Claymore: Become Who You Are
What’s the meaning and purpose of my life? What is my true identity? Why were we created male and female? How do I find happiness, joy and peace? How do I find love that lasts, forever? These are the timeless questions of the human heart. Join Jack Rigert and his guests for lively insights, reading the signs of our times through the lens of Catholic Teaching and the insights of Saint John Paul ll to guide us.
Saint Catherine of Siena said "Become who you are and you would set the world on fire".
Claymore: Become Who You Are
#701 Understanding the Lord’s Ways: Saint Francis de Sales and Mental Prayer
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The noise is relentless, the ground feels unstable, and desire gets treated like a problem to be numbed. We take a different route. Starting with a frank look at anxiety and public breakdown, we trace the deeper current beneath the headlines: a forgetting of God that leaves us building on sand. From there we make a bold, practical claim—desire is a compass pointing toward love—and show how to follow it without getting swallowed by the moment.
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Welcome everyone. Good to be back with you. As always, a special shout out to the men of Claymore, our apostolate for young men, especially Gen Z, a little older than that, who are waking up to the evils of this crazy time and saying, I have a desire for something more, something is within me. Does that even exist? What is that all about? You know, we live in a culture that loves to numb, twist, and distort your desires. Then rather than allow you the time to go into prayer, to be quiet, and interpret that, what's going on in my own heart. So the result is confusion, anxiety, despair. We see it all around us. But along comes some very good news. At its core, if you listen to that, it's a desire to actually love and be loved and move closer to the source of love, who is God Himself. The title for today's show is How to Understand the Lord's Ways. We're living in a world, you're living in a world that has forgotten God, has attempted to build a city of man, a city of man from St. Augustine means we've taken God out. We're trying to build this. We'll do this without you, God. And we're living in a world that so has forgotten God. And attempting to build that city of man on what? What did Jesus say? On shifting sand. And you wonder, you try to build your life on shifting sand, what happens? And this is so important to know because how do I know God exists? You know, just step into the arena, look around you, and listen to your own heart. And when you when you feel chaos, when you're living on the surface of things, noise, distractions, pulling it your hearts in every direction, and allow Jesus to come in and find out for yourself in prayer. And we're going to be talking about that today, how to understand the Lord's ways. Because Jesus broke into that story at a specific time and a place, and he is here today, as he was even in the very beginning. He says what? He turns to you and says, Build your life on me, build it on Rack, and you will see. It's when you turn to Him and experience this action in your life, in your heart, that you can say with confidence, I have met the Lord. When we look around at all the evils of the day, and all the evils in the world, it can seem overwhelming until we remember that most of the evil in the world is man-made. It's the result of sin and of man cooperating with Satan with evil himself. As an example, I'm thinking about the riots and the lawlessness that have once again broken out in Minnesota. But it's not the first time, is it? Think back to Minnesota just a few years ago with the COVID lockdowns, the George Floyd riots, where the men of lawlessness, the same men who are in charge now, forced, what did they do? Think about this. Very important for us to step back and think about these things. Force lockdowns on who? On law-abiding citizens, preventing them from what? Defending even their own businesses while allowing what? The mob, the looters, the arsonists, right? Remember this? To run loose and literally burn down their own city. This is the mark of lawlessness. So when the sin of lawlessness is in a city like that, what causes it? What causes that? Well, let's talk about that a little bit. I brought this up one other time recently, but I think it's worth repeating again. This is one of my favorite things, and there's so much good scripture, right? Is the first letter of John. Remember, John wrote the gospel. He writes three letters also. They're toward the end of the Bible. And this is from chapter three. Uh it's going to be talking about lawlessness. Kind of put this in into context as I as I go on. This is John speaking. Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. John is writing to them about Jesus. You know that he appeared to do what? To take away sins. And in him there is no sin. And anyone who abides in him does not sin. Anyone who sins has not seen him, nor has he known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does right is righteous, as he is righteous, Jesus. He who commits sin is of the devil. For the devil has sinned from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. The reason that Jesus appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. What could what could they do then in Minnesota to stop all this chaos, the citizens there? Foresee it for what it is. This is a spiritual battle being fought in real time. Think about the Somali uh theft ring being protected by the men of lawlessness in power, allowing looting to go on again. And think about the original looting. What was that looting all about? Same thing, huh? Being able to attack the law-abiding citizens with the men of lawlessness. You know, this looting again, now in uh in Minneapolis, has looted right from the taxpayers' pockets in upwards of$9 billion of waste. Maybe the whole 18 billion went to waste. I don't know, but but they think theft of this ring in Somalia. Then what are they doing? They're preventing law-abiding citizens, even the even the reporters from exposing it. They're attacking people that are filming anything who who who once again allow what? Violent criminals, including many allowed to come here illegally to terrorize the city. These are violent criminals. I think they arrested 10,000 people with records, with with with uh criminal records. And these guys, Fry and Waltz, want to protect it? It doesn't make any sense if you take it out of the context that I'm talking about. That the that the sin of lawlessness has been unleashed in that city. Remember that Waltz, you know, if you think about another example, if you want to put this in context, remember that Waltz, not so long ago, gleefully, happily proud of himself, and he signed into law what? The right to murder a child just before the moment it's born. Sickness. It's a dark place today. It's a sanctuary city for ill eagles. It doesn't matter if you have a record or not. It's a, you know, it's it's a place where young people that are um uh confused about their sexuality can go and and uh and uh and uh receive puberty blockers. I mean, this is a this is a sick place, and the people allow it. I I wonder if they realize how sick this has become. So to let's say we want to reverse this. If you're living in Minneapolis, or any of us see this, what would we must do? We must do what? We must do good. We must do good in the world, and to do that, we have to cooperate with God who is good. There's two steps to do this. First, I must draw from and be united with the source of divine life and love, Jesus Christ Himself, who will give us the Holy Spirit, who leads us to the Father. I mean, we're we're protagonists in the story. It's so beautiful. So this action always begins with the individual human heart. The sin started in Fry's heart or Walt's heart, etc. And they they extend this out into the world. And the more power you get, the more other people you affect, right? Um, to reverse this, I have to be a source for good. I have to take in that grace. And the action always begins again in the individual human heart. So this is why I want to talk about prayer today, because this is how we do this. This is how we discern God's action in our life and open up to this, our yes to the saving grace and the mercy of Jesus. An example of this is Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well in the Gospel of John. Do you remember that? Maybe I should read that. This is uh chapter four. I'm only gonna read you a snippet of this. So Jesus meets at Jacob's well. He's at Jacob's well, which is there from the Old Testament, it's still there today. It's amazing. You know, our Catholicism, our faith is something we can see, something we can touch, something that's historical. And so he meets the Samaritan woman at the well. I'll just give you this little snippet of what he said. So Jesus says to her, Everyone who drinks of the w of this water in the well will thirst again. But he whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. The water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. And the woman said to him, Sir, give me this water that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw. This is the this is what Jesus gives us, huh? Divine life and love. He, you know, before he went to the Father, after, you know, after he's gonna ascend up into heaven, he says, It's good that I go and leave you, because the Father will send the Holy Spirit. He will send this water that wells up within us. So that's number one to receive that. Number two, he sends me out. So I receive divine life and love, and then I have to become that, make it visible in the world, make it efficacious in my life. This is how we get meaning and purpose in our life, to become persons of love in the world, to do good in the world. You know, the goal, and the goal is with Claymore, the goal of everything that we're doing here is what? The salvation of souls, to bring God's order into the world and to bring other people into the story because this is this has consequences for eternal life. Others that will then turn and be also a force for good. We can't keep this in. We have to invite other people into the story so they can turn around and improve not only their own lives, but the world, huh? And gain eternal life. And in fact, immediately after he speaks to the Samaritan woman, Jesus, disciples return. So Jesus' disciples had gone out, leave Jesus alone there. He meets the woman, he talks to her. Well, they come back now, and he tells them about the harvest and the need for reapers right after this. So I'll read uh this is John 4, let's say about 35. Do you not say, There are yet four months, then comes the harvest? I think so. This is Jesus again talking to his disciples. I tell you, lift up your eye, lift up your eyes and see the fields. They're already white for harvest. He who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, one sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor. Go out. Others have already labored, they've already sown the field. Jesus is the sower, and this this is in our hearts. See, this is why I started out with this. Um we twist and distort our desires. They want to numb our desires because they know these desires are in our hearts. And now you and I are called to go out, talk to these young people that are waking up. So today's episode draws from the wisdom of St. Francis de Sales, whose feast day we just celebrated, to remind us that prayer is not about a rule book, a bunch of rules to follow. It's a love story. A love story between Christ, the bridegroom, and his bride, the church. A love story written into your own restless heart, as St. Augustine would say. As Jesus also said to the Samaritan woman at the well, if you knew the gift of God and who was saying this to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. Living water. The spirit resides within us. We have this in us. You know this, and you go out into the world and you do good things. St. Francis de Sales teaches us that it is in prayer, especially mental prayer, that we draw close to Jesus and ask him for his living water. For it is mental prayer. And mental prayer is putting the focus on Jesus. I'm concentrating on something Jesus did. Maybe I'm praying with the Samaritan woman at the well, or reading that, uh, John chapter 4. And I'm concentrating on what's going on there. What is Jesus saying? What does he mean? When you do that, just that action, you've made a decision already to move toward the source. See, that little movement starts to change you. And St. Francis de Sales says that movement starts to purify the mind. It warms the will with heavenly fire, it's and shapes our lives according to Christ Himself. See, we don't have to do these big things. Oh, what are we going to do? How are we going to do all these little things all the time? Moving, moving, moving closer. The rosary does that. Daily Scripture does that. You know, at nighttime I pray in the rosary. I wake up and it's still in my hands. Uh, it's the only way I go to sleep most of the time. And, you know, you're, you're, you're focusing this mental prayer on whatever gospel that we're reading. So we step beneath this tree of desire, St. Francis de uh de Sales would say. We step beneath, right? When we're focusing mental prayer beneath the tree of desire, which is you know, Jesus Himself and our hearts, his desire for us, our desire for him, and learn to think, act, and love like Jesus did. He's the model. The tree of desire is where Christ's thirst or desire for us meets our desire again for him. So let's remember to begin each day with that claymore morning ritual, dropping to our knees before we reach for the phone. So important. So when the storms come, our house will stand firm on the rock. I I recall a recent divine mercy message uh of Jesus to us, to us through St. Faustine, and he said, approach each day. This is what I do on my knees, right? And and I listen to that little snippet of divine mercy. It's so important. You know, just you know, download the the Claymore battle plan. Everything's in there if you haven't heard this before. Approach the day with humility, right? I I I get down on my knees, I I open myself up to the humility of God Himself, who died on a cross. And then Jesus said to Sister Faustina, now you know I start my day with a purity of intentions, and I start with love in my heart. So how do I get to that point? I have to, Jesus said, you have to listen to my my words, I just whisper. So you have to recollect yourself, open yourself. So in in humility, I open to receive. I begin the day with a purity of intentions that even when confronted during the day with evil, I seek ways to treat people with love and respect. Only then can I reach some of them and reap the harvest that Jesus has sown to save sinners, just as he saved me and continues to shower me with his mercy and love. So how can I do this? Recollection, prayer, Christ. I have to have him as my motto. When he said to Faustine again that he whispers, so we must listen. Ooh, quiet everything down, mental prayer, putting Jesus before us. Saint Francis de Sales was died in 1622. He was a great figure of the 17th century rebirth of Catholic mystical life, and one of only 36 doctors of the church, which the doctors of the church are known for what? Their holiness and their teachings that they passed on to us. So why the mystical life, huh? What was about the mystical life? This is what we're really entering into, huh? Because in the midst of chaos in this modern world, a world that once again is built on the city of man, on shifting sand, we can easily be swept up in our secular, materialistic and consumer-driven culture and build our own lives or try to with no foundation. Literally being pushed around by the spirit of the age, like you're living on the surface of the ocean instead of diving down where it's quiet and it's peaceful, getting away from these big waves that you're uh trying to build your house on to go down and right underneath the surface is you start to find this foundation of Jesus Christ, right? Don't forget that the world is not a neutral place. Oh, I don't need God or I'll find him later. Uh, this is a battleground. We don't realize this. When you lose God in your life, you open yourself up. This is not neutral territory. This is where our free will choose to be, either on the side of good or evil. And the power of evil will be there. When the sense of God is lost, Satan fills the vacuum and the sense of man is threatened and poisoned. Lawlessness rules. But in the darkness, a light shines, and Jesus says, Build your lives on me, on rock. Only then were your actions in the world bear lasting fruit. This is in your own heart, your friendships, maybe marriage, etc., etc. How do you bear build bear uh bear fruit? You have to start here with the sower, the seed who put that desire in our heart. In Matthew uh uh seven, Jesus tells you, Matthew seven is so powerful, everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like the wise man who built his house upon the rock, and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock. Jesus is speaking to you, speaking to me. We're called to build our lives on him. What type of life is this? And how do I find it? Still in Matthew 7, Jesus gives an answer to us. Ask, seek, knock. This is prayer. And in his meditation, Saint Francis de Sales offers us this image. He is the tree of desire, pointing to Jesus, under whose shadow we must refresh ourselves. He he quotes uh just a little snippet from the song of songs. Song of songs, huh? This erotic love poetry. If you think about the song of songs, you know, this erotic love poetry, why it is why is it even in the Bible? Smack in the middle of the Bible, because the the saints and the mystics would write that he gave them the vocabulary to speak of their great desire for God Himself. So let's begin here. The tree of desire, under whose shadow we must refresh ourselves. Saint Francis de Sale says, the desire of your own heart to seek Jesus is the spark from the same blazing fire of Jesus' love for you. Where did that come from? It came from him. It came from our DNA. It's not more information. He created you with this. As Saint Augustine would say, long after after his search for something more, just like these young men, among chaos and sin and the lawlessness he saw in his own heart and in his own life, he came to understand this when he stepped into the gospel and said, What? Our hearts are restless, Lord, until they rest in you. This is not a rule story, is it? It's a love story. It always has been. To help us understand this in his meditation on mental prayer, St. Francis de Sales points to the Song of Songs, this passionate book of desire of Jesus the bridegroom, love for his bride, even though you hear wooing of a man and a woman in there, which is true too. It's also the human love, because our human love is to reflect the love of Trinitarian love. So again, who is this bride? The churches. And who's the building blocks of the church? I am. You are. We are the organic building blocks of the church. We're the living stones. And also the hands to go out and build the most beautiful cathedrals in the world, places where we go to unite ourselves with God. Where did that come from? It came from being inspiration, these beautiful cathedrals from God Himself. And then we built those through our hands. Remember when Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. He didn't create you just so you can go out and go to the Sabbath, he's saying. No, we we have the Sabbath there so that you can be filled. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. He waits there to fill you with divine life and love. God seeks an intimacy with you and me that sounds almost too good to be true. Yet if we listen in recollection and prayer, this is exactly what Jesus desires in us. Saint Francis de Sales, when he quotes the Song of Song, that passionate dance between a bride and a bridegroom, he quotes it says this As an apple tree among the tree, trees of the woods, so is my lover among men. As an apple tree, this this fruit, this beautiful fruit. Among all the other trees, so is my lover among men. Jesus is the lover par excellence, huh? And consider this in the Song of Songs, huh? This beautiful book, the saints and the mystics used this language, huh? And they took it into their hearts and it gave them away to speak to oh the speak the Lord wants to speak to me about these inner intimacies. He wants to go deep. The song of songs is heaven's song, the greatest of all songs. Since the dawn of creation, God has been singing to us, wooing us, enticing us, calling us, inviting us. And if we listen to the enchanting melody and unembashed spousal languages of his song, we discover that God longs for a relationship with us that's so intimate and personal that the only vocabulary adequate to describe it is spousal. In fact, the whole Bible can be summed up in five words. God wants to marry us. God wants to marry us. As the catechism teaches in number 221, you can look this up. God is love, an external exchange of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And he has destined us from the beginning to share in that exchange. That begins today. That begins now. In fact, the the relationship we're going to have with God in eternal life has to be you know it has to be made visible here. This is how we gain eternal life. So our yearning, burning desire to love and be loved flows from God's own love. That's what the world's missing. Our fiat, our yes, our love of God, for we cannot give what we don't have. As it is apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my lover among men. Prayer is what opens our hearts to hear the words of the bridegroom Jesus Christ. Meditation on mental prayer from St. Francis de Sales again can be found in the Magnificat if you got it. He begins, since prayer places our mind in the brilliant radiance of the divine light and warms our will with the heat of heavenly love, there's nothing that so effectively purifies our mind from its ignorance or our will from its depraved attachments as does prayer. You're dealing with all of these things and these temptations. Just keep working prayer, keep opening those, those, even those temptations, those thoughts to come into your mind and start to move them towards this model and ask Jesus, ask, seek, and not that he comes into your heart. See, if the water of heavenly blessing, making our good desires grows green and strong, it washes our souls from their imperfections, it quenches our passions, thirst for the wrong things. It untwists our desire passions and desires to God Himself so that those passion and desires can be like a fire that goes out to Christ. However, above all, uh St. Francis de Sales said, of all the different kinds of prayers, I especially recommend mental prayer in particular, that which our Lord's life and passion as its objects. So you put our Jesus' life, his passion, his death on the cross, put that as an object of our thinking. By frequently meditating on Christ, your whole soul will be filled with him, teaching you his ways, reframing all of your actions upon his divine model. He is the light of the world. Therefore we must allow ourselves to be enlightened and illuminated in him, through him, and for him. He is the tree of desire, under whose shadow we must refresh ourselves. He is the living well of Jacob, the well where Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman. Yes, as little children learn to speak, as children learn to speak by listening to their mothers and practicing babbling with them, by remaining close to our Savior through meditation and observing his words, deeds, and affections, we shall by his grace learn how to speak, act, and be like him. This is where we must forever remain. For we can only come to God the Father through this door of Jesus Christ. Indeed, just as a mirror would could never catch our eye if it didn't reflect back to us, just as like I look in a mirror, I get reflected back. I want Jesus to be the mirror that's reflecting back on me. The Savior knew well that what he was saying when he called himself the bread of life that comes down from heaven. For just as bread should be eaten with all sorts of other things, so too are our prayers and actions. Our Savior should be the subject of our own meditation, of our consideration, and of all that we seek. Hey, it's so good to be with you. Remember to download the Claymore battle plan. Begin on your knees each morning and open that up, huh? To prayer. When you have an image in Scripture, the rosary, some mystery, you know, you Jesus is our model. Let him reflect back like a mirror to us and move slowly, slowly toward him. Don't, don't, don't be anxious. It takes a little while to do this, right? And God is going to pull you into a love story and you will know it within your heart. Hey, God bless you. Good to be with you. Thanks, everyone. Talk to you again soon. Bye bye.