Frank Sheed’s “Theology and Sanity”

Since I had to type this out of my book for a class, I figured I would share one of my favorite passages from Frank Sheed’s Theology and Sanity:

“To complain that a spiritual thing is unimaginable would be like complaining that the air is invisible . . . Spirit is beyond reach of all senses . . . With the eyes of your body you cannot see justice. You can see a just man or an unjust man, but justice itself you cannot see with your eyes . . . Thus the reality of any spiritual statement must be tested by the INTELLECT, not by the imagination . . . [INCONCEIVABLE] means that the statement proffered to the intellect contains a contradiction within itself . . .

If concepts are beyond its reach, imagination acts as sensor and simply throws them out: while the intellect, grown flabby with disuse, tiredly concurs in a rejection so beneficent because it saves so much trouble. But this happy arrangement receives a check if one happens to be Catholic. For the Faith binds us to accept many truths altogether beyond imagination’s reach . . . Here imagination does its subtlest piece of sabotage. It cannot forbid intellect to accept them: so it offers to help intellect to accept them. It comes along with all sorts of mental pictures, comparisons from the material world. Thus for the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity imagination offers the picture of the shamrock . . .

Now there is a definite role for such analogies . . . God’s dealings with men may often be seen more clearly by some comparison drawn from the material universe [like] Our Lord’s parables . . . But useful as such comparisons may be . . . they shed no light whatever upon the innermost being of God in Himself. The shamrock simile tells us absolutely nothing about the Blessed Trinity . . . The excuse for [the simile] is that they help us to see the doctrine. But they do not. They only help us to swallow the doctrine . . . Certainly it prevents the truth about God from being a danger to our faith; but in the same act, it prevents the truth about God from being a light to our minds. The same objective might be obtained by not mentioning the doctrine at all.

Thinking is very hard and imagining is very easy and we are very lazy. We have fallen into the habit of using our imaginations as a crutch, and our intellects have almost lost the habit of walking . . . Once the intellect is doing its own work properly, it can use the imagination most fruitfully, and the imagination will find a new joy in the service of a vital intellect”

Also, if anyone is interested, I have posted some material over at http://voccola.blogspot.com for my Church History class about St. Catherine of Siena, including a book review of Sigrid Unset’s incredible biography Catherine of Siena. (My author name on the blog is Lilting_Lilies). God bless!!!

“I Thirst for YOU”

This following post is a beautiful meditation I discovered, which is based on Mother Teresa’s meditations and revelations concerning Jesus’ thirst for souls (source: http://www.mcpriests.com/03_I_thirst_PrayerEN.htm)

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock… (Rev. 3, 20)

It is true. I stand at the door of your heart, day and night. Even when you are not listening, even when you doubt it could be Me, I am there. I await even the smallest sign of your response, even the least whispered invitation that will allow Me to enter.

And I want you to know that whenever you invite Me, I do come – always, without fail. Silent and unseen I come, but with infinite power and love, and bringing the many gifts of My Spirit. I come with My mercy, with My desire to forgive and heal you, and with a love for you beyond your comprehension – a love every bit as great as the love I have received from the Father (“As much as the Father has loved me, I have loved you…” (Jn. 15:10) I come – longing to console you and give you strength, to lift you up and bind all your wounds. I bring you My light, to dispel your darkness and all your doubts. I come with My power, that I might carry you and all your burdens; with My grace, to touch your heart and transform your life; and My peace I give to still your soul.

I know you through and through. I know everything about you. The very hairs of your head I have numbered. Nothing in your life is unimportant to Me. I have followed you through the years, and I have always loved you – even in your wanderings. I know every one of your problems. I know your needs and your worries. And yes, I know all your sins. But I tell you again that I love you – not for what you have or haven’t done – I love you for you, for the beauty and dignity My Father gave you by creating you in His own image. It is a dignity you have often forgotten, a beauty you have tarnished by sin. But I love you as you are, and I have shed My Blood to win you back. If you only ask Me with faith, My grace will touch all that needs changing in your life, and I will give you the strength to free yourself from sin and all its destructive power.

I know what is in your heart – I know your loneliness and all your hurts – the rejections, the judgments, the humiliations, I carried it all before you. And I carried it all for you, so you might share My strength and victory. I know especially your need for love – how you are thirsting to be loved and cherished. But how often have you thirsted in vain, by seeking that love selfishly, striving to fill the emptiness inside you with passing pleasures – with the even greater emptiness of sin. Do you thirst for love? “Come to Me all you who thirst…” (Jn. 7: 37). I will satisfy you and fill you. Do you thirst to be cherished? I cherish you more than you can imagine – to the point of dying on a cross for you.

I Thirst for You. Yes, that is the only way to even begin to describe My love for you. I THIRST FOR YOU. I thirst to love you and to be loved by you – that is how precious you are to Me. I THIRST FOR YOU. Come to Me, and I will fill your heart and heal your wounds. I will make you a new creation, and give you peace, even in all your trials I THIRST FOR YOU. You must never doubt My mercy, My acceptance of you, My desire to forgive, My longing to bless you and live My life in you. I THIRST FOR YOU. If you feel unimportant in the eyes of the world, that matters not at all. For Me, there is no one any more important in the entire world than you. I THIRST FOR YOU. Open to Me, come to Me, thirst for Me, give me your life – and I will prove to you how important you are to My Heart.

Don’t you realize that My Father already has a perfect plan to transform your life, beginning from this moment? Trust in Me. Ask Me every day to enter and take charge of your life. – and I will. I promise you before My Father in heaven that I will work miracles in your life. Why would I do this? Because I THIRST FOR YOU. All I ask of you is that you entrust yourself to Me completely. I will do all the rest.

Even now I behold the place My Father has prepared for you in My Kingdom. Remember that you are a pilgrim in this life, on a journey home. Sin can never satisfy you, or bring the peace you seek. All that you have sought outside of Me has only left you more empty, so do not cling to the things of this life. Above all, do not run from Me when you fall. Come to Me without delay. When you give Me your sins, you gave Me the joy of being your Savior. There is nothing I cannot forgive and heal; so come now, and unburden your soul.

No matter how far you may wander, no matter how often you forget Me, no matter how many crosses you may bear in this life; there is one thing I want you to always remember, one thing that will never change. I THIRST FOR YOU – just as you are. You don’t need to change to believe in My love, for it will be your belief in My love that will change you. You forget Me, and yet I am seeking you every moment of the day – standing at the door of your heart and knocking. Do you find this hard to believe? Then look at the cross, look at My Heart that was pierced for you. Have you not understood My cross? Then listen again to the words I spoke there – for they tell you clearly why I endured all this for you: “I THIRST…”(Jn 19: 28). Yes, I thirst for you – as the rest of the psalm – verse I was praying says of Me: “I looked for love, and I found none…” (Ps. 69: 20). All your life I have been looking for your love – I have never stopped seeking to love you and be loved by you. You have tried many other things in your search for happiness; why not try opening your heart to Me, right now, more than you ever have before.

Whenever you do open the door of your heart, whenever you come close enough, you will hear Me say to you again and again, not in mere human words but in spirit. “No matter what you have done, I love you for your own sake Come to Me with your misery and your sins, with your troubles and needs, and with all your longing to be loved. I stand at the door of your heart and knock. Open to Me, for I THIRST FOR YOU…”

---

“Jesus is God, therefore His love, His Thirst, is infinite. He the creator of the universe,
asked for the love of His creatures.
He thirst for our love… These words:
‘I Thirst’ –
Do they echo in our souls?”

Mother Teresa

Imprimatur
Mons. G. Sergio De la Cerda Z.
Vicar General
Tijuana, B. C. México.

In Stormy Waters? Watch For the Lighhouse to Guide You Home!

 

I would like to announce that I am teaming up with Lighthouse Catholic Media, a wonderful Nonprofit that is blazing a trail for the New Evangelization, making use of the new media. They partner with so many other wonderful Catholic organizations to bring the very best to parishes and individuals all over the country, from Ignatius Press to Word on Fire. If you haven’t heard of their CD of the Month Club yet, be sure to check it out.

How much time do you spend in the car listening to the latest music, sports radio, or talk radio? Imagine if you used that time to enrich your soul instead! In a world where everyone is rushing around with kids and business meetings, these CD’s help provide that spitirual nourishment we are all in need of. One hour a week on Sunday isn’t enough to feed your body; it surely isn’t enough to feed your soul. 

Military families get a **FREE** download every month, and you can sign up for a monthly download for as little as $3 a month. Or they will send you their newest CD for just $6 a month. They make amazing CD’s with the best Catholic speakers out there. I’ve witnessed so many conversions or spiritual renewal that result from these talks. Spread the word, and give a little gift to your own soul.

Click on the banner below to “start thriving instead of just surviving!” (Matthew Kelly)

^^^ BANNER ^^^

Photo credit: http://imgarcade.com/1/lighthouse-in-a-storm-art/