There’s No Storm that God Won’t Carry You Through
Meditation of the Day – You Cannot Win a Battle by Mere Flight
“Many try to fly away from temptations only to fall more deeply into them; for you cannot win a battle by mere flight. It is only by patience and humility that you will be strengthened against the enemy. Those who shun them outwardly and do not pull them out by the roots will make no progress; for temptations will soon return to harass them and they will be in a worse state. It is only gradually—with patience and endurance and with God’s grace—that you will overcome temptations sooner than by your own efforts and anxieties . . . Gold is tried by fire and the upright person by temptation. Often we do not know what we can do until temptation shows us what we are . . . This is how temptation is: first we have a thought, followed by strong imaginings, then the pleasure and evil emotions, and finally consent. This is how the enemy gains full admittance, because he was not resisted at the outset. The slower we are to resist, the weaker we daily become and the stronger the enemy is against us.”— Thomas à Kempis, p. 32-33
//The Catholic Company//
Meditation of the Day – Christian Life is a Retreat
“Christian life is a retreat. We are ‘not of this world’, just as Jesus Christ is ‘not of this world’ (John 17:14). What is the world? It is, as St. John said, the ‘lust of the flesh’, that is, sensuality and corruption in our desires and deeds; ‘the lust of the eyes’, curiosity, avarice, illusion, fascination, error, and folly in the affectation of learning, and, finally, pride and ambition (1 John 2:16). To these evils of which the world is full, and which make up its substance, a retreat must be set in opposition. We need to make ourselves into a desert by a holy detachment. Christian life is a battle … We must never cease to fight. In this battle, St. Paul teaches us to make an eternal abstinence, that is, to cut ourselves off from the pleasures of the senses and guard our hearts from them … it was to repair and to expiate the failings of our retreat, of our battle against temptations, of our abstinence, that Jesus was driven into the desert. His fast of forty days prefigured the lifelong one that we are to practice by abstaining from evil deeds and by containing our desires within the limits laid down by the law of God.”— Bishop Jacques-Benigne Bossuet, p. 17-18
Meditation of the Day – A Path of Roses and Honey
The Bible in a Year – Day 156 – Jesus Casts Out Demons
The Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz – Day 156: Jesus Casts Out Demons As we continue to read about Jesus’ ministry, Fr. Mike focuses today on Jesus’ power to cast out demons and reminds us that there is an ongoing spiritual battle for our souls. Today’s readings are Mark 5-6 and Psalm 21. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children – parental discretion is advised.
