Chastity - In San Francisco?

Ultravid

Psychological Healing
in the Roman Catholic Mystic Tradition

Ok so I want to share with you a website which I have personally found tremendously helpful. It is a rare gem which I found 'accidentally' whilst browsing the internet.

The website is basically a guide to the use of psychology to guide the soul to give up everything that would hinder it from giving its life over to Christ completely and attaining everlasting life.

What I propose is to share the website with you and then if you have any feedback or discussion ideas, then we can have that here. But most of all, my motivation in posting this is simply to share this resource with others, whether you are catholic, non-Catholic Christian, or non-believer. Everyone will find insight here.

Be assured that the website is loyal to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.

The link is: www.chastitysf.com

Stephentlig

does his books dvds etc etc contain an imprimatur and nihil obstat from the Catholic Church?

Stephentlig

it looks like a really good site actually, enjoying it myself. I did the whole last meal thing and after thinkin about it for a while, I said my answer and scored ok.

I'm gonna give it more of a scanning through tomorrow as I'm quite tired. but what I've read so far I liked.

Thanks
Pax Christi
Stephen

Ultravid

Hi Stephen,

I am glad you find it interesting.

The material on the site doesn't have those approvals, though it is all based on an authentic Catholic application of the best of what psychology has to offer. He is a psychologist working in San Francisco and the site is all his own work and he makes no money from it.

I've studied his website in detail and I can find nothing in it which is against the faith. If anything, some folks think he is too strict. I don't actually necessarily agree with that, although I can see where they are coming from.

Ultravid

Stephentlig

Ultravid wrote: »

Hi Stephen,

I am glad you find it interesting.

The material on the site doesn't have those approvals, though it is all based on an authentic Catholic application of the best of what psychology has to offer. He is a psychologist working in San Francisco and the site is all his own work and he makes no money from it.

I've studied his website in detail and I can find nothing in it which is against the faith. If anything, some folks think he is too strict. I don't actually necessarily agree with that, although I can see where they are coming from.

Ultravid

I understand, its always a good thing though to at least have some support or testimony from a Member of the Clergy as it would help and ease the mind of those listening and accelerate the good motives he has.

As I've previous stated I have yet to study the site, but from what I saw last night it was good. Anyone who thinks he is too strict obviously think so because what he says is not to their convenience and they'd rather him explain that they can follow their passions rather than the path of God, and I speak as one who although believes in the path of God and everything on it, I'm one who finds it hard to remain there.

all desire to follow the passions and not the instructions of the Holy Spirit, is a result of Original Sin, where we choose ourselves over and above God, and like Cain ( brother of Abel ) who rejected God we still bear the Mark of him today.

St.Anthony the Great in his texts of the Philokalia Vol I says: On the Characters of Men and the Virtous life one hundred and seventy texts : ''God, being eternally good and bounteous, gave man power over over good and evil. He made him the gift of spiritual knowledge, so that, through contemplating the world and what is in it, he might come to know him who created all things for man's sake. But the impious are free to choose not to know. They are free to disbelieve, to make mistakes and to concieve ideas whic are contrary to the truth. Such is the degree to which man has power over good and evil.'' ( St.Anthony the great: txt:125 2nd-3rd century AD )

Ultravid

There is a short critique of the website here:
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/reviews/view.cfm?recnum=2698&repos=2&subrepos=0&searchid=582666

The objections are based on his treatment of culture, especially sports. I agree with him in his views on most sports, but the review discusses some aspects of culture. But sports and culture is unlikely to seriously damage faith and morals!

Like I say, some people, that critique for example, and feedback he has received and which he answers on his website*, say he is too strict. Perhaps he is, but if you would be perfect, then I think the advice on this website is very useful indeed.

* http://www.chastitysf.com/q_strict.htm

Stephentlig

Ultravid wrote: »

There is a short critique of the website here:
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/reviews/view.cfm?recnum=2698&repos=2&subrepos=0&searchid=582666

The objections are based on his treatment of culture, especially sports. I agree with him in his views on most sports, but the review discusses some aspects of culture. But sports and culture is unlikely to seriously damage faith and morals!

Like I say, some people, that critique for example, and feedback he has received and which he answers on his website*, say he is too strict. Perhaps he is, but if you would be perfect, then I think the advice on this website is very useful indeed.

* http://www.chastitysf.com/q_strict.htm

I completely disagree with the criticism of the first link, infact the critic is pure evidence of St.Anthony the Greats 1st sentence of the first text on the characters of men, which is ''men are often called intelligently wrongly''

he disagrees that we must catholize everything, in the land of mystics this is known as something that comes from bad spirit, anyone who encourages comfort, or distractions or breaks from thinkin about God all the time, comes from bad spirit, and again as I've said previously is a result of Original Sin.

All the Early church Fathers mentioned having ones mind on God constantly, even In scripture St.Paul says it somewhere, I'll have to look it up I think its in Ephesians. he tells us to pray constantly, this praying constantly does not have to involve being on ones knees all the time or whilst jogging whipping out your rosary beads and going for it while having a jog. St.Igantius use to say, anything you do, do it for God, anything, just do it for the greater glory of God, even such a simple task as making a cup of tea, ( for God be even simpler ) do it for Jesus Christ.

feel God in the wind, see him in the trees, pray to him with Good deeds, pray to him by loving your neighbour, acknowledge him whilst kicking the football. Be in ( what the mystics call ) ''awareness'' or in The Holy Spirits words through St.Paul ''pray constantly''.

St.Isaiah the Solitary in his writings from around 370 A.D would describe prayer as the city, and that should we ever abandon the City, the demons will come at us from the rear and front and we will have no means of escape and be dragged into even deeper sin.

your Critic sounds like one of those people who say ''awww why cant I have fun and comfort too? do I have to think about God all the time?

if you are interested in Catholic pshychology then I suggest you buy the first volume of the philokalia, which are texts of the mystics in the desert who led a life of spiritual perfection, volume one is common heritage between both orthodox and Catholics as they are txts that stretch from 2nd to 5th century AD, long before the split.

God bless
Pax Christi

Stephen.

Ultravid

I would say the writer of the critique is perhaps one of the people the psychologist is talking about. Additionally, that site, whilst being in my view a fairly good Catholic site, seems to be a self-appointed discerner of web-orthodoxy, given they have decided to rate and rank websites according to their own view of things, and giving chastitysf.com a fairly poor rating in the process, which I feel is wholly undeserved. I did read a book* about praying constantly, and as you rightly point out, it does not mean to be constantly saying vocal prayers, but to always have an awareness of the presence of God, and to do everything for the love of God, offering up all our prayers, sacrifices, actions and so forth for the salvation of souls.

I will take note of your recommended reading. I am fairly new to the concept of this dying to self and actually living this Catholic Faith, rather than intellectually learning about it for the last 6 years! So I am starting with Imitation of Christ.

* Here it is: http://www.southwellbooks.com/how-to-pray-always-2211-p.asp

Stephentlig

I would say the writer of the critique is perhaps one of the people the psychologist is talking about. Additionally, that site, whilst being in my view a fairly good Catholic site, seems to be a self-appointed discerner of web-orthodoxy, given they have decided to rate and rank websites according to their own view of things, and giving chastitysf.com a fairly poor rating in the process, which I feel is wholly undeserved. I did read a book* about praying constantly, and as you rightly point out, it does not mean to be constantly saying vocal prayers, but to always have an awareness of the presence of God, and to do everything for the love of God, offering up all our prayers, sacrifices, actions and so forth for the salvation of souls.

Yes, I read before in the Irish Catholic, that the Bishops were giving out about many sites out there, claiming to the have the Orthodox truth of the Catholic faith, yet do not have the approval of their diocese, we must be careful about what we read, and say on the internet always comparing our private opinions of ourselves and of others to make sure that they are compatible with the Roman Catholic faith.

I will take note of your recommended reading. I am fairly new to the concept of this dying to self and actually living this Catholic Faith, rather than intellectually learning about it for the last 6 years! So I am starting with Imitation of Christ.

* Here it is: http://www.southwellbooks.com/how-to-pray-always-2211-p.asp

This Link you have provided brought a smile to my face, as once when I was living with the monks of Cistercian abbey for two weeks I went through their library, and found a book by Fr.Raoul plus, to my knowledge he was a great Jesuit Priest and Scholar yes? I think one of the books I read of his was from 1919 or something like that, very old book it was, and was on the rot too. Well thats a great start, I understand what you mean by not knowing the term ''dying to the self'', a famous and well known Jesuit priest known as Fr.Anthony De Mello who prior to his conversion was a psychiatrist/psychologist was in the priesthood 15 years before he ''saw'' it, that is ''what it means to die to the self''.

even many learned theologians never saw it, all their years of study and they never saw it. If I may take an extract from St.Anthony the Great again on the Characters of men that I feel resonates the above it would be his very first text which is:

1.''Men are often called intelligent wrongly. Intelligent men are not those who are erudite in the sayings and books of the wise men of old, but those who have an intelligent soul and can discriminate between good and evil. They avoid what is sinful and harms the soul; and with deep gratitude to God they resolutley adhere by dint of practice to what is good and benefits the soul. These men alone should truly be called intelligent.''

The path of spiritual perfection is that narrow path Jesus speaks of in the Gospel that very few go down, and if they do, find it hard to stay there.

I speak as one in need of advice myself, so any suggested reads you have please give them to me, but may I just before I propose a few books to you and say that in my beginnings the Imitations of Christ was a great help, and is the roman Catholic equivelent of the Philokalia in my view.

It's also important that while on the road you want to go down, that you should get a spiritual director, as sometimes its possible for one to become spiritually deluded, just take a look at the story of St.Ignatius of Loyola to understand what I am talking about, but at the end of his road St.Ignatius became a writer of one of the greatest spiritual excercise books of his time and founder of the order of Jesuits. If you cannot find a spiritual director then the books I suggest you read are:

St.John of the Cross: Dark night of the Soul, ( this book is great for beginners-and we are all beginners no matter how long we are doing it- to spot their spiritual imperfections and stamp them out whilst on the road to perfection, it is a great book by a great Saint.

The Philokalia Volume one ( someone told me that this book may be out of print, but the woman in veritas on lower abbey street got it for me, so go in and ask )

The Imitations of Christ

The way of a pilgrim ( I reccomend you read this before moving on to books such as the philokalia and St.John of the Cross, its a true story written by a russian orthodox in the mid 30's, he is a wandering pilgrim throughout siberia, who learns the art of the Jesus Prayer, reading the Gospels and reading the Philokalia. it is one of the greatest reads I've ever had the pleasure to come across, so I highly recommend this one ).

Again I feel I said too much, and tend to ramble sometimes, so forgive me.

God bless and take care.

Stephen