LENTEN BOOTCAMP DAY 35 – OBEDIENCE
DAY 35 – MARY, REFUGE OF SINNERS, PRAY THAT WE PARTICIPATE IN COUNSEL OF OBEDIENCE!
Becoming “Masters of Mental Prayer.” Each day, during Lent, we will practice “Mental Prayer,” as we reflect on, and desire the greatest gifts, so God may show each one of us a “More Excellent Way” (1 Cor. 12:13). Do your best to find a minimum of 15 minutes each day. By the regular practice of Mental Prayer, you will become more attuned to the “Still Small Voice.”
GUIDE TO MENTAL PRAYER: HERE
FREE TO ENLIST IN GOD’S MISSION
What is it that can snatch the Divine Life from us, killing off any zeal for God’s mission of battling evil and saving souls? There are actually three wounds that ravage souls and bring spiritual death to them by turning away from God. St. John speaks of these evils when he says: “For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh (craving for sensual gratification) and the lust of the eyes (greedy longings of the mind) and the pride of life (assurance in one’s own resources or in the stability of earthly things) — these do not come from the Father but are from the world (itself)” (1 Jn 2:16). These three wounds destroy the original harmony we once shared with God and His creation in the garden. The greater one’s attachment is to these worldly desires, the more detached one becomes to God’s will and God’s Divine Life.
This triple slavery, which replaces the original harmony, is order overthrown. Christ came to restore the order that had been destroyed; with this end in view, He gave us the three evangelical counsels (or counsels of perfection). The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that these virtues have a clear application to everyone who aspires to a life of discipleship.
OBEDIENCE (COUNTERS PRIDE OF LIFE)
Obedience actually means the practice of listening. It is a commitment to listen to God through the mediation of Sacred Scripture and through the teaching of Christ’s Bride, the Church. We choose obedience to indicate a preference for the common good over personal desire. The modern-day definition of freedom is to be able to do whatever one wants to do as long as it does not interfere with the rights of others — freedom from responsibility. Obedience demonstrates that the most perfect form of freedom is that which makes a commitment to another person (divine or human) or a cause.
Impressive warrior saints like St. Francis of Assisi taught these counsels of perfection by wearing a rope around their waist with three knots in it; each knot would denote poverty, chastity, and obedience. Today, some have followed their lead by wearing a small rope around their wrists with these three knots, reminding them how to be free, no longer tied to the world but to God. Are you free to enlist in Christ’s elite fighting force and be the warrior saint He is calling you to be?
