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To be risen with Christ means not only that one has a choice and that one may live by a higher law—the law of grace and love—but that one must do so. The first obligation of the Christian is to maintain their freedom from all superstitions, all blind taboos and religious
formalities, indeed from all empty forms of legalism.
- Thomas Merton (How free are you -- interiorly? What helps you to grow in inner freedom?)
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Daily Readings
Ez 2:8—3:4; PS 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111,
131 Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14 The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever becomes humble like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to
you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.
What is your opinion?
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it,
amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be
lost.”
Praying the Daily Gospels: A Guide to Meditation, by Philip St. Romain, 2018 (3rd ed.) Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14 (Childlike faith) Acknowledging
our absolute dependence on grace is the first step toward spiritual growth. People who are self-important cut themselves off from grace. This is why Jesus holds out a little child as a model for us, assuring us that our standards of importance are not Gods. • In what ways are you aware of being dependent on God? Do you believe that you have accomplished anything without God’s help? • The parable of the lost sheep teaches us that God loves individuals, not just groups of people. Spend some time simply relaxing in the awareness that God loves you, knows you, and delights in you.
Treatise on the Love of God, by St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) ____________ Chapter 3: That holy complacency gives our heart to God, and makes us feel a perpetual desire in fruition.
Consider,
Theotimus, such as hold in their mouth the herb sciticum; according to report they are never hungry nor thirsty, it is so satisfying, and yet never lose their appetite, it nourishes them so deliciously. When our will meets God it reposes in him, taking in him a sovereign complacency, yet without staying the movement of her desire, for as she desires to love so she loves to desire, she has the desire of love and the love of desire. The repose of the heart consists not in immobility but in needing
nothing, not in having no movement but in having no need to move.
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