Meditation 34
The Light Pillars of the Prayer
When we realize fully
the nature of a true Christian prayer as a thoroughfare of the power of
God's glory His love drives out the fear (1 Jn 4. 18). This the Holy
Spirit was so gracious to reveal to me in a spiritual vision.
I see my native country as from a high altitude – literally speaking from a satellite perspective. It is covered in darkness and no light is seen. Suddenly a pillar of light penetrates through the darkness to heaven from this bottomless pit of darkness. Gradually more and more pillars of light appears until they form a girdle or circle (Gilgal) around whole of the country. I have been given to understand how dark the state of a country really is which is under the oak of paganism (and today we can maintain New paganism). These were the circumstances before the arrival of Christianity: no light in the darkness. The light pillars where the prayers of the faithful. Some weeks passed and this truth was still rather obscure in my mind.
By a change I read somewhere an account of how they caught whales formerly in Namibia. They trapped the whales by putting iron rods in shoal waters. When the whales approach a coast they send messages – a kind of echo waves. Thus the whales get a clear picture of what lies ahead. When these echo waves hit the iron rods they became distorted and the whales lost all sense of orientation and simply stranded in large number on dry land. Now I comprehend fully the meaning of the light pillars in the vision. They are literally speaking hindrance in the way of the masters of darkness in the air. These black angels avoid such places by all means as they lose all sense of orientation when they run into such pillars and become trapped or overtaken with terror. Thus the country in question is consecrated as these pillars are thoroughfares of a super charged spiritual power: [Med. 81] the prayers of the faithful are sanctification of the land. The same applies to souls who seek a refuge within the pillars of the courtyard of the Tabernacle in their own hearts. And thus these same souls conquer the three great giants of the heart which traditionally are called the world, flesh and the devil in theology. Here in the courtyard it means freedom from the fetters of the sensuous disposition or from the power of the five exterior senses. Thus the soul's will is cured in order to proceed further on this Sacred Way and purify itself of its defilement by washing itself in the pure water of the bronze laver and prefiguration of the sacrament of Confession.
It is indeed this truth which St. John referred to in the Book of Revelation when the Spirit of the Lord spoke to him and enlightened him regarding the role of the victorious ones in the live of grace,
When these light pillars of intercession rise perpetually to heaven they are as a warning sign for intruders, or by the words of one of the holy of the Eastern Church, Ignaty Brianchaninov, such souls have made “their rational dwelling place inaccessible for the fallen angels.” [1] This is how the bride in the Song of Songs is also described, “She is a garden enclosed” (Sg 4. 11). This is the true and spiritual Israel were God reveals His power just as He did on Mount Carmel formerly when Elijah struck the priests of Baal with terror when they witnessed a wonder which their eyes had never seen before,
I see my native country as from a high altitude – literally speaking from a satellite perspective. It is covered in darkness and no light is seen. Suddenly a pillar of light penetrates through the darkness to heaven from this bottomless pit of darkness. Gradually more and more pillars of light appears until they form a girdle or circle (Gilgal) around whole of the country. I have been given to understand how dark the state of a country really is which is under the oak of paganism (and today we can maintain New paganism). These were the circumstances before the arrival of Christianity: no light in the darkness. The light pillars where the prayers of the faithful. Some weeks passed and this truth was still rather obscure in my mind.
By a change I read somewhere an account of how they caught whales formerly in Namibia. They trapped the whales by putting iron rods in shoal waters. When the whales approach a coast they send messages – a kind of echo waves. Thus the whales get a clear picture of what lies ahead. When these echo waves hit the iron rods they became distorted and the whales lost all sense of orientation and simply stranded in large number on dry land. Now I comprehend fully the meaning of the light pillars in the vision. They are literally speaking hindrance in the way of the masters of darkness in the air. These black angels avoid such places by all means as they lose all sense of orientation when they run into such pillars and become trapped or overtaken with terror. Thus the country in question is consecrated as these pillars are thoroughfares of a super charged spiritual power: [Med. 81] the prayers of the faithful are sanctification of the land. The same applies to souls who seek a refuge within the pillars of the courtyard of the Tabernacle in their own hearts. And thus these same souls conquer the three great giants of the heart which traditionally are called the world, flesh and the devil in theology. Here in the courtyard it means freedom from the fetters of the sensuous disposition or from the power of the five exterior senses. Thus the soul's will is cured in order to proceed further on this Sacred Way and purify itself of its defilement by washing itself in the pure water of the bronze laver and prefiguration of the sacrament of Confession.
It is indeed this truth which St. John referred to in the Book of Revelation when the Spirit of the Lord spoke to him and enlightened him regarding the role of the victorious ones in the live of grace,
Anyone who proves
victorious I will make into a pillar in the Sanctuary of my God, and it
will stay there for ever; I will inscribe on it the name of my God and
the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which is coming down
from my God in heaven, and my own new name as well (Rv 3. 12, 13).
When these light pillars of intercession rise perpetually to heaven they are as a warning sign for intruders, or by the words of one of the holy of the Eastern Church, Ignaty Brianchaninov, such souls have made “their rational dwelling place inaccessible for the fallen angels.” [1] This is how the bride in the Song of Songs is also described, “She is a garden enclosed” (Sg 4. 11). This is the true and spiritual Israel were God reveals His power just as He did on Mount Carmel formerly when Elijah struck the priests of Baal with terror when they witnessed a wonder which their eyes had never seen before,
Gaze at Zion, city of
our feasts;
your eyes will see Jerusalem
as a home that is secure,
a Tent not to be moved,
none of its tent pegs ever to be pulled out,
none of its guy ropes ever broken.
There it is that Yahweh shows us his power,
like a place of rivers and very wide canals
on which will row no galley,
over which will pass no majestic ship.
(Is 33. 20, 21).
your eyes will see Jerusalem
as a home that is secure,
a Tent not to be moved,
none of its tent pegs ever to be pulled out,
none of its guy ropes ever broken.
There it is that Yahweh shows us his power,
like a place of rivers and very wide canals
on which will row no galley,
over which will pass no majestic ship.
(Is 33. 20, 21).
Numerous Christians
are “deeply disturbed” (Lk 1. 29) in contemporary times when the Church
seems to be so weak against the powers of the glory of the flesh and
the servants of darkness. But this is not the first time in its history
which this bride of Christ has faced dark times and survived. It
conquered the Montanism and the Arianism formerly, in our own times
atheistic Communism and Nazism and has to face atheistic capitalism. In
spite of the fact that it faces now the threatening of atheism and the
fundamentalism of Islam it is no reason to become disturbed because
Jesus answers as formerly,
The victory is already secured, it was secured 2000 years ago on the Cross. We find analogy to this in the Second World War. Although the Allied forces had already crushed the military power of Nazism it kept on fighting for nine months until D-day. Thus Elisha's servant became deeply disturbed facing the army of the Syrians,
We face here one of the deepest mysteries of Christianity revealed by the Blessed Virgin at La Saliette in French in 1846,
The Blessed Virgin referred to the same truth as the prophet Ezekiel in perhaps one of the most mysterious words of whole of the Old Testament,
The Blessed Virgin is such a barricade who defends the world from destruction as every soul that becomes a Living ark of the New Covenant. In 1376 St. Catherine of Siena gained spiritual insight of a Church going “from bad to worse” for in the ashes of the Church the Lord showed her the power of his resurrection infusing his own life into the Church's crippled body and restoring its pristine purity as the bride for whom he died,
It was this same zeal for His Majesty's house that consumed the heart of la Madre fundadora Teresa of Avila when she founded her first monastery as she gave account of in the first chapter in the Way of Perfection. It was this same fire that burst out in the heart of Edith Stein when she wrote her abbess a letter and asked her to allow her to become a victim and sacrifice for peace and Saint Silouan the Athonite shed these same holy tears as the Blessed Virgin in his prayers for mankind because he knew that if no intercessor stayed in the breach the world would be lead to destruction in its blind presumptuousness,
When a soul that has not yet attained spiritual maturity seeks refuge within the pillars of this Sanctuary of her own heart she is well protected against the wiles and evil incitements of the enemy of our salvation. By walking in conformity with God's ordinance as revealed by the Tetramorph she walks the Sacred Way were even “fool will not stray along” (Is 35. 9) and its injured will be healed of all injustice when she begins to read the third chapter in the Book of Life disclosed at the bronze laver – the prefiguration of the sacrament of Confession. Let us now scrutinize what the Holy Spirit teaches us at this second great tool in the courtyard under the protection of God's watchmen, the celestial choir of the Virtues,
This voice hasn't
come for my sake, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this
world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out. (Jn 12. 30, 31).
The victory is already secured, it was secured 2000 years ago on the Cross. We find analogy to this in the Second World War. Although the Allied forces had already crushed the military power of Nazism it kept on fighting for nine months until D-day. Thus Elisha's servant became deeply disturbed facing the army of the Syrians,
Next day, Elisha got
up early and went out; and there surrounding the town was an armed
force with horses and chariots. ‘Oh my lord,’ his servant said, ‘what
are we to do?’ ‘Do not be afraid,’ he replied, ‘for there are more on
our side than on theirs.’ And Elisha prayed, ‘Yahweh,’ he said, ‘open
his eyes and make him see.’ Yahweh opened the servant's eyes, and he
saw the mountain covered in fiery horses and chariots surrounding
Elisha (2 K 6. 15-17).
We face here one of the deepest mysteries of Christianity revealed by the Blessed Virgin at La Saliette in French in 1846,
If my people will not
submit, I shall be forced to let fall the arm of my Son. It is so
strong, so heavy, that I can no longer withhold it. For how long a time
do I suffer for you! If I would not have my Son abandon you, I am
compelled to pray to him without ceasing; and as to you, you take not
heed of it. [2]
The Blessed Virgin referred to the same truth as the prophet Ezekiel in perhaps one of the most mysterious words of whole of the Old Testament,
I have been looking
for someone among them to build a barricade and oppose me in the
breach, to defend the country and prevent me from destroying it; but I
have found no one. Hence I have vented my fury on them; I have put an
end to them in the fire of my rage. I have made their conduct recoil on
their own heads – declares the Lord Yahweh (Ezk 22. 30, 31).
The Blessed Virgin is such a barricade who defends the world from destruction as every soul that becomes a Living ark of the New Covenant. In 1376 St. Catherine of Siena gained spiritual insight of a Church going “from bad to worse” for in the ashes of the Church the Lord showed her the power of his resurrection infusing his own life into the Church's crippled body and restoring its pristine purity as the bride for whom he died,
As the world's guilt
brought down the Savior to its poverty this same Redeemer whose power
alone can heal and restore it as his poor and humble community.
Catherine began to understand that, just as the rose is born only in
the midst of thorns, so too the Church's healing and purity are gained
only through tribulations. [3]
It was this same zeal for His Majesty's house that consumed the heart of la Madre fundadora Teresa of Avila when she founded her first monastery as she gave account of in the first chapter in the Way of Perfection. It was this same fire that burst out in the heart of Edith Stein when she wrote her abbess a letter and asked her to allow her to become a victim and sacrifice for peace and Saint Silouan the Athonite shed these same holy tears as the Blessed Virgin in his prayers for mankind because he knew that if no intercessor stayed in the breach the world would be lead to destruction in its blind presumptuousness,
On your walls,
Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen (Is 62. 6).
When a soul that has not yet attained spiritual maturity seeks refuge within the pillars of this Sanctuary of her own heart she is well protected against the wiles and evil incitements of the enemy of our salvation. By walking in conformity with God's ordinance as revealed by the Tetramorph she walks the Sacred Way were even “fool will not stray along” (Is 35. 9) and its injured will be healed of all injustice when she begins to read the third chapter in the Book of Life disclosed at the bronze laver – the prefiguration of the sacrament of Confession. Let us now scrutinize what the Holy Spirit teaches us at this second great tool in the courtyard under the protection of God's watchmen, the celestial choir of the Virtues,
On your walls,
Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen (Is 62. 6).
[1].
The Soul After Death, p. 71.
[2]. A Woman Clothed with the Sun, p. 93
[3]. Catherine of Siena's Way, p. 191.
[2]. A Woman Clothed with the Sun, p. 93
[3]. Catherine of Siena's Way, p. 191.