After having attended the 4 Saturdays Course on "Ensuring Steady Growth" Carlos De Vera wrote the following text and he is happy to share it with us:
"To embrace 'Deeper Mystagogy'
Mystagogy |
4th and 5th Mansions |
As part of the New Evangelization sought in Vatican II, this should change.
Holiness is the goal of all the faithful, not just for those ordained or religious. Vatican II's Lumen gentium (40, 41) states that
all Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love, and by this holiness a more human manner of life is fostered also in earthly society….The forms and tasks of life are many but holiness is one….Therefore all the faithful are invited and obliged to holiness and the perfection of their own state of life.
With the above in mind, this is why the course from the School of Mary on "Ensuring Steady Growth", answered a need in me providentially at just the right time and the lectures provided by Jean Khoury helped me pull together many disconnected strands on Catholic history, faith and the rich mystical experiences of the Church's great spiritual masters - a treasure of the Church that should be made more accessible to the faithful.
I thoroughly enjoyed the course and came away with three quite profound insights.
1. The notion of "triggering" the Grace of God in one's spiritual life through loving as Jesus loved and by engaging in certain spiritual practices done by the Church's spiritual masters
2. The experiences of the Church's spiritual masters (Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Therese of Lisieux, etc.) are consistent with each other - they may be described, or different aspects emphasised, in different ways - but there is a reassuring consistency on what it means to grow in spiritual life as a Catholic regardless of the era.
3. God designed all human beings with the inner capacity to know Him, to be nourished by Him and to grow closer to Him and that such capacities are not reserved for those like Moses and the "burning bush" or those ordained or religious persons like monks or nuns. All Catholics, lay or ordained, are obliged to "wake themselves up" to such inner capacity (see Lumen Gentium above “obliged to holiness and the perfection of their own state of life”) through practices like lectio divina and Prayer of the Heart, encouraged by the experience and insights of the Church's spiritual masters.
Carlos De Vera
The course on "Ensuring Steady Growth" was one of the best I have ever taken on Catholicism, thank you for the great lessons.
From the First Lesson:
"Thank you for the amazing Course which exceeded all my hopes and expectations. It has renewed my hope and commitment for the future.
There were so many practical points and such a depth of understanding imparted in concise and impactful presentation that it will be a source of inspiration for a very long time." (P.R.)
Please find here the Video of the First Lesson of the Course. If you are interested to watch the videos of the entire 4 days Course, please do contact us at SchoolofMaryLondon (at) gmail.com
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