“Being a Roman Catholic is a privilege and responsibility, and no matter how much formal education we have, it is necessary for us to understand properly and thoroughly the obvious information and direction we have available to us, to help us better understand how we can realize more stability in our Spiritual Life and a well-balanced Faith in God.
We must value the ‘innocence’ of our Faith in God that makes us feel close to Him, that gives us a feeling of dependence upon Him, and at different times, encourages us to want to know more about Him, to want to learn more about Him, to want to be closer to Him, and to want to feel His Love for us. Sometimes theory shoves ‘innocent’ Faith aside, and smothers the innocence of this Faith with analogy, theory, and book study.
Many people feel that knowing or being well-versed in Theology will give them a ‘sure’ edge or a more effective understanding of the Supernatural, plus many feel ‘overconfident’ that this study of Theology makes them more than knowledgeable, it authorizes them as experts. Naturally, such a study will be beneficial, enlightening and challenging, but it many times smothers ‘innocent’ Faith and emphasizes the education in Church authority rather than ‘Faith in God’.
Will being a student of Theology make you a Saint? NO.
Will the ability to expound in Theology guarantee you Sainthood? NO.
Does being a student of Theology guarantee positive proof that the determinations, the analogies, the theorizing is positively one hundred percent truth? NO.
Handed down through time are prescribed ceremonies that are unique in Holy Mother Church, but these did not all come from God Himself, they were coordinated by men who were in authoritative places in Holy Mother Church, and it is logical to understand that many men ‘who chose’ and ‘who choose’ the Priesthood as their vocation in life are men with a well-organized school background, but are not all True Mystics, and most certainly do not have the ability to ‘judge True Mysticism’ when it is available to their attention or questioning.
When you ask a priest about True Mysticism and its validity, and the course that True Mysticism takes, the percentage that could speak to you about it in an informative way are few, very few. Like the Theology they learn, it is also the way they learn about True Mysticism; they analyze and theorize according to the way it is recorded, ‘NOT LIVED’.
There is no denying, God is a Total Mystery. We understand His Existence because of the balance of nature, and through the intellect of man we see the logic of an Ultimate Being In Control Of All Things.
Our Faith in God is developed through what we are exposed to, through the teachings handed down through time. In many ways, we are vulnerable and many times victimized by the interpretation of men who have gone before us, and who now are the administers of church doctrine, protocol, and records.
Because of the human chance for error in translation, in interpretation, God has repeatedly sent His Direction through particular people called ‘True Mystics’. The True Mystic is not the authority. It is the Content of the Direction, the Consistency, the Constancy, the Logic, the Valuable Truth that is so obvious, that must be recognized as Supernatural Integration and Intercession.
All the valuable prayers we say today were channeled down through time by men who accepted these prayers as means and measures of enlightenment and a sound method of honoring God, beseeching God, and thanking God for favors and prayers granted for particular things. These prayers did not just happen, they came through particular human beings, some chosen by God for specific tasks to benefit man, to alert man, and to enrich man’s love for God.
We have Many to thank for Their obedience to God, for Their love of God, and for Their desire to promote God to a degree wherein we would find sanctuary in honoring Him, in growing in love with Him, and in desiring to serve Him. Outstanding Saints, Those Saints Whose Names are marked in History, such as Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Catherine of Siena, and so on, and so on, and so on, were truly remarkable in their efforts, their labors and their missions, and we are blessed by having Them as guidelines, as pathfinders, as example to follow. These Saints of God were human, but endowed with a Blessing of ‘Supernatural obedience’; not their doing, but God’s. They were the transmitters of many Great Lessons. We are fortunate to be the recipients of such a Personal Love from God to hold our attention, give us Direction, and to develop our Faith in Him.”
