Christian Catholic Mystic Hermit: Living the Law of Love of Neighbor

I've been praying about how to love as God loves and how to be a "good neighbor" when the neighbor is problematic.  I've come to understand that to love as God loves means to love souls, to desire souls to be saved. This is how God loves all souls no matter how they behave or ignore Him:  He loves their souls as He desires all souls to be saved.

I don't need to love the crudity, childishness, neediness for engagement, the persistence despite my explaining I do not feel well enough for socializing.  My body needs much quiet which is another reason why God in His omniscience chose the hermit vocation for me years ago:  He knew what the pain is called, how the Arachnoiditis occurred, knew the earthly spouse would leave and wanted to free me for Himself, regardless.  God knew the pain would increase and with it a host of maladies odd and discomforting to downright debilitating.  God knew and knows me and loves me for His own purposes.  

I grasp loving God above all else; God, to me--His Real Presence--is easy and delightful to love and pour my whole self into Him!  But this other aspect of God's Law of Love, to love others as God loves (including ourselves), had not been so easy because there are aspects of us humans not kind, not loving, not pleasant, not considerate, not in love with God, and not seemingly even very good in behavior.

But the simple answer as to how to love others as God loves, is to love their souls and desire that their souls be saved.  It is not that we must do anything to try to save them, nor even do or say anything, not have to make them our best buddies for sometimes that can lead to troubles we are unprepared or should not deal with.  But we can love their souls and pray their souls will be saved.

I thought the neighbor man and his wife were leaving, separately, and going to be gone a week.  I was looking forward to being able to go outside with the pup Mercy, and enjoy peace and quiet--not be pulled into conversations or asked obvious questions not needing to be answered, often repetitive of previous time I stepped outside.  But no, at least he is still here, and was watching me from he perch on his back porch, of which I had not noticed because I thought due to initial silence, he'd left.

The sense of privacy was shattered when he spoke.  He commented on what a nice dog I have. This has been his latest repetitive comment and seems very nice.  It is always the same, a lead in for more chit-chat that often includes his asking questions of which he knows the answers.  But I decided to repeat my same response of "Thank you; yes she is a good dog" as I walked her toward the back door, knowing I did not want to be watched nor dragged into schmoozing talk, which is what proceeds if I do not remove myself.  

He started in yet again, saying they need to work on their dog's barking and.... I do not let him go into the rhetorical questions and asking what I think they ought do, for they have no intention of a bark collar such as the wife mentioned a trainer had said was needed, and they were horrified and fired the trainer.  I simply said, "It's the breed of dog, his instinct to guard and protect.  He can't help it."  I said it kindly, for. I mean it.  Of course, the dog could be trained.  German Shepherds are trained for use as guard dogs and police attack dogs, are intelligent but not necessarily great house pets if one is not going to get them trained, not willing to keep on leash when outside their fenced area.  Yet it's not the dog's fault.

By then I was inside with little Mercy, said another prayer of love of the man's soul, prayed for him to desire Christ, and prayed for his wife who either was on the phone with him (he talks on speaker phone seemingly wanting me to hear his conversation if I'm outside) or she put her head out. I don't look, obviously. My part in being their neighbor is to love their souls as God loves and to pray for their souls to be saved.

I sure hope people are praying the same for me!

Regardless, I think this kind approach of simply answering with same answer to his same questions, head toward my house while doing so, and being positive with voice, going inside, and praying, is the way forward in Christ.

I love this selection St. Augustine (354-430) wrote.  Very helpful in the growth I need regarding putting God's Law of Love--loving as God loves-- prayerfully and actively in daily life.  

This People Honors Me with Their Lips, but Their Hearts Are Far from Me"

"'The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed you from the law of sin and death' (Rm 8:2)....Saint Paul says that the Law of Moses has been given to prove our weakness,and not just to prove it but to increase it and thus force us to find the doctor....  'Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more' (Rm 5:20; cf. 3:20).... But why did the first Law, written with the finger of God (EX 31:18), not give us the essential assistance of grace?  Because it was written on tablets of stone, not the tablets of flesh that are our hearts (2 Cor 3:3).

"It is the Holy Spirit who writes 'the Law of the Spirit of life' not on stone but in the heart: this Law of the Spirit of life that is in Jesus Christ in whom the Passover has been celebrated in truth (1 Cor 5:7-8), has delivered you from the law of sin and death.  Do you want to have proof of the manifest and certain difference separating the Old Testament from the New?... Hear what the Lord spoke by the mouth of one of the prophets:  'I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts' (Jr 31:33).  So if God's Law is written in your heart, it does not bring forth fear [as at Sinai] but pours a secret sweetness into your soul."

When one is desirous and asking God to teach the very soul to love others as He loves, the simplicity of the ability becomes known to the mind and heart, as well.  God's Law of the Spirit of Christ is written upon my heart; His Law of Love draws forth from Christ's Spirit, the Law of God that Christ teaches is the one law necessary, the law above all others.

O my dear His Real Presence--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--thank you for the law of the Spirit of Christ written in my heart and soul.  Thank you for explaining to me so simply and purely, how to love others as God loves!  May I always be in the Law of the Spirit of Life and live my life in Your one Law Jesus says is above all others and the one necessary:  The Law of Love.   May I ever love You, His Real Presence, above all else and love others as You love all our souls and desire our salvation!  Amen!

God bless His Real Presence in us!  Love in His Love! 

~ from a blessed, suffering, joyful hermit of His Real Presence!

Savor the Living Word

Savor the Living Word of God.  Hold the Word deep within the heart and soul.  Use the mind to recognize the truth in the Word.  Let the reality of His Word break through other precepts or inclinations varying from the Living Word that is true, always, in any age, time, or place.

So it is that the other morning when I read the Scriptures, specifically from Romans in the Second Reading for the First Sunday in Lent, His Real Presence impressed upon me once more the depth and breadth of God's Law of Love that reigns supreme over any other laws.  Here it is yet again, more truth:

"Brothers and sisters:
What does Scripture say?
The word is near you,
in your mouth and in your heart
--that is, the word of faith that we preach--,
For, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For one believes with the heart and so is justified,
and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.
For the Scriptures says,
No one who believes in him will be put to shame.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek;
the same Lord is Lord of all,
enriching all who call upon him.
For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'"

It is so simple, is it not?  Yet when we take on the law of minds and taught precepts which become so preached as to seem like doctrine, and place these other aspects before and above, with more emphasis than on the Law of God--the law of Love, the Royal Law--we lose the power we are given of Christ, of faith in His Real Presence, of loving God above all things and loving others as ourselves.

Let us be humbled by the profundity of the Living Word of God! Let us do away with judging others.  Let us melt the niggardly lines of the increasing profusion of laws of minds that divide us--even divide those within the Church, even within consecrated vocations, within congregations, within parishes among parishioners.  What good is there in that?  Does the Lord smile upon such judging and divisional, picayune minutia?  

The Word made flesh is in those of us who love and believe and live His law of Love.  He is the same Lord Who Is Lord of all and Who hears our voices when we call upon him.  He shall save all of us who call on the name of the Lord and believe in Him!

God bless His Real Presence in us!

Catholic Hermit on Holy Doors

The other day an elderly spiritual friend emailed news of diocese bishop desiring parishes to have holy doors in keeping with Pope Francis' declaration of the Year of Mercy and establishing a holy door such as Pope John Paul II dedicated for the new millennium in 2000.

However, the rector of their diocese cathedral was in a quandary, lasting a few days.  In fact, he contacted the parish council secretary three times--each to change which door of the church would be, in fact, the "holy door."  Finally, on the fourth change, he solved his great dilemma and had the secretary change the minutes to note that every door of the cathedral would be designated a holy one.

The only other changes to be made were to publish the updates in the parish bulletin and to ask the parish secretary to print out extra copies of the "indulgences" that those entering the holy door/s and doing certain religious practices and efforts would receive.

What are indulgences, many of this era may ask?  The following is a brief overview, beginning with the more general and concluding with examples depending upon the types of sins committed or indulged in.

"In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins" which may reduce either or both of the penance required after a sin has been forgiven, or after death, the time to be spent in Purgatory.

"The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes an indulgence as "a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints".

"The recipient of an indulgence must perform an action to receive it. This is most often the saying (once, or many times) of a specified prayer, but may also include the visiting of a particular place, or the performance of specific good works.

"Indulgences were introduced to allow for the remission of the severe penances of the early Church and granted at the intercession of Christians awaiting martyrdom or at least imprisoned for the faith.^[3] They draw on the Treasury of Merit accumulated by Christ's superabundantly meritorious sacrifice on the cross and the virtues and penances of the saints. They are granted for specific good works and prayers in proportion to the devotion with which those good works are performed or prayers recited.

The information expands. Please indulge this nothing consecrated Catholic hermit.  The following are some examples of typically, contemporary, proffered actions which suggest that a person who fulfills them can receive remission of penalties of sins. 

"There are four general grants of indulgence, which are meant to encourage the faithful to infuse a Christian spirit into the actions of their daily lives and to strive for perfection of charity. These indulgences are partial, and their worth therefore depends on the fervor with which the person performs the recommended actions:

1. Raising the mind to God with humble trust while performing one's duties and bearing life's difficulties, and adding, at least mentally, some pious invocation.
2. Devoting oneself or one's goods compassionately in a spirit of faith to the service of one's brothers and sisters in need.
3. Freely abstaining in a spirit of penance from something licit and pleasant.
4. Freely giving open witness to one's faith before others in particular circumstances of everyday life.

"Among the particular grants, which, on closer inspection, will be seen to be included in one or more of the four general grants, especially the first, the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum draws special attention to four activities for which a plenary indulgence can be gained on any day, though only once a day:

1. Piously reading or listening to Sacred Scripture for at least half an hour.
2. Adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist for at least half an hour.
3. The pious exercise of the Stations of the Cross .
4. Recitation of the Rosary or the Akathist in a church or oratory, or in a family, a religious community, an association of the faithful and, in general, when several people come together for an honourable purpose.

"A plenary indulgence may also be gained on some occasions, which are not everyday occurrences. They include but are not limited to:

• Receiving, even by radio or television, the blessing given by the Pope Urbi et Orbi (to the city of Rome and to the world) or that which a bishop is authorized to give three times a year to the faithful of his diocese.
• Taking part devoutly in the celebration of a day devoted on a world level to a particular religious purpose.  Under this heading come the annual celebrations such as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, and occasional celebrations such as World Youth Day.
• Taking part for at least three full days in a spiritual retreat.
• Taking part in some functions during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity including its conclusion."

[*Sorry! I can't get the two points in larger print to be the same as all the others.  No emphasis intended.]

Is there any blog reader still logged on and reading?  I admit I did not read through the cited passages; I've read such years ago.  It is kindly that Catholics are made aware of and given reminders of what religious and spiritual activities, postures, prayers, and liturgical functions of which we may partake and participate.  Many Catholics, perhaps, don't understand or aren't aware that there are many aspects to prayer, to communicating with His Real Presence, of making creative and interesting offerings in every present moment: love gifts to the praise of His Glory!

What seems of interest is that there remains this notion of keeping souls at what St. Bernard of Clairvaux describes as the second degree of love.  That is, to love because of a reward of some sort.  Love God for what He will do for the person.  Why not tack on the holy doors, the explanation of the four degrees of love, and explain the fourth and highest degree (in St. Bernard's schema)?  Love God in Himself.  Explain what loving God means in some every day examples--of loving Him because He is Love and for no other motive, no strings attached.

There is far more that can be explained about loving God in Himself, and how that love then filters and flows from His Real Presence, and covers with love, all of humanity and creation, all souls, all breath, all energy and beingness.

And, as for holy doors, do we really think that once we touch them and enter through, either going in or out, that they are at all holy?  Once we touch or pass through, the door is not holy, more than likely, unless we are holy, ourselves.  What seems to be of consequence, is to ponder this fact and to realize that it is not the door, but the spaces in which we go in, or the spaces in which we enter when going out of a door, and if we live out holiness in those vast spaces whether the spaces of our souls or the world at large.

It took me a second or less to have holy doors in the hermitage and figure which ones to designate.  There are only two at this point.  (Of course, they are not at all holy because I am not holy, not really, not enough at least by my own consideration.)  Put I like the idea of designating them as holy as well as the space within the hermitage and the space outside the hermitage: the entire world and cosmos.  

My spiritual father sent a Christmas card and some cash, with the notation:  "Get some ice cream to eat!" inside.  (He knows I am living lean, working hard, suffering much, perhaps taking things a bit seriously these days.)  However, I really cannot justify ice cream when Craig just called to say the bathroom door with frame I ordered, has come in to the lumber yard.  

Immediately, I thought:  That bathroom door will also be a holy door!  It is the first interior door installed in this abode.  It is a signal for the interior holiness necessary and the work my soul needs to tend to--yes, with loving celebration.  The money sent by the holiest of priests, my spiritual father, will go towards that holy door.  The priest's love and mercy, expressed tangibly with some cash, is what will make that door "holy." 

Love.  Love God in Himself.  Live and love the God's law of love.

(Note: Above extractions on indulgences are from Wikpedia internet site.)