St. Teresa has been hovering lately. To tell you the truth, she scares me to death, but it seems she has come to help us - and God knows we could use it so here you go.
"Your homecoming is assured if only you will avail yourself of its invitation."
Ann: St. Teresa, I get the sense that you want to talk to me.
St. Teresa: Yes. And you need not be shaking in your shoes about it. I have not arrived to call you to account for some minor indiscretion. While it is true that you have many faults and could use a disciplined practice to conform your soul to holy orders, I am forced to admit that your spontaneity, facilitated by your more sporadic lifestyle and uneven attention to duty, has allowed you to open to God’s path for you. So we will let these more mundane matters go since we have not come together to speak of means for your improvement.
A: So why are you here?
St. T: I am here to speak of the Mansions of God within the Interior Castle that we all have inside our hearts. While it is true that the modern world does not support the development of a monastic lifestyle, contemplative habits are still available to each of you in many forms. And this, my children, is why I have come. You need to avail yourselves of one or more of these practices so that you may be led to your own Interior Castle.
The disciplines of yesteryear are no longer effective for a world which has humiliated and debased itself into isolation from our Creator so you must turn individually to time spent with the Holy Spirit as the remedy. For do you not know, my children, that when you stop to listen, the love of God will enfold you?
Take just a few moments out of every day to allow yourselves the comfort of heavenly sustenance and the enfolding love of Christ. Carry this little experiment with you as you go through each day, and you will find that love grows exponentially in your hearts so that you will naturally reach for Jesus in times of trouble or simply when things don’t go as you desire. There is nothing so small that you cannot bring to Him. I do not in any way disparage other traditions, but Jesus is the one I know, the one person I can tell you from my experience who will stand at your side without fail, will shield you from the pettiness of comrades, the fears of illness and war, and the losses that come to all finite beings on this planet.
So take heart my children, this is a time of great joy. The hardships you encounter provide your direct road to Holy Spirit. When others blaspheme, you will pray; when others try to destroy the innocent and the weak, you will stand as their shield; when doubts assail you, the love of Christ will enfold you. There is nothing you cannot do with Christ beside you.
Take a moment each day to build this Castle inside your heart, add rooms as necessary in all directions to accommodate the fruits of love that arise from your devotions, invite all everyone you know into your Castle. This Castle is your defense, your succor, and your offering to a world in grave need of those who stand with Christ in love. Each and every one of you has this Castle inside your heart. Why would you not avail yourself of its comfort and warmth so that you can arise when the time comes in recognition of the Mansion your Father has prepared for you? Your homecoming is assured if only you will avail yourself of its invitation.
Thank you, Ann, for the use of this platform to bring God’s message to your readers. I have no doubt that you will do very well once you have overcome your tendency to levity.
All blog entries are works of the imagination and are for spiritual and entertainment purposes only.
November 4, 2019