St. Anselm A Prayer of all souls longing for God

Let me know You and love You, 

so that I may find my joy in You

From the Proslogion by Saint Anselm, bishop

My soul, have you found what you are looking for?  

You were looking for God, and you discovered that He is the supreme being, and that you could not possibly imagine anything more perfect.  You have discovered that His supreme being is life itself, light, wisdom, goodness, eternal blessedness and blessed eternity.  He is everywhere, and He is timeless.

Lord my God, You gave me life and restored it when I lost it.  Tell my soul that so longs for You what else You are besides what it has already understood, so that it may see You clearly.  

It stands on tiptoe to see more, but apart from what it has seen already, it sees nothing but darkness.  Of course it does not really see darkness, because there is not darkness in You, but it sees that it can see no further because of the darkness in itself.

Surely, Lord, inaccessible light is Your dwelling place, for no one apart from Yourself can enter into it and fully comprehend You.  

If I fail to see this light it is simply because it is too bright for me.  Still, it is by the light that I do see all that I can, even as weak eyes, unable to look straight at the sun, see all they can by the sun’s light.

Light of God

The light in which You dwell, Lord, 

is beyond my understanding.  

It is so brilliant that I cannot bear it, I cannot turn my mind’s eye toward it for any length of time.  I am dazzle by its brightness, amazed by its grandeur, overwhelmed by its immensity, bewildered by its abundance.

O supreme and inaccessible light, O complete and blessed truth, how far You are from me, even though I am so near to You!  How remote You are from my sight, even though I am present in Yours! You are everywhere in Your entirety, and yet I do not see You; in You I move and have my being, and yet I cannot approach You; You are within me and around me, and yet I do not perceive You.

O God, let me know You and love You so that I may find my joy in You; 

and if I cannot do so fully in this life, let me at least make some progress every day, until at last that knowledge, love and joy come to me in all their plenitude.  

While I am here on earth let me learn to know You better, so that in heaven I may know You fully; let my love for You grow deeper here, so that there I may love You fully.  On earth then I shall have great joy in hope, and in heaven complete joy in the fulfillment of my hope.

O Lord, through Your Son You command me, no, You counsel us to ask, and You promise that You will hear us so that our joy may be complete.  Lord, I am making the request that You urge us to make through Your Wonder-Counselor.  Give me then what you promise to give through Your Truth.  You, O God, are faithful; grant that I may receive my request, so that my joy may be complete.

St. Anselm, Bishop of Canterbury

Meanwhile, let this hope of mine be in my thoughts and on my tongue; let my heart be filled with it, my voice speak of it; let my soul hunger for it, my body thirst for it, my whole being yearn for it, until I enter into the joy of the Lord, who is Three in One, blessed forever. 

Amen.

Taken from the Liturgy of the Hours, April 21 St. Anselm, bishop and doctor

Blessed are the clean of heart, 

for they will see God

From the book addressed to Autolycus by Saint Theophilus of Antioch, bishop

If you say, “Show me our God,” I will say to you, “Show me what kind of person are you are, and I will show you my God.”  Show me then whether the eyes of your mind can see, and the ears of your heart hear.

Spiritually blind 

It is like this.  Those who can see with the eyes of their bodies are aware of what is happening in this life on earth.  They get to know things that are different from each other.  They distinguish light and darkness, black and white, ugliness and beauty, elegance and inelegance, proportion and lack of proportion, excess and defect.  The same is true of the sounds we hear: high or low or pleasant.  So it is with the ears of our heart and the eyes of our mind in their capacity to hear or see God.

God is seen by those who have the capacity to see him, provided that they keep the eyes of their mind open.  All have eyes, but some have eyes that are shrouded in darkness, unable to see the light of the sun.  Because the blind cannot see it, it does not follow that the sun does not shine.  The blind must trace the cause back to themselves and their eyes.  In the same way, you have eyes in your mind that are shrouded in darkness because of your sins and evil deeds.

A person’s soul should be clean, like 

a mirror reflecting light.  

If there is rust on the mirror his face 

cannot be seen in it.  

In the same way, no one who has sin 

within him can see God.

But if you will you can be healed.  Hand yourself over to the doctor, and he will open the eyes of your mind and heart.  Who is to be the doctor? Is it God, who heals and gives life through his Word and wisdom.  

Through his Word and wisdom He created the universe, for by his Word the heavens were established, and by his Spirit all their array.  His wisdom is supreme.  God by wisdom founded the earth, by understanding he arranged the heavens, by his knowledge the depths broke forth and the clouds poured out the dew.

Saint Theophilus of Antioch, bishop

If you understand this, 

and live in purity and holiness and justice, 

you may see God.  

But, before all, 

faith and the fear of God 

must take the first place in your heart, 

and then you will understand all this.  

When you have laid aside mortality and been clothed in immortality, then you will see God according to your merits.  God and then, once made immortal, you will see the immortal One, if you believe in Him now.




Taken from The Liturgy of the Hours

Suffering - God Purifies Us

Let us Rejoice in the joy that follows sadness

From a letter by Saint Peter Damian, bishop

You asked me to write you some words of consolation, my brother.  Embittered by so many tribulations, you are seeking some comfort for your soul.  You asked me to offer you some suggestions.

But there is no need for me to write.  Consolation is already within your reach, if your good sense has not been dulled.  My son, come to the service of God. Stand in justice and fear.  Prepare your soul; it is about to be tested.  These words of Scripture show that you are a son of God and, as such, should take possession of your inheritance.  What could be clearer than this exhortation?

Where there is justice as well as fear, adversity will surely test the spirit.  But it is not the torment of a slave.  Rather it is the discipline of a child by its parent.

Event in the midst of his many sufferings, the holy man Job could say: Whip me, crush me, cut me in slices! And he wold always add: This at least would bring me relief, yet my persecutor does not spare me.

But for God’s chosen ones there is great comfort; 

the torment lasts but a short time.

  

Then God bends down, cradles the fallen figure, 

whispers words of consolation. 

With hope in his heart, man picks himself up 

and walks again toward the glory of happiness in heaven.

Craftsmen exemplify this same practice.  By hammering gold, the smith beats out the dross.  The sculptor files metal to reveal a shining vein underneath.  The potter’s furnace puts vessels to the test.  And the fire of suffering tests the mettle of just men. 

The apostle James echoes this thought: 

Think it a great joy, dear brothers and sisters, 

when you stumble onto the many kinds of trials and tribulations.

When men suffer pain for the evil 

they have perpetrated in life, 

they should take some reassurance.  

They also know that for their good deeds 

undying rewards await them in the life to come.

Therefore, my brother, scorned as you are by men, lashed as it were by God, do not despair.  Do not be depressed.  Do not let your weakness make you impatient.  Instead, let the serenity of your spirit shine through your face.  Let the joy of your mind burst forth.  Let words of thanks break from your lips.

The way that God deals with men can only be praised.  He lashes them in this life to shield them from the eternal lash in the next.  He pins people down now; at a later time he will raise them up.  He cuts them before healing; he throws them down to raised them anew.

The Scriptures reassure us: let your understanding strengthen your patience.  In serenity look forward to the joy that follows sadness.  

Hope leads you to that joy and love enkindles your zeal.  The well-prepared mind forgets the suffering inflicted from without and glides eagerly to what it has contemplated within itself.

Storms of Life -- Trusting in God

Letting Jesus Sleep

Matthew 8:23-27

 

by Father Eamonn Shelly, LC | Source: Catholic.net

 

As Jesus got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, you of little faith?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?"

 

Introductory Prayer:

Lord, I come to you in this meditation ready to do whatever it is you ask. Left to myself I often take the easy and convenient path, yet I know the way of a Christian is through the narrow gate. In you I find the reason to abandon the easy path for a more perfect mission of love. I’m ready to learn the meaning of your command: “Follow me.” Lord as worries tug at my heart, let me learn to rise above them and trust in you. Master of my life, I love the goods you have placed in my hands: my health, family, mission in life…. Grant me faith that can pass through the worst of storms and come through it profoundly enriched, humanly stronger, and more deeply united to you, my protector and guide.

 Petition: Lord, grant me the grace of a mature faith.

 

 1. God’s Silence, Man’s Faith:

We can imagine ourselves in the place of the apostles, in this poor boat tossed by the turbulent waves. The situation instantly speaks to our worst of fears; yet Jesus sleeps. Our temptation is to wake him…and too many souls do so through incessant complaining incessantly, despairing attitudes, withdrawal withdrawing from prayer, or unloaded unloading anger on others. When in a moment of trial we find life is no longer under our complete control, the option of meltdown is always at hand. But I we mustn’t take that route; instead I we must contemplate the power that emanates from the sleeping Christ. Trials are intended by God to draw us closer to him and increase our dependence on him. I We have to live from faith; otherwise all that reigns is fear, insecurity and bitterness. The “Silence of Christ” is powerful. To pass over its meaning lightly is to abandon some of the deepest lessons of Christ’s heart. The “Silence of Christ” must teach us.

 

 2. The “Silence of Christ” Speaks to Our Faith:

What is Christ’s sleep like? As a young mother, Mary watched Jesus sleep many times. Archbishop Martinez writes:

“Jesus was exceedingly beautiful when he spoke the words of eternal life, accomplished wonders, looked with love, pardoned with mercy, and caressed with tenderness. But I would like to have seen him while he was sleeping because I could have contemplated him to my heart’s content, without the fascination of his gaze distracting me, without the perfection of his beauty and the glory of his splendor dazzling my eyes and enrapturing my soul. The beauty of Jesus awake is far too great for my smallness. Who could support it? I felt it more suited to me veiled by sleep, as the glory of the sun is more adapted to my eyes when I look at it through a translucent lens” (When Jesus Sleeps, p.15).

 

May I trust the power of Christ

just as much

when He chooses

not to act -- as when He does.

 

3. God’s Eternal Pedagogy: 

Water, a boat , the apostles, and Christ… this scene repeats itself over and over again in the Gospel. Water is a symbol of the experiences of life taken on a human level; the boat is the experience of faith on a supernatural level -- it is our life with Christ. Christ’s message is that I we can never let my our experiences of life overwhelm my our experience of faith. I/We have to live not from the surface level of impressions of the moment, but open myself up to/from the deep channel of faith that reveals the action of God, the wisdom of his Providence, and the ultimate destiny of eternity.

 

Faith is what reveals Christ’s presence in our boat;

faith is what makes us believe that every wave and wind

gust are blessed invitations to confide in the One who rules all.

 

Faith is what permits God to console our hearts, calm our fears, and preserve our joy in the midst of many problems and difficulties that may take months or years to run their course.

 

Conversation Dialogue with Christ: 

Lord, I know belief makes me vulnerable. To believe is to push out from shore with you in my boat, leaving behind the security I find in my talents and plans, my friends and relatives, my financial and social standing But I know. I will not know your power if I do not know how to truly leave my whole life in your hands. that I will not know your love if I do not believe that you can make me happier than I could can be by myself. I will not know your victory if I do not face the enemies of my soul and my mission with and abandonment myself to your grace, I will not know your victory.

 

 

 Resolution: 

Today I will take a recent problem and, with complete trust and confidence in him, leave it totally in God’s hands today with complete trust and confidence in him.

 

Jesus Calms the Sea

 

 http://www.catholic.net/index.php?option=dedestaca&id=6393