Monday, March 27, 2017
Joshua, Chapter 9, Verse 22-24
22 Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said to them, “Why did you
deceive us and say, ‘We live far off from you’?—You live among us! 23 Now are you accursed: every one of you shall always be a slave, hewers
of wood and drawers of water, for the house of my God.” 24 They answered Joshua, “Your servants were fully informed of how the LORD,
your God, commanded Moses his servant that you be given the entire land and
that all its inhabitants be destroyed before you. Since, therefore, at your
advance, we were in great fear for our lives, we acted as we did.
If only our nation
returned to wisdom and prayed and sought the Lord’s instruction before we
entered into any treaties with other nations; sadly we too are like Joshua.
I
prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to
me. I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in
comparison with her, nor did I liken any priceless gem to her; because all
gold, in view of her, is a little sand, and before her, silver is to be
accounted mire. Beyond health and comeliness I loved her, and I chose to have
her rather than the light, because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.
Yet all good things together came to me in her company, and countless riches at
her hands. (Wis. 7:7-11)
Worrying keeps you trapped. Thinking sets you free.
Negotiation
and Compromise[1]
When
Israel negotiated with the Gibeonites and ignored God’s order to destroy the
city, they allowed compromise to jeopardize their mission. While negotiation is
not wrong in itself, leaders must never negotiate their convictions, direct
orders, or core values. When we start negotiating these, we compromise our
mission.
Saints are veterans of the spiritual war that continues to rage in this world. Their insights, born of long experience in combat with the Enemy, can make us wise and strong in battle.
·
God has fashioned and
shaped only one enmity, and that an irreconcilable one, which will endure and
even increase, until the end: It is that between the Virgin Mary and the Devil,
between the children and servants of the Blessed Virgin and the children and
accomplices of Satan; so that the most terrible of the enemies of Satan created
by God is Mary, his Blessed Mother. ST. LOUIS DE MONTFORT
·
Men do not fear a powerful, hostile army as much as
the powers of hell fear the name and protection of Mary. ST. BONAVENTURE
·
You, O Lady, by the
simple invocation of your most powerful name, give security to your servants
against all the assaults of the Enemy. ST. GERMANUS
·
By invoking the name
of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, Satan is driven out of
men. ST. IRENAEUS
·
We are all inclined to
sin, my children; we are idle, greedy, sensual, given to the pleasures of the
flesh. We want to know everything, to learn everything, to see everything. We
must watch over our mind, over our heart, and over our senses, for these are the
gates by which the Devil penetrates. See, he prowls round us incessantly; his
only occupation in this world is to seek
companions for himself. All our life he will lay snares for us; he will try to
make us yield to temptations. We must, on our side, do all we can to defeat and
resist him. We can do nothing by ourselves, children. But we can do everything
with the help of the good God. Let us pray Him to deliver us from this enemy of
our salvation, or to give strength to fight against him. With the Name of Jesus
we shall overcome the demons; we shall put them to flight. With this name,
though they may sometimes dare to attack us, our battles will be victories, and
our victories will be crowns for heaven, all brilliant with precious stones.
ST. JOHN VIANNEY
Daily Devotions/Prayers
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