Extracts from the Dux Spiritualis by the Venerable Louis
de Ponte SJ
Chapter 3 Section 5 – How prayer wrestles with superfluous
cares
The 3rd conflict to be undertaken is against
superfluous cares which prick like thorns and choke the seed of divine inspirations,
bringing upon the spirit a kind of torpor which makes it inapt to speak with its
Creator.
He himself admonishes thee in these words: “Take heed
to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be overcharged with… the cares of this
life” [St Luke xxi, 34].
Page 56: Just as an excess of food and drink weighs down
the body: so, many superfluous cares disturb the spirit and impede prayer.
If in time of prayer such anxieties and cares attack thee
fight against them with cries and petitions to Heaven.
If thou make it thy chief care to please God, He will
take upon Himself the good success of thy other enterprises: this one principal
care will overcome the lesser ones.
It is written: Be still and see that I am God
[Psalm xlv, 11]. As if to say: Reject the multitude of cares, and thou shalt be
permitted to contemplate my greatness.
Prayer:
Infinite God, set my soul at rest from the cares of
Martha, lest they hinder the quiet of Mary; pluck out of my heart those thorns
which prick it; produce instead holy thoughts and affections pleasing to Thee.
No comments:
Post a Comment