“Inward and Upward”

 Inward and Upward

By: Eric Gajewski

From the Work "Fortress of the Soul"

Prayer is the door unto
this Fortress of the Soul

 “Inward and Upward”

Let us now discuss what we mean by moving upward and inward within the Fortress of the Soul. It is Our Lord both God and Man who humbly lowered Himself unto us that we, man, might become another God, that is, in Him we become Charity, thee Fire and Light. He entered our world that we might enter in His and His world is Selfless Love.  Thus, it is we, who must acknowledge, accept and act upon this Source in order to be transformed thereof into the Source Himself. And what is this that helps transform a man further into the likeness and image of God? The answer, of course, is grace, and without it a man truly lives in a hell within. Nay, it is we, which consciously decides to go inward via prayer. Prayer is the door unto this Fortress without which a man stays in the Outer Courtyards of Darkness void of the safety of grace. Prayer is the gateway by which we enter into a state of grace and thus it is thru prayer that we can potentially remain in this state of grace. Thus, is it any wonder, that the Saints, who remained in prayer, virtually at all times, remained in a state of grace, avoiding the pitfalls of sin, even mortal, by which would cast the soul out of this Fortress? Is it any wonder why those victim souls who suffered in and with Christ remained in a “hidden exalted joy” because they had climbed the Mountain and accessed  the highest floors of the Fortress thru Love’s highest prayer (holy suffering, the Cross)?

 

Redemptive or "Holy Suffering": Offer it Up!

In the end, the more a soul suffers in grace, the more he ascends, that is, the more he moves closer to God Himself. Thence, the more the Fire and Light absorbs his heart and soul and is overrun by Divine Love the more a man cares less whether or not he is “suffering” on the surface.  Two Wills which must become One; one created which must conform to His Creator.  And yet why does man think he has found happiness in “another person or in some thing” when only true happiness can come from perfect conformity with the Will of God?  How often do men foolishly think “they are full” when indeed “the many are empty”. The answer yet again resides in the fact that man is dispensed toward nature alone, due to original sin, of living in, and abiding by the cruel “law of self’.  How horrible it is to contemplate all (the majority souls) the rabbits falling into the Abyss upon the moment of death whence they think they are eagles set to fly!

 

Pray the Rosary and
advance within the Fortress

Verily, what man can remain in a constant state of prayer with His Beloved if he does not remain in silence and if he does not appreciate solitude? To constantly dialogue with the Beloved is not sinful  “vain repetitions of prayer”.  Rather, “those prayers’ are repeated over and over due to the disposition of self and underlying it all is a perverted will seeking a gain which is not beneficial both to the soul and God.  I only benefit from God yet I seek “benefits” which do not cause me to move closer the Great Benefactor! This is a common error of the heretics who object to praying the Rosary or other prayers of Holy Mother Church where “repetitions occur” but why? The soul which constantly seeks God in all his actions has a heart dispensed toward moving toward His Beloved and is not rooted in self love which the pagans and Pharisees were and were seeking self gain. They ultimately loved themselves not Christ and it was in vain.  They enjoyed the exterior look rather than interior connection with their true Source. Their lips would move in repetitious fashion but their hearts were disconnected and far from God. Therefore, it is most important to “weed out” all unnecessary distractions so that the soul can remain alone with his God. Just as a spouse loves to hear from her lover at any moment of the day and without regard to duration so does Our God seek to hear from our hearts at all times. Over time the heart will further be united in his will to His God’s and thus in all things we can say “this is agreeable” because what God allows is His Will for our life.  

Let us continue on with these “trains of thought” for meditation.  If I am not willing daily to constantly seek “more of God” how can I possibly desire to advance in this Fortress of the Soul?  Stagnation comes as a result from the wily distractions of the devil but more often comes from the self which seeks to impede the soul’s advancement.  The soul interiorly seeks God but “the self” seeks sensory pleasure or “surface gain”.   The self is at war with the Sacred Heart and therefore this is why our Lord said to deny it.  If I do not first understand those infallible boundaries (or Walls of the Fortress) that construct a “true relationship” with the Beloved how then can I truly please and possess that which I  claim to experience. Another common error of the Vatican II modernists to suggest that as the world and man changes truth changes and thus in the end God changes. As if somehow “God is not already” and “can evolve” and therefore changes to what He created. What madness! This has to be the most abominable and yet complex heresy of all times. For within this heresy is a multitude of erroneous philosophies and abominable outlooks on Truth itself. Yea, the Walls of this Fortress is Tradition and thus those modernists/protestants who live by “an experience” outside these walls of the true norm of Faith pleaseth not God therefore do not have true experience. God does not grant such favors to the prideful who live by the ways of self which protestants do. It is a mere creation of an over-indulgenced imagination.  Further, How can I acquire that which I have no intent to seek?  If I have no intent “to do” I will first not seek to learn that which is necessary to get me where I ought be… and what prevents us? The answer again is the haughty self, which slaves the man upon the exterior and upon the surface away from the interior life. 

 

There are 7 Floors of the Fortress of the Soul

Without question, we must always be “seeking” daily, even as an eagle searches for food, to bring back to his nest.  He stays close to the River, that is, his source, “the Living Waters’ for his fill. Therefore, stay close to the Sacraments and pay close attention to those daily opportunities God grants that would “further expand” your heart and soul in Selfless Love either through further “denials of the self” or thru “holy suffering”.  Holy suffering, very simply, we can say, is the painful process of disengaging from the self  thru various afflictions, pains and sorrows of the senses and spirit.  Thus, the cross God grants to us daily is both a gift but also is a catalyst for moving our hearts closer to His and in the Way of Selfless Love.  By “seeking” we do not mean that we seek gifts favors from the Beloved but rather we search for the Beloved Himself.  There are seven floors within this Fortress and it is not merely sufficient to say that once we step inside the door to this Fortress we are as One with the Beloved. No, there is much labor to be done and there is much to navigate within this seemingly Endless Fortress of which the King resides upon the seventh floor in His ThroneRoom. It is only thru grace that we ascend these steps or staircases within. It is only thru constant self knowledge and self examination that we can further understand our own shortcomings and failures in relation to the Law of His Selfless Love.  He who would neglect such daily tasks remains stagnant and ultimately retreats to make his way back outside into the world of self due to mortal sin. Venial sin unchecked only leads to the “dam being broke” where the waters of mortal sin shall overrun the soul.  

  

 

St. Teresa's Spiritual Marriage with Jesus

Nay, those who seek favors rather than His Will still are imperfect and still cling to the way of ‘the self”. We must seek His Will in all things.  “Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 7:21  For, if we seek as ‘ supposed end”, the gift or favor, which only comes from the Source, we then exalt the favor/gift and not the Source Itself.  However, even the Saints knew that there was “more’ to seek, that is, more to grow in love and this coming even after arriving at the “special state of soul” in the Spiritual Marriage with their Beloved which is found upon the 7^th floor of this Fortress.  Seek and Ye shall find but do not seek that which does not lead us in and with God for this is of “the self’ and therefore is blind.  Therefore, reflect Ye upon God’s timeline and where does your heart reside? Do you live by the “law of self” or by the Law of Selfless Love which is the Rule of His Sacred heart?

Only God has the power to raise the soul...

 But now you may ask in further detail, “How can man elevate within the Fortress after first moving inward in prayer?”  We must remember that man alone is powerless to ascend or move upward unto God without the aide of grace and ultimately God Himself. The man who will not acknowledge Truth cannot enter the Fortress; the man who denies the Church and true Faith cannot possibly enter into this Fortress and remains on the outside of grace looking in. He has no capability of ascending because he is removed from the One who alone has the power to cause his soul to elevate. O’ how heavy are the souls in hell dragged down by the weight of the self!  Not only do these souls experience the darkness due to the loss of God they have “the fullness of the emptiness” of their own “being” without their God.  We pray at Holy Mass, to lift our hearts up unto the Lord and thus it is the Lord who only can truly raise them (our hearts). We hand over our hearts, that is, our wills, unto the Lord and He thence raises us into the Divine Life. Thus, I can say, I exchange my will for His Way. It is why so many are in hell due to pride because the many could not make this seemingly simple exchange. O’ how the “haughty self” persuades a man he is sufficient and without the need of divine assistance!

 

The Eagle has the wings of Faith and Hope to fly with the Eyes of Charity guiding...

We, thru prayer, can turn inward and spread our wings in Faith but it is only by God’s Will and grace that causes this rush of Wind that would meet our Wings as Eagles so that we can elevate and ascend.  Moreover, He descends upon the Holy Sacrifice as a Fire of Love and thus takes our hearts with Him and carries us even further in this Fortress of the Soul. Thus the more I am at Holy Mass the more I am inclined toward this potential elevation. Yet, it is only thru our willingness to move from self and further into His Sacred Heart that ultimately we can ascend above our inclination to evil and further glide upon the law of self which prohibits the man from loving selflessly as The Christ has.  Thus, it is only grace which can take the soul where it truly desires and that is to be in the Presence of God and remain there. ‘Our hearts will not rest until they rest in Thee, O God” St. Augustine

Self Centered Modern man
on the Throne of his own heart

But what can we say about modern man who creates all of these formulas via the pseudo science of the hour?  Can man ascend above his own nature and become a God without the aide of grace as these New Agers claim? The answer, is, of course, in the negative! The ascension of the soul by Law dictates that a man be dispensed at heart unto his End which is the Sacred Heart and do these modern men do as such? The Answer is no, their “god” is not our God. Their “god’ is anything but our true God and ultimately it is themselves who they seat to exalt rather than us exalting the Living God in us.  Therefore, they go nowhere interiorly. Still further, by not acknowledging the true Source which causes a man to ascend, these New-Agers build this new false Fortress or  new “tower of babel’, of which, at that root, stems from either ignorance or pride. They seek to ascend not for the End Itself who is Christ but rather for themselves which is rooted in self-love. Their mental mind-games and “self actualization” only leads to hell which is in reality is the place of the ‘self’ (the damned); they are not eagles but rather like rabbits do they try to jump off the cliff  but only crash into the seas below for they do not have the Wings of true Faith and Hope. It is not by our own strength nor by “science” that man can ascend or elevate within this Fortress. Even if a man prays but will not acknowledge/accept (the Catholic Faith and Church); that which he seeks (Christ) to enter; he will remain on the outside due to pride. For Christ and His Church are both the same Fortress of which He is the Head residing at the top in the seventh Floor. 

 

Man has created a new religion
coming out of the Vatican II sect which
continues to undermine the Catholic Faith

Specifically, we say, this ascension of the soul is a marriage between what we can do and what God Wills for that moment, that is, we can control going within to meet Him in prayer but only He, Who is Love, can cause us to elevate above our own self and human nature. This is all in Selfless Love’s game that we might acquire patience and so that we can further learn to please Him and not our own perverted self -will. Therefore, the ascension of the soul is no mere mental mind game or some pseudo science (self-realization). I do not realize I am God and therefore I am.  I do not attempt to construct a new “faulty tower” which shall crash and burn for its foundations are upon the “sands of ill philosophy” and not upon the Rock of all times! Yea, in part, the Catholic Faith is the Fortress of the Soul by which has Walls of Dogma, therefore, the heretics, who say, I can have a relationship with Christ without Holy Religion have no relationship at all.  Who enters into a relationship without there first being rules or boundaries by which guides the two hearts together as one?  These boundaries that Holy Mother Church puts forth are not meant to enslave but to liberate the heart and yet why do men refuse that which will liberate him? It is the Church which was given authority to divulge the very boundaries of His Sacred Heart both in the morals and faith.  He (the heretic) refuses Truth due to pride; he refuses due to the self which hast a hold of his heart.  It is only exterior proof of that “void of grace” he so often and boldly claims.  He, therefore, constructs his own religion in hypocrisy by saying I need not religion….and yet there can be no greater folly.

And thus, in my analysis, as I have been reiterating, we find the Second Vatican Council, which was a “pastoral” meeting for the new religion of self or man and clearly demonstrates this exaltation thereof.  Man “updated” to suit the times but “the times” were not suited for the man to abide by. In fact, Truth ascends “any time”, therefore, another proof of the illicit and illegitimate teachings stemming forth from the Second Vatican “Council”.  It is very carefully packaged to have an outward appearance at times of appearing catholic when in reality it is only “furthering” souls away from true Faith into this new one. It is only preparing the world for the new messiah of evolution in which “all” will be formally considered equal under the banner of the Marxist/Masonic “absolute equality”.  Let us be very clear, ALL, are not in this Fortress, in fact, very few remain therein and sadly only fewer in this life will ascend to the higher floors. The Universalist heretics of Vatican II believe all can be found within because Christ died for us all. Yet, we know, only few would actually on our end (man’s end), embrace Him and His true doctrine (found only in His Catholic Church) and therein remain until death.

In conclusion, we must, as eagles, learn to discipline our hearts being dispensed toward the “utter annihilation” of the self and by using the blueprint or guideline for our soul which is written infallibly uponst these Walls of Dogma. We must thru prayer learn to appreciate the silence and solitude by which is necessary to further appreciate those Crosses or holy suffering that is sent our way. God sends us trial and tribulation, in part, so that we can learn “to part” (in grace) from the noisy distractions of the exterior and so that we might remain alone with Him in silence and in solitude. As often as a man lives in the world and takes delight in her, the more the man will conform to the world. And as often as a man would seek out the Isle of Silence and Solitude in prayer is as often as he will potentially move closer to His God that he might be likened more unto his God. 

Thus, do we spend time with our Lord and Lady daily, with, at the very least, an hour, devoted to going within alone to seek our God? Do we spend that hour in reparation? Do we fast often? Do we make reparations unto the Sacred Heart thru the Immaculate Heart? Do we do good works? Do we read Scripture daily.  Do we study the true Faith (before Vatican II); the encyclicals and Councils. Do I read the writing of the Saints? Do I take time out with Our Lady and pray the Rosary daily?  Do I confess often and attend Holy Mass regularly.  It is very shocking but contrary to democratic thinking of our godless modern world, the world will not change until each and every one of us do.  Even in this dire hour where the true Faith is hard to find why complain?  If there truly is none (true Catholic Mass/community)…Do you have “intent of going to Mass” and being before and with Our Lord? If so, then you are already there with Him united in prayer therefore do not become overly perplexed.   Our Lord is near when our own hearts are near. Our Lord is near when we enter in to the Immaculate Heart of Mary which is so mystically entwined with His Sacred Heart it is nearly absurd to even try and convey. But carry on in your interior labors and carrying on with demonstrating the love of Christ.

 

TradcatKnight:
Harken heareth an Eagle speak!

The battle is first within and works both in the intellect and in the heart where we know only God can elevate the soul. But why does modern man spend nearly the whole of his day “on the exterior” outside of prayer and away from that which alone can help (first step is going within) cause his soul to ascend all the more closer to Love Himself?  What a wicked time to “love ourselves” more than Love Himself! And thus the answer is, due to pride, modern man, has placed himself upon the “throne of his own heart” and lives by the law of self.  Ask yourselves, this day, “In the coming collapse will man hoard “things” or will man finally learn the Way of Selfless Love?” Will man truly find a utopia in the New World Order’s Socialist doctrine/teachings which are so bent on self “trying to create something that is not fundamentally there”?  Did Christ hoard or did He give all?  Can man have the courage enough to disengage from ‘the self” that he might allow God to use him to the satisfaction of the Divine Will?  Sadly, Modern man “esteems the self” he does not attempt to deny it. Yea, modern man exclaims in self “Only the strong survive!” yet it is only those strong enough to disengage from “self” thru his daily cross who ultimately will truly survive and live. Christ’s Doctrine is “no secret” nor was meant for a few but why do only a few acknowledge, embrace and live it? His doctrine is fundamental to every human beings salvation and yet why do they many reject it? Nay, the many chose to live on the surface and by the senses but we eagles rather live “hidden within” with and thru the Immaculate and Sacred Hearts.

"In the End My Immaculate Heart Will Triumph!" Our Lady of Fatima

Pray always, labor much and speak very little….

An Eagle