DAY 6 OF 33 TOTAL CONSECRATION

[Dawn Marie]

Begin With The Following Prayers:

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

The Holy Rosary

The Litany of the Blessed Virgin

" Whenever anyone sighs toward Me with love in meditating on My Passion, it is as though He gently touched My wounds with a fresh-budding rose, and I wound his heart in return with the arrow of My love. Moreover, if he sheds tears of devotion over My Passion, I will accept them as though he had suffered for Me." ----Our Lord to St. Mechtilde-----

 

 

 

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis: Book 1, Chapter 18

On the examples of the Holy Fathers.

Look upon the lively examples of the holy Fathers in whom shone real perfection and the religious life, and you will see how little it is, and almost nothing that we do. Alas, what is our life when we compare it with theirs? Saints and friends of Christ, they served our Lord in hunger and in thirst, in cold, in nakedness, in labor and in weariness, in watching, in fasting, prayers and holy meditations, and in frequent persecutions and reproaches. Oh, how many grievous tribulations did the Apostles suffer and the Martyrs and Confessors and Virgins, and all the rest who resolved to follow the steps of Christ! For they hated their lives in this world, that they might keep them in life everlasting. Oh what a strict and self-renouncing life the holy Fathers of the desert led! What long and grievous temptations did they bear! How often were they harassed by the enemy, what frequent and fervent prayers did they offer up to God, what rigorous abstinence did they practice!

What a valiant contest waged they to subdue their imperfections! What purity and straightforwardness of purpose kept they towards God! By day they labored, and much of the night they spent in prayer; though while they labored, they were far from leaving off mental prayer. They spent all their time profitably. Every hour seemed short to spend with God; and even their necessary bodily refreshment was forgotten in the great sweetness of contemplation. They renounced all riches, dignities, honors and kindred; they hardly took what was necessary for life. It grieved them to serve the body even in its necessity. Accordingly, they were poor in earthly things, but very rich in grace and virtues.

 

READING:

Saint Albert the Great

On Cleaving to God

On purity of heart which is to be sought above all things
De corde puritate, quae est prae omnibus sectanta.

 

If your desire and aim is to reach the destination of the path and home of true happiness, of grace and​ ​glory, by a straight and safe way then earnestly apply your mind to seek constant purity of heart,​ ​clarity of mind and calm of the senses. Gather up your heart’s desire and fix it continually on the Lord​ ​God above. To do so you must withdraw yourself so far as you can from friends and from everyone​ ​else, and from the activities that hinder you from such a purpose. Grasp every opportunity when you​ ​can find the place, time and means to devote yourself to silence and contemplation, and gathering the​ ​secret fruits of silence, so that you can escape the shipwreck of this present age and avoid the restless​ ​agitation of the noisy world.

For this reason apply yourself at all times to purity, clarity and peace of heart above all things, so​ ​that, so far as possible, you can keep the doors of your heart resolutely barred to the forms and​ ​images of the physical senses and worldly imaginations by shutting off the doors of the physical​ ​senses and turning within yourself. After all, purity of heart is recognised as the most important thing​ ​among all spiritual practices, as its final aim, and the reward for all the labours that a spiritual​ ​minded​ ​person and true religious may undertake in this life.

For this reason you should with all care, intelligence and effort free your heart, senses and desires​ ​from everything that can hinder their liberty, and above all from everything in the world that could​ ​possibly bind and overcome you. So struggle in this way to draw together all the distractions of your​ ​heart and desires of your mind into one true, simple and supreme good, to keep them gathered​ ​within yourself in one place, and by this means to remain always joined to things divine and to God in​ ​your mind, to abandon the unreliable things of earth, and be able to translate your mind continually​ ​to the things above within yourself in Jesus Christ.

To which end, if you have begun to strip and purify yourself of images and imaginations and to​ ​simplify and still your heart and mind in the Lord God so that you can draw and taste the well of​ ​divine grace in everything within yourself, and so that you are united to God in your mind by a good​ ​will, then this itself is enough for you in place of all study and reading of holy scripture, and as​ ​demonstration of love of God and neighbour, as devotion itself testifies.

So simplify your heart with all care, diligence and effort so that still and at peace from the products of​ ​the imagination you can turn round and remain always in the Lord within yourself, as if your mind​ ​were already in the now of eternity, that is of the godhead. In this way you will be able to renounce​ ​yourself through love of Jesus Christ, with a pure heart, clean conscience and unfeigned faith, and​ ​commit yourself completely and fully to God in all difficulties and eventualities, and be willing to​ ​submit yourself patiently to his will and good​ ​pleasure at all times.

For this to come about you must repeatedly retreat into your heart and remain there, keeping​ ​yourself free from everything, so far as is possible. You must always keep the eye of your mind clear​ ​and still. You must guard your understanding from daydreams and thoughts of earthly things. You​ ​must completely free the inclination of your will from worldly cares and cling with all your being to​ ​the supreme true good with fervent love. You must keep your memory always lifted up and firmly​ ​anchored in that same true supreme good and only uncreated reality. In just this way your whole​ ​mind gathered up with all its powers and faculties in God, may become one spirit with him, in whom​ ​the supreme perfection of life is known to consist.

This is the true union of spirit and love by which a man is made compliant to all the impulses of the​ ​supreme and eternal will, so that he becomes by grace what God is by nature.
At the same time it should be noted that in the very moment in which one is able, by God’s help, to​ ​overcome one’s own will, that is to cast away from oneself inordinate love or strong feeling, in other​ ​words so as to dare simply to trust God completely in all one’s needs, by this very fact one becomes​ ​so pleasing to God that his grace is imparted to one, and through that very grace one experiences that​ ​true love and devotion which drives out all uncertainty and fear and has full confidence in God. What​ ​is more, there can be no greater happiness than to place one’s all in him who lacks nothing.​ ​So why do you still remain in yourself where you cannot stay. Cast yourself, all of yourself, with​ ​confidence into God and he will sustain you, heal you and make you safe. If you dwell on these things​ ​faithfully within, they will do more to confer a happy life on you than all riches, pleasures and​ ​honours, and above all the wisdom and knowledge of this present deceitful world and its life, even if​ ​you were to excel in them all that ever lived.

 

REFLECTION:

Saint Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort

Letter to the Friends of the Cross

On Carrying Your Cross

Nothing is so useful and so agreeable

But if, on the contrary, you suffer in the right way, the cross will become a yoke that is easy and light, since Christ himself will carry it with you. It will give you wings, as it were, to lift you to heaven; it will become your ship's mast, bringing you smoothly and easily to the harbor of salvation.

Carry your cross patiently, and it will be a light in your spiritual darkness, for the one who has never suffered trials is ignorant.

Carry your cross cheerfully, and you will be filled with divine love; for only in suffering can we dwell in the pure love of Christ.

Roses are only found among thorns. It is the cross alone which nourishes our love of God, as wood is the fuel which feeds the fire. Remember the beautiful saying in the "Imitation of Christ", "In proportion as you do violence to yourself, by suffering patiently, so will you make progress" in divine love.

Do not expect anything from those sensitive and slothful people who reject the cross when it approaches them, and who are careful not to seek out crosses. What are they but an untilled soil which will produce nothing but thorns because it has not been dug up, harrowed and turned over by an experienced farmer? They are like stagnant water, which is unfit for either washing or drinking.

Carry your cross cheerfully and you will draw from it an all-powerful strength which none of your enemies will be able to resist, and you will find in it a delight beyond anything you have known. Indeed, brethren, the true earthly paradise is found in suffering for Christ.

[Gloria]

Amen.

[Michael]

Amen. 

[bernadette szczepkowski]

Amen+ So beautiful!

[Flavia Talladen Schott]

Amen. 

[Joseph]

Indeed, brethren, the true earthly paradise is found in suffering for Christ.

Amen.

[Leontine Bajer]

Amen…

[Mary Ellen]

Day 5 and 6

[Birgitta]

Day 6 prayed.   Carry your cross cheerfully, and you will be filled with divine love; for only in suffering can we dwell in the pure love of Christ.

[Copacabana]

Day 6 prayed.

Roses are only found among thorns.