A Sunday Thought About the Battle of Life to Start the Week Off Right
A Catholic knows that life is a battle. The world, the flesh, and the devil relentlessly try to drag us down as we struggle against their temptations and our fallen human nature. It's not easy - an understatement if ever there was one.
So with this in mind, we're going to plant a seed that - by the grace of God - will grow in the next two weeks. We're going to explore this battle that rages every day in our lives. For our guide, we've chosen Fr. Jacques Michel, S.J. (1712 - ?). While our weekday posts will, as usual, focus on our work lives, we begin today with a taste of Fr. Michel's wise counsel. Father wants us to understand the battle we face every day. If we listen, we'll realize that the battle will toughen us to turn away from evil, even as it softens us to turn towards Our Lord and His saving grace. We will grow in the understanding that we must conquer ourselves in order to be truly open to the Love Our Lord desires to pour out on us from His Sacred Heart. Father will show us just how we can do this.
We start with the understanding that we cannot conquer without fighting, and that there is no fighting without suffering:
This week and next, we'll see that Father Michel pulls no punches. He may shake us up a bit. But in the end we'll find great encouragement in his words. If you can find a few minutes during the next two weeks, we'll continue our discussion each Tuesday and Thursday. Let the battle begin.
Meanwhile, enjoy this blessed Easter Season.
So with this in mind, we're going to plant a seed that - by the grace of God - will grow in the next two weeks. We're going to explore this battle that rages every day in our lives. For our guide, we've chosen Fr. Jacques Michel, S.J. (1712 - ?). While our weekday posts will, as usual, focus on our work lives, we begin today with a taste of Fr. Michel's wise counsel. Father wants us to understand the battle we face every day. If we listen, we'll realize that the battle will toughen us to turn away from evil, even as it softens us to turn towards Our Lord and His saving grace. We will grow in the understanding that we must conquer ourselves in order to be truly open to the Love Our Lord desires to pour out on us from His Sacred Heart. Father will show us just how we can do this.
We start with the understanding that we cannot conquer without fighting, and that there is no fighting without suffering:
Indolence or aversion to everything that gives trouble is common to all men. When we have devoted ourselves to God’s service, we would like to enjoy the happiness of our condition without its costing us much...We want to be good, but we don't want being good to make too many demands on us. It's only natural that we gravitate towards pleasure, with an aversion to pain. But when we consider Our Blessed Lord's life, the foolishness of our natural inclination becomes clear:
Christ did not enter into His glory until after He had suffered, and that He has admitted His saints to share it only after crosses and combats and sacrifices...Any of us who have read the Gospels, studied our Holy Faith, and spent any time thinking about this would eagerly nod our assent to its truth. Our minds grasp it readily. And yet, when it comes to our daily thoughts, words, and actions, we somehow come up short. Despite our intellectual assent, the truth of the matter is that our hearts - the seat of our will - resist. Here's why:
It costs us nothing to follow our natural inclinations; it costs us much to repress them, and the enemy of our souls never loses sight of that, to make us prefer the former.And so the battle continues every day, at work, at home, morning, noon, and night. But lest you're tempted to give up before you even begin, remember that's just what the devil wants. Discouragement has always been and will always be the favored technique used to trip us up, to turn us from the pursuit of holiness, the only way to true happiness.
This week and next, we'll see that Father Michel pulls no punches. He may shake us up a bit. But in the end we'll find great encouragement in his words. If you can find a few minutes during the next two weeks, we'll continue our discussion each Tuesday and Thursday. Let the battle begin.
Meanwhile, enjoy this blessed Easter Season.
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