Connie Rossini's Blog, page 11

The powerful Sign of the Cross

Constantine the Great receives the vision of the cross: In this sign, conquer.

How many times a day do you make the Sign of the Cross? How many of those times do you think about its power or meaning?

As those of you who have begun reading Contemplative Homeschool.

A biography of St. Therese (and a Kindle bargain)

Statue of St. Therese, Little Flower Catholic Church, Toledo, Ohio (Wikimedia Commons).

 

Note: In celebration of the feast of St. Therese on Wednesday, October 1, the Contemplative Homeschool.

Spiritual growth right where you are now

 

Temperance by Ambrogio Lorenzetti (Wikimedia Commons). Time passes quickly. Let us live for God today.

 

I remember reading long ago in The Spiritual Combat by Dom Lorenzo Scupoli, that we deceive ourselves if we think we would be holier if only our exterior circumstances were different. That made a great impression on me.

Temperamentally, some people feel they are in control of everything. Others feel like they are controlled by forces outside themselves. Melancholics can especially fall into this second attitude, feeling sorry for themselves and powerless to change their circumstances. St. Paul encourages such people:

God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Tim 1:7)

Even when we are powerless to overcome our circumstances, God is not. Indeed, as both Paul and St. Therese tell us, our weakness can actually be an asset.

Teresa of Avila warned those who would come after her not to dismiss the holiness of the early Discalced Carmelites with a “that was then, this is now” attitude.

The Time is always propitious for God to grant His great favors towards those who truly serve Him. Let them consider therefore if there is any great fault in them, and amend it.” (Foundations Chap. 4)

We could easily think, “Oh, I’ll have so much more time to pray when I’m retired.” That may be true, but having extra time doesn’t mean we’ll use it wisely. We need to form habits of prayer now, while time is scarce.

Or, “When my kids are in school full time, then I can live a more contemplative life.” But instead, we might spend more time running errands or visiting with friends.

Or, “If only my job weren’t so demanding, I could focus more on my spiritual life.” But perhaps surrender is the next step we are meant to take.

“If my spouse were easier to live with, I’d have far fewer sins.” Maybe we would just have more pride.

The fact is, God knows our circumstances better then we do. When we follow God despite our circumstances we gain more merit than we would if circumstances were easy. And we actually grow, instead of dreaming about growing.

God has a plan for each of us, a plan He wants us to implement today. And though the details may be different according to our temperament, talents, and circumstances, the general outlines of that plan are the same.

Pray. Trust. Be humble. Learn detachment. Do everything with love. Be determined to never give up. These are the foundations of spiritual growth, and they are accessible to us all. This moment.

Connie Rossini

Other posts you may likeContemplative Homeschool.

Accidental detachment

The Mess of Pottage by Tissot. Detachment enables us to have the right priorities.

The title of this post is a bit misleading. I don’t really believe in “accidental” detachment, any more than I believe in accidental holiness. But I’ve noticed something interesting in my life over the past several months. I’m seeing success and growth in areas I haven’t been focusing on, and I believe I am seeing God’s hand at work.

As my longtime readers know, I like to focus on one area of spirituality to work on each year. In 2013, I chose to work on trust. That led to a huge change in my life and my book Contemplative Homeschool.

The silence of detachment (Part 3 of 3)

Eva in the Pantry by Wilhelm Schumann (Wikimedia Commons). Does your heart look something like this?

 

Two weeks ago I began a series on whether we should sit quietly during prayer. Part 1 talked about Contemplative Homeschool.

Why you should know your temperament

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Are you easily moved by every new stimuli that comes along, or are you hyper-focused? Are you easily ruffled, or rarely angered? Are you serious or fun-loving? And do these differences matter in your spiritual life?

The Ancient Greeks identified four classic temperaments. They believed everyone had one dominant temperament, with some people have a secondary temperament. Catholic philosophers in the Middle Ages adopted the idea. Spiritual directors to this day use these distinctions to help their directees grow closer to Christ.

Fr. Conrad Hock wrote:

To know the temperaments of our fellow men helps us to understand them better, treat them more correctly, bear with them more patiently. These are evidently advantages for social life which can hardly be appreciated enough…

It is of the greatest benefit furthermore to recognize fully one’s own temperament. Only if one knows it, can he judge correctly himself, his moods, his peculiarities, his past life.” Contemplative Homeschool.

Teresa of Avila on silence in prayer (Part 2 of 3)

Teresa of Avila, painting in Maria Taferl, Lower Austria (Wikimedia Commons). In prayer we should not force ourselves into artificial silence, nor should we think we must always be talking.

 

Before we dig into St. Teresa’s of Avila’s teaching about silence in prayer, I want to clarify something important fromContemplative Homeschool.

The prayer God always answers

Sunday Morning by Thomas Waterman Wood (Wikimedia Commons). How can we know that God will hear and answer our prayers?

I learned a new word the other day that I want to share with you: impetration. Impetration is a prayer that God infallibly answers. The concept comes from such New Testament passages as this:

Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Mt. 7:7)

Now we know from experience that God does not answer every prayer. Or, as we like to say, He sometimes answers with a “no.” So where is the fulfillment of this verse?

St. Thomas Aquinas taught that there are four requirements for impetration:

We must be praying for ourselves, since freewill is involved.We must be praying for something necessary for salvation (but theologians include in this all the goods that could help us grow in grace).We must pray piously–in Jesus’ name, with humility, trust, and attention.We must persevere in prayer when necessary.

So, it you are praying to be a saint, take heart! If you are praying to remain in God’s grace, trust He will answer. If you are praying to overcome a certain sin, depend on Him to see you through. If you persevere in such prayers, God will answer them with a “yes.” We have the promise of Christ that this is so.

Connie Rossini

 

Other posts you may likeContemplative Homeschool.

Should we sit quietly during prayer? (Part 1 of 3)

A Hermit Praying in the Ruins of a Roman Temple by Hubert Robert. Non-Christian practices can be baptized, but Christ must always remain central.

Last week I wrote aboutContemplative Homeschool.

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind

St. Paul by Nicolas Tournier (Wikimedia Commons).

I was out of town for Labor Day, so I’m going to give you a few Scripture verses to meditate on for Today’s post. The first passage comes from Sunday’s Second Reading:

Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Rom 12:2)

What does it mean to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind?” Here are two more passages that came to my mind as I pondered this verse.

I mean, brethren, the appointed time has grown very short; from now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the form of this world is passing away. I want you to be free from anxieties.” (1 Cor 7:29-32)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us, while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:1-2)

Ponder these verses. Pray about them. How is the Holy Spirit speaking to you through them today? What hindrance can you discard, what attachment can you overcome for love of Christ? Is there one step you can take today to help you fix your eyes more fully on Him?

Please share your insights with us.

The time is short.

Connie Rossini

 

Other posts you may likeContemplative Homeschool.