June 3, 2011 Friday: 6th Week of Easter (A)
Master Your Senses and Passions Through Discipline
from The Hidden Power of Kindness by Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik
Look for happiness not in selfishness, but in self-denial. The Son of God preached self-denial to spur us on the way to happiness. "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matt 10:34) He meant that He had come to wage war against self and selfish passions. He came to free men from the misery into which their selfishness had led them.
Love calls for generosity and self-sacrifice. Love is the heart and soul of religion. Love is not content with fair words but seeks to assert itself by deeds. Without practicing self-sacrifice, you are pleasing only to yourself.
The Holy Spirit sanctifies souls through the gift of grace and inspires souls to great generosity in the service of God and their neighbor. His grace gave to the martyrs courage to die for the Faith and to the saints the fortitude to lead holy lives and perform heroic deeds of virtue.
In this life, sacrifice must be joined to love. The love of God cannot be practical if we do not renounce inordinate self-love--that is, the threefold concupiscence of the flesh, the eyes, and the pride of life.
Passions are selfish and blind in themselves. They need direction. If left to choose its own course, a passion can easily become like an insane driver at the wheel of a high-powered automobile. Discipline is necessary if you wish to have order in your life. Your passions and emotions should be under the control of your reason, enlightened by faith, and your reason and intelligence should be under the control of God. If one of the passions gets out of line, your reason, operating through the power of the will, aided by grace, must put it in its proper place. Otherwise, the passions will dominate you.
St. Vincent de Paul gives us this advice: "He who would advance in perfection should take particular care not to allow his passions to govern him, which will destroy with one hand the edifice he builds with the other. To be master of one's self, it is necessary to begin early to resist our inclinations; for if once [they are] deeply rooted and strengthened, there is hardly ever a remedy."
An important part in achieving perfect self-control consists in discovering and admitting your predominant fault. Once you have done this, your efforts will be concentrated, and you stand as much better chance of success against your enemy.
from The Hidden Power of Kindness by Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik
Look for happiness not in selfishness, but in self-denial. The Son of God preached self-denial to spur us on the way to happiness. "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matt 10:34) He meant that He had come to wage war against self and selfish passions. He came to free men from the misery into which their selfishness had led them.
Love calls for generosity and self-sacrifice. Love is the heart and soul of religion. Love is not content with fair words but seeks to assert itself by deeds. Without practicing self-sacrifice, you are pleasing only to yourself.
The Holy Spirit sanctifies souls through the gift of grace and inspires souls to great generosity in the service of God and their neighbor. His grace gave to the martyrs courage to die for the Faith and to the saints the fortitude to lead holy lives and perform heroic deeds of virtue.
In this life, sacrifice must be joined to love. The love of God cannot be practical if we do not renounce inordinate self-love--that is, the threefold concupiscence of the flesh, the eyes, and the pride of life.
Passions are selfish and blind in themselves. They need direction. If left to choose its own course, a passion can easily become like an insane driver at the wheel of a high-powered automobile. Discipline is necessary if you wish to have order in your life. Your passions and emotions should be under the control of your reason, enlightened by faith, and your reason and intelligence should be under the control of God. If one of the passions gets out of line, your reason, operating through the power of the will, aided by grace, must put it in its proper place. Otherwise, the passions will dominate you.
St. Vincent de Paul gives us this advice: "He who would advance in perfection should take particular care not to allow his passions to govern him, which will destroy with one hand the edifice he builds with the other. To be master of one's self, it is necessary to begin early to resist our inclinations; for if once [they are] deeply rooted and strengthened, there is hardly ever a remedy."
An important part in achieving perfect self-control consists in discovering and admitting your predominant fault. Once you have done this, your efforts will be concentrated, and you stand as much better chance of success against your enemy.
