“Our angel’s desire to help us is much greater than our desire to let him help us” (St. John Bosco).
In his infinite goodness, our Heavenly Father grants us a reliable friend and lifelong companion. It is a great joy for our guardian angel to accompany us, because on the one hand this service allows him to show his love for God, whose command he fulfills, and on the other hand he can offer us his love through his help and fraternal closeness.
“There is no better way to honor God, our Father, than through boundless trust” (St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori).
Boundless trust honors our Father in a special way, as St. Alphonsus Maria affirms. In fact, the saint is convinced that there is no better way to honor Him.
For those who would prefer to listen to a meditation on the gospel of the day:
“When the soul contemplates something beautiful and charming, let it consider how much more beautiful, charming, and good is the One who made it. In this way, it will turn directly toward the One who created everything. If it hears a sweet melody or something else that delights it, let it say, ‘Oh! How lovely must be the voice of the One who will one day call you, and from whom all the grace and harmony of the voice emanate.’” (St. Mechthild of Magdeburg)
“I let Myself be easily found, because I am here and in you” (Inner Word).
The masters of spiritual life remind us again and again that we can find God within ourselves. And this is so because the Lord Himself assured us: “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (Jn 14:23).
For those who would prefer to listen to a meditation on the gospel of the day:
“Carry all people in your heart and bring them to Me.” (Inner Word)
How is it possible to fulfill this word? We need only think of our Heavenly Father. He carries all people in His heart and knows them all by name. Without a doubt, He wants to save them all and lead them home to Himself. To this end, He sent His Son.
During the last three meditations, we developed an indirect advice given to us by St. Anthony Abbot, a wise desert father. In this context, we reflected on the combat in what we hear, speak and look at, and saw how necessary it is to place these important areas of human life under God’s dominion and to defend them against multiple attacks.
“He who sits in the desert and seeks to have a calm heart, has been spared from three combats: that of listening, that of speech and that of sight. He has only one battle left to fight: the battle against impurity”.
So, it now remains for us to deal with the struggle against impurity, which is one of the most difficult combats for man. It does not only refer to impurity on the bodily level; it also refers to disordered inclinations on the spiritual and psychological level. But this time we will focus on the bodily dimension.
