The
PARACLETE
Vol. 8, Issue No. 5
Parish of the Holy Spirit, BF Homes, Quezon City
October 2015
LUKEWARMNESS (The Devil in Disguise)
Notes from The Paraclete THIS IS A BOOK REVIEW of Lukewarmness, The Devil in Disguise. The Paraclete deems the subject very appropriate nowadays, and especially with the Season of Advent coming in just a while. The book has been described as “a practical and complete remedy” for lukewarmness, “a spiritual malady that afflicts many Christians, often without their even being aware of it.” Francis Carvajal, the author, explains “how lukewarmness can creep into your soul through small infidelities.” Eventually, “it results in spiritual death. He offers a radical cure to this little-known” and often ignored spiritual sickness. He gives us realistic steps which we can take now (including frequent Confession and renewed devotion to Mary) to root lukewarmness out of our soul. The book was published in 2005. The author is a Spanish Roman Catholic Priest in the Opus Dei Prelature and is a prolific writer whose best known work is the seven-volume In Conversation with God which has sold over two million copies in several languages. It has more than 450 meditations, one or more for every day of the year, as well as three meditations for each Sunday, corresponding to the three-year cycle in the Catholic lectionary.
we fall into it and the remedy against it. Webster defines “lukewarmness” as “neither hot nor cold”. It is synonymous to “tepidity”, meaning “lack of enthusiasm”, or “lack of interest”. Spiritual lukewarmness therefore indicates a lack of enthusiasm on the part of the individual to achieve continuous spiritual growth towards sanctification. The danger with being lukewarm is that it results in a gradual deterioration of the interior life. This is because in spiritual life, one either advances or slides back. Everything we do either brings us closer to Jesus or farther from Jesus. We shall see how important spiritual joy is to our interior life and why losing it will let us fall into lukewarmness. We shall discuss the first symptoms of lukewarmness. We shall also discuss the daughters of lukewarmness. And finally, we shall discuss why tolerating venial sins can lead to lukewarmness and the remedy against it. Spirit of Joy
Having a spirit of joy is vital to our spiritual growth. In order for us to continue to progress in our spiritual life, we have to maintain a spirit of joy in our heart. But first of all, where do we find it? Introduction Many people search for happiness during The book “Lukewarmness, the Devil in their whole life but never find them because Disguise” by Francis Carvajal tells us basically they look for them in the wrong places. “One what lukewarmness is, why it is bad, how cannot find jewels and gems in a grocery store.”
2
The Paraclete
We can only find true joy when we have found Christ in our life. “Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.” “Jesus called His followers ‘blessed’ but it was not because of wealth or power or good health. They were ‘blessed’ because they could ‘see’ and ‘hear’ what so many people had long been waiting for.” And what was true 2000 years ago, is still very true today. Sometimes we think that if we will have a billion dollars in our bank account, we would have found true joy. Or we think that if millions of fans shout and clap when they see us coming, we would have attained true happiness. But this kind of joy does not last long. So many billionaires and famous people are complaining of their loneliness and depression. The only joy that lasts is the joy of loving God. The Scriptures shows us how men of God received this joy - Simeon the prophet when he saw the baby Jesus; Peter during the Transfiguration; the two disciples on the way to Emmaus; the Apostles when they saw the Resurrected Christ and Mary and Joseph, when they found Jesus in the Temple after 3 days. This kind of joy cannot be overcome by sickness, sufferings, financial loss, failures, frustrations, death of a loved one, or by any adverse circumstances we may find ourselves in. “Once we have arrived at this certainty. . . we will be filled with a deep sense of confidence that can weather any storm, even the most unexpected squalls.” In addition to that, nobody can take this joy from us. “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)
October 2015
Being a follower of Christ, however, does not mean we will no longer encounter any difficulties in our life, experience any frustration, or suffer from any failures. On the contrary, saints suffer more than us. But it is through these sufferings that they are able to reach spiritual heights when they embrace them with love and joy. Birds are able to fly high “not only due to the action of their wings, but also because of the resistance, they find in the atmosphere”. The danger of losing the spirit of joy When we lose our focus on Christ, we lose the spirit of joy, and when we lose the spirit of joy, we fall into lukewarmness. We develop what St. Thomas describes as “a kind of sadness which makes a person sluggish in the performance of spiritual exercises on account of the effort they require.” When our soul falls into lukewarmness, our spiritual health weakens. What was once love of God deteriorates more and more into mere complying with the law. What was once love of the truth is now compromised with white lies. What was once love of neighbor is now a mere desire to appease the conscience or conform to the social norms. “The struggle for sanctity becomes downgraded to a mere struggle not to commit mortal sin. The soul becomes weakened as it increasingly tolerates more and more venial sins.” Little Things Matter To continue to progress in our interior life, we must always be conscious of the many opportunities that we face every day to do good works, to make sacrifices and to show our faithfulness to the Lord. Becoming a saint is not always a matter of doing heroic deeds, enduring extreme sufferings and dying as a martyr. Becoming a saint is winning daily skirmishes against sin, making tiny sacrifices and taking full advantage of small opportunities to show our love to our Lord.
october 2015
The Paraclete
The lukewarm person belittles if not completely ignores these opportunities. He does not believe that this is important to his spiritual life. Not knowing that this kind of attitude will make one vulnerable to serious temptations will lead to a slide in interior life. St. Escriva wrote “We must convince ourselves that the worst enemy of the rock is not the pick axe, no matter how sharp it is. No, its worst enemy is the continuous flow of water, which drop by drop enters the crevices until it destroys the rock structure. The greatest danger for a Christian is to underestimate the importance of fighting skirmishes. The refusal to fight the little battles can little by little, leave him soft, weak and indifferent, insensitive to the accent of God’s voice.”
3
Temperance will prevent us from losing our focus on Christ and be sidetracked to the wrong direction. This is why Jesus said, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” It is only after we have decided to take up our cross, that we are able to follow Jesus. And we have to do this every day. Not only on Sundays, but every day. These daily crosses make us stronger in the same manner as an athlete exercises to make him more fit to win the race. And when heavy trials come our way, we are able to go through them with patience and perseverance. Conversely, refusing to carry these daily crosses makes us weaker by the day. Carvajal writes: “The Christian who goes about life running away from sacrifice will never find God. Nor First symptoms of lukewarmness will he ever find real happiness. He flees from the Carvajal says that “the lukewarm person travels the forum of his sanctification.” road that promises the least exertion. He wants the Seeing things with the light of faith most comfortable and pleasant path in everything he does. One of the first symptoms of lukewarmness One does not fall into lukewarmness in one day. is a person’s habitual rejection of mortification.” It happens gradually when we habitually fail in the We can choose to live the pampered life small spiritual tests that we encounter every day. and avoid sacrifice, or we can do the will Little by little, our vision of Christ becomes blurrier of God uncompromisingly by mortifying and blurrier until we finally lose sight of Him. And our senses and disciplining one’s body. we will start sinking into the water of perdition. He writes further: “We can only find true joy once we forget ourselves for the love of Christ. As soon as we stop looking at ourselves, we can start gazing at Christ. This was what St. John the Baptist said, ‘He must increase, I must decrease.’ We have to put Christ in first place, and our own self in second place.” Once Christ is no longer the center of our life, we can easily forgo the opportunities to do good and lose interest in the things of God. Watching a movie becomes more important than attending a Mass. Delaying the recital of the rosary until the very last moment when you already feel drowsy becomes a habit. Postponing acts of generosity until you have completely forgotten about it will become more common. Intentionally not doing your morning and evening prayers and prayers before meals becomes acceptable to you.
4
The Paraclete
When we have supernatural vision, we are able to see things the way Jesus would like us to see them. We can easily see the right order of priorities. We can see things from a supernatural perspective. We see death not as a sorrowful ending but a joyful beginning to a better life. We see meaning in suffering and pain. We see people as children of God that deserve our love and respect. We see our work as a means to help other people and not primarily to enrich ourselves. We see our marriage as a means to sanctify ourselves. We are able to appreciate our blessings and gifts instead of complaining on what we do not have. Carvajal writes: “We need to look with eyes of faith at all the events, things and persons in our environment. We will thereby avoid any slide into dejection or sadness. The wholehearted acceptance of the Will of God is the sure way of finding joy and peace.” In contrast, the lukewarm person believes that God has nothing to do with his accomplishments, his wealth, his success. On the other hand, he complains bitterly when he gets seriously sick, gets into an accident, suffers financial losses and questions the goodness of God. The daughters of lukewarmness St. Thomas Aquinas, according to Carvajal, states six daughters of lukewarmness: 1. Lack of hope – the lukewarm person has given up trying to develop an interior life 2. An uncontrolled imagination – the lukewarm person does not guard his thoughts and allows himself to fantasize 3. Mental torpor and sloth – the lukewarm person is lazy and does not want to give a try at any supernatural attempt 4. Pusillanimity – the lukewarm person shies away from any opportunity to do good 5. Rancor and critical spirit – the lukewarm person gets irritated by those who pray and do acts of mercy and charity 6. An ill tempered antagonism – the lukewarm person abhors anything that is supernatural in a person
October 2015
Discouragement The lukewarm person loses sight of Jesus and has replaced Him with created goods. Worldly goals have become the ends by themselves instead of being just a means to attain supernatural goals and eternal life. When this happens, the lukewarm person becomes dejected because his hunger and thirst for happiness are never quenched. He will never find meaning in life and will remain unsatisfied even after attaining his temporal desires. Carvajal made good use of the Gospel passage of the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. The two were so dejected, because Jesus, the Messiah they were hoping for, had died and life has lost all meaning. And they were sharing this depressed feelings with a stranger who joined them, not realizing and recognizing Him to be Jesus. In their depression, their eyes could not see Jesus who was right before them and walking with them. This is what happens to us when we become discouraged due to lack of faith. Sometimes we feel so frustrated praying to God for so long, not knowing that God has already answered our prayers but we never even recognized it. To continue with the story, the spirits of the two were, however, lifted when Jesus started explaining to them the Scriptures. The same thing can happen to us. When we are in a similar situation, we should talk to God, read the Scriptures, read spiritual writings, or get spiritual direction so as to recover our supernatural bearing. Pusillanimity Carvajal made use once more of another Gospel passage. This time he relates the story of how the Israelites sent an advance party to scout the Promised Land. The advance party came back and revealed the strength of the enemies that they will encounter should they decide to pursue their journey to Canaan. Their faith in God was apparently so weak they forgot all the things that God had done for them in the past. They forgot that their God was all powerful and no enemy can
october 2015
The Paraclete
ever win a battle against them if God is at their side. The same thing happens when a supernatural endeavor presents itself to a lukewarm person. He feels he will not be up to the task because of the seemingly formidable obstacles that can come his way. Not realizing that God will never give him a project that he cannot succeed as long as he continually asks His help and does his best. Because of this, according to Carvajal, the lukewarm person, like the Israelites will wander in the “desert of mediocrity and self love.” His lukewarm soul “will bear no fruit” and he will have neither the “courage nor the desire to follow God’s will.” “A person with a strong interior life will be well disposed to undertake ambitious ventures for God and for other people.” A study of the lives of the saints easily reveals the daring and courageous enterprising spirit sometimes even to the unknown. Our Mother Mary is the best model here, accepting to be the Mother of God in spite of not knowing what lies in the future and the attending problems therein. St. Joseph too, is another model. He accepts the angel’s advice to take a flight to Egypt leaving everything behind and into the unknown, where he knew no one and had no job. Uncontrolled imagination The person who has interior life is able to draw good from any kind of situation he finds himself in. In contrast, the lukewarm person is unable to find joy in the ordinary life. Because of this sadness, he tries to flee from reality and escapes in a world of imagination and fantasy. This is a breeding ground for impurity and lust to grow and also for greed for power and wealth and envy for those who have more in life. Mental torpor or sloth This happens when a lukewarm person finds himself unable to progress in his spiritual life. He is unable to pray devotedly and has no appetite to read spiritual writings. When you find yourself praying less and less each day, this is a symptom of sloth. This is why it is important to commit yourself to doing prayers
5
and a certain period for doing so. Of course there has to be some flexibility because of demands from work, social obligations and marital duties. But one should make up for lost time of prayer in another day, preferably the following day. Venial Sins Although committing a mortal sin is the worst thing that can ever happen to anyone, next to it is a venial sin. Any person who tolerates venial sins has signed a death warrant to his interior life. Lukewarmness does not happen in one step or in committing one venial sin. It happens when someone gradually accepts venial sin and deliberately or carelessly goes about committing them without remorse. Carvajal compares a mortal sin to a ton of iron and countless venial sins to a ton of sand. Both would be disastrous to the spiritual life of a person. In addition, the more venial sins you commit, the more you become inclined to committing a mortal sin. Venial sins are like dirt, which when accumulated blur the spiritual vision of a person and weaken his spiritual strength, such that when he finds himself in a perilous situation, he may not be able to overcome the temptation. In a similar manner, venial sins are like small wounds that are inflicted on our body, but when they have become so many, we are unable to stand up and walk in our journey to heaven. He who is unfaithful in small things shall sooner or later become also unfaithful in big things. This is true for all the ten commandments. For instance, one who habitually comes late to Mass may find it easier to excuse himself from not going to Mass at all even if the excuse is flimsy. Until he finds it unnecessary to have an excuse. Another example - one who becomes dishonest in loose change and does not get caught, sooner or later will be lured to becoming dishonest in even bigger amounts. Or another example – one who flirts around with a married person will become more and more attracted and sooner or later will find himself in love or unable to resist the company of the married
6
The Paraclete
October 2015
person until they develop an illicit relationship. In order for us to truly repent, we should learn A person who commits habitually a so-called to become sensitive on how Jesus is offended white lie, will find it difficult to resist a temptation by even our venial sins. If a mortal sin is like to fabricate a false tale if it would serve his interest. nailing Jesus’ Hands and Feet to the Cross and piercing Him with a lance, then a venial sin is The Remedy like one of the scourges that is inflicted on Jesus. To avoid getting into this kind of situation, it This is why St. Alphonsus Liguori said that is important first of all to avoid committing a meditating on the Passion and Death of Jesus is one venial sin, deliberately most especially. And sure way of avoiding committing mortal sin and secondly, when one has failed and committed increasing our desire to avoid committing venial sins. Having a prayerful life is also one way to avoid a venial sin, then the remedy would be to be truly sorry for it and make an Act of Contrition. committing venial sin because it not only This is why a regular examination of gives us the graces we need, but reminds us conscience is important so that we become of the presence of Jesus throughout the day. Most importantly, praying the Holy Rosary aware of the venial sins we have committed. Thirdly, frequent confession is adviseable. Carvajal everyday devotedly will give us the graces we need says that this “compels us to look into ourselves to win the daily skirmishes against temptations. TP seriously to see our sins and faults.” Also he says that “Confession is a Sacrament and consequently PARISH ANNOUNCEMENTS through it the power of Christ himself works in us.” With the sanctifying grace that we receive from the The culminating activity of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Lord, according to Month of the Rosary will be on Carvajal, “fills us with his own hatred of sin and with October 25, 2015, starting at 4 PM his own zeal to glorify His Father.” Confession is a at the Church parking lot. very strong weapon that we should make use of to There will be a procession of win the spiritual warfare against lukewarmness. The Science of the Saints And fourthly, we should be truly sorry for our sins. Carvajal says, “When we ask God for His pardon, we are not performing a social custom.” Sometimes, when we say “sorry” to someone, we are just being polite or trying to show we are one, but we do not really mean it. Our intention should be true and internal. Carvajal further writes: “True sorrow for our sins does not mean we have to feel emotional pain.” There are some people who can shed tears to show externally they are in sorrow, but in actuality they are not and can commit the same act the very moment after. True sorrow for our sins means that there is an inner desire to truly repent for it. This is the science of the saints. The saints know the meaning of true repentance.
all the Block Rosary Images.
Mark your calendars for the 2nd Talk of Fr. Marlowe Lemaire scheduled on November 14, 2015 at the Spiritus, starting promptly at 8 AM. PREX Encounter No. 44 will be held on November 28 and 29, 2015. There will be a 9-day Novena in preparation for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, 2015.
october 2015
The Paraclete
The Battle of Lepanto and Our Lady of the Holy Rosary
JUST AS THE VICTORY of Emperor Constantine in the Battle of Milvian Bridge resulted in the rapid expansion of Christianity, the victory of the forces of the Holy League under the command of Don John in the Battle of Lepanto stopped the march of the Turks and reversed the tide of the expansion of Islam. Both victories were a triumph against over whelming odds. Both victories were attributed to Divine Intervention. In the case of Constantine, his army of 20,000 was up against the enemy forces numbering 100,000. In the case of Don John, his naval fleet of 200 small ships faced an opposing naval fleet of 300 large vessels. Due to the power of the Holy Rosary, the tiny fleet of the Holy League won the battle at the end of the day. This victory saved Europe from being overrun by the forces of Islam. Almost from the very beginning of Islam, there were wars upon wars between Christians and Muslims. This included the Crusade wars, seven major and several minor, which lasted for centuries. By 1571 the Muslims were firmly installed in Europe. Their ships ruled the Mediterranean Sea from the Strait of Bosporus to the Strait of Gibraltar Pope Pius V, in the last year of his papacy in 1571, tried to rally the nations of Europe to join in a Holy League to stop and roll back the Moslem enemy which threatened the entire continent. On October 7, 1571 the fleet of the Holy League
7
sailed from Messina, Sicily, and met a powerful Ottoman fleet in the Battle of Lepanto. Knowing that the Christian forces were far more inferior in number and equipment, the Holy Pontiff, Pope Pius V called for all of Europe to pray the Rosary for victory. Here are some excerpts from the Battle that Saved the Christian West from the Islam. The Divine Breath
It was at dawn on October 7, 1571, when the fleet of the Holy League rowed down the west coast of Greece and turned east into the Gulf of Patras. When the morning mist cleared, the Christians, rowing directly against the wind, saw the squadrons of the larger Ottoman fleet arrayed like a crescent from shore to shore, bearing down on them under full sail. As the fleets grew closer, the Christians could hear the gongs and cymbals, drums and cries of the Turks. The men of the Holy League quietly pulled at their oars, the soldiers stood on the decks in silent prayer. Priests holding large crucifixes marched up and down the decks exhorting the men to be brave and hearing final confessions. Don John then gave every man in his fleet a weapon more powerful than anything the Turks could muster: a Rosary. On the eve of battle, the men of the Holy League prepared their souls by falling to their knees on the decks of their galleys and praying the Rosary. Back in Rome, and up and down the Italian Peninsula, at
8
The Paraclete
October 2015
the behest of Pope Pius V, the churches were filled Also as a result of the naval victory attributed with the faithful telling their beads. In Heaven, the to Mary, the invocation “Help of Christians” and Blessed Mother, her Immaculate Heart aflame, was “Queen of the most Holy Rosary, pray for us,” were listening. added to the Litany of Loreto. Today in the midst of our spiritual battle against the Then the Blessed Virgin intervened forces of evil, the Holy Rosary is our most important The wind shifted 180 degrees. The sails of the weapon. Let us not fail to recite it everyday. TP Holy League were filled with the Divine breath, References: driving them into battle. Now heading directly The Battle that Saved the Christian West into the wind, the Turks were forced to strike their By: Christopher Check sails. Don John knelt on the prow of Real and said http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/the-battle-that-saved-thea final prayer. Then he stood and gave the order for christian-west the Holy League’s battle standard, a gift from Pope Our Lady of the Rosary Pius V, to be unfurled. Christians up and down the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_the_Rosary Culture battle line cheered as they saw the giant blue banner Catholic http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day. bearing an image of our crucified Lord. cfm?date=2015-10-07 The fleets engaged at midday. The fighting lasted for five hours. At day’s end, all but thirteen of the nearly 300 Turkish vessels were captured or sunk and over 30,000 Turks were slain. The news of the victory made its way back to Rome, but the Pope was already rejoicing. On the day of the battle, Pius had been consulting with his cardinals at the Dominican Basilica of Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill. He paused in the midst of their deliberations to look out the window. Up in the sky, the Blessed Mother favored him with a vision of the victory. Turning to his cardinals he said, “Let us set aside business and fall on our knees in thanksgiving to God, for he has given our fleet a great victory.” In thanksgiving for the victory at Lepanto on the first Sunday of October 1571, Pope St. Pius V ordered that a commemoration of the Rosary should be made on that day. At the request of the Dominican Order, in 1573 Pope Gregory XIII allowed the feast to be kept in all churches with an altar dedicated to the Holy Rosary. Then in 1671, the observance of the feast was extended by Pope Clement X to the whole of Spain. Finally, Pope Clement XI extended the feast to the universal Church after the important victory over the Turks gained by Prince Eugene on August 6, 1716, the feast of our Lady of the Snows, at Peterwardein in Hungary.
The Paraclete wishes to thank Bobby Tordesillas for his valuable contributions to this issue.
YEAR OF THE POOR ANNOUNCEMENT The Year of the Poor ends on November 28, 2015. To culminate it, the Parish of the Holy Spirit is inviting you, dear Parishioners, to participate in the “White Elephant” Donation Drive for Caritas Novaliches. Items you no longer find useful but are still of decent quality to be used by other people (clothes, books, home items and the like) may be brought to the Parish Office from November 1 to November 20. You are requested to bring your donations in plastic or reusable soft bags, so your donations may be easily placed in large boxes the Parish will provide. Please indicate your names for proper acknowledgment. Thank you very much.