Easter Meditation

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Book 3 Chapter 7: How Grace is to be kept Close through the Virtue of Humility

Christ: “My child, it is better and safer for you to hide the grace of devotion.”

Why should God want us to hide our devotion to him?  If we hide the gifts that are given to us, how can we be an example of love to others?  Because if we show off our devotion, we will tend to brag about our devotion.  Our devotion will become prideful and we place ourselves above others. We see ourselves as more holy than others.  When we have this great gift of devotion, we must realize just how wretched we actually are.  We must realize that even during our best, we can fail God.  We must avoid the temptation to brag, because this also leads to condemnation.  We get this feeling that I am better than you because I have a deeper devotion than you.  I know we have all met that person who is “holier than thou”. Does that person bring us closer to Christ and repel us? Our spiritual growth is not dependent upon our devotion but upon our ability to wait out the periods of spiritual dryness.  We must be resolved to pray not only during the periods when we feel great devotion, but also during those periods when Gods feels absent in our lives.  We should be careful not to desire devotion, but simply to desire to love Him.  When God gives us the gift of devotion, it is on His terms and when He wants you to have it.  Too often we desire things that we are not ready for in our spiritual lives.  Instead, we should be happy where we are because that is where God wants us to be.  I can remember when I first started seeking a deeper relationship with Christ, I wanted nothing more than to have the spiritual devotion of the great Saints like St. Theresa of Avila.  In her book, the Interior Castle, she warns about the desire for devotion as it leads to false devotion.  Instead she encourage the person to seek council from the wise so as to be properly directed. This way we know when we are truly experiencing the great gifts of God.  When we follow our own judgment and refuse help from others, we tend to get lost along the path to righteousness. Also, those who have this false sense devotion and piety, tend to fall hard when they experience periods of dryness because during periods of trouble and adversity, they do not have the will power to stay true to the path. Those who “feel too secure in time of peace become dejected and fearful in time of conflict and temptation.”  Everything we do in our life should prepare us for conflict and temptation, not the joy of devotion.  There is no greater joy then knowing that you made it through the great trials that have been placed before you.

 

A Simple Prayer

My God,

Give me the strength to love you not only during great periods of devotion but also during great periods of trials and tribulation. 

It is during these periods that I must learn to trust in you.

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon