Judges, Chapter 7, Verse 10-11
10 If you are afraid to attack,
go down to the camp with your aide Purah 11 and
listen to what they are saying. After that you will have the courage to descend
on the camp. So he went down with his aide Purah to the outposts of the armed
men in the camp.
“Take courage; get up, he is calling you.” (Mk:
10:49)
Christ calls us to a
greater purpose than he did Gideon:
No man or woman of good
will can renounce the struggle to overcome evil with good. This fight can be
fought effectively only with the weapons of love. When good overcomes evil,
love prevails and where love prevails, there peace prevails. This is the
teaching of the Gospel, restated by the Second Vatican Council: "the
fundamental law of human perfection, and consequently of the transformation of
the world, is the new commandment of love"…Christians must be convinced witnesses of this truth. They should show by
their lives that love is the only force capable of bringing fulfillment to
persons and societies, the only force capable of directing the course of
history in the way of goodness and peace…By Christ's death and resurrection,
made sacramentally present in each Eucharistic celebration, we are saved from
evil and enabled to do good. Through the new life which Christ has bestowed on
us, we can recognize one another as brothers and sisters, despite every difference
of language, nationality and culture. In a word, by sharing in the one bread
and the one cup, we come to realize that we are "God's family" and
that together we can make our own effective contribution to building a world
based on the values of justice, freedom and peace.[1]
Aids in
Battle[2] Empty consolations of the Devil
Some people, when they reflect on the goodness of
God and the passion of Christ, are powerfully moved to sighs, tears, prayers,
and other devout actions, so that you might suppose their hearts were seized
with a very fervent devotion. But when they are tested we find that they are
like the passing rains of a hot summer, which may fall heavily on the earth, but
do not penetrate it, and bring forth only mushrooms. In the same way, these
tears and emotions in a corrupt heart do not penetrate it and are altogether
fruitless. For these unhappy people would not give up a penny of their unjustly
acquired wealth or renounce one of their perverse affections, nor would they
endure the slightest suffering in the service of that Savior over whom they
have wept. Their good impulses are like spiritual mushrooms. Not only are they
a false devotion, but too often they are actually the deep wiles of Satan.
While he amuses souls with such empty consolations, he induces them to remain satisfied with them instead of seeking true
and solid devotion, which consists in a constant, resolute, prompt, and active
will to carry out what we know to be pleasing to God. ST. FRANCIS DE SALES
Remember Mushrooms are kept in the dark and fed merda.
Daily Devotions/Prayers
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