Tag: oftheproperuseoftheexteriorsenses:contemplationofthedivinity

Posted in GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, QUOTES on WISDOM, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 20 February – Of the Proper Use of the Exterior Senses: Contemplation of the Divinity (Part Two)

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Thought for the Day – 20 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5

XXI: … Of The Proper Use of the Exterior Senses:
Contemplation of the Divinity
(Part Two)

“And if attracted by the beauty of the creature, separate that which you see, from the Spirit which you see not and consider that all that exterior beauty, is solely derived from the invisible Spirit which is its source and joyfully say:
“Behold, these are streamlets
from the uncreated Fountain;
behold, these are drops
from the Infinite Ocean of all good.
O, how does my inmost heart rejoice
at the thought of that eternal Infinite Beauty
which is the Source and Origin of all created beauty!”

And, on the discovery, in other men of goodness, wisdom, justice or similar virtues, make the same mental separation and say to God:
“O most rich Treasure-house of all virtues,
how greatly do I rejoice that from Thee
and through Thee alone,
flows all goodness and, that all in comparison
with Thy Divine perfections, is as nothing!
I thank Thee, Lord, for this
and every good gift which Thou hast vouchsafed
to my neighbour; remember, Lord,
my poverty, and my great need of this very virtue.”

When you stretch out your hand to do anything, reflect that God is the first cause of that action and you but His living instrument and raising your thoughts to Him, say thus:
“How great, O supreme Lord of all,
is my interior joy, that without Thee
I can do nothing and that Thou,
art in truth, the first and chief Worker of all things!”

When eating or drinking, consider that it is God who gives its relish to your food. Delighting yourself, therefore, in Him alone, say:
“Rejoice, O my soul,
hat as there is no true contentment but in God,
so in Him alone, may you, in all things content yourself.”

When your senses are gratified by some sweet odour, rest not in this enjoyment but let your thoughts pass onto the Lord, from Whom this sweetness is derived and, inwardly consoled, by this thought, say:
“Grant, O Lord, that as I rejoice
because all sweetness flows from Thee,
so may my soul, pure and free from all earthly pleasure,
ascend on high as a sweet savour,
acceptable unto Thee.”

When you listen to the harmony of sweet sounds, let your heart turn to God, saying:
“How do I rejoice, my Lord and God,
in Thine Infinite perfections
which, not only make a super-celestial
harmony within Thyself,
but also, unite the Angels in Heaven
and all created beings,
in one marvellous harmonious concert!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/19/thought-for-the-day-19-february-of-the-proper-use-of-the-exterior-senses-contemplation-of-the-divinity-part-one/

Posted in CONTEMPLATIVE Prayer, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on CREATION, QUOTES on WATCHING, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 19 February – Of the Proper Use of the Exterior Senses: Contemplation of the Divinity (Part One)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 19 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5

XXI: … Of The Proper Use of the Exterior Senses:
Contemplation of the Divinity
(Part One)

“Great watchfulness and continual exercise is needed, for the due ordering and regulation of the exterior senses – for the appetite which is, as it were, the captain of our corrupt nature, inclines us to an immoderate seeking after pleasure and enjoyment.
The appetite, being unable, by itself, to attain them, it uses the senses as its soldiers and as natural instruments for laying hold of objects, whose images it draws to itself and impresses on the mind.
Hence arises the pleasure which, by reason of the relationship subsisting, between it and the flesh, diffuses itself, over all the senses which are capable of it, infecting both soul and body with a common contagion which corrupts the whole.
You see the evil – now mark the remedy.

Take good heed not to let your senses stray freely where they will; nor to use them when pleasure alone and not utility, necessity, nor any good end, is the motive.
And, if inadvertently they have been allowed to wander too far, recall them at once; or so regulate them that, instead of remaining as before in a miserable captivity to empty pleasures, they may gather a noble spoil from each passing object and bring it home to the soul, that, collected within itself, if may rise with a steadier flight towards Heaven, to the contemplation of God.

Which maybe done in the following manner:
When any object is presented before one of your exterior senses, separate in your mind, from the material thing, the principle which is in it and reflect that, of itself, it possesses nothing of all that which it appears to have but, that all is the work of God, Who endows it invisibly, by His Spirit, with the being, beauty, goodness, or whatever virtue belongs to it.
Then rejoice that thy Lord alone is the Cause and Principle, of such great
and varied perfections and, that they are all eminently contained in Himself, all created excellences being but most minute degrees of His Divine and Infinite perfections.
When engaged in the contemplation of grand and noble objects, reduce the creature, mentally to its own nothingness, fixing your mind’s eye on the great Creator therein present, Who gave it that great and noble being and delighting yourself in Him alone, say:
“O Divine Essence and above all things to be desired,
how greatly do I rejoice that Thou alone
art the InfInite Principle of every created being!”

In like manner, at the sight of trees, plants, or such like objects, you will understand that the life which they have, they have not of themselves but, from the Spirit which you do not see,and which alone quickens them.
Say, therefore:
“Behold here the true Life from which, in which and through which,
all things live and grow!
O living Joy of this heart!”

So, at the sight of brute animals, raise your thoughts to God, Who gave them sensation and motion, saying:
“O Thou First Mover of all that moves, Thou art Thyself immovable;
how greatly do I rejoice in Thy steadfastness and stability!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli