Thursday, October 24 : Seraphim of Sarov

The person who desires salvation must keep his heart ready for contrition and repentance: “My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.” (Ps 51:19) If a person maintains a contrite spirit, he can peacefully pass through the traps of the devil, whose whole ambition is to cast his mind into trouble and to sow weeds there, according to the words of the Gospel: “Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where are the weeds coming from?” But if a person maintains a humble heart and peaceful thoughts, all the attacks of the devil are to no effect. The martyr Boniface said that contrition begins with the fear of God. From that fear is born attentiveness, the mother of interior peace and of the awareness, which enables the soul to see, as in pure and smooth water, how disfigured it is… Can a person who falls after having been in a state of grace then rise up again? Yes… When we sincerely repent of our faults by turning towards Our Lord Jesus Christ with all our heart, he rejoices and invites all the spirits who are his friends to come to the feast, showing them the coin that has been found again (Lk 15:10). So let us not hesitate to turn towards our merciful Lord without letting ourselves go in a carefree life or in despair. Despair is the devil’s greatest joy. It is the deadly sin of which Scripture speaks (1 Jn 5:16).
maronite readings – rosary,team