Thy Will be Done Part 3

We don't catch many glimpses of God's treasure in Holy Scripture, but what is our first "impression" which the Holy Ghost gives of His spouse?

"Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to thy word"

Thy Will be done. Like mother, like Son. Or in this case, like Son like Mother.

Unfortunately, we do not have an angel sent from God to tell us what God is calling us to do.

Actually, Our Lady didn't have the benefit of that grace for the most part either. She and St. Joseph had to work things out as best they could, without seeing their way clear. And they had it tougher than we do. Not many of us will need to stay in a barn, or be on the run across the desert to protect a child from murder.

We may not have an angel coming to us (although our Guardian Angel gives us nudges from time to time), but we do have our duty of state.

There is a prayer that goes something like this;

"Well, Lord, it's been a pretty good day so far. I haven't yelled at anyone or gossiped or complained.

But soon I'll be getting out of bed, Lord, and then I'm going to need Your help!"

Ah, me. How true.

Referring to the faithful accomplishment of our duty of state, a priest once said that if a person examines their day, they will probably be able to pinpoint at which point their day goes off track.

(cue hysterical laughter from an overworked mother with young children)

Okay, I'm not talking about a typical mother's day. Anyway, the spills and emergencies should be counted as a mother's duty of state anyway. They are her day and path to heaven. They don't get in the way of life. Those interruptions are her life and God's Will for the moment.
And I can say from experience that they end all too soon.
"The days are long but the years are short"
A mother should never think, "Aaarrrgh. I got nothing done today! It's been one problem after another!" Got nothing done? I bet those days are the the most sanctifying. At the end of the world we will see just how much a mother "got done" and how many souls she saved by the constant frustrating of her own will for the sake of her little ones.

But back to my original thought.
A priest once said that if a person examines their day. They will probably be able to pinpoint at which point their day goes off track.

The thing father was talking about was basically at what point do you let yourself get off track in your duty of state....whether it be a phone call that can wait. Or the 2 minutes to check an email that turns into 2 hours. That kind of thing which is simple procrastination, or better put.....resistance of the old man.

In Colossians 3:9-10 and again in Ephesians 4:22-24 St Paul talks about the old man. The old man is the tendencies of the flesh. The wounds of original sin if you will (ignorance, malice, weakness and concupiscence)
By grace we are given the 4 cardinal virtues;
Prudence to combat ignorance
Justice to combat malice
Fortitude to combat weakness and
Temperance to combat concupiscence
(but I digress!)

Anyway, the old man is also the one who is going to resist you in pretty much everything you do

For the good which I will, I do not; but the evil which I will not, that I do. (Romans 7:19)

The battle never ends!

In our family we call the old man the inner brat.

A while back I heard my 8 year old strong willed daughter muttering to herself. She had been having a hard time getting her school work done (resistance).

I asked her what she was doing and she looked up and said, "I'm telling my inner brat to get to work!"

Good habits can go a long way to taming the old man, but he's always there, ready to get up to his old tricks. So if we are serious about following Our Lord in the faithful accomplishment of our duty of state, we have to get intentional. God gives us the grace, but we have to do our part. We have to "prepare our field for the rain of grace" as the story goes.

Mother Mary Loyola (a teaching sister who lived at the turn of the 1900's) wrote many books which have been reprinted by St Augustine Academy Press here

They are wonderful books, but my favorite is, "the King of the Golden City"
If you are not familiar with it you are in for a treat. It is the most beautiful book for children I have read. It treats of the spiritual life and the way to heaven in a story form about a little girl named Dilecta. (they have since adapted this story for boys too!)
One chapter tells about Dilecta and "self" and how she learns not to give in to self, but learn how to be firm with her.

Advent is coming! A new beginning!

Our Lord says; Behold, I come!

Let's get ready!

SSPX and the Resistance - A Comparison Of Ecclesiology

Shining the light of Church Teaching on the doctrinal positions of the SSPX and the Resistance. Principles are guides used to aid in decision making. It stands to reason that bad principles will lead to bad decisions. The recent interactions between Rome and the SSPX has challenged a number of closely held cultural assumptions of people in both sides of the disagreement. This has resulted in cultural skirmishes in both Rome and the SSPX. Since it is the smaller of the two, the skirmishes have been more evident within the SSPX. The cultural fault-line that Bishop Fellay crossed appears to be linked to two points of Catholic Doctrine: Ecclesiology and Obedience. The cultural difference of view points is strong enough that it has resulted in the expulsion of a number of members. It should also be noted that some other priests expelled since the beginning of the latest interactions (starting in 2000) held the same view points and have joined with the l...

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

The Position of the SSPX on Canonizations by the Saint Factory

+ JMJ I have sometimes been criticized for including 'St' as a title for Pope John Paul II et al. I've given my reasons here in a discussion with Alex Long. The question is one of prudence in discussions with ntCatholics and in some cases with tCatholics. In discussions with: ntCatholics, I will use the title in order to continue the discussion and help them arrive at a realistic understanding of the crisis of the Church. tCatholics, I will use the title in order to broaden their perspective on the doctrine of dogmatic facts. This broader perspective is, in my opinion, essential maintaining a realistic understanding of the crisis of the Church. So from a doctrinal position, I have written the article Dogmatic Fact of Fancy and includes a reference on canonizations. Now, I know the position of the SSPX is that the canonizations are doubtful (see references below) and I also know of at least one non-SSPX theologian who agrees with the level of doubt du...

Comparision of the Tridentine, Cranmer and Novus Ordo Masses

+ JMJ I downloaded the comparison that was linked in the previous article on the mass (here) . ... a very good reference! P^3 From: Whispers of Restoration (available at this link) . CHARTING LITURGICAL CHANGE Comparing the 1962 Ordinary of the Roman Mass to changes made during the Anglican Schism; Compared in turn to changes adopted in the creation of Pope Paul VI’s Mass in 1969 The chart on the reverse is a concise comparison of certain ritual differences between three historical rites for the celebration of the Catholic Mass Vetus Ordo: “Old Order,” the Roman Rite of Mass as contained in the 1962 Missal, often referred to as the “Traditional Latin Mass.”The Ordinary of this Mass is that of Pope St. Pius V (1570) following the Council of Trent (1545-63), hence the occasional moniker “Tridentine Mass.” However, Trent only consolidated and codified the Roman Rite already in use at that time; its essential form dates to Pope St. Gregory the Great (+604), in whose time the R...

Church Militant TV and the SSPX - Again

+ JMJ The old narrative used to be that the SSPX was 'schismatic' and 'excommunicated'. Now the excommunication has been lifted for a number of years and the only ones who think it still has effect are the 'resistors'. That leaves the other opponents of the SSPX with the label 'schismatic'. Make it clear, the conservative Catholics have issues with the SSPX probably because they violate some of their assumptions about the Faith and this crisis of the Church. Church Militant TV is one of these the exists along the Catholic thought spectrum. They like the Traditional Mass but must ensure that they don't get tarred with the same 'schismatic' brush that the liberals use against the SSPX. So what do they do, they use the same brush against the SSPX. The funny thing is that even when the Church does speak, they don't want to listen and persist in calling the SSPX 'schismatic'. Here's a transcript of the latest s...

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