Le blog de la Bergerie
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Le blog de la Bergerie
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I was going to write my own book on "The Only Needed Advice For The Spiritual Journey"
and it was going to say:
1) If you don't know God, your purpose in life is to discover him.
2) If you do know God, your purpose in life is to cling to him …
And for those of us who are vacillating on where we stand exactly or what we want precisely, the task is to work on both the discovery part and the clinging part. That is it! Only two steps. It is that simple. There is nothing else in life more important than the search for truth and the living out of that truth once we get a hold of it. To "Seek" and "search" and "discover"... To want to know and understand! To be able to “articulate what you are longing for and where do we stand in the world” is a wonderful quest.
To "Cling to" means to "attach yourself to"; to choose what is truly good for you. Another way to put it is "Throw the line out as a fisherman hopes to catch a fish". Better yet, to illustrate the actual clinging, one could say: “In an emergency, how to extend your hand out in the hope of catching that lifeline…” This is more life changing than just a quest, it becomes both the goal and the process for the journey. And how do I know all this? Because both recommendations 1 and 2 happened to me 25 years ago and were the very first steps in the most amazing journey, the best adventure of all.
One last note: Do expect to pass from the mode of seeking to the other one of clinging (and back and forth again) within your own lifetime. What am I saying? Within this coming week… because this is normal for us to do, poor human beings that we are. One or two steps forward and one (or two) steps backward. But keep trying! Improvement especially self improvement takes time. But "Do it!" is often the best advice.
This was the general idea of my book but instead of writing it, I started this blog.
As I got older, I became aware that I have not always written as many Thank You Notes in my life-time as I should have, so I want to post here my own litanies of gratitude for the help already received on the spiritual journey mingled with fervent intercessions for the help still much needed. The truth is that, as soon as I started on this specific path, God put terrific teachers and preachers on it and they keep opening doors for me; He also gave me an expanding circle of friends who are strong believers themselves and who certainly inspired me; furthermore, I have been blessed with the constant flow of the most edifying books falling in my lap and they have nourished and encouraged me; and finally I am very devoted to the crucial connections that I have made in very high (and heavenly) places and their support has been endless and amazing every step of the way.
Sharing our wealth, assets and resources is definitively my understanding of the Christian
life. And we have so many valuable reserves: SCRIPTURE, TRADITION and the SACRAMENTS, especially the two of them available to us on a regular basis: the EUCHARIST and CONFESSION. Then add to this PRAYERS and THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS and you get a most formidable mix of resources, a treasure chest, to turn to.
Inspired by them, I am now offering My owne Litanies of Gratitude and Requests for Continued Help on the Journey right here below. I list all the holy ones who have helped me in the past, all my brothers and sisters in the faith. Knowing each one of them in prayer includes the reading of their books or quotes as well as books about them, furthermore it also includes listenings to sermons or conferences about them, and I can vouch that this never ending reading and listening turned out to be so essential to me, so enriching, a real constant blessing. Plus, let's not forget the visits to Sanctuaries, the pilgrimages to Holy Sites, even the Oratories and Crosses dotting the landscape, especially here in the French Alps, hundreds and hundreds of them, in the forest, at a cross road or on top of mountains, unexpected visible reminders of the transcendance surrounding us and I, here and now, address them all in one broad and eclectic stroke. To illustrate them even more, I added links to other pages of mine on them here on this site:
Saint Mary, Mother of God, Theotokos! Whom I thank greatly for the Rosary, this most formative prayer, and I also greatly thank you for all your apparitions, creating visible and practical sources of grace in specific holy places, available to us to this very day, across time and place: Holy Mary, pray for us!
See January 1st: Mary Mary is honored on January 1st (in English); see also: Mary dedication of San Francisco Archdiocese to her
then see Marie la Tres Sainte Vierge (in French) with many photos
and finally Mary Queen of Heaven and Queen Mother with photos from the French Alps and California and many prayers (mainly in English)
Saint Joseph, Guardian of the Redeemer: pray for us and protect us and help us grow in trust of God's plan for us! (in English) Saint Joseph
Saint Michael Archangel, Defender of the faith: pray for us and defend us against the lies, fake news and fabrications of the enemy! Give us clear vision and steady courage. Here is a short tribute on our 3 Archangels Saints Gabriel, Michael and Raphael (in English and French)
Saint Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles: pray for us and lead us to the Lord! (in French or English). See
Saint Paul Apostle to the Gentiles
See also Saint Paul La Lettre aux Hebreux (in French);
ainsi que Saint Paul, Roman 12 and see also
Saint Paul and 2 Tim
Saint Ephraim, the Syrian: A deacon of the early Church, an hermit, a musician, a poet, who was very devoted to Mary. Saint Ephraim, pray for us!
See here
Saint Ephraim and the Transfiguration (English/French) and also:
Marie la Tres Sainte Vierge avec une prière de Saint Ephrem (en français)
Sainte Catherine of Sienna and Sainte Catherine Labouré. Although extremely different and living at very different times and in different countries, but they were both driven by the same love, using each one of them their own particular gifts. Pray for us! Two saints named Catherine
Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order, who embraced poverty and humility combined with an extreme but gentle love for all of Creation, from the sun to the tiniest little bird, for everyone, wealthy and healthy or not, rich or poor, believers or not, patron saint of San Francisco, pray for us and inspire us! From my page in my black and white book on The City (both English and French) Saint Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Sales, patron saint of teachers, journalists and writers who wrote so eloquently on the interior life of a Christian, Saint Francis, pray for us and lead us! Saint Francis of Sales (in English)
Saint Monica, mother of Saint Augustin, patron of Christian mothers, pray for us! Reading how you shed tears for your whole family and how it all turned out for them was such a moving and impressive reminder of the power of a mother’s love and a mother’s faith and a mother's tears. Pray for us! Saint Monica (English and French)
Mother Teresa, what an international, modern and popular saint you are! Founder of the Missionaries of Charity, rescuing the ones left to die in the streets, traveling the globe as a model of service and charity and a Nobel Peace prize winner in 1979 for your efforts as a peace maker. Saint Mother Teresa, please pray for us! Saint Mother Teresa. See also my earlier article about her : Rolling fog and driving faith
MicheleSzekely@2022