"Our aim is to become good,devout,pious men and women, and to that end we must labor; then if it should please God to give us angelic perfections, we should, doubtless, be good angles, but, meanwhile, let us simply, humbly, and devoutly practice those lowly virtues, the acquisition of which has been appointed by our Savior as our daily task, such as patience, cheerfulness, a mortified heart, humility, obedience, poverty, chastity, kindness towards our neighbor, forbearance towards his faults, diligence, and holy fervor."
- An Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis De Sales
Reading this last night really made me think.
Yes, we should always try to be good, pure and holy before God and do all actions with love for Him but not all of us are meant for the same level of holiness. We should try our very best to be as holy as we can but that will differ between individuals. In a litany of humility I prayed during Lent it asked Jesus to grant us the grace to wish that others should be holier than we, provided we become as holy as we should.
Grow in virtue with the intent of becoming who God created you to be; anything other than that can lead us to do gain virtue for our own glory. When people begin to want others to praise their virtue (and that's the only value in it they see), it might be a sign "Their glorifying is not of God". I found this to be a good reminder to examine my intents to make help me live for the glory of my King.
It's an important thought.. and one I struggle with. I see holiness as drawing near the flame of God's love more and more, and being transformed by it into a holy image of Christ. I've always thought of this life as an opportunity to dive as far into God as possible, and to take as many people with on that journey as I can. But on the other hand, there's always the danger of pride the more holy one gets. I think where it gets tricky is in the actual actions that become how we live out our diving into God and ardently pursuing the Heart of Jesus.. are we pious in vain, when God doesn't expect that level of piety of action from us? That's where we've gotta follow God's lead! :)
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