Devotion tu Jesus

Third Friday

Before meditation

"The laity will find this friend all the aid necessary devotion to their state".

It is the content of the first promise made by the Heart of Jesus I do not stop listing the duties: everyone knows their own. I just say that our work in this world can be summed up in this: to know, love, fulfill the duties of their state.
Know them, love them and perform them and those whom God requires them to us, and why he requires them to us. It is here that one must avoid the illusion of interest, the fluctuations of caprice, the petty calculations of the fear, the false pretenses of the passions.

Duty is duty! It requires us, not we who create it. We must take what it is. If the second mutilate conveniences, we no longer have the remains of a corpse. Besides, we should note that my duty is something composed of soul and body. The body of duty is the letter of the requirements, the soul is the will of God that inspires, animates and penetrates the requirements. If you want to live our personal duty, you should not kill him, so he must take it in its entirety, with his soul and his body.

When you make a choice between the requirements of those that we agree and those who do not agree, first of all, you no longer have the effect of duty, because by doing so, and we follow our own will and not that of God! Then you have no more than fragments of a body, because if they take some and leaving others. Under such conditions, you might find that inner life?

If you want to live their duty, we must take it in its entirety! And cling to his soul that is the will of God, as long as you will not see their duty in this great thing that is life. Until you accept without calculation, without diminishing, not divides it not be a burden and annoying. Nothing is beautiful and sweet, nothing is strong and rewarding as the duty living, nothing is odious and overwhelming as the duty-eaten and dead

If there is a duty cost as much up to now, we are honest with ourselves take it, because we killed? Let's be people of duty, full duty, not the whims of our people and our passions, not the people of compromises and expedients, and no more complain of its weight, as does the bird that never complains of the weight its wings, and understand and savor the words of the Saviour: "My yoke is easy and my burden light".
(Mt 11,30).

I'm not here to indicate the particular duties of each of the state: they are not detailed you want to give advice, but general principles of our lives, the guideline of our lives. We just made and indicate the place of the duties of our state, the economy of the work of our perfection, and show us the substantially according to which they must put into practice. Wait, and then add all the details to each virtue.
What we try to train us, it is the regularity of a life more or less mechanical. It is not a regulation you want to give.

This does not mean that there should be one of a regulation is necessary for us, as it is needed the bark of the tree, because through it the sap flowing.
The juice or sap in the tree cannot move without the protection of the cortex, or the stream of divine life in the soul without the protection of the regulation. But neither the cortex nor the regulation is the life. Regulations are to be found everywhere, abundant and overflowing, they do not need to add another to those already existing. What is lacking, what he finds little space in most of our fictitious organizations, is the juice, the juice, that inner spirit which is life. This is the Christian spirit can renew our lives.

Second meditation

We has established that the Christian spirit is capable of renewing our lives. And where will you take this Spirit? You've already got it! It takes the school of God - of course this goes hand in hand with learning how and the spirit with which he attended God - We know that God speaks and acts through all creatures. He thus takes school everywhere, all that remains is to be taught to listen and follow. The teachings of God as He teaches there each one in particular. What he does every creature has a teaching, conduct, a special action for her. What is missing are the docile disciples.

What God teaches in his school? He teaches everything, absolutely everything that the personal vocation demands that everyone knows, loves and face. The personal vocation requires perfecting his mind, his heart and senses, in order to serve God according to the needs of its glory and its status. This assumes that everyone will enjoy all the Christian virtues, of his own situation.

Now, these are precisely the virtues which God seeks to form in us. In fact, the succession of events, led by Him and in which our life is divided, when we wanted to lead gradually to practice the patience or the faith, generosity and confidence, self-sacrifice, or kindness, prudence, fortitude, or , charity or justice, etc.

At what point and in what order we do them? In the moment when the opportunity presents itself and in the order in which they like to ask you. What is a good time and the desired order. God is very able in the formation of souls. What if we do not, leaving formed by Him, did not practice at the time the order sought by the Providence and the virtues of our state you personally!

What we will do penance? Those who sow him every day on our way. "Each day has enough evil thereof" (Matt. 6:34), he said. Take her, those that are imposed or proposed by duty, by the events or the inspirations that come from Him These are his and are better than ours, which, invented by the fancy, do not have the grace, while her have Always have, ours are often reckless, dangerous, deceptive, and his never are, ours are erratic, inconsistent, his measured, continue, reason, and our often very little and poorly respond to the needs of our development, it's always proportionate.

Third meditation

It is very useful for the advancement of spiritual life prolonged meditation on the inner qualities of the Heart of Jesus They explain his words; give the reason for his choices. From his usual deep feelings, the decisions of its spring action. Every man, when it is sincere, it assumes the external behavior according to the provisions of his soul. Now Jesus showed this by opening the bottom of your heart and inviting us to penetrate it because we were comforted and encouraged to imitate..

The patience of Jesus.
From the Book of Revelation: "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: Thus saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot because thou art lukewarm, and that you are neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.
(Rev. 3,14-16)

You say: "I am rich, I have acquired wealth, I do not need anything," but you know you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked. I suggest you buy from me gold refined by fire, get rich, white garments to clothe you and hide your shameful nakedness, and eye drops to anoint their eyes and their sight restored. Those whom I love, I rebuke and chasten. Mistrust so be zealous and repent, here I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come and eat with him and he with me. The winner I will sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has ears hears what the Spirit says to the Church.

The Heart of Jesus is a love that waits tirelessly. I saw a picture of Jesus knocking on a door without a handle on the outside, is a door that opens only from within. In the author's thought is the Jesus who want to enter, enter but does not want violence, enduring waits too narrow-mindedness of those who likes his visit, does not appreciate the gift of his friendship. How should wait? Not tired, not impatient until the person is aware, to become available, opens the door of the heart. So the father of the prodigal son is not affected, but expects to return with confidence.
The love of the Heart of Jesus, patient and merciful, not only trustworthy, but gives it wide, tirelessly returns. The stretch between Jesus and Peter, after perjury, is readmitted in friendship, as a task of great responsibility, revealed the patience and trust that the Heart of Jesus is ready to remember. "I will go to him and eat with him and him with me." It would seem just a reminder severe, even some punishment for the rudeness, but the Heart of Jesus, the Savior eager to bring his salvation, his grace, takes the thread of good will and makes it a steel string. The delicacy of his love that waits patiently becomes a powerful force of conquest; overcomes evil with good, defeated by the magnanimity of forgiveness.

Come to Me.
From the Gospel according to Matthew: "Then Jesus said: I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes". Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. Everything is given to me by my Father, no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come unto me, all ye who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden light".
(Matthew 11,25-30)

The invitation of Jesus is very sweet and insistent. Who is tired spiritually and morally oppressed, has a particular title to be accepted by Jesus and find rest in His Heart. The promises are enticing and flattering: "I will give you rest, you will find rest, my yoke is easy, and my burden is light".
Are not simple statements are no guarantees and commitments of love Almighty. Jesus is the faithful friend, keeps the promise and men usually do not say, Jesus when he says, he realizes with a width of love and generosity. However, should go to his school by becoming his disciples, to faithfully follow him, imitating his example. "I am meek and humble of heart".

What he says are distinctive characteristics of his Heart, characterize it, define it, and qualify it. He performs at the Last Supper on a prophetic gesture which draws the attention of the Apostles: the washing of the feet. Gesture that surprised everyone, it seems exaggerated, regrettable at the same Peter, Jesus, however, reiterates its firm intention to look like this: "You call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly, because they are. If, therefore, I, Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you an example so as I did, you also should do. Verily, verily, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor are messengers greater than one who sent him".
(Jn 13,13-16).

Meekness:
it means waiving its rights made furious love of God in the service active for the good of others.
This is the meaning of meekness and humility of Jesus This approach us intimately to Jesus meek and humble and opens his heart to us that is divine treasures of the vein being open to more and more with his inexhaustible goodness. So the Heart of Jesus is really our place of rest.

Fourth meditation

Another promise of Jesus is this: "I will pour abundant blessings on the most of their business.

In the letter to his spiritual father St. Margaret Mary Alacoque puts it this way: "The lay people will, by means of devotion ... those sweet heavenly blessings in all their undertakings." To understand well the meaning of this promise and avoid illusions and delusions, it must be remembered that the same Holy writes in another letter to his mother: "He does not tell me that his friends will have nothing to suffer, because He wants they confined their bliss in His bitter taste". And in another letter to the same religious writes: "I honestly do not think that the promises because of you relate to the abundance of temporal things, because he says that what makes us poorer rather than of his grace and his love. Instead, he wants to enrich your souls and your hearts. Moreover, apart every comment of the Holy, there is Jesus himself who said: "If any man will come after me must deny him and take up his cross and follow me."
We must therefore place this promise of blessings of the Sacred Heart temporal business of his devotees in the context of grace and of the benefits that the temporal order, the Lord told us that we must ask "Give us this day our daily bread" and that the Church asks us in our liturgical prayers.

It means that the floor of the Providence of God, the Sacred Heart on his devotees pour in a special way and with greater abundance of his blessings, which will support us in understanding and in the hallway of his duty, and this is about all that is required or because they had the mission entrusted to us, will be realized.
Now we know that the duty - of which we have spoken on other occasions - it is our only occupation in which employment when it is done as it should leads us to Christian perfection. And this is the only thing we do, because God is not there a question that, observance of the duties of their state, then such obligations are contained in the commandments and counsels. We will never have to get out of there. It is not at all to do amazing things: They are forbidden, and when the lives of saints there is anything exceptional, it is he who makes them. We simply have to follow the line of duty to the common practice of everyday life, in the condition in which God wants us, all the duty and nothing but the duty, is our perfection. Christian perfection is to all states and is accessible to all those who cannot do their duty? And do one's duties is all that God commands, he never asked and never ask another. Often we are tempted, and perhaps also say: "It's hard being a Christian in this condition, perfection is impossible in this state".

In such situations we are advised not to make calculations with the difficulties, a brave man surpasses them forever. In such a state that there is a duty to perform? Yes! Perform the duty of this state and be content with it. When we are told: "Make", and refers to accomplish that which God demands it and as long as he dictates it. This is impossible? No, never, would be blasphemy to say that he only imposes duties impossible!
There is even an exhortation to go to the bottom line of duty, it's not what your neighbor, and you will come to full perfection that God requires from each. About waiver, or pull back under the force of evil nature, he often throws in a deplorable illusion.
Who says: "If I were in that condition I'd better, this or this other one is more likely to be a Christian. And you start to wish for another state, and in the meantime is not the duty of the state. It is that's what the enemy wants of our perfection. We are still urged to be more positive, always there to keep us where we are and where we are there, begin to do what to do. If later on, or forward, or after God leads you to a different state, we will also then the duty of the state, and so ever, virtually living the life in which we find ourselves.

There is nothing as good as the Christian life is not lull us into the empty utopia or more wandering imaginations, which are Christian. The duty, the duty of the moment, the duty pure and simple, in its concrete reality, whatever it is, everything is there, be firm and steadfast in the fulfillment of duty, is to be true Christians. We are faithful to the duty of the first vocation: that every vocation has its own duty, and that's what we must do. Everyone has their own personal and necessarily a must, because it necessarily has a vocation.
Ora Iddio sa quando abbiamo bisogno di essere incoraggiati, consolati, fortificati, e secondo le necessità ci procura le gioie e le consolazioni. Now God knows when we need to be encouraged, comforted and strengthened, as needed, and gives us the joys and consolations. He knows when we need to be shaken by tremors that will drop our waste, purified by trial, sanctified by the atonement, seconded by the sacrifice, and to this end has the actions of creatures who try. Humans and animals, natural events and physical events, through the bite of an insect to a supernatural inspiration, everything works in us according to the will of God to understand and believe this move so much but just need much prayer.