Dear Salvation ~~~ Once again, the Monsignor resonated on an important idea/feeling in my life.
People have often said to me that one of my problems is the inability to say ‘no’ to people in need. I have a history of inviting the homeless into my humble dwelling...
Sometimes I got burned, (burgalized/stiffed on loans, etc.) sometimes I enabled homeless people to continue with self-destructive behaviors. I now realize how wrong this is.
I never learned to say ‘NO’ because I believed that I was doing what Our Blessed Lord asked us to do - currently, I have another person (drug addicted felon) living with me and I need to reconsider this situation.
Thank you for posting,
Heterosupremacist
†Dominus vobiscum†
My parents are like that. I admire that quality. You are a person of wonderful character, and your place in heaven will surely be magnificent. God bless you! I want to be more like you.
"Sometimes I got burned, (burgalized/stiffed on loans, etc.) sometimes I enabled homeless people to continue with self-destructive behaviors. I now realize how wrong this is."
"I never learned to say ‘NO’ because I believed that I was doing what Our Blessed Lord asked us to do -"
I found that I, through my ego was formulating a spiritual ego identity based upon what "I" thought was my purpose as a servant of God.
I learned to ask myself each time I helped someone and ended up being burned, "What is the lesson God intended me to learn by facilitating this experience into my life as a learning lesson for my soul?" "Why do I keep repeating this lesson?"
What I found was that absolutely nothing was more important than my own spiritual path and building a better relationship with My Father. I went back and read and reread Brother Lawrence's "The Practice of the Presence of God."
Here are a few of his quotes that assist me in staying on path: (sorry for the caps)
ON GOD’S NEARNESS
“YOU NEED NOT CRY VERY LOUD: HE IS NEARER TO US THAN WE THINK.”
ON MOTIVATION
“WE OUGHT NOT TO BE WEARY OF DOING LITTLE THINGS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WHO REGARDS NOT THE GREATNESS OF THE WORK, BUT THE LOVE WITH WHICH IT IS PERFORMED.”
ON WORSHIP
“WE OUGHT TO PROPOSE TO OURSELVES IS TO BECOME, IN THIS LIFE, THE MOST PERFECT WORSHIPPERS OF GOD WE CAN POSSIBLY BE, AS WE HOPE TO BE THROUGH ALL ETERNITY.”
ON CONSTANT PRAYER
“THERE IS NOT IN THE WORLD A KIND OF LIFE MORE SWEET AND DELIGHTFUL, THAN THAT OF A CONTINUAL CONVERSATION WITH GOD; THOSE ONLY CAN COMPREHEND IT WHO PRACTICE AND EXPERIENCE IT.”
ON DEVOTION
“WE SHOULD PUT LIFE IN OUR FAITH. WE SHOULD GIVE OURSELVES UTTERLY TO GOD IN PURE ABANDONMENT, IN TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL MATTERS ALIKE, AND FIND CONTENTMENT IN THE DOING OF HIS WILL, WHETHER HE TAKES US THROUGH SUFFERINGS OR CONSOLATIONS.”
ON COURAGE
“I DID NOT PRAY FOR ANY RELIEF, BUT I PRAYED FOR STRENGTH TO SUFFER WITH COURAGE, HUMILITY AND LOVE.”
ON A FORMULA FOR SPIRITUALITY
“THAT THERE NEEDED NEITHER ART NOR SCIENCE FOR GOING TO GOD, BUT ONLY A HEART RESOLUTELY DETERMINED TO APPLY ITSELF TO NOTHING BUT HIM, OR FOR HIS SAKE, AND TO LOVE HIM ONLY.”
ON KNOWING GOD
“THE MORE WE KNOW HIM, THE MORE WE WILL DESIRE TO KNOW HIM. AS LOVE INCREASES WITH KNOWLEDGE, THE MORE WE KNOW GOD, THE MORE WE WILL TRULY LOVE HIM. WE WILL LEARN TO LOVE HIM EQUALLY IN TIMES OF DISTRESS OR IN TIMES OF GREAT JOY.”
ON ACTS OF LOVE
“BY RISING AFTER MY FALLS, AND BY FREQUENTLY RENEWED ACTS OF FAITH AND LOVE, I AM COME TO A STATE WHEREIN IT WOULD BE AS DIFFICULT FOR ME NOT TO THINK OF GOD AS IT WAS AT FIRST TO ACCUSTOM MYSELF TO IT.”
What I found was that by always focusing on my own relationship with God, I could see the greater picture and hear and follow His Will better. It also allowed me to see into the hearts of others and know their individual motives.
Often we must allow people to suffer, just as we as parents must allow our own children to experience disappointment and suffering in order to guide them through it in order to grow up as healthy adults.
The greatest difficulty is in helping the mentally ill. Or, those who are being influenced by evil external to their own souls. I view every soul as a creation of God and worthy of being Loved, no matter their actions. However, some souls open themselves up to an external influence I refer to as evil. "Always Love the Child of God, not the behavior or the external influence." Your Love will drive away the evil.