269th Meditation
“He rescues you from the snare of the fowler” (Ps 91:3).
Were it not for the help of our Father, we could not escape from the enemies of our soul. They are too intent on deceiving us and setting all kinds of traps for us. We are inferior to them! Read More
268th Meditation
“You will find all things in Me, even in the midst of the greatest darkness” (Inner Word).
Even in the thickest darkness that may hang over our lives, our Father is still present. We may not be able to feel Him then, but He is there. We simply have to hold on to this certainty with a “naked act of faith”.
In mystical theology we speak of the “night of the senses” and the “night of the spirit”. These are processes of purification that the soul goes through, in which she no longer feels God as before. However, God has never abandoned the soul. Read More
“My Lord and my God, grant me everything that draws me closer to you.” – exclaims St. Nicholas of Flüe in the second part of his famous prayer.
In mystical theology this part of the spiritual path would be called the “illuminative way”. This means that after the intense processes of purification – both the active (of which we have already spoken a little) and the passive – we can know God better. In the illuminative way, Sacred Scripture begins to speak to us more clearly, our way of praying changes, we get more light for our way of following the Lord…. In short, the way becomes easier. Read More
In dealing with the so-called “cardinal virtues”, one would normally begin with the virtue of prudence. However, since in the previous days we had discussed the ascetic struggle against the passions, it is appropriate that we first deal with the virtue of fortitude.
The virtue of fortitude
Indeed, we need this virtue in order not to give up in the struggle and to be able to endure all adversities, and sometimes even defeats. This is an important aspect of fortitude: it is the ability to endure something for the sake of a greater good and to be willing to endure suffering for it. Read More
267th Meditation
“Whoever called to the Lord and was ignored?” (Sir 2:10b).
Again we can answer with complete certainty: no one!
It would be unthinkable that God would simply ignore us. He knows even our thoughts. “Nothing can be hidden from you, in your loving knowledge you envelop everything and everyone” (Hymn of the Office to God the Father). Read More
During the last days of our holy journey towards the Feast of the Resurrection, we have taken a look at the vices that besiege our soul and want to subjugate it. By resisting and fighting them, as the masters of the spiritual life vividly teach us, we are actively cooperating in the process of inner purification. Read More
266th Meditation
“Whoever trusted in the Lord and was put to shame?” (Sir 2:10).
No one! We can say it with firm conviction.
If disappointments arise, the problem is on our side, because we do not understand God’s Will and perhaps we had expectations that were not fulfilled as we would have wished. Full trust in God means holding on to the certainty that, whatever happens, “God works with those who love him and turns everything to their good” (Rom 8:28), even if we do not understand and the situation remains in the dark for us. Read More
The most difficult spiritual vice to overcome is undoubtedly pride. It takes a constant struggle and a strong grace from God to flee from pride and to live in that humility which counteracts and decisively weakens it.
John Cassian describes pride in these terms: “It is a cruel beast, which fiercely attacks even the perfect and can wound with deadly poison those who are close to perfection”. Read More
265th Meditation
“Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are?” (Mt 6:26).
We continue today with the theme of the loving Providence of our heavenly Father. He wants us to live truly carefree. Is it not easy to understand this, considering that we are His children? Is it not natural that He, being our loving Father, should take care to provide us with all that we need for our temporal and eternal good? Even we humans take care of those entrusted to our care. Read More
On our journey towards the great Feast of the Resurrection, we have to go through each day consciously and with God’s grace, as a stage on the way. For this we need perseverance, for on our journey we may encounter a demon which the desert fathers called “acedia” or the “demon of the noonday”. This acedia – which we can describe as a spiritual sluggishness or laziness – is related to the “tristitia” (sadness) we were talking about yesterday. The monks in the desert were attacked by acedia, but we too can be affected by it, so it is good to know at least something about it. Read More
