Saturday, May 28, 2011

The Way of Perfection - Discussion of Chapter 41 - St. Teresa of Avila - Teresa of Jesus

                            .

            Discussion of 
            CHAPTER 41
         The Way of Perfection  

   Speaks 
   - of the Fear of God 
             and 
   - of how we must keep ourselves 
          from venial sins.
                       .
 St. Teresa taught:
    "that, with these two things
            -- Love and Fear of God -- 
       we can travel along this road
            in peace and quietness, 
                     and
       not think at every step 
            that we can see some pitfall, 
                    and 
            that we shall never reach our goal"
                                                              
    This Love of God:
       "...all love is false 
            but love of Thee"
       "May I not depart from this life 
         till there is nothing in it that I desire, 
         till I have forgotten what it is  
              to love anything but Thee 
                      and 
         till I deny the name of love 
              to any other kind of affection"
              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    
     The love of the world is false.
     "your love, itself, becomes your punishment"
     "the reason why you are so upset about it 
          is that your will strongly resents 
      your involving it in such childish pastimes"


     "These things will show you
          what the world is"
    The Fear of God
      "Yet we cannot be sure of reaching 
              (  the journey's goal - Union with God )
        so fear will always lead the way
         
        and then we shall not grow careless
        For, as long as we live, 
            we must never feel completely safe 
        or we shall be in great danger".

        "And that was our Teacher's meaning 
        when at the end of this prayer 
            He said these words to His Father, 
        knowing how necessary they were: 
        "But deliver us from evil.  Amen."
        "...At first 
            it is not very deep...
               
            It is not recognizable... 
            As it increases, 
                 it grows stronger each day,
            and then, of course, 
                 it can be recognized"
            "for those who possess it 
                forsake 
                  - sin, and
                  - occasions of sin, and 
                  - bad company..."
        "in a few people, 
            to whom,  the Lord grants 
              such great favours as
                 to make them rich in virtues and 
                 to raise them, in a very short time, 
                 to great heights of prayer"
        
          "When at last the soul 
             attains to contemplation,... 
                 its Fear of God is plainly revealed,
                        and 
                 its Love is not dissembled even outwardly. 
          However narrowly we watch such persons, 
          we shall not find them growing careless
          for, close as our watch on them may be, 
             the Lord so preserves them 
          that they would not knowingly 
             commit one venial sin 
          even to further their own interests, 
          and, as for mortal sin, 
             they fear it like fire."
██  St Teresa Advises
        "Oh, what a great thing it is 
             not to have offended the Lord"
       "Much care is needed
         if this fear of God is to be
            thoroughly impressed upon the soul; 
        though, if one has true love
            it is quickly acquired"

 "If you would gain this Fear of God

    • Remember the importance 
         - of habit and 
         - of starting to realize 
              what a serious thing 
                  it is to offend Him. 
   • Do your utmost 
         to learn this and 
         to turn it over in your minds; 
      for our life, 
         and much more than our life, 
      depends upon this virtue 
         being firmly planted in our souls. 
      Until you are conscious within your soul 
          of possessing it, 
       you need always 
    • to exercise very great care and 
    • to avoid  
          - all occasions of sin and 
          - any kind of company 
       which will not help you 
          to get nearer to God. 
   • Be most careful, in all that you do, 
         to bend your will to it; 
   • See that all you say tends to edification; 
   • Flee from all places 
        where there is conversation 
     which is not pleasing to God".
"Let us always beseech God 
        that temptation may not be strong enough 
           for us to offend Him 
        but that He may send it to us 
            in proportion to the strength
        which He gives us to conquer it"
       "the Fear 
            which I hope will never be taken from us, 
         ...is that Fear
            which will stand us in good stead"
      "... if we please Him, 
           they (' the servants...of hell')
            - will be kept at bay and 
            - will do nothing that can harm us, 
           however much they 
               lead us into temptation 
                   and 
               lay secret snares for us".
  "If we keep a pure conscience
            we can suffer little or no harm"
        so that
          "we shall all serve Him...
            we, with our whole heart...."
          "never be careless about this"
  
  "Even when the soul has that firm (purpose) 
            not to offend God...
       it may subsequently fall from time to time,
       for we 
            are weak and 
            cannot trust ourselves
       and, 
       the more determined we are, 
       the less self-confidence 
            we should have, 
       for confidence must come from God".
       "But,  
       we need not feel constrained or depressed, 
          for the Lord will help us 
                  and 
            the habits we have formed 
                  will be of assistance to us 
            so that we shall not offend Him"
       "Keep this in mind, 
            for it is very important advice, 
        so do not neglect it 
            - until you find you have 
                  such a fixed determination 
                   not to offend the Lord
                  that you would rather 
                       lose a thousand lives 
                               and 
                       be persecuted by the whole world,
                 than commit one mortal sin, 
                              and 
           - until you are most careful 
                 not to commit venial sins. 
  After Fear of the Lord is received:
        "Before we had this true fear of God 
          worldly people  
             would have helped to ruin our souls; 
          but now they will often help us 
              to love God more and  
              to praise Him 
         for having delivered us 
             from what we see 
         to be a notorious danger".
         "These will do you no harm,
             if you hate sin.
        "And whereas 
         we, for our part,
             may previously have helped 
                   to foster their weaknesses, 
         we shall now 
             be helping to repress them, 
         because they will restrain themselves 
             in our presence"


                              .
   St. Teresa discusses both

          unplanned sin 
              and 
          deliberate planned sin:
      "But it is one thing 
          - to commit a sin
               -- knowingly 
                         and 
               -- after long deliberation, 
       and quite another 
          -  to do it so suddenly 
              that 
               -- the knowledge of 
                    its being a venial sin and 
               -- its commission 
              are one and the same thing, 
                           and 
              we hardly realize what we have done,   
              although we do to some extent realize it". 
             "as far as those...are concerned, 
               who can fail to commit them frequently?" 
         "From any sin, however small, 
              committed with full knowledge, 
           may God deliver us,
           especially 
              - since we are sinning 
                      against so great a Sovereign 
                             and
              - realizing that He is watching us! 
          That seems to me to be a sin
             committed of malice aforethought; 
          it is as though one were to say:
            "Lord, although this displeases Thee, 
                I shall do it. 
                I know that Thou seest it and 
                I know that Thou wouldst 
                   not have me do it; 
            but, though I understand this,
                I would rather follow 
                   my own whim and desire 
                   than Thy will." 
           If we commit a sin in this way, 
                however slight, 
           it seems to me 
                that our offence 
                  is not small 
                  but very, very great.

.



.
   St Teresa teaches 
      what is not Fear of the Lord:




                              .
  Scrupulosity 
  
       "Do not be too strict with yourselves...
                for, if your spirit begins to quail,
             it will 
                 - do great harm 
                     to what is good in you 
                         and 
                 - may sometimes lead to scrupulosity, 
                     which is a hindrance to progress 
                         both in yourselves and in others".
                     "a person, however good in herself, 
                        will not lead many souls to God
                     if they see 
                         that she is so strict and timorous

                     these characteristics will 
                         frighten and  oppress it and 
                         lead people to avoid 
                             the road you are taking, 
                         even if they are quite clear
                              it is the best one"

      "So try... to
           • bear in mind 
                that God does not pay great attention 
                     to all the trifling matters 
                which occupy you, 
                       and 
          • do not allow these things to make 
                your spirit quail and 
                your courage fade, 
            for if you do that 
                you may lose many blessings. 
                                .

                                 .




                                  .
   Judging others unfavourably
   
         "Another source of harm is this
            we may judge others unfavourably,..     
          because they do not walk as we do
             though they may be holier than ourselves..."
          "and if they are good 
            and yet at the same time 
              of a lively disposition,
            you think them dissolute.... 
           You think such people are imperfect"
       "It is a very dangerous state of mind, 
            leading 
              to great uneasiness and 
              to continual temptation, 
           because it is unfair to our neighbour
           It is very wrong to think 
           that everyone who does not follow 
              in your own timorous footsteps 
           has something the matter with her"
       "Try... 
           to be as pleasant as you can, 
              without offending God
                         and 
           to get on as well as you can 
              with those you have to deal with,
           so that they may 
              - like talking to you and 
              - want to follow your way 
                 of life and conversation, 
                      and 
           - not be frightened and put off by virtue.

           Although you may be very sorry 
           if all your sisters' conversation is not 
                just as you would like it to be,
              never keep aloof from them 
           if you wish 
                to help them and
                to have their love"
              "the holier (one is)
                the more sociable (one)  should be"  
      "Let 
           • your intention be upright and 
           • your will determined 
              not to offend God.
           • But do not let your soul dwell in seclusion,  
              or, instead of acquiring holiness, 
                  you will develop many imperfections,  
              which the devil will implant in you...
               
                  you will not do the good 
                  that you might,
                      either to yourselves 
                      or to others."
                                  .

.



                              .
   Not  performing your duty 
        due to fear of  error
        
          "Another danger is that,
            when it is 
               - your duty to speak, 
                     and 
               - right that you should speak, 
             you may not dare to do so 
                         -- lest you say too much 
                                 and 
                         -- may perhaps speak well of things 
                                 that you ought to hate".
 ► Pray for the courage and discernment 
         to perform one's duty prudently
       for the good of all.
                                .

                                 .

                  .
        End of Discussion
            of Chapter 41
    The Way of Perfection    
                 .