Keep Your Eyes on Jesus, Part Two

Various Forms of Personal Prayer

A Lectio Divina     (Divine Reading)                   

(See, A Retreat with the Psalms, Enders and Liebert, Paulist Press, 2001, pp 21ff)

A monastic form of meditative prayer

Having a conversation with a text

No set amount of time… just what feeds the soul / 10 min at the beginning.

Choose a text… could be the Bible, or something from spiritual reading…

Your chosen text could be one of the psalms, 

or one of the stories of Jesus or a part of the Passion of Jesus… 

(If you have trouble understanding the text from one of the Gospels you are reading,

you might want to get a study guide first and read it… 

see Scott Hahn’s commentary on the Gospel you are reading.)

Four movements

1. Read (lectio)  -  read and reread… maybe even out loud 

(esp if the psalms) … 

till something feeds you and/or you desire to pause.

2. Meditation (meditatio) – repeat the word or phrase that fed you, 

turn it over in your mind…til you feel like stopping….   

(This leads to memorizing the text or phrase, which then gives you words when you have no words of your own for prayer… 

and it gives you something to go back to during the day, 

time and time again…the text becomes your own.)

3. Prayer (oratio) – the text sooner or later evokes a response to God…when the time comes you will feel like moving to petition, thanksgiving, praise, or repentance, or simply talking to God.

4. Contemplation (contemplatio) – the process can lead to simply resting in God’s presence, allowing God to nourish, love, heal, challenge or teach you.

At any time during this process the mind can wander and we can become distracted… or we can simply “dry up” …

Simply return to the lectio if you want to continue the prayer.

Lectio Divino need not proceed according to the steps outlined… 

you can move from lectio to oratio to comtemplatio, then back to oratio and meditatio… 

You might want to take a few moments after your prayer time

to write down the major movements which you experienced….  

What happened while you were praying?

Keeping a prayer journal can be helpful…

Be patient with this type of prayer, 

and perhaps talk it over with your spiritual director 

or with a spiritually mature friend.  Don’t be a loner.

B Stations of the Cross… 

This is a beautiful way of walking the journey to the Cross with Jesus. 

When I make the Stations I ask Jesus to show me his heart and his feelings, besides the physical pain he went thru. 

We can also focus on Jesus’ virtues… 

his faithfulness, his trust in the Father, his courage, his patience, 

his forgiveness. 

There are also a few Booklets of contemporary Stations of the Cross 

which focus on the sufferings of people today 

as a participation in the sufferings of Jesus.

(You could ‘make the Stations’ while seated for prayer or you could move around a set of Stations… but try to relax, as noted previously, before you begin.)

C Talk with Jesus… There is a beautiful story about prayer with Jesus.

Story… The Empty Chair

The old man’s daughter had asked the local priest to come 

and pray with her father, who was ill and bed ridden.  

When the priest arrived, he found the man lying in bed 

with his head propped up on two pillows 

and an empty chair beside his bed.  

The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit.

 “I guess you were expecting me,” he said.

“No, who are you?” replied the old man.

“I’m the new associate priest at your parish,” the priest replied. 

 “When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up.”

“Oh yeah, the chair,” said the bed ridden man. 

“Would you mind closing the door?”  Puzzled, the priest shut the door.

“I’ve never told anyone this, not even my daughter,” said the man.  

“But all of my life I have never known how to pray.  

At the Sunday Mass I used to hear the priest talk about prayer, 

but it always went right over my head.  

I abandoned my attempt at prayer,” the old man continued, 

“til one day, about four years ago, 

my best friend said to me, 

‘Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus.  Here’s what I suggest.  

Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, 

and, in faith, see Jesus on that chair.

 It’s not spooky because He promised, “I’ll be with you always.” 

Then just speak to Him and listen 

in the same way you’re doing with me right now.’”

‘So, Father, I tried it and I’ve liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day.  

I’m careful though.  If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, 

she’d either have a nervous breakdown or send my off to the funny farm.”

The priest was deeply moved by the story 

and encouraged the old man to continue.  

Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the rectory.

Two nights later the daughter called to tell the priest 

that her dad had died that afternoon. 

“Did he seem to die in peace?” he asked. 

“Yes, when I left the house around two o’clock, 

he called me over to his bedside, told me one of his corny jokes, 

and kissed me on the cheek.  

When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead.  

But there was something strange Father.  In fact, beyond strange – kinda weird.  

Apparently, just before daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the empty chair beside his bed.”

You can just talk with Jesus. 

Let him know how you are doing and what worries you.

Maybe he’ll say something to you.

Keep it simple.

Talking to Jesus…

Just look at the crucifix or picture a crucifix in your mind’s eye 

and talk to Jesus. Let him respond to you.

I do not make this my main prayer exercise, 

but I do use it once in a while. 

And remember, ‘keep your eyes on Jesus’.

D Meditation 

This is sometimes referred to as a Jesuit form of prayer.

Relax first… remember my firs tconference on Prayer.

Take a story from the Scripture… perhaps the Garden of Gethsemane. 

If you can, read the incident in one of the Gospels.

Try to imagine the scene in your mind’s eye. 

Imagine Jesus entering the Garden with his disciples.

He tells them to sit awhile and he goes a short distance to pray.

He begins to reflect on his coming sufferings… 

Perhaps he is fearful, perhaps he is anxious…

Can you imagine Jesus kneeling and intensely praying to his Father?

Can you hear him beg the Father ‘to let this cup pass’?

Observe Jesus… try to enter into his suffering… 

ask Jesus to help you understand what he is going thru…

Talk to Jesus and let him talk to you.

Or perhaps just take the time to watch Jesus, 

accompanying him in his upset and fear…

Just be with Jesus. ‘Keep your eyes on Jesus’.

Finally thank Jesus for his courage, his faithfulness, 

his love for you that he would do this for you.

Ask Jesus to give you the courage to watch with him 

and to live your life for love of him.

Take your time with this. 

If you get distracted, just let the distraction float away…

Try not to fight them or become obsessed with them.

You might begin with 10 or 15 minutes of this type of prayer.  

Some people find this type of prayer a beautiful experience.  Others do not. If you don’t, then move onto another form of prayer. 

But try this type of meditation once in a while just to stretch yourself.

E Litanies… 

Litanies are traditional prayers that give us many images to use 

as we pray the Litany… 

try the Litany of the Sacred Heart (my favorite) or the Litany of the Passion. 

As you pray the many images or phrases of the Litany, 

if something catches your attention, 

spend time with it, like you do with Lectio Divina (See above.)  

You don’t have to finish the Litany… it’s there to help you pray.

(Google: Catholic Litany Sacred Heart or Passion.)

F Prayer Before the Crucifix…

This is a beautiful traditional prayer. 

You might pray this slowly before a crucifix.

Remember to quietly prepare for prayer first. 

Loving Jesus, for how many ages have you hung upon your cross 

and still we pass you by and regard you not except to pierce anew your sacred heart? 

How often have I passed you by, heedless of your great sorrow, 

your many wounds, your infinite Love?

How often have I stood before you, not to comfort and console you, 

but to add to your sorrows, to deepen your wounds, to scorn your love?

You have stretched forth your hands to lift me up,

and I have taken those hands that might have struck me into hell 

and nailed them back onto the cross rigid and helpless. 

Yet I have only succeeded in engraving my name on your palms forever.

You have loved me with an infinite love 

and I have taken advantage of that love to sin the more against you.

Yet my ingratitude has but pierced your Sacred Heart

and forth upon me has flowed your precious blood.

Loving Jesus, let your blood be upon me not for a curse, 

but for a blessing. Amen.

G The Rosary 

(Study…  Wikipedia has a fine presentation on the history of the Rosary 

and description of what the Rosary is, and how to pray it, 

including the mysteries.)

The Rosary is a meditative prayer helping us to ponder Christ’s life 

and Mary’s life.

Do the relaxing exercise before the Rosary, 

then quietly pray the Rosary, 

trying to keep your gaze fixed on the mystery… 

perhaps on Jesus on the Cross (just that image), 

or Mary crowned Queen of the universe (just that image)… 

keep the image in your mind’s eye while reciting the our Fathers and the Hail Marys of the decade.

H Music

Many people find listening to music helpful in their quiet prayer time… perhaps Pachelbel’s Canon or Gregorian Chant 

or some of the beautiful songs of John Michael Talbot.

Google You Tube and put these into the search engine for a first listening.  These can help quiet prayer 

where we just quiet our mind and emotions 

and enjoy God’s presence and God’s beauty…

a number of people participate in this of prayer periodically.

I Other Simple Prayers During the Day

Morning Offering… 

Thank God for this new day. Offer your day to God, perhaps thinking of what you have to do today. Ask God’s presence and Jesus’ presence in your day. There’s nothing that will happen this day that you and Jesus can’t handle.

Meal Prayers… 

A time to give thanks and remember our blessings.

Evening Prayer… 

A time to ask, “Where was God in my day today?” 

“Did I encounter Christ anywhere today?” and “How did I respond?”

For what do I give thanks?

Is there anything for which I am sorry?

During the day…

Conversation with God… You can simply carry on a conversation with Jesus during the day. We talk to ourselves all day long – a conversation goes on in our head…  Try to include Jesus in that conversation. 

One of our Confraternity of the Passion members recently sent me this beautiful and simple description of her conversation with Jesus:

…Jesus is my best friend. It's so much easier to talk to him while driving than to be on the phone...and safer to! 

Simple repeated short prayers during the day… You can take a simple Bible phrase or a short prayer…  ‘God’s will be done’, ‘Help me Jesus’, ‘thank you Jesus’, ‘Be with me Jesus’… and pray that phrase often during the day.

Both conversation and simple repeated short prayers are a way of staying close to God during our day.

A wonderful traditional prayer that can be repeated frequently 

during the day (I do it at times during my daily walk) 

is called The Jesus Prayer… 

Lord Jesus, Son of God and Savior, have mercy on me a sinner. 

I just recite this (or any part of it) over and over and soak in it.

(Google ‘the Jesus Prayer’… interesting background and development)

J Centering Prayer

This is a form of meditation with which I am not too familiar. 

I know a number of people who use it.

It is approved by the Church.

(See Intimacy with God, An Introduction to Centering Prayer, 

by Fr. Thomas Keating.  See Amazon.com)

Eucharistic Adoration

A prayer growing in popularity today is Eucharistic Adoration…

To spend quiet time before the Blessed Eucharist. 

During this time, you can use any of the prayer forms described above.

Do you have any favorite Prayer or way of praying you would like to share with us?  Let me know.

Conclusion

We have talked about Jesus.

Remember what the spiritual author David Leen taught. 

We have looked over a number of prayer and meditation forms of prayer.

Now we all need to pray to God for help in the discipline of prayer 

as we draw close to our loving God and to our beloved Jesus. 

Remember the Epistle of St. James, 4:8… 

… Draw close to God and God will draw close to you.

And remember,

… Keep your eyes on Jesus… (Heb 12:2)

Fr. Don Ware, C.P.

3/21/’23

Growing Your Spiritual Life, Part 2

As we continue to talk about ‘Growing our Spiritual Life,

I want to look at 

• Pain and Suffering Transformed, 

• Forgiveness, 

• Blessing and Cursing, 

• and Communal Spirituality, 

• with an Appendix

VI Pain and Suffering Transformed

1. As we grow older important questions emerge.

How have the years of our life and especially the difficult times 

affected your life? 

Have the years flowed over us like water over stones – 

leaving the stones unchanged?

Years ago I picked up a rock from a stream bed and examined it. 

How many years had the stream’s water been flowing over this rock. 

On the outside the rock was wet. 

But when I broke it open, it was still dry.

No water had touched the inside of the rock.

I believe that we can grow our suffering, 

and even from a broken heart… 

and for some, or perhaps many of us, this is the only way we grow. 

Leonard Cohen in his song The Anthem sings… 

Ring the bells that still can ring / forget your perfect offering / there is a crack in everything / That’s how the light gets in.

Life’s sufferings can deflate our grandiose ego… our imperial ego 

which tries to control life too much, 

which places me at the center of life too much, 

too given to self-pampering, 

and what Pope Francis called the ‘numbing of our conscience by comfort’.

Do we realize that life is not just about what we take from the table, 

but more importantly, what we bring to the table? 

In the experience of the young woman described above 

it was pain and suffering that broke her heart 

and the seed of God’s love was able to enter thru the cracks and flourish. 

Have pain and suffering helped to change our lives?

Has life made us jealous, angry, bitter, and even rageful

because it has not turned out our way? 

When we prayerfully look at Jesus on his Cross 

we can see that Jesus transformed His darkness into light.

2. Depression

In a wonderful book entitled The Noonday Devil by Andrew Solomon, 

the author describes in vivid detail his own experiences 

with his deep depression, 

and how he slowly rose out of it, 

with the help of his psychiatrist and his meds. 

He then turned his experiences into an insightful and challenging book.  Rather than deny his depression, 

or pretend he never had it, 

he shares four lessons, which he learned from his brokenness.

• When you have been depressed you lose some of your fear of crisis… I made it through one.

• I learned compassion… I know what other sufferers are going through and I want to help.

• Depression at its worst is the most horrifying loneliness, 

and from it I learned the value of intimacy… 

I can help others in their loneliness – not necessarily with answers, 

but with simple companioning.

• The unexamined life is unavailable to the depressed.  

I learned to examine my life and see the good in it 

and not take my friends and loved ones for granted.  (PP. 436 – 438)

The author learned the great value of adversity 

and discovered values and family and friends and a desire to help others, and not take joy for granted. (P 439)

The author learned that our needs are our greatest assets – 

we come to know ourselves through adversity – not illusions – 

and we open ourselves to others in our weakness. 

This can create bondedness. (P441)

We will all suffer at times in our lives. 

People hurt us, tragedies sting us, worries and disappointments burden us and fears can weave a cocoon over our hearts.

This suffering and pain can lead to resentment, anger, worry 

and self-centeredness. 

Or it can lead to understanding, sympathy, empathy and even forgiveness… 

People in AA learn how their pains and sufferings can help others in their addiction… 

they don’t shut the door on their past. 

They use their past in service to others.

For Christians, through our prayer and our walking with Jesus, 

our suffering can soften our heart rather than harden our heart.

Spending time at the foot of the Cross 

can bath us in the blood and water that flowed from the heart of Christ. 

We can learn to lead a life of compassion, patience, mercy, and forgiveness.

What a beautiful growth of our spiritual life and indeed our entire life.

VI Forgiveness

I want to stay with this topic of life’s difficult times.

I want to talk about forgiveness.

Ronald Rolheiser

Ronald Rolheiser in his wonderful book Sacred Fire, 

remarks that life is a conspiracy between God and nature 

to mellow our soul.

He says:

… All of us have been wounded. No one comes to adulthood with his or her heart fully intact. In small ways or traumatic, we have all been treated unjustly, violated, hurt, ignored, not properly honored, and unfairly cast aside. We all carry wounds, and, with those wounds, we all carry anger, bitterness and some nonforgiveness. (P 257)

These wounds can easily embitter and harden our heart. 

If our spiritual life is to grow 

we need to deal with these challenges in our life, 

to recognize God’s grace even in the midst of them, 

and to mellow our heart… 

rather than harden our heart through resentments, bitterness 

and even hatred.

Rolheiser continues:

… As we age, we can begin to trim down our spiritual vocabulary, 

and eventually we can get it down to three words: Forgive, forgive, forgive! To die with a forgiving heart is the ultimate moral and religious imperative… All the dogmatic and moral purity in the world does little for us 

if our hearts are bitter and incapable of forgiveness. (P. 256)

Jesus’ Teaching

For the Christian, forgiveness is a way of life and not just a belief. Forgiveness is seen against the backdrop of the teaching 

and the life of Jesus whom we follow. 

A number of Jesus’ stories focus on forgiveness.  

The Prodigal Son of Luke (15) shows us the father’s mercy 

or undeserved forgiveness of his son who has squandered 

his part of the inheritance and shamed the family name.  

The father takes him back.  

And, of course, we know that Jesus goes further than this.  

He practices what he preaches. 

From the cross we hear Him pray:

Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing. (Lk 23:34)  

God’s dream for us, given us by Jesus, is that God wants to mend our world.  Mercy or undeserved forgiveness is part of God’s way of mending.

By our Baptism we are bonded to God’s dream and God’s mending work.

Prayer helps us to understand what this means for our lives, 

as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Of course, the Question at times is:

Is forgiveness possible?  

Some would ask if it’s even healthy?

Forgiveness is not about forgetting,

nor is it pretending we’re not hurt or angry.  

It is not necessarily reconciling with the person who hurt us – 

at times that would be neither possible nor healthy.  

Forgiveness is not about getting back what we lost.  

Nor is it pretending that we messed up and are to blame.  

What is forgiveness?  

Forgiveness is more than just an individual act of forgiving.  

Forgiveness is a way of life, a lifestyle.  

It is a way of behaving which influences one’s whole life – 

a general tenor of our journey of life.

 (See appendix I for Jesus’ and Forgiveness)

I want to turn our attention to a “Forgiveness Story” which occurred during the first week of October, 2006, in Lancaster County, PA. 

A depressed and angry bus driver shot 10 young Amish schoolgirls 

in their one room schoolhouse in central PA.  

The entire Amish community reacted with grief, 

but also with words and sentiments of forgiveness 

for the disturbed individual who had perpetrated this crime. 

One of the parents of the slain schoolgirls 

went to the home of the killer 

and told his wife that the Amish community forgave her husband 

for what he had done.  

The Amish community also offered to share 

some of the monies that were given to them by fellow Americans…  

the family could use it for the education of their children.

The wife of the gunman who killed the girls 

released a statement thanking the Amish 

and others the Lancaster County community 

for their “forgiveness, grace and mercy.”  

She said that her and her three young children 

have been overwhelmed by the community support 

since the Oct 2nd shootings.

I remember seeing an interview on TV with a Mennonite midwife 

who had been present at the birth of many of the slain girls.  

When the interviewer asked her what her reaction was, 

she responded that she grieved for the loss of such innocent life, 

but that she, along with the Amish families, forgave the killer.  

The interviewer was stunned and at a loss for words.  

She didn’t know what to say.  

She stood there with the midwife, speechless.  

In our violent, revenge-soaked society, 

the midwife’s response made no sense. 

The interviewer asked, “How can you say that?”  

The midwife answered 

that this was her belief and the belief of the Amish community.  

Jesus showed us the way.  

Either we live with resentments, revenge, and rage in our hearts, 

or we forgive and walk in the footsteps of Jesus. 

Do we have a hard time understanding that?

Would we react in the same way?

What stories of forgiveness do you know?  

Have you met any Forgiveness Mentors? 

If so, talk with them.  Ask them questions.  And listen to their stories.

VII Blessing and Cursing

Another part of the development of our spiritual life 

involves Blessing and Cursing.

(See The Holy Longing by Ronald Rolheiser, pp. 203ff)

Elements of blessing (and cursing)… 

1. See and admire someone… positive regard… gives the vibe 

that I am glad you are here… you bring something good and positive into my life 

(God blesses our world by creating it)… 

vs looking at someone we do not like – 

looking at someone and thinking, 

‘you’re an idiot, who do you think you are, 

you think you’ve got talent… you don’t – 

you’re full of yourself.

Unlike God, we try to deny joy, suppress life, squelch exuberance and shame enthusiasm.

(Body language can also get either of these attitudes across.)

Question… (Why do these things threaten us?)

2. Speak well of someone, saying something genuinely positive to someone 

vs being threatened by their energy and withholding positive words = cursing subtly. Or being downright mean and demeaning toward a person… perhaps making fun of him or her… or bullying that person.

3. Giveaway something of our own life so that someone else can have more life (eg… mentoring, time, experience, wisdom)

vs cursing which demands that you give something that will build up my own life.

When was the last time you blessed someone 

either by the way you looked at them, 

or by the words that you used, 

or by sharing with them something of yourself 

which enriched their life… 

your time, your encouragement or some of your wisdom?

As our spiritual life develops and grows we recognize 

how much God blesses us and we take the opportunity to bless others. 

Life is not about what we can take from the table. 

Life is about what we can bring to the table.

VIII Communal Spirituality

I want to finally point to the fact that for Christians the spiritual life is communal… as it was for Israel at the time of Jesus and for the disciples of Jesus from the beginning.

For the early Church and over its history the spiritual life of individuals was always in the context of the worshiping Church.

Read the Epistle to the Hebrews, especially Chapter 11 and especially Chapter 12:1:

… Surrounded by this cloud of witnesses (Old Testament heroes like Abraham, Moses and many others named), let us lay aside every encumbrance of sin which clings to us and persevere in running the race which lies ahead; let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus who inspires and perfects our faith.

I sometimes like to see other translations of Scriptural passages.

Here’s how The Message puts it:

… Do you see what this means – all these pioneers who blazed the way (Old Testament heroes), all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running – and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed – that exhilarating finish in and with God – he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. (12:1-2)

A vision of heaven and hell

Hell… Picture a circle of people sitting side by side, 

so close to each other that their shoulders are touching.  

In the center of this circle is a big pot of delicious looking and smelling stew.  The scent of it makes you want to try some right now.

The folks in the circle have a large wooden spoon with a long handle taped to their right forearms.  They are yelling at each other angrily, they looked lean and hungry… there was no happiness there.  The problem was that because they were so close together they couldn’t get a spoon of the delicious stew into their mouths.  They would bump into each other when them tried to feed themselves.

This is truly hell.

Heaven… Picture a circle of people sitting side by side, so close to each other that their shoulders are touching.  In the center of this circle is a big pot of delicious looking and smelling stew.  The scent of it makes you want to try some right now.

The folks in the circle have a large wooden spoon with a long handle taped to their right forearms.  These folks are happy and joyful, smiling and joking, and well fed.

What’s the difference… ah, then you notice it.  Each person is dipping his or her spoon into the stew, and then feeding each other.  They are taking care of each other first.

We are on our journey with others. 

We are not isolated monads of self-interest, 

who are self-determining consumers, purchasing our way to happiness,

our conscience numbed by comfort.

(See Luke 16:19-31… The Story of The Rich Man and Lazarus.)

We Christians are on the road together and we need the Christian community to help and encourage and sustain us and bless us… 

as we encourage and bless them.

Conclusion… 

I conclude this conference on several practices for developing our spiritual life… Forgiveness, Blessing and Cursing and Communal Spirituality.

In the Appendices I have two extra presentations: Growing Older and Spirituality and Spiritual Mediocrity.  These are a summary of chapters in Fr. Ed Leen’s Book In the Likeness of Christ. You can go to our website for these appendices… www.stpaulofthecrossmonastery.com 

Fr. Don Ware,  C.P. 2023

Appendix 1   Growing Older and Spirituality

(If you are not yet 50 years old, this is still good to reflect on.)

What have the years brought you spiritually? 

Do you understand that question?

Have the years  brought you anything lasting, eternal, abiding… 

What legacy will you leave -  to whom will you leave it?

Or will growing older merely lead to a decline of your powers 

and energies on which you relied so much?

No growth in wisdom, in power, in sanctity or depth of soul? 

Same faults, same tendencies, same superficiality 

or worldliness of judgment and sentiments… 

As you grow older will you have the same unamiable traits of character deepened, 

fair promises of youth blighted, 

generous impulses of early days and virtues dried up – shriveled up?

Has life transformed you or shriveled you with meaningless, barren years? 

Do you isolate, fearful and anxious at life’s seeming unfairness?

Were you mistaken about the meaning and purpose of life? 

As we age, can we put meaning and purpose into life, 

as our energies and power of mind and body slacken?

Or do we fritter away our last days preoccupied with futile, transient,

and unsubstantial concerns? 

Has our life been a wasted opportunity? 

Has anything good been wrought by us or in us?

It can be a challenge to examine our lives. 

David Thoreau encouraged examining our lives… 

where have we been and where are we going? 

Appendix 2

Fr. Ed Leen

Spiritual Mediocrity   

See In the Likeness of Christ, by Ed Leen, pp. 218ff

Why is there mediocrity in our spiritual life?

God and Jesus call us to be like Christ… why aren’t we?  

Is it impossible? 

Or do we fail to use our own powers enough, aided by God’s grace?

Are we in bondage to spiritual mediocrity… 

the years bringing us nothing lasting, eternal… 

no lasting spiritual accomplishments?

Have the years just brought us just decline 

of the powers and energies on which we relied so much?...  

No growth in wisdom, in power, in sanctity, in depth of soul? … 

Same faults, same tendencies, 

same superficiality or worldliness of judgments and sentiments?

Over the years do we lack good traits of character deepened, 

and fair promises of youth blighted, 

generous impulses of early days and virtue dried up and shriveled.

Have the years flowed over us like water over stones – 

leaving the stones unchanged?

Has life transformed us or shriveled us?

Have the years been meaningless and barren?

Were we mistaken about the meaning and purpose of life?

As we age can we put meaning and purpose into life, 

as our energies and powers of mind and body slacken?

Do we flitter away our last days, 

preoccupied with futile, transient, unsubstantial concerns?

Has our life been a wasted opportunity?

Has anything of good been done for others?

Has anything good been wrought in us?

The Problem:  

We allow our intelligence to be obscured as to the meaning and purpose of life.

To understand our own life we must look to Jesus – not just to his virtues, but to his mind, his understanding of life… Phil 2:5

Jesus’ whole life was spent in doing the Father’s will to the fullest of his abilities… out of love for the Father.  Jn 14:35, 12:49

In the Likeness of Christ, by Ed Leen, pp. 325ff

A forceful, energetic spiritual life

vs a spiritual life of faint, feeble pulsations, slight movements of grace, paralyzed thru want of exercise…

the soul’s forces are employed by a life lived on sheer impulse, imagination or at best sheer reason – human motives and human passions

arrested spiritual growth… no divine rigor… 

the supernatural is cramped, confined, and deprived of power.

Grace is not dominating.

Divine charity remains but a spark hidden beneath the ashes of self-love’s actions.

The soul is not glowing with God’s brightness 

because most acts spring from impulse, natural inclination,] or reason.

They can appear good and right, and can have some grace – 

but this is a feeble grace when contrasted with self-love, 

and leads to spiritual atrophy…

So many lives are empty, full of self-seeking hours in front of the TV 

or on the phone, or at the shopping mall, or playing video games.

There is no spiritual transformation…

The will should grow strong thru fortitude, temperance, justice, and charity.

The soul should love God and pursue God’s will and interests rather than its own…

This is not dependent on emotions or the strength of the human body… 

even the elderly can be spiritually strong.

But at least good people avoid evil.

• The Saints challenge us to go beyond spiritual infancy.

• Suffering can be a way that God uses to help us to grow spiritually.

• Don’t isolate and bear our own grief and savor our own joy… doing it by ourself.

Spiritual practices  are needed, making God the center of our lives, 

and helping us to do God’s will and love others.

Prayer is essential, as is spiritual reading.

See Conferences  ‘Prayer, Parts 1 and 2’

Fr. Don Ware, C.P., 2023