Sept 18, 2005 - Next regular chapter meeting
October 8 A CONGRESS ON JESUS IN THE EUCHARIST
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Monday, August 29, 2005
Peace
There are three types of peace.
The first is the peace between God and man. God holds out the offer from the cross and awaits our acceptance. In other words, God waits for us to end the war against Him. He triumphed by surrendering to sinners. Why do we wait to surrender to the source of our being and of all Good?
The second peace is that peace where man is a peace with himself. The world covets this peace but does not know how to achieve it. This peace is a mirror of the first peace. In the first, peace is achieved when the lower serves the higher; thus when the lower faculties of the soul and the flesh serve the higher faculties of the soul (memory, understanding, and will), man is at peace with himself. The will is moved by the reason. Without grace, which comes from the first peace, the higher serves the lower, and man is not a peace, for he is serving his base appetites. The lower faculties incline towards vice, the higher towards virtue. With grace, the lower serves the higher, and man is at peace with himself.
The third peace is between neighbors. This peace is not possible between men who are not in possession of the first two. At best, men not at peace with themselves or God can be compelled into a facsimile of peace, but true peace occurs only when man is not at war with God and himself.
It is the world contents that the third peace can be had without the first, or even without reference to the second. The Lord, as our source and summit, who came to bring the blessing of peace on earth to men of good will, gave us the only Way, in Truth, and Life.
Thanks to Ven Louis of Granada, The Sinners Guide.
The first is the peace between God and man. God holds out the offer from the cross and awaits our acceptance. In other words, God waits for us to end the war against Him. He triumphed by surrendering to sinners. Why do we wait to surrender to the source of our being and of all Good?
The second peace is that peace where man is a peace with himself. The world covets this peace but does not know how to achieve it. This peace is a mirror of the first peace. In the first, peace is achieved when the lower serves the higher; thus when the lower faculties of the soul and the flesh serve the higher faculties of the soul (memory, understanding, and will), man is at peace with himself. The will is moved by the reason. Without grace, which comes from the first peace, the higher serves the lower, and man is not a peace, for he is serving his base appetites. The lower faculties incline towards vice, the higher towards virtue. With grace, the lower serves the higher, and man is at peace with himself.
The third peace is between neighbors. This peace is not possible between men who are not in possession of the first two. At best, men not at peace with themselves or God can be compelled into a facsimile of peace, but true peace occurs only when man is not at war with God and himself.
It is the world contents that the third peace can be had without the first, or even without reference to the second. The Lord, as our source and summit, who came to bring the blessing of peace on earth to men of good will, gave us the only Way, in Truth, and Life.
Thanks to Ven Louis of Granada, The Sinners Guide.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
St. Rose of Lima
Today is the feast day of the first American saint, Rose of Lima. Next Sunday you will hear our Lord in the Gospel tell us to "pick up our cross daily and follow Him." Rose had this to say (LOH: Office of Readings, Aug 32):
Our Lord said to Rose: "Let all men know that grace comes after tribulation. Let them know that without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. Let them know that the gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase. Let men take care not to stray and be deceived. This is the only true stairway to paradise, and without the cross they can find no road to climb to heaven"
Rose answers: "If only mortals would learn how great it is to possess divine grace, how beautiful, how noble, how precious. How many riches it hides within itself, how many joys and delights! Without doubt they would devote all their care and concern to winning for themselves pains and afflictions. All men throughout the world would seek trouble, infirmities and torments, instead of good fortune, in order to attain the unfathomable treasures of grace. This is the reward and the final gain of patience. No one would complain about his cross or about troubles that may happen to him, if he would come to know the scales on which they are weighted when they are distributed to men."
From the New Advent site:
In her twentieth year she received the habit of St. Dominic. Thereafter she redoubled the severity and variety of her penances to a heroic degree, wearing constantly a metal spiked crown, concealed by roses, and an iron chain about her waist. Days passed without food, save a draught of gall mixed with bitter herbs. When she could no longer stand, she sought repose on a bed constructed by herself, of broken glass, stone, potsherds, and thorns. She admitted that the thought of lying down on it made her tremble with dread. Fourteen years this martyrdom of her body continued without relaxation, but not without consolation. Our Lord revealed Himself to her frequently, flooding her soul with such inexpressible peace and joy as to leave her in ecstasy four hours. At these times she offered to Him all her mortifications and penances in expiation for offences against His Divine Majesty, for the idolatry of her country, for the conversion of sinners, and for the souls in Purgatory.
Our Lord said to Rose: "Let all men know that grace comes after tribulation. Let them know that without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. Let them know that the gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase. Let men take care not to stray and be deceived. This is the only true stairway to paradise, and without the cross they can find no road to climb to heaven"
Rose answers: "If only mortals would learn how great it is to possess divine grace, how beautiful, how noble, how precious. How many riches it hides within itself, how many joys and delights! Without doubt they would devote all their care and concern to winning for themselves pains and afflictions. All men throughout the world would seek trouble, infirmities and torments, instead of good fortune, in order to attain the unfathomable treasures of grace. This is the reward and the final gain of patience. No one would complain about his cross or about troubles that may happen to him, if he would come to know the scales on which they are weighted when they are distributed to men."
From the New Advent site:
In her twentieth year she received the habit of St. Dominic. Thereafter she redoubled the severity and variety of her penances to a heroic degree, wearing constantly a metal spiked crown, concealed by roses, and an iron chain about her waist. Days passed without food, save a draught of gall mixed with bitter herbs. When she could no longer stand, she sought repose on a bed constructed by herself, of broken glass, stone, potsherds, and thorns. She admitted that the thought of lying down on it made her tremble with dread. Fourteen years this martyrdom of her body continued without relaxation, but not without consolation. Our Lord revealed Himself to her frequently, flooding her soul with such inexpressible peace and joy as to leave her in ecstasy four hours. At these times she offered to Him all her mortifications and penances in expiation for offences against His Divine Majesty, for the idolatry of her country, for the conversion of sinners, and for the souls in Purgatory.
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
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