“I am the resistance against sin within your heart” (Interior Word).
It is said that St. Catherine of Siena suffered terrible temptations against purity at one stage of her life. She then spoke to Jesus and asked Him where He had been while she was going through these attacks, which she found unbearable. Jesus answered that He had worked the repugnance to such impurity in her heart.
“Be wise in your dealings with the world and with the world within the Church — they are at enmity with Me” (Interior Word).
Are we sufficiently aware of this reality? Do we truly understand that we no longer live in an environment marked by the Christian faith?
“I trust in God, my Creator, in all things. I love Him with all my heart” (St. Joan of Arc).
True love for our Father, which grows day by day, leads us to abandon ourselves to Him in everything. It is not a lethargic attitude, nor does it resemble that mystical current known as “quietism.” The attitude of abandonment in God does not belittle human capacities, nor does it devalue our cooperation in God’s work. However, it decisively changes the focus. Our security and point of orientation are no longer built on ourselves, our faculties, or the various external circumstances, but on God’s love for us.
“For a dying person, music is like a sister. It is the first sweet sound of the hereafter, and the muse of song is the mystical sister who points to heaven” (St. Bonaventure).
With these words, St. Bonaventure must have been referring, above all, to the sacred music that, especially in times past, resounded in the monasteries. Inspired by the angels, sacred music resounds to the praise of God, thus proclaiming His glory.
“Holiness consists simply in doing God’s will and being exactly what He wants us to be” (St. Therese of the Child Jesus).
“You must endure the dark hours and trials so that your trust may fully depend on me” (Inner Word).
This is one of the most difficult lessons we must learn on our way to eternity, but it is also one of the most important and fruitful. Our Father never actively desires evil or suffering. Why would He? However, evil entered the world as a consequence of man’s sin, bringing suffering and death with it, as our faith teaches us. We lost paradisiacal innocence, and now humanity lives under this shadow.
“Avoid irrelevant things that hinder, paralyze, sap strength and determination, and weary the soul” (Inner Word).
Today’s phrase does not refer to legitimate recreation and rest, but rather to the distractions in our lives. We easily stray from what is essential and get lost in trivialities. In an age when media and cell phones dominate people’s lives excessively, we may no longer even notice the distraction. We may have become accustomed to this scattered, hectic pace of life and even feel comfortable with it.
“If man knew how much he could gain in a single day, his heart would be filled with joy as soon as he woke up, knowing that a new day had dawned in which he could praise God and multiply his reward to His glory, and he would be encouraged and strengthened throughout the day for whatever he had to do or endure” (St. Mechthild of Hackeborn).
“No one can look so deeply into the heart of his friend, and see the affection he feels for him, as my chosen ones can look into the innermost depths of my heart to discover there, with inexpressible joy, my affection for them.” (Jesus to St. Mechthild of Hackeborn)
