SPEAK TO THE DIVINE

 

Our Lady of Sorrows

AVOID IMITATING THE HATE BEING DEMONSTRATED BY THE TRUMP CULT

In response to the vulgar, hostile and coarse language, in addition to hateful assertions expressed by my fellow Catholics and others on the internet, I feel I have to point out that calling people names and resorting to repellent rhetoric has never convinced anyone of the wisdom of the point of view of the person maligning them.

It is my belief that we must always address the Divine Spark of the Lord that exists within all of us when speaking to a person.

We cannot allow ourselves to become so immersed in our righteous anger that we lose all awareness of our opponent's basic nature, which is that every human is made in the likeness and image of God.

It becomes easier to keep one's attention fixed on the Divinely inspired inner nature of each human if the observer can separate the person from the acts that person performs. It can be similar to threading a needle and sewing through some stiff fabric.

I myself often have to edit and rewrite my social media posts twice after the first draft. It is a skill I am still perfecting, but I have seen so much repulsive language from people I typically like and admire, that I have come to the conclusion that we all need a little help and kindly encouragement in helping us elevate our language in a way that is worthy of our status as Catholics and which will not cause more problems than it solves. 

Typically, a reminder of the facts is all that is required. Aligning our writing with our faith is a rather straightforward procedure unless one is really struggling with the concept of recognizing that even one's enemies are made in the image and likeness of our Lord.

I highly recommend lectio divina and contemplation on a helpful scripture versus in order to remain established in Catholic belief about the nature of human beings, in general.

"So God created mankind in His own image,

in the image of God He created them; male

and female He created them."

~Genesis 1:27

None of this obviates the necessity for being truthful. Sometimes the behavior of other humans is so distasteful and heinous in nature that it can inflame our feelings. This does not mean that it is wrong to mention these behaviors or that we are not recognizing the Lord's hand in our making when we mention them.  As long as we are criticizing the behavior and not the person, we should be alright.

It makes me very upset when I read about or see yet another bald-faced lie uttered by our current president. I try not to call him a "bald-faced liar" because that is a slur, even if true at this moment. I still fail in this regard because I am so unhappy when I see him tormenting other humans. 

The older I become, the longer I have been occupying my time with prayer, the more empathy toward the vulnerable is gifted me by Our Lord. It is rather more difficult to feel the same empathy for the tormentor, except that I remind myself what a hell it must be to live a life in concert with the Hell of Satan and to know that if the tormentor of the weak and needy does not repent, he will be forever damned. I know the grim future that awaits the unrepentant bully, so when I manage to remind myself of it, writing about and to them becomes less fraught with fury. 

Doing so also reminds me of my own defects of character and sends me straight into fervent prayers of contrition. 

We do not want to call a person a name because it sticks that person in time, without the opportunity for repentance, confession, forgiveness, etc. Calling someone a name is like putting a straight pin through a bug and skewering it to poster board.

DRAGONFLY - WILLIAM MORRIS PRINT

Instead, we should point out the nature of the lie and label the lie and not the person. If we are to love our enemies, we must want the highest good for them, and that would be for them to reach perfect contrition for their sins, and that they would confess, repent, and turn their lives around, and be forgiven.

It is never too late for anyone to "come to the party," until they have died, that is. Until then, the possibility for the forgiveness of the Lord is always possible, and we should not forget it or resent it, no matter when it happens in the life of another person.

Remember the parable about the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) in which the farmer hires workers at all hours of the day but pays them all the same wage at the end of the day.

We should be happy when anyone experiences a heart-felt conversion and is saved from their sins because, if we feel resentment that they were able to "enjoy" sinning for a longer time, it only means that we are not really enjoying our time with Jesus, which is a terrible thing to contemplate. It means we find more joy in sin than in a blessed life in Christ.

Since I must remind myself of these facts every time I put words to page, especially with regard to our fractious political times, I am assuming that most of us are in need of reminders. 

If you need any encouragement in this process, send me a message on Facebook or a comment on this post, and we can brainstorm or I will offer suggestions. Whatever you feel you need.

In the meantime, I pray for you and hope you pray for me.

God bless us all!

Silver Rose

 

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Saint Joseph of Cupertino

I have come under criticism for being rather simplistic in my online writing. I suppose I could be more sophisticated or entertaining, but I feel that, at times, our appetites for entertainment and soothing words mask a spiritual life that is disintegrating.

If we haven't got the basics under control, which many of us do not, all of the simpering commentary about our deep love for the Lord and the mystical feelings we experience therefrom, are just our own personal propaganda that we use to hide the fact that we are morally corrupt.

Do you lie, cheat and steal without confession and remorse? You can bellow out the words to your favorite hymn at church, cry at the reception of the eucharist, donate all your time to your "ministry", have a vocabulary complete devoid of swear words, and, although the world may cover you with flowers, you may still go to hell.

The Last Judgment

Many people presume upon the forgiveness of the Lord while they are lying, stealing and murdering and do not confess and repent of it. One woman, after I heard her lying to someone on the phone (in order to gain a monetary advantage) told me, "Don't you worry about me, Missy - I am going to heaven!" and "it isn't a lie, it's just a story." Later, she stole from me. Then I saw her stealing the food that was left out at the mailboxes for the food drive for which the postal workers were collecting for the poor. She lied about it later. ("It isn't a lie, it's a story.") It makes me very sad because, without confession and repentance, she will go to Hell, and I do not want anyone to go to Hell. I pray that she confesses and repents so that I may see her in Heaven.

There are also people who put themselves forward as spiritual personalities in order to hide their crimes. I heard of one who killed a wealthy, demented spouse with an overdose, had the body quickly cremated without a doctor seeing it, and collected sympathy cards with a sad air, between giving sappy sermons about the poor man they murdered. While the world rewards them for their spiritual masquerade, God certainly won't. Eternity is a very long time, and their ill-gotten gains won't accompany them after death.

Saint Theresa of Avila, in ecstacy

I love the mystical life. It is thrilling to read stories about the saints who experienced the miraculous, who heard the voice of the Lord and received his embrace in ecstacy. It is popular to focus on this aspect of spiritual life, and it IS a very real manifestation of spirituality, but it isn't what Jesus emphasized.
                                             

Saint Gregory

Jesus told us that he did not come to bring peace, but the sword. He said that our families would be rent apart, with one member against another. He told us that some people, at the end, would call out to Him, "Lord! Lord!" and that He would send them away, telling them that He does not know them. He promised that those who love Him would follow his commandments and would go to heaven.

Icon of the "ladder to heaven"

If you follow the commands of the Lord and live a truly holy life, it will separate you from those who do not follow him. It will make you a target of the evil that lives within the hearts of those who do not really love the Lord. You will suffer on this earth, just as Christ himself suffered. Those who do not obey the commandments of the Lord will lie about you and work against you in every way. They will steal from you and try to punish you for your goodness because evil cannot bear to see the beauty of the Lord that is manifested in one who is following the commandments of Jesus.

We weren't promised financial reward in exchange for a holy life. Some of the modern Protestant denominations promote a scandalous "prosperity gospel" which plays right into the modern love of money. It also encourages prejudice against the poor, which is the opposite of the message of Jesus and his apostles. I have seen it confuse people and pervert their faith. Some mistakenly think that, if they are living a prosperous life, then everything they do must be holy, and that is not the criteria that Jesus gave us.

I write about this topic because I think it is needed. We have plenty of entertaining books and blogs, as well as political writing that pretends to be spiritual but helps to distract us from the basics. I am attempting to direct attention to Jesus and what He said - to the Church and what it teaches - and to the Bible and the guidance it provides, because I have been shocked and saddened to see the large number of people who lie, cheat, steal, and murder while delusionaly believing that they will go to heaven anyway.

Because of love for my neighbor, fellow-feeling and compassion, I would like to see everyone go to Heaven. I am trying to encourage everyone to look to the faith and get their foundation built solidly on the commandments of Jesus that are built on the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament.

In short, stop your lyin' cheatin' and stealin' ya'll!

Silver Rose 

(Sannyasini Kaliprana)

Silver Cottage Ashram Hermitage

Albuquerque, New Mexico

CONTROL FREAK

My Command Post - 2018

When you are young and energetic, and you have time on your side, options and possibilities are seemingly endless. There are so many conceivable life tracks and end results that it resembles a good science fiction novel. Only the Divine Writer knows the end of your story.

At the end of your life, however, very little is under one's control. Mastery has flowed through your fingers, when once it was held solidly in your palm.

When you are 63, and you are going blind in an excruciatingly slow manner, your screaming bones won't take you further than a block or two from your car, and your relatives have stolen your inheritance, leaving you a pauper, options, life tracks and end results are frustratingly limited.

EXCEPT, when one is talking about the spiritual realm. THEN, the options are very big indeed. The picture is broad, expansive, fabulously transcendent. No matter how much suffering one endures on this earth, no matter how low people force you down the totem pole of estimation, no matter if you are so discounted that even Walmart wouldn't take you, Heaven is waiting for you on the other side - provided, of course, that you have not succumbed to the temptation for evil that Satan places before you at every opportunity he can find.

That woman who stole your husband? Do you wish that disaster befall her? Say goodbye to heaven. All those little lies you told because you have decided they do not matter? Say goodbye to heaven.
The overdose of sleeping pills you gave to your demented old relative because you are just sure that "he would not want to live like that." Say goodbye to heaven.

Say goodbye to heaven if you lie, cheat, steal, give false witness, commit adultery, or gossip with the girls over drinks at brunch, without remorse and without confession and absolution. Say goodbye to the Pearly Gates.

It is Lent, people. Time to repent, confess, and be shriven - or the end of your life won't be something to look forward to.

Amen.

Silver Rose Parnell