Tag: obedience
Who is obedient
One of the old men said, ‘When Saint Basil came to the monastery one day, he said to the abbot, after the customary exhortation, “Have you a brother here who is obedient?” The other replied, “They are all your servants, master, and strive for their salvation.” But he repeated, “Have you a brother who is… Read More ›
The Lord prepares the soul, prepares the heart
Vatican City, Jun 13, 2014 / 10:29 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his daily homily Pope Francis reflected on the mission given to each of us personally by God. “When the Lord wants to give us a mission, wants to give us a task, He prepares us. He prepares us to do it well, as he prepared… Read More ›
Disobedience separates the soul from God
By the sin of disobedience man began to be at odds both with God and with himself, and by the just judgement of God, he who did not want peace with God did not find peace in himself. As it is written, ‘You have set me against you, and I am become a burden to… Read More ›
Divine humility alone can lift you up
With what words shall we bless the love of God and how can we express our thanks? He has loved us so much that for our sake He, who is eternal and older than the universe itself, has become younger than most of his servants in the world! Like an infant, he cried speechlessly, even… Read More ›
The dove returns
In the days when Abba Arsenius was living in Lower Egypt he was continually interrupted there and so he judged it right to leave his cell. Without taking anything away with him, he went to his disciples at Pharan, Alexander and Zoilus. He said to Alexander, ‘Get up, and get into the boat,’ which he… Read More ›
Human pride brought you down
Behold, man, what God has become for your sake! Keep in your heart a lesson from this great humility imparted by a speechless infant! You were in paradise one day and you were eloquent giving each creature a name but your creator, for your sake, laid down speechless unable to call his own mother by… Read More ›
Have you got any saints here?
The story is told of Blessed Basil that, making a visitation of his monasteries, he said to one of the hegemons, “Have you got any saints here?” The Abba said, “Through your prayers, my lord, we all desire to be saints.” And again, Blessed Basil said to him, “No, I mean have you got any saints here?” And… Read More ›
Abraham and Mary, models of Faith
Vatican City, Dec 19, 2012 / 10:12 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI continued his series of reflections on faith this Wednesday, saying that at times it includes an element of darkness. “We encounter moments where God seems absent, his silence weighs on our hearts and his will doesn’t correspond to our own as we… Read More ›
St. Benedict for Beginners – ‘The Way of Obedience’
‘It is by the way of obedience that we go to God.’ Benedictine monks and nuns take three vows. They promise to pursue obedience, stability, and conversion of life. Obedience is a hard word in a society that values personal freedom above anything else. But Benedict realizes that unless we submit to something greater than… Read More ›
Little Motifications are the most important
Louis de Montfort points out that interior mortifications are more important than exterior ones, even though the latter are not to be disregarded. The conquest of selfishness, or self-will, is the greatest challenge. Even the good results of difficult practices of mortification may be spoiled by self-seeking. Hence he recommends that all exterior acts of… Read More ›