What are some ways to be pure, guard your heart and live with reverence? We can properly order our physical appetites to our vocation.
Continue reading “Week Thirty-Seven. Reverence. Steps We Can Take.”Virtue helps us battle sin which can become our vices. Temperance helps us moderate our sensual desires, and helps us cast off the spirit of the world. Lust, one of the seven deadly sins, can be counterbalanced with chastity. Practicing virtue and choosing what is good reorients us to God and His goodness, and we grow in reverence.
Continue reading “Week Thirty-Seven. Reverence. Reoriented to God.”
Reverence, by definition, is profound respect and love. The virtue of temperance helps us develop reverence. When we have a reverent attitude toward God, we honor Him, express our gratitude, and are drawn to obey His commandments. As I grow in reverence towards God, I see my belovedness and value myself. As I lose reverence, my ego and will reigns.
Continue reading “Week Thirty-Seven. Reverence. His Will. “When we doubt our true nature and belovedness, we carry that in our heart. This battle finds its way into the world, many times without our awareness, breaking down trust. In the book The Courage Way, Shelly Francis and the Center for Courage and Renewal share ideas about creating spaces of trust among people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs. They have identified eleven “touchstones” or “ground rules” to help move groups into greater trust, belonging, and understanding:
Continue reading “Week Thirty-Six. Tempted to Doubt. Looking for God’s Goodness and Weekly Reflection Summary.”In the secular world, according to the Free Dictionary, the word “chastity” is defined as the condition or quality of being chaste, especially the condition of not having had sexual intercourse or of abstaining from sexual relations. But in reality, it is much more than that; it helps frame our dignity and how we treat others. This gift makes us free to love.
Continue reading “Week Thirty-Six. Tempted to Doubt. Dignity of Love.”In the spiritual life, I can promise myself nothing without the special help of God . . . From one moment to another, I may fall into sin; consequently, even though I may have labored many years in acquiring virtues, I may in one instant lose all the good I have done, lose all my merit for eternity, and lose even that blessed eternity itself. It’s easy to doubt my true nature that God created, but with the Spirit’s help, I remember.
Continue reading “Week Thirty-Six. Tempted to Doubt. But Deeply Loved.”The concept “Live only in today; don’t worry about tomorrow,” is a fine ambition, we may think, but what does it mean? “Living in today” means dealing only with what is at hand now and the available courses of action.
Continue reading “Week Thirty-Six. Tempted to Doubt. Adapting.”In order to grow into our best self, we usually need to stretch our thinking and make changes. Whether it is in a daily spiritual examination or in the rooms of recovery with a Fourth Step, we make a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. For some of us, no challenge seems more formidable; there’s nothing more difficult than facing ourselves as we really are. It’s hard to face the truth of how far we are from our true nature and God’s purity of heart.
Continue reading “Week Thirty-Six. Tempted to Doubt. Facing Truth.”Chastity is a fruit of the Holy Spirit which helps us right-order our desires and cultivate a pure heart. It is a purity and freedom from immorality, especially of a sexual nature.
Continue reading “Week Thirty-Six. Tempted to Doubt. Divine Help.”This month we will contemplate the Spirit of Chastity. This fruit of the spirit allows us to flourish because we develop a habit of reverence for ourselves and others. Chastity enables us to moderate our sensuality, using our sexual powers to pursue happiness. We become spiritual, cleansed and pure in heart, living as God intended for us.
Continue reading “Week Thirty-Six. Tempted to Doubt. Chastity.”
Smitten With Goodness 