“The Holy Spirit wants to give Christians a
‘new and divine holiness’
at the Dawn of the Third Millennium” - Pope
John Paul II
THE INNER
CLOISTER
In the Book of Heaven,
Jesus tells us of the souls that live in
the celestial sea of the Supreme Volition, “These
souls are the hidden inhabitants of the celestial waves which live for the
honor and for the enrichment of the infinite sea of my Will. And as fish
are hidden imperceptibly in the sea to nourish man, so also do these souls
remain hidden in the divine sea, silent, yet still forming my greater glory in
creation.” “For the souls that lives and works in my Will, I, more than a
tender mother, hide it in my Will.” Vol.
17, 8/9/24)
“This is the beauty of the
interior life of the soul: without speaking and without instruction, she
ensures that nothing external either attracts her or disturbs her; that all her
attraction and all her goods are enclosed within.”
(vol. 5, 6/30/1903)
Luisa once was
inside a garden where there were various rose bushes. Some were
beautifully in bloom, shaped just right, about half open. Some of the
other roses, however, were losing their petals; as soon as the gentlest breeze
came along, they began shedding their petals until nothing but the stem was
left. She was told, “The first
roses are those souls that act interiorly. These roses display a beauty,
a freshness, and a steadfastness that prevents any petal from falling to the
earth. Their half-closed petals are a symbol of the opening that the
interior life of the soul makes to the external world. Having life within them,
their works are perfumed with Holy Charity; like lights, they shine forth to
God and to their neighbor. The second roses are external souls: the
little good that they do is done on the outside for all to see. Their
petals are fully opened; that is, they do not have God and His Love as their
sole aim. And where this does not exist, the petals (that is, the
virtues) are weakly attached. As soon as even a gentle breeze of pride
comes along, the petals fall to the ground-likewise for pleasure, self-love and
human respect.” (vol. 5, 10/2/1903)
“...to be able to rest in God,
inner silence is necessary...” “But what is this inner silence? It
is to silence our own passions by holding them in check; to impose silence on
desires, inclinations and sentiments; in summary, on everything which does not
call God.” (vol. 3, 5/20/1900)
“...in the interior souls there
should not be disturbance. And if it enters there, it is because they
come out of themselves, and doing so, they act as executioners of
themselves. By going out of herself, the soul holds on to so many things
that do not benefit her and that are not God, and sometimes, even things which
do not look after the true well-being of the soul. Wherefore, by
returning to herself and carrying things which are extraneous, the soul tears
herself from herself, and with that she comes to weaken herself and weaken
Grace. For this reason always stay in yourself, and you will always be
calm.” (vol. 3, 8/31/1900)
“...why are you looking
for Me outside of yourself - as you could more easily find Me in yourself?
When you want to find Me, enter into yourself, reach into your nothingness....”
(vol. 3, 8/3/1900)
To Conchita (Ven.
Maria Concepcion Cabrera de Armida), Jesus speaks of “the inner cloister”:
“I want to make you
a saint known to Me alone. That is why I take care of you, advise you,
direct you, watch over you...I want you to be a mirror of hidden virtues ...nothing external. “You are to live
cloistered in the very inner sanctuary of your souls, for there is where dwells
the Holy Spirit. It is in this sanctuary you must live and die.
There are your delights, your consolations, your repose. Do not look
elsewhere for it. You will never find it.”
“From today on, enter into the
innermost regions of your soul, into those areas so unknown to so many others,
but where is found that happiness which I am. Enter into it never to
leave it. And here is the path which will lead you there: the inner...”
“Here is your cloister, your
religious perfection. It is not enough to immure your body, to be a
nun....The ‘inner cloister’ is essential for the sanctification of the soul
within to be all Mine. You must never leave this inner sanctuary, even in
the midst of your outside obligations.”
“There, in this sanctuary, which no
one sees, is found true virtue and consequently the contemplation of God and
the dwelling of the Holy Spirit.” (Conchita,
A Mother’s Spiritual Diary, 8/15/1897)
Mother Louise Margaret Claret de la
Touche (1868-1915) spoke about the interior life in her book containing
messages from Our Lord, “The Love and
Service of God Infinite Love”. She says, “The interior life does not consist, as some people wrongfully think,
in the suppression of all activity; if that were so, it would be incompatible
with good works, which are the fruit of charity. The interior life can be
established and maintained in the midst of the most exacting employments, and
many Saints who have added luster to the Church have prove this by their lives
which were filled with holy works and, which were at the same time, altogether
interior.” She goes on to say, “Let
us unite ourselves with the Virgin Mary and, like her, completely recollected
in our interior, let us seek Jesus, Who reposes there in silence and in
peace. Let us think of the sentiments of Mary, and like her, detaching
our souls more and more from the exterior, passing things of time, let us live
with the Divine Master that interior life which will be for us a prelude of the
life of happiness in Heaven.”
St. Faustina was told by her
confessor, “Let God push your boat out
into the deep waters, toward the unfathomable depths of the interior life.”
From
the writings of St. Louis Marie de
Montfort: “Because Mary
remained hidden during her life, she is called by the Holy Spirit and the
Church, Alma Mater, Mother hidden and unknown. So great was her humility
that she desired nothing more upon earth than to remain unknown to herself and
to others, and to be known only to God.”
Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity speaks
of interior silence saying, “It seems to
me, that to keep one’s strength for the Lord is to unify one’s whole being by
means of interior silence, to collect all one’s powers in order to employ them
in the one work of love, to have this single eye which allows the light of God
to enlighten us. A soul that debates with itself, that is taken up with
its feelings, and pursues useless thoughts and desires, scatters its forces,
for it is not wholly directed toward God. Its lyre does not vibrate in
unison and when the Master plays it, He cannot draw from it divine harmonies,
for it is still too human and discordant…How indispensable this beautiful inner
unity is for the soul that wants to live here below the life of the blessed….”
Mt. 6:16: “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the
door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in
secret will reward you.”
Luke 17:20: “The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed,
and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is’ or ‘there it is’.”
Luke 2:19: “And Mary kept in mind all these things and pondered them in her
heart.”
Lynne
Bauer, 1998
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