Lent, DeSales, Hell and Penance
St. Francis DeSales has some advice.I'll be heading to a Catholic chapel tonight to receive the ashes and be reminded of the unavoidable fact that I will die. Some bloggers take Lent off from blogging. They think blogs and blog reading can become a hindrance to their spiritual growth. For myself to put away this blog would be to shirk my duties to the hundreds of readers who come here everyday - even when I can barely eek out a post.
Besides the requirements for Lent I'll be adding some spiritual reading. When I returned to the Church my enthusiasm impelled me to read all sorts of great works by the saints. After a few years, however, a lack of progress can really dampen the enthusiasm to read about the need for repentance. And so I think it is wise of the Church to suggest spiritual reading for Lent. On the side I've added the two books I will focus on this year.
The first is Introduction to the Devout Life by noted Calvinist-converter, St. Francis DeSales. From the Catholic Encyclopedia:
"An Introduction to the Devout Life", a work intended to lead "Philothea", the soul living in the world, into the paths of devotion, that is to say, of true and solid piety. Every one should strive to become pious, and "it is an error, it is even a heresy", to hold that piety is incompatible with any state of life. In the first part the author helps the soul to free itself from all inclination to, or affection for, sin; in the second, he teaches it how to be united to God by prayer and the sacraments; in the third, he exercises it in the practice of virtue; in the fourth, he strengthens it against temptation; in the fifth, he teaches it how to form its resolutions and to persevere. The "Introduction", which is a masterpiece of psychology, practical morality, and common sense, was translated into nearly every language even in the lifetime of the author, and it has since gone through innumerable editions. - New Advent.org
St. Francis Desales instructions are directed to a particular woman. But there is hardly anyone who wouldn't benefit from the instruction in it. A special note for my fellow fashion conscious readers. DeSales is tough on parties and balls in this - marking them as "lawful but dangerous" and he advises against married women "dressing to please" anyone but their husband. But he does say that it is practically a Christian's duty to wear unsoiled clothes and to dress appropriately - whether in the house or at the King's court where certain articles of clothing that would never be worn in a house are entirely proper. I'll make notes during Lent of any other fashion advice from him.
The other is a book I found in my chapel's bookstore on the Four Last Things. Many people do not care for its frank and somewhat literal interpretations of Scripture, particularly on Hell. The Justice of God is not glossed over and the pains of hell are made frighteningly real merely by amplifying what Our Lord said on the subject. It is good to remind ourselves when Cable channels present some program on "the Real Jesus" - that the Jesus we know from the Scriptures is the most stern figure in all of Scripture. He speaks of hell more than any other figure in The Bible. Some are of a temperament that reflection on Hell may lead them to wish that God didn't exist. I am not. In the act of Contrition we say after making confession we say:
I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love.
Reflecting on the pains of hell, for some at least, is a powerful inducement not to wish that God didn't exist but to wish that our sins didn't - and therefore to seek forgiveness for them and moreover to do penance.
Michael Brendan Dougherty
in Religion
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Source: Goodbye for LentI've often said that if I could own only one set of books, it would be The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Gueranger. What an incredible treasure. The quantity of Sacred scripture contained within its pages make an additional Bible superfluous. The prayers and devotions are unsurpassed in beauty and excellence, and if used faithfully, sufficient to make anyone a saint. Furthermore, these books contain enough history and theology to satisfy the mind for a lifetime. -
Source: St. Francis DeSalesishop of Geneva, Doctor of the Universal Church; born at Thorens, in the Duchy of Savoy, 21 August, 1567; died at Lyons, 28 December, 1622. His father, François de Sales de Boisy, and his mother, Françoise de Sionnaz, belonged to old Savoyard aristocratic families. The future saint was the eldest of six brothers. His father intended him for the magistracy and sent him at an early age to the colleges of La Roche and Annecy.
Reader Comments (2)
But that's not exactly how it happened. I alluded to it in my essay "How I Became a Paleo-Conservative" which really is about how I gained a conservative sensibility and intuitively began to reject liberalism at the root. The reversion to my childhood Catholicism was a long journey that really did involve a beautiful young woman, lots of reading, and a stroll by C.S. Lewis' haunts in Oxford. And the further movement towards a more traditionaly inclined Catholicism involves a prophecy by a Jesus Seminar scholar.These things cannot be explained adequately.