The Christian Spirit
What is a Christian if not to be another Christ! Our life should be in everything in conformity with the life of our Lord. By lowering himself to become Man, Jesus submitted himself totally to the will of his Father for the sole purpose of redeeming us. Thus, being imbued with the Christian Spirit must be reflected in our actions, in our words, in our affections, and in all our decisions.
The absolute ideal would be for our Faith in Jesus Christ to shine through what we are and do. We would then be witnesses in truth! Unfortunately, we have a hard time dominating our nature. We love ourselves above all things. Even though we claim to “love the Lord our God with all our heart,” our heart is more often oriented toward the self as a priority than toward others and even less toward our Holy Model.
Our body also has a hard time submitting to its likeness. We grant our senses many liberties, we seek to appear according to the criteria of fashion, to satisfy our sensual appetites, to satisfy our curiosity, etc.
In short, we cling to the things of the earth and forget why God created us. Jesus came to redeem the world and we can collaborate by living in this true spirit of reparation. The Guard of Honor has, more than others, this duty. At every hour of the day, let us ask ourselves the question: what would our Lord do in such a situation, on such an occasion, with such a person…? This is how we will conform to the Christian Spirit and remain united to Christ.
(Extracts from the advice of Sr Marie du Sacré Cœur Bernaud in the book “Month of the Sacred Heart of 1891” published by the Visitation of Bourg en Bresse.)