| We Must Love Obedience More Than We Fear Disobedience |
For Sunday’s Living Jesus Chat, we will again read an article from a book by St. Francis de Sales called Of Devotion, and of the Principal Exercises of Piety. It explores the importance of generosity in 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 Anuja Tilj on UnsplashBehold the general rule of our obedience, written in large letters: We must do everything by love, and nothing by force. We must love obedience more than we fear disobedience. I leave you the spirit of liberty, not that which excludes obedience, for that is the liberty of the flesh, but that which excludes constraint, scrupulosity, or anxiety. Now I will tell you what is the spirit of liberty.Every good man has the liberty or power to commit mortal sins and does in nowise attach his affection to this: here is a liberty necessary to salvation. I am not speaking of that; the liberty of which I speak is the liberty of well-beloved children. And what is that? It is a disengagement of the Christian heart from all things, to follow the will of God. You will easily understand what I mean to say, if God gives me the grace to point out to you the marks, the signs, the effects, and the occasions of this liberty. We ask of God, before all things, that His name be hallowed, His kingdom come, His will be done in earth as it is in heaven. All this is nothing else but the spirit of liberty; for provided that His name is hallowed, that His majesty reigns in us, that His will is done, the spirit of liberty does not trouble itself about anything else. First mark. The soul which has this liberty is not attached to consolations but receives affliction with all the sweetness which the flesh can permit. I do not say that it does not love and desire consolations, but I say that it does not set its heart upon them. Second mark. It in nowise fixes its affection on particular spiritual exercises; so that if, in consequence of sickness or any other accident, it is hindered, it does not distress itself about them. I again do not say that it does not love them, but I say that it does not set its heart upon them. Third mark. It rarely loses its joy of heart, because no privation can sadden him who has not his heart set upon anything. I do not say that it never loses it, but it is only for a little while. Reflections: How do obedience and liberty go together? Aren’t they mutually exclusive or contradictory?What does it mean to love obedience more than we fear disobedience?What does it mean for our hearts to be disengaged from all things?How do we “love and desire consolations” and yet at the same time not set our hearts upon them?How can we maintain a “joy of heart,” and if we lose it for a moment, how do we keep the momentum of joy?What are the most difficult attachments we have in our lives? And how do we become free from them, and yet not run away from our responsibilities? 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. this Sunday . |