http://radio.weblogs.com/0144108/categories/theotokos/ Reflections on the Mother of God en-us Copyright 2005 Immaculata Publishing Tue, 12 Apr 2005 21:17:14 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss Radio UserLand v8.1 immaculata_publ@sbcglobal.net immaculata_publ@sbcglobal.net rssUpdates 16 2 60 http://radio.weblogs.com/0144108/categories/theotokos/2005/03/16.html#a56 Maybe it is best not to get too tied up in results when you are at prayer. After all, aren't we in the presence of Almighty God. Words, as good as they are in conveying meaning, fail to produce within us, beyond the evident knowledge of the Divine presented in revelation, the full impact meant thru contact with teh Unoriginate idea of God, thru faith, hope, and love. The solemnity of his presence overrules all lesser considerations, even the consideration of every part of his creation; ultimately, the consideration of Creation, should lead to the contemplation of the Word Incarnate and His Mysteries. I know that I know that I know; others, too, both the good and the wicked and everyone in between, knows that you know that you know and seek to either make you grow in that reality or hinder you or stall your advancement. Jesus, for his part, is Love. Who is Love for you? 'God is Love.' Never forget that definition, only if it is just three English words, it contains infinite and eternal realities within it. Others want and do help you, but why do you interpret the best help of othters so selfishly? I mean, you are easily decieved by the silent tongues of the wicked or the insinsere of heart, but love speaks for itself and of itself. IP CRL http://radio.weblogs.com/0144108/categories/theotokos/2005/03/16.html#a56 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 20:07:24 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0144108/categories/theotokos/2005/03/11.html#a31 The Love of God has been poured into our Heart [Rom. 5:3-5] +God has given to us every spiritual blessing in the heavens. +God has given to us what we need to live Holy and spotelss in His sight.. +God has given to us a santifying Spirit... +God has given to us infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Ps. 4:1 I called to Him and he asnwered me, the God of my justification. Ps. 8:1 I called to Him and he answered me, the God who 'renewed the face of the earth.' Ps. 4:1 I called to Him and He set my feet upon a rock and gave me spacious freedom. IP CRL http://radio.weblogs.com/0144108/categories/theotokos/2005/03/11.html#a31 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 11:44:49 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0144108/categories/theotokos/2005/03/07.html#a20 Union, Mo. Monday, March 07, 2005 Immaculata Publishing ©2005 The Philokalia Vol. 1-IV faber & faber [1979-1995] 'God is one, unoriginate, incomprehensible, possessing completely the total potentiality of being, altogether excluding notions of when and how, inaccessible to all, and not to be known through image by any creature.' ST. MAXIMOS THE CONFESOR [Vol. II, PG. 114] This is how St. Maximos starts his Centuries on Theology and the INCARNATE DISPENSATION of the Son of God. In a similar introduction St. Thomas Aquinas opens his summa contra gentiles by stating that God Himself cannot be known, but by way of remotion we can know what he is not' tha tis, by removing all that he is not, we can peer into the scriptures revelation and contemplate the beauty of who he has revelaed Himslf to be; Aquinas relies upon sacred scripture as a rule, just as Pseudo-Dionysius did in the opening paragraph of the Divien Names, as the only way in which God can be gazed upon, in faith, and in darkness of revelation. Both in teh natural order of reason and in the supernatural order of Divein Revelation, Maximos puts forth these stepping stones to the reality of God in order to set a foundation for Theological thinking in the Divine Dispensation and to reveal the Son of God. He says He is One, since Unity and simplicity is part of God's nature, 'God is Spirit.' Even Augustine opens his great book , the Confession, extolling the greatness fo God by naming his essential attributes.' As the Catholic Church teaches, 'all the Divine Attributes are identical among themselves and with the Divine Essence.' Now, the Theotokos, she bore this Sacred Humanity in her womb and gave birth to Him, the WORD. So seeing this WORD leap down from Heaven within her womb at the OVERSHADOWING of the HOLY SPIRIT was the INCARNATION. Who could comprehend this 'God form God, Light form Light, True God from TRue God, ' taking flesh adn living among us, so much so that St. John could say, 'what our eyes have seen and our hands have touched, the Word of life.' So MAximos says, 'incomprehensible' to signify that every created intrellect or intellection cannot encompass what is above it, but only from afar contemplate the reality that has been revelaed in jesus Christ 'as in a darkly mirror.' IP CRL http://radio.weblogs.com/0144108/categories/theotokos/2005/03/07.html#a20 Mon, 07 Mar 2005 15:14:34 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0144108/categories/theotokos/2005/03/07.html#a19 Union, Mo. Monday, March 07, 2005 What is it in Mary, the Mother of God, that has allowed men and women to place their trust in her throughout the centuries. Can we ask this question differently? What in Mary, Mother of God, captivates the hearts of all mankind? What is the sense of triumph over sinful mankind that all of us find in Mary? What is it about Mary, that has kept all mankind, who have faith, contemplating her presence for centuries? In asking the question about Mary, seeking its fulfillment how? What can we gain by asking the proper question about Mary? Yes, she was a woman! Yes, she was Immaculately Conceived without sin! Yes, to a thousand other good things about her! Still, why has every Christian been captivated by her fidelity and compassion? I think if we put it in a few words we could say, 'Jesus, could call her Mother!' God could call one of his creatures Mother! She brought him forth as her Son, she cared for him with the tenderness of a child; she became his source of coming into the world for all mankind thru her Immaculate Conception. She was a creature in His Divine Mind, but He took on flesh within her womb! She lived in this world without calling attention to herself, at least very little. She suffered like Jesus in everything, but without sin! She was like us in everything, but full of grace. No woman has ever had the title of 'God-bearer' as Mary. IP CRL http://radio.weblogs.com/0144108/categories/theotokos/2005/03/07.html#a19 Mon, 07 Mar 2005 14:31:18 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0144108/categories/theotokos/2005/03/04.html#a11 Union, Mo. March 03, 2005 The Blessed Macarius says: 'Changes occur in everyone just as they do in the atmosphere.' [Writing on Prayer of the Heart, 'Callistus and Ignatius,' pg. 217] The Holy Elder Joseph the Hesychast saw that changes are important to be aware of, and St. Ignatius in his spiritual exercises is just as concerned that the soul desiring to make spiritual progress be aware of when thes echanges occur in the soul, especially when they cause desolation and a withdrawal from godliness.' These changes seem to be part of the battle between the spirit and the flesh, which St. Paul referred to and which those who strive for holiness of life are constatnly aware of in their lives. It takes on a form of examination at one time and at other times called 'custody of the heart,' as Dom Chautard calls it. I will just add that as a beginner in the eyes of these Holy Ones that as they know any recognition of these changes is a great grace given by Our Lord,and so the Monks of the desert and the Hesychast are constantly protecting themselves from these uncontrollable changes adn controlliing what they can by placing all their interior acts within the presence of the Indwelling Trinity. Recently I read a very profound book written by a Bishop fo teh Eastern Church called 'A Night on the Desert of the Holy Mountain,' which is a dialogue he has with an experienced Hesychast who perhaps is still living on the Holy Mount as a recluse. The profundity of the thoughts were amazing of the warfare that goes on in the depths of such a soul. The Monk who was sharing his thoughts said that his heart was at times like a zoo, meaning that with all his ascetic efforts there are changes which take place which one seems to not be able to control, yewt grace sees you thru. The important activity is keeping one's mind in the heart as Theophan the Recluse relates in 'The Art of Prayer.' IP CRL http://radio.weblogs.com/0144108/categories/theotokos/2005/03/04.html#a11 Fri, 04 Mar 2005 06:57:10 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0144108/categories/theotokos/2005/03/04.html#a10 Union, Mo. March 03, 2005 O how I love the Theotokos! When I think tht she bore my sorrows at the foot of the Cross with Jesus for everyone and realizing that I am absollutely nothing and more than nothing because of my sins, my gratitude mounts up to her where she dwelll seternally with Christ. There is this special quality about thte Theotokos, the Panagia, as the Monks on Mount Athos call her; that quality I call her tenderness. When I say tenderness I mean that there is a way that she gets into your soul and sees thru to you and she makes herself known to you even in the midst of the evil that surrounds us and tries to force itself upon the Catholic Christian. Of course, Mary makes you understand tha tall evil has been overcome and all we have to do is surrender to her. I like what she says thru Fr. Gobbi: "Continue, my son, your simple and filial abandonment.Live always in greatest confidence in my Motherly action."[July 30, 1974] IP CRL http://radio.weblogs.com/0144108/categories/theotokos/2005/03/04.html#a10 Fri, 04 Mar 2005 06:32:07 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0144108/categories/theotokos/2005/03/03.html#a8 Union, Mo. March 3, 2005 02/18/2005 Padre Pio: Learning to Freely Choose Christ ISBN O9764809-0-5 Saints Alive Series Immaculata Publishing 2005© Summa Contra Gentiles Bk 3b Ch 95 & 96 p 40 Topic: What is the purpose of holy desire in relation to Divine Providence? Topic: Did Padre Pio Summa Contra Gentiles Bk I ch 68 p 146 Topic: Spiritual Creatures: Padre Pio: Freely Choosing Christ Divine Providence and the Usefulness of Prayer SEE Bookmark The Subject Choosing the First Truth ppio.letters.1.359.sgr.11.sept.1916 [ sgr San Giovanni Rotondo ] [let.I.359.par1.s1(.a)]"No slightest comfort (b) penetrates my soul.[let.I.359.par1.s2.a] I have become quite blind; (b) the only thing I see clearly, (c) if it can be called seeing, (d) is my nothingness, on the one hand, (e) and God's goodness (f) and greatness on the other.[let.I.359.par1.s3.a] I see God within me and (b) far from satisfying my longing, (c) this increases my desire." Taken form the Summa Contra Gentiles of St. Thomas Aquinas THAT THE UNCHANGEABLENESS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE DOES NOT EXCLUDE THE USEFULNESS OF PRAYER We must also observe that as the unchangeableness of providence does not impose necessity on things foreseen, so neither does it exclude the usefulness of prayer. For we do not pray that the external disposition of His providence may be changed, since this is impossible, but that He may grant what we desire. For it is fitting that God should assent to the pious yearnings of the rational creature, not that our desires have the effect of changing a God who is unchangeable, but as an effect befitting His goodness in granting our desires. Because since all things naturally desire the good, as we have proved,[integral]3 and since it belongs to the supereminent divine goodness to bestow being and well-being on all things in a certain order, it follows that He fulfils, according to His goodness, the pious desires of which our prayers are the expression. Here, Aquinas gives a very real understanding of our holy desires in relationship to God's Divien Goodness in His Providential care for each of us. St. Pio understood the relationship of Providence and used all the measn whcih God provided for him. At the same time, St. Pio understood more than anyone regarding the graces that he received that in view of the Divien Goodness he was but a weak creature and powerless. The more he saw God within himself the more he longed for the complete union with Him, which he now enjoys in heaven and prays for all his spiritual children to join him. When the subject views itself in the hands of God it experiences that unique gift of fear of the Lord which is known to those who have faith; they understand their weaknesses as also a gift to be transformed into his strength; their judge that they have no recourse but to accept ALL form his Almight hand; lastly, they take responsibility for who they are as God reveals both their weakness without God and the strength that comes from being united to Jesus in grace thru the workings of the theological virtues. This continual transcendence to the Divine is what Jesus meant when he said, 'if I am lifted up I will draw all things to myself.' This is the spirit at the heart of the communion of the saints, both in heaven and on earth. Our sharing in the Eucharist daily, our union with the Mother of God, the Theotokos, and our constantly remembering in our hearts that 'pour hearts are restless until they rest in you,' keeps the faithful soul humble and totally dependent upon Our Fathe rwho provides all for each even before a word is on our tongue. IP CRL http://radio.weblogs.com/0144108/categories/theotokos/2005/03/03.html#a8 Thu, 03 Mar 2005 21:23:21 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0144108/categories/theotokos/2005/02/12.html#a3 February 12, 2005 CST 9:23 Union, Mo. USA 'It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of God.' If one is to think about falling in to the hands of God, we should readily call to mind the very great Mother of God, the Theotokos. Much more than falling into God's hands form the beginning as the 'wisdom of God,' and the tabernacle where he would place his Only-Begotten, the Theotokos also shares in OUR humanity. Form, in its widest meaning, has as its meaning, that which makes a thing what it is, but how do you name a form which contains the formless ONE of all forms. Truly she us nearest the very 'power and wisdom of God' (1 Cor. 1:24); but the nearness comes from of her role as MOTHER of GOD. Being Mother she is also contains within hereself in a Mysterious way that which she gave birth to, yet He who she gave birth to contained her befroe she gave birth to Him. Just as Jesus could say, 'before Abraham I AM; so Mary could say, 'before I gave birth to Him, HE gave birth to me.' Now this giving birth and you are being given birth is very unique to the Immaculata Conception of Mary. It was into the spotless womb of Mary that Jesus Christ made his entrance into the world. How did Mary experience and understand her experience of the 'Son of God Most High.' What was her infused knowledge of this reality when she said, 'let it be done to me as you say.' Or on hearing the words from the Archangel Gabriel, 'Hail, Full of grace.' Mary''s life was truly sheltered within the 'hands of God.' The late Fr. Faber says in his book Foot of the Cross that the law of the Incarnation was the law of suffering;' that is, that those came to know Christ had to follow the Lord in suffering in the redemption fo the world. Surely Christ came 'to make our joy complete;' on the other hand, there is no following the 'way, the truth, and the life, ' without denying your very self. If we make our home in Mary, thru sincere prayer we will find that her earnest prayer for us reaches to the very core of our being and lead us to the intimate union with the Blessed Trinity within-not without a cost to ouorselves, but despite ourselves and thru grace we will find Christ. crl IPNews http://radio.weblogs.com/0144108/categories/theotokos/2005/02/12.html#a3 Sun, 13 Feb 2005 02:45:30 GMT