Sunday<\/p>\n
**This week meditations from the Catholic devotional\u00a0 My Daily Bread by Fr. Paone<\/p>\n
[From Christ’s viewpoint] MY CHILD, often it is safer for a man not to have many consolations and pleasures in his
\nearthly life. Try to grasp this truth, so that you may not become sad and depressed when
\nyou cannot have what you desire.
\n2. If you had all the satisfactions and enjoyments which this world can offer, how long
\nwould they last? The knowledge that they must certainly end, would only make death more
\nbitter and disagreeable to you.
\n3. The fact is that your soul can find full and lasting joy only in My friendship and love.
\nTrue happiness and lasting peace come from Me alone. Foolish lovers of this world think
\nthat they know the meaning of peace and happiness, but what they enjoy is imperfect and
\nshort-lived. Genuine peace and happiness is given only to My loyal followers, those who
\nare unselfish in doing My Will and generous in imitating My example.<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0 Protect us Lord while we are awake and safeguard us while we sleep; that we may keep watch with Christ, and rest in peace.\u00a0 (Compline Prayer)<\/p>\n
Monday
\nGod desires that I should labor for my daily bread and enjoy the rightful pleasures of daily
\nlife. I must not, however, become so entangled in these things that I would sin for them.
\nEach day is a step toward the true and perfect life of Heaven. I need to put complete trust
\nand confidence in God’s wisdom and love for me. This virtue will give me the freedom of
\ntrue charity. I will come to see more clearly each day how to please God more in
\neverything I do.<\/p>\n
MY CHILD, be not too impressed by appearances. Foolish people think that a man cannot
\nhelp being happy if he is rich, or powerful, or if he has fame and influence. Be wise with
\nMy wisdom. Fix your heart on heavenly riches. Then you will see that passing glories and
\nunsteady contentment are not as desirable as they seem. In fact, they are often a burden of
\nwork, worry and fear.<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0 Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace to men of good will.<\/p>\n
Tuesday<\/p>\n
Man’s happiness does not consist in having a great deal. A moderate amount of this
\nworld’s good things is enough for you if you are daily working for Heaven. The more you
\nsee life from My viewpoint, the more you will realize that this earthly life is a cross. It has
\nits trials, burdens, disappointments, and sorrows, all of which must be borne patiently. It is
\nnot easy to be a spiritual man, because the good things of this world continually appeal to
\nyour feelings. Learn to govern your feelings with the reins of reason and grace. Control
\nthem with your intelligence and My commandments.
\n3. As your desire for spiritual perfection grows, you will find yourself thinking more
\ndefinitely of Heaven. Your desire for Heaven will become stronger and stronger. You may
\neven have to control a dislike for the needs and obligations of daily life.
\nTHINK:
\nThe more one thinks of his eternal destiny, the more he will realize that his earthly life is a
\njourney toward something far grander than this world. He sees each day as a step toward
\nHeaven, and he looks at himself to see whether he is on the right path. Slowly he comes to
\nvalue the events of his daily life according to God’s Will and Heaven’s eternal happiness.<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0\u00a0 Blessed by the name of the Lord from henceforth and forever more.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Wednesday
\nMY CHILD, for reasons which you cannot fully appreciate at present, I made your earthly
\nlife a time of labor and trial. Each and every time that I permit you to suffer pain, grief or
\ndisappointment I do it for your own good. These trials help you to come closer to Me in
\none way or another. I made your earthly life a time of labor and trial. Do not think too
\nmuch about pleasure and rest in this life. Be prepared to exercise patience rather than enjoy
\ncomfort or consolation. Think more of carrying the cross of daily life rather than of
\navoiding everything unpleasant.
\n2. Do you expect to enjoy interior consolation whenever you wish? Not even My saints
\ncould do that during their earthly life. They had to face many troubles, temptations, interior
\nmisery and desolation. They went on, however, in spite of all these obstacles, trusting in
\nMe more than in themselves. They were fully aware that the sufferings of this life are not
\nworthy to be compared with the glory that is to come.<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0\u00a0 O Lord come to my assistance, O Lord make haste to help me.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Thursday
\nDo you not see how selfish your desires are? You want to obtain quickly the peace and
\nholiness which others achieved only after many trials and labors. You are more interested
\nin enjoying My gifts than in earning them. No, you must do things My way if you want to
\nlive the best way.
\n4. Wait for the light and strength which I will send in due time. In the meantime have
\ncourage and be patient. Do not give up the fight against your faults and defects. Do your
\nbest to become the kind of person I want you to be. Leave the results to Me. I am near you
\nat every moment. Be unselfish enough to go on trying for My sake. I will someday reward
\nyou far beyond anything you can imagine.
\nTHINK:
\nHeaven is a reward-a thing to be earned. Though I can never really deserve it by my poor
\nhuman efforts alone, Jesus has made it possible for me to work for it with His help.
\nStrengthened by His grace, I can strive for Heaven. An honest daily effort against my faults
\nand a faithful attempt to do God’s Will in all things, will bring me the glorious reward of
\nHeaven. Earthly life has its labors, trials, and difficulties. Each day I show<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0 Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3X)<\/p>\n
Friday
\nMY CHILD, do not look for spiritual consolation or interior good feelings in your prayers
\nand good works. Serve Me for My sake, as I deserve. Let your service depend on My word,
\nand not on any pleasant feelings which I may send you. If I gave interior consolation and
\njoy for every good work, many a worldly man would follow My commandments for the
\nsake of these gifts.
\n2. As long as you are in this life, you will be tempted by the blind selfishness of fallen
\nhuman nature. Turn frequently to Me and let Me guide your self-interest. I desire your selfinterest
\nto be intelligent and well-ordered. Place Me above all persons and things created.
\n3. I am far greater than all My works. I am your greatest Treasure! Seek Me above all else.
\nConsider what I mean in your life. What do I deserve of you? What have I a right to expect
\nof you? Can you draw your next breath or take your next step without My consent and
\nassistance? Could you exist another instant if I withdrew My support? Only by facing these
\nfacts, and living on them each hour of the day, can you give Me the intelligent service
\nwhich you owe Me.<\/p>\n
Prayer:\u00a0 \u00a0Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, And let perpetual light shine upon them; May they rest in peace. (Prayer for the Departed)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Saturday Prayer:\u00a0 O my God I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all-good and worthy of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Sunday **This week meditations from the Catholic devotional\u00a0 My Daily Bread by Fr. Paone [From Christ’s viewpoint] MY CHILD, often it is safer for a man not to have many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-orthodox-daily-devotional","has_no_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16325"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16326,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16325\/revisions\/16326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nSpiritual consolation is only a temporary gift to encourage one who is earnestly trying to
\nserve Me. This gift is not at the command of any man, and it will not be given to anyone
\nwho seeks it for itself. Such a person is too much like the man who seeks his entire
\nhappiness in the pleasures, satisfactions, and honors of this world. A frank and intelligent
\nremembrance of your unworthiness, will help you perform your prayers and good works
\nwithout expecting spiritual consolations in return.
\nTHINK:
\nJesus is right. I do not deserve the least of His gifts. I already owe Him so much that I
\nshould be glad to do His Will, without looking for further gifts. He owes me nothing, and I
\nowe Him everything. If He chose to leave me in misery and sorrow, He would be doing me
\nno injustice, since all that I am and have belong to Him.<\/p>\n
\n*Act of Contrition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"