Sunday, August 21, 2011

Spiritual Direction with St. John of the Cross



O lamps of fire!
in whose splendors
the deep caverns of feeling,
once obscure and blind,
now give forth, so rarely, so exquisitely,
both warmth and light to their Beloved.


Three qualities of praise of the soul
in union with God:


1.  Praises him as its duty; for it sees that God created it for his own praise.

2. Praises God for the good it receives and the delight it has in praising.

3.  Praises God for what he is in himself. Even though the soul would experience no delight, it would praise him because of who he is.

Along with qualities of praise, St. John lists three qualities of gratitude experienced by the soul in union with him:

1.  Gratefulness for the natural and spiritual goods and blessings it has received.
2.  Gratefulness for the intense delight it has in praising God, for the souls is absorbed with extreme ardor in this praise.
3.  The third is praise only because of what God is, which is a much stronger and more delightful praise.
(Living Flame of Love, Stanza 3 No. 84-85)


Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, ocds
___________________

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