| Whatever Our Lord Did, He Did it to Please His Heavenly Father |
For Sunday’s Living Jesus chat we will read again an article from a book by St. Francis de Sales called Of Devotion, and of the Principal Exercises of Piety. Let us join together and return to this most basic and essential principal of Devotion.___________________________________________To prepare for our chat, please read the article, which is reproduced below, and review the questions at the end.Click for Living Jesus Chatroom  Photo by Thérèse Westby on Unsplash1. Always add to the end of your meditation each day a consideration of the obedience which our Lord exercised towards God His Father, for you will find that whatever He did, He did to please the will of His Father; and hereupon excite yourself to a great love of the will of God. 2. Before employing yourself in any business of your vocation that annoys you, reflect that the Saints cheerfully did other things much greater and more annoying. Some of them suffered martyrdom, others suffered disgrace in the eyes of the world; and all this in order to do something that was pleasing to God. And what do we do that approaches to all that? 3. Often reflect that all that we do, derives its true value from the conformity which we have to the will of God; so that in eating and drinking, if I do it because it is the will of God that I do it, I am more pleasing to God than if I suffered death without that intention. 4. I would wish you frequently in the course of the day to invoke God, that He may give you the love of your vocation, and that you may say with St. Paul, when he was converted, Lord, what milt Thou have me to do? (Acts ix. 6.) Wouldst Thou have me serve Thee in the meanest employment in Thine house? Ah, I would still consider myself too happy; provided that I serve Thee, I do not trouble myself in what capacity. And coming in particular to what would give you annoyance, say: Wouldst Thou have me do such and such a thing? Alas, Lord, although I am not worthy of it, I will do it most willingly. O my God, what treasures you will gain in this way! greater, no doubt, than you can conceive. 5. I would have you consider how many Saints, men and women, have been in your vocation and in your state, and have all accommodated themselves to it with great sweetness and resignation, as well in the New as in the Old Testament,—Sara, Rebecca, St. Anne, St. Paula, St. Monica, and innumerable others: and let this encourage you, recommending yourself to their prayers. One ought to love what God loves: now He loves our vocation; let us love it also well, and let us not amuse ourselves by thinking about other people s vocations. Let us do our own work. To each one his cross; it is not too much. Sweetly mingle the offices of Martha and Magdalene. Fulfil diligently the service of your vocation, and often return to yourself, and place yourself in spirit at the feet of our Lord, and say: Lord, whether I ran or whether I stay, I am all Thine, and Thou art all mine. Thou art my first spouse, and all that I do is for the love of Thee. Remember what I have so often told you: Do honour to your devotion; make it very amiable to all who know you, and above all to your family; and act so that every person may speak well of you. Reflections: Think of the little duties we must do each day that actually annoy us. How can we approach them with a willing heart?How should we respond to the requests of others that are difficult or too demanding? How do we discern when to say no?What is the proper way to respond to people when they interrupt us from our duties? How does our response affect them?How can we approach our hardships cheerfully? Is this asking too much of us? What about for people with real depression or anxiety?Is it too scrupulous-making to focus on doing the will of God even in eating and drinking?What does it mean to serve God? Did He just put us here to live a grueling life according to what He wants?Reflect on 1 Corinthians 10:13, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 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 |