Tag: frrichardclarke

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, HUMILITY-Fr Richard Clarke, QUOTES on HUMILITY

Thought for the Day – 28 May – The Obligation of Humility

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 28 May – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900) SJ

HUMILITY
Meditations for a Month

Chapter Two
The Obligation of Humility

Every Christian as such, is under an obligation to follow in the sacred footsteps of Jesus Christ and, to make His Life, the model of his own. In the life of the Son of God on earth, the most wonderful feature is its humility. That the omnipotent God should so humble Himself as to take the form of the lowest of the rational creatures He has made, is an almost incredible marvel.
The condescension, the lowering of Himself which is involved in it, altogether passes our power of comprehension. He could not have stooped so low unless He had been God. Thus, His humility
becomes the characteristic feature of the Incarnation and, in proportion, as we lower ourselves, we imitate Jesus upon earth.

Our Lord is not satisfied with teaching us by His example; He also gives a positive command.
“Learn of Me for I am meek and humble of heart.”
Out of all the virtues, He came to teach us, He selects His humility as that, to the practice of which, He binds us, by which we are to become
like unto Him. How indifferent, how disobedient I have shown myself to our Lord’s command!

Can I say that I have learned the lesson of meekness and humbleness of heart?

We are also bound to practice humility as children of the Catholic Church. Humility and submission is the very essence of her teaching — subjection to God, subjection to all lawful authority, subjection of will and intellect to the Dogmas of Faith. He who is not content with
subjection, cannot be a really good Catholic and no-one can love subjection without humility.
Examine your own heart, to find whether you rejoice in being subject, for Christ’s sake.

Posted in HUMILITY-Fr Richard Clarke, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on PRIDE, The KINGDOM of GOD

Thought for the Day – 27 May – The Importance of Humility

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 27 May – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900) SJ

The following pages are based, in great measure, on the beautiful little treatise issued by Our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIII on the subject of Humility. They can be read and utilised at any time but, if used from the beginning of Lent, these Meditations will leave the reader free to turn, during Passion Week and Holy Week, to the Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ.

HUMILITY
Meditations for a Month

Chapter One
The Importance of Humility

Humility is not only important to the welfare of our souls, it is also absolutely necessary to obtain grace from Almighty God. He resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble. Pride is an insuperable bar to the entrance of grace into the soul and, as we can do nothing good in the sight of God, without the assistance of His grace, we must have at least some degree of humility before we can do anything pleasing to Him. In proportion to our humility, will be the grace given us and the supernatural virtue to which we shall attain. The first thing I must do if I wish to please God more, is to humble myself more.

Humility is not only necessary to the obtaining of grace but, without it, we are the enemies of God. He resists the proud that is, they have God fighting against them and regarding them as His enemies! How awful a thing to have God for our adversary. It was this which rendered the devils forever accursed!

In one moment, the humility of their subjection of themselves in their love of God confirmed the Holy Angels in perfect happiness to all eternity. If I wish God to fight for me, not against me, the first condition is humility.

Humility is a necessary condition of entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. “Unless you become as little children,” says our Divine Lord, “you cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.” He loves the humble and no-one, who has, in his heart, the spirit of humility, need have any fear of death and judgement.

O my God, am I really humble? Is there not still in me, alas, a spirit of pride hateful to Thee?
Drive out from me all pride and fill me with true humility that I may be fit for Thee and fit for Heaven.

Posted in PATIENCE - Fr Richard CLARKE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on SUFFERING

Thought for the Day – 26 May – The Solution of the Mystery of Suffering

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 26 May – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900) SJ

PATIENCE
Meditations for a Month

The Solution of the Mystery of Suffering

  1. At the beginning there was no suffering. It was not until the Angels rebelled that pain and suffering made their appearance in God’s universe. Suffering is the necessary expiation of the outrage offered to the Majesty of God by His creatures. It is a fulfilment of the eternal law that, he who sins must suffer. It is the complement and effect of sin. It is the carrying out of the law of retribution. What else are my sufferings but the just punishment for my sins?
  2. But suffering is a great deal more than this. It is the remedy for the disease of sin, the kindly knife which hurts but cures. What a change suffering makes in men. See Nabuchodonosor before he suffered, proud and lifted up, and afterwards – mhumble and submissive. (Daniel 4 : 27) See the prodigal son led by suffering to return to his father’s house. See even the wicked Achab humbled by suffering. (3 Kings 21:27) ‘It is good, O Lord, says David, ‘that Thou hast afflicted me. Before I was troubled I went wrong but now, I have kept Thy word.’
    ‘ Chastisement yields to those who are exercised by it the peaceable fruit of justice.’ (Hebrews 12:I1) It purifies the soul and almost forces men to humility and submission. Has it had this effect with me? If it has, I will thank God.
  3. Suffering is the payment for joy to come. The willing acceptance of it, is the surest road to a high place in Heaven. We can earn more grace for ourselves and for others, by the patient endurance of suffering, than by the most active zeal – it is a safer, as well as a surer means of glorifying God, for we cannot well be proud of our sufferings as we may be of our actions. Thus, it is one of the best gifts which God can give us.
    I, therefore, must be willing to pay the price, if I desire to win the reward!
Posted in PATIENCE - Fr Richard CLARKE, QUOTES on SUFFERING

Thought for the Day – 25 May – The Mystery of Suffering

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 25 May – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900) SJ

PATIENCE
Meditations for a Month

The Mystery of Suffering

  1. Those who look upon the world without taking into account the nature of sin, the meaning of a state of probation and the rewards and punishments of the life to come, are puzzled by the sufferings which seem everywhere to abound. Why has a merciful God created us to suffer? Why is it that the innocent have to suffer one day, while the guilty seem to prosper? Why is it that the most virtuous often have the hardest lot and the bitterest trials? Suffering is indeed a mystery.
  2. Friendship with God generally entails suffering. How many a man hitherto prosperous falls into every kind of misfortune when he turns to God! It seems as if a high degree of virtue brought misery, not happiness. Dives, surrounded with every luxury and Lazarus, covered with ulcers lying half-starved at his gate; Annas triumphant and Jesus Crucified; Herod feasting and John butchered in his prison cell; the Roman Emperor in all the pride of empire and the friends of God torn by wild beast – what an apparent anomaly! On a small scale there is the same anomaly in my life and in the little world in which I live. I am inclined to find fault with God’s arrangements. Oh how foolishly!
  3. Does God repay good with evil by sending suffering to those He loves? They themselves do not think so and they are the best judges. They rather like sufferings. How can this be? Suffering, in itself, is the reverse of pleasant. But in its effects how wonderful! In its power to counteract evil how effectual! As a mark of God’s favour how valuable! In its promise for the future, how replete with blessings! It may be said to contain, within itself, all sweetness, not in the present but in the future. This is the view I must take of suffering.
Posted in patience, PATIENCE - Fr Richard CLARKE, QUOTES on PATIENCE

Thought for the Day – 23 May – The Divine Patience

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 23 May – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

PATIENCE
Meditations for a Month

The Divine Patience

  1. When we speak of the patience of God we use the word in rather a different meaning to that in which it is applied to men. It means that God abstains from inflicting on the sinner, the punishment that he deserves, that He is long-suffering, that He waits to see if he will perchance repent and turn to Him that He is slow to anger and of great mercy. O my God, how patient Thou hast been with me when I rebelled against Thee! How Thou hast borne with all my ingratitude and sinfulness and stubbornness and disobedience!
  2. Holy Scripture contains many examples of the patience of God. When the human family had become so wicked that God determined to destroy them by the Flood, He waited a hundred years before carrying out the sentence. When the cry of the Cities of the Plain rose up before Him, He waited before He determined to destroy them. When Saul forfeited his kingdom by his disobedience, God waited for ten years before He carried out the sentence. Learn from God’s example to be patient with evil-doers and to love mercy rather than vengeance.
  3. God never acts in a hurry and He, thereby desires, to teach us deliberation in all that we do. We do not leave an interval of time as He does between the wrong and the infliction of the punishment. We are so impulsive that we commit many faults which we might easily have avoided if we had learned to wait. What need was there for the delay that we find attributed to God? He, as Perfect Wisdom, needs no time for deliberation. But, it is that we may recognise the necessity of being slow to act and especially, of being slow to act in anger, that God represents Himself as always waiting.