Contemplative Haven

O my beautiful universe: dream of Reality and Reality will tell you everything. Admit the Reality, of which you are a dream, and you will awaken, and will no longer ramble about beauty, but will be Beauty. There is only one Reality and only one Beauty, and it is the reason for your dream.

Read more… of this excerpt from “Prayers By The Lake”, written by St. Nikolai of Ochrid and Zica, and for the complete version, you may go here and click on the drop-down menu.

Hat-tip to my friend JT !!!

My friend Kristin sent me this prayer attributed to St. Philaret of Moscow a number of months ago.  It so beautifully encapsulates how I would like “to be” that I have incorporated it into my morning prayers ever since:

O Lord, grant me to greet the coming day in peace, help me in all things to rely upon your holy will.  In every hour of the day reveal your will to me.  Bless my dealings with all who surround me.  Teach me to treat all that comes to me throughout the day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that your will governs all.  In all my deeds and words, guide my thoughts and feelings.  In unforeseen events, let me not forget that all are sent by you.  Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others.  Give me strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day with all that it shall bring.  Direct my will, teach me to pray.  And you, yourself, pray in me.  Amen.

I was so happy today to read the article entitled, I Want To Wish You A Most Blessed And Holy Season Of Lent, by Father John Corapi, on his website.  (Just scoot down his page a bit; I was not able to link to it directly).  Father Corapi confirms what I have always believed, but have not generally encountered amongst fellow Catholics.  He writes: 

My dear friends, Lent is not a “somber and dark period.” I think at times, even among Catholics and other Christians, that notion has drifted about. Lent is the most hope-filled time we have, culminating in the blaze of glory that is Easter….

I hope you will read the whole article – it’s not very long.  And, “go to confession!” 

In conjunction with my recent post (Father Thomas Dubay – Deep Conversion), here is the second interview done by Peter Herbeck on the show, “The Choices We Face”, a production of Renewal Ministries.  In this interview, Father Dubay and Mr. Herbeck discuss “deep prayer”.  Many thanks to Christopher Paul for providing these videos on his Tangle channel.  The interviews, as well as other wonderful resources, can also be found on the website of Renewal Ministries.

Some highlights:

• there are degrees of depth of intimacy with Triune Beauty
• the importance of teaching meditative prayer to youngsters, to help them move beyond solely vocal prayer
• the movement from meditative prayer to the beginnings of infused contemplative prayer (God-given), then to advanced contemplative prayer and ultimately the Transforming Union
• infused contemplation is an experience, a knowing, loving awareness of God with no traits of words, images or concepts.  God makes Himself experienced to those who want Him
• there is a universal call to deep prayer, and God will give the grace to all who desire it to reach the Transforming Union
• we have to do the work to get through any blockages (eg., venial sins) that prevent us from moving forward into the deeper levels of intimacy God desires for us
• the inter-causality between deep conversion and deep prayer

If I had such a category, this post should rightly fall under, “Things I Should Have Known A Long Time Ago But Didn’t”.

Recently I was reading an article by Father William Most  called, “The Gifts of the Holy Spirit”, in the EWTN online document library.  At one point in the article, Father Most tells us that the  gifts of the Holy Spirit (of the sanctifying category) each perfect certain basic virtues.  Four of them perfect intellectual virtues and the other three perfect virtues of the will and appetite. 

Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel and Knowledge perfect intellectual virtues, while Fortitude, Piety and Fear of the Lord perfect virtues of the will and appetite.

• Wisdom perfects charity in order to judge divine things;
• Understanding gives an intuitive penetration into truth;
• Counsel perfects prudence;
• Knowledge perfects the virtue of hope;
• Fortitude perfects the virtue of fortitude (courage) in facing dangers;
• Piety perfects justice in giving to others that which is their due.  This is especially true of giving God what is His due;
• Fear of the Lord perfects temperance in controlling disordered appetites.

As I mentioned in a recent post, I’ve been praying for seven virtues as part of my daily prayers since my consecration to Mary, but now I will begin praying for the gifts of the Holy Spirit as well.  If the gifts perfect the virtues, then I hope and trust that this will bear fruit – the fruits of the Holy Spirit.