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Abiding Sorrow For Sin
It is a very troublesome thought that so many persons have lofty and sincere aspirations after high things, and so few reach them; that so many are called to perfection, and so few answer the call; that so many begin ardently and prudently and yet die leaving their tower unbuilt; that so many are conversant with mental prayer, yet never come to perfection. It is a troublesome thought, because it sets us calculating the doctrine of chances about ourselves, and in less selfish moods calculating the loss of glory to God and of power to the Church. For every perfect ascetic is a veritable fountain of power in the Church, however hidden, unknown, or mean-looking he may be. There is certainly an analogy between the waste of grace in the spiritual world and the waste of seeds and flowers and fruits in the natural world. Yet there is poor consolation in a barren analogy. It may serve for a book of evidences, but we shall get little light out of it, and less heat. It does not content us. We must pursue our troublesome thought further, until we get some wisdom or warning out of it.
24 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 5, 2012
4 people want to read
About the author
Frederick William Faber
330 books39 followersFrederick William Faber, C.O., was a noted English hymn writer and theologian, who converted from Anglicanism to the Catholic priesthood. His best known work is Faith of Our Fathers. Though he was a Roman Catholic writing for fellow Catholics at that point, many of his hymns today are sung by Protestant congregations.
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August 14, 2019
Father Faber was a clergyman in the Church of England and became a Catholic in 1845. He joined the Oratorian Father of St. Philip Neri where he spent the rest of his life. He wrote several books and also composed the hymn “Faith of Our Father”.
Faber addresses the question why he finds many including born Catholics discouraged in their vocations to perfection. He suspected their lack in persevering in prayer but he saw men who have meditated for years without growing in it or perhaps lack of bodily austerity. He saw also that bodily mortification made people more irritable and hardened.
Another failure was attributed by St. Francis de Sales to taking on feverish pursuit to perfection and doing too many things at once which St. Francis saw in the rush in his time (1567-1622). This not only weakens us in spiritual exercises but throws confusion in how grace operates and makes for disorder and ill-temper. Faber narrows down the three stages in reaching for perfection and spiritual progress to the Purgative Way, which applies to beginners and cleansing their souls from sin. The more advanced seekers are in the Illuminative Way and seek to do good. The most advanced are reaching for the Unitive Way and union with God.
Faber points to Jesus and Mary who were both sinless yet both practiced penance in their lives. They did not lead gloomy lives but dwelt in the light of Beatific Vision. Faber calls it “a beautiful mystery of perennial sorrow.”
Faber takes the lessons from the saints whose sorrow was life-long, quiet and supernatural. It contained four characteristics. It tranquilizes our soul in quietude from the noises of the world. Its supernatural quality stems from our mourning for forgiven sins. Scripture speaks of our always fearing forgiven sins. Faber finds only one passage in St. John about love shedding fear but he doubts whether this can be easily understood in this life. We should keep in mind that we are sinners but do not have to remember our past particular sins. We should however pray for pardon constantly. David sang “O wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.” (Psalm 51)
Our sorrow includes also continual dread of the sins we were forgiven, hatred of them, growing awareness of what is sin. Our sorrow cannot be merely lukewarm. Such does not bring spiritual growth. If we lack this sorrow but feel we want it that is a sign we are returning to a healthy state. But we must not seek consolation only. It is a mistake to neglect remorse. Our sorrow needs be sensible. Such is the gift of the Holy Spirit and it is “piety.”
Another mistake is to take lightly religious views of matters. No saint treated life lightly. Their words were few and grave. Faber believes that their gravity made them spiritually cheerful.
Faber’s essay concludes with 40 “aspiration” or prayers in a form of a litany concluded with a prayer to BV Mary and St. Joseph.
Faber addresses the question why he finds many including born Catholics discouraged in their vocations to perfection. He suspected their lack in persevering in prayer but he saw men who have meditated for years without growing in it or perhaps lack of bodily austerity. He saw also that bodily mortification made people more irritable and hardened.
Another failure was attributed by St. Francis de Sales to taking on feverish pursuit to perfection and doing too many things at once which St. Francis saw in the rush in his time (1567-1622). This not only weakens us in spiritual exercises but throws confusion in how grace operates and makes for disorder and ill-temper. Faber narrows down the three stages in reaching for perfection and spiritual progress to the Purgative Way, which applies to beginners and cleansing their souls from sin. The more advanced seekers are in the Illuminative Way and seek to do good. The most advanced are reaching for the Unitive Way and union with God.
Faber points to Jesus and Mary who were both sinless yet both practiced penance in their lives. They did not lead gloomy lives but dwelt in the light of Beatific Vision. Faber calls it “a beautiful mystery of perennial sorrow.”
Faber takes the lessons from the saints whose sorrow was life-long, quiet and supernatural. It contained four characteristics. It tranquilizes our soul in quietude from the noises of the world. Its supernatural quality stems from our mourning for forgiven sins. Scripture speaks of our always fearing forgiven sins. Faber finds only one passage in St. John about love shedding fear but he doubts whether this can be easily understood in this life. We should keep in mind that we are sinners but do not have to remember our past particular sins. We should however pray for pardon constantly. David sang “O wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.” (Psalm 51)
Our sorrow includes also continual dread of the sins we were forgiven, hatred of them, growing awareness of what is sin. Our sorrow cannot be merely lukewarm. Such does not bring spiritual growth. If we lack this sorrow but feel we want it that is a sign we are returning to a healthy state. But we must not seek consolation only. It is a mistake to neglect remorse. Our sorrow needs be sensible. Such is the gift of the Holy Spirit and it is “piety.”
Another mistake is to take lightly religious views of matters. No saint treated life lightly. Their words were few and grave. Faber believes that their gravity made them spiritually cheerful.
Faber’s essay concludes with 40 “aspiration” or prayers in a form of a litany concluded with a prayer to BV Mary and St. Joseph.
Displaying 1 of 1 review