The above holy card image depicts a Christian having the Holy Spirit whispering in their ear while they are going to stab the "old nature/sinful nature" with a dagger and choose CHRIST
The Two Natures
The OLD PERSON or the NEW PERSON,
ONE or the OTHER
WE MUST CHOOSE!
"Our own evil inclinations are far more dangerous than any external enemies." ~Saint Ambrose of Milan
"Virtue is nothing without the trial of temptation, for there is no conflict without an enemy, no victory without strife." ~Saint Leo the Great
"Sin is the executioner of the good God, and the assassin of the soul." ~Saint Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney
From the words of an old holy card:
Christian remember that thou has today a Jesus to imitate
Remember, Christian soul, that thou has this day a duty:
God to Glorify, Eternity to Prepare for,
Jesus to Imitate, The Angels and Saints to invoke;
Your Soul to Save, Your Body to Mortify,
Sins to Expiate, Virtues to Acquire,
Hell to avoid, Heaven to Gain,
Time to Profit by, Your neighbors to Edify,
The World to Despise, Devils to Combat,
Passions to Subdue, Death Perhaps to Encounter,
and Judgment to Undergo.
CARE OF THE CHRISTIAN SOUL:
When a Christian's heart is on fire for God it is a lovely and beautiful thing. However, a fire that is not tended to will soon go out. We must stoke that fire or risk loosing it all together. Below are some examples of things that will help the fire {Love for God} continue to grow.
- Attend the Mass regularly & as much as possible
- Go to confession regularly
- Set aside time for a daily prayer hour
- Spend time with Jesus during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
- Set aside one day a week to fast & to do penance for your sins & the sins of your family members
- Read the Bible & books that inspire an ardent love for God
- Watch TV shows & movies that are religiously & spiritually themed & about God
- Memorize the Ten Commandments so that you will be familiar with them
- Bless yourselves, your families & homes with Holy Water
- Take steps to avoid temptation by not going to a place or hanging out with a person or group of people that you know will cause you to sin
Saint John Bosco said, "Fly from bad companions as from the bite of a poisonous snake. If you keep good companions, I can assure you that you will one day rejoice with the blessed in Heaven; whereas if you keep with those who are bad, you will become bad yourself, and you will be in danger of losing your soul."
THE LUKEWARM CHRISTIAN:
An excerpt from a sermon of Saint Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney concerning the dreadful state of the lukewarm soul.
"Nor do I understand, brethren, by the lukewarm soul, that soul who would like to be worldly without ceasing to be a child of God. You will see such a one at one moment prostrate before God, his Savior and his Master, and the next moment similarly prostrate before the world, his idol. Poor blind creature, who gives one hand to God and the other to the world, so that he can call both to his aid, and promise his heart to each in turn! He loves God, or rather, the world. Then, weary of wanting to give his allegiance to both, he ends by giving it to the world alone. This is an extraordinary life and one which offers so strange a spectacle that it is hard to persuade oneself that it could be the life of one and the same person. I am going to show you this so clearly that perhaps many among you will be hurt by it. But that will matter little to me, for I am always going to tell you what I ought to tell you, and then you will do what you wish about it......
I would say further, my brethren, that whoever wants to please both the world and God leads one of the most unhappy lives. You shall see how. Here is someone who gives himself up to the pleasures of the world or develops some evil habit. How great is his fear when he comes to fulfill his religious duties; that is, when he says his prayers, when he goes to Confession, or wants to go to Holy Communion! He does not want to be seen by those with whom he has been dancing and passing nights at the cabarets, where he has been giving himself over to many kinds of licentiousness {lustfulness}. Yet he is quite happy to be seen by the good people who know nothing about his evil life and among whom he would like to arouse good opinions about himself. In front of devout people he talks about religion. When he is with those who have no religion, he will talk only about the pleasures of the world.
See, before God, my brethren, on what side you are. On the side of the sinners, who have abandoned everything and plunge themselves into sin without remorse? On the side of the just souls, who seek but God alone? Or are you of the number of these slack, tepid {lukewarm}, and indifferent souls such as we have just been depicting for you? Down which road are you traveling? Who can dare assure himself that he is neither a great sinner nor a tepid {lukewarm} soul but that he is one of the elect? Alas, my brethren, how many seem to be good Christians in the eyes of the world who are really tepid {lukewarm} souls in the eyes of God, Who knows our inmost hearts.....
Let us ask with all our hearts, if we are in this state, to give us the grace to get out of it, so that we may take the route that all the saints have taken and arrive at the happiness that they are enjoying. That is what I desire for you.......
"You either belong wholly to the world or wholly to God. You cannot please both God and the world at the same time. They are utterly opposed to each other in their thoughts, their desires, and their actions." ~Saint Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney
"Our wish, our object, our chief preoccupation must be to form Jesus in ourselves, to make his spirit, his devotion, his affections, his desire, and his disposition live and reign there." ~Saint John Eudes
"All of us can attain to Christian virtue and holiness, no matter in what condition of life we live and no matter what our life work may be." ~Saint Francis de Sales
"The life of the body is the soul; the life of the soul is God." ~Saint Anthony of Padua
PRAYER TO BE A GOOD & FAITHFUL CHRISTIAN
By Saint Thomas Aquinas
Grant, O merciful God, that I may ardently desire, carefully examine, truly know, and perfectly fulfill those things that are pleasing to you, to the praise and glory of Your Holy Name. Direct my course, O my God that I may do what You require me to do. Show me the way and grant that I may follow it as is necessary and profitable to my soul.
Grant to me, O Lord my God, that I may not be found wanting in prosperity; that I may not be lifted up by one nor cast down by the other. May I find joy in nothing but what leads to You; sorrow in nothing but what leads away from You. May I seek to please no one, nor fear to displease any. May I fear only You. May I despise all transitory things, O Lord, and treasure all things that are eternal. Let me loath all delights without You, nor desire anything apart from You. Let me find pleasure in all toil that is for You; and weariness in all rest where You are not.
Grant to me, O my God, that I may turn my heart to You always, and grieve for my failings with a firm purpose of amendment. Make me, O Lord, obedient without opposition; poor without repining; chaste without blemish; patient without murmur; humble without pretense; merry without riotousness; serious without heaviness; cheerful without frivolity; God-fearing without abjectness; truthful without duplicity; doing good without presumption; correcting my neighbor without pride; edifying him by word and example without hypocrisy.
Grant to me, O Lord God, a vigilant heart that no subtle speculation may ever lead me from You; a nobleness that no unworthy affection may draw from You; a rectitude that no evil purpose may turn from You. Grant me a steadfastness which no tribulation may shatter; a freedom that no violent affection may overthrow. Give me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you. Give me a way of life pleasing to You, perseverance to trust and await You, and finally faith to embrace You.
Grant that my punishment may be averted through penance here; Your benefits used in this life through your grace; that Your joys may be enjoyed in heaven in glory. Who lives and reigns, one God forever and ever. Amen.
"Let us try hard, my dear brethren, to destroy all that could be in the smallest way displeasing to Jesus Christ, and we shall see how our Communions will help us to make great strides towards Heaven. And the more we do this, the more we shall feel ourselves becoming detached from sin and inclining towards God." ~Saint Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney
CHRISTIAN, ONLY ONE THING IS NECESSARY SAVE YOUR SOUL!
