24: “We Must Purge Ourselves of Our Evil Inclinations”                 Indeed, we have “natural inclinations”. We have passions and desires that are characteristic of material beings. In fact, it is good to have these inclinations. Physical desires such as food, drink, sex, comfort, etc… are all natural and can be beneficial in our pursuit of the Devout Life. It is not the inclination, itself, that is sinful and damaging to our pursuit of the Devout Life. Instead, it is the action that flows from these inclinations that, when improperly oriented towed the ego or simple material Truth that causes the problem. We need to teach our students to be reflective and ever mindful of the purpose and reason for their actions. They can be taught how to orient their inclinations toward God so that all actions become part of a Journey toward the Devout Life. Do we focus on the shadow or on the mountain whose shadow ap...

23: “We Must Purify Ourselves of Affection for Useless and Dangerous Things”                 It is a mistake to tell students that things like sports, parties, nice clothes, movies, or music are, in and of themselves, evil. It is often the nature of youth to test those boundaries and to experiment in spite of the words of their elders and teacher. Perhaps the better path is to teach the rational thinking skills needed to critically discern the usefulness of such things in the pursuit of Sainthood or Devotion. That is, if our affection for these things limits us to those things, themselves, then it is our attachment to material things that is the problem… not the thing themselves. Our job as teachers, then, should not be to warn them or punish them; instead, it should be to teach them to aim higher than the material thing itself. We are, after all, made for much more than the material world. We have incli...

22: “We Must Purify Ourselves of Affection for Venial Sin”                 De Salles writes that “the inward light of the Holy Spirit brightens our conscience”, and as we let that light guides us, the “more clearly and distinctly we see [our] sins”. Sin disrupts relationship with Self, Other, Nature, and God, and as those relationships are disrupted, we stray from our True image and likeness. That is, as we sin, we look less and less like God who is perfect Loving relationship. We should detest the sins we commit because of the damage they cause, but De Salles recognizes that thought we may never be fully free from sin, we can practice to detest them. We cannot expect our students to be perfect and free from sin, but we can help them to see the damage that sin causes and to let go of any affection for those sins. That may be the beginning of a holy life. Venial Sin tends to be a fixation of a material ...

21: “Conclusion Drawn from the First Purgation” St. Thomas More, of course, offers us an example of an openness to His Word, even when the world tells us to do the opposite. (photo. P. Smith)                 De Salles reminds us to “open your heart’s ears to hear in spirit the words of absolution.” What difference does it make to confess if we do not believe that we are forgiven? What height of pride have we obtained if we believe that our sins are too great to be forgiven? Always, reconciliation should be followed by our return to the Blessed Sacrament. Perhaps as teacher we should remind ourselves that if we have finished a lesson, the work is not done. We should listen to our students all the more and remember that the Grace with which we honestly and humbly listen to their praises and criticisms must be guided by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is, we should not pretend to rely on our own ego a...

20: “An Authentic Declaration to Impress on the Soul its Resolution to Serve god and to Conclude the Acts of Penance” Mary is the Queen of Heaven, certainly, but before that, in her humility, she is the Mother of Jesus. Her Fiat serves as the perfect declaration of fidelity to God. (photo P. Smith)                 De Sales tells us to take seriously a sort of preamble to Confession. It looks like an Act of Contrition, prior to the confessing of sins. This model of prayer creates a sort of predisposition to confess rightly and effectively. We can think of it as a sort of self-assessment before we take a class whereby we identify that which we desire to work on and to refine. If we make this sort of “authentic declaration” regularly, then we will be more open to the Grade and Mercy that God offers us. But De Sales is not without practicality. He knows that in our fallen state, we cannot possibly be per...

19: “How to Make a General Confession” The feet of Mary, discalced and worn, reveal to us the humility of one who would become Queen. The secret to living the fullest life is to empty ourselves of ego and pride. (photo. P. Smith)                 Previously, De Sales has offered us a method for examining our conscience, and not he begins his discussion of how we can actually come to Jesus to seek reconciliation. First and foremost he tells us to “proceed with a humble and confident mind”. This seems contradictory, but really he is telling us that if we are serious about our examination of conscience, we will be confident that our confession will be good and humble. As we “open wide” our heart in confession, so too must we open wide our heart in the Catholic school. We should be humble and confident at the same time. As we go before our students to serve them and to Love them, we should be confident i...

18: “The Tenth Meditation: The Election and Choice the Soul Makes of a Devout Life” It is rational to desire Peace and harmony as opposed to discord and brokenness. Heaven, necessarily, is characterized by a unity of Peace that can only be achieved through the transcendent imagination and Love of God. (University of Portland. photo: P. Smith)                 It has been said before that Jesus is a gentleman and would never force Himself upon us in any way. An encounter with Jesus and the devout life will always, at the end, be a choice we make. Otherwise, we cannot “look like” God. God, after all, is rational and free, and if we are “forced” to choose Him, then we lose our rational thinking and free will. De Sales contrasts the pains of hell with the Peace of Heaven. He offers us an image of a rational choice we are free to make. It makes sense to habituate right action in our younger students, but we a...

17: “The Ninth Meditation: The Election and Choice of Heaven” Sometimes the view from a mountain top can be a reminder that we are created to appreciate the Beauty of God's imagination. Beauty is God's invitation to us to encounter His perfect and eternal Love (Mt. Bierstadt. photo: P. Smith).                 I like to teach my students God’s imagination is boundless. How else could He Love someone who looks and acts like me! My high school students used to try and find the most creative ways to “prompose” to their girlfriend or boyfriend. They were using their imagination to fuel their expression of Love. That imagination is resonate with the image and likeness of God. De Sales tells us to use our imagination to “see” the Beauty and Beatitude of Heaven so it can fuel our Loving action, here and now. The closer we are to the image and likeness of God, Jesus, the more our imagination can expand… as te...

16: “The Eight Meditation: On Paradise” In Heaven there is no separation between the human intellect and the Truth of His Real Presence. In Heaven, Adoration of Jesus' Presence is perpetually fulfilling. (Photo. P. Smith)                 In contrast to the suffering of hell, the delights of paradise, perhaps, are infinitely good. In a way, the suffering of hell is easier to imagine than the glory and the happiness of Heaven. After all, according to De Sales, the suffering of hell is correlate to our material sins, whereas the glory of Heaven is derived from the eternal Love of God. The latter is transcendent by nature, and the former is necessarily limited. Hell is related to our will; Heaven is related to the Will of God. I Truly desire the best happiness and Love for my students, and, as my will is always imperfect, I must always seek deeper relationship with Jesus… only His Love can provide the hap...

15: “The Seventh Meditation: On Hell” While the contemplation of hell can be depressing and difficult, perhaps it is within the context of Adoration that we can best maintain Hope and consolation. (Photo: P. Smith)                 It may not be a happy reflection or meditation, but contemplating hell and the suffering therein can be a powerful exercise. De Sales challenges us to consider what it would be like to spend eternity separate from the perfect and eternal Love of God. Further, he challenged us to imagine how the suffering of hell is correlated to the sins we commit. That is, whatever sin ruled our material life, the suffering our sins caused will be the same suffering we must endure.   Of course, I want to let go of any sin in my life for fear of my own eternal suffering, but, perhaps more importantly, I want to let go of my sins so no one else will suffer because of my selfishness. As a...

14: The Sixth Meditation: On Judgment” The Eucharist, like a standard, should always guide us and stand above us. (Photo. N. Turner)                 This life should be best thought of as preparation or a practice, of sorts. We are made to Love and to be Loved… the image and likeness of God. So all our actions should reflect this Eternal Reality. In schools we should carry this “standard of mercy”, as De Sales calls it, and we should always seek ways to follow Jesus… to encounter Him and to respond to His invitation to “to come”. The way we interact with our students, then, should also be marked by that same “standard”. We need to encounter His Mercy (especially in the Eucharist and in Reconciliation) so our students can encounter Him through us. We can best be prepared for judgment by, right now, encountering Him in the Sacraments, Scripture, etc…. It is not just ourselves and our salvation that i...

13: “The Fifth Meditation: On Death” Encountering Jesus in the Eucharist is the single best way in which we can directly feel the eternal and perfect Love of Jesus Christ. All forms of Love in this world contain a echo of His eternal Love, but we always should seek to encounter Him. (photo P. Smith)                 De Sales emphasizes, “Only one thing is certain: we will dies, and sooner than we think.” Things of this world are fleeting and unimportant to the eternal self. This is not to say that we should ignore material needs in our present state or, worse, ignore the material suffering of others. But we should not fixate on those material things. After all, we cannot the eternal or Heavenly self is not attached to material things like wealth, fame, pleasure, or power. As a teacher I have to remind myself that I cannot fixate on the grades that my students make. I need to help my students to know th...

12: “The Fourth Meditation: On Sin” Our own fixation on material Truth...our own sin... fools us into thinking often that death is the end of  our story. But there is Hope in Resurrection if we take the time to consider how His Love is greater than our sin. (Shanagolden, Co.Limerick, Ireland. Photo:P. Smith)                 De Sales reminds us of the need for regular examination of conscience. We must pause and reflect on where sin is in our life. Reflect on when it began and what triggered this negative and disruptive behavior. He states that even an ingratitude to God is a grave sin because it reveals and perpetuates the division our choices have made between us and the Author of Love. He tells us to reflect on how often the Sacraments we receive have not produced fruits for us. This is because of our sin. Sin disrupts our relationship with Self, Other, Nature, and God, and we must open our heart...

11: “The Third Meditation: On God’s Benefactions” Of all the wealth and corporeal benefits we may have, the simple cross is our greatest Hope for it reveals to us the Truth that corporeal benefits, gifts of the mind, and even gifts of the spirit are empty without His Love. (Trinitarian Abbey in Adare, Co. Limerick, Ireland. P. Smith)                 We are all given what De Sales calls “corporeal benefits”. That is, we are blessed with certain physical gifts or attributes. Some more than others. We need to be careful not to directly correlate corporeal benefits with the Love of God. When we do this, we begin to say that those who have more and also Loved more by God. This is not True. What we can do is we can looks at whatever gifts we do have and simply be thankful. Similarly, we have gifts of the mind and gifts of the spirit, all of which come from God. De Sales really is only challenging us to “marve...

10: “The Second Meditation-The End for Which We Were Created” Often we encounter the Beauty and the Love of God in ways we may not expect. The stillness and Beauty of light shining into a 700 year old abbey can inspire and draw us to His Love. (Trinitarian Abbey in Adare, Co. Limerick, Ireland. P. Smith) Again, De Sales instructs us to “place yourself in the presence of God.” Again, we are invited to be humble before God and to know that we are utterly useless without Him. That is, our entire purpose is connected to His existence. There is no “Truth” to us…no purpose… without the eternal and transcendent Truth of Him. Ultimately, we are made to Love and to be Loved in the eternal and perfect sense. The end-goal God has in mind for us is to encounter and to be united in that Love. All action and all purpose in this life should be directed toward that end. That is, for us to have meaning or fulfillment in this life, we must orient our actions toward the image and likeness of ...

9: “The First Meditation-On Our Creation” “Place yourself in the presence of God”. He starts this meditation with a direct order to go to the Lord. It could be interpreted in terms of “imagine” you are in the presence of God…of Jesus. But already De Sales has instructed us of the importance of the Sacrament…the Real Presence of the Lord. For teachers in a Catholic school, it has been said, the most under-used resource we have is the chapel. Specifically, the most under-used resource we have is the Real Presence of the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. We must go to Him and be humble. In our humility, we will receive His Grace and His Love. In this way, we encounter the Love that our students deserve and we can better be the Love of Jesus for them. St. Teresa's Church Discalced Carmelites. Mary's humility serves as a model for us of how we can let go of our own ego and pride and we can, literally, carry in us the Son of God. We can literally encounter the presence of Jesu...