Simplicity.
“Be simple as doves.” — St. Matt. 10:16.
TWENTY-NINTH DAY.
Oh, how one should love the generous resolution of desiring to imitate the hidden and common life of Our Saviour Jesus Christ! This thought comes from God, since it is so far removed from the flesh and the senses. — St. Vincent de Paul.
A person who aimed at perfection asked a holy priest, who was very enlightened, the means to arrive there. He said: “Live continually in union with Jesus Christ, without doing anything extraordinary exteriorly.” She followed his counsel and made rapid progress in the paths of God. She proposed Jesus Christ as her model in all she did. When she awoke, she represented to herself Our Saviour offering Himself to His Father, and offered herself with Him. In her prayers, she imagined Our Saviour praying with an infinite fervor; she endeavored to enter into His dispositions. At work, she thought of Our Saviour giving Himself to the great work of our salvation. If she was ordered to do anything, she hastened to obey, thinking of Jesus submissive to Mary and Joseph. In assisting at Mass, she sacrificed herself in spirit with Our Saviour. In her conversations, she thought of Jesus Christ, Whose conversation was so mild and so edifying. When she suffered, she recollected that Jesus was a Man of sorrows. On taking her rest, she whispered these words: “O my Father, into Thy hands I place my soul.”
Prayer.
My divine Saviour, give me a great desire to imitate Thy hidden and common life. Grant that I may live continually in union with Thee. I will take Thee for a model in all I do.