1 Samuel, Chapter 12, Verse 23-24
23As for me, far be
it from me to sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you and to teach you
the good and right way. 24But you must fear the LORD and serve him faithfully
with all your heart, for you have seen the great things the LORD has done among
you.
Today this verse reminds
us our goal is to be God’s sons and daughters-Saints of God. To fear the Lord
and serve Him faithfully you must live the Beatitudes of Christ. I recently am in
the process of revising my book on the Divine Mercy Hikes. Perhaps today would
be a good day to hike and meditate on Christ’s beatitudes.
10 Hike of West Fork Oak Creek Sedona, Arizona
West Fork Oak Creek is a popular trail.
There is a pleasant little stream that ripples along the canyon floor as you
hike it where you can look up at the dizzying cliffs that tower above it.
During this hike you will meditate on
each of the ways you may have been walking away from God; marking each of the
meditations as you cross the stream multiple times. On the return hike, you will meditate using
the walking towards God meditations as you cross the stream. Remember every journey away from something is
a journey toward something—the first meditations are the seven deadly sins with
fear added as an eighth; and you will be meditating on the Beatitudes of Christ
on the way back in reverse order.
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is on page 9 during
this prayer you will be praying for the souls of persons who have become
lukewarm. Pray the chaplet first or if
you wish after you finish the meditation on the deadly sins. There are in the
canyon a total of 13 crossings of the stream. You may wish to do all 13
crossings or you may wish to stop and return at the eighth. It is up to you. Begin
the meditation of the deadly sins after or as you get to the first stream crossing.
Length: 3 miles; rating – easy; season
– all year; hiking time – 2-3 hours round trip.
Location: Drive 89A north 9.5 miles from
Sedona. The trailhead marked and is on the west side of the highway.
This meditation uses synonyms of fear,
pride, envy, anger, avarice, sloth, gluttony and lust. Words are the music of the human heart;
different words carry different emotions and meanings. If a certain word strikes your heart-it is
the Lord speaking to you.
Walking away from GOD
1 FEAR: Terror, Dread; Horror, Fright; Panic, Alarm;
Trepidation, Apprehension.
2 PRIDE/HUBRIS: Arrogant; Conceit; Smugness; Self-importance;
Satisfaction; Pleasure; Delight.
3 ENVY: Jealousy, Desire; Resentment, Spite, Malice,
Meanness.
4 WRATH: Anger, Annoyance, Rage; Fury, Aggravation,
Frustration.
5 AVARICE: Greed; Materialism; Covetousness,
Acquisitiveness.
6 SLOTH: Laziness, Idleness; Sluggishness, Inactivity;
Indolence (condition that is slow to develop or be healed and causes no pain-i.e.
fail to resist evil) Apathy.
7 GLUTTONY: Excess, Exclusivity; Over indulgence;
Intemperance.
8 LUST: Yearn, Desire; Long for, Hanker for; Hunger
for, Ache for, Crave.
Walking
toward GOD
(Have
I failed to be, do; or show?)
8
CHASTITY (PURITY OF HEART):
Cleanliness, Wholesomeness; Spotlessness, Clarity; Transparency,
Knowledge, Honesty, Wisdom. Opposing Deadly Sin: LUST
Blessed are the clean of heart, for
they shall see God. The clean of heart are those who preserve with care the
innocence with which they are invested at holy Baptism, or seek to regain it,
when lost, by penance; those who keep their hearts and consciences unspotted from
all sinful thoughts, particularly from all unchaste thoughts, desires, words,
and acts, and who endeavor in all things to have a pure intention directed to
God alone. They shall see God, that is, they shall know Him even here upon
earth, for as the eye that is to see must be clean, so only souls that are pure
and unstained can behold God. But further, our knowledge is like our hearts ;
the purer the heart the clearer and greater is the knowledge of God. But in the
world above they shall see, know, and possess Him as He is. What blessedness!
Strive, therefore, to keep your heart clean. (Goffine’s Devout Instructions,
1896)
7
TEMPERANCE (POOR IN SPIRIT):
Sacrifice, Give Up; Forgo, Let Go; Surrender, Tithe, Self-Control,
Abstention. Opposing Deadly Sin: GLUTTONY
The poor in spirit are: 1. Those who,
like the apostles, readily forsake all earthly things, and for Christ’s sake
become poor. 2. Those who, happening to lose their property by misfortune or
injustice, suffer the loss patiently, in resignation to the will of God. 3.
Those who, like Jesus, are content with their poor and humble position, seek no
higher or happier one, and would rather suffer want than enrich themselves by
unlawful acts, by fraud or theft. 4. The rich and noble who set not their hearts
upon the riches and greatness of the world who use their riches and influence
to relieve the misery of the needy and oppressed. 5. Finally, the truly humble,
who, convinced of their weakness, their helplessness and misery, think lowly of
themselves, and regard themselves but as beggars, who are always in need of the
grace of God. To all these, therefore, in whose hearts the world has no place,
there is assured, as their inheritance, the kingdom of heaven ; here the
kingdom of grace there the kingdom of glory. (Goffine’s Devout Instructions,
1896)
6
DILIGENCE (HUNGER & THRIST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS): Fairness, Impartiality; Righteousness,
Evenhandedness; Fair Dealing, Persistence, Effort, Ethics, Rectitude. Opposing
Deadly Sin: SLOTH
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst
after justice, for they shall have their fill.
Hunger and thirst denote the most ardent longing after those virtues
which constitute Christian perfection; such as humility, meekness, the love of
God and of our neighbor, penance. Whoever longs for these virtues as the hungry
man does for food and drink, and prays to God for them with perseverance and
earnestness, shall have his fill; that is, he shall be enriched with them, and
one day shall be satisfied with eternal Happiness. (Goffine’s Devout
Instructions, 1896)
5
CHARITY (MERCIFUL): Compassion;
Kindness, Pity; Bigheartedness, Clemency; Openhandedness, Forgiveness;
Liberality, Understanding; Leniency, Will, Benevolence, Generosity. Opposing
Deadly Sin: AVARICE
Blessed are the merciful, for they
shall obtain mercy. The merciful here spoken of are: 1. Those who willingly
forgive the injuries done to them. 2. Those who have compassion on their poor
neighbors, and, according to their ability, sustain them by alms. These shall
obtain mercy; that is, God will forgive them their sins and endow them
abundantly with the goods of this world and of the world to come. Thus God
deals with us as we deal with others. (Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896)
4
PATIENCE (PEACEMAKERS): Relations,
Mediation; Negotiation—Prevents Destruction; I.E. Stem Cell/Abortion,
Sufferance. Opposing Deadly Sin: WRATH
Blessed are the peace-makers, for they
shall be called the children of God. By peace-makers we are to understand those
who have peace with themselves, that is, a quiet conscience, and who endeavor
to maintain peace among others, or to restore it when broken. Such are called
the children of God, because they follow God, Who is a God of peace, and Who
even gave His only Son to reconcile the world with Him, and to bring down upon
earth that peace which the world itself could not give. (Goffine’s Devout
Instructions, 1896)
3
KINDNESS (MOURNING): Grief, Sorrow;
Remembrance, Respect, Loyalty, Integrity. Opposing Deadly Sin: ENVY
Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall
be comforted. By them that mourn we are not to understand such as grieve and
lament over a death, a misfortune, a loss of worldly goods, or the like ; but
those who are grieved that God should be in so many ways offended by themselves
and by others that His Church should be so heavily oppressed, and thereby so
many souls lost that have been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. The
only evil really to be grieved for is sin, and the tears shed on account of sin
are the only tears that are profitable, for they shall be recompensed with
everlasting joy. (Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896)
2
HUMILITY (MEEK) : Modesty, Not
Assuming, Reverence, Altruism. Opposing Deadly Sin: PRIDE/HUBRIS
Blessed are the meek, for they shall
possess the land. That man is meek who does not murmur against God for sending
afflictions upon him, who is not angry at men who do him injury, but who rather
suppresses impatience, anger, envy, and revenge, nay, who seeks to recompense
the evil done him by his neighbor with good. Such a one is greater than he who
takes by storm fortified cities (Prov. xvi. 32) ; he possesses an unfailing
fountain of peace, quiet, and cheerfulness ; by his meekness prevails over the
most hostile minds, is by such means truly a ruler upon earth, and will one
day, for his portion, obtain heaven, the land of the living, there to enjoy
eternal peace. (Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896)
1
LOVE & COURAGE (FAITH-BE NOT AFRAID):
Affection, Adoration; Friendship, Confidence; Courageous, Trust; Valiant,
Reliance; Heroic, Assurance; Bold, Conviction; Daring, Belief; Fearless,
Devotion; Plucky, Loyalty. Opposing Deadly Sin: FEAR
Love Brothers and sisters, do not be
afraid to welcome Christ and accept his power. Help the Pope and all those who
wish to serve Christ and with Christ’s power to serve the human person and the
whole of mankind. Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ. To his
saving power open the boundaries of States, economic and political systems, the
vast fields of culture, civilization and development. Do not be afraid. Christ
knows “what is in man”. He alone knows it. So often today man does not know
what is within him, in the depths of his mind and heart. So often he is
uncertain about the meaning of his life on this earth. He is assailed by doubt,
a doubt which turns into despair. We ask you therefore, we beg you with
humility and trust, let Christ speak to man. He alone has words of life, yes,
of eternal life.[1]
The Anima Christi
Soul of Christ,
be my sanctification.
Body of Christ, be my salvation.
Blood of Christ, fill all my veins.
Water of Christ’s side, wash out my stains.
Passion of Christ, my comfort be.
O good Jesus, listen to me.
In Thy wounds I fain would hide,
N’er to be parted from Thy side,
Guard me, should the foe assail me.
Call me when my life shall fail me.
Bid me come to Thee above,
With Thy saints to sing Thy love,
World without end. Amen.
Body of Christ, be my salvation.
Blood of Christ, fill all my veins.
Water of Christ’s side, wash out my stains.
Passion of Christ, my comfort be.
O good Jesus, listen to me.
In Thy wounds I fain would hide,
N’er to be parted from Thy side,
Guard me, should the foe assail me.
Call me when my life shall fail me.
Bid me come to Thee above,
With Thy saints to sing Thy love,
World without end. Amen.
[1] http://www.catholicvote.org/john-paul-iis-first-homily-sacrifice-humility-courage/#sthash.coO9xfTF.dpuf
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