MESSAGE OF THE DAY
“Be ‘savagely sincere’ in spiritual direction”
If that dumb devil mentioned in the Gospel gets into your soul, he will spoil everything. On the other hand, if you get rid of him immediately, everything will turn out well; you will carry on merrily, and all will be well. Resolve firmly to be ``savagely sincere'' in spiritual direction (always keeping your good manners) and to be sincere immediately. (The Forge, 127)
As I have already said, we all have our defects. But our defects should never be a reason for us to turn away from God’s Love. Rather should they lead us to cling to that Love, sheltering within his divine goodness, as the warriors of old did by climbing into their suits of armour. Our defense is the cry ecce ego, quia vocasti me [1], here I am, because you have called me. Just because we discover how fragile we are is no reason to run away from God. What we must do is to attack our defects, precisely because we know that God trusts us.Forgive me for insisting on these points, but I believe it is absolutely necessary for you to have deeply impressed on your minds the fact that humility, together with its immediate consequence, sincerity; are the thread which links the other means together. These two virtues act as a foundation on which a solid victory can be built. If the dumb devil gets inside a soul, he ruins everything. On the other hand, if he is cast out immediately, everything turns out well; we are happy and life goes forward properly. Let us always be brutally sincere, but in a good mannered way.
I want one thing to be clear: I am not as worried about the heart or the flesh as I am about pride. Be humble. If ever you think you are completely and utterly right, you are not right at all. Go to spiritual direction with your soul wide open. Don’t close it because, I repeat, the dumb devil will get in, and it is difficult to get him out again. (Friends of God, 187-188)
[1] 1 Kings 3:6,8
November 19, 2009
“Take things calmly; let time pass”
You are worried. Listen: happen what may in your interior life or in the world that surrounds you, never forget that the importance of events or of people is very relative. Take things calmly; let time pass; and then, as you view persons and happenings dispassionately and from afar, you will acquire the perspective that will enable you to see each thing in its proper place and in its true size. If you do this, you will be more objective and you will spare yourself many causes of anxiety. (The Way, 702) November 18, 2009
“All our fortitude is on loan”
Tender, soft, flabby...: that's not the way I want you. It's about time you got rid of that peculiar pity you feel for yourself. (The Way, 193) November 17, 2009
“God resists the proud”
A sure way to be humble is to contemplate how, even without talents, fame or fortune, we can be effective instruments if we go to the Holy Spirit so that He may grant us his gifts. The apostles, though they had been taught by Jesus for three years, fled in terror from the enemies of Christ. But after Pentecost they let themselves be flogged and imprisoned, and ended up giving their lives in witness to their faith. (Furrow, 283) November 16, 2009
“God can put up with all our infidelities”
Be a little child; the greatest daring is always that of children Who cries for... the moon? Who is blind to dangers in getting what he wants? To such a child add much grace from God, the desire to do his Will, great love for Jesus, all the human knowledge he is capable of acquiring, and you will have a likeness of the apostles of today such as God undoubtedly wants them. (The Way, 857) November 15, 2009
“Chastity is not a troublesome burden”
In living holy purity and a clean life, there is a great difficulty to which we are all exposed. The danger is one of becoming bourgeois, either in our spiritual life or in our professional life; the danger - also a real one for those called by God to marriage - of becoming dry old bachelors, selfish; people who do not love. Fight that danger tooth and nail, without making concessions of any kind. (The Forge, 89) November 14, 2009
“We wish to look through unclouded eyes”
How beautiful is holy purity! But it is not holy, nor pleasing to God, if we separate it from charity. Charity is the seed that will grow and yield rich fruit under the fertile rain of purity. Without charity, purity is barren, and its sterile waters turn the soul into a swamp, into a cesspool from which rises the stench of pride. (The Way, 119) 
SAINT JOSEMARÍA
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November 20, 2009