Catechism – Vocal Prayer – 2703

…God seeks worshippers in Spirit and in Truth, and consequently living prayer that rises from the depths of the soul. He also wants the external expression that associates the body with interior prayer, for it renders him that perfect homage which is his due.

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97. Prayer and Action (Mark 1:29-39)

“If you seek to know where you can stay, stay close to Christ, because he is the way.”  - St. Thomas Aquinas

Mark 1:29-39: On leaving the synagogue, he went with James and John straight to the house of Simon and Andrew. Now Simon’s mother-in-law had gone to bed with fever, and they told him about her straightaway. He went to her, took her by the hand and helped her up. And the fever left her and she began to wait on them. That evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were possessed by devils. The whole town came crowding round the door, and he cured many who were suffering from diseases of one kind or another; he also cast out many devils, but he would not allow them to speak, because they knew who he was.  In the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house, and went off to a lonely place and prayed there. Simon and his companions set out in search of him, and when they found him they said, ‘Everybody is looking for you.’ He answered, ‘Let us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring country towns, so that I can preach there too, because that is why I came.’ And he went all through Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out devils.

Christ the Lord Christ is a man whose whole attention is focused on others. Simon and his disciples come to him the morning after a day like none they had ever known before. Christ’s popularity was at a zenith, after his immensely successful preaching, his casting out a demon in the synagogue, and his evening of miraculous cures and exorcisms. They surely thought that he would claim the Messianic kingship right away and gather an army to cast off the despicable Roman rule, or something to that effect. When they awoke to find him gone, they searched apprehensively for him, lest they miss their chance for glory (the townspeople were already rallying and demanding his presence). But when they find him, alone in prayer on the mountaintop, and they tell him that everyone is looking for him, Christ answers with what was to be the first of many surprises: it is not for personal glory that he has come, but to fulfill a mission received from another, and so he must move on. They are welcome to come with him, but whether they do or not, he will be faithful to his Father’s will.

In a world inundated with the ethos of “success” and “achievement,” where great souls are withered by the rat race of petty promotions and vaporous rewards, the selfless, transcendent purpose of a man entirely focused on fulfilling someone else’s plan (i.e., God’s) may perhaps furrow our brow, but doesn’t it also stir us to admiration? Such is our Lord, who hopes that our admiration will evolve into heartfelt emulation.

Christ the Teacher  Jesus Christ was God become man. His human nature was united with the power of his divine person. He was perfect, sinless, without any selfishness, laziness, or pride. His character was flawless, as firm as the mountains and as gentle as a mother’s caress. His mind was beyond brilliant, filled with the radiance of divine light and understanding. No emotional scars from a difficult family upbringing (Mary was without sin too, and Joseph was a saint), no personality disorders or imbalanced self-esteem – no lacks, no wounds, no imperfections at all. And yet, over and over again in the Gospels, we see him go off to be alone in prayer: “In the morning long before dawn, he got up and left the house, and went off to a lonely place and prayed there.”

Christ was perfect, God from God and light from light, and yet he needed to reserve time just to be alone with his Father; he needed to go off and pray. He even had to get up early to make time for it. Sometimes he had to stay up late in order to make time for it. But he always did it.

If he, who was perfect, needed prayer in order to fulfill his life’s mission, what does that imply for us, who are so imperfect, so weak, so vulnerable to every sort of temptation and wounded by every kind of sin? Christ was a man of prayer, and, as he himself put it, “no disciple is greater than his master” (John 15:20).

Christ the Friend  It’s not only the simple fact of Christ’s miracles that demonstrates his personal love, but even the manner in which he performs them. Simon’s mother-in-law is sick in bed with a fever. In the ancient world, fevers posed greater threats than they do today. If the fever was the result of an infection (which fevers frequently are), it could indicate an impending death, since there were no antibiotics; this explains the apostles’ concern. Jesus could have snapped his fingers and immediately cured her; but instead, he goes over to the bed where she lay, grasps her sweaty, feverish hand in his own firm, gentle grip, relieving her sickness with his touch, and then helps her up. In Jesus Christ, God comes to meet us in the reality of our humanity, bringing the warmth of his divine light into its most ordinary nooks and crannies.

Simon’s mother-in-law: When I woke from the fever, I felt… well, how can I describe how I felt? Normally such a long, severe fever wears you out, but when I woke from this one I felt buoyant, glad, strong. I felt a healthy, invigorating warmth flowing through me, banishing the fever’s enfeebling heat. And then I realized that this new strength was flowing into me. Only then did I turn and look to see who was holding my hand: Jesus.

Simon had told me about him, but I had never met him before. And yet, his smiling eyes told me he knew me. He didn’t have to speak any words. Right away he was my oldest friend as well as my newest friend. It sounds so strange, but it’s true. Suddenly, under his gaze, with his hand holding mine, all the different parts of my life fell into place. My heart and mind came into focus as they never had before. I wasn’t just cured from the fever; I was somehow new. Without even thinking, I smiled back at him and rose to start preparing some supper for him and his companions. Healthy? Yes, I was healthy again, healthier than I had ever been before.

Christ in My Life  Lord, by making me your disciple, you have shared your mission with me. I am your missionary. You want to reach out to others through me; I am part of your mystical body. O Lord, fill me with enthusiasm and zeal for this wonderful and daunting mission of building your Kingdom! It is far beyond my capacities, but that doesn’t matter, as long as you lead me.

Prayer is a mystery to me, Jesus. Sometimes I seem to pray well, while other times I’m completely lost. But I know that you have given me the gift of the Holy Spirit, who dwells within me, teaching me and coaching me. Lord Jesus, I believe in you, and I know that without a healthy, growing life of prayer, my soul will wither. Dear Lord, teach me to be docile to the promptings of your Holy Spirit.

You continue to touch me, just as you touched Peter’s mother-in-law, whenever I receive you in the Eucharist. Thank you, Lord, for staying so close to me, for bringing your saving grace into my life in such a human way. Teach me this same gentle, caring manner as I reach out to help my neighbors.

PS: This is just one of 303 units of Fr. John’s fantastic book The Better Part. To learn more about The Better Part or to purchase in print, Kindle or iPhone editions, click here. Also, please help us get these resources to people who do not have the funds or ability to acquire them by clicking here.

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Marital Conscience Exam – Marriage Spirituality Part 3 of 4

So, if you are back for more I think it is safe to assume that we agree that we are our spouses “keeper.” The challenge now, is where to start. The best place, once we understand that we have fallen short, is always the sacrament of reconciliation. We must have the grace of God provided in this sacrament to change the spiritual course of our marriage. But before you go to reconciliation, spend some time in prayer and, if possible, explore this challenge with your spiritual director. Ask Mary and Joseph (the models of the perfect family) to pray for you, to help you see your shortcomings, pray for God’s light as you ask yourself a few tough examen questions we have provided for your reflection:

• Have I neglected the spiritual care of my spouse?
• Have I allowed the busy-ness of life to crowd out my primary responsibility of caring for the spiritual needs of my spouse?
• Have I put my own needs and desires ahead of the spiritual needs of my spouse?
• Have I done anything that distracts my spouse from his/her spiritual development pursuits?
• Have I failed to nurture the spiritual interests of my spouse?
• Have I allowed my own fears or feelings of inadequacy to hinder spiritual activities with my spouse (e.g. praying together)?
• Have I been impatient at the lack of spiritual growth in my spouse and allowed despair to rise, or my hope in Christ to wane?
• Have I stopped praying and making sacrifices for my spouse that they might come to know Christ or to know Christ more fully?
• Have I stopped working on my own spiritual progress in holiness toward my spouse because of offenses that I nurture?
• Have I failed to forgive my spouse as Christ has forgiven me?

The good news is that God will give you the grace and strength necessary to honor your marriage and either deepen your relationship as it stands, or to embark on a new spiritual journey together. If you have taken these posts seriously, you are well on your way to changing the spiritual course of your marriage. The next step is to explore how to make basic commitments and follow through on them. Be assured that God’s grace will be with you as you fight to bring Christ more fully into the center of your relationship.

In Christ, Dan and Stephanie

Series Links

• Part 1 of 4 – Helping Your Spouse to Heaven

• Part 2 of 4 – Daughter of the King

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Consolation & Desolation: What are “spiritualized capital sins”?

Q: Dear Father John, You used the phrase “spiritualized capital sins” in your post on consolation and desolation. I have never heard this idea before. What are spiritualized capital sins and how do they “attempt” to re-conquer the soul as we mature?

A: We have to remember that here on earth we are members of the Church militant. We are in the midst of a battle. As we grow spiritually, the enemies of our souls (the devil and his demons) don’t sit idly by. Did you know that the Church’s most notable heresiarchs (people who start heresies) were almost all priests in their forties? Pelagius, Arius, Apollinaris, Nestorius… These were all men of God, passionately dedicated to the Church and to seeking deeper intimacy with Christ, advanced in theological knowledge and in the spiritual life. Who would have guessed that they would become instruments of ecclesial devastation and spiritual shipwreck? And yet, they did. We can  never forget this: as we grow spiritually, the battle doesn’t go away.

But our enemies are smart. They know that temptation has to be customized to the situation of the person being tempted. They can’t invent new sins (the seven capital sins are always the primary categories for sinful behavior), but they can disguise them in new ways. So, for someone who is well along the road towards spiritual maturity, the tempters will have to clothe the capital sins in spiritual garments.

“Spiritualized” Capital Sins

For example, the inclination to vanity can appear in a subtle desire to have one’s new and advanced piety noticed. You start trying to draw attention to the outward manifestation of your devotion. Or you find yourself seeking to impress your spiritual director – hiding real struggles from them, lest they think you are less holy than you want to appear. You may even switch spiritual directors, not for any objective reason, but simply because you don’t want to follow anyone’s advice except your own.

The inclination to pride can show up in a sort of complacency in your religious works. You think you are really doing well, and so you start planning all kinds of great spiritual projects, but you don’t actually follow through on any of them. Or, you start talking about spiritual things with other people just to give them lessons, instead of seeking ways to put the lessons into practice yourself.

In the area of sensuality, you can become attached to the consolations that God has given you in your prayer and sacramental life. So you find yourself trying to force certain emotional reactions during your meditation or after Communion. You start to seek spiritual feelings too much, forgetting that the goal of holiness is union with God in mind and will, not feelings of consolation. You can even begin to become attached to friendships or relationships that seem to be based on spiritual values, but in truth you invest in them because of the emotional payback you feel instead of the mutual spiritual support they are supposed to provide; this can become a kind of spiritual lust. Spiritual greed can take the form of an insatiable desire to read every spiritual book, to accumulate rosaries and holy cards and icons, to jump around from devotion to devotion trying to imbibe the entire spiritual patrimony of the Church all at once even to the neglect of life’s basic duties (like one’s responsibilities to family members), instead of seeking patiently to go deep in the essentials.

Keeping Our Eye on the Ball: “Thy Will Be Done – Not Mine!”

These are some examples. You can find a more systematic summary of this spiritual trap in Fr. Tanquerey’s treatise on the spiritual life, #’s 1262-1269. We need to know that these types of attachments and self-absorption are possible, and that they can hinder spiritual progress as much as the less subtle sins. But we need not become obsessed with them. As always in the spiritual life, the compass and anchor remain the same: I love God by accepting and fulfilling his will in each moment of my life. That’s the litmus test, and that’s the surest guide through the shadows and tangles of this earthly pilgrimage – as sure a guide for us as it was for Jesus: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work” (John 4:34).

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Should I ask my spiritual director (a priest) to also be my confessor?

Q: Dear Becky, I have a question for you. I have a priest spiritual director that I usually travel more than an hour to see every month. I go to confession weekly and am wondering if it would be best to see the same priest for confession for continuity, etc. Before my spiritual director relocated, I most often saw him for confession because it worked out that way, and, I believe it was God who arranged it that way. Would it be appropriate to ask my spiritual director to also provide confession when we meet?

A: The fact that you are receiving the sacrament of reconciliation weekly, and are traveling a good distance to see your spiritual director each month shows that you are serious about becoming holy.  Keep up the good work!

The short answer to your question is that it can’t hurt to ask.  We need to be considerate of our priests’ time, yet also remember that they became priests to help us to heaven.

Your concern for continuity shows that you understand the value of developing an ongoing relationship with your confessor, this is good.  And since we confess our sins, not to the priest, but to Jesus via the priest, receiving spiritual direction at this time is a very good idea.

Going to confession and receiving spiritual direction at the same time is a huge blessing.  There is special grace here because of the sacramental nature of confession, and it saves you from having to repeat or explain your struggles to your spiritual director when you see him each month.   If you have a good priest who can provide at the same time, both confession and sound spiritual direction, you are very blessed; this would be the optimal situation.

I can only assume from your question that the physical distance between you and your director has prevented you from seeing him more often.

That said, a few questions come to mind that you should discuss with your director.

First, does your spiritual director have the time/flexibility to see you more frequently?  If he does, do you have the means (time and cost of transportation), to make that trip more often? If not, you might want to alternate confession time (local for three weeks, then once a month with your priest/spiritual director).

Second, are you at a place where you can safely reduce the frequency of your confessions? If you are at a stage where you are not often tempted to mortal sin, it might be prudent to exchange frequent confessions for fewer that are more fruitful. You would, of course, still have the ability to make a confession with a local priest as needed.

That you believe God arranged for you to have this specific priest as your confessor is probably a reliable instinct.  If you think about it, having one person who sees the ‘whole’ of our spiritual life makes good sense. God knows what is best for us, and as we progress on the journey of the soul He may guide us to modify some practices in order to develop new ones.

Your spiritual director will be able to give you advice tailor made for your situation. Talk this over with him as appropriate matter for spiritual direction discussion.

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