Mortification
“If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself.” — St. Matt. 16:24.
SIXTEENTH DAY.
He who would advance in perfection should take particular care not to allow his passions to govern him, which will destroy with one hand the edifice he builds with the other. To be master of one’s self, it is necessary to begin early to resist our inclinations; for if once deeply rooted and strengthened, there is hardly ever a remedy. — St. Vincent de Paul.
A holy anchorite, walking one day with one of his disciples in a forest of cypress, commanded him to pull up four of the trees, pointing to those he wished him to take. The first was uprooted without trouble. The second had commenced to take root: it came up with more difficulty. To the third he was obliged to take both hands and employ all his strength, as it had become almost a tree. Coming to the fourth, it was in vain he exerted all his efforts to move it: it was beyond his strength. The holy old man took occasion from this to instruct his disciple upon the necessity of combating our passions in their birth. “My son,” he said, “with a little vigilance and mortification one may conquer the passions while they are yet young; when they have sent their roots deep down into the soul, nothing is so difficult, it is even impossible without a miracle of God’s power.”
Prayer.
Grant me grace, O Lord, to overcome my pride with humility, my attachment to things of this life by a love of poverty, my sensuality by seeking to please God alone.