DAY 4 OF 33 TOTAL CONSECRATION

Begin With The Following Prayers:

Come Holy Ghost fill the hearts of Thy faithful...

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis: Book 3, Chapters 7, 40

That man has no good of himself, and that he cannot glory in anything.

Lord, what is man, that Thou art mindful of him; or the son of man, that Thou visit him? What has man deserved that Thou should give him grace? Lord, what cause have I to complain, if Thou forsakest me, or what can I justly allege, if what I petition Thou shalt not grant? This most assuredly, I may truly think and say: Lord I am nothing, I can do nothing of myself, that is good, but I am in all things defective and ever tend to nothing. And unless I am assisted and interiorly instructed by Thee, I become wholly tepid and relaxed, but Thou, O Lord, art always the same, and endurest unto eternity, ever good, just and holy, doing all things well, justly and holily and disposing them in wisdom.

But I who am more inclined to go back, than to go forward, continue not always in one state, for I am changed, seven different times. But it quickly becomes better when it pleases Thee, and Thou stretchest out Thy helping hand: for Thou alone, without man's aid can assist me and so strengthen me, that my countenance shall be more diversely changed: but my heart be converted and find its rest in Thee alone.

He who would be too secure in time of peace will often be found too much dejected in time of war. If you could always continue to be humble and little in your own eyes, and keep your spirit in due order and subjection, you would not fall so easily into danger and offense. It is good counsel that, when you have conceived the spirit of fervor, you should meditate how it will be when that light shall be withdrawn.

Meditation: 1

The Seven Capitol Sins Manifest The Spirit Of The World

The satanic sin of pride! The terrible sin of our first parents! Those cries of pride that rang out from Satan and our first parents: “I will not serve! I want to be like God!”. It is a vice that can be neither superior, nor equal nor rival. Those same cries can be heard around the world today, not only in the distant world, but in our own personal world---at work, at school, at home and even in our own hearts and minds!

Pride is the root of all sin. Whenever we sin, our pride has paved the way. We too have cried out: “I will not serve! I will not do this! I will not do that! You cannot tell me what to do!” Pride is indeed an evil thing, but only when t goes to extremes. For there is a virtuous pride and an evil pride.

There is nothing wrong in being proud of the good that we do, and of the good that is in us----but this must always be in acknowledging the source or first principle of that good----which is God, not ourselves! It is when we deviate from this basic truth, that sinful pride rears its ugly head. It is when we think, that we, ourselves, are the cause of all our goodness, our talents, our success and our achievements---it is then that we sin.

Neither is there anything wrong in letting others see the good that is in us, if the motives for this is God’s glory: “So let your light shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Who is in Heaven” (Mt. 5:16). But if we are tempted to show off the good that is in us, for motives of self-glorification, then again pride rears its sinful ugly head. For we fall into a species of idolatry by worshipping ourselves. Sometimes we recognize, in theory, that God exists and that we depend upon Him---but, very often, this truth is not apparent in the way we live our lives.

READING :

What the perfection of man consist of in this life
Quae sit conformitas perfectionis hominis in hac vita?

Now the more the mind is concerned about thinking and dealing with what is merely lower and human, the more it is separated from the experience in the intimacy of devotion of what is higher and heavenly, while the more fervently the memory, desire and intellect is withdrawn from what is below to what is above, the more perfect will be our prayer, and the purer our contemplation, since the two directions of our interest cannot both be perfect at the same time, being as different as light and darkness.

He who cleaves to God is indeed translated into the light, while he who clings to the world is in the dark. So the supreme perfection of man in this life is to be so united to God that all his soul with all its faculties and powers are so gathered into the Lord God that he becomes one spirit with him, and remembers nothing except God, is aware of and recognises nothing but God, but with all his desires unified by the joy of love, he rests contentedly in the enjoyment of his Maker alone.

Now the image of God as found in the soul consists of these three faculties, namely reason, memory and will, and so long as they are not completely stamped with God, the soul is not yet deiform in accordance with the initial creation of the soul. For the true pattern of the soul is God, with whom it must be imprinted, like wax with a seal, and carry the mark of his impress. But this can never be complete until the intellect is perfectly illuminated, according to its capacity, with the knowledge of God, who is perfect truth, until the will is perfectly focused on the love of the perfect good, and until the memory is fully absorbed in turning to and enjoying eternal happiness, and in gladly and contentedly resting in it. And since the glory of the beatitude which is achieved in our heavenly homeland consists in the complete fulfilment of these three faculties, it follows that perfect initiation of them is perfection in this life.

MEDITATION 2:

Mortify the Body

To obtain possession of this Wisdom we must mortify the body, not only by enduring patiently our bodily ailments and the sufferings which the natural elements bring upon us, but also, by freely imposing upon ourselves some penances and mortifications. We may fast, watch before the Blessed Sacrament, talk with God during the silent hours of the night and practice other austerities, as exemplified in the lives of holy penitents.

It requires courage to do this because the body naturally idolizes itself, and the world considers as useless all corporal penances and rejects them. The world does everything possible to deter people from practicing austerities of the saints. Of each one of the saints it is said in due proportion: “The wise or the saintly man has brought his body into subjection by continual watching’s, fasting’s, disciplines, cold, insufficient clothing and every kind of austerity. He made a compact with it, not to give it any rest in this world” (Rom. Brev., Oct. 19th St. Peter of Alcantara). The Holy Spirit declares of all the saints: “They hated the spotted garment which is carnal” (Jude 1:23).

Mortify the Soul

In order that exterior and voluntary mortification be good, it is necessary that it be accompanied by mortification of the judgment and will, and by holy obedience. Without this obedience, all exterior mortification is spoiled by self-love and it often becomes more pleasing to the devil then to God. Hence, no considerable mortification should be undertaken without taking counsel. “I Wisdom dwell in counsel (Prov. 8:12).

He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool…The prudent man doth all things with counsel”” (Prov. 28:26). And the great counsel of the Holy Spirit is this: “My son do thou, nothing without counsel, and thou shalt not repent when thou hast done….seek counsel always of a wise man” (Tob. 4:19)