Second Sunday of Lent

Thoughts for the Week - Fr. R. Taouk 
25th February 2018

The Spirit of Faith by Cardinal Merry del Val

Superstition is contrary to faith. You must banish all superstitious fears for it is unthinkable that God should make important events depend upon something which is futile and ambiguous.

Faith is the gift of God. We must ask it in prayer, and thank Him for this grace, which is not given to all. When we have the happiness of the Faith, we should be filled with compassion for those who do not have the same light. We must be patient with them and sympathise with their situation. In our own faith we must submit our intelligence, for if everything were always evident as it is in Heaven, we would have no merit in believing. It is not possible to sin against faith without an act of the will. We must lay down our will at the foot of the throne of God and pay Him the homage of our belief. We must be disposed to believe that which escapes the narrow limits of our intelligence. Recognise your limitations. The secret of sanctity is to see God in all things; our faith must be based on love and on confidence. Let us often remind ourselves that there is not a single instant of the day or a circumstance of our life which is not permitted or willed by God.

Goodness does not consist in sentiments but in interior mortification and in the virtues attained in faithfully performing our duty in order to do the will of God. Make this the basis and foundation of all your efforts. We can lose the sensible presence of Jesus. We must never then think He is far from us. He is nearer than before, for we are suffering. Do not give up prayer at such times! Let us pray though it be without consolation. Let us be on our guard against comforting ourselves by means of worldly distractions. Let us seek Jesus in prayer; seek Him in Church; and there we shall find Him.

You must not dread temptations or, above all, worry yourself over them, for they intensify our love for Our Lord, owing to the efforts we make to resist and overcome them, by the grace which He never refuses us if we pray to Him for it. Reflecting that grace means responsibility, and that you must correspond to that which you receive and know how to profit from it. It is only by knowing how to love God that we shall learn to love others and do them good. When you hear uncharitable talk which you cannot prevent you ought to be silent and bury what you have heard as in a tomb. You must never consent to sin in order not to displease others. Suffer anything rather than that. You must have the courage to tell the truth and not shrink from a duty. You must be brave enough to face ridicule, for often what is of obligation is ridiculous in the eyes of the world. Do that for love of Our Lord and in order to draw nearer to Him.