| God Wants to Exercise His Goodness Towards You, Bestowing His Grace and Glory |
This article is taken from a chapter in An Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales which is available from TAN Books. To prepare for our chat on Sunday, please read the article, which is reproduced below, and review the questions at the end.Click for Living Jesus Chatroom  Carl Bloch: The Sermon on the Mount (Public Domain)Second MeditationPreparation1. Place yourself in the presence of God.2. Entreat Him to inspire you .Reflections1. God did not create you because He had any need of you, for you are wholly useless to Him, but only that He might exercise towards you His goodness, bestowing on you His grace and glory. To accomplish this, He has given you an understanding to know Him, a memory to remember Him, a will to love Him, an imagination to recall His mercies, eyes to see the wonders of His works, a tongue to praise Him, and so with all your other faculties.2. Therefore being created and placed in the world for this purpose, you should avoid and reject all actions which are contrary to it; and despise as idle and superfluous all which do not promote it.3. Consider the wretchedness of the world which forgets this, and goes on as though the end of creation were to plant and to build, to amass wealth, and live in frivolity. Affections and Resolutions1. Humble yourself, reproaching your soul with her past neglect in reflecting so little on this. Alas! O my God, where were my thoughts when I forgot Thee? What did I love when I loved not Thee? When I should have been nourished and fed with truth, I filled myself with vanity, and served that world which is made to be my servant.2. Abhor your past life. I renounce you, O vain thoughts and idle meditations! I abjure you, O evil and detestable remembrances! I renounce you, false and treacherous friendships, lost labors, empty pleasures, miserable, deluding satisfactions.3. Turn to God. And Thou, my God, my Saviour, henceforth, Thou alone shalt fill my thoughts; no more will I wander amidst reflections which displease Thee. My memory shall daily recall the greatness of Thy loving-kindness, so graciously displayed towards me. Thou shalt be the delight of my heart, and the sweetness of my affections.Henceforth I will detest the frivolities and amusements, the empty pursuits which occupied my time; such and such affections which absorbed my heart I will renounce—to which end I will seek such and such remedies .Conclusion1. Thank God who has made you for so good an end. Thou hast made me, O Lord, for Thyself, and that I may forever share the immensity of Thy glory! When shall I be worthy of Thy goodness, and thank Thee worthily?2. Offering. I offer to Thee, O my Creator, all my affections and resolutions, with all my heart and all my soul.3. Pray. I beseech Thee, O Lord, accept these my desires and vows, and give Thy blessing to my soul, so that I may have strength to accomplish them through the merit of the blood of Thy Son shed upon the Cross for me. Reflections: St. Francis points out that God has no need of us (as if God lacks something), instead He created us to share in His goodness. However, after the resurrection, Jesus tells his disciples to spread the gospel, almost as if God is allowing Himself to “need” us. How do we reconcile these two realities?How can looking at this idea of being created for goodness help in trying to grow in holiness? Instead of looking at life as avoiding sin, we can look at it as trying to cling to the good, to follow the good.St. Francis encourages us to reflect that we were not made to seek wealth and other worldly matters. Let’s connect this to what Our Lord says in Matthew 6, in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus tells us to not pursue the things of the world, since God knows what we need. Instead, He tell us to “seek first his kingdom.” What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God?Why is it important to continue to renounce a former way of life that was not lived with God? Isn’t it enough to just focus on and embrace our new life in Christ?What are some modern “frivolities and amusements” that we should be cautious of? When are they sinful or occasions of sin? When are times of relaxation or a vacation a good thing? Sign up for our Living Jesus Chat Room:Come to our Living Jesus Chat Room, 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM Eastern Time U.S. |