I come here by way of the Catholic Land Movement on Twitter & I’d been waiting for you to write. Your writing is soulful & heartfelt & rings, very, very True, please don’t be discouraged. You strike me as a contemplative, someone who thinks deeply about the Truths of the Faith. You say you do not know Him, but your post rings with His Truth, which is His Cross.
What you notice on humility & pride really struck a chord with me. I think as a contemplative creatives, it’s hard walking the “grifter” line. I’m sorting it out — Dom Prosper Gueranger said “The love of sensual pleasures, avarice, and pride, that triple concupiscence which St. John so strongly condemns in his first Epistle, must be withstood, else our preparation for Christmas is useless.” — but then here I am 1) leisurely enjoying the internet & everyone’s thinking, 2) wondering about subscription options tied to my writing, how is that Just? when all I want is love & friendship in Christ? (but, hey, I’d like to be a professional writer, too) 3) I’d like a like, too.
Thank you for comment and kinds words, I appreciate them very much. It's more than enough to see even a few people benefitting from something I wrote. May He use me however he sees fit.
I often think about the same things, and am sorting it out right there with you. I say it's only a small part of my motivation, but oh how I would love to be making a substantial amount of money from my creative work. I don't yet know what the balance is. Perhaps it's not a balance at all. I think that might be a word for the boring secular world. Seems to me that very few things in the Christian life call for "balance."
Be assured of my prayers as well, on this creative contemplative adventure. I'm grateful to have met a fellow pilgrim.
We want to stay humble, but at the same time we know the talent God has gifted us. Maybe there’s a way to navigate outside of “pride” or “being proud” of our work — a Rule for Creatives? I’ve been thinking of a few solutions:
- Act: Move toward God, first. the saints would pray an Act of Faith (or something) before doing to dedicate their work to God, then pray again when it ceased, commending the fruits of their work to His Good Pleasure.
- Anima: write, create with gusto & without second guessing in whose hands (eyes) your work will end up. do your leg work, God told us to learn from the Children of the World, to be wise as serpents while innocent as doves.. but we must remain steadfast in our innocence, blamelessness, purity of intention. stay close to the Sacraments for this.
- Abandonment: detach from curiosity, what plagues social media. create, produce, follow results of your content with “disinterested love” (St. Francis de Sales) — who said to do (love) for the love of your God (for your neighbor). in other words, don’t expect appropriate feedback, this is the secular world we’re having to trod in, after all. don’t hunt for it or expect it, lest we take our eyes off the prize — perfecting our work for God’s Greater Glory. A very, very holy remedy to our need to receive “praise” is to find a good circle of friends and/or mentors. Good feedback is righteous, good friendship is lightsome. I would rather surround myself with 5 good friends who can give me good feedback about my work than a thousand accolades around the internet from people I don’t really know. These take time to build, I think. We can pray to God to gift us with us, just as we would a good Priest or a good Spiritual Director.
With that in mind, we really should be praying for ourselves!! I just recently read St. Alphonse’s Liguori who said God has set us the Road to Salvation with the Church, but we not have to recommend ourselves to Our Lord and not cease praying.
..wow. I didn’t expect to write this. My dear friend, I wrote this for myself as much as for you. Thank you for your inspiration! Lord, bless Ryan! Mary protect him! God bless!🔥
Hi, Ryan,
I come here by way of the Catholic Land Movement on Twitter & I’d been waiting for you to write. Your writing is soulful & heartfelt & rings, very, very True, please don’t be discouraged. You strike me as a contemplative, someone who thinks deeply about the Truths of the Faith. You say you do not know Him, but your post rings with His Truth, which is His Cross.
What you notice on humility & pride really struck a chord with me. I think as a contemplative creatives, it’s hard walking the “grifter” line. I’m sorting it out — Dom Prosper Gueranger said “The love of sensual pleasures, avarice, and pride, that triple concupiscence which St. John so strongly condemns in his first Epistle, must be withstood, else our preparation for Christmas is useless.” — but then here I am 1) leisurely enjoying the internet & everyone’s thinking, 2) wondering about subscription options tied to my writing, how is that Just? when all I want is love & friendship in Christ? (but, hey, I’d like to be a professional writer, too) 3) I’d like a like, too.
Hang in there, I’m praying for you.🔥
Hi Veronica,
Thank you for comment and kinds words, I appreciate them very much. It's more than enough to see even a few people benefitting from something I wrote. May He use me however he sees fit.
I often think about the same things, and am sorting it out right there with you. I say it's only a small part of my motivation, but oh how I would love to be making a substantial amount of money from my creative work. I don't yet know what the balance is. Perhaps it's not a balance at all. I think that might be a word for the boring secular world. Seems to me that very few things in the Christian life call for "balance."
Be assured of my prayers as well, on this creative contemplative adventure. I'm grateful to have met a fellow pilgrim.
> only a small part of my motivation, but oh..
We want to stay humble, but at the same time we know the talent God has gifted us. Maybe there’s a way to navigate outside of “pride” or “being proud” of our work — a Rule for Creatives? I’ve been thinking of a few solutions:
- Act: Move toward God, first. the saints would pray an Act of Faith (or something) before doing to dedicate their work to God, then pray again when it ceased, commending the fruits of their work to His Good Pleasure.
- Anima: write, create with gusto & without second guessing in whose hands (eyes) your work will end up. do your leg work, God told us to learn from the Children of the World, to be wise as serpents while innocent as doves.. but we must remain steadfast in our innocence, blamelessness, purity of intention. stay close to the Sacraments for this.
- Abandonment: detach from curiosity, what plagues social media. create, produce, follow results of your content with “disinterested love” (St. Francis de Sales) — who said to do (love) for the love of your God (for your neighbor). in other words, don’t expect appropriate feedback, this is the secular world we’re having to trod in, after all. don’t hunt for it or expect it, lest we take our eyes off the prize — perfecting our work for God’s Greater Glory. A very, very holy remedy to our need to receive “praise” is to find a good circle of friends and/or mentors. Good feedback is righteous, good friendship is lightsome. I would rather surround myself with 5 good friends who can give me good feedback about my work than a thousand accolades around the internet from people I don’t really know. These take time to build, I think. We can pray to God to gift us with us, just as we would a good Priest or a good Spiritual Director.
With that in mind, we really should be praying for ourselves!! I just recently read St. Alphonse’s Liguori who said God has set us the Road to Salvation with the Church, but we not have to recommend ourselves to Our Lord and not cease praying.
..wow. I didn’t expect to write this. My dear friend, I wrote this for myself as much as for you. Thank you for your inspiration! Lord, bless Ryan! Mary protect him! God bless!🔥