136th Meditation
“If you knew how much I love my disciples and how willing I am to unveil to them all the treasures of grace, you would always be awake, attentive to listen to the voice of your heart to meet me” (Interior Word).
Once our heart has been pierced by the love of the Lord, it will perceive how immense this love is and it will long to receive everything that is a sign of this love. What else could it seek outside of it? Read More
135th Meditation
“In Eucharistic adoration, you open yourselves to the inexpressible torrents of grace that flow toward you from the Heart of God” (Interior Word).
If we ask ourselves how to enter into deeper contact with the ineffable mystery of God’s love, these words give us a guideline. Read More
In the classical mystical tradition, the path of following the Lord is usually described in three “ways”: the purgative way (purification), the illuminative way (illumination) and the unitive way (unification).
By having lived a serious conversion, by striving to acquire the virtues and by consciously taking up the fight against our three enemies – the world, the devil and the flesh – the Lord initiates in us the process of interior purification. We are dealing here with our attachments to our passions, as well as to our own ideas, illusions, desires, etc. Read More
“Keep sober and alert, because your enemy the devil is on the prowl like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand up to him, strong in faith” (1Pe 5:8-9).
The comparison with a roaring lion makes it clear that, in spiritual combat, we face a terrible enemy. He is ready for anything and stalks his victim carefully and aggressively. To make matters worse, this opponent does not abide by the “rules of chivalry” at all. Read More
134th Meditation
“If I scale the heavens you are there,
if I lie descend to Sheol, there you are.
If I speed away on the wings of the dawn,
if I dwell beyond the ocean,
even there your hand will be guiding me,
your right hand holding me fast” (Ps 138:8-10).
133rd Meditation
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s design that prevails” (Prov 19:21).
Wise is the one who does not simply follow the inclinations of their own heart, but examines whether they are in accord with the Lord’s designs. Indeed, His designs prevail. Not infrequently, our abundant fantasies, dreams and desires serve only to confuse us. They cause us to live in an illusion and can even make us prisoners of certain expectations, which, in the end, are not fulfilled. Then they leave an emptiness and disappointment in the soul. Read More
In the meditations of the last few days, we had first spoken about that enemy who dwells within us – that is, our flesh – which, because of our fallen nature with its evil inclinations, wants to turn us away from the way of the Lord, or at least make things difficult for us. Then we also discussed the second enemy of our soul – the world – which likewise wishes to lead us away from the spiritual path by its seductions and allurements. Now we must consider one more enemy. Read More
132nd Meditation
“Even if you have to die, keep faithful, and I will give you the crown of life for your prize” (Rev 2:10).
In the Book of Revelation, the Father conveys these words to us through the mouth of the glorified Lord. God wants to give us the “crown of life,” which is a crown of victory. The Lord wants to adorn us with His glory and make us sharers in His triumph over death and hell. To this end, we must be faithful unto death. Read More
Another enemy that can greatly lead us away from the way of the Lord is the world. If the world is not permeated by the Christian spirit; that is, if it has not been transformed and leavened by the “yeast of the Gospel” (Mt 13:33), then its direction is hostile to God and, consequently, will be a threat to our spiritual life. The difficult thing about this enemy is that we perceive very little of his constant influence. On the other hand, the attacks of the devil or the temptations that come from our flesh are more easily identifiable. Read More
In the framework of this series on the spiritual life, it is also necessary to speak about the “3 enemies of the soul”, which stand in the way of our following Christ and against which we must consciously fight.
At the beginning of this series we spoke about the virtues, emphasizing the importance of acquiring them. Indeed, they constitute a powerful antidote against all enemy attacks, but especially against the inclinations of our flesh and the tendency to give ourselves inordinately to its passions. Read More
