19 Jul 2004 ... Chapter 10 – A saint is a person living among others, believing with ... you to
become a saint—fully human, fully alive—because to become a.
A Saint
Fully Human, Fully Alive!
Pro Sanctity Annual Formation Program 2010-2011
www.prosanctity.org
TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter from Spiritual Advisor
5
Pro Sanctity Decalogue
6
Pro Sanctity Prayer
6
Chapter 1 – A saint is but one among many, yet sees the many as one.
7
Chapter 2 – A saint is someone who is not complete but who aspires to fullness.
9
Chapter 3 – A saint is someone who is restless, never complacent, never content with half measures.
11
Chapter 4 – A saint is someone who doesn’t give up but tries and strives. A saint is a sinner, human, fragile, dependent on and in need of God.
13
Chapter 5 – A saint is one famished for love that he/she already possesses but not wholly.
15
Chapter 6 – A saint is a person in need of others to whom he tries to give not the excess of his goods but all that he has.
17
Chapter 7 – A saint is a person immersed in the present but looking toward heaven, which he tries to anticipate here on earth, according to his possibilities, in the time in which he lives.
19
Chapter 8 – A saint is a person in need of others, in order to give without measure, a being immersed in the present yet anticipating eternity.
21
Chapter 9 – A saint is a man or woman of God who always experiences the need for Him, the desire to be evermore overwhelmed by His presence.
23
Chapter 10 – A saint is a person living among others, believing with all his heart that they are brothers and sisters.
25
Chapter 11 – A saint is a masterpiece of God and of people. God needs saints for His work, and at the same time, saints manifest the ideal God asks us all to live. 27 Chapter 12 – A saint is the continuation in time of the redemptive love of the Word made flesh so that we might know the Father’s love.
29
Pro Sanctity Spiritual/Apostolic Tool Chest (Index)
31
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
32
The Explosive Gospel
33
AAAR - Acknowledge, Relate, Receive Respond
34
3
Pauses of the Spirit
38
Christological Experience
38
Seven Helpful Ways to Remain in the Presence of God
39
Prayer to St. Therese for Humility
40
The Daily Examen
40
Pro Sanctity Apostolic Style: Pray before, during and after
41
Twelve Ways to Build up the Culture of Love
43
The Decalogue of the Pro Sanctity Sower
44
Prayer to Our Lady of Trust
45
Prayer for the Beatification of Servant of God, Bishop William Giaquinta O loving God, Father of all goodness Christ our Redeemer, Spirit of Holiness, in your infinite and untiring love for us you never fail to invite us to holiness. We thank you because in your servant, William Giaquinta, you have made your gifts shine forth. He contemplated the infinite love of your Son and he was a tireless apostle of the Universal Call to Holiness. We pray to you, if it is your will, to manifest in him your glory and by his intercession to grant us the grace that we ask of you: (Pause for your own personal intentions.) Amen. With ecclesiastical approval, Diocese of Brooklyn July 19, 2004
www.prosanctity.org
4
August 28, 2010 Memorial of St. Augustine
Dear Pro Sanctity Members, “Each one should have a saint that is familiar to him, to whom he feels close with prayer and intercession, but also to imitate him or her. Hence, I would like to invite you to know the saints better, beginning with the one whose name you bear, by reading his life, his writings. You can be certain that they will become good guides to love the Lord ever more and valid aids for your human and Christian growth.” (Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, August 25, 2010).
With these words, our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI instructs us in a way that is very close to the heart of Pro Sanctity. From our beginning as a Movement in the Church, Bishop Giaquinta has urged us to know and love the saints better, so that we can know and love Christ better. The Holy Father repeats the same sentiment when he urges us to know our patron saints, especially the saint of our baptismal or confirmation name, and other saints who are near to us. It might be the saint of our parish or a saint to whom we have long had devotion. Each of us should make this a specific goal for this coming year. Why not spend some time at least one day each week, perhaps Sunday, with that saint? Take time to read a biography or a writing of the saint, and learn how that familiar saint loved and served Jesus. The saints are tremendous friends for us. They not only show us how to follow Christ with great love and devotion, but they teach us how to be more fully human. The saints lived Christ’s life. If we are convinced that Jesus Christ is what life is really about, we will embrace the invitation to imitate these great men and women, these heroes of the spiritual life. They show us how to live, not according to the standards of the world, but according to the standard of Christ. St. Augustine in 5th century Africa, St. Catharine of Siena in 14th century Italy, St. Therese of Lisieux in 19th century France, are just a few examples. But there are countless others, in many different countries and over many centuries, to show us and teach us how to love and follow the Lord Jesus. May this formation manual help you to grow on the path to holiness. May it help you to become a saint—fully human, fully alive—because to become a saint is what God really wants for you! Monsignor Andrew J. Vaccari National Spiritual Advisor 5
Pro Sanctity Decalogue Servant of God, Bishop W. Giaquinta 1.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Strive for perfection. Develop your prayer life. Foster your sacramental life. Be faithful to the teachings of the Holy Father. Offer the Pro Sanctity Prayer daily. Offer your sufferings in union with Jesus Crucified for the holiness of all persons, Each week offer Mass and Communion for the holiness of priests. Give time to the apostolate of the Pro Sanctity Movement. Aid the apostolate for holiness financially. Invoke Our Blessed Mother to help you live and spread God’s call to holiness. The Pro Sanctity Prayer The essence of the Pro Sanctity Movement is expressed in the petition at the end of the prayer – “Give us…the trust to attain holiness with the help of Mary….” This is why the prayer is special to the Movement and is to be said every day by all Pro Sanctity Members.
Jesus, Divine Master, who came down from heaven to give us the abundance of grace, increase it within us and make it become a river that overflows into eternal life. Of your free will, you chose the agony of your passion and death, and in the Eucharist you give yourself as food for all people – help us to understand the greatness of such an example. May the fire of your love burn away the impurities of our human weakness, and give us the strength to follow your invitation to the infinite perfection of the Father. Of faith, give us firmness; of charity, zeal; of hope, firm certainty. Give us the desire to be heroic in every virtue, and the trust to attain holiness with the help of Mary, your mother and our mother. Amen.
6
Chapter 1 – A saint is but one among many, yet sees the many as one. Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of love and Holiness. You who overshadowed Mary making her Mother of the Eternal Word, dwell in us and make us apostles of holiness. (See Spiritual Tool Chest for the full version.)
Sharing of graces from the month before. Do not skip! (5 minutes) Introduction: “God does not lack inspiration, but goes on being creative. You are unique There is no doubt about that. We might thank heaven because too many of you, or too many of me, would be disastrous. You are unique, but you are not alone. We are all parts of a very large whole. We are members of an incredibly complex human society. All of us have to play our part. We belong together like players in a band…each playing their own instrument, each playing their part. To know that one is unique, and yet part of something larger, that is humility.” (Joseph G. Donders – Jesus the Stranger: Reflections on the Gospels, p 43, Orbis Books. Used with permission of the publisher)
Read and pause briefly. Pay attention to what stirs in your mind and heart. 1 Corinthians 10:17 “Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” Romans 12:4-5 “For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another.” (2 minutes) A Quote from Bishop Giaquinta – “Human wisdom counts for nothing before God. Although…we try to be qualified persons, let us not forget that professional or academic qualifications are not essential to our life [in God]. It is through the Cross that we conform ourselves to Christ. “I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20) Ultimately, I am to live in God, not only for my own sake, but for the sake of others: that together we might live no longer for ourselves, but for him….We are not to reconcile ourselves with the world, but rather, reconcile the world with God….” ( Retreat of July, 1972 on the Theology of the Cross) (2 minutes) A Prayer by Bishop Giaquinta – “Grant us the ability to be for others—for your brothers and sisters—your light, your heart, your hands, that we may walk with them toward you and together reach Our Father in Heaven. Amen.” (Prayers – Apostles of Brotherhood, p 112) (4 minutes) “A Little Apostolic Work” Choose a concrete point for personal and communal apostolate as a result of what we have heard. This is what the Lord is calling us to do. Do not skip! (2 minutes) Examples of Apostolic Work o call and share graces with two people each day o invite five people each to the next event
7
o o o o
offer to pick someone up for the next retreat read and share one of the Founder’s prayers, books, retreats, or poems pray and fast on the 15th of every month for holiness; encourage others to join you Use the Pro Sanctity Websites and the Pro Sanctity Blog as sources for your personal formation and sharing – tell others! Go to www.prosanctity.org and you will find links to the different Centers and Blogs.
NOTES AND A.R.R.R. See Tool Chest #3 for explanation of A.R.R.R.
8
Chapter 2 – A saint is someone who is not complete but who aspires to fullness. Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of love and Holiness. You who overshadowed Mary making her Mother of the Eternal Word, dwell in us and make us apostles of holiness. (See Spiritual Tool Chest for the full version.)
Sharing of graces from the month before… (5 minutes) – do not skip! Introduction – There are those who, while they recognize the glory of God as well as the importance of man and the call addressed to him in general, believe, in false humility, that his call is meant for all others but not for themselves. They deem themselves too wretched to dare assume that it might be their personal call. This excess of humility, for all the hesitancy it involves, is not free of an element of pride. For here, man presumes to decide for himself where he stands instead of leaving the decision to God. Whether I feel worthy to be called is irrelevant—that God has called me is the one thing that matters. If he calls me by name, my duty is to answer, “Here I am.” (Adapted from Dietrich von Hildebrand – Transformation in Christ: On the Christian Attitude, p 168, Ignatius Press)
Read and short pause – pay attention to what stirs in your mind and heart… 2 Timothy 1:9 “He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began.” 1 Peter 5:5-6 “Clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for: ‘God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble.’ So, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” (2 minutes) A Quote from Bishop Giaquinta – Too often we do what we want, not what God wants. If we put these questions to every action, ‘Lord, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to do this? Do you want it done this way?’ I think that often the Lord would say, ‘No, don’t do this, do that—it may be against your own will, but it conforms more to my tastes, rather than your own tastes.’ We must seek the will of God, and then, once found, adhere to it in whatever form it takes. In this union of our will with the will of God lies perfection. Jesus’ food was to do his Father’s will, while our food is often to do our own will, not the will of God. (Adapted from How to Bring About Holiness) (2 minutes) A Prayer by Bishop Giaquinta – “Here at your feet, Crucified Lord, I gaze on you; but the more I gaze, the less I understand. My body trembles as I ponder your words to the Father: ‘My food is to do your will and to drink of the cup you have prepared for me, even though bitter and terrifying.’ Crucified Lord, do you understand my terror? Do you empathize with my inability to surrender to your love and to say “yes” in obedience to the Father? Help me, Lord, for I would like to surrender…but only with your help will I be able to echo with my being the painful fiat of your Mother.” (Prayers – The Christ of Obedience, p 34) (4 minutes)
9
“A Little Apostolic Work” Choose a concrete point for personal and communal apostolate as a result of what we have heard. This is what the Lord is calling us to do. Do not skip! (2 minutes) Examples of Apostolic Work o invite four people to accompany you to the next Formation Meeting o form a group and meet weekly to pray with and discuss a prayer by Bishop Giaquinta o attend Mass on two weekdays each week to pray for the spread of the call to holiness o write an article on the subject “Holiness is Being the Best Version of Yourself” and submit it to your local Pro Sanctity Newsletter o Use the Pro Sanctity Websites and the Pro Sanctity Blog as sources for your personal formation and sharing – tell others! Go to www.prosanctity.org and you will find links to the different Centers and Blogs.
NOTES AND A.R.R.R.
Suggestions: Review #2, The Explosive Gospel this month from the Tool Chest. Take advantage of any workshops or seminars on the new “Roman Missal” and related liturgical opportunities.
10
Chapter 3 – A saint is someone who is restless, never complacent, never content with half measures. Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of love and Holiness. You who overshadowed Mary making her Mother of the Eternal Word, dwell in us and make us apostles of holiness. (See Spiritual Tool Chest for the full version.)
Sharing of graces from the month before… (5 minutes) – do not skip! Introduction – “I already know that you avoid mortal sins. You want to be saved! But you are not worried about that constant and deliberate falling into venial sins, even though in each case you feel God’s call to conquer yourself…. What little love for God you have when you give in without a fight because it’s not a grave sin!... How sad you make me feel when you are not sorry for your venial sins! For, until you are, you cannot begin to have true interior life.” (St. Josemaría Escrivá – The Way, p 79-80, Scepter Publishers, Inc.) Read and short pause – pay attention to what stirs in your mind and heart… Ephesians 5:15-16 “Watch carefully then how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil.” Revelation 3:15-16 “I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” (2 minutes) A Quote from Bishop Giaquinta – “Jesus embraces the person who is poor and weak, and shows his pierced heart, not to authorize mediocrity, but so that the person may strive to the maximum toward the perfection of the Father’s love….We must correspond with our strength, that is, to the maximum, to this love of the Father and of Jesus, accepting and actuating the message received … It is easy to imagine what kind of world we would have if all persons, or at least Christians, would accept—not only in theory and words, but in the crude reality of their lives—the maximum-love message of Christ.” (The Gospel Maximum of Love, p 4-5) (2 minutes) A Prayer by Bishop Giaquinta – “O God of love…look upon your many children who have gone astray, or who are immersed in mediocrity….Create in all the faithful a burning desire to become holy and to be animators and apostles of your love among all people. Give the courage to persevere to those who have already embraced such a [life]….Amen.” (Prayers – For Vocations, p 94-95) (4 minutes) “A Little Apostolic Work” Choose a concrete point for personal and communal apostolate as a result of what we have heard. This is what the Lord is calling us to do. Do not skip! (2 minutes) Examples of Apostolic Work o invite two or three people to your home for coffee and a discussion on “Who is a saint?”
11
o arrange a post-formation meeting with five others to share additional thoughts on what stirred your mind and heart in the Scripture quotes talked about today o incorporate the “Prayer for the Beatification of Bishop Giaquinta” into your daily prayers, especially seeking his aid for your personal holiness o write an article on the subject “Holiness is Being the Best Version of Yourself” and submit it to your local Pro Sanctity Newsletter o attend Mass on two weekdays each week to pray for the spread of holiness o Use the Pro Sanctity Websites and the Pro Sanctity Blog as sources for your personal formation and sharing – tell others! Go to www.prosanctity.org and you will find links to the different Centers and Blogs.
NOTES AND A.R.R.R.
Suggestion: Review #9, Twelve Ways to Build a Culture of Love this month from the Tool Chest.
12
Chapter 4 – A saint is someone who doesn’t give up but tries and strives. A saint is a sinner - human, fragile, dependent upon and in need of God. Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of love and Holiness. You who overshadowed Mary making her Mother of the Eternal Word, dwell in us and make us apostles of holiness. (See Spiritual Tool Chest for the full version.)
Sharing of graces from the month before… (5 minutes) – do not skip! Introduction – “I considered that I was born for glory and when I searched out the means of attaining it, God…made me understand my own glory would not be evident to the eyes of mortals, that it would consist in becoming a great saint!... I always feel, however, the same bold confidence of becoming a great saint because I don’t count on my merits, since I have none, but I trust in Him who is Virtue and Holiness. God alone, content with my weak efforts, will raise me to Himself and make me a saint, clothing me in His infinite merits.” (St. Thérèse of Lisieux – Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, p 72, ICS Publication)
Read and short pause – pay attention to what stirs in your mind and heart… Daniel 12:12-13 “Blessed is the man who has patience and perseveres until the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days [the time of persecution]. Go, take your rest, you shall rise for your reward at the end of days.” Romans 12:11-12 “Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.” (2 minutes) A Quote from Bishop Giaquinta – I am a human being with a human heartbeat and love that is visible, tangible, and concrete. But, since God is a spirit, how can I know what His love is like? That is why He sent his Son as His own image—to be the human and concrete expression of the Father’s love. Jesus is God, yes, but He is also human—with human blood in his veins, a cardiac rhythm, and a human heartbeat. Thus, when Jesus speaks of love, we know He means it in human terms, just as we do. (Adapted from Retreat of August 1962 on The Spirituality of the Pro Sanctity Organization) (2 minutes) A Prayer by Bishop Giaquinta – “Lord, I have nothing to offer. To you I would bind myself forever. You hear the Psalm of my heart, Lord. ‘O, to live only for love.’ It is true I am nothing in your sight; I have neither strength nor voice, Lord. But when you let your gaze fall upon me, I bloom beneath your grace and love…” (Prayers – Tell Me, My Lord, p 85) (4 minutes) “A Little Apostolic Work” Choose a concrete point for personal and communal apostolate as a result of what we have heard. This is what the Lord is calling us to do. Do not skip! (2 minutes)
13
Examples of Apostolic Work o invite four people to accompany you to the next Formation Meeting o form a group and meet weekly to discuss a prayer by Bishop Giaquinta o invite five people each to the next event o read and share one of the Founder’s prayers, books, retreats, or poems o ask four people to join you in a Holy Hour during which you will include a prayer to St. Thèrése for humility (see Tool Chest for a sample prayer) o Use the Pro Sanctity Websites and the Pro Sanctity Blog as sources for your personal formation and sharing – tell others! Go to www.prosanctity.org and you will find links to the different Centers and Blogs.
NOTES AND A.R.R.R.
Suggestion: Review #4, Seven Helpful Ways to Stay in the Presence of God this month from the Tool Chest. Make a personal review of your use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Spiritual Direction.
14
Chapter 5 – A saint is one famished for love that he/she already possesses but not wholly. Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of love and Holiness. You who overshadowed Mary making her Mother of the Eternal Word, dwell in us and make us apostles of holiness. (See Spiritual Tool Chest for the full version.)
Sharing of graces from the month before… (5 minutes) – do not skip! Introduction – “There are those who are driven by the love of God, as in the case of Mary, who poured out expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus. To love God in this way is a great gift, because it gives an ultimate meaning to our lives that is totally fulfilling. We are made for this love, even though we may fall short of the dedication that moved Mary as she poured out her precious perfume. Her love was marked by an enthusiastic extravagance that perhaps we have not been able to match. But we can pray daily for the gift to love God unselfishly, with as much energy as we are able to muster.” (Kenneth E. Grabner, C.S.C. – Gazing into God’s Open Heart:101 Pathways to Joy, p 137, Author House. Used with permission of the author.)
Read and short pause – pay attention to what stirs in your mind and heart… Song of Songs 1:4 “Draw me! We will follow you eagerly! Bring me, O king to your chambers. With you we rejoice and exult, we extol your love; it is beyond wine; how rightly you are loved.” Song of Songs 2:3-5 “As an apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my lover among men. I delight to rest in his shadow, and his fruit is sweet to my mouth. Strengthen me with raisin cakes, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love.” (2 minutes) A Quote from Bishop Giaquinta – “The soul that both perceives her nothingness and is purified enjoys intimacy with the Lord. This intimacy is the fruit of the gift of piety, pietas, the familial virtue. The soul enjoys familiarity with God, and in this light, experiences God as Father and herself as His child…. Gradually the soul grows in intimacy with God and enters into a state of particular affectivity toward Jesus the Lord, and the humanity of Jesus…. Piety is essentially directed toward God; then it moves the soul toward the humanity of Jesus, the Spouse of the soul; finally it is directed toward all people who are considered brothers and sisters.” (Retreat of May-June, 1958, The Gifts of the Holy Spirit) (2 minutes) A Prayer by Bishop Giaquinta – “Lord, I know you have loved me from eternity. You love me and long to make my relationship of love with You stronger and stronger throughout the years. Grant that this knowledge be the light that leads my every step, the norm that guides my every action, and especially the flame that burns in my heart instilling renewed strength for my journey.” (Prayers – You Have Loved Me from Eternity, p 24) (4 minutes) “A Little Apostolic Work” Choose a concrete point for personal and communal apostolate as a result of what we have heard. This is what the Lord is calling us to do. Do not skip! (2 minutes) 15
Examples of Apostolic Work o call and share graces with two people each day o offer to pick someone up for the next retreat o pray and fast on the 15th of every month for holiness; encourage others to join you o invite two or three people to your home for coffee and a discussion on “Who is a saint?” o arrange a post-formation meeting with five others to share additional thoughts on what stirred your mind and heart in the Scripture quotes talked about today o Use the Pro Sanctity Websites and the Pro Sanctity Blog as sources for your personal formation and sharing – tell others! Go to www.prosanctity.org and you will find links to the different Centers and Blogs.
NOTES AND A.R.R.R.
Suggestion: Review #7, Daily Examen this month from the Tool Chest.
16
Chapter 6 – A saint is a person in need of others to whom he/she tries to give not the excess of his/her goods but all that he/she has. Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of love and Holiness. You who overshadowed Mary making her Mother of the Eternal Word, dwell in us and make us apostles of holiness. (See Spiritual Tool Chest for the full version.)
Sharing of graces from the month before… (5 minutes) – do not skip! Introduction – “Mother Teresa voluntarily surrendered her personal life completely to the service of humanity. She not only made herself poor but also a servant to the poor. As she often said, ‘The mantle that hides a life of self-sacrifice is a life of joy and happiness.’ If we hesitate to embrace a life of self-sacrifice and lose our faith that God will take care of us, then we deny ourselves the opportunities for peace and happiness that God desires for us.” (Paul A. Wright, M.D. – Mother Teresa’s Prescription: Finding Happiness and Peace in Service, p 114, Ave Maria Press. Used with permission of the publisher)
Read and short pause – pay attention to what stirs in your mind and heart… Matthew 20:28 “[T]he Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Luke 21:2-4 “He noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, ‘I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for these others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.’” (2 minutes) A Quote from Bishop Giaquinta – “We must accustom ourselves to acting seriously and giving terms their true value. When we call our neighbor ‘brother’ or ‘sister,’ it means that he or she is neither a stepbrother or stepsister nor an adopted member of the family, but a true brother, a true sister, in whose veins runs our same blood—the grace of Baptism, actual or potential—that flowed from the side of Christ, who made us His brothers and sisters on the Cross…. If we want to help [them], let us not give crumbs of our time or energy; if we want to contribute money, let us not give alms, but put in common everything we can, accepting the sacrifices this will entail. If we want to be truly generous, let us not limit ourselves to easy, comfortable cases, but try to be present wherever we may be useful and necessary, without stinting our efforts when we egotistically see few or no results. (Love is Revolution, p 71) (2 minutes) A Prayer by Bishop Giaquinta – “Jesus, divine Martyr of Calvary, in the mysterious plan of Your love, You have allowed me to taste a sip from Your bitter cup of suffering. My nature rebels and would cry and pray that this cup be taken away from me. May Your grace help me bow my head in a fiat of acceptance…. Help me appreciate suffering and accept it with patience and love. Help me see suffering as an opportunity for purification and an occasion of growth and holiness…” (Prayers – Divine Martyr of Calvary p 32) (4 minutes)
17
“A Little Apostolic Work” Choose a concrete point for personal and communal apostolate as a result of what we have heard. This is what the Lord is calling us to do. Do not skip! (2 minutes) Examples of Apostolic Work o attend Mass on two weekdays each week to pray for the spread of holiness o write an article on the subject “Holiness is being the best version of yourself” and submit it to your local Pro Sanctity Newsletter o invite five people each to the next event o read and share one of the Founder’s prayers, books, retreats, or poems o Use the Pro Sanctity Websites and the Pro Sanctity Blog as sources for your personal formation and sharing – tell others! Go to www.prosanctity.org and you will find links to the different Centers and Blogs.
NOTES AND A.R.R.R.
Suggestion: Review #10, Decalogue of the Pro Sanctity Sower this month from the Tool Chest.
18
Chapter 7 – A saint is a person immersed in the present but looking toward heaven, which he/she tries to anticipate here on earth, according to his/her possibilities, in the time in which he/she lives. Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of love and Holiness. You who overshadowed Mary making her Mother of the Eternal Word, dwell in us and make us apostles of holiness. (See Spiritual Tool Chest for the full version.)
Sharing of graces from the month before… (5 minutes) – do not skip! Introduction – “We have dual citizenship, one on earth and one in heaven. But our citizenship in heaven governs our earthly citizenship, which is why believers have so often been viewed as a threat to the state. In our culture believers are more likely seen as a bit odd for not celebrating the dominance of materialism.” (Arthur Simon – How Much is Enough? Hunger for God in an Affluent Culture, p 36-37, Published by Baker, a Division of Baker Book House. Used with permission of the author.)
“…it is clear that among [Jesus’] most marked characteristics, as recorded in the Gospels, were His friendship for sinners, His extraordinary sympathy for them, and His apparent ease in their company…. And yet … this characteristic … is one of His supreme credentials for divinity; since none but the highest could condescend so low—none but God would be so human.” (Robert Hugh Benson – The Friendship of Christ: Exploring the Humanity of Jesus Christ, p 76-77, Scepter Publishers, Inc.)
Read and short pause – pay attention to what stirs in your mind and heart… Luke 15:2 “But the Pharisees and scribes began to complain saying, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Philippians 3:18-20 “For many … conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ … Their minds are occupied with earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven.” (2 minutes) A Quote from Bishop Giaquinta – All Christians are called to holiness. In Lumen Gentium, Vatican II solemnly declared this to us. A saint is not merely someone who works extraordinary miracles, but a person who tries to love God with all his/her heart, mind, soul, and strength. We cannot say, ‘I am called to holiness, but you are not.’ Therefore, we must be patient not only with ourselves, but with each other, and help each other to holiness. (Adapted from Retreat of July, 1972, on The Theology of the Cross) (2 minutes) A Prayer by Bishop Giaquinta – “Lord You are our Creator and our Father. We, Your children, address our filial prayer to You. We no longer know how to live as brothers and sisters. All of us are poor, yet we steal from one another…. All of us crave rest and silence, yet we deafen one another with our endless bickering. Come among us once again, as our Father, our Mother, and our Brother. Let us feel Your presence, so our childish arguments may cease and peace may be established in the joy of divine brotherhood. Amen.” (Prayers – For Universal Brotherhood, p 111) (4 minutes)
19
“A Little Apostolic Work” Choose a concrete point for personal and communal apostolate as a result of what we have heard. This is what the Lord is calling us to do. Do not skip! (2 minutes) Examples of Apostolic Work o attend Mass on two weekdays each week to pray for the spread of holiness o write an article on the subject, “Holiness is being the best version of yourself” and submit it to your local Pro Sanctity Newsletter o offer to pick someone up for the next retreat o arrange a post-formation meeting with five others to share additional thoughts on what stirred your mind and heart in the Scripture quotes talked about today o read and share one of the Founder’s prayers, books, retreats, or poems o Use the Pro Sanctity Websites and the Pro Sanctity Blog as sources for your personal formation and sharing – tell others! Go to www.prosanctity.org and you will find links to the different Centers and Blogs.
NOTES AND A.R.R.R.
Suggestion: Review #8, Pray Before, During, and After this month from the Tool Chest.
20
Chapter 8 – A saint is a person in need of others, in order to give without measure, a being immersed in the present yet anticipating eternity. Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of love and Holiness. You who overshadowed Mary making her Mother of the Eternal Word, dwell in us and make us apostles of holiness. (See Spiritual Tool Chest for the full version.)
Sharing of graces from the month before… (5 minutes) – do not skip! Introduction – “Though we may suffer from imperfections, failure, and weakness, we may by God’s grace look forward to a whole new life. ‘Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who…will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body’ (Phil. 3:20-21)…. Here’s a great promise to hold onto while we await that day. ‘Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth.… ’ When we reach heaven … we’ll experience the joyous freedom of being holy forevermore.” (Sheila Cragg – Journey Toward Holiness: A Daily Guide for Prayer and Godly Living, p 26-27, Potter’s Hand Publishing. Used with permission of the author.)
Read and short pause – pay attention to what stirs in your mind and heart… Exodus 18:18-19 “The task is too heavy for you, you cannot do it alone. Now listen to me and I will give you some advice that God may be with you.” Mark 6:7 “He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits.” (2 minutes) A Quote from Bishop Giaquinta – We must become holy, but we need people who, with their lives, show us the way. Without them to strengthen and encourage us, we give up on our efforts too easily. For this reason, we must implore the Holy Spirit to give us His grace and the support of men and women to walk with us, inspire us, and become our friends so we can walk the road of holiness together. (Adapted from Love is Revolution, p 114) (2 minutes) A Prayer by Bishop Giaquinta – “God, Lord of heaven and earth, we adore you, we praise you, and we bless you. We thank you for having called us to know, love, and serve you, one another, and our world. Fill us with your Spirit; help us to journey together toward the fullness of love. Increase the number of people who desire to love you and make you loved…” (Prayers – Let Us Pray, p 113) (4 minutes) “A Little Apostolic Work” Choose a concrete point for personal and communal apostolate as a result of what we have heard. This is what the Lord is calling us to do. Do not skip! (2 minutes) Examples of Apostolic Work o invite four people to accompany you to the next Formation Meeting o form a group and meet weekly to discuss a prayer by Bishop Giaquinta 21
o call and share graces with two people each day o pray and fast on the 15th of every month for holiness and encourage others to join you o incorporate the “Prayer for the Beatification of Bishop Giaquinta” into your daily prayers, especially seeking his aid for your personal holiness o Use the Pro Sanctity Websites and the Pro Sanctity Blog as sources for your personal formation and sharing – tell others! Go to www.prosanctity.org and you will find links to the different Centers and Blogs.
NOTES AND A.R.R.R.
Suggestion: Review #3, A.R.R.R. this month from the Tool Chest and #2 The Explosive Gospel.
22
Chapter 9 – A saint is man or woman of God who always experiences the need for Him, the desire to be evermore overwhelmed by His presence. Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of love and Holiness. You who overshadowed Mary making her Mother of the Eternal Word, dwell in us and make us apostles of holiness. (See Spiritual Tool Chest for the full version.)
Sharing of graces from the month before… (5 minutes) – do not skip! Introduction – “I am not alone. In the secret depths of my poor human substance is the presence of God. Not a God who is a solitary, but a God who is Trinity, a God who is love. A God who is Father, a God who is a Son, a God who is Holy Spirit. But a God made One by love. And a God whose love enables me to become one with Him….By finding God in you, you have found yourself…. This is fullness lived on this earth, contemplating the Unity and the Trinity of God, the way in which God loves Himself and loves us in Himself.” (Carlo Carretto – The God Who Comes, translated by Rose Mary Hancock, p 99, 101, Orbis Books)
Read and short pause – pay attention to what stirs in your mind and heart… Psalm 119:10 “With all my heart I seek You: do not let me stray from Your commands.” Luke 18:1 “Then [Jesus] told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.” (2 minutes) A Quote about Bishop Giaquinta – “His prayer, rich with faith, gradually became an essential synthesis: the blend of prayer and life. The two pivotal roles of his prayer were God, contemplated in His divine love, and a yearning for holiness. Oh, how Bishop Giaquinta prayed for universal holiness! How he contemplated all the manifestations of God’s love! God, as the good and providential Father; Christ-Love from the cave to the cross and resurrection; the Holy Spirit, fount of charity and holiness; Mary, the loving Mother of the Redeemer and our Mother.” (From the Foreword of Bishop Giaquinta’s book , Prayers) (2 minutes) A Prayer by Bishop Giaquinta – “Prayer is looking at the Father, listening to the Son, Word of the Father, letting the Spirit mold us into the image of Christ.” (Prayers – Prayer, p 13) (4 minutes) “A Little Apostolic Work” Choose a concrete point for personal and communal apostolate as a result of what we have heard. This is what the Lord is calling us to do. Do not skip! (2 minutes) Examples of Apostolic Work o read and share one of the books listed under “For Further Reading” in the 2010-2011 Formation Guide o invite five people each to the next event 23
o invite two or three people to your home for coffee and a discussion on “Who is a Saint?” o arrange a post-formation meeting with five others to share additional thoughts on what stirred your mind and heart in the Scripture quotes talked about today o pursue holiness by praying the “Examen Prayer” of St. Ignatius each day (see Spiritual Tool Chest) o Use the Pro Sanctity Websites and the Pro Sanctity Blog as sources for your personal formation and sharing – tell others! Go to www.prosanctity.org and you will find links to the different Centers and Blogs.
NOTES AND A.R.R.R.
Suggestion: Review #4 and #5, Seven Helpful Ways to Stay in the Presence of God and The Christological Experience this month from the Tool Chest.
24
Chapter 10 – A saint is a person living among others, believing with all his/her heart that they are his/her brothers and sisters. Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of love and Holiness. You who overshadowed Mary making her Mother of the Eternal Word, dwell in us and make us apostles of holiness. (See Spiritual Tool Chest for the full version.)
Sharing of graces from the month before… (5 minutes) – do not skip! Introduction – “We should ask for the Father, we should be with the Father, but not in such a way that we escape our responsibilities. Jesus shouted for His Father while hanging on the cross. He looked up, He searched the horizon, He scanned the skies. His Father did not come, but His Father sent Him the power to stay with us, to take up His responsibility among us, even on the cross! He looked up vertically, but He stayed with us horizontally. That is what our position should be, to look up for the Father, but only that…. We should look up to get from the Father the force and power to work in this world, in this country, horizontally, to help to create justice and peace, dignity and universality.” (Joseph G. Donders – Jesus the Stranger: Reflections on the Gospels, p 98-99, Orbis Books. Used with permission of the publisher.)
Read and short pause – pay attention to what stirs in your mind and heart… Luke 22:32 “I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers.” 1 John 2:10 “Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall.” (2 minutes) A Quote from Bishop Giaquinta – “We are brothers and sisters because of our common origin from one and the same Creator, God. We are all, either already or potentially, brothers and sisters in Christ, since He has merited for everyone the grace of divine filiation. Since we are all brothers and sisters, we should love one another fully and heroically, as Christ our Lord loved us: this is spiritual brotherhood…. In Christ all people are our brothers and sisters. The more they approach us, the more Christ draws himself nearer to us…. Let your conduct be a genuine and authentic witness to a brotherhood that pervades every level of your contact with others: your personal, family, social, and business ties.” (Brotherhood, p 9, 11, 16) (2 minutes) A Prayer by Bishop Giaquinta – “Lord, you have called us to be an answer for our brothers and sisters by first living this commandment of love ourselves, then announcing to all that brotherhood, more than justice, is the answer to our problems. We wish to fulfill the mission you have entrusted to us, speaking of love and brotherhood to everyone. Therefore, O Lord, grant us the ability to speak and the courage to witness…. Give us the strength of the Spirit to be builders of a world in which everyone can live as brothers and sisters. Amen.”(Prayers – Builders of a New World, p 109-110) (4 minutes)
25
“A Little Apostolic Work” Choose a concrete point for personal and communal apostolate as a result of what we have heard. This is what the Lord is calling us to do. Do not skip! (2 minutes) Examples of Apostolic Work o invite four people to accompany you to the next Formation Meeting o form a group and meet weekly to discuss a prayer by Bishop Giaquinta o attend Mass on two weekdays each week to pray for the spread of holiness o invite two or three people to your home for coffee and a discussion on “Who is a Saint?” o arrange a post-formation meeting with five others to share additional thoughts on what stirred your mind and heart in the Scripture quotes talked about today o Use the Pro Sanctity Websites and the Pro Sanctity Blog as sources for your personal formation and sharing – tell others! Go to www.prosanctity.org and you will find links to the different Centers and Blogs.
NOTES AND A.R.R.R.
Suggestions: Review #9, Twelve Ways to Build a Culture of Love and meditate on #11 Prayer to our Lady of Trust this month from the Tool Chest.
26
Chapter 11 – A saint is a masterpiece of God and of people. God needs saints for His work, and at the same time, saints manifest the ideal God asks us all to live. Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of love and Holiness. You who overshadowed Mary making her Mother of the Eternal Word, dwell in us and make us apostles of holiness. (See Spiritual Tool Chest for the full version.)
Sharing of graces from the month before… (5 minutes) – do not skip! Introduction – “Although the active and the contemplative are the two ways of life in the Holy Church, yet within them … there are … three ascending stages…. The first stage is the good and upright Christian life in which love is predominantly active in the corporal works of mercy. In the second, a person begins to meditate on spiritual truths regarding his own sinfulness, the Passion of Christ, and the joys of eternity. The first way is good, but the second is better, for here the active and contemplative life begin to converge…. In the third stage, a person enters the dark cloud of unknowing where in secret and alone he centers all his love on God. The first stage is good, the second is better, but the third is best of all.” (The Cloud of Unknowing, written by an unknown mystic in the 14th Century, edited by William Johnston, p 76, an Image Book, published by Doubleday.)
Read and short pause – pay attention to what stirs in your mind and heart… Psalm 8:5-6 “What are humans that you are mindful of them, mere mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them little less than a god, crowned them with glory and honor.” Luke 10:39-42 “[Martha] had a sister named Mary [who] sat beside the Lord at His feet listening to Him speak. Martha … came to Him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me. The Lord said to her in reply, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” (2 minutes) A Quote from Bishop Giaquinta – “If action springs forth from contemplation, and contemplation gives heed to a strong desire for action, then we arrive at that mixed state of life that ultimately is the most perfect state since it is patterned on the same life lived by Jesus. Jesus spends His nights in prayer (Luke 6:2)…. His days are so intensely filled with activity that He is unable to find a single free moment for Himself. Jesus’ life is indeed the most perfect type of life.” (Program of Spiritual Life, p 52) (2 minutes) A Prayer by Bishop Giaquinta – “Lord, grant us saints. Grant us people of God, people for whom God is everything. Grant us people filled with love for You; people who never look without seeing You, never listen without hearing You. Grant us people able to rescue the world from its materialism by impressing it with the evidence of Your
27
salvation…. Help them to understand that to be a Christian is to be a saint; for a Christian is a person conformed to God; a whole integrated person…. Lord we need saints because we need salvation. Lord, grant us saints!” (Prayers – Lord, Grant Us Saints, p 75) (4 minutes) “A Little Apostolic Work” Choose a concrete point for personal and communal apostolate as a result of what we have heard. This is what the Lord is calling us to do. Do not skip! (2 minutes) Examples of Apostolic Work: o invite four people to accompany you to the next Formation Meeting o form a group and meet weekly to discuss a prayer by Bishop Giaquinta o attend Mass on two weekdays each week to pray for the spread of holiness o write an article on the subject “Holiness is being the best version of yourself” and submit it to your local Pro Sanctity Newsletter o Spread the news about our next retreat and/or National Convention to be held in Schuyler, Nebraska: Retreat July 25-29, 2011, Convention July 29-31, 2011! o Use the Pro Sanctity Websites and the Pro Sanctity Blog as sources for your personal formation and sharing – tell others! Go to www.prosanctity.org and you will find links to the different Centers and Blogs.
NOTES AND A.R.R.R. Suggestion: Review this month the Websites and Blogs, your use of, and how you have shared from them.
28
Chapter 12 – A saint is the continuation in time of the redemptive love of the Word made flesh so that we might know the Father’s love. Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of love and Holiness. You who overshadowed Mary making her Mother of the Eternal Word, dwell in us and make us apostles of holiness. (See Spiritual Tool Chest for the full version.)
Sharing of graces from the month before… (5 minutes) – do not skip! Introduction – Jesus, the God-man, hangs upon the cross in perfect obedience to the will of the Father who loves Him. In the Fifth Word he speaks from that pre-ordained pulpit, “I am thirsty,” Jesus yearns for souls who will burn with a passionate thirst for Him and His Father. (Rosemary Darmstadt – Pro Sanctity Member) Read and short pause – pay attention to what stirs in your mind and heart… Psalm 42:2-4 “As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for You, O God. My being thirsts for God, the living God. When can I go and see the face of God. My tears have been my food day and night, as they ask daily, ‘Where is your God?’” Psalm 63:2-4 “O God, You are my God—for you I long. For You my body yearns, for You my soul thirsts, like a land parched, lifeless and without water. So I look to You in the sanctuary to see Your power and glory. For Your love is better than life, my lips offer you worship.” (2 minutes) A Quote from Bishop Giaquinta – Redemptive love is the love of the Father, which in Christ and in the Spirit saves and satisfies us. We respond to this love by offering our lives as instruments to continue the Father’s love. (Adapted from AO Constitution #9) (2 minutes) A Prayer by Bishop Giaquinta – “O Jesus who, agonizing on the cross, left to Your faithful people Your ‘I am thirsty’ of love and sorrow, grant that I, too, may quench Your tormented thirst. I understand that Your thirst is for all people…. Many did not understand You … and … Your suffering way ended on the cross [from which] You told all people of Your love and thirst for souls…. Give me the grace to enter into Your Heart, furnace of redemptive love, in order to consume myself in it, out of love for You and for my brothers and sisters.” (Prayers – Let Me Quench Your Thirst, p 59) (4 minutes) “A Little Apostolic Work” Choose a concrete point for personal and communal apostolate as a result of what we have heard. This is what the Lord is calling us to do. Do not skip! (2 minutes) Examples of Apostolic Work: o call and share graces with two people each day o invite five people each to the next event o offer to pick someone up for the next retreat and/or National Convention to be held in Schuyler, Nebraska: Retreat July 25-29, 2011, Convention July 29-31, 2011! 29
o read and share one of the Founder’s prayers, books, retreats, or poems o pray and fast on the 15th of every month for holiness; encourage others to join you o Use the Pro Sanctity Websites and the Pro Sanctity Blog as sources for your personal formation and sharing – tell others! Go to www.prosanctity.org and you will find links to the different Centers and Blogs.
NOTES AND A.R.R.R.
Suggestion: Review #5 Pause of the Spirit and #7 Daily Examen this month from the Tool Chest. Conclude the year by reviewing spiritual and apostolic growth and graces with your Spiritual Director.
30
Pro Sanctity Spiritual/Apostolic Tool Chest Tool Chest Index 1. Prayer to the Holy Spirit 2. The Explosive Gospel 3. A.R.R.R – Contemplation and Action 4. Seven Helpful Ways to Stay in the Presence of God 5. Pause of the Spirit and Christological Experience 6. Prayer of Humility 7. Daily Examen 8. Pray Before, During, and After – Pro Sanctity Style! 9. Twelve Ways to Build a Culture of Love 10. Decalogue of the Pro Sanctity Sower 11. Prayers to Our Lady of Trust NOTE: For a complete understanding and opportunity to experience all these forms of prayer and apostolic resources, a course called “Pro Sanctity School of Interiority for Mission” will be sponsored in your area by the National Pro Sanctity Board.
Before we try to find organizational or practical ways to communicate the charism, it is necessary that we strive for a relational capacity; that is, strive for bonds of affection that are true and free and for a "charity that is patient and well disposed" (1 Cor. 13:4-7). For it is charity that makes us signs and witnesses, as well as carriers, of Christ's love into the world. We should be attractive signs of a charity that is nourished by a deep interior life. Such interior life should become exteriorly visible as the true face of our spirituality. Servant of God, Bishop Giaquinta, Fidelity, 1993
31
Always begin with a prayer to the
Holy Spirit Come Holy Spirit, Spirit of love and holiness. You, who overshadowed Mary making her Mother of the eternal Word, Dwell in us and make us apostles of holiness. You, who gathered the Church in the Cenacle Around our Immaculate Mother and the Apostles, Instill in us the spirit of the Cenacle And help us gather into one family Those who want to love you and make you loved. We wish the Church and the world to become a Cenacle From which love for the Father And our brothers and sisters radiates. O Holy Spirit, make us instruments of your plan of love. Amen. (Servant of God, Bishop W. Giaquinta)
Short Version Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of love and holiness. You who overshadowed Mary making her Mother of the Eternal Word, dwell in us and make us apostles of holiness
www.prosanctity.org
32
The Explosive Gospel! “Surely if this true Gospel came close to our mediocrity, it would make it explode into the bits of rubble it really is!” (The Gospel Maximum of Love). By Loredana Reitano, A.O. Our Founder, Servant of God, Bishop W. Giaquinta, designed a specific method of Lectio Divina for the Pro Sanctity Movement. The goal is a meditation that leads to interiorization and the incarnation of God’s Word into our daily life. The Gospel must EXPLODE in our personal and community life. It is a Word capable of revolutionizing our way of feeling and thinking, living the faith and immersing ourselves in the reality where God has placed us. THREE MOMENTS 1) A look of love – Meditation and Contemplation – It is the moment to contemplate and meditate on the text. We do this in order to gather the maximum love that Christ, through his Word, wants to give us. Look with love at the Word and the Word will look back at you with love! It reveals to us the infinite love of Jesus for us. The Facilitator may offer a few points for meditation on the passage chosen. He/she may invite all to share either the verse that spoke to their hearts or the place at which they felt moved. 2) The Word challenges – We are confronted by the Word not only in love, but also in the way it enlightens us as to where we must grow or where there may be contradictions in our lives personally or in the community. The Facilitator may offer a few insights for personal revision or in regards to social situations. He/She may invite everyone to share these areas of contradiction and challenges to love more authentically. 3) The Word gives direction. It is a prophecy in the sense of insight for future action. We are invited in the third moment to apostolic action. It is where the members of the Movement are invited to make a commitment to become prophets of the Gospel that revolutionizes their lives. The Facilitator may ask: Where does the Word call us to conversion? What are we called to do apostolically in a personal way and as a community?
www.prosanctity.org
33
Pro Sanctity Members Give to others the fruit of your interior life from interiority to mission!
ARRR: Acknowledge, Relate, Receive, Respond “Prayer is looking at the Father, listening to the Son, Word of the Father, letting the Spirit mold us into the image of Christ.” + Bishop Giaquinta ARRR is a treasure given to the Church through the Institute for Priestly Formation to assist people in their journey of holiness by illuminating the particular elements essential to deepening Trinitarian intimacy. If we are not growing in union with the Trinity, we are not growing in our interior life or our communion with our brothers and sisters. Our Founder reminds us: “Our love is to reach the magnitude of self-giving service; our unity is to be modeled on the Trinity” (The Cenacle, 25), that we may be All Saints, All Brothers and Sisters. Below is a brief description of the various moments or elements contained in any authentic, growing life of prayer, whether it be through formal or vocal prayers, the Mass, quiet adoration, or Lectio Divina. Acknowledge, Relate, Receive, and Respond are the essential elements present in our dialogue with God. We are deeply grateful for the gift of this efficacious tool. In addition to the marvelously practical nature of ARRR, we were delighted to discover that it is deeply resonant with our Founder’s instructions in the interior life and have included the words of Bishop Giaquinta in each element.
ACKNOWLEDGE Prayer is a relationship, a dialogue, between God and man. Since we are called to make a gift of our self (GS 24), it is necessary to first be in possession of our self, to know our self. To ACKNOWLEDGE is simply to be aware. The awareness that we need for our dialogue with God is specifically the awareness of our thoughts, feelings, and desires, especially those that directly impact our relationship with God. What am I thinking? How do I feel? What do I desire? From our Founder The constant awareness of God's presence, and our desire for interior life, must be the motivating force that will help us to provide time for prayer in which we experience and express our poverty, our "Waiting" for the Lord and our readiness to respond to His requests. To be aware that we depend completely on God. (Our Prayer) Practically, the Institutes - with the Pro Sanctity Movement, as the primary form of their apostolate - are all directed to the same goal: to help the People of God
34
become aware of and live, in an integral way, the call to the fullness of love for God and neighbor, that is, the call to holiness. (14 Letters, 25) The members of the Church should also perceive their collective and personal weakness, and therefore those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb should together search for the Spirit's will. It is from this awareness that springs the desire and the need for mutual help toward a goal that is to be sought after with deep humility, knowing that very often the comprehension of the goal is beyond the grasp of but one single person. (14 Letters, 68)
RELATE Simply put, to RELATE is to tell Jesus everything! It’s not too silly; it’s not too unimportant; He already knows, but we need to tell Him. Even if we have told Him the same thing a million times, if we find it in our heart, we need to tell Him again. Some things we take to the Father; others seem to be matter for the Holy Spirit; often we speak to Jesus about the thoughts, feelings, and desires of our heart; or Mary is constantly ready to receive all that we find in our heart. Thus we share the thoughts, feelings, and desires in our heart as we become aware of them. From our Founder Between us and God there must be a dialogue that gives rise to charity…through which we grow in God’s love. The foundation of interior life, therefore, is precisely this: union, through dialogue with God. (Our Life as Apostolic Oblates, 28) As Moses entered into the cloud and in that obscurity spoke with God, listening to His ordinances, so we, in the obscurity of the mystery of faith, must find God, speak with Him and receive from Him directions and ordinances. (14 Letters, 67) In meditation we must never omit the last part: conversation. That is, we must never omit the affective part: the heart-to-heart conversation with Our Lord, with God, with Mary – we must never omit this part. (Our Life as Apostolic Oblates, 39) It is an interior silence that we assume for a positive goal: to speak with God and to desire this dialogue with God, and to maintain interior recollection. (Our Life as Apostolic Oblates, 33)
RECEIVE Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, explains: “Prayer is pure receptivity to God's grace, love in action, communion with the Spirit who dwells within us, leading us, through Jesus, in the Church, to our heavenly Father. In the power of his Spirit, Jesus is always present in our hearts, quietly waiting for us to be still with him, to hear his voice, to abide in his love, and to receive ‘power from on high,’ enabling us to be salt and light
35
for our world” (July 20, 2008). This is God’s work, not ours. We must ACKNOWLEGE AND RELATE with the light of the Holy Spirit to dispose our heart to receive God, but it is not in our power to instigate the experience of God’s love and life in our heart. Instead, we must simply notice how our thoughts, feelings, and desires change and notice new thoughts, feelings, and desires. Thoughts, feelings, and desires that draw us to God ARE God. From our Founder To receive Jesus as often as we can should be the common practice not only of the saints, but of all believers. In St. John’s Gospel, chapter six, we read: if you do not eat my flesh, you will have no life in you. Based on this truth, the Church concludes that the Lord’s command implies a minimal and a maximum dimension. That is, the Lord invites us to receive Him frequently (maximum) in order to receive an abundance of grace, or at least to receive Him whenever possible (minimum). (Retreat on Jesus) To pray is to walk in the presence of God: a presence leading us to conversion, calling us to compare our daily life with the Lord's wishes and encouraging us to be fully receptive and docile to the action of the Holy Spirit. All that I have said will remain mere words if not received, responded to, and put into practice with generosity and great effort toward the goal of holiness. (Spirituality of the PS Organization)
RESPOND We RESPOND to gifts we receive. Our heart’s natural RESPONSE to God’s love is gratitude. Receiving God impels us – with great ease and simplicity – to RESPOND. A RESPONSE flowing from the experience of the love of God is accompanied by joy and is immensely fruitful, contrasting the tedious and limited results of our exertion alone, however well-intentioned we may be. In our RESPONSE, we remain in the gift of God, receiving Him as we are propelled into an expression of love for our brothers and sisters. It is impossible to separate our authentic RESPONSE from the action of God’s love received in our heart. From our Founder To make prayer the basis for every apostolic action. (Our Prayer) Redemption has two dimensions: objective and subjective. Objective redemption comes from Christ; subjective redemption is received and internalized by the human person. Objective redemption, per se, has no purpose without subjective redemption, that is, it remains ineffective without our disposition to receive, to respond, and to put into use Christ’s redemptive grace. Therefore, Christ’s redemption must be personalized, must be made personal by each individual person. Christ, the Priest and mediator, offers me the possibility to be redeemed.
36
Through his grace, Christ enables me to cooperate with his redemptive act, so that I can return to the Father. (Retreat on Jesus, 69) In living out the call to holiness - whatever the demands and details required by one's own life - everyone is loved infinitely by God, and called by Him to respond with their maximum of love-holiness. (14 Letters, 62) All that I am and do must be a response of love, and must influence everyone in the city, so to speak, and in the nation. Everyone and everything is subject to this law of love that is received and reciprocated. (Spirituality of the PS Organization)
www.prosanctity.org
37
PAUSES OF THE SPIRIT Pauses of the Spirit are times spent in prayer and reflection in order to understand as a community what the Spirit says to us here and now, where the Spirit is leading us, what are the demands He addresses to us. Our Founder introduced us to the Pauses of the Spirit during a day of recollection in 1982. He said, “When do we place ourselves in the attitude of listening to the Spirit? It seems to me we have to listen to the Spirit always. However, if we wish a clear and real turning-point for our Bethanies and the Institute and for members of the Movement, we are called to practice the Pauses of the Spirit. That is, to take time to listen to the Spirit systematically, not just once in a while, in order to ask ourselves what demands the Spirit places today, in this present historical time, on our communities, families and the Institute. Fidelity to the Pauses of the Spirit, concreteness in defining His promptings, generosity in their pursuit, courage in the community review, will assure each community and the whole Institute an authentic journey in the light of the Spirit” (Day of recollection “Our Spirituality,” April 24, 1982).
CHRISTOLOGICAL EXPERIENCE Christological Experience is a way of internalizing the Word of God and reviewing the community. It takes place in three steps: Memory: Encounter with the Word of God. The passage of Scripture is read and presented briefly. Mystery: Silent pause of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. The Eucharistic Jesus enlightens us inwardly and helps us enter into the true meaning of the Word just heard. Afterwards, we will share with the community what the Lord has suggested and we personally have perceived. Prophecy: The gift of light and grace received is assumed as a commitment by each individual and the community. This commitment directs, too, the apostolic action.
www.prosanctity.org
38
SEVEN HELPFUL WAYS TO REMAIN IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD
Servant of God, Bishop W. Giaquinta
1. Anticipate your appointment with the Lord. Prepare your heart not by thinking about what you are going to do or say, but simply anticipate that special moment when you will meet. 2. Truth will reach the heart with slow assimilation: Repetition! Pay close attention to the Word you hear or read. Choose a line or phrase to take with you the rest of the day. Repeat it often, savor it in your mouth, taste its sweetness. 3. Memorize lines from scripture or good spiritual books. Most of us have to force our poor brains to do this, but the effort is well worth it. Tucked away in our memories we can return to its goodness any time of the day or night. St. Augustine recommended short prayers (i.e. My Lord and My God, Your will be done, etc.), he said they were like arrows of love shot into the heart of God. 4. Pay close attention to the short prayers you read everyday: The Hail Mary, Our Father, Sign of the Cross, meal prayers, etc. Take advantage of the many moments throughout the day when you can pause and rest in His presence. 5. Have a Christ-centered imagination: For some this particular point will be useful and easy, for others, with a little less imaginative power, it will be difficult to practice. Try to imagine our Lord in the Eucharist, or as he was during His earthly life, imagine Him close to you, touching you, conversing with you, etc. Paint a picture in your mind of the mysteries of his life (especially while reciting the rosary). Force your imagination a little; it won't hurt. It is better to fantasize about our Lord during prayer, than to allow our minds to wander, brood, dwell on small hurts, petty feelings, vain thoughts, etc. 6. The practice of a simple quiet prayer and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament can be the most rewarding of all your prayer practices. One important point to remember, adoration is not a time for reading, the rosary, scripture study, or the like! It should be a quiet period before Him, loving Him and adoring His presence. Make an effort to acquire the practice of simply gazing at Him: "He looks at me and I look at Him" (St. John Vianney). 7. The last point is the most general. View the happenings of your day as God would view them. In all things see God. We are the temples of the Holy Spirit and every instant of our lives is full with the divine and Trinitarian presence. It only makes sense that the Lord should influence our vision, our thoughts, our decisions, in everything, for it is in Him that we "live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).
www.prosanctity.org
39
A Prayer to St. Thérèse for Humility (From a prayer leaflet distributed by The Josephites, 1130 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21202)
My Jesus, give the grace to practice virtue in little things. It is sometimes difficult, but I trust in your goodness, and your love for humble persons. I am too weak to climb the ladder of perfection alone, but I know that I shall obtain from you the help I hope for. I join the Little Flower in asking you for this blessing. Amen. z Good time to read: Story of a Soul: Autobiography of St. Thérèse By St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church
The Daily Examen (Ignatian Spirituality.com, a service of Loyola Press)
The Daily Examen is a technique of prayerful reflection on the events of the day in order to detect God’s presence and to discern his direction for us. 1. Become aware of God’s presence. 2. Review the day with gratitude. Gratitude is the foundation of our relationship with God. Walk through your day in the presence of God and note its joys and delights. 3. Pay attention to your experience. Reflect on the feelings you experienced during the day. Ask what God is saying through these feelings. 4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it. Ask the Holy Spirit to direct you to something during the day that God thinks is particularly important. It may be a vivid moment or something that seems insignificant. 5. Look toward tomorrow. Ask God to give you light for tomorrow’s challenges. St. Ignatius encouraged people to talk to Jesus like a friend. End the Daily Examen with a conversation with Jesus. Ask forgiveness for your sins. Ask for His protection and help. Ask for His wisdom about the questions you have and the problems you face. Do all this in the spirit of gratitude. Two great resources for prayerful reflection: z The Examen Prayer: Ignatian Wisdom for Our Lives Today z An Ignatian Introduction to Prayer: Scriptural Reflections According to the Spiritual Exercises Author: Fr. Timothy M. Gallagher, OMV
40
Pro Sanctity Apostolic Style: Pray before, during, and after We are to pray before, during, and after every apostolic endeavor to effect authentic apostolic fruitfulness. What does that look like…is it really enough? Pray BEFORE Our Founder was not Pelagian, and this is good news for us. He understood that everything is grace and God desires our every action to be a free response to His love. So even though it seems simple and even minute, prayer BEFORE apostolic activity is really the heart of everything. FIRST, it means that we are immersed in the life of God in our daily life; that we learn to articulate, appropriately, the salvation of God in our day; that we can receive, identify, and share the activity of the Spirit in our heart. We must be witnesses that can speak of the One Who draws us to Himself and propels us into mission. SECOND, it means that we are immersed in who we are called to be. This means we are constantly reading (and receiving) the Founder, Scripture, our Constitution (for Oblates), writings of the Church and the Saints, and theology. We must be equipped! THIRD, it requires us to ask, ask, ask! Our Father promises to grant our requests. We must frequently recall the many experiences we have of this truth and never omit it. In our asking, we often see more clearly what He wants from us because He always gives us what is best and most necessary. FOURTH, it means that we are deeply attentive to one of our most powerful capacities-to intercede. Placing our brothers and sisters before our father, in Jesus, through the Spirit literally changes the world. This, more than anything we say or do, fulfills our mission most perfectly. FIFTH, it means that we must practice discernment daily. Learning more and more to listen to the Spirit, to listen to the Word, to listen to our Founder prepares us to listen during moments of greater external activity. Pray DURING “Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will also do” (Jn. 5:19). “Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me, you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5). GIFTS WE NEED TO “PRAY DURING” Trust Fidelity in preparation Humility Recollection Joy Pause… Simplicity Listening 41
Pray AFTER GRATITUDE is the heart’s natural response to grace received. It is the place to start! In the midst of the gratitude for the grace and all God accomplished in our mission, we will also see opportunities for improvement with clarity, simplicity, and hope. We will also see the places we were inattentive or resistant, but it will be in the context of God’s promise to overcome our poverty rather than self-recrimination. ENTRUST all to the Trinity and Mary. All those whom God entrusts to us in our apostolate, we must constantly entrust back to Him and to Mary and the Saints. TAKE THE FOUNDER WITH US AS WE GO “having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power in us who believe…” (Eph 1:18-19) The Father loves us infinitely as His sons and daughters. Each one of us must discover deep within ourselves this unique reality: we are children of God, thus we can call ourselves His sons and daughters (SPSM Ch 1). Everywhere and every moment we are involved in this tension toward the fullness of the love that the Father has shown us in His Son (Giaquinta). God loves us infinitely and asks for the fullness of our love. He proposes this not as an option, but rather, as a command (SPSM Ch 1). Let us revive our vocation as missionaries of holiness! “To the world, so disoriented, we wish to bring a new ideal and make it aware that every heart must strive for a holiness of life” (Giaquinta, Program of Spiritual Life). Before we try to find organizational or practical ways to communicate the charism, it is necessary that we strive for a relational capacity; that is, strive for the bonds of affection that are true and free and for a “Charity that is patient and well disposed” (1 Cor. 13:4-7). For it is charity that makes us signs and witnesses, as well as carriers, of Christ’s love into the world. We should be attractive signs of a charity that is nourished by a deep interior life. Such interior life should become exteriorly visible as the true face of our spirituality. (Giaquinta, Fidelity, 1993) All that I am and do must be a response of love, and must influence everyone in the city, so to speak, and in the nation. Everyone and everything is subject to this law of love that is received and reciprocated. (Giaquinta, Spirituality of the PS Organization)
www.prosanctity.org
42
We invite you to take time to meditate on each of these points written by Servant of God, Bishop W. Giaquinta and put them into practice slowly but surely.
TWELVE WAYS TO BUILD UP THE CULTURE OF LOVE 1. To have the courage to talk about SPIRITUALITY and to invite others to make a journey of spirituality. 2. To be and to manifest ourselves to others as children of peace. 3. To avoid to the maximum quarrels and disputes. 4. To fight, within ourselves and around us, the anxiety of wanting to possess always more. 5. To have and to spread a sense of optimism in valuing the problems of life. 6. To cultivate steadfastness and fidelity in our life of relating with others: interpersonal/family/social relationships. 7. To multiply concrete gestures of love towards our neighbors. 8. To speak about God's love and our duty to love Him in return. 9. To cultivate personal, community and liturgical prayer. 10. To make known to others the dimensions of humility, goodness, love and peace of Jesus and to strive to incarnate them. 11. To spread the spirit of the beatitudes proclaimed by the Lord. 12. To develop a personal relationship with Mary and encourage others to do the same.
www.prosanctity.org
43
The Decalogue of the Pro Sanctity Sower We invite you to take time to meditate on each of these points written by Servant of God, W. Giaquinta and put them into practice slowly but surely.
1. Jesus is the good sower; devil is the sower of evil. 2. The sowers of good have with them the power of Christ. 3. Jesus sowed the seed by teaching with his life and his words these three points: -God who is love loves us to the maximum -He desires our total response in love for him and for each other -We must respond with unconditional love for him and for each other 4. Jesus called us as partners in spreading this message: it is the Pro Sanctity apostolate. 5. For those who have accepted this challenge, Pro Sanctity work is a fulltime commitment. 6. The world needs witnesses but also active workers. 7. However, it is not enough to carry out the given work; we must strive to become leaders. 8. Each person who is called can reach this in the strength of the Spirit. 9. A day should never go by without doing some Pro Sanctity apostolic work. 10. This work is for instance: -to pray that all may hear the message and respond in holiness of life -to make this message known -to organize activities for the spiritual life (children, teens, adults, elderly) -to form others to become active workers in the Pro Sanctity Movement These ten points can help you in your Pro Sanctity work; try to remember them, but above all try to live them. Servant of God, Bishop W. Giaquinta
www.prosanctity.org
44
Our Patroness, OUR LADY OF TRUST Always begin and end your day with a prayer to our Lady! Drawn by the need of your help in the many trials that engulf us in this life, we come to your feet, O Virgin of Trust, to pour out to the heart of a mother our wishes and failings. Although it is our duty to strive for perfection, it is also true that our mortal body makes the path difficult, and the enemies of our soul cease not from their attacks, while everywhere we are enticed to leave the difficult and straight way known by only a few travelers. And all the while, our suffering along the way, our own interior weakness and temptations press heavily to torment us and produce in our souls a feeling of faintness and sadness, which means only one thing: distrust, in ourselves, in our ideal, in the means to attain it. But your motherly look, which follows us, and your Immaculate Heart, which your Son points out to us, open our souls to a new feeling—the assurance of your help. And we want it, O Mary. We ask it of you, we beg for it, O loving Mother. When sin entices us, stay with us and be our strength. When mediocrity absorbs us, do not leave us. When the ascent to the perfection of the Father leaves us weary, whisper a word of help, O Mary—trust! If we will listen to this word of yours, the way will be easier, the goal closer, and our confidence more certain that we shall reach sanctity. So repeat this word often—trust. Repeat it to us and to everybody, O Mary, because all people must become saints. Amen. Servant of God, Bishop W.Giaquinta
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, true model of every holiness, give trust to become saints. www.prosanctity.org
45
