TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (10 of 10) 

Each moment, I must consciously place myself in the presence of Jesus through Cistercian practices and charism. Most often, I fail, but I rise up only to try again and again. That process is mine. The energy I use to move to a deeper level of my humanity does not come from me. Like gas from a pump, I can only pump what I can carry (capacitas dei), and constantly upgrade my car (conversion morae)

I MUST ASK TO RECEIVE, KNOCK TO OPEN THE WAY, LOVE FIERCELY TO SUSTAIN MY FERVOR IN MY SIRITUALITY, AND SEEK TO WAIT IN HUMILITY AND OBEDIENCE TO RECEIVE ENERGY FROM JESUS.

Once more, I list those qualities that the Catholic Church is not.

• That they ask you to die to self each day to rise to a new life in Christ Jesus.
• That they ask you to love one another as Christ loved us.
• That they ask you to love God with your whole heart, whole mind, and all your strength, and your neighbor as yourself.
• That they ask you, when people calumniate and make false statements, do not return evil for evil, but return evil with good.
• You should be filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit and overflow so that people may see your good works and give glory to our heavenly Father.
• They ask you to grow in the capacity of God each day in silence and solitude.
• That they ask you to forgive those who persecute you and love those who hate you.
• That they ask you to believe that the words of Christ are as valid today as when he spoke them.
• They ask you to give glory to the Father, through, with, and in Christ, with the power of the Holy Spirit in the Eucharistic sacrifice.
• That they ask you to convert your sinful self each day through the power of the Holy Spirit.
• That they ask you to sit quietly on a park bench in the middle of winter with the heart of Christ next to yours and just be fully human as your nature intended.
• That you should do nothing more than to seek God each day in whatever comes your way or whoever comes your way with no judgments.
• They ask you to have mercy on others as Christ has mercy on you.
• That you should pray in the silence of your room (Matthew 6.5) in secret (contemplative prayer) and make no demands on God.
• You should remember that the first step of humility is to fear the Lord.
• You should not worship false gods of the world, the first and foremost being yourself.
• That you should do penance for your sins and read the seven penitential psalms with genuine sorrow for offending God.
• That you should not prevaricate and speak falsely of others.
• That you should not let the sun go down on your anger.
• You should do unto others as you want them to do unto you.
• That you should come to believe in the words of Christ as Messiah. (John 20:30–31)
• You should not worship false idols such as money, fame, fortune, adulation, false pride, or the notion that you and your thoughts are superior to others.
• That they ask you to give up what seems righteous to the world, but which is the opposite for those in the kingdom of heaven.
• That they ask that in all things, you glorify God.
• That they ask you to watch out for the devil, who goes about seeking whom he may devour, especially me.
• They ask you not to place the world’s riches as your center, but instead, place God’s riches. Only the rich get to heaven, but it is with God’s riches, not material things.
• They ask you to have Faith, Hope, and Love and listen to the whispers of the Holy Spirit with the ear of your heart.
• That, even if there is no god, no higher source, nobody from whom we have a DNA, doing these things would allow us to reach the highest potential of our humanity as intended by our nature.
• That, in the end, we have Faith so that we can have Hope in the resurrection, and so live now in the love of God (not the world), and serve others as Christ has served us.
• That you do not return evil for evil, but return good for evil,

The cross is a sign of my faith, symbolizing my struggle each day to love Christ with my whole heart, my whole soul, and my whole strength, and love my neighbor as myself. That is Catholicism for me.

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