Spiritual Words

"When the soul is disturbed by anger, confused by drunkenness, or sunk
in deep depression, the intellect cannot hold fast to the remembrance of
God no matter how hard we try to force it. Completely darkened by the
violence of the passions, it loses totally the form of perception which
is proper to it. Thus our desire that our intellect should keep the
remembrance of God cannot make any impression, because the recollective
faculty of our mind has been hardened by the rawness of the passions.
But, on the other hand, when the soul has attained freedom from these
passions, then, even though the intellect is momentarily deprived by
forgetfulness of the object of its longing, it at once resumes its
proper activity. The soul now has grace itself to share its meditation
and to repeat with it the words 'Lord Jesus', just as a mother teaches
her child to repeat with her the word 'father', instead of prattling in
the usual way, until she has formed in him the habit of calling for his
father eve

n in his sleep. This is why the Apostle says: 'Likewise the Spirit also
helps our infirmities; for we do not know what to pray for as we should,
but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with cries that cannot
be uttered' (Rom. 8:26). Since we are but children as regards perfection
in the virtue of prayer, we have need of the Spirit's aid so that all
out thoughts may be concentrated and gladdened by His inexpressible
sweetness, and so that with all our being we may aspire to the
remembrance and love of our God and Father. For, as St. Paul says, it is
in the Spirit that we pray when we are taught by Him to cry without
ceasing to God the Father, 'Abba, Father' (Rom. 8:15)."

St. Diadochos of Photiki.

Here are some more very true words:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to
console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

St Francis of Assisi



Notice that it does not say "So what--he shouldn't have done that and now he
should pay!! I don't feel sorry for him at all."



"Soprano" wrote in message
...

"When the soul is disturbed by anger, confused by drunkenness, or sunk in
deep depression, the intellect cannot hold fast to the remembrance of God
no matter how hard we try to force it. Completely darkened by the violence
of the passions, it loses totally the form of perception which is proper
to it. Thus our desire that our intellect should keep the remembrance of
God cannot make any impression, because the recollective faculty of our
mind has been hardened by the rawness of the passions. But, on the other
hand, when the soul has attained freedom from these passions, then, even
though the intellect is momentarily deprived by forgetfulness of the
object of its longing, it at once resumes its proper activity. The soul
now has grace itself to share its meditation and to repeat with it the
words 'Lord Jesus', just as a mother teaches her child to repeat with her
the word 'father', instead of prattling in the usual way, until she has
formed in him the habit of calling for his father eve

n in his sleep. This is why the Apostle says: 'Likewise the Spirit also
helps our infirmities; for we do not know what to pray for as we should,
but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with cries that cannot be
uttered' (Rom. 8:26). Since we are but children as regards perfection in
the virtue of prayer, we have need of the Spirit's aid so that all out
thoughts may be concentrated and gladdened by His inexpressible sweetness,
and so that with all our being we may aspire to the remembrance and love
of our God and Father. For, as St. Paul says, it is in the Spirit that we
pray when we are taught by Him to cry without ceasing to God the Father,
'Abba, Father' (Rom. 8:15)."

St. Diadochos of Photiki.