Before ending the second week of Advent, let us briefly review the essential points of the meditations from the last few days, which will serve as a guide for deepening our interior life. They are as follows:
- Meditation on the Word of God
- Praying the meditated Holy Rosary
- Prayer from the heart
- Participation in worthy Eucharistic celebrations, together with the reception of Holy Communion
- Approaching contemplation, with its respective preparatory dispositions (seeking silence, overcoming disordered attachments to the things of this world and to people…)
Returning to this last point, it should be noted that most people are not called to a total abandonment of the world, as is the case in contemplative monasteries. They live in the world and, according to their duties of state, have obligations that keep them in contact with passing things. Those who fulfill their duties of state are in no way separated from God, even if they do not spend as much time in silence or are unable to withdraw constantly.
However, even in these circumstances we must be attentive, because what matters is how we fulfill our duties of state. Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, a Carmelite spiritual master, writes the following on this subject:
“There are occupations and contacts with creatures that are imposed by the obligations of one’s state: they are manifestations of God’s will and, therefore, it is not possible to withdraw from them in order to seek God. If in these things we know how to adjust ourselves to the measure imposed by the divine will, there is no reason to fear that they will constitute an obstacle to the union of the soul with God. But it is necessary to remain solely within the framework of the divine will; in other words, our contact with creatures and all our activities must be motivated by a single intention: the fulfillment of our duty. When, on the contrary, the affection of the will dwells on such things, seeking in them some personal satisfaction—such as curiosity, the natural search for affection, the desire for recognition, the desire to be approved by others, etc.—then we abandon the path of God’s will and the heart becomes attached to creatures, thus creating a real obstacle.”
Detachment—that is, freedom from the realities of this world—is indispensable for deepening our spiritual life. That is why Fr. Gabriel speaks of the “inner cell,” an expression also used by St. Catherine of Siena. This “inner cell,” which is even more important than an “outer cell,” is formed when we allow the Lord to enter our hearts and we frequently encounter Him in our souls. We learn to always retreat to this “inner cell” so that, from there, we can receive the Lord’s strength to fulfill our mission. The essential thing is to overcome our attachment to the passing world and give our undivided hearts to God. Then He will lead us in such a way that we will become ever more deeply united to Him.
For me, it is very important to emphasize once again that the deepening and internalization of faith are essential in themselves, but they become a pressing necessity in the present times, when confusion reigns in the world and even in the Church. Thus, we remain safe in the heart of God and of the Virgin Mary. In the Lord’s safety, we will be able to walk our path of following Christ and help those who are disoriented by what is happening around them.
Meditation on the reading of the day: https://en.elijamission.net/2023/12/16/
Meditation on the Gospel of the day: https://en.elijamission.net/2021/12/11/