Day 11 - emptying ourselves of the "spirit of the world" which is opposed to the "Spirit of Jesus"

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We live in an “imperfect” world of persons whom God is still calling to holiness. Perfection is found in the Perfect Charity of God and in our own communion with Him! We cannot “perfect ourselves” . Jesus told us, “Without Me, you can do nothing” (Jn 15). It is God alone who does such wonders in human persons: Mary first, in fullness of Grace at her Immaculate Conception, and then in others after their conception, who grew in His grace like St. John the Baptist, St Joseph, St. John the Evangelist, St. Louis de Montfort and countless men and women who listened to God’s Truth, who believed Him, and who did the Truth they heard from Him.

Hopefully. by His Grace, as we are journeying together, listening to Scripture and all God’s Wisdom given to St. Louis de Monthort we too are learning to discern the difference between the Truth In Jesus’ Spirit and all that needs to be emptied from our hearts that is in the spirit of the word.

Today’s First Reading at Mass gives a picture of the Church in Ephesus whose hearts had an imperfect “mixture” of spirits within their hearts:

Reading 1 [RV 1:1-4; 2:1-5]

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him,
to show his servants what must happen soon.
He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
who gives witness to the word of God
and to the testimony of Jesus Christ by reporting what he saw.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud
and blessed are those who listen to this prophetic message
and heed what is written in it, for the appointed time is near.

John, to the seven churches in Asia: grace to you and peace
from him who is and who was and who is to come,
and from the seven spirits before his throne.

I heard the Lord saying to me:
"To the angel of the Church in Ephesus, write this:

“‘The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand
and walks in the midst of the seven gold lampstands says this:
“I know your works, your labor, and your endurance,
and that you cannot tolerate the wicked;
you have tested those who call themselves Apostles but are not,
and discovered that they are impostors.
Moreover, you have endurance and have suffered for my name,
and you have not grown weary.
Yet I hold this against you:
> you have lost the love you had at first.
> Realize how far you have fallen.
> Repent, and do the works you did at first.
> Otherwise, I will come to you
> and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”’”

We are all called to holiness and to the perfection of Charity. It can happen that little by little we begin to take on the “spirit of the world” – all the while thinking we are totally “in the Lord” – but are we? We may have fallen farther than we realize, as did the Church at Ephesus. Next week, God willing, we’ll begin seeking “True self-knowledge”

Please let us pray for one another and for all those in most need of God’s Mercy.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear Adgloriam,

Thanks for stopping by to read this thread and clicking on the heart to let us know you liked what you read. It is always encouraging to hear from any brother or sister, – especially when they respond to having True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, for as St. Louis de Montfort states in his treatise:

1. Jesus, our Saviour, true God and true man must be the ultimate end of all our other devotions; otherwise they would be false and misleading. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end of everything. “We labour,” says St. Paul, “only to make all men perfect in Jesus Christ.”

For in him alone dwells the entire fullness of the divinity and the complete fullness of grace, virtue and perfection. In him alone we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing; he is the only teacher from whom we must learn; the only Lord on whom we should depend; the only Head to whom we should be united and the only model that we should imitate. He is the only Physician that can heal us; the only Shepherd that can feed us; the only Way that can lead us; the only Truth that we can believe; the only Life that can animate us. He alone is everything to us and he alone can satisfy all our desires.

We are given no other name under heaven by which we can be saved. God has laid no other foundation for our salvation, perfection and glory than Jesus. Every edifice which is not built on that firm rock, is founded upon shifting sands and will certainly fall sooner or later. Every one of the faithful who is not united to him is like a branch broken from the stem of the vine. It falls and withers and is fit only to be burnt. If we live in Jesus and Jesus lives in us, we need not fear damnation. Neither angels in heaven nor men on earth, nor devils in hell, no creature whatever can harm us, for no creature can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Through him, with him and in him, we can do all things and render all honour and glory to the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit; we can make ourselves perfect and be for our neighbour a fragrance of eternal life.

1. If then we are establishing sound devotion to our Blessed Lady, it is only in order to establish devotion to our Lord more perfectly, by providing a smooth but certain way of reaching Jesus Christ. If devotion to our Lady distracted us from our Lord, we would have to reject it as an illusion of the devil. But this is far from being the case. As I have already shown and will show again later on, this devotion is necessary, simply and solely because it is a way of reaching Jesus perfectly, loving him tenderly, and serving him faithfully.

Thanks for your willingness to keep learning more about Jesus through Mary!