Caused by Love Alone

'You must receive through love that which Love alone caused to be given to you.

  No, you cannot consider our Savior in an action more full of love 

or more tender than this.  In it He abases Himself, if we may so express it,

 and changes Himself into food, so that He may penetrate our souls 

and unite Himself most intimately to the heart and to the body of His faithful.'

  (St. Francis de Sales)

Facing "a culture ungrilled"

Monastery grilles are normally set into walls, so there is essentially "no getting around them."  The grille in this photo would have been in such a situation in its original state.  As it is now, however, it's on public display to illustrate how the set-up once worked. 

As persons who live in the world, we are not enclosed by physical walls and grilles.  If we want to respond to all things "through the grillwork of the will of God," we must make a conscious effort to "see" that grille before us.  Such seeing does not come automatically, and the culture we live in doesn't help us.  In fact, if we really pay attention to what God says about (insert topic here), we are likely to find a real conflict between God's revealed will and what we're told by the world around.  Scripture and Church teaching are clear on how to think according to the basics of God's will, but how often would we rather ignore the clarity?  We can find it quite easy to succumb to the murkiness of what is most commonly thought, tolerated, said, believed, done...

It is not difficult to find God's "mind" on a particular subject.  We have Scripture, and we've been given the marvelous tool of the Official Catechism of the Catholic Church.  There is not much that can't be found therein, and there we can find the basic "bars of the grille."

I love the photo on this post (for which I thank my friend CW) because I feel it shows my exact situation.  I have chosen to view and respond to life through the will of God.  However, I can move away at any time. I can simply get up, or even lean just a little, and I'm suddenly seeing life "un-grilled and raw."  Thankfully I don't have to stay ungrilled - Jesus is always waiting to help me get back to where I belong.

We live in the midst of an "ungrilled" culture.  With one click of a TV button or computer mouse, we come face to face with life as it was not intended, by God, to be.  Again:  we will look more at these things in days to come (and on a more personal basis).  But I will leave us, today, with one example.  I opened Scripture just a moment ago, and my eyes fell upon the 18th chapter of Luke.  Reading this, I wondered.....

If I were to check in on a few TV programs tonight, or go to a movie, or read a newspaper, or look up the voting records of various politicians and leaders, how many examples might I find of "a culture ungrilled?" 

"You shall not commit adultery.   You shall not kill.  You shall not bear dishonest witness.  Honor your father and your mother."  (Luke 18:20)

And that, of course, is just the beginning.  May we have grace to remain behind the "grille" of Our Lord's merciful Heart of love.

(photo on this post was taken at the Carmel of Port Tobacco in La Plata, Maryland, site of the first Carmelite monastery in the USA) 

Text not in quotes © 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org    

Back to Basics

Someone once asked what the difference was between the "call" of a cloistered heart (to live in the will of God) and that of any other Christian.  I responded that there is no difference whatsoever.  The cloistered heart analogy is just one way of envisioning it.

We are all called to live according to the will of God.  Our Creator placed us on this earth and gave us instructions on how to live (Genesis 2:16-17).  It was pretty simple, really, and absolutely do-able.  God said, in essence: here is all you will ever need.  A splendid bounty.  You don't even have to work for it.  All I ask is that you trust Me, trust that I know what's best for you, and just do not eat of that one single solitary tree. 

Ooops.

All these millenia later, we still face the same basic choice.  Because of that first ooops, we were not born into Eden - but thanks to Our Savior, we do have an eternal garden of glory awaiting us. And the way I look at it, we also have an opportunity to live ... even on earth... in the best location possible.  A place from which we can look with anticipation toward our eternal Home.  A place in which we can be assured that God is ordering our circumstances (even when we see them as painful or murky) toward nothing but good.

Of course, I'm speaking of the will of God, the boundaries of which are mapped out for us in His Word and through His Church.  And yes, this is very basic stuff.  But oh, how easy it is to lose sight of the basics!  Which is why I'm grateful for the imagery of enclosure, and of grillwork, because these help me as I try to practice the basics day by day.

In circumstance after circumstance, we are presented with the question:  "Did God really say?"  It threads through our culture, often as a general assumption that He said no such things.  "In this enlightened, scientific, sophisticated age, do you mean to tell me you think all that stuff in the Bible is really true?!  You think God really said?  Why don't you just open your eyes and judge for yourself!!!"

"The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom..."  (Genesis 3:6)

Yes, it's all very basic.  Next time, I hope to share more about how the analogy of "grillwork" helps me practice seeing (and obeying) God's most basic call.

© 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org   

Just Having a Look....

I am enclosed within the will of God.  It is a sweet thought, isn't it?  I have chosen to live within the boundaries of God's will as these have already been built for me, to protect me.  God has given Scripture and Church teaching to show me the boundaries...  to fence me in, so to speak.  If I remain within this enclosure, I am safe from spiritual harm. 

But oh, the world outside God's will can look so appealing.  Those who live out there, "free" of the constraints imposed by the "thou shalts" and the "thou shalt nots"... well, they appear to be pretty happy.  They're choosing their own paths without regard to God, and sometimes making sport of those who try to live according to Church teaching.  They're telling bawdy stories, drinking to excess, and engaging in behavior that the Bible and the Church clearly assure us is wrong.  This is the way the world is today, we're often told... don't be a killjoy!  Keep up with the times! 

If I'm not tempted to join in these more obvious out-of-enclosure-frolics, I may have other temptations.  To gossip, perhaps; to be unkind, speak harshly, be slothful, give in to anger, be self-focused... and on and on.  The world outside God's will can at times look awfully appealing.  And after all, I'm not sealed up in a cage  There's no lock on my enclosure wall....

Day by day, I have a choice to make.  A choice not just to enter "the enclosure of God's will" once and for all - but to remain within it.  In one circumstance, and another, and in the one that catches me quite off guard. Whether or not I actually venture outside my enclosure, I do find myself sitting (all too often) on the fence.  I find that the only hopes for me, in this, are prayer, reliance upon God's grace - and some actual practicing. 

Over the next few days, I hope to provide a few illustrations of what I mean by this. 

"Do not conform yourselves to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may judge what is God's will, what is good, pleasing and perfect."  (Romans 12:2)

Text not in quotes © 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org      

Magnificats

We are back at the scene of the Visitation.  The moment Mary's greeting had been spoken, the babe within Elizabeth leaped for joy.  Immediately, Mary burst forth with the glorious words of her Magnificat:  

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exalts in God my Savior, for He has looked upon His servant in her lowliness; all ages to come shall call me blessed.  God Who is mighty has done great things for me, holy is His Name..." (Luke 1:46-49)

Was this the only time Mary burst forth with praise of God?  Of course not.  Her later words of exaltation do not have to be recorded for us to know for certain that she spoke them.  She who was sinless, holy, utterly dedicated to God, and living with Jesus within the very walls of her home... how could it be possible for her not to have uttered countless 'magnificats?'   

When Jesus took His first steps, Mary was watching.  When He spoke His first words, when He lay sleeping in her arms - can we imagine the praise within her?  As Mary prayed in the temple, cared for her home, prepared meals for her little family, surely she worshiped through it all.

In my daily life, sometimes I reflect upon Mary's magnificats.  Going on my little 'visitations' to those around me, I try to remember that in the midst of her Visitation, Mary gave thanks.  

I, too, am called by God to proclaim His greatness, sometimes within hearing of those around me, sometimes in the quiet of my heart.  The mighty things God has done for me are quite different from what He did for Mary... but He has done some great things nonetheless.  

In joyous moments, do I remember to exalt Him?  When I have an opportunity, do I proclaim the greatness of the Lord?  And what about the sad times - what then.  I have no doubt that even in the worst moments, Mary's heart could (and did) cry "holy is His Name."  When such times come to my life, I have a Mother who can assist me.  I think she can help me find the will to praise.

When Jesus took His last steps, Mary was watching.  When He spoke His last words, Mary heard them.   "John, behold your mother.  Father forgive them.  It is finished."  She was there when He was taken from the Cross.

Scripture gives us no record of what Mary said when Jesus was placed in her arms that last time.  We can only imagine.  We do know her heart, her tender, motherly heart, was pierced and broken.  Whether she uttered actual words...  we do not know that.  But we do know the attitude of Mary, and we know that her decision to trust and to praise would have been there, even then.  

In my imagination, I can almost hear it....

 My soul

 proclaims

 the greatness 

 of the Lord;

 my spirit exalts

 in God my Savior...

 God Who is mighty

 has done

 great things 

 for me.

 Holy 

 is 

 His 

 Name.

Text not in quotes © 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.  thecloisteredheart.org