Spiritual Direction

 Spiritual Direction for Those Proficient in A Way of Salvation

The Evangelical Counsels

Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience are gifts from God to help us mature in love and experience His peace and joy. These evangelical counsels are weapons to combat the effects of Original Sin, namely pride and possessiveness. Pride is a perversion of our dignity (self-esteem based on the knowledge that we are children of God). “The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”  (Romans 8:16)  

Pride leads to possessiveness, which leads us into an attitude of entitlement (the presumption that we deserve something). Entitlement increases our attachment to material things, our appetite for sensual pleasures, and our desire for excessive entertainments. These attachments, appetites, and desires can make our flesh stronger than our spirit. Then our five senses tend to over-power our will-power and lead us away from God. Sometimes we do something that we really don’t want to do because we are not spiritually strong enough to say no to ourselves. That is when we unintentionally make something a god before our Father, the one and only God.  

This happens first in little things, like eating a delicious meal without thanking God in the process. We were given the sense of taste so that upon eating something good, our hearts and minds would be elevated to God in thanksgiving and praise. But sometimes the pleasure of eating becomes an end in and of itself, making the food a little god. This happens when we like the food and hasten to eat more and more of it without being mindful of God in thanksgiving. But when we consider God first, we give Him His due glory while enjoying the flavor all the more.

Similar disorders may occur while enjoying a sensation from any of our five senses — seeing, feeling, tasting, smelling or hearing. Our appetite for seeing or feeling another’s body, drinking an alcoholic beverage, or even shopping for clothes can become excessive. When receiving physical pleasure, we can get carried away in the physical stimulation of the moment. And sometimes in those moments of pleasure we forget about God, who originally gave us the pleasure to bring us closer to Himself. Sometimes, we momentarily turn away from God in order to secure as much delight for ourselves as possible, and that is when our physical senses don’t bring us closer to God as He originally intended.

Our five senses were certainly made good, and God gave them to us as a generous gift, but we enjoy them all the more when they remain in their proper place, as secondary to our first love who is God. When our soul remains in proper order, we enjoy physical sensations with God and in God – in the fullness of His love. We can then receive all lawful sensual pleasure in the fullness of His peace and joy.

For us to keep our appetites and desires in proper order, God gives us the Evangelical Counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. Practicing self-denial within these virtues anchors our flesh while empowering our will to rudder our soul towards God to safely enter the harbor of our freedom (without crashing on the rocks of vice).

The spirit of poverty frees us from materialism and vanity. The spirit of chastity frees us from excessive appetites of the flesh. And the spirit of obedience frees us from disordered desires. Together, these Evangelical Counsels set our free will free by completely ordering it to God, thus perfectly ordering our soul to Him. The virtues of poverty, chastity, and obedience enable us to enter into union with God to enjoy the fullness of His existence, goodness, truth and beauty – now in this life and forever in the next.

Poverty

Entering into the spirit of poverty means entering into the virtue of humility, the mother of all virtue. Humility germinates the seed of faith in us and continues to nurture its growth our whole life long. Humility begins with understanding who we are in relation to God, and it grows as we reflect on the words of Christ who made the following reply to Saint Peter when asked how we are to get to heaven. “With man this is impossible, but not for God, all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27)  Christ also said, “Without Me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:60)  Jesus wants to help us, teach us, and free us – to raise us up on the last day, exalting us in His name.  But He can only do that through our humility, “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”  (Matthew 23:12)

We become slaves to materials, events, and people when we place them in higher esteem than God.  The negative effects of this slavery appear through the loss (or fear of the loss) of our possessions. For example, if we purchase a brand new, shiny red car without the spirit of poverty, we subject ourselves to anxiety (fear) when driving it through a tight situation.  And if it gets damaged or stolen, disappointment and sadness follow. “The young man went away sad, for he had many possessions.”  (Matthew 19:22)

Likewise, when we get excited about an upcoming event like going to a picnic or a baseball game, any attachment to that event enslaves us to it. Our thoughts preceding the event can sometimes be consumed by it, thus closing us off to what God may be showing us to do instead. And the day might get “rained-out” which would cause frustration and sadness because of our attachment to the event, caused by our possessiveness.

Vanity enslaves us by causing us to care about what someone else thinks of us, rather than only caring about what God thinks. This becomes the worst slavery of all because we put our trust in another person’s attitudes or feelings as opposed to trusting only in God. With vanity, we want to possess good feelings about ourselves based on what other people think of us. We thus enslave our happiness to the most transient thing in this world – feelings; let alone someone else’s feelings. But with humility we are relieved of expecting anything from others. We then break free to enjoy a full self-esteem based on our dignity in God through Jesus Christ, which never changes and never ends.

Possessiveness leads to attachment, which leads to anxiety, frustration, disappointment, and sadness. But in the spirit of poverty, humility leads us to detachment, which leads us to a consistent peace and joy in Christ, regardless of our exterior situation. Attachments put us on a surfboard in the middle of the violent, worldly sea where we toss about on the waves of our emotions. But detachment places us on the gigantic, stable rock of Christ, where we remain peaceful throughout any storm or loss in life; never worried about the waves because we are securely wrapped in the arms of our one, true love – Christ, Himself.  “I consider it all rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:8)

Chastity

Entering into the spirit of chastity means entering into the virtue of purity. We enjoy chastity of the mind through purity of our intentions, chastity of the body through purity of our appetites, and chastity of the soul through purity of our desires. Chastity liberates us from the seven capital sins, allowing us to experience the fullness of Christ’s peace. Sometimes we enslave our minds with impure intentions caused by anger (wrath), jealousy (envy), or laziness (sloth). Sometimes we enslave our bodies with excessive appetites caused by addiction (gluttony), perversion (lust) or avarice (greed). And sometimes we enslave our souls with selfish desires caused by entitlement (pride).

The virtue of chastity purifies our intentions by eliminating ulterior motives. As we mature in chastity, we lessen our will in favor of God’s will. And as we follow God’s will instead of our own, we no longer worry how something turns out because we trust in God, knowing that He allows everything to happen for our good. “For we know that God works all things to the good of those who love Him.”  (Romans 8:28)

As we begin to trust in God, we reduce our expectations and preferences because we trust the results of God’s plans more than our own. When we don’t expect a certain result, and when we don’t prefer one thing or event over another, we eliminate its control over us. We therefore eliminate the need for ulterior motives, which would only hinder God’s loving design with our own petty concerns. Then as chastity purifies our intentions, we become free from disappointment and frustration because we accept the outcome of everything that happens, knowing that God has allowed it for our good.

The virtue of chastity purifies our appetites, for chastity leads us into the presence of God. And when we live in the presence of God, we reduce the cravings of our flesh. As we enjoy God’s holy presence in us, we loosen the grip of gluttony, lust, and greed upon us. Then we become free of the anxiety that comes from not satisfying an incessant craving. And then we are able to enjoy a more constant peace in Jesus.

The virtue of chastity purifies our desires as we entrust our imperfect will to God’s holy will. When we make a decision based on God’s will rather than our own, we remain detached from the outcome. We are then free from disappointment and regret because we trust that God will work everything out to our good (even when we make a mistake).

The fullness of our peace occurs when God is all we want, because we know that God works everything out to our good, and God is our highest good. So God allows everything to happen in order to bring us into union with Himself. “That I may come to them Father, just as I am in you and you are in me, may they also be in us.”  (John 17:20)

When union with God is all we want, we can peacefully accept everything that happens, because we know that everything that happens is bringing us closer to what we want (union with God). And likewise, whenever we are not peaceful about something that happens, we are desiring that something (or someone) more than God, thus that something or someone has become a little god to us. But with the virtue of chastity, we can remain focused on God, thus keeping Him in the first place while maintaining a more constant peace.

Through chastity we receive the benefits of purity — the elimination of our ulterior motives, excessive appetites, and selfish desires; which liberates us from anxiety, frustration, disappointment, and regret. We are then free to receive the ultimate peace and joy prepared for us since the beginning of time. “The peace that surpasses all understanding.” (Philippians 4:7)

Obedience

Entering into the spirit of obedience means entering into complete selflessness, where now Christ can live and move and have His being in us. “For it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)  Obedience is the pinnacle of the Evangelical Counsels, where poverty and chastity prepare the way.  For in the spirit of poverty, we humble ourselves in God. In the spirit of chastity, we entrust ourselves to God. Yet in the spirit of obedience, we surrender ourselves completely to God, allowing His will to dominate our every thought and action. Through obedience, we more completely die to ourselves so that Christ can more completely live in us, while filling us with an abundance of His peace and joy. “For unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”  (John 12:24)

The spirit of obedience does not enter our hearts through servile fear or necessity, but through the awe-inspiring love of Christ. We become obedient to God’s law through our proactive love of Love Himself.  “For God is Love.”  (I John 4:16)  And God has revealed the laws of love to us in degrees throughout history as He has gently unfolded His plan for our salvation. We first inherited the natural law, having it written on our hearts since the beginning of time. We then received the Ten Commandments, given to us in the Old Testament to teach us how to live. We were then given Jesus in the New Testament to teach us how to love. God then gave us the Holy Catholic Church to interpret the laws for us and to renew them throughout each new generation.

We follow these laws because of our humility and trust in God. And God blesses our obedience by His ever-increasing grace to us, and His ever-lasting presence in us. “Whoever has will be given more.”  (Luke 8:18)  And as we obey these laws of love we grow in faith, hope, and charity. And through charity, obedience takes on a whole new meaning, where we become obedient to each other – not out of servile fear, but out of love for one another we serve each other. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

For example, if a husband and father wants to go out with his friends, but his wife says, “Little Johnny has been really sad because he really misses his daddy. Would you please consider staying home to play with him tonight?” Now this father has been working extra hard for days, and he’s been looking forward to his “one night out” all week long, and he’s already got his boots on with keys in hand and he’s standing at the door. Ouch!!  Oh, how his own will tries to push him outside. But in one simple, heroic act of love he denies himself, drops the keys and picks up little Johnny to play while saying, “I love you little buddy.” And that silently says to his wife, “I respect you and I love you as Christ loves the Church.” And it vehemently declares to Jesus, “I love you more than I love myself.”

Love of God develops into loving one another. This love then expresses itself through serving each other, and we serve each other through our obedience to relationships. When a family household moves in true love for one another, they respond to each other through loving obedience, which establishes an incredible peace throughout the household and generates a wonderful joy within each of its members. This family can now radiate their joy to others outside the home, making the world a better place while leading others to God.

This attentive obedience to one another grows into an anticipation of each other’s needs when, out of loving service to one another, each person senses another’s need and responds to it even before being asked to do so: like the husband who brings flowers home to his wife who needs a little encouragement, or the wife who prepares her husband’s favorite meal when he seems a little sad, or the brother who shares a toy with his sister who looks a little lonely.

These scenes describe little acts of obedience to relationships, which are expressions of love for one another, born out of love for God.  For when we know and love God we desire to serve Him, and we serve Him by serving each other.  “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)

When we decide to dwell in the fullness of life, obedience to the law becomes the very beginning of our life in Christ. Then we learn the academics of entrusting our will to God through fasting and almsgiving. We die to ourselves a little more each time that we deny ourselves what we want, in order to give and receive what God wants. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are gifts from God to assist us in the process of restoring our original integrity so that our spirit once again becomes stronger than our flesh. Thus prayer, fasting, and almsgiving help us die to ourselves to more fully live in Christ. “For whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”  (Matthew 16:25)

Denying ourselves what we eat and giving away our possessions helps us grow in the virtues of poverty and chastity. But in denying ourselves what we do, we grow in the virtue of obedience, which is an even more excellent thing.  For denying ourselves what we eat or posses still involves traces of our own will. We want to fast or give alms because of the resulting favors we receive from God. But through the Evangelical Counsel of obedience, we deny our very will itself in favor of God’s will, thus more fully dying to ourselves in order to become more fully alive in Christ. “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”  (John 10:10)

The Prophesies of St. Luis De Montfort

Taken as an excerpt from “True Devotion to Mary,” by St. Luis De Montfort, translated by Fr. Frederick Faber, published by Tan Books and Publishers, Inc. 1985

In The Formation of the Apostles of the Latter Times

55. ….They will know the grandeurs of the Queen, and will consecrate themselves entirely to her service as subjects and slaves of love.  They will experience her sweetness and her maternal goodness, and they will love her tenderly like well-beloved children.  They will know the mercies of which she is full, and the need they have of her help; and they will have recourse to her in all things, as to their Advocate and Mediatrix to Jesus Christ.  They will know what is the surest, the easiest, the shortest, and the most perfect means of going to Jesus Christ; and they will give themselves to Mary, body and soul, without reserve, that they may thus belong entirely to Jesus Christ.

56. But who shall these servants, slaves, and children of Mary be?  They shall be the ministers of the Lord who, like a burning fire, shall kindle the fire of divine love everywhere.  They shall be “like sharp arrows in the hand of the powerful” Mary to pierce her enemies.  (Psalm 126:4)  They shall be the sons of Levi, well purified by the fire of great tribulation, and closely adhering to God (1 Corinthians 6:17), who shall carry the gold of love in their heart, the incense of prayer in their spirit, and the myrrh of mortification in their body.  They shall be everywhere the good odor of Jesus Christ to the poor and to the little, while at the same time, they shall be an odor of death to the great, to the rich, and to the proud worldlings.

57. They shall be clouds thundering and flying through the air at the least breath of the Holy Ghost; who, detaching themselves from everything and troubling themselves about nothing, shall shower forth the Word of God and of life eternal.  They shall thunder against sin; they shall storm against the world; they shall strike the devil and his crew; and they shall pierce through and through, for life or for death, with their two-edged sword of the Word of God, all those to whom they shall be sent on the part of the Most High.

58. They shall be the true apostles of the latter times, to whom the Lord of Hosts shall give the word and the might to work marvels and to carry off with the spoils of His enemies.  They shall sleep without gold or silver, and, what is more, without care, in the midst of the priests, ecclesiastics, and clerics (Psalm 67:14); and yet they shall have the silvered wings of the dove to go, with the pure intention of God and the salvation of souls, wheresoever the Holy Ghost shall call them.  Nor shall they leave behind them, in the places where they have preached, anything but the gold of charity, which is the fulfillment of the whole law. (Romans 13:10)

59. In a word, we know that they shall be disciples of Jesus Christ, walking in the footsteps of His poverty, humility, contempt of the world, charity; teaching the narrow way of God in pure truth, according to the Holy Gospel, and not according to the maxims of the world; troubling themselves about nothing; not excepting persons; sparing, fearing and listening to no mortal, however influential he may be.  They shall have in their mouths the two-edged sword of the Word of God.  They shall carry on their shoulders the bloody standard of the cross, the Crucifix in their right hand and the Rosary in their left, the sacred Names of Jesus and Mary in their hearts, and the modesty and mortification of Jesus Christ in their own behavior.  These are the great men who are to come; but Mary is the one who, by order of the Most High, shall fashion them for the purpose of extending His empire over that of the impious, the idolaters, and the Mohamotems.  But when and how shall this be?  God alone knows.  As for us, we have but to hold our tongues, to pray, to sigh and to wait: “With expectation I have waited.”  (Psalm 39:2)