These exercises will repair the waste caused by time​

 

 

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We continue our series with Part V, Chapter 1, “It is Well Yearly to Renew Good Resolutions by Means of the Following Exercises, from An Introduction to the Devout Life. Here Saint Francis is setting the stage to prepare us for revistiing all that he has taught us thus far. In the following weeks we will go through each step as he leads us in the important journey of recommitment and renewal.

The first point in these exercises is to appreciate their importance. Our earthly nature easily falls away from its higher tone by reason of the frailty and evil tendency of the flesh, oppressing and dragging down the soul, unless it is constantly rising up by means of a vigorous resolution, just as a bird would speedily fall to the ground if it did not maintain its flight by repeated strokes of its wings. In order to this, my child, you need frequently to reiterate the good resolutions you have made to serve God, for fear that, failing to do so, you fall away, not only to your former condition, but lower still; since it is a characteristic of all spiritual falls that they invariably throw us lower than we were at the beginning. There is no clock, however good, but must be continually wound up; and moreover, during the course of each year it will need taking to pieces, to cleanse away the rust which clogs it, to straighten bent works, and renew such as are worn. Even so, any one who really cares for his heart’s devotion will wind it up to God night and morning, and examine into its condition, correcting and improving it; and at least once a year he will take the works to pieces and examine them carefully;–I mean his affections and passions,–so as to repair whatever may be amiss. And just as the clockmaker applies a delicate oil to all the wheels and springs of a clock, so that it may work properly and be less liable to rust, so the devout soul, after thus taking the works of his heart to pieces, will lubricate them with the Sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist. These exercises will repair the waste caused by time, will kindle your heart, revive your good resolutions, and cause the graces of your mind to flourish anew.

The early Christians observed some such practice on the Anniversary of our Lord’s Baptism, when, as Saint Gregory, Bishop of Nazianzen, tells us, they renewed the profession and promises made in that Sacrament. It were well to do the like, my child, making due and earnest preparation, and setting very seriously to work.

Questions to Ponder:

  1. Next week we will get started with the specific exercises as laid forth by St. Francis, but we should stop to think about what he is preparing us to do. Why do you think it is a worthy practice to recommit ourselves to the things we’ve commited ourselves?
  2. Considered in a simple way, we put into practice what St. Francis is recommending by the mere fact of having a yearly schedule that we repeat. Each year we re-celebrate Easter and Christmas and so on. What importance does repetition and recurrence have in keeping our faith strong and alive?
  3. From the earliest written account of the Eucharistic institution, St. Paul tell us: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes” (1 Cor 11:26). Of course, at that Eucharist institution, Jesus commands the apostles to “do this in memory of me” (Luke 22:19). Why is remembrance and repitition so important? How does this complement what St. Francis is trying to teach us?