Sloth Part 4 -
Embrace His Grace
Are you addicted to the “new”, ever in search of the next thing that will complete you or make you totally happy?
Does the world entice you with a relentless pursuit towards the desires of: money, power, pleasure, or fame?
Are you slave to your passions and appetites, striving for things that the “worm in your heart” immediately consume so you want more?
Are you addicted to possessions? Do you feel pressure to keep up with the Jones?
Are you addicted to experiences? Are you always in search of the next adventure? And in these new life experiences are you eager to figure everything out and arrange it so you are comfortable and it is the way you want it?
Do you have a distaste for prayer or discipline? Do you find yourself distracted when it comes to the work of God?
Today we are talking about the blackhole of worldly desires.
Let us pray “Lord, help us to praise and worship you as Joseph did. Fill us to know your word, to accept your love, your protection and to always to want to be near Jesus like Joseph was. Remove from us all the desires of all worldly passions and grant us the grace to focus on you and the successes you have blessed us with in turning away from these desires. Send Joseph to be our guide and help us to imitate how he loved your son as best he could.” Amen
“Nothing is so likely to corrupt our heart, and to seduce us from God, as to surround ourselves with comforts,—to have things our own way,—to be the centre of a sort of world, whether of things animate or inanimate, which minister to us. For then, in turn, we shall depend on them; they will become necessary to us; their very service and adulation will lead us to trust ourselves to them, and to idolize them…. Avoid the dangerous air which relaxes you, and brace yourself upon the heights. So shall self-denial become natural to you, and a change come over you, gently and imperceptibly; and, like Jacob, you will lie down in the waste, and will soon see Angels, and a way opened for you into heaven.” (St. John Henry Newman, Sermon on Self-Denial)
Be temperate - not inordinately attached to worldly pleasures and goals.
Deny your own comfort.
Be vigilant, patient, grace-filled, and have perspective.
Imagine Joseph’s unwanted and perilous treks, his efforts to make Mary and Jesus feel safe and comfortable over his own inclination for the same.
Our success lies not in our inner strength or speed or talents, but rather in the grace of God. Refrain from the desire to prove yourself to others or from feeling self-hatred or contempt.
God loves us. His mercy is all-wise and all-powerful.
Imitate Joseph, a man like us, flawed and broken, imperfect, able to sleep well at night knowing Jesus is near, protecting us, patient with us, understanding to our human nature, and compassionate towards us.
God is fighting. He sees your effort.
Have hope
Receive the grace of His forgiveness
Receive the peace He wants to give you.
Accept the joy He intends for you.
Use scripture, His word, in our defense and for encouragement. Jesus quotes scripture when he was tempted and gave us the model to imitate. Imagine Joseph quoting and teaching scripture to Jesus as a boy, which was his duty.
Can we know well enough scripture that we can teach ourselves and eventually others of God’s immense, never-ending, never-to-be-out-done love for us?
Pray that God reminds you that the devil is getting weaker and weaker, of how much you have overcome, to know that God is fighting alongside you, yet still allowing you the freedom to participate in His grace.
Embrace His Grace!
