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TODAY’S WORD…

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You will show me the way of life,

granting me the joy of Your presence

and the pleasures of living with You forever.

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– Psalm 16:11 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus uses different images

to teach us that the path that leads to Life, to holiness,

consists in the full development of the spiritual life.

 

He speaks of the mustard seed which grows into a great tree;

in its branches the birds of the air come to rest.

He speaks of the grain of wheat

which reaches maturity and produces rich ears of corn…

That growth, not without its difficulties and sometimes seeming so slow,

is in fact the increase of virtue.

 

If we are to sanctify each day,

and offer it to the Lord as a humble gesture of love,

we have to practise many human and supernatural virtues:

faith, hope, charity, compassion,

justice, fortitude – conscientiousness, loyalty, optimism…

 

The virtues demand the repetition of acts in order to grow,

because each act disposes the soul to perform the next one more easily.

This is a lot like the sportsman,

who improves his physical fitness by training

and acquires a greater aptitude for repeating his exercises.

Through repetition, it will become a habit – a way of life.

 

Virtues, therefore,

are those good actions acquired through the repetition of good acts, with the help of grace.

Virtues are what perfects us,

and at the same time they make it easier for us to perform good works

and to respond at every moment to God’s will

in a prompt and fitting manner.

 

Without virtues

it is easier to fall into imperfections and sins

that widen the gap which separates us from God.

On the other hand,

the practice of virtue shows us, at every moment, which path it is that leads to God.

 

Let us make practicing virtues a daily routine.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord Jesus, show me the way of life,

and grant me the joy of Your presence

and the pleasures of living with You forever!

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… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

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Note: The main source of today’s REFLECTION is the seven-volume work

“In Conversation with God” by Padre Francisco Fernández Carvajal.