You ask me for remedies against the temptations against the faith which are troubling you. You must deal with such temptations exactly as you would with those against purity. Dispute with them neither much nor little, but do as the children of Israel did with the bones of the paschal lamb, which they never attempted to break, but cast them into the fire. You must never answer nor seem to understand what the enemy says. Let him make as much noise as he pleases at the gate, never once say, Who goes there?

Very true, you will say to me; but he importunes me, and his noise is so loud, that those within cannot hear each other speak. Never mind; patience; they must speak by signs; you must prostrate yourself before God, and remain there at His feet; He will understand by this humble guise that you are on His side, and that you wish for His help, though you cannot speak. But above all, keep yourself fast within, and on no account open the door, either to see who knocks, or to drive away the troublesome applicant. He will at length weary of his noise, and leave you at peace.

Courage, then; provided he does not enter in, it matters nothing. It is, however, a very good sign that the enemy keeps knocking and storming at the gate; for it shews that he has not what he wants. If he had, he would not make any more noise, but enter in, and quietly remain there.  –St Francis de Sales ‘Practice of Piety’

St Francis de Sales is sweeping me away with his penetrating insight. For those fortifying the interior, he advances introspection to a sublime degree of scrutiny through a unique and poetic thought pattern. Turning the mirror upon one’s self through brutal honesty, unafraid of ugliness, while avoiding self-absorption, the cleansing aspect of knowing ourselves only leads to a greater love of that which is truly Holy.  Holy, holy, Holy is the Lord God of hosts, all the earth is full of his glory,

The virtue of simplicity is contrary to subtlety, a vice which is the source of contrivances, artifices, and duplicities ; and it is by means of this vice that we invent tricks to deceive our neighbour, and to make him suppose we have in our heart no other sentiments but those which we manifest to him by words; and this is infinitely contrary to simplicity, requires that we should have our exterior conformable to our interior. 

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You are quite right: a person who is in God’s hands ought never to disquiet himself about his reputation. Let God do what He will with our life and our character and our honour, since it is all His own. If our humiliation serves for His glory, ought we not to glory in being despised I Gladly, therefore, said the Apostle, will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Cor. xii. 9.) What virtue is this! Humility and the acquiescing in humiliation. May we sincerely love those crosses we meet with in our road, and may God bless us in the love of His holy cross!

The final quote is the most challenging, placed after the first, out of order of intended authorship, for the purpose of shining light upon the dark nuance of a dedicated spiritual life attempting to establish a deepening of faith through social activity.  A challenge to myself as I attempt to broaden my faith-based community life.  I am determined not to define my own spirituality through the critical evaluation of others.  My love of Christ, the passionate lover relationship I have been enamored with over the last week or so, is not strengthened by finding fault in others.  I recognize that to continuously conflict is a statement within itself on two levels.  First it pejoratively declares the immature mindset of being a malcontent.  I admire Abbot William’s coming into his own, forming the Maronite Monks of Adoration, through dissimulation and estrangement with previous religious vocational experiences.  Comprehending he did not become bitter.  Rather, he utilized abrasiveness to greater define who he was, allowing him to become more dependent and grounded within prayer and the contemplative life.  God, and his discernment, led him to a life able to provide the nurturing necessary to flower within his personal way.  God blessed his unique walk upon an authentic path for he was authentic, allowing his interior and exterior life to mature.  He was a man with a purpose, forced to rely upon patience.  The second way continual critical conflict–a debating, competitive, and judgmental spiritual life–deteriorates is the fact one is unable to grow, to move forward in life, revealing those mature in faith.  If we cannot leave behind those dragging us down we cannot move forward to those able to support and inspire.  AA is the obvious example of an approach in which individuals become stuck, never able to advance, continuing to battle and immerse themselves in negativity, gossip, and demeaning relationships.  Making really good points, saying witnessed extremely intelligent things, expressing cleverness within a crowd, delights as an end itself–continual talking in support groups becomes a dead end.  On the other hand, Ann comes to mind for if we are continuously pursuing new people, becoming attached to different people in the same destructive ways, constantly using and seeking new faces, we are not moving forward. Such a singles mindset, modern in reflection upon the proliferation of divorce and destruction of the family, promotes selfishness and immaturity.  An inability to commit and deepen within community and familial relationships, to need people yet to be unable to form mature, intelligent, emotionally stable relationships, is a statement about one’s lacking of a healthy interior life.  Discovering new people to exercise delusion upon is not growth.  It is nothing more than complex distraction.  Obviously those are generalizations for within both realities is a fidelity to the understanding that within all things is goodness.  However the pursuit is not about remaining stagnate, advancement is the call.  Honoring the call of God, a vocation, demands clear recognition of His voice.  That recognition cannot occur until distracting voices have been silenced.  St Teresa of Avila’s commenting on moving beyond the fourth chamber proves relevant as she stresses the importance that advancement is dependent upon not looking back.  The pleasantries of the third chamber cannot fascinate and charm one into sentimental attachment.  Unemotional–lacking bitterness, pride, or sorrow, detachment is demanded in order to progress.  To become enamored with one’s reputation, or even more subtle one’s rejection of a reputation for that is a reputation in itself, forces one to remain stagnant.  The Unitive Way becomes unreachable.  Again distressing myself, I will focus upon others, identifying my avoiding, always hiding, from the traditionalist populating the world of the Tridentine mass and the pro-life crowd.  There becomes such an energy drain concentrated upon one’s activity and reputation amidst those perceived as Church elite that it appears as nonsense to myself.  An extremely loud righteous voice drowning the small quiet voice of God.  We must avoid falling in love with our reputation amongst those whose reputation we admire.  It is a delicate and severe judgement, for I keep in mind John the Hermit levying such criticism toward my Hospice activity, yet I am confident in my assessment. I am not afraid to make determinations.  Being right or wrong is not the point, rather growth and a greater love of Christ centers as a mission.  “For the glory of God and the salvation of souls’.

I must go, expression brought to a conclusion.

Spiritual lovers, spouses of the Heavenly King, do indeed view themselves from time to time, like doves near most pure waters, to see whether they shall be pleasing to those they love; and this is done by the examens of conscience, by which they cleanse themselves, purify and adorn themselves the best they may, not to satisfy themselves, but to obey the Spouse, for the reverence they bear Him, and the extreme desire which they have to give Him pleasure. And is not this a love very pure, very simple, and very perfect, since they do not purify themselves in order to be pure, nor adorn themthemselves in order to be beautiful, but only to please their Heavenly Lover, to whom if ugliness were as pleasing, they would love it as much as beauty.  – – St Francis de Sales, wordsmith Saint, ‘The Exercises of Christian Simplicity’

To keep oneself in the presence of God, and to place oneself in the presence of God, are, in my opinion, two things: for in order to place oneself there, one ought to withdraw one’s soul from every other object, and render it actually attentive to this presence; but after one has placed oneself in it, one always keeps oneself in it, so long as, either by the understanding or by the will, one performs actions towards God: whether regarding Him, or regarding something else for the love of Him; or regarding nothing, but speaking to Him; or neither regarding Him nor speaking to Him, but simply abiding where He has placed us.  

…by willing to love Him; and, instead of setting yourself to think and ask how you can love Him, setting yourself to practice by a continual application of your soul to God; and you will arrive thither very much sooner by that road than by any other. There are souls who employ themselves so much in thinking how they shall do something, that they have not the time to do anything; and yet, in whatever regards our perfection, which consists in the union of our soul with the Divine goodness, it is not so much a question of knowing as of doing much.  –‘Practical Piety’ The Saint Francis de Sales Collection [16 Books]

HE who purposes never more to offend God meets with many occasions of sin presented by the devil. He who resolves to desire no other consolation save in God, meets with the world, which offers to him new temporal pleasures: and it is a great hindrance to receiving the divine consolations to be unable to quit and give up former society, conversations, and recreations.

Therefore the spouse, that is, the soul already in grace, wishing to enter upon the spiritual life in the kisses of her divine Beloved, which are spiritual consolations, has great difficulty in detaching herself from the company of her companions, old conversations which offer her wine and perfumes, that is, temporal pleasures: where fore the soul languishing on account of the absence of her Beloved, and desiring to be united to Him by prayer, her companions seek to cheer her with wines and perfumes, bringing to her memory pleasures passed, in spite of which she begs: Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. –Saint Francis de Sales Collection [16 Books]  ‘The Mystical Explanation of the Canticle of Canticles’

In the darkness . . . Lord, my God, who am I that you should forsake me?  The child of your love — and now become as the most hated one. The one — you have thrown away as unwanted — unloved. I call, I cling, I want, and there is no one to answer . . . Where I try to raise my thoughts to heaven, there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts return like sharp knives and hurt my very soul.  Love — the word — it brings nothing.  I am told God lives in me — and yet the reality of darkness and coldness and emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul.  –Mother Teresa to her spiritual director.

Truly my intention is only to represent simply and naïvely, without art, still more without false colours, the history of the birth, progress, decay, operations, properties, advantages and excellences of divine love. And if besides this you find other things, these are but excrescences which it is almost impossible for such as me who write amidst many distractions to avoid. But still I think that there will be nothing without some utility. Nature herself, who is so skilful a workwoman, intending to produce grapes, produces at the same time, as by a prudent inadvertence, such an abundance of leaves and branches, that there are very few vines which have not in their season to be pruned of leaves and shoots. – – St Francis de Sales ‘The Secret of Sanctity’

St Francis de Sales, I perceive, as a unique thinker of splendor, an expressive man of beautiful words. St Bernard of Clairvaux was known as the mellifluous one, dispensing words as sweet as honey, yet I cannot imagine words sweeter than the following. Embracing a theology of negation, still, a natural inclination for praise elevated to delight, creative flowery celebration wields immense delectation, a conquest of apathy, sloth, and lethargy. Within humility, let’s have fun burning bright.

So this heavenly spouse when he thought good to begin the promulgation of his law, cast down upon the assembly of those disciples whom he had deputed for this work a shower of fiery tongues, sufficiently intimating thereby that the preaching of the Gospel was wholly designed for the inflaming of hearts. Represent to yourself beautiful doves (the apostles) amidst the rays of the sun; you will see their plumage break into as many different colours as you change your point of viewing them; because their feathers are so fitted to display the light, that when the sun comes to spread his splendour on them, a multitude of reflections are made, producing a great variety of tints and glancing colours, colours so agreeable to the eye that they surpass all other colours, even the enamel of richest jewels; colours so resplendent and so delicately gilded that the gilding makes their own colours more bright than ever; for it was this sight which made the royal prophet say If you sleep among the midst of lots; you shall be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and the hinder parts of her back with the paleness of gold. The Church is indeed adorned with ith an excellent variety of teachings, sermons, treatises and spiritual books, all very beautiful and pleasant to the sight by reason of the admirable mingling which the Sun of Justice makes of his divine wisdom with the tongues of his pastors, which are their feathers, and with their pens, which sometimes hold the place of tongues, and form the rich plumage of this mystic dove. But amongst all the divers colours of the doctrine which she displays, the fine gold of holy Charity is everywhere spread, and makes itself excellently visible, gilding all the science of the saints with its incomparable lustre, and raising it above every other science. All is love’s, and in love, for love, and of love, in the holy Church.