tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62788894526486660082024-03-13T19:11:51.102-07:00Prayerbook for ReligiousFranciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.comBlogger347125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-33715957615719284142012-03-13T05:21:00.000-07:002012-03-13T05:21:00.420-07:00ALMSGIVING (Mark Aquilina)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
Of the three marks of Lent —
prayer, fasting and almsgiving — almsgiving is surely the most neglected.</div>
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<br /></div>
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And yet, in the only place
where the Bible brings all three together, the inspired author puts the
emphasis firmly on the last: “Prayer and fasting are good, but better than
either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness … It is better to give alms
than to store up gold; for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every
sin. Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life” (Tob 12:8-9).</div>
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<br /></div>
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Why is almsgiving better than
prayer and fasting? Because it is prayer, and it involves fasting. Almsgiving
is a form of prayer because it is “giving to God” — and not mere philanthropy.
It is a form of fasting because it demands sacrificial giving — not just giving
something, but giving up something, giving till it hurts.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
Jesus presented almsgiving as
a necessary part of Christian life: “when you give alms, sound no trumpet
before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that
they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their
reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right
hand is doing” (Mt 6:2-3). He does not say IF you give alms, but WHEN. Like
fasting and prayer, almsgiving is non-negotiable.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
The first Christians knew
this. “There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or
houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the
feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need”
(Acts 4:34-35).</div>
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<br /></div>
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That was the living embodiment
of a basic principle of Catholic social teaching, what tradition calls “the
universal destination of goods.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it
succinctly: “The goods of creation are destined for the entire human race” (n.
2452).</div>
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<br /></div>
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But they can’t get there
unless we put them there — and that requires effort.</div>
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<br /></div>
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As with prayer and fasting, so
with almsgiving. If we have a plan, we’ll find it easier to do. Throughout
history, many Christians have used the Old Testament practice of “tithing” as a
guide — that is, they give a tenth of their income “to God.” In practice, that
means giving it to the poor, to the parish, or to charitable institutions.</div>
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<br /></div>
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My friend Ed Kenna, an
octogenarian and dad, remembers the day he decided to start tithing. “When I
was a senior in high school, back in 1939-40, I read an article on charitable
giving in a Catholic newspaper,” he recalls. “And it had a lot of testimonies
to the fruits of tithing. Breadwinners told how God provided whenever they were
in need or had an emergency. I decided, then and there, to start tithing, and
I’ve been doing it ever since.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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For Kenna, those 65 years have
had their financial ups and downs. He served in the military during World War
II, went to college and raised a family of nine children. Through it all, he
says, he was often tempted, but he never wavered in his tithing. “There were
many times when I reached a point where I said, ‘Something has to give — but
I’m not going to give up on my tithing.’”</div>
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<br /></div>
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It’s a matter of trusting God,
Kenna adds, “and God will not be outdone in generosity.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
Jesus said, “It is more
blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35), but those who tithe often find
themselves on the receiving end as well. “I worked as an industrial engineer
through the highs and lows of American industry,” Kenna recalls. “Twice my job
fell victim to corporate mergers, but the phone always rang just in time. I
never lost an hour of work to layoffs.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
He sees the difficult times as
God’s test of our trust. “It’s especially hard in the beginning. On your first
paycheck, it hurts. On the second, the pain’s a little less. At about the third
or fourth, there’s no pain at all. You get used to it. It’s a habit. But you
have to make that firm resolution: I’m gonna do it and not give in.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
Kenna, like many others,
interprets tithing to mean taking ten percent off the “first fruits” — gross
income, rather than net. He divides this up as “5 percent to the parish and 5
percent to other Catholic institutions.” He also gives of his time and has, for
many decades, been a volunteer for the St. Vincent de Paul Society.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Indeed, many Catholics extend
the concept of almsgiving beyond money to include time and talent as well,
donating a portion of these to worthy causes.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
In the late fourth century,
St. John Chrysostom looked at the good life people were living in the imperial
court, and he was filled with righteous anger. In the name of God, he raged
against those who owned toilet seats made of gold, while other people starved
in cold hovels.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
While our commodes may be made
of less precious materials, many Americans today enjoy a better standard of
life than any Byzantine emperor ever knew. Central heat, central air
conditioning, electric lights, consistently safe food and water, antibiotics,
and even aspirin — these are luxuries beyond the dreams of our ancient
ancestors.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
We are living high, but are we
giving high?</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
It’s a good question to ask
ourselves during Lent. It is a scandal, after all, for Christians to have
closets overstuffed with clothing when there are families who are shivering
because they can’t pay their heating bill. It is a scandal for Christians to be
epidemically overweight when they have near neighbors who go to bed hungry.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
We need to give to God — whom
we meet in our neighbor — until these problems go away. Whatever we give,
whether it’s a tenth or a twentieth or half, is symbolic of the greater giving
that defines the Christian life. As God gave himself entirely to us, so we give
ourselves entirely to Him. In the Eucharist, He holds nothing back. He gives us
His body, blood, soul and divinity — everything He has. That’s the giving we
need to imitate.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
Charity begins at home, where
we daily make the choice to give our time, our attention, our affirming smile,
and give generously. But charity must not stop there, because for Catholics
“home” is universal, and our family is as big as the world. We need to dig deep
and give much where much is needed. But, whenever possible, our charity should
also involve personal acts, not just automatic withdrawals from our bank
account. Pope John Paul asked us to see, and be seen by, “the human face of
poverty.”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
We give what we have till we
have nothing left to give. My friend and sometime co-author Regis Flaherty
remembers his sister Pat as a woman who practiced giving all her life, to her
sibilings, her husband, her children and her friends. To the end, she gave what
she could. “When she was dying she was in and out of consciousness, but
whenever she looked up at us, she would invariable smile — absolutely amazing
considering how much she was suffering.”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
Sometimes all we can give is a
smile, but sometimes that is the greatest sacrifice, the greatest prayer, and
indeed the most generous and most sacrificial alms.</div>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-31038900371713610262012-03-12T05:18:00.000-07:002012-03-12T05:18:00.436-07:00FASTING (Article by Mark Aquilina)<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Why do Catholics have to fast?”</b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
The question came from a
non-Catholic Boy Scout in my son’s troop. We had spent a long, soggy weekend in
the middle of the woods. And now, Sunday morning, the adults announced that
breakfast would be delayed so that the Catholics could keep the Communion fast.
He was not a happy camper.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
His question comes to mind
again as Lent begin, because fasting is the most distinguishing practice of the
season. On two days in Lent, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, Catholics limit
their eating to one full, meatless meal. On all the Fridays of Lent we abstain
from meat.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
Why do Catholics fast? Our
reasons find firm grounding in the Bible.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
When we fast, we follow holy
example. Moses and Elijah fasted forty days before going into God’s presence
(Ex 34:28, 1 Kgs 19:8). Anna the Prophetess fasted to prepare herself for the
coming of the Messiah (Lk 2:37). They all wanted to see God, and they
considered fasting a basic prerequisite. We, too, wish to enter God’s presence,
so we fast.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
Jesus fasted (Mt 4:2). And
since He needed no purification, He surely did this only to set an example for
us. In fact, He assumed that all Christians would follow His example. “When you
fast,” he said, “do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their
appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting” (Mt 6:16). Note
that He did not say “IF you fast,” but “when.”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
And WHEN is now. In Lent the
Church extends the idea of fasting, beyond the minimal skipping of meals, to a
more far-reaching program of self-denial. Jesus said: “If any man would come
after me, let him deny himself … daily” (Lk 9:23). So we “give up” something
that we’d ordinarily enjoy: sweets, soda pop, a favorite TV show, or the snooze
alarm.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
Fasting has its health
benefits, but it’s not the same as dieting. Fasting is something spiritual and
far more positive. Fasting is a spiritual feast. It does for the soul what food
does for the body.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
The Bible spells out specific
spiritual benefits of fasting. It produces humility (Ps 69:10). It shows our
sorrow for our sins (1 Sam 7:6). It clears a path to God (Dan 9:3). It is a
means of discerning God’s will (Ezr 8:21) and a powerful method of prayer
(8:23). It’s a mark of true conversion (Jl 2:12).</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
Fasting helps us to be
detached from the things of this world. We fast, not because earthly things are
evil, but precisely because they’re good. They’re God’s gifts to us. But
they’re so good that we sometimes prefer the gifts to the Giver. We practice
self-indulgence rather than self-denial. We tend to eat and drink to the point
where we forget God. Such indulgence is really a form of idolatry. It’s what
St. Paul meant when he said, “their god is the belly … with minds set on
earthly things” (Phi 3:19).</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
How can we enjoy God’s gifts
without forgetting the Giver? Fasting is a good way to start. The body wants
more than it needs, so we should give it less than it wants.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
St. John of the Cross said
that we cannot rise up to God if we are bound to the things of this world. So
we give up good things, and gradually we grow less dependent on them, less
needy.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
All of this is part of our
preparation for heaven. For we’re destined to lose our earthly goods anyway.
Time, age, illness and “doctor’s orders” can take away our taste for chocolate,
our ability to enjoy a cold beer, and even the intimate embrace of a loved one.
If we have no discipline over our desires, then these losses will leave us
bitter and estranged from God. But if we follow Jesus in self-denial, we’ll
find a more habitual consolation in the ultimate good — God Himself.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
How is it that some people are
able to remain serene and cheerful amid extreme suffering and even when facing
imminent death? It’s not just a matter of temperament. They’ve prepared
themselves for the moment by giving up the things of this world, one small
thing at a time. They’ve grown so accustomed to small sacrifice that the big
one isn’t such a stretch.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
No one says that fasting is
easy. In fact, says Benedictine Father Thomas Acklin, author of The Passion of
the Lamb: God’s Love Poured Out in Jesus. “Fasting can seem very hard, and it
can seem that if I do not eat I will become weak and will not be able to work,
or pray, or do anything.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
“Yet there is that marvelous
moment,” he adds, “when, after some hours have passed, my stomach has stopped
growling and I’ve even forgotten what I’ve given up, when there is a lightness,
a freedom, a clarity of the senses and a brightness of attitude and feeling, an
incomparable closeness to the Lord.”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
Lent is a special season, but
God wants these forty days to have a lasting effect on our lives. So, in a
sense, fasting is for always. Father Rene Schatteman, an Opus Dei chaplain in
Pittsburgh, says that he received this lesson directly from a canonized saint.
“I learned from St. Josemaria Escriva, whom I had the privilege of knowing
personally, that a person should make some small sacrifice at each meal,
always, and not just during Lent.”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
Fr. Schatteman emphasizes the
importance of little things, and the big effect they can have: “We should all
feel the need to help Christ redeem the world by practicing self-denial in
everyday, ordinary eating and drinking … to take a bit less, or a bit less of
what we like most, to avoid eating between meals, to skip a snack or dessert, etc.,
without making a big deal of it.”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
A Pittsburgh businessman (who
asked for anonymity) told me of his longtime practice of fasting on Fridays, “a
12-15 hour fast from food, water-only.” He said, however, that this can be
difficult to carry out, not because of the hunger, but because it can disrupt
family life. “It’s very hard to sit at the family table and not eat. It’s not
so much a question of resisting the temptation of the food. I always felt like
I was breaking fellowship. My fasting actually felt selfish, like I was taking
something away from our time together as a family.”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
He has since modified his
fast, “to be broken at the family dinner in the evening.”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
Why do Catholics fast? Our
anonymous businessman put it well: “It’s medicine for my biggest problem —
selfishness and lack of self-control. To force myself to curb my appetites, to
not satisfy my desires — even for a short period of time — this is a good
thing. To offer up the little sacrifice to God, for my family, for people who
are hungry through no choice of their own, this I think is also good.”</div>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-18982236736896392932012-03-11T05:13:00.000-07:002012-03-11T05:13:13.933-07:00A wonderful article about PRAYER<br />
<div class="mediumsubheading" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>PRAYER (</b>by<b> </b><span class="postedBy" style="color: black; margin: 0pt 4px 0pt 0pt;">Mike Aquilina)</span><b> </b></div>
<div class="mediumsubheading" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="mediumsubheading" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How do you know it’s
Lent?</b></div>
<div class="mediumsubheading" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It’s not so much by the ash mark on your forehead
or fish marks on the calendar. Tradition tells us that Lent has three
distinguishing marks: prayer, fasting and almsgiving.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This three-part series will examine those
practices. Prayer is surely the best place to begin, because it’s the one that
unites them all. Fasting and almsgiving are themselves just forms of prayer.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There are two classic definitions of prayer. The
one in most catechisms comes from <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">St. John of Damascus</span> (eighth century):
“Prayer is the raising of the mind and heart to God.” The other comes from <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">St. Clement of Alexandria</span> (third century).
He defined prayer as “conversation with God.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In prayer we talk to God, and He talks to us. As
in any relationship, this conversation takes many forms. Think of all the ways
a husband and wife communicate: formal marriage vows, casual chat, winks across
a crowded room, affectionate caresses, and phrases they never tire of
repeating.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Our communication with God includes a similar
range of expressions — set phrases, quiet conversation, gestures such as the
Sign of the Cross, and the intimate embrace of the sacraments. Just as a man
and woman grow in love by repeating “I love you,” so we Christians grow in love
by repeating the Church’s prayers.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Prayer comes in many forms and styles. These are
usually divided into “vocal” and “mental” prayer. The categories are helpful,
but not watertight. All prayer, after all, should involve our mind; so, in a
sense, all prayer is mental prayer. Modern writers sometimes speak of the two
types as formal prayer and spontaneous prayer.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Again, such distinctions are useful; we should,
however, step beyond them for a moment. When we look at all prayer as
conversation, it can change the way we go about it. Thinking of prayer as
conversation can help us also to overcome obstacles — such as distractions,
dryness, inability to focus — because all these things also come up in human
conversation.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Prayer is a conversation that never ends. In the
Scriptures, St. Paul says: “Pray at all times” (Eph 6:18); “Pray without
ceasing” (1 Thess 5:1); and “be constant in prayer” (Rom 12:12). He saw prayer
as endless conversation.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That seems to be asking a lot, but it’s really
the best way to think about it. If we are to pray this way, we have to form the
habit of prayer. And, like any good habit or skill, prayer requires a sustained
effort, over time, with much repetition.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Many people bristle when they hear about
discipline in prayer. They think prayer should always be spontaneous. And
sometimes prayer does come spontaneously, as when we experience some great joy
or great sorrow. But spontaneity is most often the fruit of discipline. It is
usually the best-trained musicians who are able to improvise freely. To do anything
well takes time, dedication and patient endurance through sometimes-tedious
exercises.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The most effective way to discipline our prayer
life is by following a program, a schedule of sorts — what the late Cardinal
Joseph Bernardin called “a game plan for the Christian.” The best time to set
up such a plan is during Lent.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A “plan of life” is a firm but flexible program
that schedules our prayer amid the ordinary duties of work, family life and
social activity. A daily plan should include some vocal prayers, such as the
Rosary or other devotions; plus reading of the Bible and some spiritual book (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/159276245X/185-5015406-2327715?SubscriptionId=0EMV44A9A5YT1RVDGZ82" title="the writings of the saints are best"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">the writings of the saints are best</span></a>);
attendance at Mass (at least on Sundays and holy days, but more often if
possible); and quiet time for more focused conversation with God in mental
prayer. The best place for this prayer is in church, before Jesus in the
tabernacle.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“Prayer first means God is speaking to us and not
the other way around,” says Father Kenneth Myers, a priest of the Diocese of
Pittsburgh. “That requires silence — the art of listening carefully to the
Lord. And the best place to do that is in the presence of the Blessed
Sacrament. Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament requires real effort and
commitment, but even when our hearts are dry and it seems fruitless to keep on
praying, being before the Eucharistic Lord is like being in the sunlight — even
by doing nothing we still absorb those powerful rays of light.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Our plan should also include weekly or monthly
practices, such as confession, fasting, almsgiving and so on.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It helps to set standard times, or to key each
practice to other activities, so that we never forget. We can keep our
spiritual book by the coffee pot and read while the java is brewing every
morning. We can use the beginning of our lunch hour as a reminder to say the
Angelus. We can pray the Rosary while waiting for the bus home in the evening.
We can listen to ten minutes of the Bible on tape as we drive.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We should plant prayers throughout the day like
vines. Put one here, one there — and pretty soon, like ivy on a wall, our
prayer will cover our day.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is how Jesus modeled prayer for us. His own
prayer life was rich and varied. Sometimes He offered formal prayers (Mk 12:29,
15:34). He kept holy days, made pilgrimages and attended the rich liturgy of
the Jews (Jn 7:10-14). He also prayed spontaneously (Jn 11:41-42). He made time
to pray alone in silence (Lk 3:21-22). Yet He also prayed together with His
friends (Lk 9:18). He fasted, and He studied the Scriptures.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The first Christians followed their Lord in all
these practices, and so do we.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Not that it’s always easy to do. But the formal
quality of prayer helps us know what to do when we meet with obstacles. “Never,
Never, never, never give up!” says my friend Steve Galvanek. A systems analyst,
husband and dad, Steve says his plan sustains him even when he’s tired and
preoccupied. “If in my feeble attempts to say a Rosary, I manage just one or
two heartfelt Hail Marys, that’s far better than if I hadn’t tried at all”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Even the more unpleasant and difficult things in
life can become reminders to pray. The key is to think of them as opportunities
rather than obstacles. Another friend of mine, Sarah Scott, admits that it’s
hard to find time to pray. She’s a mother of five, owner of a home-based
business and volunteer at her children’s Catholic school. “It helps to offer
everything up all the little things that you don’t like to do,” she says. “I
hate folding laundry. But, instead of getting annoyed about it, I try to offer
it up and think about what other people have to deal with. Efforts like this
keep me talking with God throughout the day.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sounds like a plan. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
FROM: http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/intro_to_lent_1_prayer/ <br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-43669362190200262622012-02-29T03:44:00.000-08:002012-02-29T03:44:00.383-08:00SUBJUGATION OF THE INTERNAL SENSES<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">VI. SUBJUGATION
OF THE INTERNAL SENSES. </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. Controlling
the Central Sense</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The central sense makes us conscious of the operations
of the external senses. Its subjugation consists in guarding against the two extremes
of sense-consciousness, lethargy, and sensitiveness. A good will ought to turn
instantly from any dangerous impression on the one hand, and, by distinguishing
between impression and consent, have no grounds for vain fears on the other
hand. We should turn as promptly from moral evil as we instinctively recoil
from physical pain; but over-sensitiveness is founded neither on reason nor on
faith, and retards our progress by paralyzing our energies. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. Purifying the
Imagination</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The imagination receives and reproduces the impressions
made on the external senses. Though the first impressions, called phantasms, are
usually vague and indistinct, their reproduction and elaboration may be brought
out clearly by a reflex action of the will. The subjugation of the imagination
consists in preserving and purifying it from all sinful and dangerous impressions.
To attain this end we must guard against idle, dangerous, and sinful impressions,
and try to forget the dangerous ones we have received. Hence we should (1) not
permit the imagination to roam aimlessly; (2) not excite it uselessly; (3) not
permit it to dwell too much on worldly things; (4) not over-indulge it even on
indifferent subjects; (5) not believe it too readily; (6) not blame it for our
levity, impatience, or laziness; (7) but constrain it gently to become
preoccupied with useful and devotional subjects. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. Restraining
the Instinct. </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The instinct perceives what is conducive and what
is harmful to animal life. It impels man, says St. Bernard, to seek his ease,
his comfort, and especially his carnal gratification. The baser the passion it
arouses, the more violent also is its impulse. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To subdue the instinct we must (1) guard against
impressions that may arouse wicked suggestions; (2) energetically subdue those
we cannot avoid; (3) guard against the gratification of idle curiosity; (4)
deny ourselves in some things lawful; (5) strengthen ourselves by recollection
and prayer; (6) obey our spiritual director; (7) never grow discouraged in the
conflict; (8) and never imagine ourselves immune from the assaults of the
flesh. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. Purifying the
Memory</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The memory retains and identifies past impressions.
The voluntary reproduction of these impressions in man is called reminiscence,
while the retention and reproduction of past thoughts is the work of the mind. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We subjugate the memory by purifying it of
impressions that are dangerous to virtue, or that hamper us in concentrating
our energies on elevating and useful things. To succeed we must (1) avoid sinful
occasions and association; (2) not recall in too vivid a manner the memory of
past sins; (3) forget injuries received; (4) cultivate detachment from earthly
things; (5) not dwell too frequently or too fondly on the pleasant
recollections of life. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To succeed we should (1) cherish the benefits
of creation, redemption, and sanctification; (2) think of the wants of the
Church and of the trials of the Holy Father ; (3) remember the sad condition of
sinners, the poverty of the poor, and the suffering of the sick; (i) often
recall our own humble origin, our obligations and infidelities, the shortness
of life, the value of grace, the certainty of death and of judgment, the
suffering of the souls in purgatory, the terrors of hell, and the beatitude of
heaven. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The benefits we
derive from this subjugation of the memory are: (1) tranquility and peace of
heart: (2) purity of conscience; (3) freedom from countless temptations: (4)
the special protection of Divine Providence; (5) the inspiration of grace; (6)
the special guidance of the Holy Ghost. </span>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-54668482566633816702012-02-28T03:43:00.000-08:002012-02-28T03:43:00.269-08:00SUBJUGATION OF THE EXTERNAL SENSES<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">V. SUBJUGATION OF
THE EXTERNAL SENSES. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By following their senses instead of regulating
their conduct according to the word of God, our first parents lost happiness
and brought sin and misery into the world. In consequence of their sensuality human
nature inclines to evil, the world allures to sin, and Satan has grown astute
in tempting mankind. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Before us stand the tree of life and the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil. The spirit inclines to the former, the flesh
to the latter. As we obtain knowledge primarily through the senses, St. Augustine
aptly calls them "the doors by which life and death enter the soul.'' If
we do not wish death to enter our souls through the senses we must keep them so
completely under the control of reason enlightened by faith that we can turn
them instinctively from any unforeseen danger and concentrate them on what is
conducive to life eternal. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This subjugation of the senses, says Thomas a
Kempis, purifies the heart, gives peace to the soul, and inclines the will to
devotion. By subjugating our senses in a Christian spirit we offer them as
holocausts to the Lord on the altar of repentant and purified love. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. Custody of the
Eyes</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The most numerous and the most lasting impressions
made on the soul usually enter through the sense of sight. To cultivate purity
of heart it will therefore be necessary to exercise specially custody of the
eyes. Without doing anything extravagant or ridiculous this can easily be
accomplished by those who keep the Christian ideal constantly before their
minds and are determined to attain it in their daily lives. In all things let
them (1) act from principle and guard against natural impulse; (2) watch and
pray that they may enjoy the special protection of Divine Providence; (3) conquer
fickleness of heart by cultivating a tender conscience; (4) not fix their gaze
on a person of the opposite sex that might easily incite them to impure
thoughts or desires; (5) avoid suggestive books, pictures, and plays; (6) guard
against idle curiosity; (7) and by the contemplation of the beauties of nature
learn to raise their minds and hearts to God. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. Custody of the
Ears. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Countless souls have been harmed by listening
with pleasure to the vanities and wickedness of the world. If we do not wish to
be imbued with false principles and desire to preserve our hearts undefiled, we
must turn away from (1) all irreligious and immodest conversation; (2) from all
uncharitable remarks and criticism; (3) from all idle gossip, especially with
persons of the opposite sex; (4) and from all sensational rumors and idle reports.
</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let us rather treasure these sayings of the saints:
(1) Turn instantly from the immodest tongue lest it defile you (St. Gregory
Nazianzen). (2) Four things are becoming to the listener: to listen patiently,
to weigh wisely, to report the good, and to forget the rest (St. Thomas). (3)
The more you relish spiritual things, the easier will you escape the poison of an
evil tongue. (4) Three things defile the hearing: boastful words, detracting
remarks, and vain flattery (St. Anthony). (5) Whatever pertains to the
salvation of our souls should be willingly heard, devoutly received, and carefully
preserved (St. Bernard). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. Custody of the
Sense of Smell. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The use of perfumes is unbecoming to devout souls.
When habitually indulged in it tends to moral effeminacy. Hence St. Bonaventure
exhorts his readers to dispense with the perfumes of earth, and to fill their
lives with the fragrance of virtue, that they may abound in the dew of heavenly
grace, in the scented air of holy aspirations, and in the burning fire of divine
charity. By exhaling the odor of virtue in their private lives the children of
God will counteract evil, be an incentive to good, and give glory to God. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. Custody of the
Taste. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An unmortified taste is most pernicious, especially
in this age of materialism and sensuality. Two evils result from a want of mortifying
the taste: (1) the vices of gluttony and intemperance; (2) and a perversion of
the sense of taste and of the craving for nourishment. According to St. Gregory
the Great we may be intemperate in eating and drinking in five ways: (1) by
eating or drinking out of season; (2) by desiring expensive food or drink; (3)
by desiring things prepared with great care; (4) by too great eagerness in eating
or drinking; (5) by an inordinate use of food or drink. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To exercise custody over the taste we should (1)
be indifferent to food and drink, and take what is placed before us; (2) not
take nourishment out of meal-time without necessity; (3) take nourishment to
strengthen our bodies and not merely to gratify the palate; (4) always observe
moderation in eating and drinking; (5) when at table always deny ourselves
something for the love of God. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5. Custody of the
Sense of Touch.</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The sense of touch is not easily kept under the
control of reason (1) because it seems so harmless that often not sufficient
attention is paid to it; (2) it covers the entire body and is not easily
subjugated; (3) it easily excites impure feelings. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To subjugate the sense of touch we must avoid
whatever enervates it. Hence the saints advise us: (1) to live a simple life;
(2) to wear plain clothes; (3) to sleep on a hard bed; (4) to cultivate habits
of industry; (5) to suffer the inclemency of the weather patiently; (6) never
to pamper the body; (7) to avoid all unnecessary physical contact with others;
(8) to be modest with ourselves; (9) to practice some austerity with the advice
of our director. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6. Custody of the
Tongue. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Though the tongue is not a sense it is appropriately
treated here as the organ of speech. God gave us the gift of speech to worship
Him, and to communicate with our neighbor in a Christian manner. A right use of
the tongue is made (1) in honoring God by prayer and divine praise; (2) in
communicating with a neighbor in justice and kindness on business, social, and
charitable affairs; (3) especially by consoling the unfortunate, in speaking
well of all, in conversing on edifying subjects. But a wrong use of the tongue
is made by all irreverent, disrespectful, uncharitable, and indelicate remarks.
</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We exercise custody over the tongue (1) by
always thinking well of all; (2) by always wishing well to all; (3) by
repressing all impetuosity to speak; (4) by weighing what we are about to say, so
that we speak in season and offend not against modesty, charity, justice, or truth.
St. Alphonsus exhorts us to speak with simplicity, humility, moderation, and
modesty. And the Psalmist prayed the Lord "to set a watch before his
mouth; and a door around his lips that his heart incline not to evil words'' (Ps.
cxl. 3). </span></div>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-82564952193319330182012-02-27T03:41:00.000-08:002012-02-27T03:41:00.357-08:00SUBJUGATION OF THE CARNAL MAN<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">IV. SUBJUGATION
OF THE CARNAL MAN. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our first duty in the practice of mortification
is the subjugation of the carnal man. This we accomplish by assuming an
attitude towards our environment which will be favorable for the development of
virtue, and by acquiring those habits that, according to the teaching and example
of our divine Model, must serve as the basis of the interior life. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. Spirit of
Retirement. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Go forth out of thy comfort, and from
thy kindred, and out of thy father's house, and come into the land which I will
show thee. And I will make thee great and bless thee and magnify thy name''
(Gen. xii. 1). </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These words the Almighty addressed to Abraham
of old. He repeats them to every soul of good will. To be His devoted children
we must withdraw at least in spirit from that world which is at enmity with
God. We hearken to this invitation of the Lord by cultivating a spirit of
retirement. This spirit consists (1) in being indifferent to the follies of the
world; (2) in shunning notoriety; (3) in appearing in public only when actuated
by some good reason. ''God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Our
Lord Jesus Christ; by whom the world is crucified unto me" (Gal. vi, 14). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. Plain
Dwelling. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">''I have chosen to be an abject in the house of
God, rather than dwell in the tabernacles of sinners" (Ps. Ixxxiii. 11).
To cultivate a spirit of retirement we must banish the spirit of the world from
our homes. The greatest slaves of the world make their dwellings places of luxury
and cultivate a haughty reserve in their conduct. A true child of God, however,
manifests his indifference to the follies of the world as well as his spirit of
faith in the erection and furnishing of his earthly dwelling without violating
the canons of taste or sacrificing his station in life. He manifests his
simple, Christian taste especially in decorating his home with the images of
his crucified Master, of the Virgin Mother, and of the saints, and thus he hopes,
after dwelling in intimate union with them on earth, to be found worthy one day
to dwell with them in the mansions of heaven. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. Modest Dress </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Scriptures tell us that our first parents invented
clothing to cover their nakedness. In our day clothing is often a necessary
protection against the inclemency of the weather. But the fashions of dress are
indicative of Christian modesty, or of a worldly spirit. For this reason St.
Paul wrote: “Let your modesty be known to all men'' (Phil, iv. 5). For the same
reasons the world makes use of clothes to gratify its desire of luxury and
thereby seduces many thoughtless souls. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As children of God we must therefore (1) remember
that our clothes should indicate our Christian modesty; (2) dress according to
our station in life; (3) prefer utility and modesty in dress to style or
fashion; (4) and guard against taking scandal from the immodest clothing of the
slaves of the world — ''There is a shame that bringeth glory and grace"
(Eccles. iv. 25). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. Plain Fare</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The world deifies the flesh and worships it by
ministering to its cravings. According to St. Paul those are the slaves of the
world, '' whose end is destruction; whose God is their belly; and whose glory
is in their shame, who mind earthly things" (Phil. iii. 19). We must indeed
eat to live, but we should not live to eat. The slaves of the world gratify
their vanity and pervert their taste by serving costly viands, and they degrade
themselves and court sickness and death by intemperance in eating and drinking.
Plain fare on the other hand is more nutritious, more easily digested, and more
conducive to health, happiness, and a ripe old age. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5. Simplicity. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"The simplicity of the just shall guide
them" (Prov. xi. 3). Simplicity is that fidelity to truth which abhors all
duplicity and deception. Truth is from God, deception from Satan. Hence the
Savior says: "Let your speech be yea, yea; no, no: and that which is over
and above this is of evil" (Matt. v. 37). </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Simplicity in thought, word, and deed makes us
(1) humble in our own estimation; (2) pleasing in the sight of God; (3)
honorable among men; (4) confiding in God; (5) and generous towards our
neighbor. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6. Cheerfulness. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cheerfulness is the disposition of looking on the
bright side of life. It manifests itself in looks, words, and actions that have
a soothing influence on all present. Cheerfulness results from a conscientious
performance of duty, united to a strong trust in divine Providence. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cheerfulness has a tendency to lighten our burdens,
to sweeten our sorrows, and to give us a relish for labor, endurance, and
prayer. It disposes us to be generous with God, indulgent with our neighbor,
and forgetful of ourselves. No wonder, then, that the Scripture says: "God
loveth a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. ix. 7.) </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">7. Habit of
Industry. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A habit of industry is a disposition for work.
Labor is life's first law. "If any man will not work, neither let him
eat" (2 Thess. iii. 10). A habit of industry is conducive to happiness (1)
by giving us an object in life; (2) by compelling us to take exercise, which is
necessary for the preservation of health; (3) by supplying diversion for the mind;
(4) by giving us profitable occupation for our time; (5) by imparting a relish
to our recreation; (6) by insuring rest in our repose; (7) by keeping us from
vice; (8) by disposing us to help a neighbor in need. A habit of industry is
likewise essential to success. It (1) teaches concentration of our energies;
(2) imparts method to our procedure, (3) and insures perseverance in our
efforts. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Finally, a habit of industry disposes us for a
Christian life (1) by teaching us self -discipline; (2) by giving us the
mastery over ourselves; (3) and by grounding us in natural virtue. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">8. Patient
Endurance. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is impossible to escape all suffering in
this valley of tears. Our only choice in the matter is between the patient
endurance of the sufferings Providence sends us, or the enforced endurance of
the greater sufferings of our own choice. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Patient endurance of the sufferings of life (1)
gives stability of character; (2) grounds us in self-knowledge; (3) dispels
delusions; (4) detaches us from things of earth; (5) broadens our sympathies
for struggling mankind; (6) disposes us for the grace of God; (7) and leads to
solid virtue and true spiritual progress. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Patient endurance in the trials of life is facilitated
(1) by not wasting our energies about the past; (2) by not worrying about the
future; (3) by not magnifying our present trials; (4) by recalling the
sufferings of Christ and His saints; (5) by cultivating conformity to the holy
will of God. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">9. Avoidance of
Singularity. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Singularity is affectation in practical life. As
humility produces simplicity, so pride be- gets singularity. Singularity is
primarily a vice of the interior, but manifests itself exteriorly in various
ways. According to its particular tendency it poses (1) in the seriousness of
the magistrate; (2) in the science of the learned; (3) in the independence of
the rich; (4) and even in the humility and devotion of a Christian soul.
Singularity (1) gives a false view of the minor affairs of life; (2) pursues fancies
instead of acquiring solid virtue; (3) multiplies one's cares; (4) and imparts
the impression that those who practise it are not quite sound of mind. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The remedy for singularity is "to put off
the old man, and put on the new man, who is created in justice, holiness, and
truth'' (Eph. iv. 22). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">10. Home Life</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Home life consists of our conduct in the family
circle. The qualities that contribute to its happiness are sincerity, charity,
cheerfulness, cordiality, patience, and a spirit of sacrifice. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is a profound attachment in every heart for
that sacred spot we call Home. It is en- shrined in the fondest memories of our
earlier days. Though the lapse of time may have changed our abode, our home is
always the place where those dwell whom we love and trust, our safe retreat from
an unsympathetic world, the reward of our labor and sacrifice, and the natural
source of our energy and strength. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the struggle and conflict of daily life we may
be forced to put on an exterior reserve and retire into our inner selves to
preserve peace of mind and heart. But at home, if our interior be unselfish, we
may safely lay aside all reserve and enjoy the peace of security and familiar
intercourse with our own. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">11. Recreation. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Recreation is relaxation after the strain and strife
of duty. It is necessary to relax and renew our energies from time to time, if
we are to bear the burdens that await us. Three things may be remarked in
regard to our recreations. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(1) Recreation should be an innocent relaxation,
suited to our age and station in life. For some it may take the form of
physical exercise, for others a social visit with friends may be more
profitable, while a third class may find sufficient recreation in a change of
occupation. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(2) To balance the mind recreation should be
taken with moderation. Over-indulgence will dissipate instead of recreating our
energies, while a want of recreation will make us dull and mechanical. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(3) Congenial surroundings contribute very
much to our recreation. Under normal circumstances the home is the best place
for our recreations, though on special occasions we may take our recreation
away from home without injuring home life. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12. Care of Health.
</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Life and health are gifts of God. In bestowing
them upon us He also imposed the obligation of caring for our health and
thereby prolonging life. Both extremes should be avoided in fulfilling this
obligation. "Be not solicitous therefore,” warns the Savior, "saying,
What shall we eat: or, what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Matt. vi. 31). </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On the other hand St. Paul says: "Know you
not that you are the temples of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in
you? But if any man violate the temple of God, him shall God destroy'' (1 Cor.
iii. 16). We would manifest an inordinate care of health (1) by unnecessarily thinking,
talking, and worrying about it; (2) by developing fads and eccentricities in
caring for it; (3) by neglecting our duty on account of it ; (4) by being more
solicitous about the body than about the soul. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We would be wanting in the proper care of our
health (1) if we did something positively to injure it; (2) if we did not use
the ordinary means of preserving it; (3) if we wantonly exposed it to danger;
(4) if we refused medical aid when sick. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">13. Friends. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Friends are persons who cherish a mutual attachment
and have one another's welfare at heart. Affability, cheerfulness, and integrity
give our intercourse with acquaintances that flavor which enables us to make
friends. Thinking of them with affection, trusting them cordially, and doing
them a favor whenever the opportunity presents itself, enables us to cement the
bonds of friendship. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We should (1) be careful in the selection of our
friends; (2) have but a few; (3) be faithful to them unto death; (4) gladly
make their interest our own. Listen to the advice of Sacred Scripture: "Be
at peace with many, but let one of a thousand be thy counselor. If thou wouldst
get a friend, try him before thou takest him, and do not credit him easily. For
there is a friend of his own occasion, and he will not abide in the day of
trouble. And there is a friend that turneth to enmity; and there is a friend
that will disclose hatred and strife and reproaches. And there is a friend a
companion at thy table, and he will not abide in the day of distress. A friend
if he continues steadfast, shall be to thee as thyself, and shall act with
confidence in thy household. A faithful friend is a strong defense: and he that
hath found him, hath found a treasure. Nothing can be compared to a faithful
friend, and no weight of gold or silver is able to countervail the goodness of
his fidelity. A faithful friend is the medicine of life and immortality; and they
that fear the Lord shall find him. He that feareth God shall likewise have good
friendship; because according to him shall also his friend be" (Eccles.
vi. 6-17). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">14. Catholic
Spirit. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A Catholic spirit makes us loyal children of God.
This spirit is made of four things: (1) Catholic views, which harmonize not
only with dogmatic teaching, but also with the opinions of our ecclesiastical
superiors; (2) Catholic desires, desires for the glory of God, the welfare of
His Church, and for the temporal and eternal happiness of mankind; (3) a
Catholic instinct which identifies us so intimately with Jesus Christ that it
readily detects and abhors whatever is foreign to His spirit; (4) a Catholic
life, a life actuated so completely by the teaching of the Catholic Church that
it devoutly spends itself in the faithful discharge of its Christian duties. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A Catholic spirit (1) makes us living, active members
of Christ's mystical body on earth by identifying us with the congregation in
which we live; (2) it gives us the true liberty and peace of children of God;
(3) and it enables US to exercise a most powerful influence for the good of the
community. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To acquire a Catholic spirit we must cultivate
humility, docility, generosity, and fervor in the service of God. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">15. Intercourse
with the World. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On earth the children of God must have more or
less intercourse with the people of the world. To guard them against injury and
scandal in these dealings with mankind the Savior gave His followers a practical
rule of conduct when He said : ''Be ye wise as serpents and simple as
doves" (Matt. x. 16). We must be wise or prudent without being crafty and
charitable without being foolish. To exercise this prudence we must avoid all
rash judgments, words, and actions on the one hand, and on the other give no
one our trust or confidence till they have shown themselves worthy of it.
"Separate thyself from thy enemies, and take heed of thy friends"
(Eccles. vi. 13). We are simple as doves when (1) we do nothing in look, word,
or deed to deceive our neighbor; (2) when we edify him by our self-possession, and
by the integrity of our speech and deportment; (3) and especially by our
forbearance and Christian charity. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To avoid the dissipation of the world we should
therefore (1) not appear among the people of the world without a reason; (2)
guard against the principles, maxims, standards, and motives of the world; (3)
guard against injuring others in any way; (4) let the light of our good example
shine in the darkness of the world; (5) avail ourselves of every opportunity of
converting the world to Jesus Christ. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">16. Christian
Charity. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Christian charity is that divine virtue whereby
we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.
The infallible test of Christian charity is our charity towards our neighbor.
The noblest acts of fraternal charity are summed up in the Seven Corporal, and
the Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Corporal Works of Mercy are: (1) to feed
the hungry; (2) to give drink to the thirsty; (3) to clothe the naked; (4) to
ransom the captive; (5) to harbor the harborless; (6) to visit the sick; (7) to
bury the dead. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Spiritual Works of Mercy are: (1) to admonish
the sinner; (2) to instruct the ignorant; (3) to counsel the doubtful; (4) to
comfort the sorrowful; (5) to bear wrongs patiently; (6) to forgive all
injuries; (7) to pray for the living and the dead. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">St. Thomas calls mercy the greatest of the moral
virtues. And our divine Savior Himself declares that at the general judgment He
will pronounce sentence upon mankind according to the works of mercy they have performed.
</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one
of these my least brethren, you did it to me'' (Matt xxv. 40). Hence St. Paul,
so zealous in the cause of his Master, exhorted his converts: “Put ye on
therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, the bowels of mercy'' (Col
in. 12). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">17. Patriotism. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Patriotism is love for one's native or adopted
country. It was implanted in the human heart by God when He made man a social
being. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Patriotism manifests itself (1) in an esteem
of one's country; (2) in attachment to it; (3) in the observance of its just
laws; (4) in furthering the general welfare by one's influence, especially by a
conscientious use of the ballot; (6) in serving one's country faithfully; (7)
and in dying for one's country if circumstances require it. </span></div>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-71326663955560641332012-02-26T03:40:00.000-08:002012-02-26T03:40:00.515-08:00SELF-CASTIGATION OR PENANCE<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">III.
SELF-CASTIGATION OR PENANCE. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Self-castigation is the purification of man from
the effects of sin by the practice of penance. As we offend God, defile our
souls, and incur the penalty of sin by rebelling against God, so we honor God,
purify our consciences, and make satisfaction for sin by voluntary penance. Let
us now consider the causes we have for self-castigation and the ways of
practicing it. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. First Cause
for Penance — Mortal Sin </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mortal sin is a deliberate, voluntary transgression
of God's law in a serious matter. Its malice consists in rebelling against God
with base contempt and vile ingratitude, and thereby making an idol unto
ourselves of some sinful gratification. Its effects are: (1) it insults the majesty
and goodness of God; (2) it deprives man of sanctifying grace, and past merit,
and renders him incapable to merit heaven; (3) it defiles the soul; (4) it
burdens the conscience with guilt; (5) it condemns the sinner to the punishment
of an outraged conscience, the loss of God's friendship, and brings upon him
the punishment of hell. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The means by which man can undo the effects of
mortal sin and avoid a relapse are sacramental confession, contrition,
amendment, resistance to temptation, flight from the occasion of sin, distrust
of self and confidence in the mercy of God. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. Second Cause
for Penance — Venial Sin. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A venial sin is (1) a deliberate, voluntary transgression
of God's law in a light matter, or (2) a transgression in a serious matter
where the mind was prevented from realizing the extent of its malice through
ignorance, misconception or inadvertence, or where mind or will were
momentarily hampered, but not paralyzed by sudden passion, nervousness, or
fear. Where physical violence, however, or nervousness, fear, or antecedent
passion deprives man entirely of the dominion of an action, it is no sin in the
sight of God. The effects of venial sin are: (1) it slights God; (2) it lessens
the fear of the Lord and the love of God in our hearts; (3) it renders us
unworthy of special graces; (4) it diminishes our fervor and devotion; (5) it
disposes us for the commission of mortal sin; (6) it makes us deserving of temporal
punishment. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The means of blotting out venial sin and of avoiding
it in the future are contrition, reparation, vigilance, serious effort,
mistrust of self and confidence in God. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. Third Cause
for Penance — Tepidity. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tepidity is habitual negligence in doing good and
in avoiding evil. It is disgust in the sense of God, a spiritual dyspepsia, a
stagnation in the spiritual life, that enervates the mind, smothers charity,
extinguishes devotion, weakens virtue, and darkens the understanding. Tepidity
is defined by St. Alphonsus as the habit of fully deliberate venial sin.
Tepidity is a rebellion against the fundamental laws of labor, suffering, and
prayer, and therefore an abomination in the sight of God. "Because thou
art lukewarm, and neither hot, nor cold, I will begin to vomit thee out of my
mouth" (Apoc. iii. 16). </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A complete reconstruction of the spiritual edifice
is necessary to cure a tepid soul: prayer, meditation, concentration,
recollection, strenuous labor, patient endurance, detachment, a spirit of
faith, fervor, frequent examination of conscience, seclusion, and the exercises
of a retreat alone can effect a cure. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. Fourth Cause for
Penance — Participation in the Sins of Others</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We may participate in the sins of others (1) by
neglecting a reproof suggested by charity; (2) by not preventing the sins of
others when our duty demands it; (3) by scandalizing others or offering them the
occasion of sin; (4) by aiding them in the commission of sin; (5) by committing
sin with them; (6) and by tempting them or coercing them to sin. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We incur the guilt of the sins of others, as well
as the obligation of leading them to repentance in so far as we have
participated in their sins. "It is impossible that scandals should not
come: but woe to him through whom they come" (Luke xvii. 1). </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To guard against participating in the sins of others,
we should bear in mind (1) that such conduct offends God most grievously; (2)
that He will demand a strict account of our stewardship; (3) and that those
whom we have helped on the way to perdition will be our accusers on the day of
the general reckoning. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5. Fifth Cause
for Penance — The Sins of the World </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are many sins committed that are not of
our volition and which we cannot prevent. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They offend God, wound the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
and ruin countless souls. Zeal for the honor and glory of God should prompt us
to regret them, to grieve over them, and thereby to make atonement to the
outraged majesty and goodness of God. Our love for Jesus Christ should prompt
us to offer Him sympathy and consolation, and to make reparation to His adorable
Heart for the coldness, indifference, and malice of mankind. Finally, zeal for
the salvation of souls and the brotherhood of mankind should prompt us to
desire the welfare of every human being, and to do all in our power to promote
it by making satisfaction for the sins of the world. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6. Sixth Cause
for Penance — Imperfections</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Imperfections are involuntary defects in the service
of God, or material transgressions of His holy law committed without advertence
of the mind or consent of the will. As imperfections are committed without
malice or guilt, they are not matter for confession. As defects in God's service
they are matter for self-examination and correction, for spiritual direction,
and for voluntary penance and mortification. The teaching of St. John of the
Cross, that every imperfection is a tendency to one of the capital sins, should
prompt us to redouble our vigilance in discovering, and our efforts in overcoming
them. To further our spiritual progress, let us verify this statement of the
saint. </span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">a. Imperfections
Inclining to Pride</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Pride is
inordinate self-esteem. The imperfections that tend to foster pride are: (1) to
attribute a feeling of devotion to our efforts; (2) to desire to be considered more
perfect than those who experience no sensible devotion; (3) to perform acts of
devotion to attract the attention of others; (4) to incline to censure others;
(5) to attempt to direct the superiors and the confessor in discharging their
duties. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Inclinations to pride may be overcome by vigilance,
and by voluntary acts of humiliation and mortification. </span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">b. Imperfections
Inclining to Avarice</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Avarice is an
inordinate solicitude for created things. It may be carnal or spiritual. The imperfections
tending to carnal avarice are: (1) an inordinate desire of material things; (2)
seeking them for their own sake; (3) hating to part with them; (4) centering
our affections on them. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The imperfections tending to spiritual avarice
are: (1) a desire for an abundance of grace and extraordinary favors with which
we will not or cannot co-operate; (2) overestimating articles of devotion and
pious practices to the detriment of true piety and devotion; (3) to profess
great sanctity while neglecting interior mortification. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Being unworthy of God's favors we should (1)
use material things to supply our wants and to help our neighbor; (2) guard
against all inordinate attachment to them; (3) humbly and gracefully accept the
spiritual favors God gives us; (4) seek conversion of the heart and solid virtue;
(5) perform our private and public devotions according to the general practice;
(6) cultivate a spirit of detachment in all things. </span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">c. Imperfections
Inclining to Lust</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Impure feelings
may be aroused without any fault on our part, (1) by our corrupt nature; (2) by
the devil; (3) by necessary associations with others, especially with persons
of the opposite sex; (4) by innocent familiarity with virtuous persons; (5) by
a sympathy between devotion of the heart and sensual inclinations in our pious exercises;
(6) by too great or too vivid a fear of impurity itself. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To spiritualize our inferior nature we should (1)
guard against doing anything in the discharge of our duty that might
unnecessarily arouse improper feelings; (2) despise those that arise spontaneously,
and not omit our duty to God, to our neighbor, or to ourselves on their account;
(3) to abstain from all sentimentality, inordinate familiarity, and carnal
friendship; (4) to redouble our prayers; (5) to seek to please God in all
things and implicitly to trust in His help; (6) in our mistrust of self not to
picture particular temptations to our minds; (7) to ground ourselves in
humility; (8) to perform little acts of exterior mortification. </span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">d. Imperfections Tending
to Anger</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. We manifest a
tendency to anger, (1) when through false zeal we grow impatient at the
mistakes of others, or take delight in denouncing them; (2) when we grow impatient
with ourselves on ac- count of our repeated faults and slow progress in virtue;
(3) when we grow sad, discouraged, or impatient because God has seen fit to
leave our souls dry, dark, and languid, without sensible consolation. By such
conduct we disgrace the spiritual life, scandalize others, and give ignorant
persons reason to infer that sanctity is a mixture of haughtiness, temper, and
effeminacy. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To counteract these tendencies we should (1) concentrate
our attention on our duty, and be patient but firm and persevering in our
efforts to make progress; (2) pay no attention to the defects of others, and
treat them with indulgence when brought to our notice; (3) place our trust in
God and mate ourselves worthy of His favors by humility, prayer, mortification,
and honest effort; (4) be alert to suppress the first impulse to anger when we are
especially prone to it; (5) seek the grace to do God's will and not heavenly consolations
in our prayers. </span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">e. Imperfections
Tending to Gluttony</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. The imperfections
that tend to gluttony may be carnal or spiritual. Those of a carnal tendency
manifest themselves (1) in the pleasure we might take in thinking of food and
drink; (2) in speaking unnecessarily of it; (3) in wishing for it out of due
season. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Those which tend to spiritual gluttony are: (1)
to desire spiritual consolations and favors rather than solid piety; (2) to
follow one's own inclination in doing good rather than the will of God; (3) to
forget one's own sinfulness and become too familiar with God; (4) to indulge in
extraordinary works of penance for the delusive consolation they may afford. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To counteract these tendencies to gluttony we
should (1) seek to please God, and not to gratify ourselves; (2) be indifferent
to all but the holy will of God, and accept material and spiritual favors with
humble gratitude; (3) above all mortify our will by cultivating obedience,
purity of heart, and conformity to the divine will; (4) cultivate a special
devotion to Christ crucified. </span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">f. Imperfections
Tending to Envy</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Envy is sadness
at another's welfare in so far as this diminishes one's own excellence. Its
tendencies are: (1) to feel hurt when others are praised or honored; (2) to
minimize the reputation of others by disparaging remarks ; (3) to be pleased when
the defects of others are made known; (4) to rejoice when such defects are
criticized by others. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To cure imperfections tending to envy we should
(1) practice charity; (2) rejoice at the success of others; (3) wish them well;
(4) extol their virtues; (5) praise them publicly when circumstances permit. </span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">g. Imperfections
Tending to Sloth</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Sloth is
indifference in action. When sloth becomes habitual it is called tepidity or
lukewarmness. A person may be physically infirm, or perform a slothful deed, and
even commit a serious fault, without being in the dangerous state of tepidity. The
tendencies to sloth are: (1) a facility in omitting or curtailing our spiritual
exercises; (2) irreverence or voluntary distractions in them; (3) a want of
recollection; (4) a want of practical faith in our daily actions. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To remedy the imperfections tending to sloth we
should (1) cultivate a spirit of recollection; (2) frequently strengthen our
good resolution; (3) frequently purify our motives; (4) frequently renew our
good intention; (5) cultivate a spirit of prayer. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">7. Castigation of
Actual Sin — Sacramental Confession. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sacramental confession is the means instituted
by a merciful Savior to reconcile repentant Christian sinners to God. When made
with the proper dispositions a good sacramental confession cancels the effects
of sin, and bestows the peace which the world cannot give, (1) by removing the
sinner's anxiety about the past; (2) by reconciling him to the heavenly Father in
the present; (3) by giving him grace, hope, and opportunity to work for heaven
in the future. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To impart this consolation the confession must
be made with faith, hope, and integrity. Faith teaches (1) that this is the
sacrament of God's mercy and reconciliation; (2) that the priest has the same
power of forgiving sin which Jesus exercised while on earth; (3) that the words
of absolution in a good confession impart forgiveness of sin and divine
assurance of reconciliation. A good confession is made with hope (1) in the
mercy of God, and (2) in the infinite merits of Jesus Christ. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The integrity requisite for a good confession prescribes
only (1) that mortal sins be confessed, and that by their proper name — this makes
the confession clear; (2) that as nearly as possible the number of times each
mortal sin was committed, and the circumstances which change their nature, be
stated — this makes the confession brief; (3) that the confession be made with
advertence to the sinner's guilt, thereby making it humble; (4) finally, that
the confession be honestly made with the intention of communicating this knowledge
to the confessor, thereby making the confession sincere. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Though there is no obligation of confessing venial
sins, it is advisable to do so (1) when a person has no mortal sin to confess;
(2) when he is in doubt whether a sin is mortal or venial ; (3) whenever he is
sorry for having committed the venial sin. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When Satan beholds the saints in heaven who
have escaped his slavery by making a good confession he is filled with rage. As
he cannot harm the souls that are already saved, he employs every means his
cunning can devise to keep souls on earth from deriving those benefits from the
sacrament of Penance which Jesus in His mercy has destined for them. He is the hidden
fiend who scoffs through ignorant men at the tribunal of penance. He is the insidious
tempter who seeks to drive the repentant sinner to despair, fills him with
false shame, and harasses him with groundless fears as soon as he resolves with
the Prodigal to return, to his Father. And he does this in spite of the fact that
sacramental confession is more natural to the Christian soul than candor to a
repentant child, in spite of the fact that mercy is more natural to a compassionate
God than the kiss of forgiveness is to a loving mother. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">8. Castigation of
the Guilty Mind — Detestation of Sin</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When we commit sin we inconsiderately prefer a
finite good to God, the infinite Good. If our sin is mortal our minds despise
God to that extent that they judge that finite good worthy of being our god,
and as such decree it to be the final object of our existence. If our sin is venial
our minds scorn the friendship of God to the extent we gratify our self-love'. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The human mind is naturally just, however. So
when we reflect on our action and judge it dispassionately, we not only realize
that we have acted unjustly, but we proceed and condemn ourselves for having
despised God, defiled our souls, and merited punishment. The more we ponder the
effects of sin, the more do we begin to realize that it is the greatest evil in
the world. And in proportion as we realize the great evil of sin in general, the
more do we condemn our own sins in particular and detest them as an abomination
in the sight of God, as firebrands from hell that alone can cause our temporal
and eternal misery. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">9. Castigation of
the Guilty Will — Sorrow for Sin</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The human will necessarily seeks what is good.
Hence, as soon as it learns from the mind that it has chosen the greatest
possible evil by committing sin, it is filled with grief. When considered in
relation to the loss occasioned by sin, this grief is called remorse; when
viewed as a pain we endure, it is called compunction; when viewed in its
bearing on our sinful transgression, it is called penitence or repentance; and
when viewed in its bearing on the future, it is called purpose of amendment.
The motives which prompt us to regret our sin, fill us with aversion for it,
and spur us on to penance and perseverance are: the fear of the torments of
hell, the desire of heaven, and the love of God. These three motive powers of
the spiritual life are kept alive within us by frequent reflection on the
eternal truths. Hence the Holy Ghost exhorts us: "In all thy works remember
thy last end and thou shalt never sin'' (Ecclus. vii. 40). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">10. Castigation
of the Guilty Faculties — Purpose of Amendment</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The grief of the soul for having offended God,
when considered in its bearing on the future, that is as a purpose of
amendment, embraces a fivefold determination: (1) the general resolution to avoid
evil and to do good; (2) to avoid at least every mortal sin, and every venial
sin that we have just confessed; (3) to uproot any bad habit we may have
contracted, and to guard against contracting it again; (4) to avoid the proximate,
voluntary occasion of every mortal sin, as well as of those venial sins we have
just confessed ; (5) to use the means of grace necessary to ensure fidelity to
our determination. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We can ensure the stability of our purpose of
amendment: (1) by mistrusting ourselves and placing our confidence in God; (2)
by renewing it as often as we kneel in prayer; (3) by keeping the Christian
ideal ever before our minds. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">11. Castigation
of Sinful Man — Satisfaction</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Even after the acts of repentance, conversion
and purpose of amendment have been formed, certain external effects of sin may
re- main. They consist in the wrong that was done by sin to God and to our
neighbor. These may be removed by works of satisfaction. Works of satisfaction
are of three kinds: reparatory, vindictive or penitential, and medicinal or precautionary.
</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(1) Reparation is made to God by repairing His
honor, and by making up for remissness in His service. Reparation is made to
our neighbor by repairing the wrong done him through injustice, lies,
detraction, and slander, and by treating him with kindness for any want of
attention. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(2) The vindictive or penitential works that
satisfy for our sins are prayer, as atonement to God; fasting, as a castigation
of ourselves; and alms-deeds as reparation to our neighbor. Prayer, fasting,
and almsdeeds are here used in their widest application to the practice of
religion, self-denial, and the works of mercy. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(3) The medicinal or precautionary works of
satisfaction are intended to protect ns against a lapse, or a relapse into sin.
They are acts of self-denial that are usually called “Mortification."
Their importance arises from the evident truth that prevention is better than a
cure. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12. Castigation
of the Repentant Sinner — Actual Amendment </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amendment is the fruit of true repentance — ''By
their fruits you shall know them." To bring forth fruit worthy of repentance
we must reduce our purpose of repentance to practice. If like Peter we presumed
on our own strength, like Peter we have learned by bitter experience to mistrust
ourselves. To reduce our purpose of amendment to practice we must (1) continually
mistrust ourselves; (2) cultivate a boundless confidence in God; (3) use the opportunity
of the present to do violence to ourselves in avoiding sin and its occasions,
in resisting temptation and conquering bad habits, and in doing good to repair
the past, to secure ourselves in the present, and to make certain of our
perseverance. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">13. Medicinal
Castigation — Mortification. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mortification is the performance or endurance
of anything repugnant to our natural inclinations for the purpose of submitting
ourselves to the influence of grace and doing God's holy will. When it places
an external restraint upon us, mortification is called external or corporal;
when it does violence to the faculties of the soul it is called interior or
spiritual. When mortification takes place at our own discretion it is called
active; and when it consists in cheerfully enduring the trials sent or permitted
by divine Providence it is called passive mortification. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Corresponding to the three stages of the spiritual
life are three stages or degrees of Christian mortification or self-denial. In
the first stage the earthly pilgrim must deny himself to the extent of avoiding
the voluntary, proximate occasion, and of resisting temptation to mortal sin,
but wastes much time, neglects much grace, and commits many venial sins. In the
second stage he does as much violence to himself as is necessary to avoid
deliberate venial sin. Finally, in the third stage the Christian dies perfectly
to self and offers God a complete sacrifice (1) by conquering even his
imperfections;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2) by using every moment
of time; (3) by cooperating with every grace; (4) and by suffering every trial
in conformity with the divine will. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The ignorant and the sensualist do not realize
the importance of mortification. But in proportion as any one becomes
Christlike will he also see that mortification (1) subjects man to the influence
of grace; (2) makes him triumph over the flesh, the world, and the devil; (3)
aids him in the practice of virtue; (4) ensures his perseverance; (5) gives him
spiritual peace and joy; (6) and unites him to God in all things. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the practice of mortification discretion is
necessary to avoid the harm resulting from extremes. In exterior mortification
the extremes are reached (1) in a species of sensuality on the one hand, which
denounces all voluntary external mortification, (2) and by an excessive rigorism
on the other, which injures the body and paralyzes the energies of the soul.
The neglect of voluntary interior mortification fosters inordinate self-love,
and suffocates the love of God in our hearts. As long as interior mortification
is well regulated there is no danger in going to extremes in its practice. As a
safeguard against imprudence and excessive rigorism however, austerities or
extraordinary corporal mortifications should not be practiced without the
previous sanction of the spiritual director. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Prudence or discretion in the practice of voluntary
mortification prescribes (1) that no mortification should interfere with the
performance of our duty or the practice of virtue; (2) that mortification be
always free from singularity; (3) that in interior mortification we begin by
discovering, subjugating, and sanctifying our predominant passion; (4) that we anticipate
the rebellion of our passions; (5) that we never lose sight of our pride and
anger; (6) that we be not content with a little progress in interior mortification,
but continue resolutely until we have gained a complete victory. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">14. Rigorous
Castigation — Austerities </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Extraordinary corporal penances are called austerities.
Austerities have always been practised in the Catholic Church, and are prescribed
to some extent in most of the Religious Orders, particularly in those whose
special vocation is to atone with Christ for the sins of the world. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Austerities consist: (1) in being content with
the essentials in food, clothing, and accommodations; (2) in the observance of
continuous silence, abstinence, and fasting; (3) in keeping long vigils, in using
hairshirts, cilicium and disciplines; (4) in performing the most menial work,
and in spending long hours in prayer. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ordinarily it would be both presumptuous and
rash to inflict penances so severe on ourselves. In fact, as Catholics we
should attempt it only when (1) we have a special vocation to such a life; (2)
after that vocation has been carefully investigated and positively sanctioned
by our spiritual director. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">15. Our Spiritual
Guide — The Priest</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The priest is specially called by God. He prepares
himself by years of study, prayer, and self-discipline for his work of love and
sacrifice. The priest becomes our spiritual father at the baptismal font, is
devoted to us throughout our life, and smooths our passage to a happy eternity.
</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">His personality may change, but the priest is
ever (1) the ambassador of Christ, bringing a message of hope and love; (2) our
mediator at the altar, offering God an acceptable sacrifice; (3) the agent of
God's mercy in the confessional, purifying our souls in the blood of the Lamb;
(4) a heavenly almoner at all times, enriching ns with Christ's merits in the sacraments,
and blessings of the Church; (5) a good shepherd, who has consecrated his life
to our welfare; (6) our guardian angel in the flesh, ever ready to sympathize
with us, to console us, to direct us, to guard and guide us to temporal and
eternal union with God. </span></div>
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reverence, love, and obedience of children to their earthly parents should be our
devotion to the priest, the pastor, the physician of our souls. He, who has
renounced all earthly ties to become another Christ for our sake, merits our
confidence, our loyalty, our gratitude, and our love. </span>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-8870184509761913722012-02-25T03:38:00.000-08:002012-02-25T03:38:00.036-08:00SELF-EXAMINATION<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">II. Self-examination.
</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Self-knowledge is a necessary requisite for prudent
self-denial. It is naturally difficult to attain (1) because it is almost
impossible for us to obtain a true perspective of ourselves; (2) because the
study of self is humiliating; (3) because our pride and self-love easily
deceive us; (4) because the world and the devil frown on such a study and fill
us with repugnance for it. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With the aid of God's grace, however, we can easily
make progress in learning ourselves, provided we are faithful in the practice
of self-examination. And in proportion as we grow in the knowledge of self,
shall we also grow in humility, and realize the necessity of cultivating a
closer union with God. In proportion as we acquire knowledge of ourselves and
profit by it may we say with St. Paul: “I so run, not as at an uncertainty: I
so fight, not as one beating the air: But I chastise my body, and bring it into
subjection'' (1 Cor. ix. 26). </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If, on the other hand, we neglect our self-examination,
we become the willing slaves of tepidity and spiritual stagnation, from which we
may be aroused only when the light of eternity will reveal our real selves
before the judgment seat of God. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. A General
Examination of the Interior. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A general examination of the interior is a complete
accounting of our spiritual condition. It examines (1) our natural or acquired
inclinations; (2) our fidelity to grace; (3) our conduct when tempted; (4) the
good and the evil we have done; (5) and the intention, the motive, and the rule
of our actions. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This general examination, when carefully made,
gradually enlightens us to see ourselves as we are in the sight of God. By
renewing it from time to time we may observe not only our general progress or retrogression,
but also discover the weak points in our character on which we should concentrate
our energies. As successful merchants take an inventory of their stock and
balance their accounts frequently, so we do well in making a general
examination of our interior every month or at least once a year. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. The Daily
Examination of Conscience </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As children of God and heirs to the kingdom of
heaven we should not retire at night without settling our accounts with the
Almighty. In the examination of conscience which we are urged to make at the
close of the day, we are to inquire only into the actual sins we may have committed,
and blot them out by an act of perfect contrition or fervent love of God. The strictest
severity towards ourselves should characterize this examination, not so much in
the time we devote to it, as (1) in the rigor with which we judge ourselves, (2)
in the sorrow we elicit, (3) and in the firmness of our purpose of amendment.
With these sentiments we may retire in peace, and die in peace if God so ordains,
for ''a contrite and humbled heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise" (Ps. 1.
19). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. The Particular
Examination. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The particular examination inquires specially into
the condition of a fault to be eradicated, or of a virtue to be practiced. In
the first stage of the spiritual life it is advisable to make our predominant
fault the subject of this particular examination. As we progress it may be
profitable to select the subject of fraternal charity. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In regard to this examination it may be well to
remark (1) that the subject should correspond with the stage of our spiritual
progress; (2) that the subject should not be changed until additional progress
has been made; (3) that the particular examination may be made at any convenient
time during the day, or in connection with the evening examination; (4) that
the time devoted to this exercise should be brief; (5) that the examination
itself should consist of a short prayer, the self-inspection, an act of contrition
for failure, of gratitude to God for success, and renewal of our resolution. It
should conclude with a prayer to obtain the blessing of heaven on our
resolution. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. The
Examination for a Good Confession. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the immediate preparation for a good confession,
the object of this examination of conscience is to discover the actual sins we
may have committed since our last worthy confession. In daily life pious souls
are often over-scrupulous about this examination, while negligent souls are inclined
to be positively lax in determining the time and attention which they should
devote to it. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let us therefore see (1) what is essential,
(2) what is advisable, (3) and what should be avoided in this examination. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As mortal sins alone must be confessed, it is essential
that the penitent use ordinary care, or make a serious effort, to find out his
mortal sins, including their number and the circumstances which change their
nature. It is even advisable, when a penitent has a mortal sin to confess, to
confine both his examination and his accusation to mortal sins, as this will
emphasize his sorrow and purpose of amendment. In regard to venial sins it must
be borne in mind (1) that there is no obligation to confess them as they may be
forgiven by an act of contrition; (2) that it leads to delusion to confess them
without sorrow or purpose of amendment; (3) that it is advisable, therefore, to
examine ourselves on the more deliberate venial sins which we intend to confess,
and for which we are truly sorry. Mere imperfections, however, are not a matter
for absolution, and should, therefore, not be sought in this examination. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In conclusion it may be well to remark, that,
though sorrow and purpose of amendment are always pleasing to God, a morose
inspection of our past is apt to delude the mind and excite self-commiseration,
or lead to discouragement, instead of having a purifying effect on the heart. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6. Sinful Actions</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sinful actions must be the first object of our
self-examination. They may be venial or mortal according as they are a
deliberate transgression of the law of God in a slight or in a grievous matter.
Venial sins lessen the fervor of the love of God in our hearts, make us less worthy
of His grace, and make us deserving of temporal punishment. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The effects of mortal sin on the soul are: (1)
the privation of sanctifying grace; (2) the loss of all past merits and even
the power of meriting while in sin; (3) remorse of conscience; (4) the enmity
of God; (5) the penalty of eternal damnation. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Some mortal sins are called sins against the Holy
Ghost because they abuse the means of salvation. They are presumption, despair,
impugning the known truth, envy of a neighbor's spiritual progress, obstinacy,
and final impenitence. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Some mortal sins provoke God in a special manner
and are called sins crying to heaven for vengeance. They are homicide, sodomy, oppressing
the poor, and defrauding the laborer of his hire. Some sins fill the soul with ignorance,
malice, and concupiscence, and thereby incite man to other sins. For this
reason they are called Capital Sins. They are pride, avarice, gluttony, lust,
envy, anger, and sloth. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6. Bad Habits. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bad habits are sinful inclinations developed by
repeated acts. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When deliberately contracted with knowledge of
their malice, bad habits are sinful from the beginning, and they and their acts
subjects for confession. But when they grow on one without any bad will on
one's part, they certainly are subjects for serious examination and correction,
as soon as one learns their evil nature and tendency. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bad habits produce a twofold evil effect on the
soul: (1) they facilitate the commission of sin without distracting the mind
from other things; (2) and cause a routine of action which is not necessarily
dependent on the influence of the will. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As soon as we realize the evil tendency of a sinful
habit it becomes our duty to oppose and eradicate it. In fact, only in this way
can we give evidence of our good will, for the Savior says: ''By their fruits
you shall know them" (Matt. vii. 16). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">7. The
Predominant Fault</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Human nature is selfish and manifests its inordinate
self-love in every individual by a tendency to some particular vice. This tendency
or special inclination is called that per- son's predominant passion. When this
passion shapes one's action, the result is called that one's predominant fault.
If unchecked this fault will be repeated until it blinds its victim to his
condition, vitiates his character, and hurries him into many excesses. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the predominant fault always tends to one of
the seven capital sins the saints were right in calling it man's worst foe. On
this account St. Alphonsus wisely directs us, in conquering our faults, not to
fix our attention on some minor fault, but to concentrate all our efforts on
the predominant one as the root of all the rest. We may do this in a way most
conducive to our progress by making the predominant fault the subject of our
particular examination and by humbly making it a matter of confession. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">8. Human
Imperfections. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An imperfection may be defined (1) as an act or
omission opposed to a mere counsel; (2) as the material transgression of a
commandment, that is, as an action which was entirely indeliberate and involuntary
both in itself and in its cause, as involuntary distractions in prayer. As
counsels do not bind in conscience, and, as actions in general must be
deliberate and voluntary to be morally good or bad, an imperfection is no sin
in either case. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Though imperfections are not matter for confession,
they become matter for self-examination, spiritual direction, and amendment. As
indications of our spiritual deficiency they should incite us to vigilance,
mortification, and prayer. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">9.
Idiosyncrasies. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Idiosyncrasies are those peculiarities of temperament
and character which differentiate the personality of individuals. They may be
divided into three classes: (1) traits which constitute the charm of one's
personality; (2) peculiarities, chiefly defects of temperament or character
which have not yet been eradicated; (3) hobbies, or innocent peculiarities
which an individual has specially developed. Idiosyncrasies of the first kind
necessarily enter into every Christian character. Those of the second kind are
found in the imperfect, while those of the third kind may be found alike in the
sinner and in the saint, but not in the personalities of Jesus and Mary, who alone
did the will of God perfectly in all things. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">10. The Delusions
of Wrong Principles</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By the delusion of a wrong principle we mean the
self-deception which we practice by acting on an erroneous principle which we
consider true. We may develop this principle as the result of an erroneous
judgment of our own, though we are usually inoculated with its germ in our
intercourse with others. Wrong principles are as numerous as the vain pursuits
of the world, and naturally lead to one of the following delusions: (1) by
magnifying the material they belittle the spiritual order; (2) by emphasizing
the temporal they obscure the true perspective of the eternal; (3) by lauding
the dignity of man they lower the dignity of God; (4) by championing the
liberty of man they rob him of his liberty as a child of God; (5) by emancipating
him from subjection to his Maker they degrade him to the slavery of the flesh,
the world, and the devil; (6) by extolling the pleasures of earth they belittle
the joys of heaven; (7) by laying up treasures that perish they neglect the
treasures of grace and merit; (8) by seeking the honors of earth they forfeit
the glory of the angels and saints; (9) by fearing the opinions of men they
incur the anger of the Almighty; (10) by seeking their heaven on earth they
make sure of the torments of hell. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">11. The Delusions
of Self-Love. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When self-deception is caused by the prompting
of our corrupt nature it is called a delusion of self-love. The delusions of
self-love are not easily discovered or eradicated, because (1) they are more
subtle than the delusions of wrong principles; (2) they enter more intimately
into our interior lives; (3) and are more effectually shielded by self-love. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The delusions of self-love prompt us (1) to be
good to ourselves; (2) to seek our ease and comfort; (3) to keep ourselves from
labor and suffering; (4) to minister to our gratifications. They lead us (1) to
mistake the vain desire of virtue for actual progress; (2) to mistake passion
for virtue; (3) to over-estimate our merit and entitle us to exemption and
consideration; (4) and to underrate the value of others. When not discovered
and checked in time the delusions of self-love will lead us (1) to relax our
vigilance and prayer; (2) to give the credit to ourselves which belongs to God;
(3) to be oversecure in temptation and wantonly to enter the occasion of sin.
For these reasons the masters of the spiritual life exhort us often to make
ourselves the subject of our meditations. In fact the Savior warns us to
''watch and pray lest we fall into temptation.” </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12. Ambition. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the days of the ancient Roman republic the
word "Ambition” was used in the sense of legitimate electioneering, or
lawful canvassing for votes. Since then it has come to stand for any desire and
willingness to do great things. On this account timid souls are apt to confound
it with presumption and the pursuit of vainglory, while the slothful are apt to
point to its absence as an evidence of their trust in Providence and a
justification of their laziness. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God has implanted ambition in human nature
that we may strive to do His holy will in all things. Hence, when enlightened
by faith, prompted by charity, and directed by obedience, ambition becomes true
zeal for the glory of God and the welfare of souls. It prompts us to spare
neither labor nor sacrifice, but to press forward in close imitation of the
Master, and, with the help of His grace, to do the will of the heavenly Father
in all things. On the other hand, when perverted by self-love, ambition prompts
us to offend against charity and justice, to rebel against lawful authority,
and even to follow the example of Lucifer himself. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As earth is a place of exertion and endurance,
let us see to it that we have the ambition to save and sanctify our souls
according to the plan of the Almighty. Then, putting our hope of success entirely
in God, we may confidently say with St. Paul: “I can do all things in Him who
strengtheneth me'' (Phil, iv, 13). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">13. Self-Will. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By the corruption of human nature through original
sin the will of man has been weakened and brought into opposition to the will
of God. The personal opposition of an individual to the will of God is
expressed by self-will. If we follow the promptings of self-will we may have the
satisfaction of doing our own will, but we thereby forfeit all claim to a
reward in heaven. Hence the beginning of the spiritual life consists in
conquering our self-will, and its perfection in doing the will of God in all
things. In proportion as we grasp this truth and use it as the rule of our
lives, will we be encouraged by our divine Model, who says: "I do always the
things that please Him'' (John viii. 29). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">14. Sensuality. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sensuality is the tyranny of the flesh over
the spirit. As intended by God man should be guided by reason in ministering to
his temporal wants. By the corruption of his nature, how- ever, not only was
man's mind darkened and his will weakened, but his inferior faculties were perverted
and his bodily members condemned to decay and death. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This perversion inclines man's carnal nature to
rebel against the dictates of reason, and to throw off the dominion of the
will. In pro- portion as he yields man becomes the slave of his sensual nature.
This slavery is called sensuality because it pampers the senses, though in reality
it consists in pandering to the abnormal cravings of the vegetative faculties
through the senses. For, without the craving of hunger, thirst, and sex, the
glutton, the drunkard, and the impure would be rare indeed, while there would
be little incentive to abuse the senses of taste and touch. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In man's present condition, however, he has to
fear sensuality more than any other perverse influence, (1) because
comparatively few exert themselves to a degree requisite to clarify their minds
and strengthen their wills sufficiently to exercise dominion over all their
actions; (2) because man's inferior faculties are the most difficult to subdue
and to keep under control; (3) because of the craving in man for an endless
possession of an infinite good. This craving, which prompts all man's actions,
is perverted and intensified, but never satisfied by sensuality. Hence, the
lower the sensualist falls, the greater his misery, the shorter his life, and
the more terrible his eventual despair and remorse in hell. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">15. Peculiarities
of the Cross </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Cross embraces all the contradictions, trials,
and sufferings of life. The peculiarities of the Cross are its inalienable
characteristics. Some of these characteristics deserve our special attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(1) The Cross intended for us by God is really
light when borne in conformity with the divine will. Our imagination may
magnify it, our self-love seek to escape it in spite of the fact that the
Eternal Truth has said: "My yoke is sweet, and my burden light" (Matt.
xi. 30). </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(2) The Cross is our earthly burden, which we
cannot lay aside. ''They that fear the hoar frost,'' says holy Job, "the
snow shall fall upon them" (Job vi. 16). </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(3) The Cross is an evidence of God's love; the
higher our place is to be in heaven, the greater must be our Cross on earth.
"Whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth; and scourgeth every son whom he
receiveth" (Heb. xii. 6). </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(4) The Cross is proportioned to our strength.
For God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you
are able" (1 Cor. x. 13). </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(5) The Cross passes quickly, and, as the darkest
cloud has always the brightest lining, so the heaviest Cross is the harbinger
of the greatest blessing. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(6) The Cross, when faithfully borne through
life, evolves into the Cross of heaven, but, when borne only through
compulsion, distils the bitterest poison of hell. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">16. Man’s Limitations
</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Man's limitations are those circumstances of his
earthly pilgrimage which confine his efforts within the plan of God. To ensure
our fidelity it is well to keep them in mind. They are life, talents,
opportunity, and grace. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(1) Life is our activity on earth. It comes from
God, and will end when God wills. It is the first loan we receive from God, and
of which we shall have to render a strict account on the day of judgment. As
holy Job says, “the life of man upon earth is a warfare." We cannot remain
neutral; we must enter the conflict. Shall we fight the battles of the Lord
against the flesh, the world, and the devil, or shall we rebel against the Lord
of majesty, our loving Benefactor, and truest Friend? Ah, blessed shall we be
if our lives are such that it may be said to us as St. Paul said to the
Colossians, "Your life is hid with Christ in God" {Col iii. 3). </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2) Our
talents are our powers of action. They are divine endowments to fit us for the position
in God's plan for which He has destined us. If we correspond He will conduct us
to it by the dispositions of His Providence and the voice of our superiors. It
is our sacred duty to qualify for our calling, and to fill it to the best of
our ability. Let us therefore bear in mind that the Master condemned the
servant who neglected his talent as well as the one who misused it, and that
" unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required'' (Luke
xii. 48). </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(3) The opportunity of serving God is given us
every moment in the spiritual life. If we profit by it in the present, it will
bear fruit in eternity. If we permit it to pass by it will be lost forever. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(4) Grace is offered us in superabundance to
attain that perfection to which God has destined us. Every grace we use earns
an increase. Every grace we neglect or abuse will not only testify against us,
but will be taken from ns and given to another. If we squander the entire measure
destined for our sanctification, we have no remaining hope of salvation but the
privilege of prayer and of recourse to the intercession of Mary. </span></div>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-9448783413678163102012-02-24T03:36:00.000-08:002012-02-24T03:36:00.525-08:00SELF-DENIAL IN GENERAL<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I. SELF-DENIAL IN
GENERAL. </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. Object of Self
'Denial — Purity of Heart. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Put off the old man, who is committed according
to the desire of error, and put on the new man, who according to God is created
in justice and truth'' (Eph. iv. 22). The object of Christian self-denial is to
acquire purity of heart. This is done (1) by purging our consciences of the guilt
of sin; (2) by doing penance for our sins; (3) by rooting out our bad habits;
(4) by conquering our evil inclinations; (5) and by planting the seed of virtue
in our hearts. As the grace of God is the efficient cause of this purification,
we can make our self- denial productive only by sanctifying it by prayer. In
fact self-denial and prayer must be the inseparable companions of every one
that journeys on the narrow way. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. Motive of Self
-Denial — The Fear of the Lord. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Fear Him that can destroy both soul and body
in hell'' (Matt. xix. 28). The fear of the Lord is reverence for God on account
of His power to punish all who violate His holy law. God is everywhere and sees
all things. "In Him we live, and move, and are." He has given no one
an indefinite lease on life, “At what hour you know not the Son of man will
come." ''It is appointed unto man once to die, and after this, the
judgment." "Then will He render to every man according to his
works." But as “the Lord is good to them that hope in Him, to the soul
that seeketh Him," the Savior exhorts us to be converted and live. ''Do
penance," He says, '' for the kingdom of God is at hand." And St.
Paul assures us that if we judge ourselves, we shall not be judged" by
God. Thus the mercy of God gives the sinner hope and inspires him with
incipient love, while the fear of the Lord prompts him to be converted and live.
Indeed, '' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God"
(Heb. X. 31). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. Order in Self
-Denial. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To insure the success of an undertaking we must
do three things: (1) Concentrate our efforts on what is essential; (2) follow a
wise plan in our development; (3) and pay proper attention to the smallest
details in due season. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In applying these general rules to the work of
self-denial the masters of the spiritual life direct us (1) to purify our
hearts first from mortal sin, its proximate occasion, and the bad habit it may
have engendered; (2) in eradicating venial sin, to concentrate our efforts
first on external sins that easily scandalize our neighbor; (3) with the advice
of our spiritual director to single out our predominant fault and make it the
object of particular examination; (4) finally, to be humble, patient, and persevering
in our efforts, and to put our hope of success in Jesus and Mary. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. Signs of Self
-Denial</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the resistance of the wind or of the waves and
the passing of landmarks indicate the speed with which we progress on land or
on water, so there are certain signs that indicate our progress on the way to
perfection: (1) the ease and persistence with which we go against our natural likes
from a motive of faith indicates the subjugation of nature to grace; (2)
detestation of sin and the avoidance of its voluntary occasions is another sure
sign of a soul's true conversion to God; (3) holy indifference, or detachment
from the world and earthly things; (4) the dominion we exercise over our
passions, or triumph over the flesh; (5) and the facility we acquire in practicing
humility and obedience are sure signs of progress in self-denial. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6. Counsels on
Self-Denial. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the practice of Christian self-denial we should
(1) guard against excessive scrupulosity by cultivating that loving confidence
in God which is the foundation of interior peace, imparts to us the liberty of
brethren of Jesus Christ, and facilitates our perseverance; (2) we should be
discreet in our efforts so as not to unbalance our minds, ruin our health, or
give us a distaste for spiritual things; (3) we should concentrate our efforts
on the present, and trust with the aid of grace to do great things for the love
of God; (4) we should never relax our vigilance, our penance, or our prayers;
(5) we should ever prepare for greater conflicts, and not judge our victory by
the presence of sensible sweetness in our souls. This God gives us in the
beginning to draw us on in the spiritual life; (6) we should not despair even
if we had the misfortune to fall into mortal sin, but begin anew in all
humility. </span></div>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-10616547840067722052012-02-23T03:35:00.000-08:002012-02-23T03:35:00.570-08:00SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SECTION III</span></b></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SELF-DENIAL OR ACTIVE PURGATION</span></b></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
“If any man will come after Me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me'' (Luke ix.
23). In these words Our Savior invites us to follow Him in the three
phases of the way to perfection. They are: (1) self-denial, or rising
above the natural man by self -discipline and prayer; (2) taking up our
daily cross by the practice of virtue; (3) following the Master in doing
God's will in all things. <br />
<br />
In studying the subject of self-denial we will consider Self-denial in
General, Self-examination, Self-castigation, Subjugation of the Carnal
Man, Subjugation of the External Senses, Subjugation of the Internal
Senses, Subjugation of the Sensitive Appetites, Subjugation of the Will,
Subjugation of the Mind to Truth, and Subjugation of the Creature to
the Creator by the Use of the Means of Grace. </div>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-53360214661354876652012-02-22T03:33:00.000-08:002012-02-22T03:33:00.099-08:00STRIVING AFTER PERFECTION<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">V. STRIVING AFTER
PERFECTION. </span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. Promptitude</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Promptitude in the service of God is eagerness
to please Him. It flows from a spirit of docility animated by the love of God,
and manifests itself (1) in the exactness with which we perform the duties of
our state in life; (2) in the willingness with which we carry our cross; (3)
and in the alacrity, cheerfulness, and thoroughness with which we strive to
please God in all things. It induces us to concentrate our energies on the task
before us, and to accomplish much under disadvantages and in a short time. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. Continuous
Effort. </span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By a continuous effort in the service of God we
mean that our efforts should never relax till our earthly pilgrimage is ended.
The very nature of our earthly trial demands this uninterrupted endeavor on our
part. Now time, grace, and opportunity are given us. If we employ them in God's
service we progress; if we neglect to use them we recede. In this life there is
no stopping place, no time when we are exempt from doing God's holy will.
Eternal rest awaits us in heaven. If, then, we neglect to co-operate even with
a single grace, that neglect may break the chain of graces that leads to final
perseverance, and so may be the first step to our final reprobation. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. Gradual
Progress. </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The spiritual life is composed of a divine and
a human element. The divine element is the grace of God; the human, our fallen
nature actuated by good will. Both elements combine to effect the spiritual
life within us, the human element supplying the material or favorable condition,
while the grace of God is the efficient cause of our sanctification. The human
element progresses by self-denial and patient endurance of the cross in imitation
of the Master; the divine, by an infusion of additional grace. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the human element progresses by being more
and more subjected to the influence of grace, its progress is usually slow and
necessarily gradual, though always proportionate to the violence we do to
ourselves. The progress of the divine element, or the influence of grace, when
not miraculous^ is also gradual, because proportionate to the capacity of the
human element. God is indeed lavish, but not reckless, with His grace. He gives
the increase in proportion to our fidelity in co-operating with it, or in
proportion as we increase our capacity for grace by the gradual surrender of
ourselves through conformity to His holy will. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. Patience. </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Patience is that self-possession which enables
us to conform to the will of God in the trials of life. The trials of life
arise (1) from the nature of our earthly pilgrimage; (2) from the infirmity of
human nature; (8) from the conduct of others; (4) from the influence of the spirit-world;
(5) and from the special dispensations of divine Providence. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Patience (1) makes us masters of ourselves and
our surroundings; (2) makes us Christlike in our love of the cross; (3) makes
us the be- loved children of God; (4) entitles us to the reward of heaven; (5)
and gives that "peace of God, which surpasseth all
understanding"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Phil. iv. 7). To
possess our souls in patience St. Alphonsus exhorts us (1) to anticipate the trials
that await us; (2) to pray for strength to endure them; (3) to frequent the
sacraments; (4) to live in intimate union with God. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5. Decision in
Temptation. </span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Decision in temptation is vigor and promptitude
in resisting the inclinations to sin. Our will may act with this decision even
when our nature is rebellious and hankers for what is forbidden. And,
practically^ the greater the effort necessary to triumph over a temptation, the
greater is also the victory and the merit. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As every temptation puts our loyalty to Jesus Christ
to the test, we should be more concerned about our decision than about the
nature of the temptation which may assail us. Our hope of triumph is in the
goodness and promises of God, but the grace of God cannot crown us with victory
before we have stood the test of resisting the temptation with decision. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To maintain this decision and conquer every temptation
we must (1) habitually despise the flesh, the world, and the devil; (2) be constant
in prayer and the frequentation of the sacraments; (3) make devout use of
blessed articles; (4) and occasionally reveal our severer temptations to our director.
Most temptations are easily overcome by making contrary acts in a spirit of
faith. The saints of God advise us, however, to turn away from temptations
against faith and holy purity, and conquer them by invoking the aid of Jesus
and Mary while occupying our minds with other subjects. The reason for this
salutary advice is because temptations against faith and holy purity are
intensified by actual opposition. "I do believe. Lord; help my unbelief
(Mark ix. 23). “As I knew that I could not otherwise be continent, except God
gave it; I went to the Lord and besought Him" (Wis. viii. 21). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6. Avoidance of
the Occasion of Sin. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The occasion of sin is something external to
us, which allures us to sin. For one it is association with a certain person,
for another the reading of a certain book, for a third the frequentation of a
certain place. Again, some occasions are dangerous to faith, others to modesty,
to temperance, to justice, or to charity. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By the law of self-preservation we are bound to
avoid the proximate occasion of sin. When this is impossible we must render its
danger, or allurement, remote by special vigilance and prayer. For the Holy
Ghost says: ''He that loveth the danger shall perish in it” and " He that
contemneth small things shall fall by little and little" (Ecclus. iii. 27;
ix. 1). </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As long as we (1) avoid the proximate occasion
of sin when we can; (2) render the occasion remote where it is impossible to
avoid it; (3) renew our determination to avoid every sin; (4) and fortify
ourselves by prayer, we have a claim on the special protection of Providence,
and may rest assured that God will deliver us. But, to seek the occasion of
sin, or tarry voluntarily in it, besides incurring the guilt of the sin, is an
act of presumption in which Samson, the strongest, and Solomon, the wisest, of
men, succumbed. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">7. Search for the
Occasion of Doing Good. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An occasion of doing good is an opportunity of
pleasing God. All are given the opportunity of fulfilling the duties of their
state in life, as well as the opportunity of performing various acts of
fraternal charity and Christian mercy. Our first aim should be to perform the
duties of our state in life conscientiously, and then to seek those occasions
of doing good (1) which harmonize with our calling; (2) which are most urgent;
(3) which are nearest at hand. It is better to seek the ordinary occasions of
doing good rather than the extraordinary, and to prefer the hidden ones to
those which earn for us the applause of the world. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">8. Sadness and
Cheerfulness. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sadness is a depression of heart which tends to
exaggerate our troubles, to paralyze our energies, and to make us rebel at the
trials of life. It may be caused (1) by physical infirmity, (2) by nervous
strain, (3) by a sulky mood of our wounded pride or self-love, (4) by the
weight of the burdens of life, (5) by remorse of conscience, (6) by the
possession of an evil spirit, (7) by an extraordinary visitation of Providence.
</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cheerfulness, on the other hand, is a buoyancy
of spirit which inclines us to look on the bright side of things, fills us with
enthusiasm, and enables us to bear the burdens of life with ease and pleasure.
It may be caused (1) by the glow of health, (2) by the gratification of our
pride or self-love, (3) by congenial occupation or surroundings, (4) by the
peace of a good conscience, (5) by sensible fervor, (6) by the alluring
influence of grace. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We can repress tendencies to sadness and cultivate
cheerfulness by resigning ourselves unreservedly to the dispensations of
Providence, and by seeking to please God alone in all things. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">9. Attention to
Details. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Attention to details is essential to produce a
perfect work. Our daily life is made up mostly of minor obligations and petty
trials. Heroic sacrifices are rarely required in a lifetime. Though the main
duties of our calling demand our first attention, the details are also of
obligation. By performing these with due attention, we also fulfill the former
well and thus bring forth fruit a hundred-fold. Continual attention to details
in shunning evil and doing good is not only the greatest evidence of our
loyalty to God, but also the evidence of virtue as heroic as is found in the
lives of the canonized saints. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">10. Good Use of
the Present Moment. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The present moment links the eternity of the past
with the eternity to come. The past will never return; the future is in God's
keeping. The present is the time of grace and opportunity. If we concentrate
our energies on the present moment, our labor will be easy because sustained by
grace, and our burden light because proportioned to our strength. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The present moment is so precious that St.
Augustine calls it "a drop from the ocean of eternity." When used
well it accumulates treasures for us in heaven, but when neglected or misspent
it will be evidence of our guilt for the day of wrath. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">11. Frequent
Renewal of Our Good Intention. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the hand of the compass turns to the North
so human nature instinctively inclines to earthly things. To concentrate our
energies on spiritual things we must counteract the downward tendency of our
corrupt nature by a frequent renewal of our good intention. No matter how clear
our perception of the Christian ideal, how complete the conquest over our enemies,
how sincere our intention, how ardent our desires, and how determined our
resolution, if we do not recollect ourselves and renew our intention from time to
time, our fervor will cool, our generosity will decrease, and our vigilance will
relax. In this lamentable condition we not only squander time and grace and
commit many faults, but are apt to succumb to any serious temptation. On this
account all Christians are exhorted to renew their good intention at least
every morning. St. Alphonsus exhorts us to make good intention at the
beginning of every undertaking, to renew it when the clock strikes, and to make
it efficacious by the practice of ejaculatory prayer and the occasional recitation
of a Hail Mary. At least let us accustom ourselves to repeat as often as we
think of God, ''All for the glory of God and the good of souls. All out of love
for Jesus and Mary. All according to God's holy will." </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12. Fidelity </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Fidelity in the
service of God is a persevering effort to avoid evil and do good. It is essential
to attain eternal happiness. ''Be thou faithful until death" says our Savior,
"and I will give thee the crown of life'' (Apoc. ii. 10). ''To begin
well,” says St. Teresa, "is half the victory, but to receive the crown of
glory we must die a holy death.'' It matters little when or where we shall die
as long as we keep ourselves in readiness by fidelity in God's service. ''Wherefore
be you ready," exhorts our Savior, “because at what hour you know not the
Son of man will come" (Matt. xxiv. 44). We insure this fidelity or final
perseverance by serving God perfectly moment after moment, hour after hour, day
after day. It will then not matter whether He cuts us off in youth, or permits
us to live to a ripe old age. We shall be ever ready for His summons, and so
may confidently expect to hear those consoling words: ''Well done, good and
faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will
place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord'' (Matt. xxv.
21). </span>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-9062975011316229382012-02-21T03:31:00.000-08:002012-02-21T03:31:00.719-08:00DETERMINATION TO ATTAIN PERFECTION<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">IV. DETERMINATION
TO ATTAIN PERFECTION. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Perfection is the absolute and complete attainment
of man's final end or destiny. As a characteristic of a holy life on earth,
however, perfection essentially consists in the love and friendship of God.
There are three degrees or stages of this love. In the first man does as much
good as is necessary to avoid offending God by mortal sin. In the second he
goes farther and avoids deliberate venial sin. In the third stage he is so intimately
united to God by the bond of divine charity that he corrects his natural
defects and does the will of God in all things. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The general means whereby man grows in the
love and friendship) of God and advances on the way to perfection are: (1)
self-denial, or the subjugation of himself to the influence of grace; (2) the
practice of virtue; (3) and conformity to the divine will. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The heavenly Father, being infinitely perfect,
is the standard of all perfection. As the image and likeness of God, man's life-task
is to reproduce in himself the divine perfections according to his capacity.
Hence the Savior said: "Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect''
(Matt. v. 48). </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Man starts on the way to perfection as soon as
he strives to know, love, and serve God. On the way he has Jesus for his model,
Mary for his mother, the Church for his teacher, the Holy Ghost for his
counselor, the priest of God for his director, the angels and saints for his friends,
and prayer, the sacraments, and the sacramentals as the means of obtaining
divine strength. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To progress securely on the way to perfection,
man must advance gradually along the three stages, and be actuated by the
determination not to relax until he has entered the kingdom of heaven. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. The Christian
Ideal</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased” (Matt. iii. 17). Jesus Christ is the divine Model proposed for
our imitation. His ambition was the glory of God and the welfare of souls; His
strength, the love of God and of mankind; His daily bread, the will of His heavenly
Father. He abhorred sin and triumphed over every weakness. He was the un- compromising
enemy of the world and the conqueror of the powers of hell. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In us "the flesh lusteth against the
spirit," while the world and the devil use even our friends to allure us
to a life of self-indulgence. And yet "Time is short," ''Life shall
pass as the trace of a cloud," "It is appointed unto man once to die,
and after this the judgment," "What things a man shall sow, those
also he shall reap. These shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just
into life everlasting." </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We cannot escape from almighty God; neither can
we turn back to nothingness. We must go onward, either on the broad road that
leads to perdition or on the narrow way that leads to life everlasting. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If we constantly aim at the Christian ideal and
strive to reproduce it in our lives, Jesus assures us that His yoke is sweet
and His burden light. Trusting in Him, therefore, both for the grace to will
and to do, we may confidently say with St. Paul: "I know whom I have
believed, and I am certain that He is able to keep that which I have committed
unto Him against that day" (2 Tim. i. 12). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. Horror for
Sin. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sin is a revolt, an act of the basest contempt
and the vilest ingratitude towards the God of infinite majesty and goodness; an
act which re- news the cause of the death of Jesus Christ. Sin robs man of the
blessings of grace and of the treasures of merit and virtue. It turns him from
the pursuit of happiness and plunges him into misery. From a child of God and
an heir to the kingdom of heaven it degrades him into a slave of Satan, and
condemns him to the punishment of hell. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first step, therefore, in the pursuit of
the Christian ideal is a horror for sin and its consequences, founded on the
abiding conviction that sin is the greatest evil in the world. An abiding
horror for sin thus impels man to negative perfection, (1) by guarding him
against sinful temptations and occasions; (2) by prompting him to avoid every
deliberate sinful action; (3) and, finally, by spurring him on to do penance for
his past sins. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. A Spirit of
Reflection. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"With desolation is all the land made
desolate; because there is none that considereth in the heart'' (Jer. xii. 11).
In these words the prophet tells us why his people were steeped in ignorance
and vice. There was "none that considereth in the heart." We consider
in the heart by a spirit of reflection, by meditating on the eternal truths,
and applying them honestly to ourselves. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No matter how fascinating the Christian ideal,
or how shocking the malice and consequences of sin, the former will not attract
us, nor the latter repel us unless we keep them vividly before our minds. Hence
the older spiritual writers emphasized the necessity of mental prayer at stated
times. If the stress and confusion of modern life will not permit us to set
aside certain hours of the day for serious reflection, we must, to ensure our
salvation,! | make up for this misfortune by cultivating a spirit of closer recollection
and prayer in the performance of our routine duties. For, unless we keep the
Christian ideal and the evil of sin vividly before our minds, they will
gradually fade away, and, in proportion as they do, will they be replaced by
worldly-mindedness and selfishness of heart. As the attitude of the mind
engenders the desires of the heart and the resolution of the will, and dictates
our rule of conduct, a spirit of reflection is the first requisite on the
narrow way. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. A Spirit of
Compunction. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The habitual grief of the soul arising from a constant
remembrance of our own sinfulness is called a spirit of compunction. It arises
from concentrating our horror of sin in general on our own sins in particular.
This reflection makes us realize our guilt and the punishment our sins deserve.
The disposition which results is called a spirit of compunction because it
pierces our hearts with a detestation and hatred of our sins, and prompts us to
exclaim in the words of Jeremiah: " The mercies of the Lord that we were
not consumed '' (Lam. iii. 22). </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The spirit of compunction prompts us to do violence
to ourselves for the kingdom of heaven, and to despise the world and the powers
of darkness. It grounds us in humility and the fear of the Lord, and spurs us
on to serve God ever with greater generosity and stronger fidelity. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5. Subjugation of
the Flesh. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Before sin came into the world man's lower nature
was under the control of his reason. Now "the flesh lusteth against the
spirit" and "he that soweth in his flesh, of the flesh also shall
reap corruption" (Gal vi. 8). By the subjugation of the flesh we therefore
mean the bringing of our animal cravings under the dominion of reason. To
effect this subjugation of the flesh we must (1) compel it to do penance for
its rebellion; (2) mortify the senses and passions to bring them into
subjection; (3) and pray earnestly for light to see ourselves as God sees us,
and for grace to triumph in this lifelong conflict. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6. Subjugation of
the Spirit. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">''Where pride is, there also shall be reproach
: but where humility is, there also is wisdom" (Prov. xi. 2). Pride is the
beginning of all sin, humility the bed-rock on which our spiritual edifice must
rest. Pride is an exaggerated idea of our excellence, humility the realization
of the truth that we are nothing of ourselves but sin. Pride prompts us to be
" like unto God” and to assert our independence; humility prompts us to
live in grateful subjection to God, on whom we entirely depend. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By the subjugation of the spirit we therefore mean
(1) the discarding of the groundless pre- tensions of pride; (2) and
habituating ourselves to conform to truth and justice, especially as proposed
to us by the teaching of faith. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">7. Contempt of
the World, </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As followers of Jesus Christ we must despise and
hate the world. We must despise its false principles and maxims, its selfish
motives and hypocritical rules of conduct. We must hate its seductive honors
and allurements, and scorn its tyrannical assumptions and implacable enmity. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The world hates the truth, and rewards its slaves
with temporal and eternal misery. Contempt of the world is, therefore, both an
evidence and an effect of a practical faith. The light of faith alone enables
us to understand the false assumptions and the pernicious influence of the
world, and to triumph over it and the weakness of human respect. Hence St. John
says: "Whatever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the
victory which overcometh the world, our faith" (John v. 4). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">8. Contempt of
Satan. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Since Mary crushed the serpent's head, and Jesus
triumphed over the powers of hell, Satan has become as a chained dog or as a
caged beast. As long as we (1) fear and tremble at the thought of our own
weakness, (2) watch and pray lest we fall into temptation, (3) and call on
Jesus and Mary in time of temptation, we enjoy the special protection of divine
Providence, and may safely despise all the powers of hell. In fact, an excessive
fear of the power of Satan springs as much from a want of confidence in God, as
a false security against the powers of darkness is an evidence of a want of practical
faith. In the temptation in the desert Jesus was, humanly speaking, taken at a
disadvantage by the devil. And yet He did not give way to fear when tempted,
but calmly said: "Begone, Satan: for it is written, the Lord thy God shalt
thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve'' (Matt. iv. 10). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">9. A Spirit of
Prayer. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To take up our daily cross and follow the Master
we need the help of God at every step. By our daily prayers and frequentation
of the sacraments we ordinarily do not submit ourselves sufficiently to the
influence of grace to progress with the full liberty of children of God. For
this a spirit of prayer is necessary. Three pious practices combine to form a
spirit of prayer: (1) the habit of recollection, or living in the presence of
God; (2) the habit of devotion, or inclining to God with childlike confidence;
(3) the habit of ejaculatory prayer and interior communion with God. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">10. Sincerity. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sincerity is that attitude of our mind which, being
free from ignorance or bias, enables us to grasp the excellence of the
Christian ideal, and begets the desire and the resolution to attain it. It
results from a serious reflection on the teaching of faith, united with
heartfelt prayer. Sincerity enables us to view life from the true, eternal,
immutable standpoint of almighty God- </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It manifests itself in that single-mindedness
of purpose which subordinates all things to "the one thing necessary"
and renders us indifferent to all that is not subservient to this end. It was this
sincere apprehension of the relative value of temporal and eternal things that
made St. Paul exclaim: “I count all things to be but loss for the excellent
knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all
things, and count them but as dung, that I may gain Christ'' (Phil. iii. 8). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">11. Desire. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The desire of perfection is a longing to
please God and to make the necessary sacrifices to do His holy will in all
things. "Holy desires are the blessed wings,’ says St. Alphonsus, "on
which the saints fly to the mountain of perfection." As the heart
necessarily desires whatever the mind apprehends as excellent and attainable,
the ardor of our desires will naturally grow or diminish in proportion as we
grasp the importance of spiritual things or permit them to fade from our minds.
Holy desires inspire us (1) with the courage to enter resolutely on the narrow
way, (2) with the strength to surmount all obstacles, (3) with the fortitude to
face the temptations and trials of life. To inspire us with these desires it is
especially useful, besides meditating on the eternal truths and the life of our
blessed Savior, to study the lives of those saints who at one time had been great
sinners, or who lived and sanctified themselves in our own circumstances. Such
examples will prompt us to say with St. Augustine: "These have done it,
those have done it; why then cannot I?" </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12. Resolution. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the spiritual life a resolution is a determination
to please God. We should make the resolution to belong entirely to God and to please
Him in all things. "God looks for only one resolution on our part,"
truly remarks St. Teresa, "and He will do the rest Himself." By this
resolution, firmly and irrevocably made and continually applied to the
circumstances of our daily lives, we are made fit material, like clay in the
potter's hands, to be transformed by God into vessels of election. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According to St. Alphonsus this resolution includes
the determination (1) to avoid every deliberate fault; (2) to detach ourselves
from earthly things; (3) to be faithful in prayer and mortification; (4) to
keep the eternal truths and the passion of Jesus Christ before our minds; (5)
to resign ourselves to the will of God in adversities; (6) to beg of God
continually the gift of His holy love; (7) to do what seems most pleasing to
God; (8) to carry this resolution into effect in the present. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The three general motives which prompt us to
form and keep this resolution are the fear of hell, the desire of heaven^ and
the love of God. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">13. Generosity. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Generosity is “wholesouledness” in the service
of God. The generous Christian knows his limitations as well as the timid and
the lukewarm, but, serving God through love, he joyfully does what he can, and
confidently relies on the assistance and guidance of heaven. With St. Paul he
not only says, '^ I can do all things in Him who strengtheneth me,'' but is
also, like him, willing to endure all things that God ordains. Generosity is
begotten by the fear of the Lord, stimulated by the hope of reward, and
perfected by the love of God. It makes us detest the faults of the past,
rejoice in the good we have done, utilize the present moment faithfully, and
desire to do great things to testify our love and devotion. Generosity makes us
seek opportunities of doing good, seize them with aridity, and produce a
perfect work. It was the generosity of St. Paul that prompted him to be
anathema from Christ for the conversion of his brethren (Rom. ix. 3). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">14. Fervor </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fervor is affection in the service of God. What
generosity is in disposition that fervor is in action. St. Basil calls fervor
an efficacious desire of pleasing God in all things. When a good will has blossomed
into holy desires and matured into a practical resolution, it stimulates the
affections of a generous soul and makes them glow with fervor. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fervor manifests itself (1) by the rigor of our
penance and mortification; (2) by our recollection and devotion in prayer; (3)
by our zeal for the glory of God and the good of souls; (4) and by our love of
humiliation and the cross. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fervor imparts that facility and sweetness to the
service of God which accelerates and insures our progress in perfection. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">15. Docility </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Docility is submissiveness to the will of God,
whether made known by His law, through the voice of our superior, or by the
inspiration of grace. It manifests itself in the respect we have for authority,
in the reverence we have for our superiors, and in the readiness with which we
welcome the inspirations of grace. Young Samuel had this spirit of docility
when he said: "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth" (1 Kings iii. 10).
King David also gave us an example of it when he prayed: “Teach me to do thy
will; for thou art my God” (Ps. cxlii. 10). </span></div>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-40406432785796873112012-02-20T03:30:00.000-08:002012-02-20T03:30:01.249-08:00SUBMISSION TO GOD'S REPRESENTATIVES<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">III. SUBMISSION
TO GOD'S REPRESENTATIVES. </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. Loyalty to
Jesus Christ </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All our hope is in our Mediator Jesus Christ. "The
Father hath given all things into His hands" (John iii. 35). He ransomed
us at a great price. To Him we swore allegiance in holy Baptism. He is ''the
way, the truth and the life" (John xiv. 6). 'No one can go to the Father
except through Him. He is the judge of the living and the dead, the conqueror of
hell, and the bestower of the crown of life. As His mystical members we should
make the interest of Jesus Christ our own. Loyalty to, Him should prompt us to
further the glory of God and the welfare of souls. Loyalty to Him should prompt
us to copy Him in our daily lives, until, with St. Paul, we glory only in the cross
of Jesus Christ. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. Loyalty to the
Catholic Church. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To His Church Jesus Christ said, ^^ As the Father
hath sent Me I also send you " (John XX. 21). The loyalty, then, which we
owe to the Savior, we owe likewise to His Church. Or rather, as fraternal
charity is the test of our love for God, so loyalty to the Catholic Church is
the evidence of our loyalty to Jesus Christ. In the desolation of gethsemanes
Jesus looked in vain for sympathy from His disciples. In the conflicts with her
enemies shall holy Church look in vain for sympathy from her children? Shall she
be forced to complain as God did of old; “I have brought up children, and exalted
them; but they have despised me?" (Is. i. 2.) If we are to be loyal
members of the Catholic Church, we must enter readily into the views of our Holy
Father, of our bishops and pastors, rejoice with them in their success,
sympathize with them in their trials, and do all we can by prayer and good
works to aid them in extending the reign of Christ in the hearts of men. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. Respect for
Lawful Authority. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As "there is no power but from God''
(Rom. xiii. 1), respect for authority must be a characteristic of every loyal
Catholic. By inculcating obedience to the various established forms of government
in the world, the Catholic Church is a pillar of support alike to kingdoms and
republics, while at the same time she champions the rights of every member of
society, by condemning an abuse of authority as tyranny. In like manner the
Church safeguards the permanence of the home by defending the rights of parents
over their children, and the obligation of all, but especially of the children,
to respect the sacred rights of parents in the home. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. Obedience to
Our Spiritual Director. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pride and self-love easily deceive us on the journey
of life. To protect ns against this self-deception Jesus Christ has given us
the priests of His Church as the official interpreters of His law, and the
divine directors of our consciences. To them He said: “He that heareth you,
heareth Me" {Luke ix. 16). Because the blind cannot lead the blind, the Catholic
Church requires her priests to prepare by years of study and prayer to assume
the responsibilities of their office. An humble and docile soul that submits in
a spirit of faith to the guidance of her spiritual director enjoys the greatest
peace and security. A proud and selfish spirit, on the other hand, that desires
the evidence of sense or reason instead of the teaching of faith, will seek in
vain for peace of mind or heart as long as she refuses to submit to the guidance
of Christ's representative. </span></div>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-91216480353938983652012-02-19T19:36:00.000-08:002012-02-19T19:36:00.761-08:00CONFIDENCE IN GOD<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">II. CONFIDENCE IN
GOD. </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. On Account of
God's Goodness, Love, and Mercy. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How marvelous are the evidences of God's goodness,
love, and mercy? When He had no need of his services, God made man to His own
image and likeness, destined him for the Beatific Vision, and endowed him with
superabundant means of working out his exalted destiny. When sin closed heaven to
man and made him a slave of Satan, God was so lavish in His mercy that He did
not hesitate to sacrifice His only begotten Son for man's redemption. And He
solemnly assures us that He loves every one of us with an everlasting love “and
watches over us with a greater solicitude '' than the fondest mother bestows
upon her infant child. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. On Account of
God's Promises</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So urgent are God's invitations to place our trust
in Him, and so solemn His promises to help us, that no one can reasonably
refuse Him his confidence. A few quotations will suffice. ''Behold” He says, “I
stand at the gate and knock'' (Apoc. iii. 20). “Come to Me, all you that labor,
and are burdened, and I will refresh you" (Matt xi. 28). "Turn to Me,
says the Lord of hosts; and I will turn to you " (Zach. i. 3). “As I live,
I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and
live" (Ezech. xxxiii. 11). "I am weary of entreating thee " (Jer.
xv. 6). “If the wicked do penance and keep My commandments, I will not remember
his iniquities" (Ezech. xviii. 21). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. On Account of
the Merits of Jesus Christ </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus is both God and man. As God His actions
have infinite value; in His human nature He paid the price of our redemption. One
prayer, one tear, one drop of His blood would have made adequate atonement for
the sins of the world. But this did not satisfy the burning love of Jesus. To
manifest His love, and to constrain us to love Him in return. He shed the last
drop of His precious blood in our behalf. Hence St. John Chrysostom calls his crucified
Master " the hope of Christians, the staff of the lame, the comfort of the
poor, the destruction of the proud, the victory over the devil, the guide of youth,
the rudder of sailors, the refuge of those who are in danger, the counselor of
the just, the rest of the afflicted, the physician of the sick, and the glory
of martyrs.” </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. On Account of
the Protection of the Blessed Virgin. </span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mary loves all mankind with a mother's love. She
gave us the Saviour, and so has a double interest in every one of us. When she
offered the divine Infant in the temple she consented to the decree of the
heavenly Father condemning Him to die that we might live. This sacrifice Mary
consummated beneath the cross of her dying Son, where she became the Mother of
Sorrows. If Mary made this sacrifice to give us spiritual life, she certainly
will do all in her power to foster it. And her influence is all-powerful with
that God of goodness who made her a worthy mother for His divine Son. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5. On Account of
the Mission of the Catholic Church </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus Christ established the Catholic Church to
bring peace on earth to all of good will. Guided by the Holy Ghost she brings
peace to honest minds by teaching them the truths of religion with divine
certainty. She brings peace to the human heart by reconciling the repentant
sinner with God, and by making the just taste how good God is to those who love
and serve Him. And she assures her children of abiding peace by offering them
the means of perseverance amid the trials of life, and the divine assurance of
endless bliss. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6. On Account of
the Power of Prayer. </span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Prayer is the key to the infinite treasures of
God's mercy and the boundless merits of Jesus Christ Behold the testimony of
Sacred Scripture; "Call upon Me, and I will deliver thee'' (Jer. xxxiii.
3). "Ask and it shall be given you: seek and you shall find: knock and it
shall be opened unto you" (Matt. vii. 7). "You shall ask whatever you
will, and it shall be done unto you" (John xv. 7). "If you shall ask
Me anything in My name, that I will do" (John xiv. 14). "Amen, amen,
I say to you: if you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it
you" (John xvi. 23). </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">7. On Account of the
Intercession of the Angels and Saints</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“The continual prayer
of a just man availeth much '' (James v. 16). If the prayer of Abra- ham, of Moses,
and of other holy men and women had great influence with God while they were on
earth, how much more influence must the angels and saints have before the
throne of God? God Himself has appointed His angels our guardians, and His
Church has placed us under the special protection of the saints. Hence,
according to the teaching of St. Thomas, it is evidently the plan of God, that
we be brought to Him through the influence of those who surround His throne,
and that the more perfect members of Christ's mystical body aid the imperfect
members to increase in charity and thus become more and more godlike.</span>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-12664974395665302472012-02-18T19:34:00.000-08:002012-02-18T19:34:00.276-08:00DIFFIDENCE IN OURSELVES<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I. DIFFIDENCE IN
OURSELVES. </b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">1. We Are Nothing
of Ourselves, </b></div>
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We are not only dependent on almighty God, but
whatever we are in body and soul, in mind and heart — with the exception of sin
— is a gift of God. Even virtue and merit is the effect of His grace. Hence we
must say with St. Paul, "By the grace of God, I am what I am" (1 Cor.
XV. 10). </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2. We Can Do
Nothing of Ourselves</b></div>
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The same power which created us keeps us in
existence. The same God, who implanted a universal desire for happiness in
mankind, gives every individual the free will to choose the particular means to
attain this happiness. But, if in the natural order man cannot act without
God's assistance, how much less can he acquire the treasures of grace and merit
in- dependently of God? No wonder the Saviour said: "I am the vine; you
are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much
fruit: for without Me you can do nothing" (John xv. 5). </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">3. Our Nature is
Corrupted by Sin. </b></div>
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The helplessness of human nature is intensified
by the consequences of sin. In the parable of the man who went down from
Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among the robbers the Saviour gives us a picture
of human nature corrupted by original sin. This sin of Adam robbed mankind of
original justice and holiness, darkened the mind, weakened the will, and
inclined human nature to evil. "By one man sin entered into the world,”
says St. Paul, '' and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom
all have sinned” (Rom. v. 12). </div>
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In addition to this corruption of human nature
we individually suffer the consequence of our personal sins and bad habits. As
these are truly the fetters of hell, we may all lament with King David; ''I
know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me" (Ps. 1. 5). </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">4. Heaven Is
Beyond Our Unaided Beach. </b></div>
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Heaven is so completely beyond our unaided reach
that we could not even imagine the supernatural order without a direct
revelation from God. Much less could we, relying on our unaided strength, hope
to attain the perfection and the reward of children of God. Our only hope of
heaven is in Him who said to Abraham of old: "Fear not, I am thy
protector, and thy reward exceeding great'' (Gen. xv. 1). </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">5. The Enemies of
Our Salvation Are Powerful. </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">The flesh, the world,
and the devil conspire against our salvation. "The flesh lusts against the
spirit'' (Gal v. 17). "The friendship of this world is the enemy of God ''
(James iv. 4). '' Your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion goes about
seeking whom he may devour'' (1 Peter v. 8). Our only hope of victory is in
God. Only when we watch and pray that we enter not into temptation may we confidently
say with St. Paul: "I can do all things in Him who strengthens me"
(Phil. iv. 13). </span>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-2032701980005754552012-02-17T19:32:00.000-08:002012-02-17T19:32:00.459-08:00DISPOSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SECTION II</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">DISPOSITIONS FOR THE INTERIOR LIFE</span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">IN THE Parable of the Sower Jesus tells us that
the seed of God's word yields a return proportionate to the quality of the
soil, some a hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, and some only thirty-fold. As the
quality of the soil is determined by man's dispositions in the service of God,
it rests with him whether his heart will be soil by the wayside, stony soil,
soil overgrown with thorns, or good soil of an inferior, of a medium, or of a
superior grade. There are especially four qualities that dispose us to bring
forth fruit a hundred-fold. They are: Diffidence in Ourselves, Confidence in
God, Submission to God's Representatives, and Determination to attain
Perfection. </span></div>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-50390762279193283562012-02-16T03:23:00.000-08:002012-02-16T03:23:00.235-08:00ETERNITY<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Eternity is the total and perfect possession of
an interminable life. As time is the measure of change, so eternity is the
measure of permanency. Though this permanency be- longs primarily to God, it
applies also to the immortality of angels and men. Eternity may be considered:
(1) in itself, (2) as a peculiarity of the happiness of heaven, (3) and as a quality
of the pains of hell. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Eternity is called '' the possession of
interminable life "to emphasize its inalienable immutability and
permanence of activity. It is called "total possession" because it
combines variety and intensity of activity in the permanence of its action. It
is finally called "perfect possession” because this varied and intense
activity is secure and complete. In this life man may concentrate all his
energy on the exercise of one faculty, and that only for a time. In the next
life, however, he will permanently exercise every faculty in the highest degree
for endless ages. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In heaven “eternal rest” emphasizes the security
of happiness in this permanence of life. There the human mind will see God face
to face, recognizing Him as the one necessary Being, the infinite Truth, the
only real Good, and the perfect Beauty. In God man will contemplate the wonder
and harmony of His works, and the love, mercy and justice of His dealings with
His creatures. At the same time the human heart will overflow in an ecstasy of
delight in the possession of the infinite Good and Beauty, while every other
faculty will en- joy the pleasure and security of this interminable life. The
pleasures of the elect will be further enhanced by the friendship of all the
children of God in the mansions prepared for them from the beginning of the
world. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In hell, however, "eternal misery'' is stamped
on the interminable life of the reprobate. There the mind will brood over the vast
misfortune of losing God and heaven forever. The heart will there drain the cup
of this misfortune and acknowledge this loss to be the final consequence of its
own fault. Like Dives, the reprobate see the happiness of the blessed, and are
consumed with remorse and despair because it will ever be beyond their reach.
Here the soul that refused to serve God on earth becomes the slave of the
devil; here the soul that abused the liberty of a child of God pines in the
dungeon of hell; here the soul that was the willing slave of the flesh is
permeated by "the fire that dieth not” (Mark ix. 42). </span></div>
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the variety and intensity of the happiness of heaven according to their merit,
so the reprobate will endure the variety and intensity of the pains of hell according
to the measure of their sin. Both are immutable and permanent in the total and
perfect possession of their interminable life.</span>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-85487443359840400662012-02-15T03:22:00.000-08:002012-02-15T03:22:00.103-08:00KNOWLEDGE OF MAN'S EXISTENCE: Time<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Time is the measure of duration. Time began
when " In the beginning God created heaven and earth” and it will
terminate with the renovation of the world on the Last Day. In regard to man's
existence time may be considered in three ways: (1) in the strict sense, as the
measure of man's earthly pilgrimage; (2) in a wide sense, as the span of human
life; (3) and as man's probation period for eternity. As a measure of duration
time is a momentary quality of life that is unceasing in its progress, passes
quickly, and never returns. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Strictly speaking only the present moment is time.
It connects the eternity of the past with the eternity to come. The activity of
the present ceases as soon as it is recorded in the history of the past. The
mistakes of the past may be remedied in the present, but vain schemes about the
future are a double loss, because they squander the present and build on an
uncertain future. Whether man seizes the present opportunity, or permits it to
glide idly by, the stream of time moves on unceasingly. As the present moment
alone is his, it would be the height of folly to indulge in useless regrets
about the past or entertain visionary plans about the future. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the span of human life, time is like a rainbow
with one end resting in the cradle of the obscure past, and the other
projecting into the more uncertain grave of the future. Man's span of life is like
a rainbow (1) because the duration of both is brief and uncertain; (2) because
both develop their luster in the present; (3) because both may be obscured and destroyed
by any trivial cause. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The priceless value
of the present moment is evident when we consider time in relation to man's
final destiny. One moment sanctified by the tears of repentant love will unlock
the gates of heaven to the greatest sinner. Every moment spent in God's service
mil be a precious jewel in man's diadem of glory. But even a single moment
spent in sin may rob the longest life of its treasures of grace and merit. This
is indeed food for serious thought! And yet the most serious thought on time is
this: “the moment most precious because decisive and most terrible because
uncertain, is the moment that ushers the soul before the judgment seat of
God.''</span>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-11173847099754127272012-02-14T03:20:00.000-08:002012-02-14T03:20:00.759-08:00REMORSE OF CONSCIENCE<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Remorse of conscience is that sadness of heart
which all suffer who act contrary to the dictates of their conscience. It is a
self-reproach and condemnation for having done wrong. When man seeks his
happiness in the honors, riches, or pleasures of life, his conscience becomes
his first accuser. In proportion to the magnitude and number of his sins will
his conscience torment him by day and by night, reminding him of his offense
and of the punishment it deserves. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">During life man may smother the voice of conscience
by plunging still deeper into vice and dissipation. At the hour of death, how- ever,
his remorse will be intensified by contemplating the emptiness of his life and
the terrors of the approaching judgment. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This remorse of
conscience will be the greatest torment of the reprobate in hell. The Savior
calls it ''their worm that dieth not" (Mark ix. 43). Like a worm gnawing
at their heart, it will continually remind them (1) that it was so easy for them
to save their souls; (2) that they lost the ''reward exceeding great" through
their own fault; (3) that they did this for the vanities of this fleeting life.
Thus their outraged consciences will obtain justice by tormenting them for ever
and ever.</span>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-34333172913576347232012-02-13T03:19:00.000-08:002012-02-13T03:19:00.183-08:00VICE<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
A vice is a habit of sin. It results from a
misuse of man's free will. It will grow out of his evil inclinations if he does
not oppose it resolutely by acquiring the opposite virtue. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
As virtue is the golden mean, vice is ordinarily
found at either extreme of every virtue. There are seven vices, however, which
are the source of many others. They are pride, avarice, lust, anger, gluttony,
envy, and sloth, and are usually called capital sins. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
The majority of mankind are actuated more by
instinct and passion in daily life than by reason. They find it difficult to
restrain their animal propensities and easily become the slave of avarice, lust,
gluttony, intemperance, and sloth. Those on the other hand who try to govern
their daily lives according to the dictates of reason find it more difficult to
regulate their ambition. They easily permit their inordinate self-love to
exaggerate their excellence and puff them up with pride. In consequence they easily
become vain and inordinately desirous of the honors of life. Christians can
best master their ambition by converting it into zeal for the glory of God and
the welfare of souls. They can easily do this, after they are thoroughly converted
themselves, by generously promoting the works of zeal and mercy that are
established in their community. </div>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-83973952997587246392012-02-12T03:18:00.000-08:002012-02-12T03:18:00.617-08:00BAD WILL<div style="text-align: justify;">
As good will is indispensable for
salvation, so bad will is sure to lead to reprobation. Bad will arises
from insincerity of mind, fickleness of heart, and indecision of the
will regarding the work of salvation. <br />
<br />
Insincerity aims
at human ends and is a slave of human respect. It serves God in
prosperity, but fails in the day of adversity. Fickleness of heart
prompts man to act from the impulse of passion rather than from
principle. It is willing to say, "Lord! Lord!'' but not to labor and
suffer to break the fetters of sin, and so never really desires to lay
up treasures in heaven. Indecision of will disqualifies man for the
resolute, persevering endeavor of a true child of God. It makes man a
slave of circumstance, and permits him to drift into sin and vice
without being seriously tempted by the enemies of his soul. </div>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-1624489756055923302012-02-11T03:17:00.000-08:002012-02-11T03:17:00.254-08:00THE PROXIMATE OCCASION OF SIN<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
The proximate occasion of sin is the opportunity
of committing that sin to which one is strongly tempted. Three things combine to
make an occasion of sin proximate: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(1) inclination, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(2) temptation, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(3) an
opportunity. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
As human nature inclines universally to impurity, but not to other
sins, the occasion of impurity is a universal danger, while the occasions of
other sins may be dangerous for one person and not for another. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
The temptation </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(1) is easily aroused and greatly
intensified when it follows the inclination of a bad habit; </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(2) it is most
severe when it affects man's predominant passion, or the defects of his temperament
and character; </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(3) in both, these instances it is apt to meet with less prompt
and less decisive resistance from the will. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
By wilfully exposing himself to the proximate occasion
of sin, or by remaining in it unnecessarily when it presents itself, man </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(1)
withdraws himself from the influence of grace; </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(2) makes himself unworthy of
the special protection of divine Providence; </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(3) and incurs the guilt of the
sin by heedlessly exposing himself to it. Hence the Holy Ghost says, "He
that loveth the danger shall perish in it" (Prov. vi. 27). </div>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-925763846494367362012-02-10T03:16:00.000-08:002012-02-10T03:16:00.441-08:00TEMPTATION<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
A temptation is an impulse given to the will by
the flesh, the world, or the devil to commit sin. The flesh tempts man in three
ways: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(1) by the concupiscence of the eyes to seek the riches, pleasures, and
comforts of life; </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(2) by the concupiscence of the flesh to indulge in sensual
gratifications; </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(3) by the pride of life to seek worldly honor, fame, and
influence. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
The world tempts man in two ways: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(1) by inspiring him with slavish
fear or human respect; </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(2) by pandering to his passions. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
The devil usually
tempts man </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(1) by intensifying the allurements of the flesh and the world; </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(2)
by inciting his carnal appetites to evil. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
God permits man to be tempted </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(1) to test his
good will; </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(2) to ground him in humility; </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(3) to stimulate his fervor; </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(4) to
detach him from earthly things and center his affections on spiritual things; </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(5) to give his virtue a healthy growth; </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(6) to give him an opportunity of merit
and reward; </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
(7) to teach him to advance in the spiritual life. </div>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-35635297125354165552012-02-09T03:16:00.000-08:002012-02-09T03:16:00.149-08:00THE DEVIL<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt; text-align: justify;">
All evil spirits constitute the third enemy of
man's salvation. Moved by hatred and envy they do all in their power to bring
man to perdition. Not content with using the influence of the world to turn him
from the path of virtue, they exert their influence on him personally to attain
their end. Though they cannot influence man's mind and heart directly, they can
inflict great harm on them through his senses and his passions. </div>
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The devil may act on man's external senses, (1)
by an illusory sensation and make a corresponding impression on the imagination
and memory; (2) by a corporeal apparition, as he appeared to the Saviour in the
desert. He may act directly on man's internal senses (1) by inciting the
instinct to carnal desires; (2) by effacing virtuous impressions from the
imagination and memory; (3) and impressing vicious images in their stead ; (4)
by fixing such vicious impressions deeply upon the internal senses. In this way
the devil distracts the mind of a child of God, harasses his will, and inclines
his heart to sin, counteracts the past effects of grace and virtue, blinds man
to the blessings of the present, and tempts him to sin. </div>
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Ordinarily the devil is too shrewd to tempt man
directly to embrace error or to act maliciously. In fact he accomplishes his
end more securely by using the evil impressions of the imagination and memory
and the bad example and friendship of the world to instill perverse principles
in the human mind and selfish motives in the human heart, and thereby puts man at
variance with God. In this way the devil does not shock man, but easily leads
him to hold, that, as his influence cannot be easily detected, it has been much
overrated, especially in modern times. </div>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278889452648666008.post-78417863631459406082012-02-08T03:15:00.000-08:002012-02-08T03:15:00.163-08:00THE WORLD<br />
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The world is that part of mankind which rebels
against God and follows the inclinations of the flesh. The Savior said the
world had nothing in common with Him. According to the teaching of Jesus Christ
(1) God is all and man nothing; (2) eternity lasting, time fleeting; (3) heaven
is incomparable, earth a wilderness; (4) life is a trial, heaven the reward,
and hell the punishment. </div>
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According to the false theory of the world, (1)
man is everything and has freed himself from God's dominion; (2) time is
eternal and eternity a fable; (3) the honors, riches, and pleasures of life
alone are worthy of man's ambition; (4) man's heaven or hell is on earth; (5)
life, alas, is too short and ends in gloom; (6) we can have no knowledge of a
next world. If there is a heaven God is so good that He will welcome all to it.
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Christ teaches that we must give honor and glory
to God; but the world has arrogated all honor and glory to itself. Christ
points out man's debt of gratitude to God; the world flatters him by saying
that he must thank himself for what he is and has. Christ warns man to fear
Him, who can cast both body and soul into hell; the world warns him to fear the
criticism and enmity of men. Christ declared that the first and greatest
commandment is to love God above all things, and the next to love our neighbor
as ourselves. The world says man's first duty is to get all the pleasure he can
out of life, and the second never to be caught in a dis- honorable deed. </div>
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Thus the world enslaves the thoughtless and simple
by its false principles, selfish motives, and deceitful rules of conduct, and
ever allures the children of God to forsake the path of virtue, and enter on
the broad road that leads to destruction. </div>Franciscus Carmelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434111275011854155noreply@blogger.com0