WEEK TEN: TWO STANDARDS, THREE CLASSES OF MEN, THREE KINDS OF HUMILITY - Day 7
MORNING FACE TO FACE WITH GOD:
Begin with Prayer to the Holy Spirit
RE-CAP OF THE THREE KEY MEDITATIONS:
(After pondering each bullet point, express your sentiments in a short prayer)
• The Two Standards contrasts the spirit of the world with the spirit of Christ. The world tells us that freedom lies in amassing wealth, surrounding ourselves with material comforts and security.
"Freedom comes from following Christ."
• When wealth and creature comforts have become an obsession, there emerges a strong desire for honor and reputation that becomes exaggerated and unbalanced. This leads to an obsession to wield undue influence and power.
"Power in the form of strength comes from following Christ"
• Our attraction for riches, honor, and pride are deeply ingrained tendencies. They are the result of good innate tendencies gone awry through sin. If handled in moderation they serve us well. When exaggerated they lead to confusion and turmoil.
"Stability comes from following Christ"
• Through prayer and reflection on the life of Christ, the disciple slowly realizes that there is a special joy and peace in living a life of simplicity and satisfaction with what one has. Invariably a lifestyle of detachment and simplicity makes one realize how illusory and
evanescent the goods and values of the world are.
Lord, help me practice this over and over again until it is who I am, in my everyday chores.
• However, when you make God the purpose and center of your life in all your endeavors
and decisions, such a lifestyle will lead to "insults or contempt as opposed to the honor of this world." Many experience criticism and even ridicule from family and friends because of their commitment to Christian values that run contrary to the prevalent mores. St. Ignatius did not think it was possible to become truly humble if one did not experience insults and humiliations.
Embrace the cross with joy in my heart, Peace is the treasure of happiness.
• In The Three Classes of Men Meditation, St. Ignatius is challenging your commitment to God in the way you make everyday decisions. There is the category of people who have good intentions and desire to make the choice that God would desire. However they put off making the decision that would lead to greater truth and freedom. Are you one of them?
Help me be decisive in my thoughts and actions, may I not put off what needs done now. Lead me to You, Father.
• Another group takes the bull by the horns. They go ahead and make their decision, except that they decide how God wants them to make the decision. They are well intentioned but God is the satellite circling around them. Are you one of them?
You are the center of my universe may that come true in all that I do and say.
• The third category has the same weighty decision to make. Like the others, they too have their own individual preferences. However, they are pointed in God's direction. They want to know what God desires of them regardless of their own leanings. And they choose what is in God's best interests.
May my ears and heart be attentive to Your will Father and may I be obedient to Your voice for Your glory.
• The consideration on Three Kinds of Humility reiterates the fact that it is not enough to serve God to the extent that one would not commit serious sin. Nor is it enough to serve and love God to the point where one would not offend God deliberately in small matters.
I beg for the grace to strive for the third kind of humility, in my weaknesses You are strong.
• Even more, St. Ignatius is inviting the disciple to reach for intimacy and union with God by identifying with the crucified Jesus, by coming to understand that there is a special joy and freedom in desiring "to choose poverty with Christ poor; insults with Christ loaded with them, rather than honors; to be accounted as worthless and a fool for Christ, rather than to be esteemed as wise and prudent in this world."
In my daily walk, may I rise above the fray of the challenges of this world and walk with Thee.
• The Teacher invites the disciple into his own self-emptying. In covenant living, one lives completely for the other. Jesus did this for us, and is inviting us to do the same. The way of covenant life is the way of the cross, constantly making the effort to lay down one's life for the other!
I beg for this grace to self-empty, to be accepting of myself and willingly pick myself up to try again. You are the Divine Master, I am the student.
What is God saying to you?
Dear Lord, You see all of me, You see my day and yet You love unconditionally. In this journey with You, I seek Your help, the world is not changing for the better. You are changing us within, may my life represent that each day I awake. Prayers for a faithful servant of God in need of prayers, heal Him Father. Prayers for One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church that rises above the turmoil of the day to serve You and You alone. I ask this in Jesus name, Amen.
Mary, Queen of Peace, Pray for us.
St Joesph, Most Strong, Pray for us.
Viva Cristo Rey
Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. 1 John 4:4b
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