In the midst of our daily struggle, we must be on our guard against the blows aimed at us from every side by the enemy of mankind. Thus, every night at Compline we sing: "Fratres, sobrii estote et vigilate, " "Brethren, be sober and watch."
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
In the midst of our daily struggle, we must be on our guard against the blows aimed at us from every side by the enemy of mankind. Thus, every night at Compline we sing: "Fratres, sobrii estote et vigilate, " "Brethren, be sober and watch."
In this conflict, the devil uses all available means - success is his only rule and he has no honor. His hatred has only one goal: to master the soul by ensnaring it. To succeed, he uses all the genius of his diabolic hostility and does not shrink from any course of action.
He especially excels in transforming himself into an angel of light, avoiding the most obvious temptations, to trap the seduced soul. How, indeed, is a soul able to disftrust these illusions when the evil is not openly detectable in them? Even in prayer itself, illusion may be present and make grace sterile or, at least, lessen its effects.
Do we have to resign ourselves to this? Should we acknowledge that the adversary is too cunning and ourselves too weak to undertake this combat? Should we admit we will never be able to thwart such skill, hiding behind so many deceptions and perverting the most sacred realities? What good is it to dedicate oneself to prayer if it can be also a snare? How could we be certain that our Christian life is not a continual illusion leading to perdition?
The answer is simple. Perhaps too simple for our complicated hearts!
Fidelity to our duty is the unquestionable proof that our life is committed on the path traced by Our Lord Jesus Christ. With its never-ending portions of tiredness, of repetitions that quickly become routines, in the ordinary grayness of daily life, our duty does not appear attractive to us. But it makes us remain where God has placed us, doing our modest work. We know that we adhere with our whole being to the divine will and our simple action acquires a dimension of eternity.
And we also know that our prayer is true because our fidelity to our duty of state is the result of our adoration. By receiving the lights given by faith and many graces, we have been mysteriously invested with the necessary strength to endure courageously the burdens of each day, paying a loving attention to the will of God, manifested in the charges of our state of life.
Our forefathers respected the duty well done. They revered it. Their whole souls were revealed by this characteristic: their cult of the duty of state was nothing else than the prolongation of their worship of God - a prolongation and a preparation. Isn't our present-day carelessness towards the duty of state a glaring testimony of our levity in the presence of God?
Our carelessness is a delusion! Our religion is a living mystery of incarnation -and to give ourselves to our duty is only the surest expression of such incarnation in us. A Christian soul recognizes in the duty of state the call of Christ to share in His cross and to participate in His redemptive work.
The duty of state will renew and strengthen weak, pleasure-loving souls. In these solemn days of Lent, when we again celebrate the indescribable mysteries of the Passion and Resurrection of Our Lord, it is high time to be reminded that the duty of state is a beautiful reality, since it opens souls to the divine Presence and makes them taste the wonderful fruit of peace.
In Christo sacerdote et Maria,
Fr. Yves le Roux