do not respond to grace as we should. We tend to minimize the Father's great designs for us. We are tempted not to take His words at face value, those which tell us of the fathomless love He has for each one of us, and what that love can accomplish in us. To help ourselves maintain the proper perspective in these matters, we should often remind ourselves of these words of St. Paul: "We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man— though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die—but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Having died to make us righteous, is it likely he would now fail to save us from God's anger?" (Rm 5:6-9).

   We have, therefore, an irrevocable and overwhelming testimony of the Father's love for us. Because of this love, the Christian can increasingly assimilate the Father's will in his own response of love. Through this mutual self-giving, God and the Christian are meant to be united in the deepest possible love.

   The above passage from St. Paul not only tells us of the Father's great love for us, but it also tells us that this love has come to us through Christ and continues to do so. There is no other way. This is the eternal design of the Father. Our grace-life as well as all creation takes its meaning from Christ: "He has let us know the mystery of his purpose, the hidden plan he so kindly made in Christ from the beginning to act upon when the times had run their course to the end: that he would bring everything together under Christ, as head, everything in the heavens and everything on earth." (Ep 1:9-10).    end of excerpt