Obedience
"Our Lady listens attentively to what God wants, ponders what she doesn't fully understand and asks about what she doesn't know. Then she gives herself completely to doing the divine Will."
St. Josemaria Escriva
For Reflection:
List the steps Our Lady takes in her obedience. How can I employ these same steps in my life of faith?
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"On each occasion I say: 'Lord, thy will be done! It's not what this or that one wants, but what You want me to do.' This is my fortress, this is my firm rock, this is my sure support."
St. John Chrysostom
For Reflection:
Am I willing to say "Lord, thy will be done" in the midst of my current trial or struggle? To what extent am I willing to accept the will of God even if it goes against my natural wants or desires?
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"God knows better. We men have little understanding of how his fatherly and gentle care leads us towards Him."
A. del Portillo
For Reflection:
How does faith help us to see the omniscient plan of God operative in the midst of every circumstance?
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Obedience
"God's will is the compass-needle which at every moment accurately points the way that takes us to Him. At the same time, this course is the path to our own happiness."
Francis Fernandez
For Reflection:
What is the relationship between following the will of God and our own happiness? Today, I will look for the "compass- needle" of God's will and follow it with joy and hope.
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"Obedience makes our actions and our sufferings meritorious, in such a way that the latter, which could seem futile can become very fruitful."
Reginald Garrigou- Lagrange
For Reflection:
What joy is there in accepting the will of God even in the midst of our sufferings? How, then, does both obedience and suffering become meritorious and fruitful?
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"Once the Lord told me that I was not obeying, unless I was determined to suffer. I must fix my eyes on all that he had suffered and I should find everything easy."
St. Teresa of Avila
For Reflection:
In light of St. Teresa's quote and in light of the life of Christ, what is the connection between obedience and suffering? How can keeping our eyes on Jesus provide consolation in the midst of our obedience?
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"We cannot have our own way when Our Lord points to a solution which goes contrary to our own best advisers, as we are not our own good doctors."
Francis Fernandez
For Reflection:
When Our Lord points to a solution that rubs against my grain, how quick am I to embrace His will over mine? What prevents me from doing so immediately? Is it pride or arrogance? Is it lack of trust or stubbornness? Is it selfishness or fear? I will ask our Blessed Lady to intercede for this area of struggle within me.
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"The virtue of obedience is an exalted virtue, eminently reasonable; it is not in the least servile or blind, but requires on the contrary the greatest freedom of spirit and the strongest discernment."
Jacques Maritain
For Reflection:
What do I think makes the virtue of obedience an exalted virtue? An eminently reasonable virtue? Why does obedience require the greatest freedom of spirit and the strongest discernment?
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"Obedience to the will of God - or even what is merely believed to be the will of God - is actually more meritorious not less, when it is unaccompanied by emotional consolations and sensible fervor."
R. H. Benson
For Reflection:
Why is an act of obedience more meritorious when it is unaccompanied by emotional consolations and sensible fervor? How can this insight help me to be spontaneously obedient even when I don't "feel like it?"
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"Obedience is a little dog that leads the blind."
St. Joseph Cupertino
For Reflection:
How does obedience give spiritual insight as well as clarity to our daily occupations? How have I seen this to be so in my own life?
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