Abundance of Joy: Recent Episodes

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The other day, I read this passage from one of St. Therese of Lisieux‘s letters, in Jacques Philippe’s The Way of Trust and Love: “[A child who has sinned] throws himself into his father’s arms, telling him that he is sorry to have hurt him, that he loves him, and that he will prove it by being good from now on. Then, if that child asks his father to punish him with a kiss, I don’t think the happy father could harden his heart against his child’s filial trust, knowing his sincerity and love.” St. Therese is saying that when we sin, we should trust God so much as to ask Him to bless us in lieu of punishment. Does this astonish you? It did me. Human nature says that when we sin, we should run away from God like Adam did. We expect God to reject us, even when we do come to Him in repentance. Be daring in your trust But Therese is bold, “daring” as she herself said. She asked for a kiss from God whenever she sinned. And she became “the greatest saint of modern times,” according to Pope Pius X! You might be thinking, “Yeah, but Therese’s sins weren’t like mine. She only committed tiny venial sins, while I...” You’re right. Your sins probably are worse than hers. So are mine. But if you are a Christian, your God is exactly the same as hers was. And that’s the whole point. Our sins don’t change God Do we expect to earn Heaven by being good; or be rewarded with what we don’t deserve? If you despair because you have sinned, or you think that you have no call to trust God as much as Therese did, think again. The penitent woman in the Gospel loved much, because she had been forgiven much. She was bold too in her trust and love. Jesus did not turn her away. He defended her against her detractors. (See Luke 7:36-50.) Some say she went on to become St. Mary Magdalen. We must trust God, not because WE, are good, but because HE, is. Therese was fond of saying that God would always meet our expectations. The more we trust Him, the more He will prove Himself trustworthy. Our sins are not too big for God. Our trust is too little. Of course, we cannot be presumptuous, only pretending to be repentant without resolving to do better in the future. Presumption can be a mortal sin. It won’t win us a kiss from God. But neither should we despair, no matter what we have done, no matter how many times we have fallen. Our sins do not change God. Join me in trusting God more Since reading this passage of St. Therese’s, I have started asking God for a kiss as my punishment, an increase of grace and closeness to Him every time I sin. I ask Him to draw me even closer than I would have been if I had withstood temptation. Will you join me in being as daring as St. Therese? Start by going to Confession, especially if you’ve committed any mortal sins. Then trust Him. You wouldn’t refuse to kiss your child when he was sorry for being naughty, would you? Nor will God refuse to bestow His love and grace on you. This has been a reflection by Connie Rossini. To read blog posts on growing in prayer and virtue, visit ContemplativeHomeschool.com. Subscribe to the Abundance of Joy podcast to be notified when more audio versions of Connie's writings are available.

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Among Carmelite saints, John of the Cross, co-founder of the Discalced Carmelites with Teresa of Avila, is not the most popular. Why not? He insisted that detachment was necessary for holiness. Many Catholics, misunderstanding his teaching, think it too hard and too dull. On first reading his Ascent of Mount Carmel, they might be tempted to settle for luke-warmness. On the other hand, nearly everyone loves St. Therese of Lisieux. The irony is that Therese was a true daughter of John, embracing all that he taught. If we reject John, we implicitly reject Therese as well. Misconceptions about detachment Let’s examine some of the misconceptions about detachment. First of all, the detachment John of the Cross speaks of is not aloofness. We should have proper affection for our family and friends. It’s nonsensical to be cold towards your spouse due to a supposed love for God. Detachment doesn’t mean denying the good that is in the material world. Rather, it means viewing temporal goods as temporal, gifts from God meant to lead us to Him. Unlike some religions, where the physical world is seen as evil or unreal, Christianity does not teach asceticism for its own sake. We give up our desires for things in order to make room in our hearts for God. Detachment is a means, not an end. If you have a love for chocolate, you don’t have to pretend—let alone really think–that it tastes bad, in order to be a saint. A saint can still tell the difference between a good wine and a cheap one (if he ever could!). But he doesn’t drink too much, nor would he be disturbed if he never tasted wine again. He will also naturally hunger and thirst. This won’t keep him from fasting when appropriate. Detachment begins in the heart So, how can we speak of detachment in positive terms? Detachment is an attitude of the heart. God calls a few people to give away all their possessions. Think of St. Francis of Assisi. He allows the rest of us to keep some of what we own, but not cling to it. Detachment means getting rid of our “selfish clinging” (as Father Thomas Dubay used to say) to things or persons. It’s a response to God’s love for us. When you fall in love, everyone else in your life pales beside the beloved. You change your schedule and your priorities. You spend money and time on that person without feeling like it’s a sacrifice. If a young man would always rather watch football with the guys, for example, than have dinner with his girlfriend, she would rightly question his feelings for her. What about you? Would you rather watch football (or go shopping, spend time with friends, read, etc.) than pray? Would you pray even if you didn’t “enjoy” it? If God let you lose all your loved ones and possessions, as happened to Job in the Old Testament, would you still love and follow Him? Would you have inner peace? God calls us to put love for Him above everything else. When you can truly do so, then you are detached. This has been a reflection by Connie Rossini. Subscribe to the Abundance of Joy podcast to be notified when more episodes are available, or read the original articles at ContemplativeHomeschool.com.

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Before we discuss St. Therese of Lisieux’s teaching on Purgatory, I want to put that teaching into context. Her teaching is daring. Some of the nuns she lived with in the Carmelite monastery were scandalized by it, thinking it presumptuous. The last thing St. Therese (or I) would want is for people to interpret her teaching in such a way that they thought they could be spiritually lax and still go straight to Heaven. So, As you read about her teaching, keep these things in mind: One. Therese is a doctor of the Church. The Church has only 35 doctors, four of them women. Now, being a doctor of the Church doesn’t mean she was infallible. But it does mean that the Church especially recommends her spirituality for Christians in any age. Therese is the Doctor of the Little Way of Spiritual Childhood, and her teaching on Purgatory was part of that Little Way. Two. St. Therese was completely orthodox. This follows from #1. What she taught about Purgatory must never be taken to contradict official Church teaching on the subject. Three. Presumption is a sin. And if we presume that God will forgive our mortal sins without true repentance and a visit to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, that presumption is a mortal sin. Can we avoid Purgatory? So, what did St. Therese say about Purgatory? When she was assistant novice mistress, she began teaching the novices under her that they could avoid Purgatory. What was so daring about this? None of the novices was especially holy! All of them were average Catholic women, with natural weaknesses. They had very few meritorious acts to balance the weight of their sins. Some of them even had personality problems. Therese taught them they could go straight to Heaven when they died. How? Simple. By trusting God for everything. An antidote to Jansenism Therese grew up in a France that was still greatly influenced by Jansenism. French Catholics believed God was exacting. If you wanted to be holy, you had to not only do your duty, but perform a host of good works to earn spiritual merit. If you stored up enough merits, you could avoid Purgatory. When Therese was little, her sister Marie brought home from boarding school a string of sacrifice beads. Marie was to use the beads to count the day’s merits. Zelie Martin, Therese’s mother, gave one to Celine so she could count merits too. Then Therese, who was still a preschooler, wanted one as well. As Therese grew older, she struggled with scruples. She knew she was not particularly strong. In fact, psychologically, she was very sensitive and immature following her mother’s death. How could she ever accumulate enough merit? She pondered this question for a few years before the Lord showed her the answer through Sacred Scripture. The quick way to holiness, the easy way to go straight to Heaven, was to abandon oneself totally to God as a child entrusts himself fully to his father. The Little Way of Spiritual Childhood was born. Therese stopped storing up merits for herself. She still performed little meritorious acts, but she offered them all for others. Her plan was to have no merits in her account on the Day of Judgment. The power of empty hands One day towards the end of Therese’s life, her sister Pauline (now Mother Agnes of Jesus) lamented having no good works to offer to God on Judgment Day. Therese considered herself “in the same circumstances.” It did not perturb her. Since she could give God nothing, he would supply everything. She said: “As far as little ones are concerned, they will be judged with great gentleness. ‘At the end, the Lord will rise up to save the gentle and the humble of the earth.’ It doesn’t say ‘to judge’; but ‘to save.'” (Last Conversations, 67) When we stop counting our merits, we learn to rely totally on God. A baby can do nothing for himself. He depends on his parents for everything. This is Therese’s spiritual attitude. She gave away everything she could possibly have placed her confidence in, so that God would be her all in all...

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Are you having trouble finding time for prayer every day? Here are some suggestions. 1. Ask yourself whether daily prayer is your top priority (outside of the sacraments). If you don’t see the need for prayer, you won’t be faithful to it. Prayer doesn’t take us away from our duties; it gives us strength to fulfill them. No matter what your vocation or how busy it keeps you, God wants to strengthen you in it through prayer. If you have a hard time seeing the importance of prayer, (re-)read Why should you pray?. 2. Simplify your life. We are all too busy with work, volunteering, and socializing. Cut out some of your unnecessary activities. Reduce the number of events you chauffeur your kids to. In extreme cases, you may have to consider a job change so work doesn’t devour your life. Do whatever you must to slow down and refocus your life on Christ. You won’t be sorry you did. What about material possessions? Do you own so much that you spend all your “free” time caring for your stuff? Give some of your goods to the poor and really free up your time. What can you do without? 3. Turn off the TV and computer. If you have time for your favorite program, you have time for prayer. A 30-minute conversation with Christ will refresh you more than a sitcom. Maybe you only read blogs like this one. St. Frances de Sales cautioned people against thinking they were holy simply because they read a lot of spiritual books. The same could be said of reading Catholic blogs in our day. Is it time to switch off the computer and put your faith into practice? 4. Pray first thing in the morning. Set your alarm back half an hour. Not a morning person? Neither am I, but I still find this the ideal time for prayer. There are few interruptions or distractions before 6 a.m. If you leave prayer until the end of the day, there’s a chance you won’t pray at all, or you will be so caught up in thinking about the day’s events or so sleepy, you’ll do a poor job praying. If you can’t pray first thing, make sure you designate another half hour of each day for prayer. Praying at a consistent time helps you form the habit of prayer. 5. Enlist your family’s support. If both spouses commit to pray, you can encourage and support each other. The husband can watch the children while the wife prays. A mom can teach older children to have a quiet time while the little ones nap, then use this time for prayer. 6. Be creative. Some of the above may not be applicable, or even possible, for you. These are only suggestions. Everyone’s situation is different. Examine your life before you decide that daily prayer won’t work for you. With a little ingenuity, it can usually be done. Sometimes you need to multi-task. Pray while you nurse the baby or push the toddler in the stroller. Use half of your lunch hour to pray in the car. Dan and I have tried all these methods. Your tack may have to change as your life changes. Prayer requires sacrifice, but God rewards even the smallest sacrifices (see Matthew 10:42). 7. Still struggling? Ask God for wisdom and guidance. In a word, pray. Connie Rossini This post is included in this month’s Catholic Bloggers’ Link-up Blitz.

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“He who neglects mental prayer needs no devil to carry him to hell. He brings himself there with his own hands.” Saint Teresa of Ávila (as paraphrased by St. Alphonsus Liguori) And if that’s not enough for you(!), here are 7 more reasons Catholics should pray every day: 1. Jesus, Mary, and all the saints prayed. Jesus prays in at least fifteen passages in the Gospels. Luke 6:12 is typical: “Then He went out to the mountain to pray, spending the night in communion with God.” Mary is a model of prayer. We are told she “treasured all these things and reflected on them in her heart” (Luke 2:19, etc.). Pick up any saint’s biography and you read about a life steeped in prayer. No matter the culture, the state in life, or the age of the saint, they all communed with God daily. 2. Prayer gives us self-knowledge. Prayer enables us to see ourselves as we are, so we can work (with God’s grace) to change. 3. Prayer keeps us from sin. Not only are we more aware of our sins when we pray, prayer also gives us the grace to overcome present and future temptations. St. John Chrysostom wrote, “It is impossible, utterly impossible, for the man who prays eagerly and invokes God ceaselessly ever to sin” (De Anna 4, 5). 4. Relationships need communication. We have all experienced growing apart from a once-close friend by neglecting to call or visit. It is the same with our relationship with God. If we seldom talk (or listen) to Him, we will easily fall away. 5. God always listens. No matter how much other people may turn a deaf ear to our concerns, God always hears us. 6. Prayer disposes us to receive the sacraments. A person who prays is more likely to frequent the sacrament of Reconciliation and make a good confession. Prayer prepares us to more fully participate in the Mass and receive the Eucharist worthily. 7. Prayer leads to divine union. God desires all people to reach union with Him, being completely obedient to His will and loving Him with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength (see Deuteronomy 6:5). We were created for this very purpose. This union is absolutely impossible without prayer. This has been a reflection by Connie Rossini. To read blog posts on growing in prayer and virtue, visit ContemplativeHomeschool.com. Subscribe to the Abundance of Joy podcast to be notified when more audio versions of Connie's writings are available.

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There are three major categories of contemplation. The first, which I spoke about in Part I of this topic, is natural contemplation. The second is the contemplation practiced in non-Christian religions. The third is supernatural contemplation. It is this third type of contemplation that St. Teresa of Ávila, St. John of the Cross, and other Carmelites refer to when they use the word “contemplation.” Christian contemplation versus eastern meditation Non-Christian contemplation consists of an impersonal awareness. Zen Buddhists practice a meditation or contemplation that is agnostic. God does not come into play. Transcendental meditation, which comes from Hinduism, consists in losing one’s personality in an impersonal, all-encompassing deity. Both these varieties of contemplation are achieved by practitioners’ own actions, which lead to an altered state of consciousness. Christian contemplation is completely different. It is a loving gaze at God who is Love. Supernatural in origin, it can’t be produced through techniques. Modern writers often use the modifier “infused” to indicate that God pours contemplation into the soul. Meditating on Sacred Scripture (the Bible) can produce theological contemplation, sometimes called acquired contemplation (although I no longer use this term, since it was not used by the doctors of the Church and it can confuse people; St. Teresa’s term is acquired recollection). Christian meditation teaches us to know and love Jesus, thus preparing us to open our hearts fully to God’s love. It helps us form the habit of quieting our souls before God, focusing on Him instead of ourselves. For an example of how to practice Christian meditation, listen to the episode: What is mental prayer and how can you do it? God initiates supernatural contemplation When a soul dedicates herself to prayer, especially Christian meditation, as well as growth in virtue, she greatly pleases God. God then initiates–in His own time–a deeper love-communion with her. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us.” (1 John 4:10). Love begins with God. God bestows His love upon the soul and lifts her up, so that she may also gaze upon Him in love. She communes with God beyond words, concepts, and images. This is a foretaste of Heaven, when we will see and love God as He is (see 1 John 3:2). Complete union with God rarely comes all at once. Instead, there are stages of contemplation. St. Teresa explains these in Interior Castle. As the soul is cleansed from sin and improper attachments to created things, she opens herself more fully to God’s love. Prayer and virtue grow together. True, infused contemplation produces a marked growth in virtue. Sins that seemed unconquerable before are vanquished by grace. Natural contemplation can prepare the soul for supernatural contemplation, but it cannot produce it. Nor can eastern religious techniques. Contemplation proper is the action of God. He desires to bestow it on every human being. This has been a reflection by Connie Rossini. To read blog posts on growing in prayer and virtue, visit ContemplativeHomeschool.com. Subscribe to the Abundance of Joy podcast to be notified when more audio versions of Connie's writings are available.

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Contemplation for Carmelites is the summit of the spiritual life on earth. It is (or should be) the goal of all Christians. It is what we prepare our kids for in our homeschool. But there is a lot of misunderstanding about what contemplation is. The word is used in so many senses, both in secular and religious circles. In this post, we’ll look at “natural contemplation”–something all humans can experience on their own. What is Contemplation, Part II, will examine what “contemplation” means in various religions, especially the Carmelite understanding of supernatural contemplation. The most common definition of “contemplate” is “think about” or “meditate on.” In this sense, we can contemplate virtually anything. We’ll discuss meditation on Sacred Scripture in Part II. It is not what Carmelites generally mean by contemplation. Pére Marie-Eugene, O.C.D., gives a great explanation of three types of natural contemplation in I want to See God. First, there is aesthetic contemplation. This is when our senses experience beauty and we respond to it with emotion. The classic example is looking at a sunset. A deep communication goes on between the beautiful thing and our heart. We no longer meditate on the details of the object, but simply gaze with love. We soak it in. We feel we have touched something transcendent. The second type of natural contemplation is intellectual. A philosopher or scientist who has spent years looking for a key idea or law, suddenly finds it. At that moment, he stops inquiring. His intellect is stilled. He delights in his discovery. Thirdly, there is theological contemplation. This occurs when you are enraptured by a divine truth or a scene from the Gospels. The truth is so awesome, you just want to drown yourself in it. Again, the details fade. Something beyond them has moved your heart. You might experience this in your prayer time, but it is not yet supernatural. All three of these types of natural contemplation should have a place in our homeschool. There is a fourth type of natural contemplation, which we could call personal contemplation. A new mother, holding her infant for the first time, saves the counting of fingers and toes for later, being totally caught up in her love for her child. Or two lovers gaze at each other in awe, saying nothing, even thinking nothing for that moment. Personal contemplation is especially akin to supernatural contemplation. This has been a reflection by Connie Rossini. To read blog posts on growing in prayer and virtue, visit ContemplativeHomeschool.com. Subscribe to the Abundance of Joy podcast to be notified when more audio versions of Connie's writings are available.

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Catholics divide personal prayer into 2 broad categories – vocal and mental. Vocal prayer includes prayers written for recitation. Mental prayer is prayer in one’s own words. (Mental prayer can also be subdivided into meditation and contemplation. The Catechism calls vocal prayer, meditation, and contemplation the 3 expressions of personal prayer.) St. Teresa of Ávila wrote, “Mental prayer, in my view, is nothing but friendly intercourse and frequent solitary converse with Him Who we know loves us.” St. Thérèse of Lisieux likewise wrote, “With me prayer is an uplifting of the heart; a glance towards heaven; a cry of gratitude and love, uttered equally in sorrow and in joy.” Catholics are generally comfortable with vocal prayer, but mental prayer can leave us at a loss. How can you spend 20 minutes or more in prayer without a pre-written text? How can you keep your prayer from becoming mere rambling? St. Teresa strives to make mental prayer simple and accessible to all. Since each soul is unique, each person’s prayer is unique as well. There is no one-size-fits-all model. The method of mental prayer takes 2nd place to the attitude of the heart. Still, for beginners especially, a general format to follow is helpful. If you don’t know how to pray, try this This method is taken primarily from St. Frances de Sales, but also incorporates other authors’ suggestions. Feel free to adapt it to your own situation and temperament. – Preparation. Place yourself in God’s presence. Think about His omnipotence or His residence in your heart. Quiet your soul and set aside distractions. – Meditation. This is the key to the conversation. Read a short passage from Scripture or another spiritual book. Or, if you have a vivid imagination, visualize an event from the Gospels. You could even gaze at a holy picture. Although many subjects are suitable for meditation, you should most often focus on Christ. As a general rule, the saints and Catechism recommend that when possible we meditate on the Gospels. This is how we get to know Jesus and are inspired to speak with Him. It also helps you to continue growing in virtue, as you compare your life with Christ’s teaching. Reflect on the passage. You may find it helpful to ask: who, what, where, and why. How does your subject affect you? What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through it? – Conversation. This is the goal of your mental prayer and should make up 20 minutes or more of a half-hour prayer time. Speak to God from your heart about your subject. Thank and adore Him, asking His help in acquiring virtues you have thought about or overcoming related temptations. Examine your conscience. Think of concrete ways you can change your life, and make resolutions. Offer other petitions that are on your heart. If you run out of things to say, return briefly to your meditation for more inspiration. – Conclusion. Thank God for the time you have spent with Him and the insights you have gained. Consider how to improve your prayer next time. You could add a heartfelt Our Father or Hail Mary or invoke the saints to whom you are devoted or who are connected with your subject. Ask them to help you keep your resolutions, to bring you back to prayer tomorrow, and to maintain a prayerful attitude all day. Remember, as the Catechism says, “A method is only a guide; the important thing is to advance with the Holy Spirit, along the way of prayer: Jesus Christ” (#2707). This has been a reflection by Connie Rossini. To read blog posts on growing in prayer and virtue, visit ContemplativeHomeschool.com. Subscribe to the Abundance of Joy podcast to be notified when more audio versions of Connie's writings are available.