Song of Songs 5:2 I was sleeping, but my heart was awake- the sound of my Lover knocking. Open to me my sister, my friend, my dove, my perfect one. I will pray for you AG. Safe in the Flames of the Sacred Heart!
Have any of you felt especially joyful in prayer recently? Over the past few weeks I have had great joy in prayer that seems to linger throughout the day in a palpable manner. I am aware of the darkness that surrounds us and I am not pollyannaish about the state of the world. I have had fairly strong spiritual attacks, like most of you on this site have had too. However, I feel our Lord and our Lady so close these days that I come to prayer far more often with great joy. I think to myself that perhaps as the darkness grows greater outside the greater the joy grows inside. Just curious if any else is experiencing this recently
I had the most wonderful sense of the presence of my Angel Guardian a couple of days ago, it was very reassuring. RIght out of the blue. Psalm 91:11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
Jnice I like your reading selected on joy! How much we should appreciate it even as the angels sing joyfully to the One who is worthy. The Lord gives us the gift of thirsting for him in order that we grow spiritually, even as David says, “As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God. My being thirsts for God, the living God” (Ps 42:2-3). We come to appreciate God’s presence and no longer take it for granted. Even a drop of His grace is seen as a precious pearl and nothing is wasted. It is then that the Lord smiles at his little disciple and from a moment of complete exhaustion, God sends the soul a river of joy, which sometimes bursts out in holy laughter, even as the prophet says, “The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs” (Is 35:7). Laughter is given to all men on a natural level and it is good but this is far greater as it is laughter coming from deep within the soul. It is a, “. . . river of life-giving water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev 22:1). One can only marvel at His goodness and say, “thank you Jesus”. Indeed, “How lovely is your welling place, O LORD Almighty! . . . Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere” (Ps. 84:1 & 10). For that moment, all things seem beautiful and there is no anxiety or pain. The Lord in His goodness hides us for a moment in the shadow of His divine love, even as David says, “Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings” (Ps 63:7). The Lord did not promise us happiness in this life, only in the next, but in His infinite love that cannot be contained he gives us a foretaste every now and then to encourage us. He speaks to the soul saying, “Come my friend, we have only one more mile to walk together”. John Keats once wrote, “Truth is Beauty and Beauty Truth; that is all ye know on earth and all ye need to know”. I would take that natural observation to a supernatural level and say that God is Beauty, God is Truth. You will drink sparingly on Earth but fully in Heaven and your Joy will be complete.
You are at peace with your spirituality...all is good with Robert. It is a special time in your journey. Enjoy the Grace God has given. Enjoy the consolation. On your path look at all the beauty surrounding you and enjoy the moment. And when God leads you to your Dark Night of the Soul...except it and remember these good times. Spirituality is like a roller coaster ups and downs...those dark nights are important to tear you down and with spiritual battles...build you up again stronger. At a certain point you might reach the top of the mountain but i haven't reached it. That is why spiritual books, from those that made it, are so important. As long as we are climbing the mountain...we are in Gods Grace...even if we fall down our eyes should be focus on that mountain. May Gods Will be Done
The suggestion to share how I pray is difficult to say because the avenues that I use to enter into prayer are more than one. I was touched this morning at Holy Mass by the Prayer after Communion: Grant us, almighty God, that we may be refreshed and nourished by the Sacrament which we have received, so as to be transformed into what we consume. Through Christ our Lord. To think that God intends and ultimately achieves such a glorious transformation, is the key to prayer. It reminds me of the verse from 2 Peter 1! 4 whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in that world by lust. So it seems to me that prayer must be more of what the Holy Spirit does in my own heart than what I do. Prayer is very much like my time after Holy Communion. I might initiate such time with silent words, but it is best for me to receive, and then remain in adoring, attentive stillness letting God do his work. This is the model for most of my personal prayer time. Safe in the Refuge of the Immaculate Heart!
Robert, Though I selected just one of your chosen scripture passages above, I loved them all! Safe in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary!
The Holy Sirit is definitely working on me! Since I have returned from medjugorje I cry after communion every single time! I crave mass. These are not sad tears. Just an overwhelming feeling about the true presence in the Eucharist. I just ask Jesus to stay with me after communion. I have prayed so many after communion prayers but I now just ask Jesus to stay with me. And the tears begin. Anyone else experience this?
AG Yes, very much. Holy Tears are definitely a gift from God. I am happy for you. I haven't been to Medjugorje since about 1998 but I hear that there is a statue of St Leopold there. Did you see it? One of my favorite saints when it comes to holy tears is St. Symeon the New Theologian who was a monk and priest in 10th century Constantinople. He was not called theologian for his academic prowess, but rather from the Greek theoria which means a direct experience of God, a title only given to two others in the East before him: St. John the Apostle and St. Gregory Nazianzos in the 4th century. St. Symeon says that the heart that does not turn away from God even in suffering or purification will experience joy. The heart, “will become a spring from which unceasing tears will flow visibly and which will fill him spiritually with peace, gentleness and inexpressible sweetness, as well as, the courage and capacity to submit to God’s commandments freely and unreservedly” (Philokalia volume IV p. 18).
It seems to me that there has been a shift in the spiritual atmosphere. Robert, I also am receiving a sweet joy in prayer. I think we are coming into a time, if we give our permanent, whole hearted Fiat to living completely in the Divine Will, to carry particular attributes of the Lord within ourselves, for the benefit of our brothers and sisters. I know that His joy is my "assignment". I even have a short cut to it: I only have to pray, "Your presence is my joy and your joy is my strength" to receive a fresh wave of it!
Pope Francis gave a lovely homily over the weekend: Pope Francis says God has given everybody a Guardian Angel to accompany us and offer advice and protection, an Angel to whom we should listen with meekness and respect. He was speaking during his homily at Mass on Friday (2nd October) celebrated in the Santa Marta Residence. Taking his cue from Friday’s feast of the Guardian Angels, the Pope’s homily reflected on this divine presence in our lives, describing the Angel as God’s ambassador who accompanies each one of us. He noted how the proof of this was illustrated when God chased Adam out of Paradise: He didn’t leave Adam on his own or say to him: “fend for yourself as best as you can.” The Pope stressed that every person has been given a Guardian Angel by God who stays by our side. God's Ambassador by our side “He is always with us! And this is a reality. It’s like having God’s ambassador with us. And the Lord advises us: ‘Respect his presence!’ And when we, for example, commit a sin and believe that we’re on our own: No, he is there. Show respect for his presence. Listen to his voice because he gives us advice. When we hear that inspiration: ‘But do this … this is better … we should not do that.’ Listen! Do not go against him.” Pope Francis explained how the Guardian Angel always protects us, especially from evil. Sometimes, he noted, “we believe that we can hide so many things,” “bad things” that in the end will always come to light. The Angel, he continued, is there to advise us and “cover for us” just a friend would do. “A friend who we don’t see but we hear.” “A friend who one day will be with us in the everlasting joy of Heaven.” Respect him and listen to him “All he asks is that we listen to him and respect him. That’s all: respect and listening (to him). And this respect and listening to this companion on our journey is called meekness. The Christian must be meek when it comes to the Holy Spirit. Meekness towards the Holy Spirit begins with this yielding to the advice given by this companion on our journey.” The Pope went on to explain that in order to be meek, we need to become small like children and our Guardian Angel is a companion who teaches us this humility and just like children we should listen to him. “May we ask the Lord for the grace of this meekness, to listen to the voice of this companion, to this ambassador from God who accompanies us in His name and may we be supported by his help. (We must) always journey forward. And in this Mass where we praise the Lord, let us remember how good our Lord is, who straight after we lost His friendship, did not leave us alone, did not abandon us.”
Hi Padraig To answer your question, I am Latin Rite but I do have one foot in the East and one in the West. I grew up in various Protestant churches but was not a good Protestant (to say the least) and really didn't know my right hand from my left or even the what the differences in the churches were. I had always been exposed to the Catholic Church and even lived in Argentina in 1992 and Mexico in 1993. I respected all but was indifferent. In 1994 God came to me in a dream that changed my life abruptly. It was then that I became Catholic. He instilled in me a voracious appetite for reading spiritual works that hasn't stopped. I read everything that St. John Paul II ever wrote and in his book Crossing the Threshold of Hope he gave three examples of people of great prayer. The first two I was very familiar with and read their works: St Teresa of Avila and St John of the Cross. The third was St. Seraphim of Sarov. Him I did not know. So, I found a book and read it, almost in one breath. It was so rich and holy. I even traveled to Russia on pilgrimage. A great work of his is found here http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/47866.htm. It is more of an interview really, so not long but excellent. So, I am Latin Rite Catholic and love it. I also love the East and do not differentiate between the two. They both have immense treasures to draw from. Even the avatar that I chose is St. John the Wonderworker who has been a good friend form many years. That's another story. The Church will breathe with both lungs again quite soon.
Padraig, this is amazing! The Fruits of the Inner Man begin only with the Shedding of Tears. When you reach the place of Tears, then know that your Spirit has come out from the Prison of this World and has set its foot upon the path that leads towards the New Age. Your Spirit begins at this moment to breathe the wonderful air which is there, and it starts to Shed Tears. The moment for the Birth of the Spiritual Child is now at hand, and the Travail of Childbirth becomes intense. Grace, the common Mother of us all, makes haste to give birth Mystically to the Soul, God's image, bringing it forth into the Light of the Age to come. And when the time for the birth has arrived, the Intellect begins to Sense something of the things of that Other World -- as a Faint Perfume, or as the Breath of Life which a Newborn Child receives into its bodily frame. But we are not accustomed to such an experience and, finding it hard to endure, our Body is suddenly overcome by a Weeping mingled with Joy. I have received a gift with these tears which I haven't shared with many. I was blessed numerous times in medjugorje with the smell of what I can only describe as anointed oil mixed with roses. A truly mystical scent. The smell has happened numerous times since I have returned from medjugorje. In prayer, in pain, and during difficult life situations when I call on Mary for intercession. I've checked perfumes, deodorants, lotions, soaps, etc trying to find the scent to no avail. Returning from medjugorje, my mom gave me a hug and just kept sniffing me. (Like a dog). Lol. She said I smelled like roses! If anyone else has experienced this I would love to know! It is not just a scent, it is a warmth and a feeling of complete peace. I was praying that first, I wasn't losing my marbles! . But secondly to understand. I do not understand but just thank Mary for staying with me. My husband confided in me just the other day that he has been asking Mary every day to comfort me as she did in medjugorje I'm in awe at this experience. I did not receive the physical healing that we have been praying for, but I believe that my suffering is definitely being used. If even one person can experience these for one second, to know this Love, this peace, than I offer up all of my suffering!
Funnily enough I have a great devotion to the Orthodox saint, Sarov, he who fed the wild bears. I particulary love the sotry about his face becomming like a sun for a newsparer reporter to show the action of the Holy SPirit in souls. There is a lovely Russian child's cartoon on him on utube. It does not matter if you cannot speak Russian it is easy enough to follow, even the bears.
