Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00 <inaudible> if there's one point our lord makes clear in today's Gospel, it's the praying and bragging are not the same thing. I give the thanks, Oh God, that I am not like the rest of men playing. Bragging are not the same thing as inspired. Word of God says in James Four six God resisted the proud and give grace to the humble. God resisted the proud and give grace to the humble. Okay. If plain bragging aren't the same thing, how are we supposed to pray? Obviously we need to pray with humility and the Lord also tells us in Luke 18 one to pray always so we should pray with humility and pray always. Okay. Father, that's easy for you to say, but just how are we supposed to pray always with humility today, we'll take a quick look at one very fruitful and yet very easy way to do just that.
Speaker 0 01:13 This method of prayer is so easy that everyone here is old enough to understand. This can do it. Following the lead of spiritual leaders, we'll call this method of prayer, contemplation through the senses. Why is it called contemplation through the senses? Well, in terms of the census, it's easy to understand if we keep in mind that our senses, their sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Those are the means by which we keep in contact with the exterior world, the world around us. And in this method of prayer, we use these God given powers our senses to grow. In virtue it's called contemplation because the basic idea here is for us to notice, to contemplate, to consider to marvel, depreciate the traces of wisdom or beauty or order or goodness to the God the reflected in the creatures that surround us. Everything that we can sense all persons, places and things are creatures.
Speaker 0 02:20 So in some way as creatures, they all reflect something about their creator. Creatures reflect something about the creator. So if we pay attention, we can see some quality of God's beauty, wisdom and goodness shining forth from them. This idea is on throughout sacred scripture. For example, psalm 18 one begins. They haven't shown heaven's show forth, the glory of God. And of course anyone who's ever laid out their dark night with all the stars above them, maybe watching meteor shower or the northern lights shimmering up can help them realize that they haven't show forth the glory of Cal as we're watching the stars, the meteors, the northern lights shimmering around that realization or that thought, the consideration that God hung all that beauty up in the sky just for us to appreciate is an example of what we mean by contemplation through our senses. Now it's easy to see when we're talking about the stars, but how are we supposed to crack this, this in more ordinary situations?
Speaker 0 03:32 Let's just take a few comics samples. Taylor's tray. Imagine you have an actor in, you're biting into it. That red, orange color, that smell, that taste the nectarines shoes. The way it feels is you're chewing on it from all eternity. God knew how good all those things would be and he created all those grapes stations and then put them all together and that one entry just as a present for us when we eat it or if we're eating an ice cream cone, the taste and the feel and the texture and the consistency, but that ice cream cone, all those good things, our presence, their presence, I'll pass through that puny little piece of food by God who loves us. That's why they're there. So we taste or smell some food. If we're passing this kind of place to senses we can think about and appreciate and enjoy all the good things that we're sensing and then we as we're doing that, we want to pass through that, lift up our minds and thank God that from all eternity, he wanted us to enjoy that right then and there.
Speaker 0 04:40 It can also make us think about how loving and beautiful and providential he is. Consider what an incredible loving father he must be since he does all these great things for us. Huh? The same snow. This when Saint Mary Magman has, he would look at a flower or an apple, she'd say within herself some eternity like God has started creating this fruit for my steak to give me a proof of the love that he has for me. And then she'd be overwhelmed with feelings and the divine love instead of food. We can think about things early morning sunrise, they giggle a little baby. Well executed football play the smell of freshly mowed field, the hay song, the cardinal. Know what it feels like to squish mud between your toes or the sound of a steam locomotive or how it looks from the sunlight hits to do on the spider web smelled cough here, snow blowing in your face.
Speaker 0 05:42 All the beauty in order and the goodness of those things. All the beauty and the order and the goodness in anything we come across is just a little tiny reflection of the infinite beauty in ordering goodness as a good God. The creative and keep in mind that this beauty and order and goodness is something that only man can appreciate to his senses. We're the only ones that can appreciate this through our senses. He's done all that for us. It's specifically for us from all eternity. God planned to put all those good things into whatever we're considering. Just as a present for us. The shades know this with Saint Simon. Salah would be walking through the fields and he saw flowers in their plants. He start whacking them with his walking stick. Why? He'd say, be Scheiland be Shiloh. You reproach me for not loving that God who's made you so beautiful for my sake that I might be persuaded to love him. I've already heard you must stop it. Don't reprove me anymore obese. Be Silent. They keep whacking all the little flowers and plants as he's going by.
Speaker 0 07:02 Father, didn't you say the kind of question to the Sanchez would allow everyone here that understands it? The pray always with humility. What does this have to do with humility? As we cultivate this habit, we begin to notice what a really wonderful world this is. Now we're not talking about the spirit of the world, which is one of the enemies of our salvation. We're talking about creation. We're tying all the good creatures, God's name, and as we get in the habit of seeing all this beauty in order and goodness and we sit and things, and we were for it to the good guy that made it, we can't help but go in humility. Why? Because on the one hand we began to get a GIM notion of how incredibly much God must love us. Since we're Molly trinity. He's put all these delights. He spanked them throughout all the creation, just as gifts for us.
Speaker 0 07:54 Now, on the other hand, in the face of all this incredible goodness in theory, in order, we began to get a good idea of really how much we haven't done a little, we deserve this. How grateful we are, how great will we've been, and how much, how really much we owe. We could go infinite leap, beautiful, generous and loving God that's done all this for us. And at the same time we realize how little we've done to show him how much we appreciate his care for us. Everyone can stop and think, how often have we said grace mechanically or maybe not in all? When we eat, we're given thanks after we've eaten or even when reading. We appreciate the fact that God gave us that food. It's something we can all ponder. <inaudible> practice leads us to consider God and our and to be humbled in the face.
Speaker 0 08:58 That consideration. Of course the saints know this. When Saint Teresa of Avila would be see the beauty, the claims to the sea or the rivers or other beautiful creatures. She felt as if they read, coached her with her in gratitude towards God. We should remember this practice of contemplation through the census doesn't apply only to nature or considering a well-made tool like a good acts or nice rifle or steam oak ammonium or great cathedral or a beautiful piece of music. This practice applies also to both the practical arts like carpentry or welding or guns from their thing and also to the fine arts like architecture, sculpture, painting, especially musing. What are we saying when we say that? We're saying that well done or well made pieces of human art works of human art well done works which express some sense of order or beauty or actually aides for us to contemplate the beauty and order and goodness of God.
Speaker 0 10:06 Now that's an idea that's really worth each one of us pondering. It has huge implications for our surroundings, our homes I public areas, the whole civic life and the taking the of I work. There's a lot of implications there, but every one of us can unfold those on its own. Okay, father, let's see if we have this guy kind of placed into the senses means that we should develop the habit of noticing or considering or marveling at whatever qualities of goodness or beauty or order that we see the creatures around us and then let that marvel wonder, lead our minds to consider the wisdom or beauty or cuteness of the guy that left those qualities there for us. Yes, that's right. Keep in mind that the church understands his concept perfectly. Listen carefully to this selection from the Council of Trent quo. Having the nature he does. Man cannot easily meditate on divine things without external helps.
Speaker 0 11:17 For this reason, holy mother church has instituted certain rights for the mass, namely that some parts that to be said in a low tone of voice and snowboard to be said more loudly. She has also made use of ceremony such as sacred blessings, candles, incense, vestments, and many other things that has kind which come down from apostolic teaching and tradition. All of these things are used to show forth the majesty of this great sacrifice and to raise the mines, the faithful through these visible signs of religion and piety to the contemplation of the most sublime things which lie hidden in his sacrifice. Close quote, the Council of Trent. What is the cons to saying that the movement's volumes, postures, vestments, colors, music, lights, fragrances, and architecture of the divine liturgy, which has come down to us from the teaching and traditions of the apostles are specifically designed for our nature.
Speaker 0 12:29 The nature which the God man assumed the unchanging nature of man. And all these aspects of traditional liturgy are aimed at accomplishing one thing and one thing only to make it easy for us by cotton plating these things through our senses to penetrate into the spiritual ministries of the holy sacrifice as we package the contemplation, the Sanchez right here at holy mass, these ceremonies which were specifically designed for our nature and which come down to us from the episodic teaching and traditions, these ceremonies are designed to exciting us, a sense of awe and esteem and humility and holy fear and love of the Majesty and Power of the Almighty God. And they're also designed to excite in us those same thoughts and emotions about the ineffably holy sacrifice that's being offered here to the father on assaulted. And it's not as we're doing this in a state of grace.
Speaker 0 13:42 As long as we're assisting in holy mass and the state of grace, we have the gifts of the holy ghost. Those spiritual gifts of wisdom and understanding and with the gifts of wisdom, understanding those will aid and enable us with the eyes of faith to penetrate and contemplate and appreciate the significance and meaning of many of the ceremonies without necessarily needing detailed explanations because we have spiritual powers to do to staff. Of course, the saints know this. That's why Saint Teresa of alleys to say, quote, I would give my life for a single ceremony of the church. Close quote, I would give my life for the shingle ceremony of the church starting right now. Let's begin to practice contemplation through the senses. Let's Blegh the blessed Virgin Mary to guide us to the point where when we say something beautiful, we can truly speak from the heart and sail our Saint Simon sallow. Be Quiet, be quiet, don't reproach me for not loving that God. Who has made you so beautiful for my sake that I might be persuaded to love him. I've already heard you now stop, see, be quiet. And most especially let's peg the busted version that our contemplation or Pantry so deeply, and if is spiritual mysteries, hidden and invisible ceremonies here on the altar, that each one of us will be able to honestly stay with st trees of Abdullah. I would give my life for a single Sam, one of the church.
