Day 5 -Preparation for Consecration

PREPARATION FOR CONSECRATION DAY 5

Prayers for the Preparatory Period (Days 1-33) to be said daily.

To see the prayers in their entirety click the links below...

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

Wherefore, but I did know well, how to cast from me all human comfort, either for the sake of devotion, or through the necessity by which I am compelled to seek Thee, because there is no man that can comfort me. Then might I deservedly hope in Thy favor, and rejoice in the gift of a new consolation. Thanks be to Thee from Whom all things proceed, as often as it happens to me. I, indeed, am but vanity, and nothing in Thy sight , an inconstant and weak man. Where, therefore, can I glory, or for what do I desire to be thought of highly?

Forsooth of my very nothingness; and this is most vain. Truly vainglory is an evil plague, because it draws away from true glory, and robs us of heavenly grace. For, while a man takes complacency in himself, he displeases Thee; while he wants for human applause, he is deprived of true virtues. But true, glory and holy exultation is to glory in Thee, and not in one's self; to rejoice in Thy Name, but not in one's own strength. To find pleasure in no creature, save only for Thy sake. Let Thy Name be praised, not mine; let Thy work be magnified, not mine; let Thy Holy Name be blessed, but let nothing be attributed to me of the praise of men. Thou art my glory; Thou art the exultation of my heart; in Thee, will I glory and rejoice all the day; but for myself, I will glory in nothing but in my infirmities.

Meditation:

Anger

Anger is not always a sin. There is a lawful sentiment of anger, a just indignation, which is an ardent, but rational, desire to punish a guilty party with some form of just retribution. As an example of this, we see Our Lord, with a whip, angrily cast out the money-changers from the Temple.

Whereas, on the other hand, we see the high-priests Aceli severely rebuked for not showing enough anger in correcting his sons.

Thus for anger to be legitimate, it must be: (a) Just…by punishing only those that deserve punishment; (b) Tempered…by moderation in the degree of the punishment that is given; by giving a punishment that fits the crime and not exceeding that; (c) Charitable…not vented out of a spirit of hatred, revenge or animosity, but out of a sincere desire of helping the wrongdoer.

Anger is sinful when it is unjust, immoderate or uncharitable.

Sometimes, we have a violent and inordinate desire to punish someone, regardless of the conditions we have mentioned above. Our anger is accompanied by hatred, which does not merely seek to correct, but seeks to exact some form of revenge. There are several degrees of intensity within anger, which are worth remembering: (a) Interior Anger of the Mind: Firstly, we become increasingly impatient with others whereby the least annoying thing, or the smallest degree of failure, causes dissatisfaction.

This is followed by agitation, producing an unnecessary irritation, which we manifest outwardly in some way…facial expressions, agitation, etc.

Then by brooding upon the facts, this anger or irritation can become so deep rooted, that it engenders sentiments of varying degrees that pass from resentment, to bitterness, hatred and eventually a desire for revenge. (b)

Exterior Anger: The interior anger manifests itself outwardly, beginning with exterior signs of impatience. The earlier anger manifests itself, the weaker it shows the person to be. This exterior anger can, if uncontrolled, easily develop into violence, which in turn can lead to an insane rage, wherein we no longer know what we are saying or doing. (c) Sinfulness of anger: When anger is impulsive and spontaneous, it is usually a venial sin. If it is so intense that self-control is lost and great insult is shown to neighbor, then it would be mortal, but this is often not the case. Anger that goes as far as hatred and rancor, when it is deliberate and willful, is, of itself, a mortal sin.

Meditation:

Envy

This vice proceeds from pride---which can bear neither rival nor superior. As a result, we are saddened by another person’s qualities, possessions or achievements, as though they constituted an affront to our own “superiority” or standing. Often it leads us to the desire of seeing that person lose that quality or possession, and a wish that they experience failure. Because of our pride, we are convinced of our own imagined superiority and, consequently, , we feel offended, or threatened, when we encounter someone better gifted, or more successful then ourselves. We know that we are prey to and perhaps, even guilty of this vice, when it pains us to hear others acknowledged, praised, congratulated, honored etc. We can be sure that we are guilty of this vice, if we then indulge in a needless and unjust criticism of the person thus honored.

The effects of envy can be very serious. It can stir up a hatred toward the person whom we envy and can, as a result, lead us to speaking ill of them, sowing discord, blackening their character, sowing suspicion and eventually, wishing some evil to befall them---if not actually carrying out that very evil ourselves! It can destroy family life, community life, civic life and even religious life! We need only recall the story of joseph and his many brothers, who became so envious of him, that they sought to kill him----eventually settling for the option of selling him into slavery. Similarly, we see the envy that the religious leaders had for Jesus---their own countryman. The little seed of envy can grow into an evil big tree bringing forth much bad fruit. It is better weeded out before it can exert a stranglehold grip on our souls.[…]

MEDITATION - The Abuse of God’s Mercy.

Taken from: The Way of Salvation and Perfection

by Saint Alphonsus

There are two ways by which the devil endeavors to deceive men to their eternal ruin: after they have committed sin he tempts them to despair on account of the severity of divine justice; but before they have sinned he encourages them to do so by the hope of obtaining the divine mercy. And he effects the ruin of numberless souls as well by the second as by the first artifice.

"God is merciful, “says the obstinate sinner to him who would convert him from the iniquity of his ways. "God is merciful. “But as the Mother of God expresses it in her canticle, His mercy is to them that fear Him.

Yes, the Lord deals mercifully with him that fears to offend him, but not so with the man who presumes upon his mercy to offend him still more. O God! I give Thee thanks for having made me sensible of Thy patience in bearing with me. Behold, I am of the number of those who, presuming on Thy goodness, have offended Thee again and again. " Misericordia ejus timentibus eum." Luke i. 50.

God is merciful; but he is also just. Sinners are desirous that he should be merciful only, without being just; but that is impossible, because were he only to forgive and never to chastise, he would be wanting in justice. Hence Father Avila observes that patience on the part of God towards those who avail themselves of his compassion to offend him the more, would not be compassion, but a want of justice. He is bound to chastise the ungrateful. He bears with them for a certain time, but after that abandons them.

Such a punishment, O God! has not as yet overtaken me, or else I had now dwelt in hell, or had been obstinate in my sins. But no: I desire to amend my life; I desire to offend Thee no more. Though I have hitherto displeased Thee, I am sorry for it with my whole soul; I desire henceforth to love Thee, and I desire to love Thee more than others do, because Thou hast not shown the same patience towards others as towards me.