Ignatian Retreat!

Found this beautiful version of the classic prayer of St Ignatius, "Soul of Christ" .
And that inspires me to take an online Ignatian Retreat.
Found two excellent sites.
First one is  http://www.prayerwindows.com/ . Here you get to do the retreat with paintings. Very creative, indeed! Here is the first painting , and the instructions are in the site, the URL given above:

THE WORD, THE WORLD AND THE GETHSEMANE
PHASE 1

Second one is http://www.setonshrine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=71&Itemid=76

It is here that I found the Prayer. Let me copy paste it here.
Lord God, I want to be aware of your loving presence in my life.
Soul of Christ
Jesus, may all that is you flow into me.
May your body and blood
Be my food and drink.
May your passion and death
Be my strength and life.
Jesus, with you by my side
Enough has been given.
May the shelter I seek
Be the shadow of your cross.
Let me not run from the love
Which you offer,
But hold me safe from the forces of evil.
On each of my dyings
Shed your life and your love.
Keep calling me until that day comes when,
With your saints,
I may praise you forever.
Amen.

Also there is an Act of Contrition by St. Francis Xavier, posted in their site:
PRAYER

Francis Xavier's Act of Contrition
My God, I love you above all things
and I hate and detest with my whole soul
the sins by which I have offended you,
because they are displeasing in your sight,
who are supremely good and worthy to be loved.
I acknowledge that I should love you
with a love beyond all others,
and that I should try to prove this love to you.
I consider you in my mind as infinitely greater
than everything in the world,
no matter how precious or beautiful.
I therefore firmly and irrevocably resolve
never to consent to offend you
or do anything that may displease your sovereign goodness
and place me in danger of falling from your holy grace,
in which I am fully determined
to persevere to my dying breath. Amen.

An Awesome Painting of Mother of Life!

This painting of Our lady of Guadalupe Kneeling in adoration of her unborn babe Jesus, her Saviour Son, has totally bowled me over!. The artist Nellie Edwards has so inspired me with just this one painting! I do not have words to explain my feelings. I'm just overwhelmed. God bless you. Nellie Edwards!!!

"Mother of Life" ...

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Nellie Edwards began painting recently with no previous fine art painting experience. Her life-long dream was to "one day take lessons." In the meantime, she devoted herself to her vocation as wife and mother (eventually of eight) and her passion for ProLife work, including spreading the good news of Humanae Vitae, to help protect the sanctity of all human life.

lhttp://immaculataart.com/aboutartist.html

Nellie Edwards began doing fine art 'Portraits of Life and Truth" in 2007 - acting on a sudden inspiration to create a 'portrait' of then "Blessed" Kateri Tekakwitha. To the artist's surprise, this was quickly approved by the National Tekakwitha Conference and later became the canonization issue cover of Columbia Magazine, as well as the cover of a biographical book (OSV Publishing) etc.
Nellie has been a ProLife activist since 1983 and along with her small group, was put on trial, for peacefully offering assistance to young mothers....where abortions were being committed. Through the intercession of The Blessed Mother, they were vindicated. When moving to North Dakota, she prayed, asking God what she could do for the cause of Life in such a rural place....She is very thankful for the artwork, which has shown itself to be at least part of the answer to that prayer.

http://charmolypi.tumblr.com/post/36986957672/mother-of-life-nellie-edwards-immaculata-art

Raissa Maritain, Jaques, Bloy and Edith Stein ...

I am intrigued ....! A Jewish woman mystic has suddenly appeared onto the little horizon of my mind today. I was reading about the Rules of Discernment in Ignatian Spirituality. I stumbled upon an article about Fr. Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V. and his book The Discernment of Spirits: An Ignatian Guide for Everyday Living. In the article, there was a sentence :

   “In giving an example of a perceptible experience of God’s love to illustrate Rule 3, Fr. Gallagher cites Raissa Maritain as she begins to pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart. This insight into the interior life of one of the great Christian thinkers of the last century is marvelously effective.”

 http://www.worldmission.ph/wm.php?issueid=132
That is when I started googling for this Raissa Maritain. I’m sure it is my Guardian Angel again who wanted me to know about this great woman, who sought to know the truth about a personal God in the face of human suffering !! She and her best friend (later, her husband) Jacques Maritain strolled down the Jardin des Plantes , the main botanical garden in France, refusing to accept the absurdity of the calm materialism and convinced atheism of their science professors and philosophers at the Sorbonne University. But God in His great mercy, opened the door of Faith, which led them to Christ. They walked through the veil of Baptism into the Catholic Church to be sustained by the Holy Eucharist. Paradoxically, it was the great French novelist Leon Bloy who led them to this ultimate Truth about God, which changed their lives!

They were also friends with Edith Stein ( now St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, O.C.D., one of my favourite Saints !! ). In a letter she wrote to Jacques and Raissa, Edith Stein thanked them for the friendship, which she seemed to have cherished much:


http://hannahstears.net/2013/08/my-cross-my-blessing/edith-stein-saint-teresa-benedicta-of-the-cross/

All during the past month I have been greatly consoled by the thought of having such good friends united to us by the bond of faith. I no longer have my position with the Pedagogical Institute and I will be leaving Münster in a few weeks. But do not be concerned about me: ... (‘All things work together for the good of those who love God.’).

Thanks my good Angel, for introducing this group of “intellectual” Catholics of France (The Thomist Study Circles,Munster) 
. I wish I had known them years back, in those days when I was so fascinated (foolishly) by those atheistic Bloomsbury intellectuals! How blissfully ignorant I was of these great thinkers, who were contemporaries of those Bloomsburians!

Pope Francis, in his first Homily has quoted Bloy,

“When one does not confess Jesus Christ, I am reminded of the expression of Léon Bloy: ‘He who does not pray to the Lord prays to the devil.’ When one does not confess Jesus Christ, one confesses the worldliness of the devil.”

And let me conclude with a poem by Raissa      

O Cross you divide the heart,
O Cross you split the world,
Cross divine and wood of bitterness,
Bloodstained price of the Beatitudes,
Royal rood, imperious impress,
Most sombre Cross,gibbet of God,
Star of Mysteries,
Key to certitude. 

The star of Bethlehem shines in the night of sin. The shadow of the Cross falls on the light that shines from the crib. This light is extinguished in the darkness that is Good Friday, but it rises all the more brilliantly in the sun of grace on the morning of the Resurrection. - Edith Stein ( St. Teresa benedicta of the Cross)

Rooting Out the Tangled snake-roots of Wrath!

                                          http://www.pxleyes.com/photoshop-contest/15382/entangled-roots.html


Struggling with uncontrollable anger can truly be a battle in all its sense! I have been struggling with this for the past.........umpteen years!! There is a slight (may be a little more than just "slight") improvement in my temperament. But I'm still a long way lagging to reach my goal - "TEMPERANCE"!! I think that is the virtue I'm striving to attain.

And what exactly is this so called "temperance"? Let me google a bit for its defintition.....


The closest defintion to reach my need is : " Temperance is the practice of always controlling your actions, thoughts, or feelings so that you don't eat or drink too much, become angry etc."

In essence , it means restraint , a habitual moderation in the indulgence of passions, and here, in this my context, that passion is "ANGER"!

That sounds good. But how to practice it? I have Steve Covey's lessons on "Pro activity" , and quite a number of books on controlling the dragon named " Anger". And here are some gems from some of my favourite Catholic Saints:


There is no sin or wrong that gives a man a foretaste of hell in this life as anger and impatience.
--Saint Catherine of Sienna


”When we have to reply to anyone who has insulted us, we should be careful to do it always with meekness. A soft answer extinguishes the fire of wrath. If we feel ourselves angry, it is better for us to be silent, because we should speak amiss; when we become tranquil, we shall see that all our words were culpable.”
--Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church


“In the Christian combat, not the striker, as in the Olympic contests, but he who is struck, wins the crown. This is the law in the celestial theatre, where the Angels are the spectators.”
--Saint John Chrysostom


”Be as gentle always as possible; and remember that you will catch more flies with a spoonful of honey than with a hundred barrels of vinegar. Such is the nature of the human mind; it rebels against severity, but gentleness renders it amenable to everything. A soft word appeases anger, as water extinguishes fire. No soul so ungrateful, but kindness can make it bear fruit. To speak truths sweetly is to throw burning coals, or rather roses, into a person's face. How can anyone be angry with another who fights him with pearls and diamonds?”
--Saint Francis of Sales


Yet, the thing has to be rooted out of my system. There is only one way for that. Perseverence in repeating some of the Power Quotes from the Bible. Word of God is sharp enough to cut deep into the tangled roots of anger that has taken possession in my innermost being, since the moment I was conceived , those roots of ancestral debris and those that I myself have imbibed through all the wounds and struggles I had been through by living ....., unaware of or by ignoring the Redeeming power of my baptized, resurrected self.

So here are just two "Swords", from the Word of God. I am sure repeating it, memorizing it is going to have a fastforwarding effect on my attempts at reaching my goal......!!!

http://www.soulshepherding.org/2012/07/jesus-way-of-dealing-with-anger/

Colossians 3:7-9

You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices






James 1:19-21
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Accepted in the Beloved....

http://wallpaper.knowing-jesus.com/ephesians/ephesians-1-6-accepted-in-the-beloved-gray

Ephesians 1:6 is a glorious truth! We are fully, completely accepted by God and He, the Mighty Lord of Hosts, has adopted us as His own children. It is not a human adoption, it is a Blood Adoption!!! We are true children of God in Christ! What more do we need?
So the Scripture Verse,Ephesians 1: 6, in King James version, says:
"To the praise of the glory of His Grace , wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved."
If by nature we are a fallen, sinful race, by the shed Blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ we have become cleansed enough to be approved by the Most Holy God.More than just receiving us with blessing, He delights in us !!!

Zephaniah 3: 17 says, " The Lord your God is with you; His Power gives you victory. The Lord will take delight in you, and in His love He will give you new life. He will sing and be joyful over you."

Psalm 147: 11 (NLT) affirms this:
"No, the Lord's delight is in those who fear Him,
those who put their hope in His unfailing Love."


http://myfreshlybrewedlife.com/2012/08/the-weekend-brew-the-apple-of-his-eye.html

He found him in a desert land, And in the waste howling wilderness; He compassed him about, he cared for him, He kept him as the apple of his eye.Deuteronomy 32:10

What a mighty God we have! Aren't we the apple of His eye?

"This is what the Lord of Armies says : Afterwards, the Glory sent me to the nations who looted you. Whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye." Zephaniah 2:8.

So let us pray to Him, with the Psalmist,
"Keep me as the apple of Your Eye; hide me in the shadow of Your Wings..." - psalm 17:8.


So hereby do I renounce the spirit of Rejection with all its digusting forms, fear of rejection, inherited rejection , self rejection, perceived rejection.....! I send them to the feet of of JESUS, my Crucified Master, who has made me His Beloved by dying on the Cross;and by the Grace of His Resurrection, I am no more a wormy rejected being,. Nay, I am a New Creation ; the past is gone. I close every door against the spirit of rejection in the Mighty Name of Jesus. The evil spirit of rejection does not have any legal rights over me any more. Jesus has erased all its legal claims by His Precious Blood.

Jesus, I declare today that You alone are my Master.
I fight the spirit of rejection with these Bible verses ( Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit Hebrews 4:12):
Romans 8:37-39
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. who loved me and gave himself for me.

1 John 4:9-11 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,


Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

New Life in Christ

http://www.livenourished.net/first-of-all-10/

Two Scripture verses give us a clear picture on how to live our New Life in Christ, the Life of Grace. First  of course is Colossians 3: 12 -17 . It introduces us to the programme, "New Life in Christ". It tells us of what  we are to discard, and what we have to put on. For that, we need to mind the things that are above, to think of heavenly things only, and to discard the earthy stuff. We must follow this pattern  because we have been raised with Christ and thus are sharing in His Resurrected life. So we have got to aim for Eternal Riches which are above!  As far as the world is concerned, we are "dead" , and our "New Life" is hidden with Christ ! 

So here it goes, the list of things to be discarded, and what to put on Colossians 3: 12 -17.

Things to be discarded:

A. of the flesh

1. Immorality

2. Impurity

3. Passion

4. Evil Desire

5. Covetuousness (greed) ..., which (ahem!!!) is nothing else but "Idolatry! 

B. Of the mouth

1. anger

2.wrath

3.Malice

4.Slander

5. Foul Talk.

Things to Put On:

1. Compassion

2. Kindness

3. Lowliness ( Humility)

5 . Meekness

6. Patience

7.Forbearance 

8. forgiveness

Above all these things, put on "Love"!!

http://www.knowhislove.com/?p=4016

The next Scripture is Ephesians 4: 17 -19.

17 Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. 19 They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

Here is the amplified version:

17 So this I say and solemnly testify in [the name of] the Lord [as in His presence], that you must no longer live as the heathen (the Gentiles) do in their perverseness [in the folly, vanity, and emptiness of their souls and the futility] of their minds.

18 Their moral understanding is darkened and their reasoning is beclouded. [They are] alienated (estranged, self-banished) from the life of God [with no share in it; this is] because of the ignorance (the want of knowledge and perception, the willful blindness) that is deep-seated in them, due to their hardness of heart [to the insensitiveness of their moral nature].

19 In their spiritual apathy they have become callous and past feeling and reckless and have abandoned themselves [a prey] to unbridled sensuality, eager and greedy to indulge in every form of impurity [that their depraved desires may suggest and demand].

1 Thessalonianns 5: 23 - Get Integrated into God's Truth

                             http://foundationsofmyfaith.blogspot.in/2011/07/1-thessalonians-523.html

God's Word has the Power to reintegrate our fragmented selves. God's Word is sharper than any two edged sword, can pierce into the division of soul and spirit, so says Hebrews 4:12. Thus it discerns the thoughts and intentions of our hearts ....!
1 Thessalonians 5:23 says that God makes us whole. Our being should not be a kingdom divided within itself. We need to be kept sound , and the sanctifying Word of God shall make us whole, integrated beings.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new has come (2Corinthians 5:17).
Yes the Power of the Word of God can transform us. Praise the Lord!
1 Thessalonians 5:23Revised Standard Version (RSV)
23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.24 He who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
The Message (MSG)
1Thes. 23-24 May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!
1 Thessalonians 5:23
Amplified Bible (AMP)
23 And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God]; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound andcomplete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).24 Faithful is He Who is calling you [to Himself] and utterly trustworthy, and He will also do it [fulfill His call by hallowing and keeping you].