Monday, July 29, 2013

St. Martha's Serenity of Mind

I found today's meditation from the Magnificat missal for the feast of St. Martha so profound and wanted to share.


      I cannot go forward until I have effected the subjection of myself; and when finally I overcome and enter into my kingdom, then only shall I have achieved perfect freedom. I must begin with this, and thus I see the necessity of acquiring a spirit of detachment from all things in the sense of subordinating my own will to the will of God, realizing by faith that I cannot escape from it, that whatever happens comes to pass only because God has allowed it in His wisdom and His love. I must frequently meditate on this divine will.
        Then, again, I must try to be perfectly truthful in life; that is, my life must correspond absolutely to my thoughts. Once I start posing or pretending, I become the slave of a pretense. Never shall I be able to free myself until I revert to myself and am not content to act as others expect of me. Compromise, just because it is a lie, cannot be allowed within these limits that circumscribe truth. To be prudent, to be on my guard, yet to keep myself undisturbed, to possess my soul in patience -  that is the great secret of life. Especially in these days, when speed enters so enormously into life, when everything is at a rush and hurry, I must take care to be perfect serenity of mind, lest I add to the disturbance of existence and break in upon my peace of soul and perfect freedom, without which spiritual life is rendered impossible.


                                                                                                                           Father Bede Jarret, O.P

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