Mar. 7 - Wk 1 - Day 4 - to acquire knowledge of ourselves and sorrow for our sins"

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today’s Mass Readings again help us in our journey, especially hearing Jesus tell us in the Gospel:

Jesus said to his disciples:
“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

Then he said to all,
"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?" (Luke 9: 22-25)

St. Louis de Montfort in his treatise on True Devotion prepares us to give our lives to Jesus through Mary in Totally Consecrating ourselves – losing ourselves for His sake! Listen to his words as one following Jesus.
Continuing where we left off yesterday in paragraph 79:

1. Is it any wonder then that our Lord laid down that anyone who aspires to be his follower must deny himself and hate his very life? He makes it clear that anyone who loves his life shall lose it and anyone who hates his life shall save it. Now, our Lord, who is infinite Wisdom, and does not give commandments without a reason, bids us hate ourselves only because we richly deserve to be hated. Nothing is more worthy of love than God and nothing is more deserving of hatred than self.
2. Secondly, in order to empty ourselves of self, we must die daily to ourselves. This involves our renouncing what the powers of the soul and the senses of the body incline us to do. We must see as if we did not see, hear as if we did not hear and use the things of this world as if we did not use them. This is what St. Paul calls “dying daily”. Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain and does not bear any good fruit. If we do not die to self and if our holiest devotions do not lead us to this necessary and fruitful death, we shall not bear fruit of any worth and our devotions will cease to be profitable. All our good works will be tainted by self-love and self-will so that our greatest sacrifices and our best actions will be unacceptable to God. Consequently when we come to die we shall find ourselves devoid of virtue and merit and discover that we do not possess even one spark of that pure love which God shares only with those who have died to themselves and whose life is hidden with Jesus Christ in him.

May the Holy Spirit bring us to His Truth about ourselves, by His Grace may we see ourselves in His Light.

Litany of the Holy Spirit is found HERE

Litany of the Blessed Virgin - HERE

Ave Maris Stella - HERE

Since all graces come through her, let us turn to our Blessed Lady and beg her to obtain that great grace which is the foundation of all others, the grace of true self-knowledge.

 

[hazcompat]

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 At daybreak, be merciful to me, O Lord.

Psalm 143:1-11
Prayer in distress
A man is not justified by observance of the law but only through faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:16).

Lord, listen to my prayer;
turn your ear to my appeal.
You are faithful, you are just; give answer.
Do not call your servant to judgment
for no one is just in your sight.

The enemy pursues my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me dwell in darkness
like the dead, long forgotten.
Therefore my spirit fails;
my heart is numb within me.

I remember the days that are past:
I ponder all your works.
I muse on what your hand has wrought
and to you I stretch out my hands.
Like a parched land my soul thirsts for you.

I thirst for You!

“I wish, oh Jesus, that my voice could reach to the ends of the world, to call all sinners and tell them to enter into Thy Heart…Oh, if only all sinners would come to Thy Heart!.. Come! Come sinners, do not be afraid! The sword of Justice cannot reach you Here!”
~St Gemma Galgani

Hide me Lord in the abode of Your most merciful heart!

Peace

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks, dear hazcompat,

My husband and I prayed Psalm 143: 1-11, in the Liturgy of the Hours, Morning Prayer, today and how perfectly those inspired words reveal the soul, longing for God and yet experiencing the darkness.

How kind of you to include the quote from St. Jemma, to remind us that The Merciful Heart of Jesus is open, pierced for us to enter and find our Way, our Truth, and our Life in Him!

“…nothing will be impossible for God.” ( Luke 1: 37)