02-28-2021, 06:35 PM
CONVERSION
CHAPTER 11
An Honest Daily Effort
CHRIST:
MY CHILD, so often your thoughts are on unimportant things. You do not center them
enough on Me nor on your greatest need. After a few moments of recollection, your
thoughts go right back to useless distractions. As a result you rarely get a good look at
yourself and your actions. You hardly know your real worth because you take so little
notice of your desires, motives, and intentions. You fail to be impressed by your many
faults because you are blind to what is going on within your heart. Your interior motives
are often selfish and corrupt. Consequently, your external actions are very imperfect and
unsatisfactory. From a pure heart come the fruits of a good life, but from an imperfect heart
there can only come an imperfect life.
2. External activity proceeds from internal vigor. If you serve Me only by external
observances, you are no true follower of Mine. You must apply the ax to the root of your
troubles. Learn to control this selfish nature of yours, and you will possess My peace. I
daily offer you My grace for this divine purpose. Do not keep looking at your weakness.
Do not be afraid to make the attempt. Nothing is impossible to Me. Fix your eyes on Me
and make a sincere effort to follow My Will. Your difficulties will gradually vanish.
3. Try as you will, you will always make a number of unavoidable mistakes. Still, with a
little violence to yourself, you will gradually be able to serve Me with more ease. If you
rooted out of your life one single fault each year, you would soon become a perfect man.
Nowadays, however, people seem to be at their best at the beginning of their conversion.
They consider it a great accomplishment if they do not become worse with time.
THINK:
Many admit that they have faults. When, however, any particular fault of theirs is pointed
out to them, they will immediately justify themselves. They simply refuse to come face to
face with any particular fault of theirs. As a result they live a lifetime with little progress in
virtue. To better my life I must see and admit what is wrong. Then I can proceed to
improve myself.
PRAY:
My God, make me brave enough to face my faults, honest enough to acknowledge them,
and strong enough to fight them. I think of many things each day, but so many of my
interests are unimportant and useless. Give me the strength and the generosity to make
definite resolutions against definite faults. May I never be so selfish as to stop trying to
please You more each day. Though my faults seem to continue, still my efforts must
remain firm and I must go on trying to become daily a better man. If I will go on trying, I
cannot help becoming better each day. A continued effort will slowly destroy my
selfishness, and my faults will gradually weaken and die. Lord, on You I depend for the
light and strength for this daily battle. Amen.
CONVERSION
CHAPTER 12
Extreme Love of This Life
CHRIST:
MY CHILD, learn wisdom from the folly of worldly people. See how hard they take their
worldly losses! For an earthly gain men will labor and suffer so much, but their spiritual
losses are so easily forgotten. They are often interested in matters which have little or no
value, and they negligently pass over matters which are important. Their entire attention is
often absorbed by external affairs. Unless you fight to control your thoughts, you too will
be enslaved by the passing events of the present moment.
2. How foolish are those who do not realize their miserable condition, making this passing
earthly life the only object of their desires! Some cling so to this life that, if they could
remain here forever, they would not care at all for the Kingdom of God. They would prefer
to stay on earth even though they might have to strain and struggle for the bare necessities
of this earthly existence.
3. How foolish and blind these people are! They lie buried so deep in earthly things that
they enjoy only the pleasures of the senses. In a short while, they will come to the end of
their earthly life. Then they will have a bitter realization of the uselessness and nothingness
of what they loved.
THINK:
The best way to realize the quickly-passing value of earthly attractions, is to look at them
in the past. Where are the enjoyments of last year? What became of the glory for which I
struggled so hard five years ago? What's left of last summer's pleasures? Gone! All finished
and gone! Do I want to go on living for that kind of happiness or do I want perfect, allsatisfying-
never-ending happiness? Only a fool would hesitate in answering this question.
PRAY:
Lord and Father of all intelligence, may I never be guilty of the supreme folly-the folly of
those who believe in living for today's earthly pleasures, without bothering about their
eternal salvation. In the Gospel You speak of the man who sat back and prepared to think
only of the pleasure and enjoyment of his earthly possessions. To him You said: "Thou
fool! This night will they require thy soul of thee!" He died that night, unprepared to face
his judge. Let me always face life's greatest fact-I live for Heaven or for hell. My earthly
life will show what choice I make. My God, give me the strength to live a holy life on earth
so that I may receive the eternal reward of Heavenly life with You. Amen.
The Four Last Things
FEW THINGS in this earthly life are absolutely certain. The most undebatable of these is
death. Every man, even the atheist, will admit this much. Death, however, is not the very
last event in this life of ours. Right after death, we shall be judged. Our private judgment
will be repeated on the Day of judgment, when all men will know us for what we are.
Our judgment will depend on how we live this earthly life of ours. If we have honestly
done our best and followed the commandments of Christ, we shall be rewarded with the
perfect life of Heaven. If, however, we have disregarded His loving directions and refused
to make use of His generous help, we shall be condemned to hell.
Death, judgment, Heaven, and hell-these are the four last things toward which we are
moving each hour of the day and night. They will never frighten us if our conscience is
clear. If we love God in our daily life, that is, if we are sincerely trying to know and follow
His holy Will, we have no reason to fear.
By keeping this eternal goal ever before us, we shall think straight when life's problems and
difficulties face us. In making the following meditations, we must strive to become
eternity-minded. We must seek to guarantee to ourselves, as far as is in our power, the
unending success and unmarred happiness of Heaven.
CHAPTER 11
An Honest Daily Effort
CHRIST:
MY CHILD, so often your thoughts are on unimportant things. You do not center them
enough on Me nor on your greatest need. After a few moments of recollection, your
thoughts go right back to useless distractions. As a result you rarely get a good look at
yourself and your actions. You hardly know your real worth because you take so little
notice of your desires, motives, and intentions. You fail to be impressed by your many
faults because you are blind to what is going on within your heart. Your interior motives
are often selfish and corrupt. Consequently, your external actions are very imperfect and
unsatisfactory. From a pure heart come the fruits of a good life, but from an imperfect heart
there can only come an imperfect life.
2. External activity proceeds from internal vigor. If you serve Me only by external
observances, you are no true follower of Mine. You must apply the ax to the root of your
troubles. Learn to control this selfish nature of yours, and you will possess My peace. I
daily offer you My grace for this divine purpose. Do not keep looking at your weakness.
Do not be afraid to make the attempt. Nothing is impossible to Me. Fix your eyes on Me
and make a sincere effort to follow My Will. Your difficulties will gradually vanish.
3. Try as you will, you will always make a number of unavoidable mistakes. Still, with a
little violence to yourself, you will gradually be able to serve Me with more ease. If you
rooted out of your life one single fault each year, you would soon become a perfect man.
Nowadays, however, people seem to be at their best at the beginning of their conversion.
They consider it a great accomplishment if they do not become worse with time.
THINK:
Many admit that they have faults. When, however, any particular fault of theirs is pointed
out to them, they will immediately justify themselves. They simply refuse to come face to
face with any particular fault of theirs. As a result they live a lifetime with little progress in
virtue. To better my life I must see and admit what is wrong. Then I can proceed to
improve myself.
PRAY:
My God, make me brave enough to face my faults, honest enough to acknowledge them,
and strong enough to fight them. I think of many things each day, but so many of my
interests are unimportant and useless. Give me the strength and the generosity to make
definite resolutions against definite faults. May I never be so selfish as to stop trying to
please You more each day. Though my faults seem to continue, still my efforts must
remain firm and I must go on trying to become daily a better man. If I will go on trying, I
cannot help becoming better each day. A continued effort will slowly destroy my
selfishness, and my faults will gradually weaken and die. Lord, on You I depend for the
light and strength for this daily battle. Amen.
CONVERSION
CHAPTER 12
Extreme Love of This Life
CHRIST:
MY CHILD, learn wisdom from the folly of worldly people. See how hard they take their
worldly losses! For an earthly gain men will labor and suffer so much, but their spiritual
losses are so easily forgotten. They are often interested in matters which have little or no
value, and they negligently pass over matters which are important. Their entire attention is
often absorbed by external affairs. Unless you fight to control your thoughts, you too will
be enslaved by the passing events of the present moment.
2. How foolish are those who do not realize their miserable condition, making this passing
earthly life the only object of their desires! Some cling so to this life that, if they could
remain here forever, they would not care at all for the Kingdom of God. They would prefer
to stay on earth even though they might have to strain and struggle for the bare necessities
of this earthly existence.
3. How foolish and blind these people are! They lie buried so deep in earthly things that
they enjoy only the pleasures of the senses. In a short while, they will come to the end of
their earthly life. Then they will have a bitter realization of the uselessness and nothingness
of what they loved.
THINK:
The best way to realize the quickly-passing value of earthly attractions, is to look at them
in the past. Where are the enjoyments of last year? What became of the glory for which I
struggled so hard five years ago? What's left of last summer's pleasures? Gone! All finished
and gone! Do I want to go on living for that kind of happiness or do I want perfect, allsatisfying-
never-ending happiness? Only a fool would hesitate in answering this question.
PRAY:
Lord and Father of all intelligence, may I never be guilty of the supreme folly-the folly of
those who believe in living for today's earthly pleasures, without bothering about their
eternal salvation. In the Gospel You speak of the man who sat back and prepared to think
only of the pleasure and enjoyment of his earthly possessions. To him You said: "Thou
fool! This night will they require thy soul of thee!" He died that night, unprepared to face
his judge. Let me always face life's greatest fact-I live for Heaven or for hell. My earthly
life will show what choice I make. My God, give me the strength to live a holy life on earth
so that I may receive the eternal reward of Heavenly life with You. Amen.
The Four Last Things
FEW THINGS in this earthly life are absolutely certain. The most undebatable of these is
death. Every man, even the atheist, will admit this much. Death, however, is not the very
last event in this life of ours. Right after death, we shall be judged. Our private judgment
will be repeated on the Day of judgment, when all men will know us for what we are.
Our judgment will depend on how we live this earthly life of ours. If we have honestly
done our best and followed the commandments of Christ, we shall be rewarded with the
perfect life of Heaven. If, however, we have disregarded His loving directions and refused
to make use of His generous help, we shall be condemned to hell.
Death, judgment, Heaven, and hell-these are the four last things toward which we are
moving each hour of the day and night. They will never frighten us if our conscience is
clear. If we love God in our daily life, that is, if we are sincerely trying to know and follow
His holy Will, we have no reason to fear.
By keeping this eternal goal ever before us, we shall think straight when life's problems and
difficulties face us. In making the following meditations, we must strive to become
eternity-minded. We must seek to guarantee to ourselves, as far as is in our power, the
unending success and unmarred happiness of Heaven.