Smorgasbord #71
Patterns | Temporal Currency | Invocabit Sunday
Patterns
I’ve been reading about St. Ignatius of Loyola’s rules for the discernment of spirits, and I think that because he was a soldier, I’m willing to assume that his brain worked in a way that I can relate to. Or maybe I believe this because of Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s excellent job explaining every rule. Fr. Gallagher mentions that St. Ignatius was not a writer, and if you read the original text, you’ll see that all fourteen rules for spiritual discernment can be contained in one page, and it reads like a manual.
As I study this subject, I’ve come to realize that discernment of spirits involves both faith and reason, making it very human for us who believe we are both body and soul. The rules for discernment of spirits are part of the Spiritual Exercises, which should hint at what St. Ignatius aims to achieve. Just as we need to exercise our bodies, our souls also require regular activity and sometimes even exertion.
In our walk of faith, there are two movements: 1. those that draw us closer to God, and 2. those that distance us from God. For instance, in the second rule, St. Ignatius talks about people heading toward God and how the good and bad spirits act on them. The bad spirit disquiets the heart with false reasons, causing anxiety. It saddens the heart in a sadness related to God, prayer, and loving others. It also places obstacles to discourage people from moving forward and doing good.
On the contrary, the good spirit helps us quiet our hearts. A sense of calm and stillness in our soul can tell us we’re in the place we ought to be. We may even receive inspirations, which give spiritual clarity on how to move forward in doing good.
Learning to recognize the pattern of these movements could benefit those wanting to go from good to better in their spiritual life, especially during this season of Lent, where (hopefully) we crank up the prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The enemy doesn’t like this, so keep your guard up. It begins with awareness; notice things around you and how they affect you. Then, mull things over, take them to the Lord, and ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate your understanding. Finally, accept the good and reject the bad.
Temporal Currency
As part of The Great Fast, the practice I have decided to follow this Lent, I got an audio file with some table reading to listen to during my one meal of the day. I have seen this practice at monasteries where a monk reads aloud during meals. I, however, listened to this on my way to class because sometimes it is hard to hear my own thoughts during dinner.
We’re reading (or rather, one of the Norbetine fathers is reading for me) “Approach to Calvary” by Hubert Von Zeller O.S.B., a general treatise or essay on suffering: why there is pain, its justification, and what we are to do; shows that the answer to these questions is found in the passion.
The book follows the structure of the Via Crucis, and the first chapter is called Condemnation, as the first station. In it, Von Zeller discusses how we deal with temporal currency, meaning that we choose things that we think will make us happy, but they only do so in the temporal realm instead of the eternal one. These things won’t satisfy us because they are ephemeral. We are going to want more and more of the thing. We will only be pacified for a while, but eventually, we’ll need more of it.
We spend time, energy, and resources trying to get these things that won’t satisfy. Only God will satisfy the deepest yearnings of our hearts. We must switch our focus to the eternal—store treasures in heaven and start dealing with eternal currency.
As we journey through these forty days, preparing to commemorate the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, let’s set our sights on things eternal. When we fast, pray, and practice charity, we can begin to let go of our attachments to temporary things and surrender to His will.
Invocabit Sunday
This week, I learned that each Sunday of Lent has a name. The first Sunday in Lent is called Quadragesima because it is forty days away from Easter (not counting Sundays). It is also called Invocabit Sunday because of the first word from the introit of the Mass that day, which is also known as the entrance antiphon.
In Latin:
Invocabit me, et ego exaudiam eum: eripiam eum et glorificabo eum: longitudine dierum adimplebo eum. Ps. Qui habitat in adjutorio Altissimi; in protectione Dei coeli commorabitur.
In English:
He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: I will deliver him, and I will glorify him: I will fill him with length of days. Ps. He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most high, shall abide under the protection of the God of Heaven.
It sounds like this:
The gospel for the first Sunday of Lent is Luke 4:1-13—the temptation of Jesus—when the devil tried to tempt Jesus after His forty-day fast. The connection I make between the introit and the gospel is that when we are weak (like when we fast), we should cry out to the Lord for protection.
We can do nothing without God, so it is profitable to cling to Him. Jesus asks us to follow Him into the desert and accompany Him. There will be temptations to drop our Lenten commitments. It may feel like we can’t do it, but that’s when we should cry out to Him. Cry out to Him confidently, knowing He will hear and deliver us.
Remember that we are fighting the flesh, the world, and the devil; if we rely on our own strength, we will fail. Draw near to Him! Cling to Him!
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Sobremesa
What’s your favorite Lenten meal?
Speaking of currency, should Monopoly games have a time limit? How long?
Do you also immediately think of “King of Egypt” when you hear the words “deliver us”?
1. Spaghetti with clam sauce.
2. Until I win 😎
3. No. I’ve never seen it. I think of the Lord’s Prayer.
Now I’m even more excited to hear the Introit chanted at Mass on Sunday! (God willing, as there’s currently sickness in the house.) When it comes to the traditions of our faith, literally nothing is overlooked or forgotten; every single detail, even that of naming the Sundays of Lent, is amazingly present.