Friendship

These words are from St Francis de Sales, and were in my mind very much tonight while remembering a conversation with a priest who I think would allow me to call him friend, and who calls me the same.

"In a well-regulated monastery, perfection in the love of God is the common goal, that toward which all are supposed to tend; it is not necessary, therefore, to speak of it with a particular friend, lest by seeking in particular what ought to be sought in common, one pass from particulars to preferences and divisions.

But for those who live in the midst of the world and yet strive for true virtue, it is necessary to ally themselves to one another by a holy and sacred friendship through which they stimulate, assist and encourage each other toward good.

Those who walk on level ground do not need to hold hands, but those who climb steep and slippery roads need to hold on to each other in order to progress more securely.

Religious have no need of particular friendships, but those living in the world need them as a mutual strength and aid in the many difficult passages that have to be crossed."

"Any Woman" - Katharine Tynan

 I am the pillars of the house;
The keystone of the arch am I.
Take me away, and roof and wall
Would fall to ruin me utterly.

I am the fire upon the hearth,
I am the light of the good sun,
I am the heat that warms the earth,
Which else were colder than a stone.

At me the children warm their hands;
I am their light of love alive.
Without me cold the hearthstone stands,
Nor could the precious children thrive.

I am the twist that holds together
The children in its sacred ring,
Their knot of love, from whose close tether
No lost child goes a-wandering.

I am the house from floor to roof,
I deck the walls, the board I spread;
I spin the curtains, warp and woof,
And shake the down to be their bed.

I am their wall against all danger,
Their door against the wind and snow,
Thou Whom a woman laid in a manger,
Take me not till the children grow! 

Any Woman

Katharine Tynan

The Devil

A highly unfashionable topic.  Even though Pope Francis mentions him often.  In a 21st Century world, we think of the Devil as being a medieval fantasy, a subject for jokes, or simply non existent.

We forget that he isn't an entity with horns and a pitchfork.

St Ignatius of Loyola spoke often about the "good spirit" and the "bad spirit".  There's a good explanation of this here.

 http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/making-good-decisions/discernment-of-spirits/introduction-to-discernment-of-spirits

On retreat last year I found myself admitting (much to my surprise) in a conversation with a Sister who was also making the retreat, to an experience which I have told very few people about, but which I've been forced to consider a mystical experience in the absence of any other very good explanation.  As I was telling the story, even to my ears it seemed so impossible that I found myself backing off.  "I don't know," I said.  "I know it could just as easily have been my imagination, but..."

Her response was immediate.  "That's the evil spirit talking."  she said.

I thought a lot about that.  Her certainty that my sudden doubt, this voice that was saying to me that God only talks to "special" people came straight from the Devil.  It shook me a bit.  But just recently I found myself in what Ignatius called "spiritual desolation" - relating to something which is an area of my life which - after a lot of discernment and conversation with two good confessors, the Catechism and I have had to agree to differ on, because in a million years I will never be able to give "assent of will" to it.  Neither priest seemed to have any problem with this at all.  The problem is mine.  I come back to it, chew over it, get cross about it, then usually upset.  Over and over again.

Today, when I was starting down that road again, I heard Sister Caroline again in my head, as plain as day.

"That's the evil spirit talking."

I sat down and looked at what I was chewing over again.

"As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly." Proverbs 26;11, KJV


How many more times am I going to pummel the world until I get chapter and verse on something that isn't possible to get chapter and verse on?  What on earth is the point of having a conscience at all if not to give guidance when this sort of thing happens?  Why did I waste my time seeking out good spiritual advisors and talking to them about it if I was simply going to walk back into the same trap of despair again?  Is there anything that anyone could say to me that would actually stop me doing this to myself?  Over and over again?

Perhaps I ought to give the Devil points for a wily attack.  But this time, he doesn't win.  Thank you, Sister Caroline.  I owe you one.

Spotlight

Today I went to see the film "Spotlight" - the story of the Boston Globe investigation into the sexual abuse scandals in the Boston archdiocese that ultimately forced the resignation of Cardinal Law, and blew the lid off the scale of the abuse scandal in the States.

I won't say a lot about it here.  Go and watch it.  Seriously.  There's not many films that can make me cry these days - but this one did.  And before anyone starts - it is *not* an anti-Catholic rant.  It's remarkably restrained in a lot of ways.  You just don't want to believe what you're seeing in front of you - and all the evidence is that the truth was actually even worse.

And what is bruised he will not break.

I meant to post this last week, after this hymn was sung at Sunday Mass.  Forgot, then couldn't remember the first line to look it up.  Today at mass, the hymn book fell open to this hymn and a marker that someone had left behind.  Thank you, Lord.  I can take a hint.

The hymn was composed by the Benedictine nuns of Stanbrook Abbey, and in this Year of Mercy I found myself very moved by the third verse, which paraphrases Isaiah.


When Jesus comes to be baptized, 
He leaves the hidden years behind, 
The years of safety and of peace. 
To bear the sins of all mankind. 

The Spirit of the Lord comes down, 
Anoints the Christ to suffering, 
To preach the word, to free the bound, 
And to the mourner, comfort bring. 

He will not quench the dying flame, 
And what is bruised he will not break, 
But heal the wound injustice dealt, 
And out of death his triumph make. 

Our everlasting Father, praise, 
With Christ, his well-beloved Son, 
Who with the Spirit reigns serene, 
Untroubled Trinity in One. 

The advert that the cinemas didn't want you to see.

They didn't want you to see it in case you were "offended"

In the highly unlikely event that you are "offended" by my post, then my apologies.  Try watching it again.  You might find that it isn't so offensive after all.

For everyone else - feel free to share this post anywhere you can think of.  We'll risk the offence.  If even the ECHR says there is no human right not to be offended - http://www.lapidomedia.com/node/6209 - then I think the risk is relatively small.

If you have no idea what I'm going on about, then try Archbishop Cranmer's blog, there's a good post there about it.  http://archbishopcranmer.com/cinema-lords-prayer-ban-was-a-retroactive-policy-to-chuck-the-church-of-england/

I hope you dance

Another of those songs that could just as easily be a prayer.

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin' might mean takin' chances, but they're worth takin'
Lovin' might be a mistake, but it's worth makin'
Don't let some Hellbent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to sellin' out, reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance (Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along)
I hope you dance

I hope you dance (Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder)
I hope you dance (Where those years have gone?)

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

Dance

I hope you dance
I hope you dance (Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along)
I hope you dance (Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder?)