…immoderately inclines to extremes, boundlessly desiring what it loves and likes, and, on the other hand, grieving and sorrowing at what it abhors and dislikes. These changeful moods and fluctuations create danger for all or many virtues. The disorderly love for one creature which it cannot attain, moves the soul presently to desire another, expecting a balm for it’s disappointment in the former. And if it is successful, the soul becomes involved and flurried in the desire of retaining what it possesses, thus casting itself by these validities into still greater disorders and passions. Attend, therefore, dearest, to this danger and attack it at the root by preserving thy heart independent and riveted only on the divine Providence, without ever allowing it to incline toward what it desires or longs for, or to abhor what is painful to it. Let the will of the Lord be thy only delight and joy. Let neither thy desires draw thee on, nor thy fears dishearten thee. Let not thy exterior occupations, and much less thy regard or attention to creatures, ever impede thee or divert thee from thy holy exercises, attending always to my example. Seek thou lovingly and diligently to follow in my footsteps. –Our Holy Mother’s advice to Sister Mary of Agreda “Mystical City of God”
Archives
Capitulation
I am wrong about everything,
Social confrontation no longer an issue,
I concede to defeat on every level,
Lost and wounded, I extend my heart,
Bewildered, I step aside,
Without eyes looking, I search inside,
Enough is enough, God alone,
Humbly, I reach out…
Prayer warriors
And now, gathered together as we (Carthusians) are on the site where our Father St Bruno lived, we would like to say to all our brothers in the Order:
“Let us rejoice in the generous outpouring of God’s grace on us; let us always give thanks to God the Father for all the gifts of prayer that he has showered upon us through-out the centuries. And to all those who labour and stumble along the tortuous paths of prayer, we say, with all the affection that the Spirit inspires in our hearts: do not hesitate to continue your journey, or to take it up again, even if you have the impression of gathering no fruit.
Remember that our prayer is not the result of our own efforts, but of the Spirit in our hearts. It is a long journey between ourselves and the One who is completely Other. lt impliess a radical purification, the transformation of our entire being in God, after the image of Christ. For us, this can only be a path of poverty and hope. A hope that is obscure and dark, but full of joy, ‘for God is greater than our hearts’ (1 John 3:20).
‘Wound of Love’ A Carthusian
Holy Week
Not the story of my life
The Lord GOD has given me
a well-trained tongue,
that I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.
Morning after morning
he opens my ear that I may hear;
and I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
my face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.
The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
Prophet Isaiah
Mary speaks to a religious sister
WORDS OF THE QUEEN.
My daughter, one of the reasons why men should call me Mother of mercy, is the knowledge of my loving desire, that all be satiated with the flood of grace and taste the sweetness of the Lord as I myself. I call and invite all to come with me to the fountain of the Divinity. Let the most poor and afflicted approach, for if they respond and follow me, I will offer them my protection and help, and I will intercede for them with my Son and obtain for them the hidden manna, which will give to them nourishment and life (Apoc. 2, 27). Deny thyself and put off all the works of human weakness, and, by the true light, which thou hast received concerning the works of my Son and my own, contemplate and study thyself in this mirror, in order to arrive at that beauty, which the highest King seeks in thee.
Since this is the most powerful means for perfection in thy works, I wish that thou write this advice into thy heart. Whenever thou must perform any interior or exterior work, consider beforehand whether what thou art going to say or do corresponds with the doings of thy Lord, and whether thou hast the intention thereby to honor thy Lord and benefit thy neighbor. As soon as thou art sure that this is thy motive, execute thy undertaking in union with Him and in imitation of Him; but if thou findest not this motive let the undertaking rest. This was my invariable course in pursuing the imitation of my Lord and Teacher; though in me there was no reluctance toward the good, but only the desire of imitating Him perfectly. In this imitation consists the fruit of his holy teaching, in which He urges us to do, what is most pleasing and acceptable to the eternal God. Moreover from this day on be mindful not to undertake any work, not to speak or even think any of anything, without first asking my permission and consulting with me as thy Mother and Teacher and as soon as I answer thee give thanks to the Lord; if I do not answer after continued inquiry, I promise and assure thee on the part of the Lord, that He will nevertheless, give thee light as to what will be according to his most perfect will. In all things, however, subject thyself to the guidance of thy spiritual director, and never forget this practice!
‘The Mystical City of God’ Sister Mary of Agreda
What should be done
So, what do you think ought to be done, dear friend? What else, but to trust in the exhortation of God himself, and to believe in the Truth which cannot deceive? For he calls out to everyone, saying, ‘Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ Is it not, after all, a most ridiculous and fruitless labour to be swollen with lust, continually to be tortured with anxiety and worry, fear and sorrow, for the objects of your passion? Is there any heavier burden than to have one’s spirit thus cast down into the abyss from the sublime peak of its natural dignity – the veritable quintessence of right order gone awry? Flee, my brother, from these unending miseries and disturbances; leave the raging storms of this world… ‘The Wound of Love’ A Carthusian Miscellany
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