Dare to Dwell: A Podcast with the Daughters of St. Paul S05 E13: Longing for a Good Father
In today’s episode, Sr. Orianne Pietra René and Sr. Julie Benedicta discuss chapters 15 & 16 of The Sanctifier, which emphasize love for the Father and how our longings can bring us into conformity with God’s will.
“Therefore charity is perfected when the soul is united to God and enters into the joy of the Lord. For this reason Jesus prayed so earnestly that we would all be perfected in unity; and this is why the first and last aspiration of the soul in love is expressed in the first versicle of the Song of Songs: “Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth” (1:1). The mouth of the Father is the Word; his kiss is the Holy Spirit. Through that mysterious kiss the entire Trinity is communicated to the soul and the soul to the Trinity. The consummation of unity, the consummation of love, consists in this: that the soul transformed into Jesus reposes in the bosom of the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
“These are the three stages of divine love: the soul is possessed by the Holy Spirit; the soul is transformed into the Word made flesh; and the soul rests in the bosom of the heavenly Father. They are three aspects of the same love, three forms of one devotion, three depths of one abyss of life and happiness.” The Sanctifier, Ch 15
“Jesus, who loves the Father with a divine passion, had, as a secret nourishment, the fulfillment of the will of him who sent him. And therefore also, true devotion to the Father consists in a filial love that rejoices in loving adoration of the divine goodness and aspires with all its strength to fulfill the divine will.
“The Holy Spirit alone can give us a share of Jesus’ hunger to do the will of God, because this hunger is love and all true love comes from infinite Love.” The Sanctifier, Ch 16
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1. CCC 238-239: Many religions invoke God as “Father.” The deity is often considered the “father of gods and of men.” In Israel, God is called “Father” inasmuch as he is Creator of the world. Even more, God is Father because of the covenant and the gift of the law to Israel, “his first-born son.” God is also called the Father of the king of Israel. Most especially he is “the Father of the poor,” of the orphaned and the widowed, who are under his loving protection.
By calling God “Father,” the language of faith indicates two main things: that God is the first origin of everything and transcendent authority; and that he is at the same time goodness and loving care for all his children. God’s parental tenderness can also be expressed by the image of motherhood, which emphasizes God’s immanence, the intimacy between Creator and creature […]
2. Letter from J.R.R. Tolkien to his son Michael, June 9, 1941: “It is something to be the father of a good young soldier. Can’t you see why I care so much about you, and why all that you do concerns me so closely? Still, let us both take heart of hope and faith. The link between father and son is not only of the perishable flesh: it must have something of æternitas about it. There is a place called ‘heaven’ where the good here unfinished is completed; and where the stories unwritten, and the hopes unfulfilled, are continued. We may laugh together yet . . .”
3. Ephesians 3:14-21: that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge…
4. Matthew 12:46–50: Who is my Mother? Who are my brothers?
Call to action:
Slowly pray with the Our Father, meditating on the words, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you see which parts you need help to live more fully.
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