Contemplation with St. John Chrysostom

Heather's post inspired me to dig up some quotes by St. John Chrysostom that really inspired me when I was reading his Ascent of Mt. Carmel/Dark Night of the Soul several years ago in college. I think St. John is quite an amazing writer and really makes one think. Below is an excerpt from the Ascent which I find somewhat mystefying and also very applicable to the achievement of our Lenten goals.

It is important to note the paradoxes outlined by St. John. Notice that to obtain any true desire, we must desire not to obtain its worldly equivalent, outlining the constant dialectic between the spiritual and the worldly and how we are called to moderate our desires and formulate our code of behavior accordingly. Enjoy!

In order to arrive at having pleasure in everything,
Desire to have pleasure in nothing.

In order to arrive at possessing everything,
Desire to possess nothing.

In order to arrive at being everything,
Desire to be nothing.

In order to arrive at knowing everything,
Desire to know nothing.

In order to arrive at that wherein thou hast pleasure,
Thou must go by a way wherein thou hast no pleasure.

In order to arrive at that which thou knowest not,
Thou must go by a way that thou knowest not.

In order to arrive at that which thou possessest not,
Thou must go by a way that thou possessest not.

In order to arrive at that which thou art not,
Thou must go through that which thou art not.

When thy mind dwells upon anything,
Thou art ceasing to cast thyself upon the All.

For, in order to pass from the all to the All,
Thou hast to deny thyself wholly in all.

And, when thou comest to possess it wholly,
Thou must possess it without desiring anything.

For, if thou wilt have anything in having all,
Thou hast not thy treasure purely in God.


Are not these words wholly contained in Our Lord's admonition to "Take up your cross, and follow Me"? I pray that this week we may all embrace the Cross as God has asked us to. Have a wonderful and fruitful Holy Week and a blessed Easter!

Holy Week

I came across a wonderful quote from St. John Chrysostom today, and I thought I'd share it with everyone as we begin Holy Week:

Where is thy sting, O death?
Where is thy victory, O hell?
Christ hath risen, and thou art overthrown.
Christ hath risen, and the demons have fallen.
Christ hath risen, and the angels rejoice.
Christ hath risen, and life reigneth.
Christ hath risen, and not one dead resteth in the grave.
For Christ having risen from the dead became the first fruits of them that slept.
To Him be glory and majesty to ages of ages. Amen.

Alleluia!

SSPX & The Latin Mass

As a follow-up to your post, Cari, SSPX is currently a schismatic group, but Pope Benedict XVI has been working towards reconciliation with that group. As part of that reconciliation, the Latin Mass and the Latin Missal may come back into universal use. Here's an excerpt from a story about it:

The Pius V Missal contains the Mass celebrated in Latin according to the “Tridentine” rite and is currently allowed only with the permission of the local bishop. Universal approval would mean the traditional rite could be celebrated freely throughout the world by priests who wish to do so.

The move is not directly related to the Lefebvrist schism, since as a theologian the Pontiff had always expressed in interest in bringing back the rite. Nevertheless, Vatican sources note that this would be an important step in resolving the schism, as the possibility of freely celebrating the Mass of St Pius V is one of the points of contention with the Lefebvrists.

In July, the Society of St. Pius X—known as the Lefebvrists—will elect a new superior. The group will chose between openness to reconciliation embodied in the current superior Bernard Fellay or the decidedly anti-Vatican stance of Richard Williamson, another of the four bishops illicitly consecrated by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

From The New Liturgical Movement: http://thenewliturgicalmovement.blogspot.com/2006/03/universal-approval-of-latin-missal.html