Yes, humility forever is what the nothing prayed for in confession the other day. Pride hovers like halitosis; humility in perpetuity is beseeched of God and the Blessed Mother of God. The confessor said that in prayer for this, it will be granted, this and all the desires of the nothing's heart in love of God.
In the biography of St. Francis de Sales, an exerpt from his Introduction to the Devout Life had these thoughts on humility.
"My advice, Philothea, therefore, is that we should either not utter words of humility, or else use them with a sincere interior sentiment, conformable to what we pronounce outwardly. Let us never cast down our eyes except when we humble our hearts. Let us not seem to desire to be the lowest, unless we desire it with all our heart. I hold this rule to be so general that I do not admit of any exception to it.... A man who is truly humble prefers that another should tell him that he is miserable and that he is nothing and that he accomplishes nothing than that he should say it himself."
Lent's form is shaping into the yearning for God through humility, through love of enemies, and thus in love of God with all the mind, heart, soul and strength and others as self.
The Da the other day pointed out that to love one's enemies (in fact, to love all souls) requires the grace of God, for it is the most difficult to love one's enemies. One must trust that the Lord gives the grace, that the Holy Mother of God dispenses God's grace for this, that the Holy Spirit enables the love for this love of enemies. Then, it seems a matter of loving each as each is brought forth either in person or thought: memory, image, anticipation; living or dead.
There is pity for the very devils and souls fixed in a state of sin in hell. Pity is a form of compassion, and compassion is a form of love.
The nothing is struck by the tremendous expressed love St. Francis de Sales has for his spiritual daughter, four years his junior. He writes that her heart is one with his heart, that her soul is one with his soul. The nothing would be uncomfortable with the seeming attachment, spiritual as it is. Perhaps this is why the Lord has many loves for this nothing. It loves St. Pio tremendously; it loves St. Teresa of Avila, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Joan of Arc, St. Francis de Sales, St. John of the Cross, Sr. Josefa Menendez, all the Carthusian monks--well, every mystic and saint it reads, the nothing loves! It prays to St. Seraphim and now St. Silouan for help in the hermit life and in love of enemies.
[Well, reading on, the nothing discovers St. Francis de Sales also says similar comments to other spiritual daughters--that their hearts are as one. The nothing is praying about its own reticence for closeness of soul to soul, other than with deceased souls--and a variety! There are earthly reasons for this.]
The nothing loves all the earthworm saints, especially. These are the saints that we do not know except that they are out there in Heaven, praying for us, adoring and praising God, and desiring us to join them as earthworm saints some day.
Last evening, the canon lawyer celebrated the Mass. His meekness and quiet sincerity shine. The nothing had some questions regarding the Beatitudes, for a priest had emailed his homily, and it contained errant considerations that the nothing had questioned. What had been preached was wrong; and so the technique of questioning for clarification was used, and there has been no response yet. Then an offering of the view of cited Scripture scholars on the errancy was written, and so we shall see. But beyond the discussion of the Beatitudes, we discussed the content, and the love of God, and of the need for saints.
This had been the nothing's prayer when the warm breath of God flowed out when the Tabernacle door was opened: Lord, we need more saints!
Yes, but earthworm saints are fine! Whatever saints You send--and please help this one and that one in specific to become saints.
The canon lawyer senses many saints about and among the people of God. Yes, the nothing agrees--they are the earthworm saints!
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