Lenten Mission: The Fulfillment of All Desire | Session 1

welcome to the first week of our four-week  Lenten seminar what we're going to be doing   is we're going to continuing our journey  through the wisdom of the saints on the   spiritual journey we're going to be using this  book the Fulfillment of All Desire a Guidebook   for the Journey to God based on the wisdom of the  saints that I’ve written we're having a special   20% discount on it in case you'd like to get it  but just go to our website and enter the code   and we'll put that on the screen at certain  points we'll put it in the chat and then we uh   you can get it if you like to but you don't need  to get it I’m going to be referring to pages in   here because people who have the book want me to  say what page I’m on but I’m going to encourage   people even when I give the page numbers uh not  to go there right now maybe jot it down if you   like to look at it later but just pay attention as  I talk about these things and unfold them and we   try to be in a like a meditative, contemplative  hearts open to the Lord open to the Holy Spirit   kind of frame as we go through this and  uh so that's what we're going to be doing   and then I’m going to start with a little summary  of what we did during our Advent Mission we did a   four-week Advent Mission too we did it on some of  the basic decisions and basic truths concerning   the spiritual journey our goal is to kind of  grow in the Lord our goal is to respond to   the Lord's call to be holy as he is holy  we spent a lot of time in our very first   session in Advent and I’m just going to  repeat that right now for a few minutes some of the most powerful things the Lord has  said to us are so radical and so in your face   and so true that we just let it kind of pass us  by without taking in what's really being said   what the Lord has said he says be holy because  I am holy whoa the Lord is really holy like he's   infinitely holy he's transcendentally holy he's  transcendentally good and beautiful and true   he's saying be holy like he is holy now that's  almost impossible in fact that is absolutely   impossible because only God is holy so the only  way this can work is that he makes us holy but   in order for him to make us holy we have to make  ourselves available to him and receive the wisdom   he wants to give us that help us identify  what the holy spirit is doing in our soul   so that we can cooperate with it and so  that's what the wisdom of the saints is   what this book is it's drawing on seven Doctors  of the Church what it means to be a Doctor of the   Church is to be somebody who's not only a saint  but to be somebody who's been given a depth of   understanding and wisdom by the Lord to help us  make the spiritual journey I think there's 35 or   36 Doctors of the Church now but the certain  Doctors of the Church that have an expertise   in spiritual wisdom about how you get from  baptism to the beatific vision and those are the   ones that we're going to be drawing on actually  I brought some show and tell this week you know   we're going to be talking about Catherine of Siena today and this is the only book she wrote it's   called the Dialogues what it is her account of  when she asks God the Father to give her wisdom   about certain things about the spiritual life  she'd write down what she heard God the Father   telling her and so what the Church says this is  a very reliable guide it's not saying that every   word in here is like the inspiration of scripture  but it's saying that this substantial wisdom from   God here that's really important so we're going  to be drawing on that book she's also written   thousands of letters and there's two whole volumes  now translated into English of her letters so   there's a lot more there besides her dialogues but  her dialogues is considered her major contribution   to spiritual journey we're also going to be  talking about John of the Cross tonight and   this is the collected works of John of the Cross  it's about 750 pages or so and it contains his   four major works of Spiritual Canticle Dark Night  uh Ascent of Mount Carmel and Living Flame of Love   and we'll be drawing on all those in the course  of these four weeks probably one way or the other   and then we're also going to be talking a little  about tonight about Teresa Avila and Teresa of   Avila’s writings are collected into three  volumes here's volume one here's volume two   here's volume three and these are all her  written works and sayings she also has lots   of letters too but uh the this contains her main  works the Interior Castle Interior Mansions it's sometimes translated her autobiography and  other really good things there as well so   that's the sources that we're drawing on but  the reason why I wrote this book is because   most people when they open up John of the Cross  for example and they open up to Ascent of Mount   Carmel and they say I don't understand what he's  talking about and that was my first experience   when I first turned back to the Lord  when I was a senior at Notre Dame   I really wanted to grow in the Lord I knew there  was deep stuff in these Doctors of the Church   so I picked up a book by John of the Cross and  after about 60 or 70 pages I put it down because   I didn't quite get what he was talking about and  what I did get was it seemed kind of negative it   seemed kind of impossible seemed like too tough  for me so I put it down and then it wasn't until   20 or 25 years later that I was taking a course  in Catholic spirituality at Sacred Heart Seminary   in Detroit where I’m now teaching and uh this time  I was ready for it was another book it was called   Spiritual Canticle and if you are going to start  somewhere with John of the Cross I recommend that   but I honestly would recommend before  you tackle any of the original writings   uh is that you do go through Fulfillment of All  Desire which kind of synthesizes their teaching   and brings it together in a clear organized way  sometimes uh the organizational principle isn't so   clear in some of the writings sometimes there's  kind of doubling back and doubling forward and   so I the Lord I think helped me to put this  together in an orderly clear way so I recommend   this first and then if you wanted to go to  the original writings they're there also okay   so what we did in the Advent Mission is we  stressed how absolutely essential is the call to   holiness that we talked about Hebrews chapter 12.  I talked about this last night we just finished   the Lift Jesus Higher Rally last night once a year  we normally go to Toronto Canada and have really a   tremendously big rally with four or five thousand  people and young people we couldn't go this year   so we did an online uh virtual uh Toronto rally  uh thing even though it was here in Ann Arbor but   so many people in Toronto were helping us make it  possible and we had so many people from Toronto   from across the country in Canada be able  to share so uh last night I shared this too   I’m going to share it again it was the main  theme in the first talk I gave in the advent   series and it's really important Hebrews  chapter 12 it says strive for that holiness   without which nobody can see the Lord another  way of saying that is strive for holiness   or you won't be admitted into heaven now this can  sound a little intimidating a little overwhelming   uh but the fact is that the only people who are  in heaven have been made holy by the Lord so the   only people in heaven are saints yes really not  necessarily canonized saints but people through   who have become completely one with God's will  have completely let go of anything in opposition   to the loving powerful good will of God and  themselves become healed of the effects of sin   and have become united with the will of God so  that has to happen in order for us to be with   the Lord forever you know if God is holy we have  to become holy so this is not an option for people   if you want to be with the Lord forever if  you want to be in heaven rather than hell   you've got to strive for holiness but in order  to strive for holiness we need to receive some   of the wisdom that the Catholic Church  has to help us know how to how to point   in that direction how to make ourselves  available to the action of the Holy Spirit also in the advent series incidentally the Advent  series is still available on our YouTube channel   so if you go to the Renewal mMinistries' YouTube  channel uh the four talks from the Advent Mission   are there and if you have time to look at them  they'll be helpful you don't need to have been   at the Advent Mission in order to get a lot out  of the Lent Mission but uh I’m not going to repeat   the stuff from the Advent Mission except this  little summary I’m doing here at the beginning   but uh the stuff there is helpful it's useful but  the talks here stand-alone they're going to be   generally in a certain area but uh you don't need  to have gone through the Advent Mission or listen   to the talks on the Advent Mission to make sense  out of the Mission so in in the Advent Mission we   talked about the four principles that govern  the spiritual life this will be just a very   quick review principle number one the spiritual  journey is totally dependent on the grace of God   you can't make yourself holy but God can principle  number two even though the spiritual journey   is totally dependent on the grace of God our  effort is necessary we talked about what kind   of necessity what kind of effort we needed to do  we needed to make space in our room for God we   need to pay attention to God we need to pray and  meditate on his word but we also need to turn away   from those things that block our relationship with  the Lord we need to turn away from serious sin   we need to turn away from less serious sin we  need to reject the affection for sin that rises   in our soul we need to learn how to deal with  temptation nip it in the bud and so all those   things are we're in the advent talks principle  number three even though the spiritual journey is   totally dependent on the grace of God even though  it takes some effort on our part responding to the   grace of God uh there's also some painful  dimensions to the process of purification   which on the cross talks about dark nights  we're probably not going to get to that   in depth until the fourth of the Lenten talks so  that we're going to save that for the fourth week   of this Lenten series we're going to talk about  the deeper purification we're going to talk about   the deeper freedom that the Lord brings us from  that deeper purification and also don't be afraid   of it don't be afraid of it it's going to be  good news all of this is good news all this is   how God is really dedicated to helping us become  like him and one with him and ready for heaven   fourth principle is that even though we don't make  it all the way to full union with God even in this   life whatever progress we make is so precious is  so valuable that every effort we can make every   cooperation with God's grace that we can make is  going to be a blessing for us and a blessing for   everybody else in our life then we talk very  briefly about the traditional three stages   of spiritual growth so those are four principles  that are applicable at every stage of the journey   uh the three stages that are traditionally  talked about are the purgative illuminative   and unitive uh different saints talk about them in  different ways I have a chart I think it's on page   13 or oh yeah page 13 kind of correlating the  different language that these different Doctors   of the Church use uh but traditionally  it's been talked about as three stages   purgative the initial purification the initial  painful turning away from serious sin the initial   painful turning away from worldly pursuits uh in  a wrong kind of way the initial painful turning   away from relationships that are out of order uh  so you know and the initial beginning to pray the   initial beginning to develop habits of prayer and  holiness in our life then the illuminative way   is after the initial stability comes  into our life through the purgative way   then we start growing in virtue the Lord begins  to dig deeper uh we begin to learn how much is   possible prayer deepens uh things like that uh  hey I just saw Phil Gigliotti uh kinda in the   chat he was there at the Lift Jesus Higher Rally  yesterday in Ann arbor good to see you Phil yeah I   can't look at the chat too much because I need to  pay attention to what I’m saying but it's really   great to see everybody so let us know you know  where you're from uh it's so inspiring to know   people from hey Melbourne Florida Cleveland, Ohio  Groveland, Florida you know it's so inspiring now   it's not the same all being in person in one room  where we can kind of be face to face but it's   inspiring in in another way a very real way all  kinds of people who could never be in one place   tonight can be together uh through the technology  that we're using but also through the holy spirit   so it's really uh it's really a blessing uh  that this worldwide brotherhood sisterhood of   fellow Catholics who want to grow in the Lord  and even some protestants who want to grow in   the Lord I had a protestant come up to me last  night at the Lift Jesus Higher Rally he was an   episcopalian and he said he read one of my books  and he said I just can't pick and choose anymore   from what Jesus says and what the Church teaches  I can't pick and choose anymore I need to become a   Catholic so he's in RCIA right now which is really  fantastic it's really true we can't pick and   choose we need to take everything that the Lord  says to us and receive it and let it form our life the third stage is the unitive way as we come  into a more profound union with the Lord and   the deeper purification the deeper freedom that  comes from that which we'll be talking about   in the fourth week so right now what are we  going to talk about tonight we're going to talk   about the biblical world view this is chapter  4 of the fulfillment of desire but like I say   don't go to it right now you just listen to what  I’m saying I’m going to read some things from it   you know make a note or if you'd like to take a  look at yourself later but that's just my opinion   you know that's why I say to uh the seminarians  in my class at the seminary or priest in my summer   classes uh I don't give out my notes I say just  pay attention just listen to the word of God you   know just be on a meditative frame of mind and  you can kind of check out references later but   that's just my opinion if you don't want to do  that you could you can go to chapter four but yeah   there's no rules in this class there's no tests of  this class which is good now Father Mike Schmitz   who many of you know he's probably got  one of the most popular YouTube channels   uh as of a few weeks ago it may still be the case  today he has the number one app in the entire   apple store it's called bible in a year you know  he reads the bible for about 20 minutes a day or   so it makes a few comments on it and had 30  million downloads now when he announced it he   said he was reading Fulfillment of All Desire  and he got to chapter four he says right he's   read it multiple times he got to chapter four  chapter four was called the biblical worldview   and in that chapter I talked about every single  saint had a biblical worldview they looked at   the world as God looks at the world they valued  things as God valued things they prioritized   things as God prioritized things so he said look  I want to be a saint so I want to have a biblical   worldview so I’m really going to do the bible in  a year and so that was like you know one of the   inspirations for his amazing project that's going  on right now I got to tell you one other thing   I was I’m reading this for spiritual reading  right now this is called Charles Borromeo   Selected Orations Homilies and Writings  I’m not necessarily recommending that   you get this although people tell me if you  mentioned people gonna want to get to it but   it's good but it's strong medicine  Charles Borromeo is a saint when he was   21 years old his uncle Pope Pius IV made  him a cardinal this was in the 16th century   it's called the counter-reformation  a reform in the Catholic Church   trying to respond to the protestant reformation  and a year later he got ordained a priest   then he got named Archbishop of Milan Italy a  huge diocese and the Archbishop of Milan Italy   hadn't been there for 80 years they hung  out in more hospital environments in Rome   so Charles Borromeo was one of these young  guys who was appointed by his uncle the pope   and you think a lot of good stuff wouldn't  come from that but in this case it did   he was a holy priest and a holy bishop and he  said things were in a bad way in his diocese   no archbishop had resided there for 80 years  every area of Catholic life there was in disarray   the priests were badly educated and many lived in  open concubinites that's living with mistresses a   contemporary saying captured one response  if you want to go to hell become a priest things are bad things are bad things have  been bad at various times in the history   of the Church not just today so I was reading a  sermon today now this is just the one that came   up today I didn't look for it just was there the  name of the name of the sermon is addressed to   priests whom he's about to ordain and he says the  title of the sermon is be holy or be struck down he says the greater and more excellent the dignity  to which you have come to be promoted this day the   more you must weigh how great a danger hangs over  you and how strict the judgment of divine anger is   if you have not approached with a requisite  holiness of soul if you've come to the sublime   ministry either listlessly or what is worse from  ambition or for filthy gain or for any other   reason whatever which is not the faithful worship  of God for this ministry is what we find in Exodus   the priests also that come to the Lord let them  be sanctified lest he strike them Exodus chapter   19 verse 22. so, he's basically saying  if any of you are about to get ordained   without the pure desire to worship God and serve  his people be very, very careful if any of you   are going to come to the sacrament without  the right disposition be very, very careful this is very relevant for today  because there's a lot of talk about who should be receiving communion who shouldn't  be this is a very current issue right now it's   not just about politicians I know the bishops are  seeking God's wisdom right now about how to handle   the situation that's come to a head through the  recent election but there's been an issue here for   a long time I think what the bishops are planning  to do is to talk start teaching on something   called a Eucharistic coherence what it means to  receive the Eucharist is to be one with the Lord   and one with the teaching of the Church and  somebody who isn't one with the Lord and one   with the teaching of the Church shouldn't be  receiving communion I think that's where the   bishops are going to come out on and that's good  it doesn't just apply to politicians who are   promoting abortion or same-sex marriage and stuff  like that it applies to all of us if any of us   are offending the Lord in a serious way or don't  believe in a really core teaching of the Church   we shouldn't be receiving communion we  should really examine our conscience and   if we've got questions about a certain teaching  we should seek wisdom about it we should seek   to form our conscience better and if we're not  able to be one with the Church we shouldn't be   receiving the Eucharist because that's a sign  of saying I’m one with the Catholic Church   I’m one with the Body of Christ so it's really,  really interesting that back in the 16th century   such serious concern was placed on receiving  the sacraments worthily and it's very relevant   for today so what we're going to talk about  right now is the biblical world view what gave   fire and urgency to these Doctors of the Church  was living in the light of eternity they really,   really knew that life is short that only one  thing is necessary if we die in friendship with   the Lord our life is a tremendous success if  we die with wealth honor prestige buildings uh and aren't friends with the Lord don't have our  sins forgiven we'll be separated forever and it's   really called hell there really is a heaven there  really is a hell and the saints knew this in their   bones romans chapter 12 verses 1 to 2 I appeal to  you therefore brother is by the mercy of God to   present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and  acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship   do not be conformed to this world but be  transformed by the renewal of your mind and how   does our mind get renewed the word of God I know  some of you gonna be saying what bible is that   it's the second Catholic Edition RSV the Ignatius  Catholic Study Bible that Scott Hahn has a hand in   putting together the footnotes are really good  and most biblical scholars say this is the best   translation right now but there's lots of decent  translations so if you don't have it it's okay   but this is how we renew our mind by  really conforming it to the word of God   do not be conformed to this world but be  transformed by the renewal of your mind   that you may prove what is the will of God  what is good and acceptable and perfect now John chapter 15 verses 1 to 6 John  chapter 15 verses 1 to 6. this is Jesus’s   kind of condensed description of how we grow  in the Lord of the stages of spiritual growth   and incidentally every single doctor of the  Church bases their teaching on sacred scripture   it's amazing in like for example Bernard of  Clairvaux whom we might touch on even today   uh almost every line is a reference to scripture  John of the Cross some of those radical things   he says you say wow is that inscription he'll  give you the scripture they have sensitivity   to the word of God and their teaching is based on  sacred scripture so Jesus is talking and these are   the farewell words of Jesus very, very special  from the Apostle John who had such a profound   insight into who Jesus is and such a profound  understanding of what he said and what he did   I am the true vine and my Father is the  vine dresser every branch of mind that   bears no fruit he takes away and every  branch that does bear fruit he prunes   so if you're a live branch if you're connected to  Jesus if you're a living member of the Catholic   Church if you're in this state of grace and you're  growing you're going to grow more because the   Lord's going to do things in your life that's  going to help you grow more it's called pruning you are already made clean by the  word which I have spoken to you   it's uh initial conversion has  already happened you already   responded to the word of God you're  already converted in a meaningful way abide in me and I in you you've heard the phrase personal  relationship with the Lord   that's what he wants he  wants a personal relationship   and that's what growing in the spiritual life is  it's not just growing in prayer technique it's not   just growing ascetical practices it's not just  growing in things we do and things we don't do   it's growing in personal union with the Lord you  say how is that possible he makes it possible   here in these beautiful last discourses  he says it's better for you that i go   that I ascend to the Father and return to  the Father because unless I go back to the   Father's house I can't send you the Holy Spirit  and the Holy Spirit is going to do more for you   than if I stayed here with you we need to  believe that because it's absolutely true   the Holy Spirit is going to actually allow us to  commune spiritually with the Father and the Son   abide in me and I in you how do  we do that we do it with prayer   we do it by talking to the Lord we do it  by hanging out with the Lord we do it by   thanking the Lord we do it by adoring him we  do it by so many different ways abide in me   and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit  by itself unless it abides in the vine neither   can you unless you abide in me the fruit we're  talking about is not just the fruit of our actions   it's the fruit of our character it's the fruit  of the Holy Spirit it's patience and peace   and love and joy and self-control it's the  virtues but the virtues aren't just these   sort of segmented things we work on this virtual  work in that virtue that can help but virtue   grows in us as we grow in personal relationship  with the Lord because he imparts to us his own   being his own character his own mind and heart  so that's why Romans chapter 12 is so important   don't be conformed to the world but be conformed  to the Lord be conformed to his word I am the vine   you are the branches he who abides in me and I in  him he it is that bears much fruit for apart from   me you can do nothing now listen to this this  is not an option it's either abide in the Lord   or be cut off and thrown into the fire  yeah if a man does not abide in me   he is cast forth as a branch and withers and  their branches are gathered thrown into the fire   and burned last night at the Lord Jesus  Higher Rally I really talked about all the   scripture about many of the scripture passages  that talk about God being a consuming fire it's   a fire of love that purifies but it's also fire  that can judge if we resist the purification that's how we grow in the Lord we abide in  the Lord we abide in him we're transformed   by his word do not be conformed to this world  but be transformed by the renewal of your mind   that means really allowing the biblical  worldview to form our view of reality   which is what chapter 4 is about so let's  talk a little bit about John of the Cross he comes from I’m going to give a little bit  more information about the saints we're talking   about a little biographical information so you  get a little feel of who they are he comes from   a poor family he uh his father died when he's  three years old his mother and his two brothers   had a tough go of it his uncle was a priest  and the uncle saw that he had an aptitude   for education and helped him get educated help him  kind of find was his way in life it's so important   for men to help follow those boys and such a  problem in our culture so let me follow those boys   if you men ever have a chance to  help a fatherless boy help him he met Teresa of Avila when he was  25 years old and she was 52 years old   he was joined the Carmelite order or she was  a Carmelite but he was kind of scandalized   disillusioned by how lax the order was and  he was thinking of becoming a conclusion   now Carthusian is it's the strictest religious  order in the Church it prides itself although I hope they're not too proud about it prides  himself on never needing to be reformed   it's a combination of the life of a hermit with  some community life uh it's extremely strict   it's extremely radical so that's what  he was thinking of going for Teresa of   Avila i thought she's also called Teresa of Jesus  she's from Avila but her title is Teresa of Jesus   convinced him to stay in the Carmelite order  and help her to reform it but it turns out   that not everybody likes to get reformed and  what happened to John is that his own order were interested in being reformed for the most  part so they kidnapped him put him in a dungeon   put him in a prison it was therefore kept it  a small cell for nine months he was regularly   beaten by the other friars but out of this  extremely negative experience shall we say   rejected by your own brothers imprisoned  and beat kept in solitary confinement   Teresa of Avila didn't even know where he she  he was Teresa appealed to the king to find him   and let him go but the king didn't respond  so there he was for all he knew he was um   he was he was forgotten and they even did  psychological warfare they said well Teresa   of Avila has already abandoned the reform so you  should abandon it too it wasn't true and he didn't   abandon their form but they were there they were  doing psychological warfare they're doing physical   torture I mean it was a bad situation but out  of that darkness out of that pain and suffering   one of the worst pains a person can experience  is being rejected by those closest to them and   many people have had that experience and how  painful it is a broken marriage you know how   painful it is a broken parent-child relationship  how painful rejection is it's one of the greatest   pains that you can experience and throw in  physical pain and throw in psychological   torment and you really got the situation  that's when he composed the Spiritual Canticle that darkness that pain that suffering was  stripping him he was being pruned he was being   purified he was being stripped and he was being  drawn to a radical union with the Lord out of   which has come some of the most profound spiritual  writing that the world knows is his actually   Spanish poetry and Spanish writing is considered  some of the best Spanish literature that exists   to this day such a high quality poet he was and it  came out of that dungeon it came out of that cell so, let's take a look at the biblical  worldview that John of the Cross has   I’m going to pages 65 and 66 but you don't need  to go there I’m going to read it to you right now this is what John presupposes   as the beginning of the spiritual journey  he's presupposing radical conversion the soul has grown aware of our obligations  and observed that life is short after every   phrase here is a biblical citation every single  thing he's saying here is backed up by scripture   every line has a biblical citation I’m not going  to take the time to give you all the citations   you can later take a look at pages 65 and 66 and  get the citations I’m just going to read the text   the soul has grown aware of our obligations and  observe that life is short that's a real key the   biblical worldview you got to know that life is  short the longest human life passes in a flash   it's over this is our only chance there's no such  thing as reincarnation this is it and there's only   one thing at stake heaven or hell life forever  in the glory of the Father's house or the agony   of eternal separation with really twisted people  and really twisted spiritual beings called demons one of the reasons why the demons didn't want to  be cast out of the that person that was you know chained and breaking loose of his chains that  he was scared of him the demoniac and when   Jesus came to cast them out, they said please  don't send us back to hell put us into the pigs the demons aren't kind to each other, the  damned aren't kind to each other. It's   literally hell. The relationships of demonic  people and demonic people, and demonic demons,   people who have rejected God, people who have  affirmed their lack of repentance and their   rebellion to their dying death and have  held on to their grave sins without   humbling themselves to be forgiven before  they die, it is not a good scene it is not   and that's part of the biblical worldview  the path leading to eternal life is narrow i got to tell you this reference  it's Matthew chapter 7 verse 14.   this Matthew 7 verses 13 and 14 is the  most commonly cited scripture passage in   all the writings of john of the cross i went  back to the index of this book it tells you every   single scripture passage he quotes this Matthew  verse about the broad way and the narrow way   is the verse he quotes the most in  the entire corpus of his writings   some of you who know my teaching from the past  know that it's probably the scripture passage   that i mentioned the most either i didn't do  it imitating him it's just such an important   passage we'll probably spend a few minutes on  in a few minutes the just one scarcely saved   yes it's in the bible you can look that one  up the things of the world vain and deceitful   that all comes to an end and fails like  falling water and that the time is uncertain   the accounting strict damnation very  easy and salvation very difficult   the soul knows on the other hand of her  immense indebtedness to God for having   created her solely for himself and that for  this she owes him the service of her whole life   and because he redeemed her solely for himself  she owes him every response of her love   she knows two of the thousand other benefits  by which she has been uh obligated to God from   before the time of her birth and that a good part  of her life has vanished that she must render   an account of everything of the beginning of her  life as well as the later part unto the last penny   when God will search  Jerusalem with lighted candles   and that it is already late in the day  far spent to remedy so much evil and harm   touched with dread and interior sorrow of heart  over so much loss and danger renouncing all things   leaving aside all business and not delaying a  day or an hour with desires and sighs pouring   from her heart wounded now with love for God she  begins to call her beloved and say where have you   hidden beloved and left me moaning you fled like  the stag after wounding me i went out calling you   but you were gone so the spiritual journey  begins it begins with repentance it begins   with contrition it begins with recognizing the  shortness of life it begins with understanding   our amazing debt to God that so much time has  already gone we there's no time to lose that the   way that leads to destruction is broad and it's  easy to go that way but the way that leads the   life is narrow we need to find that way is Jesus  Christ his person abiding with him personal   relationship with him receiving the father's  pruning so we keep growing into full union now i want to say a little word about john across  his favorite scripture passage it just happens   to be mine two in a way there's so many other  profound scripture passages all these chapters   in john's gospel are so profound they're probably  the height of revelation of our union with God   but in order to get there we have to pay attention  to Matthew 7 verses 13 and 14. unfortunately   if i were to describe how many of our fellow  Catholics look at the world today i describe   it like this broad and wide is the way that leads  to heaven and almost everybody's going that way narrow is the door that leads to hell difficult  erode are they anybody's going that way what's wrong with this picture it's  just the opposite of what Jesus tells us   it's just the opposite of the biblical worldview  of all these saints and Doctors of the Church   every single one of them what does Jesus say broad  and wide is the way that leads to destruction   and many are traveling that way narrow is  the door that leads to life difficult the   road and few there are who are finding it  this isn't how God wants it to be we know   he wills the whole human race to be saved and  come to a knowledge of the truth we know that   he's shedding his mercy on the whole human race  he's giving the grace for repentance to everybody   but that grace has to be received that's why  if you hear his voice today I’m talking to you   I’m talking to you who are with us right now if  you hear his voice today if there's something   what I’m saying that's that's connecting with  your mind that's connecting with your heart   don't ignore it if you hear his voice today  harden not your heart you don't know how much   longer you have none of us do life is short  grace is here tonight for conversion grace   is here tonight for repentance grace is here  tonight for deliverance from darkness and evil   and being a slave to our disordered passions  deliverance is available it begins with a yes   it begins with forgive me Lord it begins  with have mercy on me Lord the sinner Matthew 7 goes on to say beware of false  prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing   but inwardly are ravenous wolves there's so  many false prophets and false teachers in   the world today in the Church today it's the  world is full with deception with illusion   but you'll know the true ones by their fruits  every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut   down and thrown into the fire here we have  the fire again the fire of destruction not   the fire of love not everyone who says to me  Lord Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven   but only the one who does the will of my father  who's in heaven God is pure love God is pure love   there's nothing in him that isn't love but when we  resist the fire of his love we experience the fire   of destruction by our own choice by rejecting the  purifying fire by rejecting the offer of holiness   by rejecting the offer of repentance we're  condemning ourselves to disaster to destruction   we're cutting ourselves off we're going to wither  we're going to wither wither wither it's going   to be apparent even in this life as the light  goes out of our eyes and our soul becomes dead okay Catherine of Siena   she had a vision of Jesus as a young  girl i think she's about seven years old   she felt a call to deep union and consecrated  life but she didn't want to go into the convent   she felt like she had a mission so she became  part of like a third order Dominican order where   you could be a lay person but consecrate yourself   she wanted to be profoundly one with the Lord  but she wanted to carry out a prophetic mission   she spent three years secluded in her room her  family didn't initially understand her and then   one day her father came into her room and she  was praying the father saw a dove hover over   her head and he felt like it was a sign from  God that the holy spirit was in this that the   holy spirit was leading Catherine this way and he  supported her and respected her after three years   of intense purification intense seeking the Lord  she came out of her room and began to humbly serve   do household chores help people in hospitals  you know you'd be surprised how many times   the plague has come in in the history  of the world the history of the Church   Charles Borromeo in that book of his  sermons i was just referring to earlier   he has chapters where he's saying priests come  on get with it visit the people who are dying   don't fear those who can kill the body fear those  who are sending these souls to hell because they   don't have a priest to help how relevant to our  own time right now in the pandemic of Covid you   know how sad it is that the people are dying  without having the services of a priest and how   wonderful a priest are going anyway and making  every effort to assist the dying anyway she uh she was she was born in 1347.  she died in 1380 at 33 years old   and she said she carried her cell within herself  we can do that we need to go into our room   close the door and speak to our father in private  but we also need to pray all during the day and be   aware of the Lord as much as possible when  we're driving in a car when we're walking   praying before we do anything depending on the  Lord looking to the Lord for wisdom for strength   but she said she traveled with her cell within  her she combined the deepest contemplation   with the most amazing charismatic activity she  prophesied to popes she cast out demons she gave   wisdom from above supernatural wisdom to people  guidance for their lives he's just a tremendous   example of the union between the contemplative  and charismatic dimensions of the spirit   the primary image she uses to describe  what's going on in the world today   is the bridge she says  there's a terrible a terrible river that's flowing through the world and  it's a river that's leading people to hell   she says the only way to get across this  river is by the bridge which is Jesus   she says the body of Jesus the person of Jesus  is the only way to get over the raging waters   of the demonic deception common to the world that  appeals to our disorder desires is Jesus it's the   only way to get over the bridge of raging  waters and not be swept away and right now   there's a river of raging water flowing through  the world deceiving people destroying people   misleading people encouraging people to rebel  against God and the only way across that river   and through that river is through the bridge  that's Jesus now she says those who do not   keep to this way this is page 50 which  is Jesus travel below through the river   no one can cross it without drowning such as these  are following a lie by going the way of falsehood   they are children of the devil who's the  father of lies could there really be human   beings who are children of devil yes yes  Jesus calls people children of the devil who have the form of religion  but not the substance   he called the pharisees children of the devil  and other parables he talks about a wider   number of people who are children of the devil  those who aren't believing in him those who   aren't following him and because they pass through  the gate of falsehood they are eternally damned   thus will those miserably come to their end  who travel by the way beneath the bridge   through the river they never turn back to  admit their sins or to ask for my mercy   so they come to the gate of falsehood because  they follow the teaching of the devil who's the   father of lies and this devil is their gateway  through which they come to eternal damnation   there's not a lot of talk about eternal damnation  in the Church today there's a lot of talk about   it in the scripture and there's a lot of talk  about it in the saints and we have to recover   the biblical worldview that knows that  there's only two destinations there's only   two destinations ultimately for any human being  it's heaven or hell and the only way to heaven is   to humble ourselves and to admit our sin and ask  God to have mercy on us and grab a hold of Jesus eat his body drink his blood meditate on his word  cling to him cry out to him depend on him now Catherine couldn't read or write and all her  wisdom came from asking God to show her things   she also talked to Dominican priests  so she got some help that way   she writes in well Raymond of Capua Blessed  Raymond of Capua was her spiritual director   and he actually wrote a biography of her it's  the best biography by far of Catherine of Siena   there's lots of good ones but this is the best one  i can't give you the reference i think it's out of   print but blessed Raymond of Capua c-a-p-u-a  uh has written a fabulous first-hand account   of Catherine he writes he says you know you're  not going to believe this but really i was there   and saw it you know you're not going to believe  this but I’ve talked to 28 people who are giving   testimony that they sort with their own eyes  it's the most reliable firsthand account from   her spiritual director of what was really going  on in her life and it's truly amazing she's one of   the most amazing saints but anyway she asked God  the father to show her well actually at a certain   point she did learn how to read she says Jesus  taught her how to read so she could say the divine   office so at a certain point that happened now  she asked God the father to give her a vision an   understanding of the reality of heaven the  reality of purgatory and the reality of hell   so I’m gonna end tonight by sharing with you  what God the father showed her about these things   and then we'll have a chance to respond to any  questions that come in and if i don't get to all   the questions today what i did during the advent  retreat is the questions i don't get to this time   I’ll handle at the beginning of next week's  session but anyway God the father showed Catherine   that there are four main sufferings of hell and  this is what she received from the father so this   is in the in the person of the father speaking to  her the first of that these souls are deprived of   seeing me this is so painful for them that if they  could they would choose the sight of me along with   the fire and excruciating pain rather than freedom  from their pains without seeing me the agony   of never fulfilling the purpose for which we were  created the agony of never fulfilling the purpose   for which we were created of never becoming the  person that God created us to be the pain of that   is hell the second suffering is ceaseless regret  and agonizing about what has been lost for when   they see that their sinfulness has deprived  them of me and of the company of the angels   and made them worthy instead of seeing  the demons and sharing their fellowship   conscience gnaws away at them constantly  it is not the regret though of repentance   it's the regret of a criminal who's been  found out for his crime and punished   it's a regret for the punishment not  for the sin it is not true repentance   the third suffering of hell is  the opposite of beatific vision   you know scripture or the psalms talk about in  a shorthand way that the joy of heaven being   uh the beatific vision the blessed vision of  seeing God face to face and which contains in it   all the love all the tenderness all the beauty all  the truth we've ever touched in life in infinite   measure the Fulfillment of All Desire the opposite  deal of the beatific vision is the demonic vision   seeing the devil as he really is this is  what the father said to Catherine about that   you recall that when i once let you see him for  a tiny while hardly a moment as he really is   you said after coming to your senses again that  you would rather walk on a road of fire even till   the final judgment day then see him again but even  with all you have seen you do not really know how   horrible it is pure evil is terrifying pure evil  is infinitely ugly and infinitely frightening   and to reject union with God is to get  union with the most horrible creature   there is and those who become horrible like him  by choosing his lies and choosing his rebellion   rather than humbling themselves and repenting and  crying out to God for mercy the fourth punishment   on pages 52 and 53 here the fourth punishment is  being experiencing the pain of separation from God   in a way that's parallel to the particular ways  in which we gravely sinned and rejected him it's very interesting but I’m  not we don't have time for that   so let's end tonight with talking about  the glory of heaven because that's what the   spiritual journey is all about that's why we're  making a spiritual journey it is so worth it this is what the father says to Catherine  page 56 the good of these souls is beyond   what your mind's eye can see or your ear here  or your tongue described or your heart imagined   what joy they have in seeing me who am all  good what joy they will yet have when their   bodies are glorified you will all be made  like him in joy and gladness eye for eye   hand for hand your whole bodies will be  made like the body of the word my son   oh hallelujah I know I said that last night  somebody said you're not supposed to say it   but I think it's okay I think the Lord  says it's okay i think it's okay because   you know when Jesus was going to Jerusalem people  said they weren't supposed to shout out but they   shouted out i think it's okay when we shout  out joy to the Lord because it is so wonderful   what he has prepared for us is so wonderful  what he has in store for us the risen body wow fantastic and then it goes on to say you know a lot of times people say will we  recognize people in heaven will we still know   each other we still have contact with each  other and this is what the father told her   everyone in heaven is all joined in the bond  of charity they know a special kind of sharing   with those whom they love most closely  with a special love in the world   a love through which they grew in grace and  virtue they helped each other proclaim the   glory and praise of my name in themselves and in  their neighbors so now in everlasting life they   have not lost that love no they still love and  share with each other even more closely and fully   adding their love to the good of  all this is this is really wonderful   relationships on this earth that are in the Lord  are even better in heaven we don't lose anything   of what we had on earth in Godly relationships  it's even better because what's removed is all   those ways in which we don't get each other  all those despite our good will we don't   meet each other's needs we don't understand  each other we can't love each other enough the only one who loves enough right now is God  but the more and more we participate in God and   especially when we're with them face to face as  we participate without hindrance without obstacle   without any thing holding back that love our love  with each other is going to be really fulfilled   and really perfect and absolutely wonderful so  relationships that are on our earth right now that   are in the Lord that are Godly relationships  uh are gonna be really even better in heaven   so spiritual friendship is really important  holy marriages are really important and we'll   talk about that more later so um last thing here  what are we going to do in heaven besides love   well we're going to still love people on earth  so Catherine asked God the father you know   this question too so this is what the father  told Catherine we're going to end with this   their desires are a continual cry to me for  the salvation of others for they finished their   lives loving their neighbors and they did not  leave that love behind but brought it with them   when they passed through that gate which is  my only begotten son and what these blessed   ones want is to see me honored in you who are  still on the way pilgrims running ever nearer   your end in death you know Hebrews 12 talks about  we're surrounded by a cloud of witnesses we are   what's that cloud of witnesses doing people who  we knew who are now with the Lord you know we as   many Godly parents and grandparents and friends  and relatives Christians who are with the Lord   probably and there's the saints there's this our  friends you know that we're talking about here   what are they doing they're interceding  with Jesus for our salvation wow   what these blessed ones want is to see me honored  and you who are still on the way pilgrims running   ever near your end of death the biblical worldview  life is short we're rushing towards the judgment   because they seek my honor  they desire your salvation   so they are constantly praying to me for  you here's the father's promise I do my part   to fulfill their desire provided only that you do  not foolishly resist my mercy brothers and sisters   today is the acceptable time today is a moment  of salvation if you hear his voice today harden   not your hearts the father is so eager to pour out  love to pour out mercy the father is so eager to   take the growth that we experience in our life  and deepen it and that's what we're doing here   that's we're doing here and during these Lenten  Missios this these Lenten talks during the Lenten   Mission so if you hear his voice today tonight  harden on your heart say yes to the Lord so you   want to continue in the spiritual journey you want  to have our mind conformed to the word of God to   the biblical worldview it's one of the secrets of  all the saints and that's why we're spending time   on it we really need to come into the biblical  worldview we need to see the shortness of life   we need to see the beauty of heaven we need to  see the horror of hell we need to see the urgency   of interceding of praying and  fasting for the salvation of others   and speaking a word to them when it's appropriate  when the spirit gives us an opportunity   treasure the sue when she was dying she said I’m  not going to heaven to goof off I’m going to spend   my heaven doing good on earth and so that's  what the folks in heaven are doing right now   next week we're gonna kind of work on chapter  five we're gonna talk about saint Therese and   how the Lord worked in her life and what he  did in her life and how that's relevant to   our life and how we can get an insight  into how this could deepen our own life   again we're having the 20 discount on the book  if you'd like to get it again you don't have to   just go to renewalministries.net something  or other and put in the code uh when you're   you know you buy the book and then you go to  checkout and then you put in f-a-d-l-e-n-t   you know stands for Fulfillment of All Desire  lent we're putting on the screen right now   and we're going to keep this going until the  day after our last Lenten talk in four weeks uh   I’d also like to say that for those of you who  will be watching this on YouTube tomorrow uh   incidentally the advent before advent talks uh  had a lot of people watching every single week but   we had a hundred thousand views uh since we put  it on YouTube so we're gonna put it on YouTube   after every session but uh you won't  have the live chat you know and   we won't have the chance to uh answer live  questions but I will be there so i would say uh   subscribe to our YouTube channel if you if you  already haven't go to renewal ministries and put   in YouTube and uh uh you know every week Peter  Herbeck and I give talks the talks I’m doing   are these Lenten talks right now but after they  finish I’m gonna keep doing talks most weeks uh   also you know there's no telling if we're going  to be canceled you know we hope we won't be   uh there's a lot of our fellow ministries Catholic  ministries Christian ministries who are getting   canceled getting knocked off of YouTube and other  places and so we hope that won't happen but if it   does we'd like to be able to uh let you know where  we are and the only way we can do that is if you   uh join our email list uh get our newsletter uh  and uh we can then let you know if we get knocked   off someplace where you're currently accessing us  so um I love being with you I love speaking about   these things I love the wisdom that God has given  us and I’m so happy that we can make this journey   together during lent God bless you uh Elizabeth  do we have any questions I can answer tonight   or uh will we kind of pick them up next week  Elizabeth Rzepka is entering the room now   you know I can't do this by myself I mean it's the  kind of lighting and camera and all that kind of   stuff you know so Elizabeth and Chris Baker and  Pete Burak were helping get set up earlier in   the evening and we have a wonderful team here any  questions tonight there are quite a few I don't   know I’ll be able to tackle all of them but you  want uh two or three yeah all right here's one as   a normal layperson how can we really go to heaven  amidst everything around us temptations desires   the sinfulness of this world please share advice  yeah they're quite i don't know if you all heard   the question but the question was how can an  ordinary layperson with all the temptations and   distractions of this life actually grow in  holiness and hey that's what I’m talking   about that's what I’m talking about uh  we need to get the biblical worldview   go back to the advent videos if you  haven't seen them and it talks about   building some practices into our life and  building some decisions into our life that   will help us make progress but it's very possible  it's very possible millions of people are doing it   it's very possible so the wisdom of these  saints will help you i hope these Lenten   talks will help you i hope what i was talking  about tonight will help you but if you didn't   get the advent talks go back there because there's  some really good things there that would directly   answer your question but we'll also be talking  about things in coming weeks that will also help let's see here saint Francis de sales actually  wrote a book called introduction to devout life   which is the first book of spirituality written  for lay people and not next week but the third   week we're going to really be getting into Francis  de Sales’ wisdom about how to grow in freedom he wrote it for lay people and it's  never been out of print for 400 years   lots of lay people are growing in holiness   this is a question um can we pray to saint groups  or do we need to address each saint individually   uh i think we uh the question is can we can we  pray to all these things together or do we have to   introduce them pray to them individually is that  the question yeah can you pray to groups of saints   oh yeah yeah it's a single thing yes you can yeah  yeah you could pray however the spirit leads you   uh a lot of times I’ll say you know beloved  friends you know speaking about these seven   saints that i work on I’ll talk to them together  sometimes in pairs sometimes individually yes   you pray as the holy spirit leads you it's  the communion of saints we're in communion   the holy spirit has us in communion we can  pray however the spirit leads us to pray okay someone is asking um what their relationship  would be with their husband who has passed away   if marriage ends at death yes um that's a good  question and I think there's a clear answer   the question is what would a woman's  relationship be with her husband who has already   died now assuming that he died in friendship  with the Lord he died in the state of grace   uh and that you die in the state of grace uh  you're going to be reunited uh you know there's   no longer going to be procreation like Jesus  said we're going to be like angels in heaven   but the love is going to be better than ever their  friendship is going to be better than ever so   again any relationship on this earth that was in  the Lord even if it wasn't perfectly imperfectly   in the Lord is going to be purified going  to be perfected it's going to really fulfill   the potential of that relationship that even  if that potential was never fulfilled on earth   so if you're uncertain about where your  husband is pray for him you know I mean   all of us are none of us know for sure whether  people we love or in heaven or not unless we   get a special revelation we can maybe make a  reasonable judgment knowing about their life but   I think you know all of us have a lot to be  purified so i would say always pray for people who   die even though they die as Christians because  there's probably a lot of purification still   needed and uh the Church tells us that our prayers  really help people who still need to be purified maybe should we stop there for tonight and why  don't you kind of look things over and if you   can find some other questions that we should  answer when we begin next week we'll do that   that sounds great okay uh I think these Lenten  Mission talks also can be a chance to wake people   up to evangelize so if there's people that you  know that you think would benefit from the kind   of thing we're doing it could kind of wake them  up to that there's more to Catholic life than   you know uh just a stable kind of static kind  of no growth kind of situation uh let them know   about it you know help them to register put them  you know send them to our website where they can   register or to our YouTube channel okay over  for tonight God bless you all see you next week

Channel: Renewal Ministries

Views: 23,611

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Keywords: Christianity, Jesus, Christ, Evangelism, Mission, Spirituality, Evangelization, Religion, Catholic, Church, God, Trinity

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Length: 68min 33sec (4113 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 01 2021