Letter to Tess Mullins


 

The young adult Tess Mullins wrote a guest column in the July 25, 2011 issue of The Remnant entitled "And Lead us Out of Facebook."  Her article was a plea for leadership from the older generation of traditional Catholics to correct what she sees as a spiritual disconnect between that generation and her own.

She wrote: "We need practical advice that will help prepare us for the real life issues we will have to face as traditional Catholics.  The novus ordo way of dumbing things down or trying to be 'hip' is futile.  In fact, anything that causes a loss of respect for the older generation among youth is counter-effective.  One of the best ways to support us, especially in these times, is to give us information applicable to our lives and the decisions we have to make on a daily basis."



The following reply was printed in the "The Remnant Speaks" section of The Remnant (July 31/Aug. 15, 2011 issue):

 

Dear Tess Mullins,

   Thank you so much for your inspirational article and passionate plea for guidance and leadership from the older generation towards today's young people. (The Remnant, July 25.) I don't believe that conferences, articles, tapes, Catholic TV shows, World Youth Days, and so on, are going to be the answer to forming a new generation of strong Catholics. They may be necessary, but they are not sufficient. 

    What is needed is true spiritual formation and spiritual direction in order to build the interior life of "Christ in you," so that you will grow in "the mind of Christ." Unless you possess inner spiritual strength, knowledge, and the life of grace, all else will be in vain, and you will fall prey to secularism.  

    As Padre Pio often emphasized, spiritual reading is essential to spiritual growth. Sharing from my own experience, I can point to three seminal books that gave me a deeper spiritual formation than any others, and were in fact milestones for me.  These books are presented in the order in which I read them over the years.

   The first is Humility of Heart, by Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (TAN Books).  Formation in this virtue is critical, and there is no saint in Heaven who was not humble on earth.  To quote from p. 78, "As paradise is for the humble, therefore in paradise everyone will have more or less glory according to his degree of humility."  By humbling yourself you will escape many snares in this life.

    Second is a gem called The Heliotropium, by Fr. Jeremias Drexelius (TAN Books).  The heliotropium is the sunflower, always turned towards the sun, just as the soul must always look at the sun of the Will of God, and in fact the book is subtitled: "Conformity of the Human Will to the Divine."  Here is the very first line in the book: "Of all the doctrine which Christ delivered in so many and such divine discourses this was the sum, - that man should absolutely and entirely conform himself to the Divine Will, in particulars as well as in generals."  Here you will learn the difference between the ordaining and permissive Will of God, and why you should desire and accept everything that happens, since God either ordains or permits it for our good.

   The third book, I believe, is the opus of spiritual direction:  The Imitation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by Rev. Peter J. Arnoudt (TAN Books and also Angelus Press).  In this work, the "voice of Jesus" is answered by the "voice of the disciple."  The first line in the book: "The voice of Jesus:  'Learn of Me because I am meek and humble of Heart; and ye shall find rest for your souls."  The entire book systematically instructs the soul in imitating the gentle and humble Heart of Christ, leading it ever higher.  When the Irish priest who was my spiritual director left for another city, he told me that this book will take his place - and it has.

   Tess, I hope these brief words will be of help in delivering you and your generation from Facebook!

  

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum,

Frank Rega



 Controversial, bold and thought-provoking, the above book is available in print or Kindle format.  Includes "Letter to Tess Mullins."

 

COMMENTS WELCOMED

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Frank Rega is the author of:  Padre Pio and America,
St. Francis of Assisi and the Conversion of the Muslims,

The Greatest Catholic President: Garcia Moreno of Ecuador
  Life of the Mystic Luisa Piccarreta - Journeys in the Divine Will 
vols. 1 and 2
Life of the Mystic Luisa Piccarreta - volume 3 in preparation
 The Truth about Padre Pio's Stigmata and Other Wonders of the Saint
Vatican II, Evolution, and Medjugorje: Hubris, Heresy, and Mystery 

www.frankrega.com      www.sanpadrepio.com   www.thepoverello.com    www.lifeofluisa.com


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