Status Updates From Complete Spiritual Doctrine...

“holiness does not consist in this or that practice; but it is a certain disposition of the heart which makes us humble and small as we rest in God’s arms, which makes us realize our weakness but, at the same time, gives us confidence to the point of audacity in the goodness of God our Father.”

“…you are quite wrong in imagining what painful things might happen to me in the future, for that is like interfering with God’s work of creation..When we become discouraged and sometimes despair, it is because we think of the past and the future. “To think of the painful things that might happen in the future means that we are lacking in confidence.”

Taking this so slowly because St Therese is my confirmation Saint who continues as my spiritual older sister. Again and again she shows me how to view my life, sufferings, and weaknesses.

Therese explained this one day to a novice who had exclaimed: “Alas, when I think of all that I still have to acquire!” Therese answered: “Say rather ‘to lose’…it is Jesus who takes charge of filling your soul according to the measure in which you get rid of your imperfections.”

“In her own home she had often got up in the morning with sadness of heart at the prospect of a day that would be filled with annoyances; but in the cloister “she arose with all the more gladness because she foresaw the many occasions she would have for practicing self-denial and renouncing her own self-will.””

How could we prove our love to Jesus, she asked, if we did not act with gentleness and charity towards those who make us suffer?

“That justice frightens so many souls,” wrote Therese, “is for me a source of joy and confidence. To be just means more than to be severe in punishing the guilty. It takes account of right intentions and wishes to reward virtue. I expect as much from the justice of our good Lord as from His mercy.”

A death of love then, as Therese herself affirmed, is not necessarily accompanied by sweet transports, but what essentially constitutes this kind of death is the flame that consumes the soul; it is a divine assault of divine love that ruptures the web of life and carries the soul away to the Heart of Eternal Charity. That there be accompanying favors is something accidental. ... God is the master of His gifts.

If we, too, wish to enjoy peace of soul, we must practice self-denial and self-forgetfulness. That will demand a struggle, no doubt, but as Therese says, “let those who are frightened by the undertaking make an effort. God never refuses the first grace which gives us the courage to overcome ourselves. If the soul corresponds with that grace, she finds herself immediately in the light.