D.R.R.
July 23rd 2004, 11:57 AM
July 23, 2004 Daily Prayer with Regnum Christi
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For the grace to grow in personal holiness through our sharing in the cross of Christ.
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The Mystery of Freedom
July 23, 2004
Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 13:18-23
Jesus said to his disciples, "Hear then the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold."
Introductory Prayer:Jesus, I want to freely love you. Grant me the grace to grow in my willpower so I can cooperate with you in the work of salvation.
Petition:Increase my love for you Lord Jesus everyday!
1. Satan is Lurking in the Woods. Satan doesn’t sleep; he’s constantly looking for someone to devour! St. Peter tells us to resist him steadfast in faith. A great mistake in the spiritual life is forgetting that we have a viable enemy who seeks nothing but our ruin. He will lead us along and perhaps allow for worldly successes; anything goes for him as long as he can destroy our soul in the end. To become aware of him so as to disregard him is a great insult to the Precious Blood of Christ spilt upon the hill of Calvary because that blood is the price of redemption from Satan’s clutches. Satan seeks your soul; choose Christ.
2. Only Perseverance Matters. Fidelity is so rare today that exchanging one’s spouse for another is as easy as changing a tire. Love’s true test is reaching the finish line. How can you reach such a goal? Little acts of fidelity throughout the day. Those little acts will enable you to reach the greatest goal of possessing love. Jesus shows us that we cannot look for any other path; he freed us not with just one moment of fidelity but through a whole life of fidelity, composed of a myriad of small acts of fidelity! Don’t ever underestimate the power of love-transforming intention, which can take the smallest acts of fidelity and elevate them to supernatural grandeur.
3. Good Soil, We Must Fight for It! Good ground is essential for the stability of any structure; good ground is essential for grace to take root in our lives. Good ground isn’t achieved easily or retained without struggle. Naïveté is suicidal when it regards spiritual battles and consequences. We cannot be oblivious to Satan’s henchmen who heckle and hassle righteous souls on their spiritual journey. Good soil means a clear and well-formed conscience. Good soil means having a will to say “no” to lower tendencies, passions and instincts as they gravitate toward fields of sin. Good soil means loving Christ and never doubting his love for you! “Precisely because we are made for the light, however, and seeds can grow only when heated by the light, Satan’s strategy is to deceive us with illusions of instant joy and instant success in connection with the word of the Kingdom. He wants us to feel occupied with holy things; he wants us to feel the effects of divine revelation, the drama of the Word’s descent in the flesh among us--but to feel it only in our imagination, only in our senses, all the better if sweetly and even ecstatically. The one thing that must not occur is that our will be moved, that our life be changed, that God’s Word bear lasting fruit within us and around us. By making us trifle with God’s truths, he is only plotting our eventual downfall into his own abyss of loss” (Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word: Meditations on the Gospel of Matthew, Vol II).
Dialogue with Christ: Jesus I love you! Infuse in me a relentless desire to possess and share your love among my brothers and sisters.
Resolution: I will identify three ways to strengthen my will.
By Father Scott Reilly, LC
Adoration for Vocations invites you to offer time in adoration for your parish priest. To find out more about our adoration for vocations campaign, please click www.vocation.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can send your testimony to testimonies@regnumchristi.org
If you would like any further information please contact infoeng@regnumchristi.org
© Regnum Christi http://www.regnumchristi.org/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the grace to grow in personal holiness through our sharing in the cross of Christ.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Mystery of Freedom
July 23, 2004
Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 13:18-23
Jesus said to his disciples, "Hear then the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold."
Introductory Prayer:Jesus, I want to freely love you. Grant me the grace to grow in my willpower so I can cooperate with you in the work of salvation.
Petition:Increase my love for you Lord Jesus everyday!
1. Satan is Lurking in the Woods. Satan doesn’t sleep; he’s constantly looking for someone to devour! St. Peter tells us to resist him steadfast in faith. A great mistake in the spiritual life is forgetting that we have a viable enemy who seeks nothing but our ruin. He will lead us along and perhaps allow for worldly successes; anything goes for him as long as he can destroy our soul in the end. To become aware of him so as to disregard him is a great insult to the Precious Blood of Christ spilt upon the hill of Calvary because that blood is the price of redemption from Satan’s clutches. Satan seeks your soul; choose Christ.
2. Only Perseverance Matters. Fidelity is so rare today that exchanging one’s spouse for another is as easy as changing a tire. Love’s true test is reaching the finish line. How can you reach such a goal? Little acts of fidelity throughout the day. Those little acts will enable you to reach the greatest goal of possessing love. Jesus shows us that we cannot look for any other path; he freed us not with just one moment of fidelity but through a whole life of fidelity, composed of a myriad of small acts of fidelity! Don’t ever underestimate the power of love-transforming intention, which can take the smallest acts of fidelity and elevate them to supernatural grandeur.
3. Good Soil, We Must Fight for It! Good ground is essential for the stability of any structure; good ground is essential for grace to take root in our lives. Good ground isn’t achieved easily or retained without struggle. Naïveté is suicidal when it regards spiritual battles and consequences. We cannot be oblivious to Satan’s henchmen who heckle and hassle righteous souls on their spiritual journey. Good soil means a clear and well-formed conscience. Good soil means having a will to say “no” to lower tendencies, passions and instincts as they gravitate toward fields of sin. Good soil means loving Christ and never doubting his love for you! “Precisely because we are made for the light, however, and seeds can grow only when heated by the light, Satan’s strategy is to deceive us with illusions of instant joy and instant success in connection with the word of the Kingdom. He wants us to feel occupied with holy things; he wants us to feel the effects of divine revelation, the drama of the Word’s descent in the flesh among us--but to feel it only in our imagination, only in our senses, all the better if sweetly and even ecstatically. The one thing that must not occur is that our will be moved, that our life be changed, that God’s Word bear lasting fruit within us and around us. By making us trifle with God’s truths, he is only plotting our eventual downfall into his own abyss of loss” (Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word: Meditations on the Gospel of Matthew, Vol II).
Dialogue with Christ: Jesus I love you! Infuse in me a relentless desire to possess and share your love among my brothers and sisters.
Resolution: I will identify three ways to strengthen my will.
By Father Scott Reilly, LC
Adoration for Vocations invites you to offer time in adoration for your parish priest. To find out more about our adoration for vocations campaign, please click www.vocation.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can send your testimony to testimonies@regnumchristi.org
If you would like any further information please contact infoeng@regnumchristi.org
© Regnum Christi http://www.regnumchristi.org/