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TODAY’S WORD…

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Unfaithful people!

Don’t you know that to be the world’s friend

means to be God’s enemy?

If you want to be the world’s friend,

you make yourself God’s enemy.

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Don’t think that there is no truth in the scripture that says,

“The spirit that God placed in us is filled with fierce desires.”

But the grace that God gives is even stronger.

As the scripture says,

“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

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So then, submit yourselves to God.

Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you.

Come near to God, and He will come near to you.

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– James 4:4-8a (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Only people who are humble are given the grace

to be able to do what God asks,

and have it bear fruit.

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The proud, who are full of self-love,

even fail to realise that they need grace,

and so they do not ask for it,

or do not ask for it properly.

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To counter pride

we must undergo a sincere and deep conversion,

which must begin with the humility

of recognising that we are sinners and in need of purification.

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So then, submit yourselves to God.

To draw near to God the sinner needs purification – of sins –

and upright actions,

and there is nothing more significant

than for us to approach the Sacrament of Penance

with a humble and contrite heart.

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Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you.

When I resist the devil’s temptations,

the devil leaves me alone:

he cannot force me to commit sin,

because he has no power against me.

The devil “cannot lord it over those who are servants of God with their whole heart

and who place their hope in Him.

The devil can wrestle with, but not overcome them.

So, if you resist him,

he will flee from you in defeat and confusion." (The "Shepherd of Hermas")

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QUOTES…

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"Worldly society

has flowered from a selfish love which dared to despise even God,

whereas the communion of saints

is rooted in a love of God that is ready to trample on self"

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– St. Augustine

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“How can you be at peace

if you allow passions you do not even attempt to control

to drag you away from the ‘pull’ of grace?

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Heaven pulls you upwards; you drag yourselves downwards.

And don’t seek excuses – that is what you are doing.

If you go on like that, you will tear yourself apart”

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– St. Josemaria Escriva

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, give me the grace to be humble

and the strength to resist temptation.

Lord, I submit myself to You – come live in me!

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