A Prescription for Peace of Soul from Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

I sometimes think the Valley of Tears into which we are born is like the Valley of Death described by Tennyson in The Charge of the Light Brigade. The devil surrounds us and we are "stormed at with shot and shell" at every moment of our lives. Often we suffer wounds that can fester. We need the great physician to bind them up and set us on a journey of healing which is manifested by our success at achieving peace of soul. And, believe it or not, that journey to good health requires a prescription of suffering. If we want to be well, if we want to achieve true internal peace, we need to accept and even rejoice at the suffering we receive. It's unavoidable and inevitable, so let us make the most of it!

Come, O Holy Spirit, Fill the Hearts of Your Faithful and Enkindle in Them the Fire of Thy Love!

My husband and I gave our priests worldly and otherworldly gifts for Christmas. The more important was our spiritual gift of the novena to the Holy Spirit which we plan to begin on New Year's Day. What a good way to begin a new year, we decided, by entreating the Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds and those of our spiritual guides. We expect that not only the priests will benefit from this gift, but we will too. Can you ever pray without being immersed in a pool of grace?

 This morning, during my prayer time, I read an excerpt from St. Claude de la Colombiere's 1674 notes from a retreat in Lyons. It confirmed for me the wisdom of choosing the Holy Spirit novena as a starting place for 2025. What better helper can we invoke as St. Claude writes; and what easier way to endure all things in peace and tranquility?: