, which I have been attempting to read every day. Before I begin I'd like to warn you, though: if you have struggles with scrupulosity you may not want to read the second excerpt. This book was written for those consecrated to the religious life, and it's pretty darn strict. It's wonderfully eye-opening, and it'll really make you rethink your priorities (talking about the whole book here, not just my excerpt), but the sheer amount of things we do all the time that we ought to avoid is just staggering, and it might be unhelpful if one is trying to conquer excessive scruples. I'm not sure if I'm making myself entirely clear or not, but I believe you get the idea.The excerpts I'd like to share today are on Love and Sin, respectively. The first one is a quote from St. Therese of the Child Jesus. It's a bit hard to tell who the quotes are from, sometimes, because the book always abbreviates the saint's names, but I'm sure of this one. The style and imagery alone show it to be from the Little Flower.
Meditation 96: The Proof of Love
Colloquy, p. 284
"O my Beloved, how shall I show my love, since love proves itself by deeds? I have no other means of proving my love than to strew flowers, and these flowers will be each word and look, each little daily sacrifice. I wish to make profit out of the smallest actions and to do them all for Love. For Love's sake I wish to suffer and to rejoice: so shall I strew my flowers. Not one that I see but, singing all the while. I will scatter its petals before You. Should my roses be gathered from amid thorns, I will sing notwithstanding; and the longer and sharper the thorns, the sweeter will grow my song."
Meditation 100: Sin
p. 294
If we wish to have a better understanding of the evil of mortal sin, we must consider its disastrous effects. One single sin instantly changed Lucifer, the angel of light, into an angel of darkness, into the eternal enemy of God. A single sin deprived Adam and Eve of the state of grace and friendship with God, taking away all their supernatural gifts and condemning them to death together with the rest of mankind. [...] Jesus, our Head, invites us, His members, to unite with Him in His work of destroying sin: to destroy it in ourselves down to the very roots; that is, in our evil inclinations, and to destroy it likewise in His other members by allowing Him to work in us. This is the law of solidarity, for the misfortune of one is the misfortune of the others; each sin is a burden on the whole word and disturbs the equilibrium of God's plan. Therefore, every Christian ... must throw himself ardently into the battle against sin and fight it with proper weapons: penance, expiatory prayer, and most of all, love.
All pictures via my pinterest account.
Meditation 100: Sin
p. 294
If we wish to have a better understanding of the evil of mortal sin, we must consider its disastrous effects. One single sin instantly changed Lucifer, the angel of light, into an angel of darkness, into the eternal enemy of God. A single sin deprived Adam and Eve of the state of grace and friendship with God, taking away all their supernatural gifts and condemning them to death together with the rest of mankind. [...] Jesus, our Head, invites us, His members, to unite with Him in His work of destroying sin: to destroy it in ourselves down to the very roots; that is, in our evil inclinations, and to destroy it likewise in His other members by allowing Him to work in us. This is the law of solidarity, for the misfortune of one is the misfortune of the others; each sin is a burden on the whole word and disturbs the equilibrium of God's plan. Therefore, every Christian ... must throw himself ardently into the battle against sin and fight it with proper weapons: penance, expiatory prayer, and most of all, love.
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I'm looking forward to more! You're right, that certainly is St. Therese. I try to follow her example but it can be hard to remember to sing while cleaning up after others - again. If you know what I mean.... Ah, well, this is Lent after all. I can't wait to read more!
ReplyDeleteSo inspiring. Thanks for sharing this, Victoria!
ReplyDelete~Nessima of Arda Nessimava
I loved that quote by St. Therese!! I've recently adopted her as my third patron saint. ;) I love that even though she did small things, she tells us how we can do our own small things for God -- particularly by singing during unpleasant tasks.
ReplyDelete--LizB
I agree with the others... the quote by St. Therese is amazing. I'll try to strew flowers today. God bless you!
ReplyDeleteWow, I'm so happy that everyone likes this! Thank you! I was afraid some would think it was boring or overly harsh. You all are lovely. God bless!
ReplyDelete