LPC Meditations

Sharing the fruits of contemplation and study for the glory of God

Tag: faith

  • Meditating on Death to View Temptations as an Opportunity for Growth in Holiness

    God permits our temptations so that through resisting them, we may grow in virtue. If I forget this, I become discouraged and may despair at the many repulsive and shameful temptations I find within myself and see this as a form of defeat. Yet, these are precious opportunities to show God I desire to remain faithful to Him by choosing to reject them or indulging in them.

    According to her spiritual director, St Catherine went through a great trial where she was constantly assaulted by temptations of demons. She could find no rest within herself. This was a constant battle and turmoil, since she had to spend every second rejecting and repelling these repulsive images and desires within herself. Instead of choosing to be relieved of these sufferings, St. Catherine insisted that she would remain subject to them until God willed so. When a demon tempted her to despair and threatened that they would not leave her alone until she submitted, she responded:

    “I have chosen sufferings for my consolation; not only will it not be difficult for me, but even delightful to undergo similar afflictions and even greater ones, for the love of my Jesus, and as long as his majesty wills.” (Pg. 53; The Life of St. Catherine of Sienna; Bl. Raymundo of Capua)

    This experience of such great a saint shows that temptations are in themselves a form of suffering. I don’t have to necessarily wait for some outside source of trial, like a persecution, or a bodily trial like an illness. Rather, my desire to eliminate vices and avoid sin is what causes temptations to be painful to me, and I should treat them like St. Catherine did: with fortitude, trust in God, and a joy in suffering for Christ.

    So when I feel the shame in being tempted to anger, impatience, disgust, or frustration in my day to day life as a wife and mother, then I should see these temptations as the very means by which I overcome vice and please God. I can recognize my sorrow at feelings these temptations as proof I don’t want them and that I desire to do good. I can take advantage of these trials to grow in perfection and holiness, since I know God will help me because he desires me to do so. I can look at my past and see how I have been able to overcome, with God’s grace, previous temptations and vices. I can reflect and see how God has wonderfully arranged my life to help me in eliminating vices and advancing in my spiritual life. Why, then, would current trials be any different? They are just more proof that God is continuing to work within me. If I, instead, neglect to view these trials as God’s work, I risk wasting precious time to prepare myself for a peaceful death:

    “Oh, how clearly, when the hour of death arrives, do the truths of faith make themselves felt, only to add greater torment to that dying man who has lived a wicked life, and particularly if he is one who has been consecrated to God, and so has had much opportunity of serving Him, much time, many good examples, and much inspiration.” (Pg. 49; Preparation for Death; St. Alphonsus Liguori)

    I do not wish to one day regret my resistance and wailing over my sufferings. I do not wish to grieve over wasted opportunities and time. Rather, I want to praise God and thank Him for allowing me to persevere and use every second to my advantage. Let me take the time I have now, then, to view my life rightly and change my perspective so that I welcome the difficulties of my vocation. I will no longer see them as obstacles but the very means by which I will grow in perfection and serve God as He deserves–with joy, humility, and abandonment.

    May God bless me in my desires to embrace suffering for His sake and remain faithful to His graces and inspirations. Amen.

  • Meditating on Death to Avoid Despair at the Last Hour

    From Preparation for Death by St. Alphonsus Liguori;

    Consideration VI: Death of the Sinner–Second Point

    “S. Bernard says, that that heart which has been so obstinate in sin during life, will use every means to free itself when dying from
    this state of condemnation, but will be unable to do so ; and
    being oppressed with its own wickedness, will pass from life in
    this state.”

    If our habits throughout life will remain even during the moments of our death, then I have all the more reason to focus on the manner in which I respond to sufferings now. I find that when things begin to go wrong for me–my plans are failing, I’m feeling overstimulated, the children don’t listen, my head is throbbing more intensely, and so on–I begin to mope and to focus on my failures. I begin to look for pity or comfort from others and this makes me wallow more intensely, allowing it to show on my face and tone. I am unable to think of anything positive, prayer is hard for me, and my mind seems to be a mess, incapable of producing anything helpful or clear to bring me out of my situation.

    If this is my habit when things go slightly wrong now while I am healthy, then how much worse will my state of mind be when I am on the brink of death!

    Do I expect to imitate those movie scenes where I calmly and peacefully accept the news that I am dying? Do I expect to smile and comfort my family when my body while be aching, laid on a hospital bed connected by all sorts of wires and surrounded by bright lights and machines? Will I even be aware enough of what is happening or will I instead be under a feverish spell that doesn’t let me focus on what is standing in front of me? What if my children can’t make it on time to see me nor the priest to give me my last rite? Won’t this just send me into a further downward spiral of negative thoughts and self-pitying emotions?

    No, I don’t want to risk ending my life on such a note. Instead, I will resolve to take every opportunity of misfortune, discomfort, pains, or trouble sent my way to “train” myself in responding as I ought. I will force a smile or pray to God for mercy or offer a Hail Mary or carefully monitor my tone so it doesn’t betray any feeling of trial within me. I will picture Saint Therese of Lisieux and how she bore all her little trials with patience and joy, taking care to make sure no one knew what she was experiencing. I want to develop the habit of turning to God during moments of suffering and seeking His help alone, rather than those around me. I want Him to be my sole source of comfort and consolation. During those moments of difficulty, then, I will pray with David:

    “Reach out your hand from on high;

    deliver me from the many waters;

    rescue me from the hands of foreign foes. (Psalm 144:7; USCCB)

    In the midst of those waters of passion and temptation, I will wait for God’s hand to come and save me, as Christ did Peter. I will trust that He will come to my help and protect me against the foes–the devil and his minions–who are always seeking to bring me to sin. They will do so even more intensely during the time of death, so if I want any chance at overcoming their assaults at that most crucial moment, I must begin trying right now.

    My Lord, I offer You these intentions for today. Please bless them and help me put them into practice all the days of my life but most especially during my last hour. I ask this of You in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

    Blessed Mother Mary, pray for me.

  • Meditating on Death to Avoid Stings of a Guilty Conscience

    From Preparation for Death by St. Alphonsus Liguori; Consideration VI: The Death of the Sinner; First Point

    “…they shall seek peace, but what peace can a soul find which is laden with sin, which bites it like so many vipers?”

    If I have trouble rejecting a sin and need a good reason to turn away in the midst of being tempted, picturing these stings of conscience seems appropriate. Usually a temptation promises a feeling of satisfaction or pleasure, such as wanting to shout, complain, or look visibly displeased when angry. This desire to behave wrongly (instead of reasonably or virtuously) is what needs to be fought against, so when I find myself on the brink of sinning, I can picture the sting of conscience I will feel after the act has been committed. I can picture my shame, the displeasure God will look on me with, and the punishment incurred because of that disobedience. If I want to keep my conscience at peace and without these stings, then I should keep them in mind all day. If I want to die peacefully, without remorse and without risking being overwhelmed by despair for my actions and impending death, then I should use these stings to my advantage.

    “The intelligence that the sinner has just received, that he is dying, the thought that he must bid farewell to everything in this world, the stings of a troubled conscience, the time that is for ever lost, the time that he is now in want of, the severity of the Divine Judge, the miserable eternity which awaits all sinner–the thought of all these things will come up on him in terrible confusion, which will greatly trouble his mind…”

    I wish I was able to reject these temptations out of a pure love for God and a dread of ever offending Him, who has been so good to me. However, I am not so selfless that I can do it for God’s sake alone, although I will always pray that I can reach that point where I do all things for Him and only Him. Until then, I will be a bit more practical and fight desire with desire. Today, I will fight my desire to submit to temptations of annoyance, distraction, wastefulness, impulsiveness and any other urges to act unreasonably or sinfully, with a desire to avoid the stings of a guilty conscience. I will fight those temptations with a desire of a happy death, where I can say to God “I did all I could, forgive me for my weaknesses”. As long as I keep my will towards God, I have confidence that He will forgive me and that Christ’s sacred wounds will wash away the guilt I have incurred.

    My Lord, thank you for being patient with me up to this moment. Bless my desires to avoid all manners of sin and help me prepare today for battle against the devil and his assaults. He is indeed a prowling lion, waiting to devour me (1 Peter 5:8), so please strengthen me in these resolutions and let them not be mere words. Instead, let them bear fruit in my actions so I can use all opportunities today to reject sin and give you glory.

    St. Teresa of Avila, pray for me. St. Catherine of Sienna, pray for me. St. Therese of Lisieux, pray for me.

  • Meditating on Death to Avoid Passions that Lead to Sin

    From St Alphonsus Liguori’s Preparation for Death; Consideration IV: The Certainty of Death; First Point

    “Death for me, perhaps, now stands nigh at hand. I should like to prepare myself for that great moment in which my everlasting happiness, or unhappiness depends.”

    God is under no obligation to continue forgiving me for my sins. If I were to die immediately after committing a grave sin, there is no reason for Him to give me time to repent and confess that sin. He would be perfectly just to allow my death and permit my eternal separation from Him. Just as a husband who repeatedly commits adultery is not entitled to forgiveness from his offended wife, neither am I entitled to that forgiveness from God.

    I do not know the instance I will die, so I must be extremely cautious of anything that will cause this eternal separation. I know that it is the moments of passion that often lead me to sin. I must, therefore, avoid as much passion as possible, whether the emotions are “positive”, like excitement and love, or “negative”, like annoyance and self-pity.

    Of course, prudence is always necessary, and there are appropriate times for passions. However, most of the time, the passions are results from disordered or misplaced thoughts and desires: an annoyed outburst from feeling hungry or suffering from a headache; a sulking face from a desire to receive pity from a difficult day; unrestrained speech or rambling from uncontrolled excitement to meet a long time friend.

    These may not be mortal sins, but I desire to avoid all sin, regardless of how small. I want to take practical steps to do this, so today I will focus on identifying the rising of passions within me and putting all my efforts towards controlling them:

    • In response to anger or frustration from my household duties, I will take a moment to breathe and pray to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
    • In response to self-pity, I will think of Christ carrying His cross, abandoned by all friends, and mocked at in midst of His agonies.
    • In response to over-excitement, I will think of my incoming death and how all those things I desire to have and enjoy will be taken from me, and so I should only seek to desire God who is my true Source of happiness.
    • In response to fear or anxiety of the future, I will pray as Christ did during His agony in the garden by saying “Your will be done”, or as Jeanne-Pierre de Caussade writes in Abandoment to Divine Providence: “What You will, Lord, I will”.

    Christ, have mercy on me and be patient with me. Let me never again sin against You. I hope and trust You will help me persevere, even if I am tempted to despair that I will not persevere, considering the many times I have failed you before. I trust in Your mercy and love, since You did, after all, die on the cross for me and offer Yourself up for my salvation.

    St. Catherine of Sienna, pray for me. Blessed Mother Mary, intercede for me and pray for my salvation. Amen.

  • Meditating on Death to Produce Fruit Pleasing to God

    From St. Alphonsus’ Preparation for Death, available on Saints’ Books

    Consideration 1, Third Point: Description of one who has Departed this Life

    “My brother, in this description of death, thou seest thyself, and that, which one day thou wilt be, ” Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Reflect, for in a few years, nay, perhaps in a few months, and even days, thou wilt become a mass of corruption and worms.”

    The certainty of death doesn’t seem so threatening initially, especially because I am still so young. Death feels far away and seems it will happen in my old age, when my hair is white, my skin wrinkly, and my body bent over. I picture myself resting on a bed, surrounded by family and a priest, ready to offer me my last sacraments.

    But I have absolutely no guarantee of this ideal scenario. I know that family, friends, and acquaintances have died suddenly and unexpectedly. One day, they were healthy and with the expectation of living for decades more, and the next they were in the hospital from a sudden attack of a hidden infirmity that took their life in a matter of hours. I see it on the news all the time as well. I hear of people caught in the middle of a shooting or a crash on the freeway or an accident at work–people who are often just as young as I am.

    Knowing this uncertainty, I should be careful not to wave off my approaching death and assume I will have time to make amends with God. I should treat each day as if it will be the last chance I have to show my repentance to God and use each moment to turn my desires back to Him, making sure my every intention is to obey and abandon my plans to His will.

    St. Alphonsus continues:

    “But perhaps, my brother, thou mightst with reason fear, lest thou shouldst be like that barren fig-tree, concerning which our blessed Lord said, ” Behold these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none.” (S. Luke xiii.- 7.) Take care, remarks S. Bernard, for the Lord does not require flowers only, but seeks for fruit also ; that is to say, not only good desires and resolutions, but also good works. Therefore, take care to make good use of the time which God in His mercy grants to you ; do not wait until ” time shall be no longer” to desire to do good when it shall be said unto you : ” Time shall be no longer, depart.”

    Indeed, I should take care and aim for real results in my work because God doesn’t just look for good feelings and sentiments. He looks for actual change in my behavior, thoughts, and decisions. He looks for real results and perseverance in my resolutions, not just good wishes and imaginations. It is scary to think that I could go my whole life imagining that I am saved when all I have had are some pleasant emotions and motivation but none of the effects of those graces. How terrifying to be told “depart” by the God whom I thought I was serving this whole time.

    Oh my Lord, do not let me fall into this illusion. Do not let me become self-satisfied and complacent in my spiritual growth. Continue to reveal my weaknesses to me. Show me where I am still not producing fruits or where I am producing the bad fruits that you despise. I desire for You to take pleasure in the fruits I do produce, but I cannot do this of my own accord. I am too ignorant to know what I ought to do and even if I do know, I am often too weak to act as I ought.

    I ask that You help me this day to see your commands in all I do and to see my vocation as a wife, as a mother to young children, and as a homemaker as the means by which I fulfill those commands. Even as I tend to basic tasks–washing dishes, answering emails, and so on–or interact with others in my day–on my drives, my appointments, and so on–I wish to use these opportunities as ways to be pleasant and calm, never anxious about how things are to turn out or how they may go wrong. Help me reject all thoughts of bitterness, anger, frustration, distraction, and anything else that might displease You in the slightest. Help me embrace all the sufferings You send my way today and treat every second as if it might be my last, so when it is finally time, I may be prepared to face You.

    St. Dominic, pray for me. Blessed Mother Mary, pray for me. Amen.

  • Meditating on Death Leads to Detachment

    From St. Alphonsus’ Preparation for Death.

    Consideration 1: Description of one who has Departed this Life.

    First Point: “Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return” (Genesis 3:19)

    My goal is to be as ready as I can be for judgement at the day of my death, but I cannot do this without first becoming detached from the goods of this world. I must feel indifferent about losing them or at least be willing to give them up, if I am ever required to–including my own family. If I feel entitled to love, peace, comfort, acceptance, pleasure, bodily health, and so on, then I will become irritated if I lose them or if they are threatened. I desire to never be inflamed with anger towards another person or to put myself in a place of temptation because of my own attachments to earthly things–things which can be taken away at any moment.

    19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.j

    20 But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.

    21 For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. (Matthew 6:19-21, USCCB)

    To start becoming detached from these earthly goods, I can keep in mind where my final destination is–my death. I can see how these small, innocent pleasures will be taken away from me once my soul leaves my body. They will provide me no help at the moment of my death. The only thing that will comfort me is the knowledge that Christ died for my sins and that He has merited salvation for me. I want to be mindful of this truth at all times, so I know where my focus should always be.

    What am I to do, then? How will my life change practically from this desire?

    First, I will embrace every little opportunity of pain and discomfort. Coffee spilled on the rug? I accept it. A little bit stuffy in the car and I can’t take off my sweater? I accept it. My toddler screams so loud I have a ringing in my ear? I accept it. How can I ever be purged from my venial sins and vices, as the saints have, if I can hardly stand the smallest discomforts? Therefore, I accept them all and refuse to complain.

    Second, if I find myself complaining (whether in word, thought, or action), I will immediately humble myself to God and apologize for rejecting this small opportunity of detachment. I will instead accept the humiliation of my failure as the “substitute” and will resume my efforts to embrace those small pains. If I struggle to embrace them, I can try to picture them as preparation or training for my death and how much I prefer suffering now, while I have the chance, rather than in purgatory.

    Third, I will respond to thoughts of pleasures for goods or temptations of irritation with a thought of my approaching death. I will ask myself “Will this comfort me at all when I am weak, pale, and on the brink of death?”. I will simply move on and resume my focus on whatever task I was meant to be doing, refusing to give more attention or energy to something that will not profit me and will risk my readiness for death.

    Oh my God, I offer you these humble resolutions. I am weak and incapable of offering any great sacrifice to you. I don’t know how to mortify myself prudently like the saints did, but I can, at least, accept the smallest sacrifices you send my way. Help me to persevere and to prepare myself for the day of my death that you picked out for me. Please have patience with me and allow me to live long enough until I am sufficiently prepared to meet you. I cannot do this alone, so I ask for your help. Thank you for this meditation, for the time you have given me so far, and for the opportunity to amend my life. Amen.

  • Meditation on Psalm 113: Pleading for Help in Overcoming Weakness and Not Sinking

    This meditation is based on the Douay-Rheims Bible translation, accessible on the Classical Liberal Arts Academy‘s website.

    Note, the numbering system is slightly different than more modern translations like the NABRE. This chapter is split into two: ch. 113 pt.1, which is ch. 114 in the NABRE and ch. 113 pt.2 which is ch. 115 in the NABRE.

    “Not to us, O Lord, not to us; but to thy name give glory.” (ch. 113 pt.2 verse 1)

    There is no reason for you to help me, Lord, other than Your own glory. You created me for Your glory. You created my children for Your glory. You created us as a family to sacrifice to each other, forgive one another and in this way show Your presence in our souls–in our willingness to suffer patiently and endure one another’s faults.

    “He hath blessed all that fear the Lord, both little and great.” (c. 113 pt.2 verse 13)

    I am one of these little ones. I am unable to keep myself from sinning. The moment I take my eyes off of you and look down at my footsteps, to see where I should step and how, I immediately begin to waver. I have to quickly turn back to you to stabilize myself and get the courage to keep moving forward. I feel like St. Peter who only had the confidence to walk on the water without fear of sinking when He was looking at You, after being commanded to “come”. (Matthew 14:24-31)

    How many times have I failed You? How many times have I woken up, telling myself “Today! Today, I will not sin. Today, I will be patient, hold my tongue, and work joyfully without complaining.” Then at the end of the day, when I have failed my resolutions, I shamefully come back to You and ask for the strength to try again–to not allow the repeated failures to cause me to despair. Indeed, I would have given up long ago if it wasn’t You who commanded I come, I would have refused to approach You if You weren’t so merciful so as to bless even the little ones–those of us far from sainthood and full of failures in our resolutions to be better.

    “The dead shall not praise thee, O Lord: nor any of them that go down to hell. But we that live bless the Lord: from this time now and for ever.” (Ch. 13 pt. 2 verses 17-18)

    For Your glory, help me! I cannot fulfill my purpose in serving You and glorifying You for all eternity if I fall down into hell. So for Your cause, call me again today. In my moments of weakness, remind me You are there so I can regain my strength to keep walking in these unstable waters, where I feel as if at any moment my foot will sink in. Help me, as little as I am, so I can bless You through my actions and thoughts.

    Help me so I can serve my family today with unwavering calmness, with a permanent abandonment to Your will at every moment–never allowing myself to be carried off into anxious planning.

    Help me so I can forgive my children for their many faults, both little and big, and see my relationship to them through You, remembering that their little hearts are bound up in folly and will need help driving it away for years to come (Proverbs 22:15).

    Help me so I can embrace the humiliating fact of my weakness–the fact I will continue to suffer embarrassing temptations my whole life–so that I may not despair and may instead turn to You, crediting You for my ability to overcome. I want to say in those moments: “I am little, after all, this is normal. God will bless me because I fear Him.” On the other hand, when I feel puffed up in pride at my accomplishments, I want to turn around and say “Give glory not to me, Lord, not to me, but to You”.

    My God, please bless my desires from today and turn them into fruits that I can offer You all throughout the day. I cannot do this on my own, so please be my Help and come to save me.

    St. Dominic, pray for me. St. Catherine of Sienna, pray for me. Blessed Mother Mary pray for me. Amen.

  • Meditation on Psalm 110: Trusting that God Will Provide the Food I Need

    This meditation is based on the Douay-Rheims Bible translation, accessible on the Classical Liberal Arts Academy‘s website.

    “He hath given food to them that fear Him” (Psalm 110:5)

    In the Our Father, we pray that God gives us the bread that we need, and we do it daily because we continuously need nourishment for our bodies to survive. Why do we ask, though, or why do we need to fear Him if He grants it to all anyways:

    “…for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45)

    This universal goodness should make me take comfort in the mercy of God, since He will not deprive me of what I need. If I truly have my eyes on His kingdom alone, that is that I think nothing other than “what is my duty to God today”, then the answers and resources will be made available to me.

    In those moments where I slip into worry and wonder “How will I respond when this happens”, then I must remind myself that God will give me the food I need. He will give food to my soul, by feeding it with His graces and helping me overcome my temptations. My fear of Him and of His perfect judgement drives me to fulfill His commands as perfectly as I can but knowledge of His mercy and generosity comforts me in the moments I am most vulnerable.

    Lord, I do fear You and Your justice, so I ask for my food today. I ask for the strength I need to discipline my children with patience and firmness, to pray with devotion and to work and plan without anxiety. I fear my own weaknesses, so I turn to You and hold out my hands in expectation. You will answer my prayer. Amen.

  • Protecting Prayer to Overcome All Sin

    General Goal: Eradicate all form of sin from my life.

    Particular Goal: Protect my meditation and prayer times in a manner that is sustainable and reasonable to my state of life.

    Considerations:

    • The purpose of my life is to love God and to serve Him (Baltimore Catechism I Lesson 1. Q.6). I do this by ordering my life according to His will, obeying all His commands, and rooting out the smallest of sins or vices from my soul.
    • Meditation is essential to identifying and hating sin in my life while prayer is essential in receiving the graces to overcome them. Neglecting this means I will never overcome my venial sins and will likely backslide into a state of spiritual lukewarmness or even worse–mortal sin.
    • In order to ensure I meditate and pray regularly, I must identify and address anything (within my control) that takes away from the time needed to meditate and pray. In other words, I must protect the times to pray at all costs, while still fulfilling my duties towards my husband, children, and others that have a reasonable right to my time.
    • I must expect and accept the fact the trouble, discomforts, and disappointments that dedication to prayer might bring me. I must be okay with leaving early from family gatherings and receive complaints from them, heading to be earlier on movie nights though my husband asks me for another episode, and so on. I must also prevent myself from earnestly desiring or anticipating any of these fun, innocent activities so that I don’t become too attached and feel tempted to forego my resolutions. The more I hold them in my mind, the more “good” I see in them and the harder it will be to set them aside when I need to. I must avoid Eve’s mistake in beholding the forbidden fruit for too long: “The woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes” (Genesis 3:6)
    • I must be OK with unexpected interruptions or with pausing my reserved times if it’s for the sake of charity: tending to my children when they have a fever or a stomach bug, an extra special occasion like a wedding that requires me to stay up later than usual, an unexpected guest during rosary time, etc. I should not allow temptations of scrupulosity or over-zealousness cause anxiety or frustration within myself, since these works are in themselves good, pleasing, and obedient to God

    Resolutions:

    • Identify the prayer times I am most likely to miss/have missed most often and plan the activities around that time extra carefully. I should make sure the children are busy with a quiet activity and that other tasks are scheduled in such a way that leaves me free to focus fully on prayer. Notify my husband of this so he knows it’s coming and that it doesn’t interfere with his plans
    • Set aside weekend bedtimes that let me stay up a little later than usual to spend quality time with my husband but still permit enough time in the morning for meditation and prayer. Notify him before date nights or movie nights begin and set a timer 30 minutes or 15 minutes before in order to mentally prepare and not delay when it’s time to wrap up the evening.
    • When going to family parties or other gatherings, keep the bedtime in mind and plan to leave with enough time to prep for bed (the children too), to fall asleep, and then still have enough time to wake up for prayer. Again, visualize the negative reactions this might cause so as to expect them and be OK with the disapproval/disappointment others will feel. If my husband objects and decides to stay, then it is no longer my responsibility and I am not the cause of any missed prayer times. I would, after all, be fulfilling another God-given duty: to submit to my husband as the head of the family (Ephesians 5:22)

    My God, please help me to detach from the simple pleasures of this life, especially from those I get from my spouse and our other friends and family. As much as I love them and enjoy their company, I do not wish them to become an obstacle to my devotion towards You. Help me keep the words of my Lord in mind so as to give me strength during those moments of temptation:

    “And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29)

    Mother of Good Counsel, pray for me. St. Joseph, pray for me. Glory be to God forever. Amen.

  • Meditation on Psalm 100: Turning Disgust of Sin to Love of the Sinner

    This meditation is based on the Douay-Rheims Bible translation, accessible on the Classical Liberal Arts Academy‘s website. Note, the numbering system is slightly different than more modern translations like the NABRE.

    100:5 The man that in private detracted his neighbour, him did I persecute. With him that had a proud eye, and an unsatiable heart, I would not eat.

    100:6. My eyes were upon the faithful of the earth, to sit with me: the man that walked in the perfect way, he served me.

    100:7. He that worketh pride shall not dwell in the midst of my house: he that speaketh unjust things did not prosper before my eyes.

    100:8. In the morning I put to death all the wicked of the land: that I might cut off all the workers of iniquity from the city of the Lord.

    David, as king, was able to create a kingdom that was holy and pleasing to God. He did this by using his power to eliminate all the evil from those within his presence to those working evil amongst the people. He went as far as to put them to death. This was his zeal. This was his refusal to negotiate or compromise with sin.

    Such behavior seems off-putting and “problematic” to a more modern mind. It makes sense–we live in a free-thinking society and a country that permits freedom of religion. We must learn to live alongside those who disagree with us and even think us evil, or vice versa (that we think their religion or philosophy or political beliefs evil).

    How, then, are we meant to have this same zeal of hatred to sin, like David? How are we meant to show our utter hatred for sin and refusal to compromise while also living peacefully alongside our erring and wayward neighbors? Are we meant to isolate ourselves into our own Christian communities, and so keep our eyes “upon the faitfhul of the earth”? Are we meant to ignore those that “speaketh unjust things” and refuse to eat with those that have a “proud eye” and an “insatiable heart”?

    This cannot be, otherwise we would end up talking to nobody–all of us are sinners. And how are we meant to evangelize if we cannot even look at those who reject our faith? I can imitate David in his zeal by “putting to death” the sin which abids within me. As Christ says:

    “…remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5)

    We are still meant to correct our neighbor and eliminate that sin from his soul. We are meant to have a burning hatred for the vices and disgust for the corruption that people engage in. It is NORMAL to be put off by immodest clothing and speech, to frown at the casual blaspheming of the Lord’s name, and the drunkedness of our neighbors. It is NORMAL to want to look away from them and to separate myself from them, because if we live carefully according to the teachings of the Church, our consciences will groan at the sins of others. The danger is in letting that pain and anger be directed at the soul that is engaged in that sin.

    I can easily reiterate and defend the teachings of Christ’s Church and diligently study to grow in that knowledge. I can say with confidence that I am not in mortal sin and that I am diligently examining my own conscience so as not to do one thing, not agree to one thought, that is displeasing to God. I have already removed that log from my eye, which is why I can recognize my faults, my vices, and my venial sins that I labor tearfully to remove from myself. I am disgusted by sin within myself, so of course I will be disgusted by sin in others. There is no shame in that but rather implies that I am heading in the right direction

    My challenge is in restraining the disgust and redirecting it to where it belongs. I must never allow my revulsion to sinful behavior be directed at the sinner. If I see someone who seems to be sinning or living in vice, I must not allow my own pride to puff up in knowing or suspecting that I live a more devout life or am more advanced than they are. On the contrary, it means I have a duty to offer up my prayers for that soul–reminding myself that they were also created in God’s image. They were created for the purpose of serving Him and being happy with Him forever in heaven–not just me. They were not created so that I may look holy in contrast to them.

    That is my resolution and I will fulfill it by doing the following whenever I see anyone speaking, acting, dressing, or behaving in any form that I suspect might be sinful:

    • Offer up a Hail Mary for them
    • Pray for graces for that particlar individual, that they may become aware of their sin and feel contrition for it
    • Pray like St. Catherine “Today it is your turn, tomorrow it is mine, unless Divine Providence preserves me”.
    • Pray that my pride remains in check and that my hatred for sin is never directed at the soul in sin, that my love and tenderness for them may be like Christ who loves all and died for all.

    Lord, I offer up these resolutions to You. Help me to live up to them and not only think about them. Amen.