Day 8 - "emptying oneself of the spirit of the world"

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

St. Louis De Montfort was a priest who loved God’s Word. In his two books, “Love of Eternal Wisdom” and “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin” he speaks from what he learned through God’s Revelation primarily in Scripture but also in Tradition and the Magisterium of the Church.

In an early paragraph of his treatise on True Devotion, he wrote:

1. God the Father wishes Mary to be the mother of his children until the end of time and so he says to her, “Dwell in Jacob”, that is to say, take up your abode permanently in my children, in my holy ones represented by Jacob, and not in the children of the devil and sinners represented by Esau.

Since we are in this period of 12 days, seeking to empty oursleves of the spirit of the world, it is good to consider how Jacob represented God’s children, who did not oppose Him, while Jacob’s brother Esau can be seen as one who opposed God. St. Louis De Montfort enlarges on this concept further on in his treatise on “True Devotion” in Chapter Five, paragraphs 184 - 212.

If we are truly seeking to empty ourselves of the “spirit of the world” which opposes the Spirit of God, we need to recognize what that spirit is. I referenced earlier the First Letter of John, in which we heard God’s Word warning us:

Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever. (1 Jn 2:15-17)

In the same Letter, God speaking through John warns us again:

Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world. You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They belong to the world; accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world, and the world listens to them. We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.
(1Jn 4: 1-6)

By God’s Grace, let us pray to the Holy Spirit to bring us into the fullness of Truth as we seek to see what is in us of the spirit of the world – that by His Grace we may empty ourselves of it, – and prepare to give ourselves totally to God. Jesus we trust in You! Mary, our Mother, pray for us.